Overall Food Quality At WDW

[Chefjason1974]

Am I the only person who has seen a ten fold improvement in the WDW foodservice. Everthing from the hamburgers to the sit down dinners in my opinion have come a long way from what they used to be. the prices are also (in my opinion) not as bad as they used to be. 5-10 years ago. I remeber going to EPCOT A long time ago & being discuted by the "Countries Horrible representations of regional cuisine. As you can tell by my member name i am a chef so i probably notice this more than a regular person. But I know what it takes to feed a lot of people & to have such a diverse amount of cuisines to me is amazing.
Anybody have any thoughts on this.
:slurp: :slurp: :slurp:

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I chose "agree" for the pole. I think that the food is good, and there is no shortage of choices. You can find just about anything you want. I think the prices are a little high for certain things. The sit down places can get a little out of hand at times. As far as the quick service locations, they are pretty reasonable for a theme park. I know I get a burger at Six Flags for about 4.50 and it costs me 5.39 for a burger and fries in Disney. So they aren't too bad for theme park prices.

 

[Dayma]

McDonalds in Disney you have to love that

I do think that some places are hard to sit and eat that is my only "beef"....

 

[Chefjason1974]

I am also interested if anyone else has noticed the improvement in food Quality all around WDW.
Examples:
1) The burger topping bar with just about anything you could want!
2) Fresh Fruit & Juice Selections

Like i said I remeber when the food was ghastly & now everytime i go i find something that i love. such as:
Hollywood & Vine In MGM Sage rubbed turkey breast
Epcot: Mexican fast food shop on water near Mexico pavillion The best mexican fast food i have ever had!
I Can go on and on but i won't let me know what you think!
:slurp: :slurp: :slurp:

 

[joviacdan]

I think the fast food is just about the same.

One thing I was very disappointed in was my dinner at Alfredo's at Epcot.

My lasagne seriously tasted like it was Chef Boyardee.

 

[General Grizz]

I'm very upset by the "standardization" of many of the MK menus. . . for example, why the heck is there a five option menu for the Pecos Bill Cafe??

Remember those DELICIOUS pulled-chicken sandwiches at Mile Long? Has the same happend to Crystal Palace & Colombia Harbor House? *shrug*

Oh well. I haven't seen much of an improvement, but I always like to try new restaurants.

Shame that Pure and Simple is closed, though.

 

[mickhyperion]

I have only been visiting WDW in recent years so don't have the past to compare it to, but I have been very pleased with the food just about everywhere.

Of the parks, MK seems to offer the fewest food options and least variety. I'm not much of one to go for the hamburger/chicken finger places, but I always hit either Pecos Bill's or Pinocchio's Village Haus for the hamburger fixins station. That really is a great added value that the burger places in DL could take a lesson from.

I also really like the Cantina de San Angel in Epcot. That's a must stop for me at least a couple times each trip. Also a reliable place to pick up a churro for those DL churro addicts. And here's a tip I learned after a little investigating. The restaurant on the inside of the Mexico pavilion, the San Angel Inn, serves several of the same menu items as the Cantina outside but for considerably more money. I asked one of the hostesses and she said it was in fact the same food. So, unless you are in the mood for the romantic Blue Bayou-esque atmosphere of the Inn, you can save a little money out at the Cantina. I've also had good experiences at the counter service place in Japan and the sit down restaurant in Morocco.

I have yet to try some of the more popular places at MGM, but I have had steak at Sci-Fi and the cobb salad at the Brown Derby and I thought both were very good and appropriately priced. Actually, I should say that the first time I had the cobb salad it was skimpy and not worth the money. But since it always gets such rave reviews, I gave it a second chance on another visit and it was great.

A couple of favorite places of mine are the Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at the French Quarter resort and Fulton's Crab House in Downtown Disney. The restaurant at the French Quarter is just great for relatively inexpensive, quality meals with a cajun/southern theme. Fulton's is great for splurging on pounds of king crab. Tastier and cheaper than it is in Seattle, too.

 

[General Grizz]

Oh, and BOO to the Cantina at Mexico for taking churros off of the kid's meal.

Shame!

 

[Mr Bill]

It's still better than Sea World. They need to look at Disney and take a few notes on food service.

 

[cloudboy]

I'm very upset by the "standardization" of many of the MK menus

I agree with that completely! I understand that there are a lot of people to feed, but there are also a lot of restaurants, too. The selection really needs to be expanded. And they need to be a little more accomodating of special orders, especially when shelling out so much money for food. Maybe it is just me, but I have noticed that fast food has been going through a big change lately (Not in the parks) and somehow Disney seems too "assembly line" about it.

 

[no2apprentice]

I think the quality should be better for the price that you pay. And there doesn't seem to be any "middle ground" for early teens. From my own experience with young teens, generally, their tastes are not ready for some of the more exotic foods at many of the sit-down restaurants. The only other option is a much smaller and less tasty portion off the kid's menu, but only if your CM is kind enough to allow your 13 or 14 year old to order something without paying an adult price. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't (not that I'm complaining if they don't - I understand that they may have age rules to follow).

I agree that the quality of food has gotten better since we've been going. I realize I'm in a theme park and everything is expected to cost more. But I still expect a reasonable amount of quality for what I pay.

If I'm spending close to a $100 for a sit down meal in a theme park for my family of four, I would like to have a meal that tastes as good or better than I could get by paying $75 outside the theme park.

 

[colliera]

Better than long ago but beginning to slip.

Overall a huge improvement from years ago but starting to slip in minor ways. Still a pretty high dollar per meal but then you usually have oversized portions. I have a nephew that paid $6 for a hot dog at MK. His mistakes were (1) he used OVC instead of a "quick service" option like Pecos Bill Café which would have been cheaper, (2) they were foot-longs and he bought one for each of the small boys who were 4 and 6. Neither finished their's so he could have just split the sandwhich between them, (3) he could have gotten a combo meal with a drink and fries included in the price. However, I did an analysis of similiar meals between parks a couple of years ago and MK is by far cheaper than AK for the same items with EPCOT second cheapest and MGM a little more expensive than MGM.

Still, the selection of condiments at the Electric Umbrella at EPCOT has gotten smaller over the last three years. Like, what happened to the melted cheese pump?

On the other end the high dollar resturants have gotten much better in service, selection, and taste as the pricing has risen. I doubt many young families with children can afford these locations though.

As far a character meals I have mixed feelings. The children are so excited by the characters few of them even touch the food. As a parent/grandparent I'm too busy to enjoy the meal as I'm busy getting the photos and videos of the kids with the characters. Oh but what fun they are.

Dinner show food is about the same as it has been over the years. The Disney's Spirit of Aloha Show food has dropped in quality and selection and Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue is about the same as twenty years ago. Haven't done Mickey's Backyard BBQ so I can't say on that one.

 

[Chefjason1974]

I will agree that MK has the least options for food & the most fast food "Assembly Lines" It probably has to do with the fact that they still do not serve alcohol of any kind inside MK. I associate A full service restaurant with having a beverage service. That being said the MK still has that classic Walt Disney Family atmosphere & fast food probably more important to families with children who do not want to waste time eating. The most interesting & varied menu that i have found in Mk is at the Plaza Restaurant On Main Street. This place is usually Over looked because it is off the beaten path of main street.

 

[Piebald]

Man. as long as I can remember, everytime we go to the MK, we eat at the Columbia Harbour House. I love their chicken fingers and fish. It's such a relaxing place to eat. It's kind of tucked away in a not so populated area of the park and sometimes you can eat upstairs. mmm....I can't wait till next week. :slurp:

 

[surfsupdon]

I chose Strongly Agree because the food at WDW is high caliber and reasonably priced for a tourist trap.

The 'fast food" always tastes amazing, the portions are always more than enough (except at Coral Reef Rest--i thought).

Everything is so tasty and fresh!

 

[TinkerBell9988]

I "Agree" only because Disney has taken some of my favorite restaurants away from me...

I miss the Pasta Piazza in EPCOT Future World so much, they had the best meatball subs and chicken parmigiana... so fresh, so good, and so reasonable in price. The seating in the restaurant was also awesome, it was never too crowded, there was always a place to sit, it was never a mess, and many people enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

Now, my family and I usually go to the Land for lunch, but castmembers recommend the Electric Umbrella for hamburgers and hot dogs... not that I have anything against that (I'm the cheeseburger queen), but I miss my Italian food!

Also, the "Pirate and the Parrot" in Adventureland is open seasonally now.... I love that taco salad...

But, Walt Disney World's food is the BEST and besides the attractions, its the number two reason for visiting! :slurp:

 

[raven]

I used to think the food was bad, but I had too high of expectations. Compared to other theme parks, WDW has great food!

 

[Senderella]

Originally posted by no2apprentice
And there doesn't seem to be any "middle ground" for early teens. From my own experience with young teens, generally, their tastes are not ready for some of the more exotic foods at many of the sit-down restaurants.

Can't forget some adults in that too. There's not MUCH I wont eat personally, but I'm still *really* picky/leary about foreign/exotic foods. I promised my DH that I would honestly try some new things with an open mind at Epcot and if I genuinely didn't like it, lol he'd get me somethin I would eat elsewhere.

 

[Pippa]

After reading the Unofficial Guide to WDW which slated the food I was delighted with it! Its the reason I diet like mad before a trip so I can eat like a horse on holiday!!

 

[cloudboy]

I'm still *really* picky/leary about foreign/exotic foods.

Up here (Boston) there are so many ethnic groups and restaurants that I find the food at Epcot "Americafied" more than anything. That was one thing I really liked about the food and wine festival - it offers a taste of some more authentic/exotic foods.

I think it would be great if they expanded the menus a bit more, or better yet allowed you to mix and match sides, etc. so that you could try somethigs but still be sure there is something you will end up eating.