Morimoto Asia, a bit of a review and advice on Disney Dining Plan

evansy · 2 Sep 16, 04:14 PM

There are a few threads in the planning section asking if Morimoto is any good so after eating there for the first time on our recent trip I thought a general post may help anyone searching in future. I decided to put this in reviews rather than planning but I suppose it covers both.

Our experience there was only OK. Fair warning, I am a grumpy old man but please don’t see this as a rant but rather a viewpoint to help others decide whether Morimoto is worth a visit.

A little background, we are experienced WDW go’ers, this being the tenth year on the bounce for us. We always stay on site and do a wide selection of on-site eateries. This year we travelled with another family so their 3 added to our 4 made us a party of 7.

So, our Morimoto experience…

On arriving for our ADR we had quite a wait so a manager that was circling the reception area offered to provide some free appetisers. We asked for their signature ribs and sure enough two plates of three ribs arrived; that’s 6 ribs between 7 diners. Nice idea but a failure on the execution!

Once we looked at the menu we were surprised to see that most of the entrées were not much over $20 and the most expensive a little over $40, which didn’t seem to be enough to justify this being two DDP credit dining. Also, if you wanted a “traditional” Chinese restaurant experience you would need to pay for rice/noodles etc. as a side since the dining plan didn’t cover this. It was only once we saw the desert menu that we realised why this is a two credit - there are deserts that are $20 because they are designed to be shared. So, using DDP here means you use two credits but still have to pay extra for a side then have a desert that largely gets thrown in the bin.

Because of this I wouldn’t personally use DDP at Morimoto for dinner. Instead it would be better to do as most people would at a Chinese restaurant in the UK and order one entrée between two diners along with a selection of sides. Deserts are plenty big enough to share too.

As for the food itself it was largely very good, although some items suffered from the style over substance that plagues “trendy” places like this. Service was also very good but the food took an age to arrive – we waited over 45 minutes for entrées. Shortly before we left the restaurant, the manager that spoke to us earlier asked us how dinner was. We explained that it had been good but way too slow and her excuse was that they had seated a number of large parties at the same time and this had overwhelmed the kitchen.

Overall I should take some of the blame for our experience. I had read mixed reviews of Morimoto but I still chose it for our Disney Springs signature rather than The Boathouse. I also should have researched the menu more to decide whether it was “worth” 2 credits. We were perhaps a little unlucky on the night and dining as a bigger party always carries the risk of poor service/poor table location but the food was pretty good so as a single credit lunch or a non-dining plan meal I would probably give it a second chance.

Guest · 3 Sep 16, 04:41 PM

Thanks for posting.

We have an ADR for the Boathouse for DH's birthday - I went for that instead of Morimoto, after considering the two of them - but I have since read some not-so-good reviews of both places.

WHAT is the deal with making people pay extra for potatoes/rice at the new 2 credit restaurants?

Hopefully if enough people complain/note that fact on sites like TripAdvisor, etc...it will affect bookings and a change will be made.

A Japanese restaurant that makes you play extra for rice is just...wrong. It's like a pizzeria making you pay extra for crust!

**sha9** · 4 Sep 16, 12:15 PM

I'm wondering if the paying for sides thing is to discourage people on DDP from eating there or at least using credits. We ate at Narcoossee's last time and while we used 2 credits each we both had the $71 surf and turf. I see now that the lobster tail part of that is an extra you have to pay for. It seems to be a trend with signatures that you only get so far with your 2 credits.

2 Sep 16, 04:14 PM	#1
	2 Sep 16, 04:14 PM evansy Looking for my Ears
evansy Looking for my Ears Join Date: Aug 10	Morimoto Asia, a bit of a review and advice on Disney Dining Plan There are a few threads in the planning section asking if Morimoto is any good so after eating there for the first time on our recent trip I thought a general post may help anyone searching in future. I decided to put this in reviews rather than planning but I suppose it covers both. Our experience there was only OK. Fair warning, I am a grumpy old man but please don’t see this as a rant but rather a viewpoint to help others decide whether Morimoto is worth a visit. A little background, we are experienced WDW go’ers, this being the tenth year on the bounce for us. We always stay on site and do a wide selection of on-site eateries. This year we travelled with another family so their 3 added to our 4 made us a party of 7. So, our Morimoto experience… On arriving for our ADR we had quite a wait so a manager that was circling the reception area offered to provide some free appetisers. We asked for their signature ribs and sure enough two plates of three ribs arrived; that’s 6 ribs between 7 diners. Nice idea but a failure on the execution! Once we looked at the menu we were surprised to see that most of the entrées were not much over $20 and the most expensive a little over $40, which didn’t seem to be enough to justify this being two DDP credit dining. Also, if you wanted a “traditional” Chinese restaurant experience you would need to pay for rice/noodles etc. as a side since the dining plan didn’t cover this. It was only once we saw the desert menu that we realised why this is a two credit - there are deserts that are $20 because they are designed to be shared. So, using DDP here means you use two credits but still have to pay extra for a side then have a desert that largely gets thrown in the bin. Because of this I wouldn’t personally use DDP at Morimoto for dinner. Instead it would be better to do as most people would at a Chinese restaurant in the UK and order one entrée between two diners along with a selection of sides. Deserts are plenty big enough to share too. As for the food itself it was largely very good, although some items suffered from the style over substance that plagues “trendy” places like this. Service was also very good but the food took an age to arrive – we waited over 45 minutes for entrées. Shortly before we left the restaurant, the manager that spoke to us earlier asked us how dinner was. We explained that it had been good but way too slow and her excuse was that they had seated a number of large parties at the same time and this had overwhelmed the kitchen. Overall I should take some of the blame for our experience. I had read mixed reviews of Morimoto but I still chose it for our Disney Springs signature rather than The Boathouse. I also should have researched the menu more to decide whether it was “worth” 2 credits. We were perhaps a little unlucky on the night and dining as a bigger party always carries the risk of poor service/poor table location but the food was pretty good so as a single credit lunch or a non-dining plan meal I would probably give it a second chance.

3 Sep 16, 04:41 PM	#2
	3 Sep 16, 04:41 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Thanks for posting. We have an ADR for the Boathouse for DH's birthday - I went for that instead of Morimoto, after considering the two of them - but I have since read some not-so-good reviews of both places. WHAT is the deal with making people pay extra for potatoes/rice at the new 2 credit restaurants? Hopefully if enough people complain/note that fact on sites like TripAdvisor, etc...it will affect bookings and a change will be made. A Japanese restaurant that makes you play extra for rice is just...wrong. It's like a pizzeria making you pay extra for crust!