tiggerrulz
Time to quit lurking and start posting......
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2008
First, let me start by saying, I get the Disney magic. My family has been going since my kids were little they are now 21 and 20 and my wife has been going since she was little.
Normally my Disney vacations are a relaxing time, where I enjoy the variety the parks have to offer. I live to eat, not eat to live, so the consumption of food plays a role in any of my vacations
This last trip to Disney was disappointing for a variety of reasons and it shouldnt have been. The sun was shining, the crowds were light, and it should have been an exceptional trip.
In no particular order, here are the issues I had with food service at Disney.
Main Street Bakery enough has been written here about the demise of the Bakery, to be replaced by Starbucks, so I will not add my two cents, other then to say great I guess for those that drink coffee, not so much for the rest of us. I was glad to hear that the Cinnamon rolls would still be available at Gastons in the new Fantasyland expansion. Unfortunately, they must be cooking them in the same ovens and then transporting them to Gastons, as they got cold along the way and all the ooey gooey icing dripped off .
So on to our second attempt for a worthy morning snack at the Magic Kingdom beignets at the Tomorrowland Terrace. Now I have had beignets at Café du Monde in New Orleans, and even at Downtown Disney in Disneyland to call these beginets is an insult to real beignets everywhere beignets are not, repeat not, hollow!
A trip to Downtown Disney is never complete without a stop at Goofys to get my favourite caramel brownie now no longer there. In its place, a two bite brownie like the kind you can get at any grocery story, covered with chocolate Mickey Ears I guess that was supposed to be enough to make you forget how bad the brownie inside was. Dry to the point of being inedible, and if the mint one had any mint in it it had long ago evaporated.
At Hollywood Studios, a visit never used to be complete without a stop at Starring Rolls for a turnover. To my horror, they have put Craisins! in their apple turnovers. I know I may be in the minority, but craisins, or raisins, are a terrible thing to do to pastries.
Luckily we had read about the change to a single menu at Le Cellier, so decided to look at the menu to decide if we wanted to keep our reservation. I must say, to this point I had defended the menu changes at Disney, while at the same time longing for the variety we used to get pre-DDP. Le Cellier is now a huge disappointment, and I must say that we are getting fed up with the dumbing down and homogenization of menus in the name of supporting the DDPs, in all their iterations. I remain hopeful that Disney will wake up and realize that not everyone wants to eat on the DDP, and those of us that prefer to pay OOP for our meals, would actually like to have a variety and quality commensurate with the money we are being asked to pay. I am not against paying for a good meal, as long as I feel I am getting value for my money I can no longer say that at many Disney restaurants.
The Be Our Guest Restaurant is visually stunning, but I dont think they realized how popular it would be we spent 40 minutes waiting in line at 11am. I shudder to think what the lines will be like in the summer .. The food was good, and the whole blend of counter/table service is interesting. The three dining rooms are well laid out, but I am not sure having people seat themselves is the most efficient use of what is clearly a hot commodity we saw a couple of tables of 6 where only 3 people were sitting for example.
We had an excellent lunch at the Captains Grille at the Yacht and Beach Club thank you to our server Brandi W. And our standard go to places, like The Liberty Tree Tavern, Raglan Road, Nine Dragons and The Big River Brewing Company, delivered their usual excellent food.
Thus endeth the rant, and my latest trip to The Happiest Place on Earth.
Normally my Disney vacations are a relaxing time, where I enjoy the variety the parks have to offer. I live to eat, not eat to live, so the consumption of food plays a role in any of my vacations
This last trip to Disney was disappointing for a variety of reasons and it shouldnt have been. The sun was shining, the crowds were light, and it should have been an exceptional trip.
In no particular order, here are the issues I had with food service at Disney.
Main Street Bakery enough has been written here about the demise of the Bakery, to be replaced by Starbucks, so I will not add my two cents, other then to say great I guess for those that drink coffee, not so much for the rest of us. I was glad to hear that the Cinnamon rolls would still be available at Gastons in the new Fantasyland expansion. Unfortunately, they must be cooking them in the same ovens and then transporting them to Gastons, as they got cold along the way and all the ooey gooey icing dripped off .
So on to our second attempt for a worthy morning snack at the Magic Kingdom beignets at the Tomorrowland Terrace. Now I have had beignets at Café du Monde in New Orleans, and even at Downtown Disney in Disneyland to call these beginets is an insult to real beignets everywhere beignets are not, repeat not, hollow!
A trip to Downtown Disney is never complete without a stop at Goofys to get my favourite caramel brownie now no longer there. In its place, a two bite brownie like the kind you can get at any grocery story, covered with chocolate Mickey Ears I guess that was supposed to be enough to make you forget how bad the brownie inside was. Dry to the point of being inedible, and if the mint one had any mint in it it had long ago evaporated.
At Hollywood Studios, a visit never used to be complete without a stop at Starring Rolls for a turnover. To my horror, they have put Craisins! in their apple turnovers. I know I may be in the minority, but craisins, or raisins, are a terrible thing to do to pastries.
Luckily we had read about the change to a single menu at Le Cellier, so decided to look at the menu to decide if we wanted to keep our reservation. I must say, to this point I had defended the menu changes at Disney, while at the same time longing for the variety we used to get pre-DDP. Le Cellier is now a huge disappointment, and I must say that we are getting fed up with the dumbing down and homogenization of menus in the name of supporting the DDPs, in all their iterations. I remain hopeful that Disney will wake up and realize that not everyone wants to eat on the DDP, and those of us that prefer to pay OOP for our meals, would actually like to have a variety and quality commensurate with the money we are being asked to pay. I am not against paying for a good meal, as long as I feel I am getting value for my money I can no longer say that at many Disney restaurants.
The Be Our Guest Restaurant is visually stunning, but I dont think they realized how popular it would be we spent 40 minutes waiting in line at 11am. I shudder to think what the lines will be like in the summer .. The food was good, and the whole blend of counter/table service is interesting. The three dining rooms are well laid out, but I am not sure having people seat themselves is the most efficient use of what is clearly a hot commodity we saw a couple of tables of 6 where only 3 people were sitting for example.
We had an excellent lunch at the Captains Grille at the Yacht and Beach Club thank you to our server Brandi W. And our standard go to places, like The Liberty Tree Tavern, Raglan Road, Nine Dragons and The Big River Brewing Company, delivered their usual excellent food.
Thus endeth the rant, and my latest trip to The Happiest Place on Earth.
