Too much money and not worth it..

[Happyrebster]

First of all, I'd like to say that you have as much right to your opinion as anyone else. I think there may be some who are expecting me to be a snarky jerk to you (based on my prior posting history). However, I think you know that your post was unfair, but I know my criticism was harsh and didn't have any explanation (also unfair). Thus, I am more than willing to take some of the blame. Further, I wholly understand being a proud employee.

I ordered the fried chicken. Had never gotten it before. The breading had no discernible flavor, the chicken was dry and overcooked, and my sides were molecule sized. I also have latent disappointment related to PT getting rid of one of my all time favorite entrees at the World - the tuna casserole. You got a slice of tuna steak on a bed of noodles that was bathed in this delicious tangy sauce. I will admit I am getting older and that was probably a decade ago now. My wife got the meat loaf. She was OK with it, but I make a bad *** meatloaf. In fact, the whole family rarely gets meatloaf or any pork product in the restaurant setting because of my mad skillz. Don't remember what the kids had, but it was just OK. Our waitress was fantastic and was the saving grace.

So, that was my worst PT experience ever. In June of 2019, I had my best experience ever at Sci Fi which I really wasn't looking forward to going to with regards to our past dining experiences. However, the kids (now 16 and 14) LOVE sitting in the car and watching the movie.

I do find the prices a bit much and we do eat in our one bedroom DVC unit more than we used and we do adventure out into the greater O'town area for food more than we used to. They've reached a point where I don't feel very smart for paying them. So, we compromise. With less Disney meals each trip, when one disappoints it really stands out.

Thanks for your kind remarks! And I am genuinely sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy your meal. I hope the team at PT did what they could to make it better. And I’m so glad you liked Sci Fi! It’s one of my favorites. And, again, thanks for your kindness. I have no desire to insult or disappoint any guest.

 

[George]

Thanks for your kind remarks! And I am genuinely sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy your meal. I hope the team at PT did what they could to make it better. And I’m so glad you liked Sci Fi! It’s one of my favorites. And, again, thanks for your kindness. I have no desire to insult or disappoint any guest.

I have complained at WDW, but never about a meal. I think this is because we're always off to something new (i.e. want to get to Tower of Terror for the fastpass or get some lazy river time in at Typhoon before it closes, etc.). However, next time I'm displeased, I should say something. I know everyone typically bends over backwards to make other problems better, so I'm assuming a sincere complaint about a meal would get a good response. I was literally just thinking that maybe I should've said something when you posted your reply.

 

[RustySpork]

I had no intention to insult anyone. My statement was misinterpreted in this respect. I love our parks and restaurants. Many ordinary traveler reviews (on TripAdvisor and elsewhere) agree with me; but others don’t. I hope that everyone will select and enjoy a restaurant that provides them with the food and the experience they prefer. If they prefer to dine off-property - at Applebee’s or elsewhere - then I hope they have a lovely time!

At the same time, I know that Disney will continue to do everything we can to make our own dinig experiences the best that they can be. If anyone has an experience with our service that they don’t enjoy, I hope they will inform our cast members so we can do everything we can to help you have a great day!

I’m just a low-level cast members, but these are my honest beliefs.

Your statement was taken the way it was stated, it's a little late to walk it back now. I treated you the exact same way that you came across to me, and it offended you immediately...I'll give it the benefit of the doubt though. Maybe you're new to the internet.

 

[Shouldigo12]

I had no intention to insult anyone. My statement was misinterpreted in this respect. I love our parks and restaurants. Many ordinary traveler reviews (on TripAdvisor and elsewhere) agree with me; but others don’t. I hope that everyone will select and enjoy a restaurant that provides them with the food and the experience they prefer. If they prefer to dine off-property - at Applebee’s or elsewhere - then I hope they have a lovely time!

At the same time, I know that Disney will continue to do everything we can to make our own dinig experiences the best that they can be. If anyone has an experience with our service that they don’t enjoy, I hope they will inform our cast members so we can do everything we can to help you have a great day!

I’m just a low-level cast members, but these are my honest beliefs and values.

That's the fun part about the internet. You have to be really careful how you phrase things, because it's very easy for miscommunications to happen. Especially when it comes to tone. I'm sure everyone on this board has experienced that at least once.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And I think my husband might get a trip at the Main St. Barbershop (or whatever it was called).

Just saying...I did that a few years ago, thought it would be a fun "extra" and I needed a haircut. I was the only adult in the room (other than staff and parents) before, during, and after my haircut. Just letting you know in case that would matter to him! (I felt slightly awkward and would not do it again, it was very child oriented with toys, etc.)

Just catching up and you nailed what I ordered.

Ha!

We've shared the sampler at the bar, which had all three, and we never cared for the chicken. Now we usually split a pot roast, get some onion rings, etc. as we spend some time cocktailing.

What brought us there the first time, many years ago, was a no sugar added cheesecake - which is no longer on the menu, but still served!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And as I said before, after my trip, I doubt it I'll come back again.

btw - I thought that, too! (That was 1998 LOL.) Then I got home and, to my surprise, missed it!

 

[RaveOnEd]

To weigh in on this topic, I will say that, yes, it has gotten more expensive over time, but so has almost everything else. Not that it's an excuse at all, especially since WDW or any Disney park is the hallmark for family time or family vacations.

However, when we started going in 2006, it really didn't feel like we had to get the money together like we do now to go to WDW. But, it's my family's favorite place to go on vacation, so we make a point to go when we can (used to be every other year, but because of an 8 year period of deaths and emergencies in our family, we had to put that on hold. We're trying to go back to that alternate year trip there)

As for the food quality, we've noticed some places we really liked there have up and down quality in the food, but any restaurant we've gone to has had that issue wherever we've gone.

One thing I will mention is our meal at Crystal Palace in 2018. It was the first time back there to WDW in 8 years, and in that time I would always mention the hand-carved beef there, how amazing it tastes to me.

We ate there and it tasted every bit as good as it was before. Same as most of the dinner we had at Liberty Tree.

For my contribution to this thread (which I apologize for not being much!) is that it's our favorite vacation place. Even though it's become expensive and we have noticed some things decline with service and other things, we still have fun and be a family for a week. And for that, I will gladly pay for the trip to WDW.

 

[thomas998]

Seriously? You get char siu pork in a college cafeteria? What college serves marinated shrimp on tangy slaw as an appetizer? Did your alma mater serve ooey gooey toffee cake?

I have a feeling your last name might be Bicker.

The cafeteria at HBS was run by Marriott and they loved having quasi-ethnic entrees at dinner but they were always pale imitations of the real thing. If you grew up in the north east then I can understand why you might find the food at MK to be good and flavorful, but I was raised in places where spices weren't something to be skimped on.

 

[larryz]

The cafeteria at HBS was run by Marriott and they loved having quasi-ethnic entrees at dinner but they were always pale imitations of the real thing. If you grew up in the north east then I can understand why you might find the food at MK to be good and flavorful, but I was raised in places where spices weren't something to be skimped on.

I've eaten all over the world* where they don't skimp on spices. I find the food in the places I mentioned in MK to be quite palatable.

* Germany, Greece, Austria, France, England, Belgium, Italy, Croatia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Abu Dhabi, Oman, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Canada and all over the US of A.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Well, I was there then. And I've been there now.

I much prefer then to now.

And that's great but why feel "sad" for those who started later. It's all good, no one needs to be sad or feel bad for family, maybe were just lucky but we've loved every one of our wdw and look forward to many many more years of Disney, God willing .

 

[thomas998]

I've eaten all over the world* where they don't skimp on spices. I find the food in the places I mentioned in MK to be quite palatable.

* Germany, Greece, Austria, France, England, Belgium, Italy, Croatia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Abu Dhabi, Oman, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Canada and all over the US of A.

Good for you. But for my taste the food across the board at MK is too bland.

 

[21stamps]

You would hate an amusement park.

 

[larryz]

And that's great but why feel "sad" for those who started later. It's all good, no one needs to be sad or feel bad for family, maybe were just lucky but we've loved every one of our wdw and look forward to many many more years of Disney, God willing .

 

[UNCgolf]

I agree that Universal’s counter serve equivalents are terrible. The table service equivalents have generally been better values. It has been a few years though, so that may have changed.

The table service at CityWalk is good. The Italian restaurant really stood out as excellent food for the price, and the other meal we had there was fine. The table service in the actual parks (at least the one we ate at) had both terrible food and terrible service. It took FOREVER to get our food and when it finally came out it was lukewarm (and not good), and then we couldn't get anyone to come to the table to actually let us pay for our bad food and leave. The place was mostly empty too.

 

[UNCgolf]

We at at Prime Time last week for the first time in a few years. Applebee’s is better.

I wasn't saying the food might not taste better at Applebee's -- Applebee's tastes better than the atrocious Tony's Town Square, too.

I just meant part of the reason the food at Applebee's tastes good is because they have it drenched in so much butter/fat/etc. that it's HORRIBLE for you. Like 1500+ calorie meals. My guess is most of the bad food at Disney isn't quite that unhealthy, if only because it should taste better if it was.

 

[thomas998]

I wasn't saying the food might not taste better at Applebee's -- Applebee's tastes better than the atrocious Tony's Town Square, too.

I just meant part of the reason the food at Applebee's tastes good is because they have it drenched in so much butter/fat/etc. that it's HORRIBLE for you. Like 1500+ calorie meals. My guess is most of the bad food at Disney isn't quite that unhealthy, if only because it should taste better if it was.

I wouldn't expect the food at Disney to be any healthier, if it was healthier I would expect them to be shouting that fact to high heaven but just try to find any nutritional facts on the foods they serve. If you are lucky they will have a binder that they keep behind the counter and you have to ask for. Unlike places like Burger King or McDonalds that have that info right out on the menu for all to see when they order. I would expect Applebees to be no better or worse than Disney. Disney tends to tone down the spices in their food which isn't going to really impact the amount of calories in a food only the taste.

 

[UNCgolf]

I wouldn't expect the food at Disney to be any healthier, if it was healthier I would expect them to be shouting that fact to high heaven but just try to find any nutritional facts on the foods they serve. If you are lucky they will have a binder that they keep behind the counter and you have to ask for. Unlike places like Burger King or McDonalds that have that info right out on the menu for all to see when they order. I would expect Applebees to be no better or worse than Disney. Disney tends to tone down the spices in their food which isn't going to really impact the amount of calories in a food only the taste.

I'm not saying all Disney food is healthy. I'm saying places like Applebee's are notorious for being among the unhealthiest food you will find anywhere. I think they've pushed back on that recently by offering "light" menu items, but a lot of their food has absolutely insane levels of fat and salt (and sometimes sugar, even in places you would not expect). You can eat one meal at Applebee's and have more fat and salt than you're supposed to have for the whole day (and getting close to your recommended daily caloric intake as well).

This has discussion has gone far afield, though. My original comment wasn't intended to be a defense of Disney; it was more of an attack on Applebee's and their dangerously unhealthy food. It would be very easy for Disney food to be unhealthy but still nowhere near as bad for you as Applebee's.

 

[Shouldigo12]

I'm not saying all Disney food is healthy. I'm saying places like Applebee's are notorious for being among the unhealthiest food you will find anywhere. I think they've pushed back on that recently by offering "light" menu items, but a lot of their food has absolutely insane levels of fat and salt (and sometimes sugar, even in places you would not expect). You can eat one meal at Applebee's and have more fat and salt than you're supposed to have for the whole day (and getting close to your recommended daily caloric intake as well).

This has discussion has gone far afield, though. My original comment wasn't intended to be a defense of Disney; it was more of an attack on Applebee's and their dangerously unhealthy food. It would be very easy for Disney food to be unhealthy but still nowhere near as bad for you as Applebee's.

I just think it might be a little naive to think that Applebee's is the most unhealthy food out there. I've honestly never even heard that about their food before. The majority of restaurants are going to be really bad for you. Shoot, just out of curiosity I pulled up the menu for a popular restauarant near me (Red Robin) and most burgers alone were around 1000 calories. Add on fries and a drink and you're at about 1500. Even Panera Bread, a "healthier" restaurant, has a ton of high calorie items. Eating way more calories than you probably should is going to happen most places you go, unless you're really paying attention and picking the healthiest options.
Edit: But anyway, you're right. This is getting way off-topic. Probably better to start a different thread if we want to start discussing the health of Applebee's relative to Disney food haha.

 

[UNCgolf]

I just think it might be a little naive to think that Applebee's is the most unhealthy food out there. I've honestly never even heard that about their food before. The majority of restaurants are going to be really bad for you. Shoot, just out of curiosity I pulled up the menu for a popular restauarant near me (Red Robin) and most burgers alone were around 1000 calories. Add on fries and a drink and you're at about 1500. Even Panera Bread, a "healthier" restaurant, has a ton of high calorie items. Eating way more calories than you probably should is going to happen most places you go, unless you're really paying attention and picking the healthiest options.
Edit: But anyway, you're right. This is getting way off-topic. Probably better to start a different thread if we want to start discussing the health of Applebee's relative to Disney food haha.

Last thing I'm going to say about it because yeah, it's really getting off-topic -- but you should look into it. Places like Applebee's and Chili's are incredibly unhealthy (I don't know as much about Red Robin, but as a big chain burger place it's probably pretty bad too). A lot of the American dining chains are tremendously bad for you... if you are eating there a few times a year it's no big deal but if you eat there regularly it's pretty bad. It's not really the calories (although they're obviously not great) it's HUGE amounts of fat and salt. I think Applebee's fish and chips, just as one example, has something like 120 grams of fat. That's roughly twice as much as you're supposed to have in a day. And I know they have a lot of dishes with well over the recommended amount of sodium per day. Also, since you mentioned Panera -- they're pretty unhealthy too! They've somehow managed to position themselves as a healthy restaurant but a lot of their sandwiches are no better for you (and sometimes worse) than going to a fast food place like McDonald's. They definitely do have healthy options it's not close to being their entire menu.

Anyways, it is entirely possible Disney food suffers from the same problem -- I wouldn't be surprised if there were some dishes at certain restaurants that come close to that. Somewhere like Prime Time Cafe certainly has the right kind of food for it. I doubt most of the nicer restaurants suffer from that problem, though (of course they're also far more expensive than Applebee's).

As an aside, I'm still wondering if anyone knows how much control Disney actually has over the restaurants on property (dishes, pricing, etc.). I know most of them are run by outside vendors.

 

[Whippet Mom]

People are always talking about the food being terrible, but I find it to be pretty good. I dunno, maybe I just personally have low standards for food.




Well we went once a year, but after become local, I go about once or twice a week. I get what you mean with the “buy buy buy” thing, but I haven’t bought a piece of merchandise in two years and still have fun.

I am with you, The food is good.. We enjoy it & must also have low standards according to some. You can eat good or junk, so many choices..