Why isn't the food better at WDW?

[DanenRox]

I have no "natural skills" in the kitchen so who am I to talk but I am consistently underwhelmed, even disappointed, with the meals at WDW. I've had a mediocre lobster salad roll in MK, a terrible burger in HS, and a run of the mill carrot cake on the Boardwalk. I can't honestly remember the last time I was wow'd by anything culinary in the resorts, parks or DS. Now if you were say, at my house, this would be expected. But there's so much talent there, so much opportunity for great food, why is that not a priority?
Don't want to play the money card but truth is, the food ain't cheap. I believe Disney strives for excellence in so many things, why isn't the food one of those things?

 

[bama_ed]

Because they don't have to.

The restaurants (especially in the parks and less so at the resorts) will be mostly full serving mediocre swill at an overpriced rate.

While some restaurants have a reputation that gets out in advance, there are newbies that don't know that will book and pay.

Bama Ed

PS - service excellence exited WDW about 10 years ago. Since then it's been declining by degrees. Oh they still talk excellence but the performance has definitely been lacking.

 

[StageTek]

In my experience the food continues to get worse and worse. Meals (even at quick service) that I once enjoyed have suffered.

Where there is no competition there is no need for excellence. They got us. Leaving the park for a quick meal isn't really an option and leaving for a nice dinner at a good (not "fine" just good) is rare. We'll just keep eating in the parks or resorts because we're there.

 

[gharter]

i think it all depends on where you are eating.
Are there really mediocre to bad restaurants? Absolutely!
MK - Until Skipper Canteen and maybe BoG opened, the food choices in MK were not very good.
HS outside of Brown Derby and Mama Melrose (hit and miss), the food choices are not good.
AK - Lots of good TS and QS options.
EPCOT - again many goodTS and CS options.
DS - huge number of very good TS and CS options.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Because they don't have to.

The restaurants (especially in the parks and less so at the resorts) will be mostly full serving mediocre swill at an overpriced rate.

While some restaurants have a reputation that gets out in advance, there are newbies that don't know that will book and pay.

Bama Ed

PS - service excellence exited WDW about 10 years ago. Since then it's been declining by degrees. Oh they still talk excellence but the performance has definitely been lacking.

I agree, but I'd say it's been closer to 20 years, since the restaurants were very good. Anyone who didn't eat at WDW table service restaurants, during the Eisner years, doesn't know how much the food has declined.

 

[Disneypro1]

I think it's good. But DL food is great.

 

[vacationer1954]

But there's so much talent there, so much opportunity for great food, why is that not a priority? Don't want to play the money card but truth is, the food ain't cheap. I believe Disney strives for excellence in so many things, why isn't the food one of those things?

It used to be better for a few years but making the food better didn't make us more willing to pay higher prices so Disney adapted based on what we guests did and didn't do. Instead, what we communicated to Disney is that we cared more about keeping prices from going even higher than we cared about better quality. Today, there are enough restaurants that serve truly excellent food. Those restaurants aren't the most popular restaurants and that is very important. It means that there aren't lots more guests who want better food enough to pay extra for it. Disney strives for excellence but not for its own sake. Excellence includes knowing what needs to be better and what is already good enough.

In my experience the food continues to get worse and worse.

And that will continue as long as guests continue to prefer lower price increases to higher quality.

I know my family is a contributor to this trend. We used to make a point of having fine dining at practically every meal. Now, we prefer Satuli Canteen to Tiffins. Tiffins is "worth the price" but we don't feel the need for fine dining even at a fair price. Good counter service is good enough, along with one or maybe two fine dining meals per trip, maybe.

 

[holden]

Food had definitely declined over the years. In my opinion there are very few good places to eat. Most restaurants/QS are marginally acceptable. Some are outright bad.

Some good places:
Tiffins
Nomad Lounge
Jiko
Sunshine Seasons
California Grill

I haven’t tried V & A but I’m sure that’s good too

 

[chris benton]

Supply vs demand.
Ever see a Mcdonald's drive thru at lunch time?
If ppl keep paying and eating until they lower the bar enough for them to not keep paying and eating, they will keep up the trend to squeeze the most profits out.
The fixin's bar at Pecos Bill comes to mind. Beloved Slop.
Conversely, there's food at WDW that I believe is fairly priced for the quality, considering the WDW premium. The spare rib platter at Flame Tree comes to mind, so does a Teppan Edo meal, again, considering the WDW premium.

If you've ever eaten at a 6 Flags, you'd consider most WDW food Michelin Star gourmet quality. WDW is probably doing pretty well for the amt of ppl they are feeding and keeping them coming back.

 

[buzzrelly]

I’m not sure what you’re expecting from a theme park. And honestly, there are so many options in and around WDW including many, many good ones at DS and the resorts. If you can’t find something you like down here, you’re not looking hard enough.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Speaking for myself I don't go to Disney to be "wowed" by the food. I go for the overall experience and expect at minimum decent food, which I almost always get. The places that have consistently given us an excellent meal include Yachtsman, Jiko, Chefs de France, Nomad Lounge (not a traditional TS restaurant but they have their own menu and you can order Tiffin's full menu there), The Wave, GF Cafe. With the exception of San Angel Inn we have never had a bad meal at Epcot and we've tried everywhere, TS and QS. I agree that HS is lacking but I have never been to HBD for a full meal, only the lounge, so maybe I'm missing something there. I hope you have better luck on your next trip.

 

[kimj88]

The burgers are awful. How hard is it to make a good burger? At every table service and quick service Disney run, the same ick burger.
And of all places in the world, WHY are the desserts generally so bad???
Oddly enough, I had a kids burger a couple times last trip, and it was tastier than that oversized frozen hockey puck they give the adults.
Of course, there are some places that the food is excellent, don't get me wrong. But the burgers and desserts just seem to be the general worst bets.
Oh and I almost forgot, last trip I was so so so disappointed with the Beach Club Marketplace. Now they don't even ever make fresh sandwiches there like they used to, all the sandwiches are in the fridge case. The turkey sandwich was the same all day every day, dry as a bone and always on awful dry white bread.

 

[Captainkidd76]

I don't care for counter service, but most of the table service restaurants we eat at our always very good. Ohana, Via Napoli, 50's Prime Time, Liberty Tree, Teppan Edo, Crystal Palace. I even like T-Rex. Rainforest, oddly, has gone downhill though.

 

[Captainkidd76]

i think it all depends on where you are eating.
Are there really mediocre to bad restaurants? Absolutely!
MK - Until Skipper Canteen and maybe BoG opened, the food choices in MK were not very good.
HS outside of Brown Derby and Mama Melrose (hit and miss), the food choices are not good.
AK - Lots of good TS and QS options.
EPCOT - again many goodTS and CS options.
DS - huge number of very good TS and CS options.

This is the funny thing - My opinion would be almost the polar opposite.

I don't care for either of those restaurants at MK. Love Liberty Tree, Plaza and Crystal Palace.
HS - Love 50's Prime Time. While Sci Fi is overpriced, the food is good but you go for the atmosphere.
AK - I like Flame Tree, but table service options I don't care for at all.
Epcot - Best food at Disney
DS - Mostly overpriced table service, so we stick with Rainforest, T-Rex and a couple of the newer counter service joints.

 

[jsbowl16]

This is why we try avoiding eating in the parks as much as possible. The food is much better at DS and most resorts. In the parks, it doesnt have to be good because you are in the parks and most people wont leave to eat. At DS and the resorts, they need to draw more people so they seem to have better quality ingredients and better chefs.

 

[Farro]

MK and DHS have average theme park food = fine. Skipper Canteen's being exception for us.

Epcot and AK have above average theme park food, I would say some is great! Table service options mostly good to great also in those parks.

Resorts and Disney Springs, again, good to great table service. I haven't done much counter service at Disney Springs, but have read great reviews.

I think overall dining in Disney World is better than average of even some of the smaller cities across America. Fine dining, modern, forward thinking restaurants just aren't going to fly there, so I don't bother expecting them.

 

[NickC]

There were very few meals that I was disappointed with at WDW. But, for the most part, we've found a few great places, and we keep going back.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

It is a theme park that caters to heavy crowds most days of the year. They need food that can be mass produced quickly and safely, and food that will maximize profit. Yes, quality matters, but it is only a part of the equation.

 

[DisBuckMan]

It's hard to maintain superior quality when you're feeding the masses every day. Quantity over quality, that's the model now.

It used to be much better. Not so much anymore.

I live in a small town on the Gulf Coast, and the food locally is A LOT better than nearly all of the table service restaurants at WDW. Within an hour's drive, I can eat at any number of restaurants that are better than ANY restaurant at WDW (outside of V&A, as I have never eaten there....I refuse to spend 3-4 hours eating a meal)...at a fraction of the price.

The food at Universal has outpaced the food at Disney in the past several years...and they feed huge masses of people every day, too.

 

[jhoannam]

I’m not sure what you’re expecting from a theme park. And honestly, there are so many options in and around WDW including many, many good ones at DS and the resorts. If you can’t find something you like down here, you’re not looking hard enough.

But no one wants to spend 3 hours eating lunch, that’s what it would take to leave the park, eat lunch and come back.