Most Disappointing Meal in WDW?

[KingStefan]

To us, CRT was not worth the price. We had breakfast there, and it just wasn't worth the cost. If it were the same cost as other breakfasts, it would be okay...

San Angel Inn was also disappointing. Of course, I live in Texas, and there are probably 100 places within a 20 mile radius that I can get good Tex-Mex food. The atmosphere is cool, but I doubt we'll eat there again (assuming we get to go to WDW again).

Ah, but the San Angel is NOT Tex-Mex, nor of course is it meant to be, nor of course should it be. I have never been to Sonora, but I'm told it is more like the food there. I find it similar to Baja California fare. But I'm sure it is "Americanized". The flavors are more complex and subtle than any other "Mexican" food I have ever had. I don't know if there is a region of Mexico that would match that description. It reminds me of some Colombian food I've had in NYC. We eat at San Angel everytime we go, and always love it. The service everytime we have gone has been excellent.

I'm sorry for all those who have gone and expected something else (like Tex-Mex, for example), or who have had bad service for some reason, but all my experiences were good.

 

[Kelsybelle]

Not the Whispering Canyon!!! I have read so many positive experiences for that restaurant, and I have ADRs for it in October. Do I need to re-think this restaurant for dinner? Hopefully, your experience is an exception and most people enjoy their meals there.

The Whispering Canyon is so much fun for dinner! I've eaten there almost everytime we visit and we have always had a great experience with the food and the atmosphere! I'm sure you won't regret it!

 

[wdwmomof3]

Our worst meal was at San Angel Inn. The food was bland and our service was awful. We had been there before and thought that it was just an "off day" for them or even us, but after three times, never again. It's a shame too because it is such a neat place.

 

[cococola44]

Our worst meal was at San Angel Inn. The food was bland and our service was awful. We had been there before and thought that it was just an "off day" for them or even us, but after three times, never again. It's a shame too because it is such a neat place.

Uh my heart is broken. We have reservations for there on the 12th of sept for our birthday. We are staying at EPcot all day so we figured eat there. I LOVED it there every time. The food there was simular to this place called tequillas in Bridge City TEXAS. LOVED it. =)
Not your typical american/mexican resturaunt. Very different.

 

[jsdratm]

Almost all of the counter-service food at WDW is overpriced crap and I was disappointed by all of it. Busch Gardens in Tampa has the best counter-service food I have ever had at an amusement park. After eating Disney's smashed burgers with bacon discs, pizza, and hot dogs for a week, the massive basket of chicken fingers and fries I got for the same price at Busch Gardens was like a gift from the heavens.

As far as table-service food, I can't comment since I have never had it at WDW.

 

[lebeau]

But see the problem with this, is that the CM shouldn't have done that. The characters have a rotation they follow, and every once in a while, they'll skip a family- sometimes it's because the waiter is at the table ordering, they see that the kids have gone to the bathroom, there's another character already at the table, the kids are having a food fight, etc, and sometimes it's just plain an accident. If they intentionally skip though, then they will remember and go back to that table when they have a chance. If it was an accident though, the best thing is to simply notify the CM (not necessarily the waiter/waitress- they might not always convey the message), and then the CM will tell the character. If the CM takes a family to a character though, 1) it interrupts the family that the character was with at that time, and 2) it acts like an open invitation, and other families will simply walk over to the character and before you know it, a line has formed by the table......

oh and i'm not saying that your family did anything wrong- it was the CM who brought you guys over- just letting you know why that wasn't what happened at 1900....

We had a similar thing happen at the Hollywood and Vine. Jo-Jo skipped over our section several times. Everyone else stopped by, but for some reason Jo-Jo didn't just pass our table. She passed our section at least three times.

My daughter was wearing a Jo-Jo and Goliath T-shirt that day and our waitress kept asking her if she'd seen Jo-Jo yet. We kept telling her we had not and she kept promising to send Jo-Jo over. But each time, she walked by. My daughter waved, but Jo-Jo didn't acknowledge her.

We were starting to get frustrated. We'd been in the restaurant for an hour by this point. We'd been ready to leave at least 20 minutes before but we didn't want to leave without seeing Jo-Jo. We'd told several cast members that we were waiting to see her and they kept promising to send her over, but it never happened.

I understood that their was a flow they were following and they couldn't deviate from it. But it was getting really frustrating because Jo-Jo had been to the same tables three times but had not been to our section at all. And the place was not remotely busy.

Finally, our waitress grabbed us and brought us to Jo-Jo so we could leave. Honestly, at that point, nothing less would have satisfied us. All the other characters were great. But I have no idea what was going on with that one.

 

[KingStefan]

Our worst meal was at San Angel Inn. The food was bland and our service was awful. We had been there before and thought that it was just an "off day" for them or even us, but after three times, never again. It's a shame too because it is such a neat place.

Uh my heart is broken. We have reservations for there on the 12th of sept for our birthday. We are staying at EPcot all day so we figured eat there. I LOVED it there every time. The food there was simular to this place called tequillas in Bridge City TEXAS. LOVED it. =)
Not your typical american/mexican resturaunt. Very different.

Fear not, if you liked it before, you will still like it.

Yes the food is "bland" compared to most of the "Mexican" restaurants dotted all over the US, since they stereotypify the food by adding WAY too much pepper sauce and salt (and probably MSG) in almost everything. It's a good way to cover cheap ingredients.

But the San Angel Inn is very high quality and does not need to do that. As I've said before, the taste is complex and subtle. Savor it for the wide variety of herbs used. And the aroma is also wonderful.

By the way, I've done a bit of research since my ealier post, and I've discovered that San Angel is the name of the traditional section of Mexico City. I never knew that! What a wonderful choice of names! Since Mexico City, and hence it's ancient section, San Angel, is centrally located, I'd expect it to be a sort of a fusion of different types of Mexican food. I don't know if the San Angel Inn in Mexico serves food similar to that in San Angel in Mexico, though.

But my whole family enjoys it. But if you're going there expecting Tex-Mex, or food like you get in Jose Tejas, or Chevy's, or Taco Bell with the Fire sauce :lol: then you are sure to be disappointed.

 

[yankspy]

I know I am in the minority on this one but I have to say that I was not crazy about the Cali Grill. The service was fine and the view was spectacular, I just found the food, undesirable.

 

[Cynderella]

To us, CRT was not worth the price. We had breakfast there, and it just wasn't worth the cost. If it were the same cost as other breakfasts, it would be okay...

I agree 100%. I loved eating in the castle but the food was either to eehh or to fancy ( the stuffed pastry thing and the potatoe thing - haha sorry i dont remember what they were) Just give me some good ol mickey waffles and some bacon!

I agree with everyone on Tony's as well.

 

[wdwmomof3]

Uh my heart is broken. We have reservations for there on the 12th of sept for our birthday. We are staying at EPcot all day so we figured eat there. I LOVED it there every time. The food there was simular to this place called tequillas in Bridge City TEXAS. LOVED it. =)
Not your typical american/mexican resturaunt. Very different.

Well, the very first time we went the food was just okay and the service was slow but they were not rude. Of course I had a few drinks so I may not remember just right.:lol: The second time we went, on another trip, the food was the same, kind of bland but the kids love the way it looks in there so they wanted to go back on our last trip. After that time, we all agreed it was our last time. Mind you, we all LOVE Mexican food. It was just a combination of the staff & the food that did it for us. It's just to expensive to go there and not like what you eat. :animwink:

 

[k.hunter30]

How was it bad service. where they slow at bringing drinks? Or what happend

Slow at bringing drinks. Slow at bringing food. Slow at bringing the menu. Bringing the WRONG food. Bringing the wrong menu! We met the all the cahracters in the first 10 minutes (literally) we were there. THEN we were asked to place our order and were pretty much forgotten about. And the food was such a let down. Definitely not worth the money.

Ah, but the San Angel is NOT Tex-Mex, nor of course is it meant to be, nor of course should it be. I have never been to Sonora, but I'm told it is more like the food there. I find it similar to Baja California fare. But I'm sure it is "Americanized". The flavors are more complex and subtle than any other "Mexican" food I have ever had. I don't know if there is a region of Mexico that would match that description. It reminds me of some Colombian food I've had in NYC. We eat at San Angel everytime we go, and always love it. The service everytime we have gone has been excellent.

I'm sorry for all those who have gone and expected something else (like Tex-Mex, for example), or who have had bad service for some reason, but all my experiences were good.

After reading the poster you quoted, I was about to post exactly what you did. By no means is San Angel trying to be Tex-Mex. I think that's why I liked it. One year before I ate there in 2003 I spent a month and a half living in Guadalajara Mexico. The foods were very similar which I thought was great. There aren't too many places in the states where you can get real Mexican food that is not "American-ized."

 

[tirian]

With no offense intended to the original poster, threads like this one do little except to distort the guest satisfaction records of particular restaurants because if you read through every post, a first time visitor or casual guest may come across thinking certain restaurants are awful and you can't get a good meal there.

In reality, each restaurant at WDW serves hundreds of people each day, most of whom are satisfied and have no particular thoughts that their meal was the worst of the trip. :shrug:

The same is true of certain hotels. If you read the reviews, the 99% of people who had an uneventful or pleasant stay never say anything and the 1 person who had a problem makes it look to the hundreds of people who read the thread that if you stay at X hotel, your stay will be miserable.

That said, my answer is pretty obvious. The food at WDW (or all of Orlando even) rarely wins major culinary awards, but overall, there aren't really any restaurants at WDW that are so crummy that everyone should avoid them.


(in my opinion, of course )

I'd agree, except that I live here and eat among the Disney restaurants frequently. Three are consistently terrible—San Angel Inn, Cinderella's Royal Table, and the Yak and Yeti.

As for San Angel's supposed "complex" flavors, I've been to Mexico, and the real thing doesn't taste like Tex-Mex or like San Angel. It's true that real Mexican food is naturally flavorful (as opposed to overspiced), but my food has always tasted old and been served cold. I've eaten there three times, and I've decided, "Never again."

CRT is generally overpriced and the food isn't anything special, but dinner is decent. Don't eat there for breakfast; once you're seated, they're trying to get you out within twenty minutes to keep things flowing smoothly.

Disney doesn't own the Yak and Yeti, and it's possibly the most overpriced-per-quality restaurant at the resort. I paid about $30 for a plate of noodles (I'm not kidding) and a dessert. It was pathetic. Oh, the noodles were supposed to have meat. I counted exactly four pieces of chicken, all of which were about the size of a chicken McNugget.

That said, I've never had a bad meal anywhere else, so WDW is generally a great place to eat!

 

[mbtohill]

Ate at San Angel, among other places just last month and had a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Those of you going for the first time and expecting taco's and burrito's smothered in cheese will be dissappointed. My wife had what she called the "best ceviche ever" as an appetizer. The service was fine, the food was good, the margaritas were cold and the kids (7 and 5) ate well.....is there anything else one needs to enjoy there meal.

Most "dissappointing" dining experience of the week was......can't think of one.....ate at the Biergarten, Les Chefs de France, Tusker House (lunch buffet was AWESOME), Jiko, and Hollywood and Vine.

 

[montyz81]

Hollywood and Vine was the worst restaurant I have ever been too. It reminded me of food at a bad Las Vegas Casino Buffet. It was absolutely horrible.

 

[Philo]

Pizzafarri - I hate that place but somehow always end up there....

As for a TS restaurant, I've never been disapointed yet although the food at CRT wasn't as great as I thought it coul have been.

 

[danipooh]

Mine was at Beaches & Cream. I had only heard good things about this place but I was disappointed. I got a hamburger and DH got a chicken sandwich. There was nothing special about our meal at all. I thought the burgers were supposed to be really good but to me it seemed like a frozen formed patty that was thrown on a grill for a few minutes. Then after the food I thought surely the dessert would be wonderful because that's what they specialize in. Wrong again. We got an "oreo" sundae. It was described as a fudgy brownie sundae with oreos, ice cream, hot fudge, etc. It sounded really good and when it came it was basically a run of the mill hot fudge sundae with a cold brownie and the only oreos in it were two cookies put on top to look like mickey ears. More like a garnish than a main part of the sundae. All in all, $50 for lunch later, I walked out sorry I went there.

 

[mbtohill]

I guess it's all about expectations. This was our 3rd trip in 5 years, and like many of you who have been multiple times you have reasonable expectations. If you are going to Hollywood and Vine and expecting a world class dining experience you will be dissappointed. I have travelled the world and eaten at some of the best restaurants, however, my expectations at WDW are much different. I am simply looking for "good food" in an environment that my kids enjoy, and therefore I ENJOY. The Biergarten is a perfect example. Is the food there "world class" NO, but with a plate full of saurbraten and a liter of Beer watching my girls do the Chicken Dance, I am a happy camper. I guess it's all about expectation.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

Almost all of the counter-service food at WDW is overpriced crap and I was disappointed by all of it. Busch Gardens in Tampa has the best counter-service food I have ever had at an amusement park. After eating Disney's smashed burgers with bacon discs, pizza, and hot dogs for a week, the massive basket of chicken fingers and fries I got for the same price at Busch Gardens was like a gift from the heavens.

As far as table-service food, I can't comment since I have never had it at WDW.

Wow! Which ones have you eaten at?

Disappointing meals are rare (knock on wood). However, we've had a few.

Columbia Harbour House seems to be delcining in quality

Hollywood and Vine was our HUGE disappointment. In 2005 it was GREAT. However, in 2006, it was terrible. The food was cold and tasteless; the server didn't even bring us our drinks until we'd been seated for about 25 minutes.

The Garden Grill was disappointing, too. The veggies were cold and not well cooked. Our server acted like we were a burden when we asked for refills.

The Tangerine Cafe was not as good as I had expected. It was a mild disappointment. Their veggies tasted bitter and the food was slightly cold.

The ABC Commissary made me sick, sick, sick! Yucky! The taste of the food stuck with me for hours if you get what I am saying.

Tony's was just horrible. The server was nice, but the food was gross and tasteless.

All of our other meals have been fabulous. Sometimes it is not what we planned or expected, but they are not a disappointment.

 

[KingStefan]

... Tusker House (lunch buffet was AWESOME) ...

I'm glad to hear that! I was looking forward to this place next trip. I was very sad to see it go as a counter-service place. It was my very favorite. It's too bad they can't fit both in back there.

 

[KingStefan]

...The ABC Commissary made me sick, sick, sick! Yucky! The taste of the food stuck with me for hours if you get what I am saying...

Perhaps they are trying to be authentic!