Disney Sit Down Restaurants

[MargaretJ]

Have you ever been to a Disney Sit Down Restaurant that you swore you would never return to again? If so was it the food, the price, the service?

[DrBabe]

About the only complaint I have is that I've never gotten a good place to dine at Whispering Canyons when traveling alone. This is the only place this has ever happened. I don't know if I'll give them a third try or not when traveling alone. I've been very pleased when the party is larger than 1.

[Stinkerbelle]

Its a rare place that I won't give the benefit of a second chance to, but Alfredo's and the restaurant in Norway both have this distinction.

Maybe Norway was a fluke because others have raved about this place, but we were seriously underwhelmed with this buffet. We ended up eating mostly bread and butter then supplimenting our dinner with Japaneese rice crackers bought at Mitsotoki Dept. Store in Japan because we were still hungry. The service was good, the atmosphere nice but the food was bland and tasteless.

About the best thing I can say about this one was the restaurant was very pretty and we were seated with no wait. I am of Italian hertiage and have eaten at Italian restaurants all over the country. I know Italian food. This was just garbage at a very inflated price served up by very rude staff. I will never, ever eat here again!

[WillCAD]

I'll probably never set foot in Crystal Palace again.

The service was great, the character time was the best I've ever seen, but the buffet looked like someone had tossed a couple of grenades into it! I have been to Cactus Willies and Golden Corales with neater buffets; when you have a restaurant full of young kids (as you always do at a character meal), you MUST have double the staff to care for the buffets or the kids will tear them apart. Of course, it's not all the kids, just those whose parents don't give a darn about supervising them or teaching them how to properly serve themselves at buffets. I've seen plenty of kids making a valiant effort to fill thier plates but filling the floors instead, and I've also seen kids playing in the food like it was a sandbox. Either type of kid needs adult supervision at the buffet.

It's actually a real shame that my CP experience was ruined by the terrible buffet, because the place is beautiful and the staff, including the characters, are excellent (except for those who care for the buffets, of course).

I don't think I'll go back there unless they remove the characters.

[sandar]

Interesting question.

I'll join Stinkerbelle in avoiding the restaurant in Norway. The staff was wonderful and the setting is fine, the food just doesn't appeal to us.

Also, we will not go to the Coral Reef again. I know that using the term "overpriced" in dissing a Disney restaurant is kind of silly. Still, even by Disney pricing standards, this one is too many $$$$. Plus we waited much longer than they'd told us at checkin (yes, we did have a ps).

If I had that one to do over, we would have gone back to our hotel and had a sandwich from the pool-side snack place, then watched the people swimming (not quite the same effect as the giant aquarium, but close enough and 1/45th the price). :roll:

Sandi

[cockermom]

I'm afraid I'd have to say the Yacht Club Galley is one restaurant we'll never return to. We had breakfast there on our last morning at WDW last December. Maybe because we'd already experienced so many other wonderful places during our stay, but all four of us were extremely underwhelmed with the buffet that was offered. The service was good, but the food was just so-so and not overly warm. There are so many other wonderful places to try; we won't go back there again.

Barbara

[PoohbearFan]

It's unlikely I'll ever return to the Pepper Market at Coronado Springs. We had a terrible experience there. First of all, there was no hostess to explain how this unconventional food court "works". :shrug: Then, the servers were very rude when we tried to order food and didn't have the required ticket. :x And last, I didn't like having to pay an automatic 15% gratuity to servers who only bring you silverware and drinks. :roll: I have absolutely nothing against tipping for good service, but I found that to be ridiculous.

Poohbear

[Cinderella]

Thumbs down to, believe it or not, the Yachtsman Steakhouse at Yacht Club. This restaurant was recommended by almost everyone on site and is the only one that gave us terrible service.
:hppmad: :hppmad: :nahnah: :nahnah:


We were there a few years ago and it was DH's birthday. I told the CM when we entered and the server. Not only did she not acknowledge it in any way but we were given a steak and potato, never told the specials for the day and never asked if we wanted salad/dessert/coffee etc. She was too busy at all the other tables and not ours. She never came back to check on us at all. We got nothing but good service at every other restaurant we dined in (and that was the year my DH had allergies to every known food and I faxed every chef at each restaurant and gave a list of his allergies and we were given "special" meals to accommodate him and every chef came to our table to check on what he was serving EXCEPT Yachtsman Steakhouse!!)

Cinderella

[TiggersPal]

I am afraid that I have to echo what I've heard about Akershus. We tried it, trying to be adventurous, and found the food to be gross for the most part, and unfriendly service.

The only thing we thought was even remotely good was the bread and cheese, everything else was less than appetizing and we couldn't get our waiter or anyone else to tell us what the specific foods on the buffet were. WE will never go there again, that's for sure.

I did think the castle was great and the atmosphere just amazing, but the food just wasn't for us. It wasn't that it was unfamiliar, but we just couldn't get any assistance in figuring out what each particular food was, but we just thought none of it was appetizing either.

I know a lot of people love it, but not us, I'm afraid!

[Collette]

I will go again if someone else is buying :D ...otherwise I probably won't be going back to Flying Fish. And I know this is a favorite, must-do restaurant of many.

DD and I knew that this was going to be THE most expensive meal of our trip and that we planned not to care about the cost and enjoy this place that everyone loves. And yet we weren't prepared for the prices even after reading the menu ahead of time. I finally ordered tile fish for $29 (because I thought I should try fish at FF and this was recommended by the very nice waitress as the mildest even though she tried her best to convince me that I wouldn't mind the "whole" fish entree specialty of the house because it is presented discretely) and DD ordered a pear/pecan salad for $12. DD ordered water and I had iced tea. $48 for a tiny piece of fish on top of some corn with a sugar snap pea for color, a salad, two rolls, and one iced tea. And I don't think I would have minded it so much if I would have enjoyed the atmosphere which we couldn't see or feel because of the location of our table. The food was very good and our waitress was very pleasant. I think she saw my pain.

Maybe it was the location of our table...the very closest to the check in area and very close to some guys back at the next table on one side with part wall/part window on the other side. I felt like we were eating in the waiting area. Maybe it has to be dark outside, too, to spend over $50/person for a nice meal. :D

I chose Flying Fish over California Grill, Artist Point and Jiko, and I will always wonder if we would have enjoyed them more. Or if there is just going to be a price I can't exceed for dinner. We had some lovely meals in great places that trip for much less. Wherever I decide to go next, I think I will be more proactive about where we are seated. I should know better - I even know where I want to sit at Perkins or Applebees :wink:

There...now I feel better!

Collette