Worst WDW Food Experience

[OhMari]

Hard to believe no one has mentioned Nine Dragons. I decided to try again a few years ago after not going back for 15 or so and was reminded of why I didn't like it. Appetizer (egg rolls) were absolutely inedible. Main dish was just OK. To their credit, I wasn't charged for the egg rolls. I can get better tasting chinese food at my local take out place for about a third of the price.

Also had one bad experience at O'hana when the server dropped off cold food and disappeared. I flagged down the manager and was immediately brought hot food and comped for just about everything except my drinks. I have had quite a few great experiences there other times.

We had totally cold food too. I was going to mention Ohana, but the Bread Pudding is to die for. But we will not go back, since I figured out how to make it. Our waiter disappeared too. I think they want you to be so frustrated that you will just leave.

 

[briarwolf]

DW, DD and I all love the food at O'hana, but we have had service issues there as some others have mentioned. We will most likely go back though.

We also had similar issues as other posters with the crowding at Chef de France

The one place we will not be returning to is La Hacienda de San Angel! Food was blah as was the service.

I have been surprised by some of the dislikes here though...I loved the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup at Le Cellier, and as I said we all like O'hana, although I do think the food was better when the menu still had the pineapple with caramel sauce.

I understand the one post about the pizza not being authentic, but I am curious if some of the comments here have to do with a dislike for the style of food and not the actual quality. For instance, when it comes to some of the comments about Biergarten, did people not like it because they don't like German food, or do they feel it was poorly prepared or not authentic?

We have liked most of the restaurants we have eaten at WDW, but I have noticed a growing tendency toward blandness, imho. But I feel that is a trend at many restaurants now days as they try to appeal to a larger dinning segment.

 

[merrick]

coral reef - we were looking forward to it the most of all of our ADRs. we were 20 mins early and they were 45 mins late seating us. after spending half our wait on the floor (it was december and a cooler evening or we would have waited just outside), we graduated to bench seats along that hallway. it was very cramped and the fish was greasy with this weird sauce poured on it. i couldn't figure out the flavour. server messed up our drink order (twice) but was very nice and helpful. smoothies were probably the best thing there. we had long waits in between courses, and i am pretty easy going about that stuff. honestly at best the food was just okay and the venue made me feel claustrophobic. i watched the disboards podcast review of coral reef after we got back and that was exactly our experience. i wouldn't go back.

our favourite meal, hands down, chicken dinner with mashed potatoes at wolfgang puck express. i have photos that i look back on with fondness....

 

[texasroni75]

Never had a truly terrible meal until my last trip (this past December). Katsura Grill in Epcot Japan. Ordered what I have had on nearly every other trip: the combo beef/chicken teriyaki platter. It's usually very good and I've recommended it in the past here on the boards. Well, on this day, the meats had the texture of cheap tuna - like paste - smothered in a terrible sauce that resembled syrup, not teriyaki sauce. I'm not even sure it was actually chicken and beef to tell you the truth. It was SLOP. I should have asked them to credit me back for the meal, but it was just myself and my 4 year old and it felt like a hassle. Ate the steamed rice and the broccoli, and threw away the rest.

And the one absolutely inedible dessert I've had at WDW was the key lime dessert at AK counter service (I think it was Flame Tree BBQ). It had a layer of what should have been lime jello on top, it was clear green like jello, yet had the texture of marshmallow fluff. As in, you put your spoon in, and tried to scoop some up but it just stretched endlessly like some strange gooey science experiment. They should re-market it as some sort of slime dessert outside the Stitch ride in MK.

 

[Celesdragon]

I’m legitimately surprised at the amount of complaints about Le Cellier & Coral Reef. I’ve had some of my best meals & service at those two places. Though my last Le Cellier visit was back when lunch wasn’t Signature yet. There are higher expectations on food quality and service when you are paying Signature pricing, which sounds like they aren’t meeting.

Even if my heart is set on a certain dish, I always ask the waiter as to what they recommend that day. There are simple things to take into account that I wouldn’t have known without their advice, like I’ve been warned when the chef that day isn’t the one that specializes in the dish I was looking at. I’ve also been given heads up before when they are substituting an ingredient due to a shortage and they would then recommend something else. I’ve had some fantastic finds this way for dishes I would not have thought about originally. Of course, I’ve also had waiters that just couldn’t give a crap on giving their opinion, but for those that do, I go out of my way to reward them in turn.

Also, as someone mentioned previously, something that I noted among Epcot waiters is that slow service is common. This is an aspect of European culture, not necessarily a sign of bad service. While traveling in Europe, I’ve had meals that lasted over 3 hours just because that’s what is expected. While in Disney, If I’m in a rush, I let my waiter know when I’m sitting and tell them WHY – a fast pass, a bus, meeting someone. I’ve rarely had a problem when I’ve been upfront and politely explained at the start of the meal so they can take it into consideration.

Not to say that I’ve never had a problem. I’ve had horrible experiences at Ohana, T-Rex, Be Our Guest, etc. I think my hands down worst though was Restaurantosaurus. I would think it would be hard to make a quick serve experience that much more horrible than a sit-down meal, but they managed to do it. The food looked nothing like the photos, it was either over- or under- cooked, and the staff was incredibly nasty when I pointed out that they had given me completely wrong items. It was clear that no one had been through to clean the seating areas, as we had to move someone else’s trash just to find a table.

 

[DisneyLovingPreacher]

San Angel Inn. I left hungry barely eating anything and the stuff I did eat I got sick off it.

 

[disneylove16]

The only restaurant at WDW that DF and I would never try again is Sci-Fi at DHS. The food was inedible, and the atmosphere was too loud, dark, and chaotic. We both left hungry. It's rare that we are disappointed in restaurants at WDW, too!

 

[tachyonbb]

Like others our experience at Coral Reef was terrible. We had to wait on the floor for 30 minutes after our reservation time, then 25 minutes on a bench. The staff seemed harried and service was slow to non existent. Food was mediocre. The aquarium was nice.

Le Cellier has really degraded over the last few years. More tables, closer together makes it loud and unpleasant. Not a signature experience.

 

[GatorChris]

Tough one. The first time we ate at San Angel in 2002, we thought the food was just terrible (being from California where Mex food is waaayyy better).

BUT, SA got passed up by the Garden Grill back in 2011. When we got there, someone had thrown up so they had an entire section empty and it stunk of vomit and chemicals. While we weren't near that area when we sat down, the smell turned us all off. Next, that place is really really loud. Even by WDW standards. I'm used to fun and loudness at Disney and it doesn't bother me .... but it did at this restaurant. The character interaction certainly wasn't as good as the many other places we've been. And the food was just ho-hum. If not for a few pics with Mickey, the time spent there would've been completely wasted. And you won't see us going back for sure.

 

[Miaka1]

Crystal Palace Dinner. waited 45 mins passed our ADR, but that's ok, I expected it. I didn't care for the food, but the kids thought it was ok, so I could deal. Waiter knocked over 2 glasses of water, ruining our autograph books, and I lost it! Manager was slightly understanding, but the waiter never apologized, and since it was our last day, free blank books was no compensation. I will never go back!

 

[Mousetopia]

Chef Mickey's is reliably gross, but our worst food experience had to be Mickey's Backyard BBQ - save your $$$ folks! The food was disgusting, pretty much inedible. How does one screw up burgers so bad? There were so many completely drunk adults pushing and shoving around the dance floor ( & we're not opposed to having a few drinks!) that it felt sort of dangerous....just an awful experience all around. Wouldn't you think the restaurants (that are expensive by the way) with Mickey's name attached SHOULD be the best all around???

Reliably gross, lol!

 

[Mousetopia]

Over the years I've rarely had bad food...some just ok, but not bad. This last trip I had 3 I was really disappointed in.
1 The WORST was the sausage on a stick in new AK kiosk. Supposed to be curry batter. (I love curry) It was more like sawdust batter and
the sausage had no flavor and it was expensive! This should have been an easy hit!
2 Yak Yeti Dim Sum lunch. Should have researched ahead what is good because it was bad!
3 Morimoto Asia - appetizer greasy fried sticks with a gelled mayo like fishy tasting filling, and sweet/ketchup flavored Pad Thai bleck

 

[DisneyGeekyParadise]

Abc Comissionary...got a personal story with that one. Me and my cousin were visiting and there was a CM who was talking like Stitch, because she was holding a Stitch plush- it was clear she just wanted to eat her food, and was kinda creeped out. Poor thing.

 

[SCDisneyMom]

I wasn't a fan of dinner at Crystal Palace. We waited over an hour past our ADR time and the place was an absolute zoo inside. I felt kind of bad for our server - he seemed very rushed and was pouring sweat every time he stopped by our table. DH and DS decided they didn't find anything on the buffet appealing except the peel-n-eat shrimp. The character interactions were pretty good. We took several pictures with each one and didn't feel like they were ready to rush off to the next table. But overall I wasn't impressed. I've heard good things about breakfast, so we might give that a shot one day.

 

[nicolebridget22]

My husband and I both got food poisoning from Hollywood & Vine one year, and I also got it again from Pinocchio Village Haus. PVH was so bad, and so immediate, I almost ruined my Halloween costume right in the middle of Fantasyland while racing to the bathroom. Sorry to put too fine a point on it...

 

[Huff]

Tough one. The first time we ate at San Angel in 2002, we thought the food was just terrible (being from California where Mex food is waaayyy better).

I'm from AZ and also have some great MX food here. But I find SA one of our favorites. Many go there expecting the typical burritos, chimichangas, tacos, enchiladas etc. Thats not MX. If anything, its Sonoran and often a bland gringo version at that. SA reminds me of some of the meals I've had while visiting MX (Not in Sonora). Have only tried a couple of their dishes so do not know how their other items are.

 

[Huff]

Why hasn't Disney done anything to improve the food quality at DS in all these years? For at least a decade post after post on forums across the internet have talked about mostly bad food at DS. Yet they are still just as bad. Most of what I refer to is at CS but the TS there rank somewhat low. Melrose has improved a bit in recent years IMO. ABC is still just as bad as it was years ago. Worst food at Disney I've ever had.

 

[tcufrog]

By far the worst was Pecos Bill, the Quick Service Mexican restaurant in Frontierland. The food was so bad that it made Taco Bell seem like gourmet food and I always have digestion issues after eating Taco Bell. We don't mind sitting with others at the Biergarten because that's how it is at a lot of biergartens and pubs in Germany that I've been to. I agree that the German food isn't all that great but my kids love the band.

 

[The Notorious RIC]

I've eaten at 142 restaurants on property and can't remember a "bad" experience. I must be just wicked lucky.

 

[MommaOfTwoMice]

Hollywood & Vine dinner... last week. Yuck! And, I'm not real picky, but this was memorably bad. I've seen a few mentions of La Hacienda... last Thursday our food was really good, our server was terrible What a disappointment. We made up for it by visiting some of the fantastic F & G kiosks though.