Tony's let me down

[Pmlocke]

I never thought I would be writing this but here I go. Last Novemebr my wife and I had dinner at Tony's in the Magic Kingdom. We had eaten there several times in the past, always had good food and several times I have even defended them on this site. First of all, we waited twenty minutes past our reservation to be seated in a half full restaurant. Why the wait when there were so many empty tables. We then waited for 10 minutes before our waitress appeared. We gave her our order and some 20 minutes later our food appeared. The lasagna was COLD. Not warm - COLD. The other items on my plate were hot. I called the waitress over and she took the plate, along with my wifes cold food and came back 20 minutes later with cold lasagna. I'm sorry, there is NO reason for that to ever happen. We will never eat at Tony's again and I strongly urge everyone to do the same. I complained at the restaurant, I complained at the visitors center and then I sent a strongly worded letter to Guest Communication Services. There is no reason, for the amount we spend for this food, for it to be served in this manner and unless we complain vigorously, things won't change. I have seen over the years how the standard of quality has slowly decreased while all the time the prices keep going up. I am at a loss as to what can be done to change this. Attendance keeps rising every year so based on that alone, I don't see how changes are to be made. The only way to affect change is to hit them in the cashbox but that won't happen if attendance keeps increasing. Anyone have any ideas out there? How do we get the word to the "Man" that things need to be done regarding the quality of the experiance of Disney World?

 

[goofyintoronto]

I never thought I would be writing this but here I go. Last Novemebr my wife and I had dinner at Tony's in the Magic Kingdom. We had eaten there several times in the past, always had good food and several times I have even defended them on this site. First of all, we waited twenty minutes past our reservation to be seated in a half full restaurant. Why the wait when there were so many empty tables. We then waited for 10 minutes before our waitress appeared. We gave her our order and some 20 minutes later our food appeared. The lasagna was COLD. Not warm - COLD. The other items on my plate were hot. I called the waitress over and she took the plate, along with my wifes cold food and came back 20 minutes later with cold lasagna. I'm sorry, there is NO reason for that to ever happen. We will never eat at Tony's again and I strongly urge everyone to do the same. I complained at the restaurant, I complained at the visitors center and then I sent a strongly worded letter to Guest Communication Services. There is no reason, for the amount we spend for this food, for it to be served in this manner and unless we complain vigorously, things won't change. I have seen over the years how the standard of quality has slowly decreased while all the time the prices keep going up. I am at a loss as to what can be done to change this. Attendance keeps rising every year so based on that alone, I don't see how changes are to be made. The only way to affect change is to hit them in the cashbox but that won't happen if attendance keeps increasing. Anyone have any ideas out there? How do we get the word to the "Man" that things need to be done regarding the quality of the experiance of Disney World?

First off, im not surprised you had a crappy meal. Im sorry you did....and im sorry i did (a few years back)....thats why i've never returned. I wouldn't dare. Second of all, if the lasagna was cold the second time i wouldve sent it back again and walked out. Truly, there's no excuse for that. Its like they dont give a damn anymore. They know people will eat there no matter what, so why bother trying to make the food decent? Know what i mean? Its frustrating!

All we can do is keep complaining I guess. Like I said no matter how bad it is, people will continue to dine there. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that its in a prime location.

 

[AngiTN]

First, I don't equate the quality of what happens at Tony's with what happens in all of WDW
Tony's is awful. Has been for years and years. It does need to change and complaints are the way to make it happen. Clearly, the restaurant was half full tells them something. If it wasn't horrible it would be full. They still took forever to seat you because they have staffing problems too. Probably no one wants to work there. Why would they when no one wants to eat there (ie no tips)?
I suggest going to the places that are good and stop going to the ones that aren't.

 

[SteveH]

I encourage you to post your experience and rates on places like Yelp and others. While it's great on here, very few people go back to search and read reviews I feel. I always take reiviews on Yelp with a grain of salt but when you see numerous complaints you begin to get a clear picture and often management gets that clue too.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I've heard to avoid Tony's. I wonder if some of these complaints happen because they don't have a kitchen directly on the premises, and they are having to share space with another kitchen?

 

[JimmyBean42]

That stinks. We've been lucky with Tony's when we've gone but we haven't been in a few years as we like to try as many new places as possible.

One thing I was not shocked with though is the wait time. And honestly I've had this experience with about 90% of WDW restaurants we've ate at. I've waited at least 15-20 minutes past the reservation time on almost all our reservations and the restaurants have been half empty most of the time (we eat off-hours a lot). And we've waited were the restaurant was half empty and a buffet, which isn't as much waiter/waitress dependent. I've pretty much given up that I'll even be seated by my reservation time. Only exceptions to this were Hoop-Dee-Doo and Mickey's Backyard BBQ.

 

[bluejasmine]

I wonder why a restaurant that steadily gets complaints doesn't get better...

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I wonder why a restaurant that steadily gets complaints doesn't get better...

Well they probably have tried switching out the management and staff a number of times...
But logistically with the constant number of guests, it's hard to make changes while operating.

Which leads me to believe that something logistically has to be wrong, like I suggested above about maybe they share a kitchen??? If food is always being shuttled around in the chafing trays and hot carts, it's going to get cold when it hits the guest's plate eventually. Or maybe the shifts scheduled for this restaurant are just not able to quite make the time margins for the union/CM's? If the very soonest that a server can hustle there after their other shift takes ten minutes, and the hostess is seating people as they come, there's going to be late service on the whole...

And let's not start me on the hit or miss that is food service Italian food...

 

[goofyintoronto]

I wonder why a restaurant that steadily gets complaints doesn't get better...

Thats a very good question. I honestly believe they get away with it because THEY CAN. People continue to eat there...so why change it? That location has so much potential. They could do soooo many great things. Heck, i'd be happy even if they turned that location into a QS!!! Anything but Tony's.

 

[Elle23]

I joked on here before our trip that I wanted to try Tony’s to see if it was really as bad as people claimed.

We didn’t really plan on eating there, but had a last minute park change and the only ADR availabile was Tony’s.

It was bad. I won’t be going back. I ordered the chicken fettuccine alfredo. The pasta and sauce was tasteless, and it was served with an old, tough piece of chicken on top that they couldn’t even bother to slice. I couldn’t even really cut it with the knife they gave me, so I gave up and ate around it (it was gross...I wasn’t missing anything).

So now I can officially join the “I hate Tony’s” club. I feel so special.

 

[ShadeDK]

Did the chef and maître d' at least come out and sing a song tableside while you and your wife ate to keep the Tony's theme consistent?

Oh, this is the night
It's a beautiful night
When we serve you cold lasagna
Look at your plate
That's ice you just ate
Which we call our cold lasagna

Sorry for the bad experience - Tony's is way down the list at MK for me (and I'd usually rather just brave QS). I figure that they assume they have a captive clientele and can fill the space no matter what - although the fact that reservations are fairly easy to get there speaks volumes. Other than Skipper Canteen, I'm generally fine with skipping most of the TS restaurants in MK - but Tony's marks the end of the spectrum.

 

[Action City]

I made a comment walking into MK (while smelling Tony's) that is smells better than it tastes. A couple in front of us laughed, turned around and said "you're right, it does smell better than it tastes".

 

[rebelbuddhist]

Seems many people forget that an ADR isn't like many reservations. It simply means that at the ADR time you are on a list for the next available table for your party size.... so it could be a few minutes. we always arrive about 10 minutes early and expect a 10-20 minute wait for a table.
As to Tony's I know that most people complain about the quality of service and the food. We have never had any problems. Tony's is not a fine dining/signature restaurant so expectations should be for that. If any problems happen, I address the issue immediately with the wait person and the manager. Insisting the problem be addressed at the time it happens has always worked for us. By the way, issues happen at other restaurants at WDW. It took several attempts before we got food prepared as we requested (steak medium rather than rare) both at Citricos and Brown Derby during our last trip. if I get cold food I keep sending it back until it is served properly. I also have refused a returned plate that has just been warmed up so the plate is hot but the food isn't. I find being adamant and not accepting anything but the quality of food that should be expected is the best way to solve the problem. As for service, tipping helps solve that issue.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Seems many people forget that an ADR isn't like many reservations. It simply means that at the ADR time you are on a list for the next available table for your party size.... so it could be a few minutes. we always arrive about 10 minutes early and expect a 10-20 minute wait for a table.
As to Tony's I know that most people complain about the quality of service and the food. We have never had any problems. Tony's is not a fine dining/signature restaurant so expectations should be for that. If any problems happen, I address the issue immediately with the wait person and the manager. Insisting the problem be addressed at the time it happens has always worked for us. By the way, issues happen at other restaurants at WDW. It took several attempts before we got food prepared as we requested (steak medium rather than rare) both at Citricos and Brown Derby during our last trip. if I get cold food I keep sending it back until it is served properly. I also have refused a returned plate that has just been warmed up so the plate is hot but the food isn't. I find being adamant and not accepting anything but the quality of food that should be expected is the best way to solve the problem. As for service, tipping helps solve that issue.

I wont speak for the rest of the folks on this thread, but I can assure you that I DO NOT expect signature quality food here. I expected my food at Tony's to be EDIBLE. It was not edible. The tomato sauce tasted like it came straight out of a can (not a jar). And yes it was that bad, very acidic.

Watch this review. They hit the nail on the head with this one. I agree with everything that was said here. Review begins at 49:23.

 

[wdw&sonny]

I think a large part of the "success" of Tony's is yet another anomaly attributable to the fact that us folks on these boards are in the minority. We know what to do and what not to do. What restaurants are usually good and which ones are not usually good. Similar to how there are often thread on how many people we observe who are not familiar with FP system. Many people do not make ADRs. When at the park and hungry they are often faced with long CS lines and very content to be able to go to a TS restaurant, sit down, escape the heat and eat something other than burgers and fries. The food quality at Tony's is similar to food court Italian. if they aren't expecting anything better, they have no complaints.

 

[JimmyBean42]

I think a large part of the "success" of Tony's is yet another anomaly attributable to the fact that us folks on these boards are in the minority. We know what to do and what not to do. What restaurants are usually good and which ones are not usually good. Similar to how there are often thread on how many people we observe who are not familiar with FP system. Many people do not make ADRs. When at the park and hungry they are often faced with long CS lines and very content to be able to go to a TS restaurant, sit down, escape the heat and eat something other than burgers and fries. The food quality at Tony's is similar to food court Italian. if they aren't expecting anything better, they have no complaints.

Could not agree with you more. In the past two weeks I've had co-workers who are going to WDW for the first time and are asking all sorts of questions that to me are second-nature (or I'm thinking "Did you do any research?"). So I'd sit with them over coffee or lunch and go over some quick pointers. A lot of people who don't go ever or frequently think things like "Tony's menu seems great and it's in MK so why not? I don't have to leave the park" or "We didn't book any FastPasses, we figure we'll just wing it and get on what we can (when it's Christmas week!)". But if they don't have unrealistic expectations for their experiences, then it may be okay for them. Although a lot of feedback I get from the "non planners" is of course, not great. More "how do you go there so much, you can't do anything / get reservations anywhere".

 

[Haley R]

We went to Tony's last year. We were at MK and about to leave the park for an afternoon break, but decided to eat at Tony's instead. We didn't even have a reservation and were sat after about 15-20 minutes (we even got to sit out on the patio without asking). I think you have to have the right mind set going into a place like that. We knew it wasn't going to be gourmet, and it definitely wasn't, but none of our food was inedible. I actually really liked the bread they gave us before the meal. It helped a lot that we were able to eat outside and watch the end of the parade. The only big complaint I had was the wait for the bathroom. By the time I went to the bathroom and back our food had been delivered and my spaghetti was cold. That's not any fault to the cooks or waiters and they were more than willing to heat it up for me. I don't think I would eat there again, but it wasn't a bad experience.

 

[Elle23]

I think you have to have the right mind set going into a place like that. We knew it wasn't going to be gourmet, and it definitely wasn't, but none of our food was inedible.

I see this sentiment often, that we are supposed to go in with low expectations and have the mindset that it’s not gourmet, ect.

Why should I go in expecting anything but a great meal with great food, especially at Disney and especially for the exorbitant cost?

I think for the thousands of dollars we drop on these “all inclusive” trips, that we should expect greatness, not mediocrity.

 

[Haley R]

I see this sentiment often, that we are supposed to go in with low expectations and have the mindset that it’s not gourmet, ect.

Why should I go in expecting anything but a great meal with great food, especially at Disney and especially for the exorbitant cost?

I think for the thousands of dollars we drop on these “all inclusive” trips, that we should expect greatness, not mediocrity.

I honestly just expect that from most restaurants at mk. It shouldn’t be that way but it is. I’ve never had a fantastic meal at mk. However, we loved our meal at nine dragons in Epcot and our meal at beaches and cream.

 

[Elle23]

I honestly just expect that from most restaurants at mk. It shouldn’t be that way but it is. I’ve never had a fantastic meal at mk. However, we loved our meal at nine dragons in Epcot and our meal at beaches and cream.

I know, and that wasn’t against you personally. I was responding to the common sentiment that I read.

I just thinks it’s sad is all. I don’t want to pay thousands of dollars for mediocrity, and that is what I honestly got on our last trip. Over and over. And it wasn’t just the food and service at restaurants, but a lot of it was.