3 Disney World Restaurants We're Getting Worried About

We eat at Disney World restaurants all the time. In fact, between everyone on the team, we’ve eaten at every Disney World restaurant AT LEAST once, and that’s not an easy feat!

However, we’ll be the first to admit that there are some Disney World restaurants that just aren’t made at the same level as others. Not all quick service restaurants are built the same, and neither are all table service restaurants, and oftentimes it has nothing to do with their price point. We often go back to visit Disney World restaurants numerous times to revisit our opinions of them (as menus and quality can change), we have to admit that we’re getting really worried about these three spots.

‘Ohana

Cue the startled gasps — we know, we’re shocked too! We’ve loved ‘Ohana for years (especially those ‘Ohana Noodles? We can’t get enough), especially the character dining at breakfast. Both breakfast and dinner are all-you-care-to-enjoy family-style meals, which means while it’s not a buffet per se, you can ask for more of whatever you’d like.

However, we’ve read through a lot of your recent reviews, and we’re worried the quality of this restaurant is going downhill. A review from AllEars reader KateK1986 about the breakfast meal here reads,

“We had high expectations going in because we had heard so many great things about it. We were seated at a round table shoved in between a long rectangle table and a big pole with minimal view out the window. The breakfast bread and POG juice they brought to the table right away were both amazing. Unfortunately our service was just okay. She brought us more food when we asked for it, but she didn’t offer us the special drinks menu, didn’t check in with us frequently, made us feel rushed through our meal and just didn’t bring that typical Disney magical service that we’ve come to expect and appreciate.“

The dinner at ‘Ohana though seems to be where people are really noticing a big difference. A review from an Anonymous AllEars reader said the following about their meal from last year,

“As a party of 2, we were seated at a small table along the wall and were basically forgotten about. The server kept apologizing but never made things right. The salad and bread were good. The skillet of appetizers were fair. But we had finished it,and no meat had been served. Once the waitress realized she forgot us again, she finally brought over two bowls of saucy meat. The chicken skin was rubbery and the steak was burnt. I miss the days of the skewer delivery. I was looking forward to dessert but the poor service really put a damper on the dining experience. Too bad because it used to be a great place to eat.”

Now, we will admit though that both of these reviews are more dated, so is it possible the restaurant has turned itself around in the past year? Well, we visited ‘Ohana recently for their dinner service, and while we didn’t have many big issues on our visit, we recognize that when you’re paying for ‘Ohana, you’re paying more for the atmosphere, the all-you-care-to-enjoy menu, and the sit-down service, and we’ve found some of the food to be lackluster. The meat especially doesn’t seem high quality enough to make it worth the massive price increase when you compare it to somewhere like Sebastian’s Bistro.

What did really surprise us was seeing more comments from you all telling us about your recent experiences. User @vunguy3n shared that they, “were stuck in the back by the entrance/bar (no where near a window) and ignored for most of the night. We had to keep stopping servers as they walk by to bring us more food – never once did they come by to ask once they dropped off the initial servings.” That’s not the only example of poor service though, as viewer @brian_serowinski7532 shared that he experienced “cold food & dismissive wait staff. We politely asked for different food and it was lukewarm. Sorry to say, it was good years ago, but there is much better food on property for a lower price.”

If you want to grab some of those iconic dinner items without a reservation, we recommend heading over to Tambu Lounge, which is right next door! Here you’ll find some ‘Ohana menu staples without the all-you-care-to-enjoy price, like the ‘Ohana Noodles, Honey-Coriander Chicken Wings, and Kaikane’s Barbecued Pork Ribs.

Chef Mickey’s

While some of you may feel shocked to find this restaurant on this list, many people who have dined here only once know why it’s here. Chef Mickey’s is a buffet-style restaurant inside Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and if you’ve walked by the restaurant, you likely know one thing already — it’s LOUD here.

However, something we’ve experienced pretty much every trip here, other than how loud it is, is that the experience here is just lackluster for the price. Again, you’re paying for all the different choices at the buffet, the character interaction, and the proximity to Magic Kingdom, but is the food here really worth the steep cost? But have our readers experienced the same? An Anonymous reader from early in 2024 left a review on our site that said,

“Chef Mickeys was a huge let down, the food is good (a few dishes even great!), the cast members were the best part, great photopass location at the front of the restaurants.
However, the location is dingy, it’s sooo loud, chaotic, and it just feels \”cheap\”. Would never recommend this location.”

There are three different meal times offered here — breakfast, brunch, and dinner, and reservations are also the hardest to get in that order. Breakfast is the highest rated amongst our readers, with brunch in second place, and dinner at the bottom. So, when it comes to dinner, why is this spot rated so low, BUT why do people continue to go back? Well, we think reader PhilipM put it really well:

“Let’s be honest, we didn’t book this one for the food, we booked for the Fab 5! Food isn’t out of this world, but there are plenty of options for everyone. This is not a cheap option, but watching my girl have the time of her life made it worth every single cent.”

On our most recent trip, this is what we experienced as well. The food isn’t out of this world, and we’re not sure it ever really will be. It’s decent, there are lots of options for all three meal times so everyone can find something to eat, but you’re paying for the magical character experience. Not to mention, after your meal, you can hop on the monorail and be back in Magic Kingdom in just a few short minutes (or, get to Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary for your meal in the same amount of time). It’s convenient, kiddos love it, and for that, we love it for what it is, but NEVER go here expecting an out-of-this-world meal.

If you’re looking for another character meal in Disney World that’s great when it comes to food and character experiences, we highly recommend Garden Grill in EPCOT, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in EPCOT, as well as Topolino’s Terrace at Disney’s Riviera Resort.

REVIEW: We’re Back at Chef Mickey’s in Disney World…And We Still Don’t LOVE It

Hollywood Brown Derby

We are JUST as shocked about this one as you are, but hear us out! For years, this has been one of, if not the best, table service dining meal in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and while it’s been a hot second since we’ve been back (March 2025, to be specific), we haven’t faced any massive issues here. However, we couldn’t ignore the multiple reviews we saw pop up on our website — perhaps something isn’t quite right at this spot.

The most recent review on our site comes from reader mkymouse4ever, and it’s from mid-October 2025, which is just a few days old at the time of writing. Here’s what they had to say,

“We have always been a big fan of here. and usually visit it more then once, a trip. But, we are sadly taking this totally off our list. Had a terrible experience here. From our CM waiter to the food. I ordered the pork chop and I’ve cooked and seen many pork chops before but, I would not of recognized this as one?? It was round with a ring of fat about 1 1/2 inches around the entire circle. Trying to cut through that was a workout. Thinking this must be something special for the interesting presentation I was wrong the inside was a serious red to pink. Never been served a not cooked piece of pork before? The only thing worse was watching our waiter talk up another waitress at the lil bar for the next half hour > so asking for a refire or something else was off the table. By time he came we just wanted to leave. We did talk to the manager > but I told her I wasn’t asking for anything just they need to start cooking the pork properly or people are going to get sick. By far the total worse experience ever at WDW restaurants.”

Well that certainly doesn’t sound good! Fortunately, that’s the only recent negative review we’ve received from our readers on this spot, but as it’s so recent, it does raise some concerns for us. This is a restaurant that many members of our team treat themselves to on their vacations, and save up especially for it, so we’ll be devastated if this restaurant starts to go downhill.

Famous Cobb Salad and a Grapefruit Cake Martini

Jazzy Holidays at The Hollywood Brown Derby is returning to Jollywood Nights this year, and last year, we had an overall great experience here, so we’re curious to try it out again and see if anything may have changed. We’ll certainly be trying out any new items here to see if we run into similar issues as this reviewer did. In the meantime, we’re not advising you NOT to eat here, but perhaps exercise a bit of caution — it’s completely possible this was just a one-off and you won’t face issues like this on your reservation here, but there’s no way to know for sure until we see some additional reviews come in, and we return to try it ourselves.

REVIEW: Come With Us to Try 4 NEW Menu Items at This Iconic Hollywood Studios Restaurant!

We’re here to bring you all the latest Disney World news, and that includes updated reviews of some of the hottest (as well as the most underrated) restaurants, so stay tuned to AllEars!