After getting back from my most recent Orlando trip, I’ve written glowing reviews for attractions such as Guardians, Ratatouille, and even appreciated the spectacle of Harmonious.
This ends now.
DO NOT, UNDER (almost) ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, GO TO SPACE 220!
This place is legalized fraud.
Out of everything planned for this trip, I was most excited about Space 220. So at the very least, let this post temper your expectations.
Let me elaborate upon the Space 220 experience before
@Centauri Space Station hunts me down.
Theming:
Space 220s theming is cool. There’s the initial wonder of walking in and seeing the fantastic vista to earth, and then… that’s it. The space is cool. The food theming, such as cutlery, plating, and food presentation is forgettable at best.
The bathroom’s announcements and plaque are nice touches, but hardly anything that makes an experience.
I honestly think the area looks cooler in photos than in person. The awe wears off very quickly. The earth basically just looks like a static image (which it basically is). The floating astronauts are interesting, but similarly lose their luster very quickly. There’s just not much depth to the experience.
If you’re craving a quality themed environment, go to Sci-Fi or Biergarten, not Space 220.
The whole experience seems very social-media to me. So much to post to Instagram, but very shallow, just like social-media.
Food:
Two people at our table (myself included), ordered the duck. I absolutely love duck! My favorite dish in the world is a duck dish served in an Atlanta French restaurant. Just to make sure 220’s duck was good, I asked the waiter if she would recommend the duck, and she responded “in a heartbeat.”
Plain and simply, they served rubber, not duck, a rubber ducky, perhaps, but most certainly not duck. I had seen photos of the duck entree before dining at Space 220 and it looked fantastic, but it appeared to be a duck leg. The entree served was duck breast, which is perfectly fine, duck breast is equally delicious. But the meal was not delicious. My theory is that due to a supply chain issue, the duck legs became unavailable, so they switched to a lesser quality duck breast, and by lesser quality, legitimately rubber. I was physically unable to cut through it with my knife, and I get it. Occasionally, there’s a bad batch of meat, or it gets over cooked, that’s fine, but even the rice it came with was aggressively mediocre. If the recent changes to the duck severely downgraded the dish, let your guests know that. More on that in a minute.
The short-rib, however, was very good, so if you do go, make sure to get it.
The snapper is fine.
One of the members in our party got the Coconut Panna Cotta for his desert. The most accurate description has to be regurgitated yogurt. Absolutely nasty. Reminded me of Beverly, where you had to try it just to see how bad it was. We each had a bite, and wow. It was nasty. Despite sharing with the table, most of it got left behind.
Service:
Definitely got the impression they were trying to turn tables over quickly. Waitress would ask if we were finished with our current course if we would pause to breath for a second.
Back to the duck. I never, I mean ever, send a meal back to the kitchen. I’m not a picky eater at all. If a meal is overdone, or tough, or whatever it may be, I usually just don’t go back or try something else next time. But this duck was terrible. Both me and my table mate sent it back, but before we could, our waitress snarkily remarked “yeah, duck is tough” when we complained. Like no. I love duck. This isn’t tough, this is next-gen tire technology, and with Test Track next door, it’s thematically appropriate at least.
After that, they replaced each of our meals with the aforementioned (and delicious) short rib. Then after that, we never saw our waitress again until it was time for the check. Other waiters brought our deserts. She no longer filled up our drinks, and it was my table mate’s 21st birthday, so even though we wanted to order more drinks, we were unable.
Obviously, service will vary drastically between visits, but still a poor reflection regardless.
Pricing:
This should be a $50 experience, rather than $80, even when considering the theme park surcharge. The fact they have $20+ entree add-one is laughable.
Reasons to go to Space 220:
You can legitimately (not a hyperbole) afford to light substantial sums of cash on fire on a routine basis for fun.
You’re the type of person to get a VIP tour (saw many plaids at the restaurant). But even then, I’m hesitant to recommend, because if you’re seriously wealthy, you’re accustomed to delicious quality food.
You can get a reservation at the lounge (so you’re not forced to order Prix Fixe and therefore can just order a drink to gain admission into the Centauri Space Station.
Someone else is paying.
I was so excited to go here, and I was so eager to love it, but I just didn’t.
It fits perfectly in Epcot, and is undeniably cool (just not a cool as you would expect or for as long as you would want), but the current pricing and menu just don’t cut it. It would work perfectly as a quick service or non-prix fixe menu with a massive price cut.
I was wondering why the reviews on Google were so poor, but now I know. It’s just not worth the hassle of getting a reservation or the cost. Save your money, save your time.
www.wdwmagic.com
