I love The Plaza Restaurant. Wait, let me rephrase that… I loved the Plaza Restaurant. For many years I have enjoyed a soup, a turkey sandwich and some ice cream on a pretty consistent basis from this Magic Kingdom establishment, beloved for its fairly inexpensive table service options, good sandwiches, and stellar ice cream creations. When a new menu went into effect a few weeks ago, I decided a trip back was necessary to see what had been done to the menu. What I found was pretty disappointing…
Gone is the Turkey Sandwich I’ve enjoyed here most of my life (among other items). Newly added are the Loaded Fries, a Fried Green Tomato Sandwich, and Honey BBQ Beef Brisket Burger.
Plaza Loaded Fries ($8) – Meant to emulate the old Figaro Fries once served at Pinocchio’s Village Haus many years ago, this new representation leaves much to be desired. First off, Plaza changed from thick steak fries to what are essentially the fries found at most Disney counter service locations, which is a bad start. The toppings also didn’t taste fresh. I would’t eat fries at Plaza anymore and I certainly wouldn’t order these again. SCORE: 0 out of 7.
Fried Green Tomato Sandwich ($16) – This too was awful. The counter service version at Hollywood Studios is significantly better than this offering at the Plaza. The bun had no flavor, the tomato itself was way too greasy, to the point where it was slipping out of the breading it was in, and the toppings tasted a bit off. SCORE: 0 out of 7.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($17) – This was more of what I expect from Plaza, solid and satisfying. Nothing crazy about this, but there didn’t need to be. If you are going to get a side with your entree here, stick with the chips for sure. SCORE: 3.5 out of 7.
Honey BBQ Beef Brisket Burger ($19) – This was just OK. The BBQ sauce was just alright, it was honestly no different than getting the BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich from Flame Tree BBQ (which I’m not a big fan of either though) with a burger in it. SCORE: 2 out of 7.
Overall, I was massively disappointed with Plaza Restaurant. This was a place I often visited once a trip and the experience we had food-wise was pretty awful. Our server was amazing, but the cuisine just wasn’t as good as it had been in years past. The change in fries and the new dishes are all changes for the worse, and I honestly would not recommend this place for anything more than dessert anymore. We would have had dessert on this visit, but everyone was pretty uninterested in eating more after getting through the entrees.
The prices are significantly higher than they have ever been and the value just wasn’t there. I would rather spend $10-20 more a person just to eat at a different table service in the park (or even hit a good counter service location like Pecos Bill’s or Tomorrowland Terrace) than eat an entree or appetizer here again. As I said before, this is really a shame because Plaza was often a favorite of mine, and to see the menu tank so rapidly is hard to stomach, almost as hard to stomach as the loaded fries were…
There are still a few valid entree options here, but not enough for me to recommend this restaurant to anyone.
OVERALL RATING FOR PLAZA RESTAURANT – 1.5 OUT OF 7.
We ate there today, will not be going back. Ordered the Loaded Fries, they were cold and hard. Sandwiches were so, so. My sorbet tasted liked it had been in the freezer for months. Very disappointed!
Oh no!!! This is my go to place for lunch at Mk. Have a ADR there for Labor day. Hmmmmm
Another stellar decision by Disney!!
Disappointing to hear. Its been a while since Ive been there and always said that it was a hidden gem. I guess this changes things.
$18 & $19 for a burger? WOW. Prices have gone up since I last looked into this place. What would they charge if all I wanted was a plain burger with a piece of lettuce? $18?
Thats what i was thinking! Lol
I found myself thinking ‘ i cant picture myself paying that much for a burger ‘
Theyre going crazy lol
They could charge $1000 a person for admission and $400 for a burger. There’d STILL be a line. I’d be OK with that actually, it’s just Disney is so bad now, you don’t get 1/100000th of what you pay for. No substance. Cheap. We used to go several times a year. We’re fans of Disney Characters, but a trip to Subway or McDonalds is more enticing than Disney World. Really sad. Someone way up the management chain is missing the boat.
Ditto. We went a couple of weeks ago and were excited to eat there again after really enjoying it last year. It was soooo disappointing. We were especially sad over the change in fries!! Canceled the reservation we had for our next trip and decided to eat elsewhere.
We ate at the Plaza in late June, just before the menu change and the food quality was a severe disappointment. Like many, the Plaza was our “must do” table service at MK. Never again. Our food was not fresh and the service was lack luster. There are so few table service options in MK, it’s really sad to lose this one as an option. We won’t be going back.
The food prices are getting crazy!
I have never enjoyed this restaurant and always thought the space would he better utilized by expanding the ice cream parlor. That said, your alarmist headline is severely misleading. This menu is almost entirely identical to the old one save a couole of tweaks.
Good article, and thanks for the warning. Again, if it costs Disney a penny, it’s going away folks! They couldn’t care any less about guests having a good experience. It just doesn’t matter. The parks are busting at the seams. I think this will bite them in the end. It’s just hard to want to return very much. Maybe that’s their plan. I’m lost.
What did the restaurant manager say when you confronted him/her with your dining experience?
I chose not to, don’t like to complain like that.
That place has stunk for food since 1977 when I first visited. I still remember ordering pasta for lunch and literally getting chef boyardee spaghetti os. Including those nasty tiny meatballs that are in that can. It literally looked llike the can was just dumped in the bowl and heated up. Food at disney is pricey. Try cosmic rays…food has always been good and not that expensive. Not many verygood sit down food choices in MK. Crystal plaza is awful. Be our guest for lunch was just fair on the turkey sandwich.my fries looked like yours above. Just ok. Tony’s town square had good italian food but it wasnt cheap. My advice is to go to a hotel on the monorail for lunch and then go back into the park
I have gone there many times and loved it before thanks for the heads up trying to eat healthy and obviously they don’t seem to care… I won’t be back this year ..but this isn’t the first restaurant to change
and not for the better …Disney just isn’t getting it right when it comes to heathy food options
Agreed. Just the change in fries alone will have us not returning. Food was way overpriced and service was awful. Plaza has always been a must do for us but after last week no more. :(
I had just read another review on a different site, and they enjoyed the new menu. I think it is all in timing and what you are looking for in a meal. They had stellar service and gave high praises for everything but the fries. They said they were trying to emulate the Figaro Fries but were a miss. It is often a matter of personal taste on many levels.
Disney Food Blog? Do they write negative reviews? :)
Can’t wait to try it out.
I wouldn’t be ordering the loaded fries anyway. The new plain ones are fine with me and they still have the cheese steak sandwich which I’ve always enjoyed. I do know how when you have a go to item and it goes off the menu it’s disappointing. Like the croque monsieur at Chefs de France. And years ago Mama Melrose had a very good lasagna. Still wishing that would come back since their other entrees do nothing for me.
Looks great, will be going in 3 weeks and will give it a try.