Carnation Cafe Disappoints

[cabozone]

One of my wife's favorite places to go in Disneyland is the Carnation Cafe. Recently they have expanded the area to include some indoor seating. I was skeptical that they would ruin the atmosphere of the niche location. Little did I know how my fears would be realized.

This morning we took a trip to see the new Cars Land, afterwards we headed over to the Carnation Cafe. Where shall I start, hmmm. It took longer that I thought it should considering there ware many empty tables and many staff members standing around. Next, the service was terrible, we got food before we even got our drinks and had to ask a passing by cast member to get them instead of our assigned wait person. Lastly and most importantly, this was the most horrible food at the Cafe we have ever had. The items on the menu were named the same but were considerably different We ordered the Oscar breakfast, my wife being vegetarian substituted fruit for the bacon. Her plate came out without potatoes and my potatoes were half burnt and half runny. The eggs were direct from military surplus, powdered and tasteless. What once was a croissant that came with the meal is now a stale hard biscuit.

We will never return to the Carnation Cafe. I cannot recommend it to anyone for any reason. We would have liked to have had a wonderful last experience at the Cafe as we are not renewing our PAP's due to the price skyrocketing. If someone has had a better experience since the re-opening I would love to know about it.

Tom
www.cabozone.com

[bennette]

You might be interested in this thread. People start to comment on their experiences about halfway down.

[cabozone]

Thanks, in some ways I am glad its not just me that was disappointed, but on the other hand I am sad the quality did not make it through the remodel.

On the other side, We did totally enjoy the Radiator Springs Racers!!

[tea4two]

Did you leave a comment at City Hall about your disappointing meal? If not, you might want to send an email to them (be as specific as you can about the date, time, and what exactly went wrong). If they get enough feedback about Carnation Cafe, things may change. If they don't hear about this, then we know nothing will change.

[spectromen]

This is really disappointing. Most remodels going on in the culinary dept. as of late have resulted in great improvements.

[Escape2Disney]

Thanks for posting your experience. Carnation Cafe used to be a favorite of ours, but the new menu looks less than inspiring. I think we'll go with our first impression of the changes and go to different restaurants.

[dban3]

Some things should just be left alone. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the old Carnation Cafe menu. Whether, breakfast or lunch, everyone had their favorites and now many of those favorites have been removed. The old Carnation Cafe had a bustling good time vibe. Now it's ..... gone.

[thedisneylandreport]

I too had a similarly disappointing experience at carnation cafe. Our food was good, but the service was...bizarre. And not in a funny or interesting way. Bizarre because the behavior was strange and because it was just so un-Disney.

[ClemonsFamily]

Well I'm sorry to hear about this disappointing remodel and food/menu change for the worst. We have always enjoyed Oscar and the staff while eating some sweet tasting food. I think the #1 thing that has led to all of the changes is Oscar is no longer running the show in the kitchen. He is retired and so has the service/food. Our family will no longer eat at the cafe as we can see what affects the retirement and change in menu/food has done to a great treasure at the park.

"Listen up Disneyland!!"

[wabby1]

We are scheduled to be in the park from September 21 - 23rd. We have a reservation for 12 at Carnation Cafe for breakfast on Sunday morning the 23rd. Based on the reviews I'm reading, I think we'll go ahead and cancel. Besides, CC took away the eggs benedict, which was my favorite of their breakfasts.

I'd be curious as to how Guest Services will respond to the continued complaints. What's sad is that this is Chef Oscar's legacy....I'd hate to see him finish his career with so many complaints since the remodel/expansion.

[DwarfPlanet]

Some things should just be left alone. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the old Carnation Cafe menu. Whether, breakfast or lunch, everyone had their favorites and now many of those favorites have been removed. The old Carnation Cafe had a bustling good time vibe. Now it's ..... gone.

Ditto my thoughts exactly. They needed more dining area but should have left the menu alone.

[disneyochem]

I was also disappointed by the changes in the menu, but I've eaten there a couple of times this summer and have had great service and food. We absolutely LOVE the deep-fried dill pickles!!!! Yummy. We still get the baked potato soup but missed the half sandwich combo. Now, we get the pickles, split a hamburger and have the soup. Not the same but we have enjoyed it.

Haven't had breakfast there yet.

Oscar was still there in July--spoke to him a couple of times. He told me that the service was a little off because DL had to transfer so many people over to the cafe because of the expanded space. Oscar said that it's taking a bit longer to get everyone up to speed on the service. One time the hostess tried to seat me inside--I requested an outside table and was told that it wasn't available (even though there were many open tables). I just asked to talk to a supervisor--was seated outside.

[Neverland Princess]

I was bummed to look at carnation cafe's page today and see they have a new menu and got rid of the baby croissant with the Oscar scramble and changed the bacon. My question is. With the meal sounding now like one you can get for a $1-$2 cheaper at other dinig locations in the park, is it still worth it to go to carnation? Are the croissants completely gone or can I get them subbed for the biscuit.?

[stan4d_steph]

I was bummed to look at carnation cafe's page today and see they have a new menu and got rid of the baby croissant with the Oscar scramble and changed the bacon. My question is. With the meal sounding now like one you can get for a $1-$2 cheaper at other dinig locations in the park, is it still worth it to go to carnation? Are the croissants completely gone or can I get them subbed for the biscuit.?

I merged your thread with another recent thread on the same topic. See above for replies.

[Malcon10t]

While the biscuit isn't as good as the croissant, and I still like the Oscar, I actually loved the pancakes they added with apples and granola.

[GrumpyGoofyGuy]

While the biscuit isn't as good as the croissant, and I still like the Oscar, I actually loved the pancakes they added with apples and granola.

Those pancakes were on the menu before. My wife has been getting the for the last 2-3 years. I'm really disappointed they dropped the croissant benedict.