Reviews of Tony's Town Square Restaurant

[Chrissy31886]

Has any1 ever eatan at Tony's Town Square Restaurant in Magic Kingdom? I'm thinking of making reservations for my birthday...but I wanted to make sure its worth it I know the atmosphere is adorable, is the food good?

[pinkrenata]

I just ate there the other day, actually. Unfortunately, my traveling comrade and I were in a bit of a hurry since the meal took place on our last evening at the parks and we wanted to get out and enjoy Magic Kingdom all we could in the limited time available. Not to mention the meal was entirely free (thanks to the Disney Dining offer that came with our hotel and parks package at no extra charge), so we didn't need to feel guilty about rushing through what otherwise would have been an expensive meal. That said, I did like the food. But if you're looking for an even better Italian restaurant, I would be more apt to recommend Mama Melrose's at MGM Studios.

[slave2moonlight]

Is this place made to look like the one in Lady and the Tramp? Sounds awesome! Italian is easily my favorite food. I haven't been to the place at MGM, but I ate at the one in EPCOT once. The food was good (average), but the staff were pretty rude to us, I guess because we were two college guys.

[Escapay]

Is this place made to look like the one in Lady and the Tramp?

Despite passing it nearly every day this summer and most of last year, I've never eaten inside, but I think it's "Tony's Town Square" in name only considering the fact that we never *saw* the interior in Lady and the Tramp, and the exterior is nothing like the movie.

I ate at the one in EPCOT once. The food was good (average), but the staff were pretty rude to us, I guess because we were two college guys.

A Disney castmember...rude?!? Inconceivable!

Escapay

[pinkrenata]

I also ate at the Italy restaurant on my trip (once again thanks to that marvelous dining plan), and our waitress wasn't exactly rude, but we had some trouble understanding her, given that she was Italian. She also had different mannerisms so we weren't sure how to take some things she said, so your problem might have been more of a language/cultural barrier than politeness.

[slave2moonlight]

Ha, it'd be nice if it was just a language problem. Nah, they were acting a little like we weren't mature enough to eat there (and no, we weren't acting like goofballs, not there anyway), even so much as to tell us we needed to leave a tip and how much it should be as they seated us. We took that as pretty insulting. Maybe they didn't think two college kids could afford to eat there, I don't know. Ha, we were college freshman and had worked a year at a pizza buffet place just to save up and take that trip. And my friend isn't even a hardcore Disney fan, just a casual sort of fan.

Ha, another rude Disney employee I have never forgotten was from when I was around 14 and was riding the speedway. You know at the end, when you're not supposed to put your foot on the gas. My foot accidentally slipped and some college kid working there chewed me out big time. Man, that guy ticked me off and I never rode that ride again (but mainly because I think it's a crappy ride, I mean, I can drive a real car....).

Anyway, I really need to start looking into those package deals, especially if they include free meals like that. We probably could have saved a lot of money and had a lot more fun over the years. My parents hate eating in the parks because of the prices, and when we do, it's the cheapest stuff. Only on the trips I took with my friend have I ever eaten in the REAL Disney World restaurants. Well, and once with my sister at MGM (I forget the name of the place, but the one that is styled like a 50's kitchen, where the waitresses treat you like kids. That was fun!).

[Escapay]

Ha, another rude Disney employee I have never forgotten was from when I was around 14 and was riding the speedway. You know at the end, when you're not supposed to put your foot on the gas. My foot accidentally slipped and some college kid working there chewed me out big time. Man, that guy ticked me off and I never rode that ride again

Well you gotta keep in mind that castmembers (castmembers, not employees!) deal with guests doing the wrong things every day, and whether or not putting the foot on the gas was intentional, you probably were the unlucky one that caused him to "crack" and yell. It's happened to me a couple times at my Adventureland Nut Wagon and I just have to remind myself that just because it happens to me 100s of times a day, it may be the first time a guest is in the park, and we don't want to ruin it by yelling at them (unless we need them to get out of the way of a moving 1000-pound drink wagon).

Example: A castmember continually has to tell guests not to take ice out of his drink wagon because 1. it's dirty, and 2. he needs the ice to keep his drinks cold. So, he'll start the day, and it's a hot one, and immediately guests ask for ice. He'll politely tell them no, it's for health and safety reasons. Throughout the day, every guest he comes to will ask for ice, and he'll have to tell them no. Then, by the end of the day, this castmember is ready to go home. All he needs to do is close up his wagon and have a stocker help him push it backstage. Right before they close, however, a guest comes up and asks "Hey, can we get some ice to cool us down?!?". Now, the guest may be overtly friendly or overtly rude. It won't matter to the castmember. He's had ENOUGH of guests asking for ice, so rather than politely saying, "No, sorry", he might yell at the guest "NO, SIR, WE CANNOT GIVE OUT THE ICE, IT'S DIRTY AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET SICK, OKAY?!?".

Replace ice with guests accidentally pushing the gas pedal at the end, and you've got your speedway castmember.

Well, and once with my sister at MGM (I forget the name of the place, but the one that is styled like a 50's kitchen, where the waitresses treat you like kids. That was fun!).

The 50s PrimeTime Cafe. Love that place, ate there three times, but it's mostly for the atmosphere as the food isn't too great.

Escapay

[crunkcourt]

I ate here in June for the first time and years and was very impressed. For one it's not overpriced; we were treated very well; and it was fairly quick service for a sit down restaurant. I thought the food was some of the best I've had in Disney World as well. The atmosphere is hard to beat; with a Lady and Tramp theme and situated near the entrance of the park, it makes for a great spot to relax for a little while and people watch.

[slave2moonlight]

Well you gotta keep in mind that castmembers (castmembers, not employees!) deal with guests doing the wrong things every day, and whether or not putting the foot on the gas was intentional, you probably were the unlucky one that caused him to "crack" and yell. It's happened to me a couple times at my Adventureland Nut Wagon and I just have to remind myself that just because it happens to me 100s of times a day, it may be the first time a guest is in the park, and we don't want to ruin it by yelling at them (unless we need them to get out of the way of a moving 1000-pound drink wagon).

Well, and once with my sister at MGM (I forget the name of the place, but the one that is styled like a 50's kitchen, where the waitresses treat you like kids. That was fun!).

The 50s PrimeTime Cafe. Love that place, ate there three times, but it's mostly for the atmosphere as the food isn't too great.

Escapay

Ha, I worked at the Disney store for a while and have known about the title forever, but I still am not used to saying "Cast Member." They still treat you like an "employee," ha.

Yeah, that's the place, and it was some great atmosphere. That's probably the only indoor place I've eaten at in Disney-MGM-Studios. The food was fine, but it was just chili fries, ha. As I said, my folks aren't into eating within the parks because it's pricey, but my little sis and I wanted to so we went there and got something cheap. It was purely for the experience.

[Chrissy31886]

Thanks! As a BIG Lady and the Tramp fan I think I'm going to give it a try. I'll let everyone know how my experiences is, of course thats 6 moths from now, I'm a planner..lol

[Kram Nebuer]

Ha, another rude Disney employee I have never forgotten was from when I was around 14 and was riding the speedway. You know at the end, when you're not supposed to put your foot on the gas. My foot accidentally slipped and some college kid working there chewed me out big time. Man, that guy ticked me off and I never rode that ride again (but mainly because I think it's a crappy ride, I mean, I can drive a real car....).

Haha, Jane(1st of the NJ Trilogy) worked there and she hated that people "bumped" when they've been told A MILLION TIMES not to. The castmember probably thought you were another moron not following directions and cracked. They hate when people try to bump. Also, one has to remember they're probably the only cast members who stay in the hot sun AND work around endless smog AND work around guests who have more control over the ride than usual.

But yeah, I've read some mixed reviews about Tony's Town Square Restaurant. If you're looking for a nice quiet, Italian dinner, you definitely won't find it here.

[slave2moonlight]

I was going to mention my other Disney dining experiences last night, but had to go out. Not sure, but I don't think I've posted them on this site yet. Hard to remember. Anyways, as I said, I've eaten at the 50s Primetime TV Cafe and the fancy restaurant in EPCOT's Italy pavilion. Well, besides that, I've eaten at the Coral Reef restaurant (I think that's the name) at the Living Seas. Because it was just me and a friend, we got a great seat right by the aquarium. I give this place lots of points for the atmosphere, but I gotta say that I didn't like the food. Of course, I could only afford the special of the day, ha. Not sure what it was. It was like a soup with different kinds of fish in it. I would definitely eat there again for the great atmosphere though. Then again, I'd probably go back to the Italian restaurant too, because I just love Italian food. Let's see, I think the only other place I've eaten in EPCOT is the one my family always eats at, the place in the America section where they sell stuff like burgers and chicken strips. When I'm on a trip with my parents, that's usually the daily meal if we eat within the parks, which we've decided we have no choice but to do. We like to spend all day in the parks. We only spend one day in each park, so those of us who are really into the whole Disney thing (myself and my sister, and my mom since she wants to get her money's worth) like to go early and stay till closing. We do tend to revisit Magic Kingdom on a final, extra day though. Anyway, let's see, in MGM I know we've eaten at some outdoor place too. Don't recall if I've eaten at Pizza Planet, but maybe... Probably did when I went with my best friend, whom I've taken two Disney World trips with. A place I always hit with my friend in the Magic Kingdom is Pecos Bill's (hope it's still there), where we do the burger thing. It's a Fuddrucker's kinda deal, but I like that myself. We've hit some other places like that too, maybe even in the Magic Kingdom. Then, there's that big place on the way to the safari in Animal Kingdom where we ate on at least one of my two visits to that park (probably both). Jeez, I'm so due for another Disney World visit. Last one was a surprise, quick trip in summer of 2004, and we didn't get a chance to hit Animal Kingdom, just 3 days in each of the other parks. I also have fond memories of eating at Gurgi's Munchies and Crunchies. Really would like to check out all their wonderful restaurants someday. Always wanted to eat in that Pinocchio one, but have never gotten around to it. Wait... might have done it once, actually. I don't remember. Anyway, I think it's another place like Pecos Bill's.

Also, I know it's not a Disney resort (still want to stay in one of those, though I have stayed on the property once, the affordable resorts are always booked), but for the budget conscious, we like to stay in an Embassy Suites if we can. One that's close enough to have a full shuttle system to the Disney parks of course. They provide a "free" cook to order, all you can eat breakfast, which gives you a great start before hitting the parks! We only did that on our most recent trip, but it worked out wonderfully!

[Princessmarlo]

I disagree I think the service is great at Disney and most of the places have good food.

[Princessmarlo]

I know this thread was posted a bit ago but I was reading it and thought I would put my 2 cents in. So I live in Orlando well 5 minutes from it. I also have Disney Annual Passes because I am obbesessed. My husband and I go quite often, and I have eaten a quite a few locations. So I figured I would review them and that way well people can get an idea of how they are....

Magic Kingdom


Tony's Town Square- This restaurant was okay, the menu was basic. The atmosphere was nice not the best but nice. The food was pretty much basic italian. I got the spagetti and meatballs. The meatballs were pretty tasty and I also got the soup I think pastafagoli and that was pretty good. The prices were what you normally figure for Disney. 6 out of 10

Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café
Pecos Bill Café These are the counter service places. Cosmics has burgers that aren't too bad for theme park food. They also have chicken strips, wraps, soups, salads, and rottisere chicken which is good. For people that eat kosher that is one of the only places that I think it is available. 8 out of 10 (keep in mind this is a rating for theme park food)

Epcot

The Garden Grill Restaurant This is all you can eat but they bring it to you, it is described as roasted meats potatoes and other vegetables, plus dessert. So it ends up being Catfish which I do not eat. Flank steak which was the best thing and this nasty rubber like turkey, like a potatoes casserole which was nasty and the green beans and carrots were good but how can you go wrong with those. Oh and salad it was okay I only ate a little because I do not like creamy dressing and that's how it comes. The bread was okay but the butter had a citrus taste (weird), the dessert was okay, pecan pie (we don't eat that) cheese cake (good, but not the best), lemon merange ( I think I spelled that right [we don't eat that either])and a brownie, that was cold and sorta hard! So we ate the one serving they brought us not even the whole thing really, and not all the dessert. How much was it you ask? You really want to know? $59.62, for well pretty lousy food. So listen here kids the moral of this story is whatever you do, do not I mean DO NOT eat at The Garden Grill! Seriously if you eat there you will be pissed at the food, the atmosphere is cool, but the food not worth the money! 2 out of 10

Les Chefs de France This was okay, I took my sister here because she loves the French. I got some kind of lasagna it was okay, the sauce was a little odd. It was also a little more pricey then some of the other places. If you like French food you will probably like it. 5 out of 10

L' Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante This is my favorite restaurant in Epcot so far and has been for 5 years. The food is about $20 a meal which most of the places in Epcot are. They have a small menu but the food is great. It also have a great atmosphere. I usually get the pasta with marinara sauce it is not on the menu you just have to ask. It is really great the best sauce I have ever had. My husband get the trio he loves the alfredo and lasagna, I also think the trio comes with penne and marinara. The desserts are so yummy! I have had the tiramisu which is excellent also the chocolate mousse yumm and the cannoli so good. Really good. 10 out of 10

Nine Dragons Restaurant This is a great place. Like most of the other is has a limited menu. It has general tsou's chicken, which is not like you get a the amerincanized chinese restaurants. It has a blca pepper flavor it is also whole chunks of white chicken. It is really great. They also have sticky white rice whic most places don't sell, this has to be cooked differently then the traditional white rice. I have also had the pepper steak which was wonderful as well. They also have an iced jasmine tea which is outstanding. The service is fast and it is a good place to eat. 9 out of 10

Boulangerie Patisserie The best french pastries. I get the fruit tarts they are great. The crossiants are soooo good too also the mousse. You'll want to take a box of this home with you. It is a bit pricey but worth it! 10 out of 10

Electric Umbrella Restaurant Basically like the other hamburger joints. Good not great, basic counter service, Less of a selection then Cosmic Rays. 7 out of 10

Sunshine Season Food Fair Very bif food court in the land pavillion. Very big selection. Pretty darn good for counter service. Some is a bit pricey but good. They have a very big variety, they have flank steak, chicken, wraps, soup, salads, sandwiches, chinese food, I think pasta, cakes and pasteries. 9 out of 10

MGM Studios

The Hollywood Brown Derby Good, pricey. You will need reservations and you can also get the special when it is available it is I think $50 a person and you get seated in a saved section of Fantasmic so it is guaranteed seating. I had the filet and it was really good. This is more like high class food or unique to me because I am not used to eating this sort of thing. You will more then likely spend 1-2 hours in here. 8 out of 10

50's Prime Time Café Mom's kitchen. They will make you wash your hands, have your elbows off the table and will tell you to do it. The food is pretty much food that most families ate in the 50's. They have great baked chicken, great pot roast. The chicken soup is good to. It is just such a great experience. Well worth it! 9 out of 10

Toy Story Pizza Planet This is all about the atmosphere! You feel like you are in pizza planet. The pizza is okay they are personal pan pizza not as bad as the microwavable but not like a pizza place. I like it here! 9 out of 10

Sunset Ranch Market Basically Cosmic Ray's Cafe but outside. Good food good variety, chicken burgers, soup, salad. 8 out of 10

Animal Kingdom

Rainforest Cafe I love it here. The food is great the atmosphere is great. They have a decent selection and it may be cheaper then some of the other restaurants in Disney! 9 out of 10


*** Also in Epcot for those who are unaware of this, all the country pavillions they have people from the actual country working in the shops and restaurants. The only people that aren't from the country are the managers. Also the 50's Prime Time Cafe has a bunch of old antiques and things from the 50's, they get these at pawn shops ebay and such they are all really from the 50's.***

[MichaeLeah]

My wife and I went to Tony's Restaurant a couple of weeks ago for dinner to split spaghetti and meatballs (what else would you eat there?). We enjoyed ourselves and got the waiter to take a picture of us kissing over the spaghetti.

[slave2moonlight]

Well, I certainly didn't mean to suggest that the service in the Disney parks was rude in general. We wouldn't be repeat visitors if it was. However, I have encountered a couple of very rude cast members, and one case was at the restaurant in Italy. And I like MOST of the food, but it's nothing that wows me.

I think I've eaten at the Sunset Ranch Market in MGM, though I'm not sure if that was the place. It was an outdoor place heading in the direction of the Animation area and Tower of Terror from the main street. I don't tend to remember the outdoor eating experiences well though. I'm sure I liked it though. I generally like fast food if it's "fresh." I am not sure if I've eaten at Pizza Planet or not, but I've been inside. In my opinion though, I wish they had made it a lot more like the Pizza Planet from Toy Story. I really don't feel it has that special of an atmosphere (based on my last visit, that is). I mean, it looks like some of the local kids' pizza places in my town. It's not themed to the level of the one in the film (unless they've improved it). Funnily enough, a while back, they opened a place around where I live called "Planet Pizza!" It actually looks pretty cool on the outside, but I haven't been inside it yet.

Haven't been to the Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom, but I did eat at the one in Las Vegas. Despite that I think only one menu item appealed to me, it was VERY good and I LOVED the atmosphere, even though the prices were THROUGH the ROOF. It's probably my favorite restaurant, because I REALLY loved the atmosphere.

[brownie]

But if you're looking for an even better Italian restaurant, I would be more apt to recommend Mama Melrose's at MGM Studios.

Ooh, I agree. When I went there, the chef talked to me about my dietary preferences and made me a yummy cheeseless roasted vegetable pizza and bread with fresh bruschetta.

I ate at Cinderella's Royal Table on my birthday. I had pasta with marinara sauce and mushrooms, and it honestly wasn't that good, which is odd...because it's just pasta. But the chef there made me a special eggless, dairy-free chocolate cake with mint Tofutti ice cream and strawberries. My mom and I didn't enjoy the food there, but the environment was really great. They took a picture of Cinderella and I and sent it to our table. Also, there were characters walking around, such as the Fairy Godmother; she was talking about wishes and stuff and pointed out everyone who was celebrating a birthday. Oh yeah, and every cast member at that restaurant who served me wished me a happy birthday.

Other sit-down restaurants I ate at:
- Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge) was very upscale and beautiful, but I felt sort of uncomfortable there. The food was a little too unfamiliar for my tastes; however, I had a vegan creme brulee prepared for me (complete with Mickey Mouse sprinkles) that tasted absolutely scrumptious.
- Boma (AKL) was most likely my favorite restaurant at WDW that I've been to. Although it's a buffet, it's not nauseating at all, and has a wide variety of food. My mom and I had breakfast there on our first trip; we both thought that $15 was a little too much. On one of the last days on our recent vacation to WDW, we had dinner there, and it was wonderful. One of the chefs basically prepared my dream dish: angel hair sauteed with tofu, bell peppers, garlic, and corn (yes, it's a fairly simple dish, but it was prepared very nicely). They also had falafel, hummus, flatbread, and fruit for me to munch on while I waited for my main course.