We had a reservation for breakfast at Trattoria al Forno, located on the Disney BoardWalk. I had envisioned a short walk from the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel to the restaurant, then entering Epcot early enough to get my park day started. This dining experience was an adventure, but unfortunately, I prefer my adventures to happen on fun rides in the park instead of restaurants struggling to live up to Disney standards.
Checking in
Upon check-in, we were informed that they were running behind because they seated an influx of people without reservations before us. This meant that people who did not bother making reservations were seated, and we were forced to wait although we had reservations; they purposely seated people knowing they would interfere with reservations later that day. Honestly, it was apparent that this decision was a money grab, and they did not care at all how they mistreated their unvalued guests who had made reservations. The lobby was full of annoyed and irritated people checking on the status of their reservation because they were not seated for a long time after their reservation time.
The hostess was not especially empathetic or nice about the situation and was very matter-of-fact when informing people they were going to wait upon check-in and demonstrated a “deal with it” attitude. Obviously, this is a tough position for a hostess to be in, but this attitude is not appropriate, especially if she was the one who sat people without reservations. She was nicer to a family who walked in without a reservation when she had to turn them away after they finally stopped allowing walk-ins than she was to the guests with a reservation who had to wait.
It is not fun to stand in a lobby past your reservation time when you are very hungry and your hips and feet hurt from a long park day the day before. My husband peeked around the corner and found a mostly empty bar area that was not yet open. Some people used the space as an extended lobby waiting area. I was very disgusted that the hostess did not inform us we could sit there while waiting when she knew we were standing for an extended time. Her hateful attitude seemed purposeful.
I also noticed there were baby strollers lined up against the lobby wall to the right of the walkway to the restrooms. I could not understand why strollers could be left in the rain at the park, but they were allowed to be stored in the lobby, taking up space as so many people were waiting. I also thought it was dangerous because in an emergency, it would be possible for someone to walk out of the restrooms or lounge area and get caught up on the strollers as they attempted to exit the restaurant through the lobby.
Getting Seated
After waiting for 30 minutes past our reservation time, we were finally seated. The gentleman who sat us stated that everyone loved this restaurant as if to say they were so crazy that day because it was such a good restaurant to make an excuse for our wait. This was not appreciated at all and further annoyed me. We also noted that people with reservations after us were seated within 15 minutes.
Before our food came out, the waitress informed me that they did not have the dairy-free butter that I requested for my gluten-free toast which should have been in the kitchen, so she was sending someone to get some. She started to become unhinged at this point. I wondered if she might quit during her shift because the job was getting to her too badly. She began doing what can only be described as a cartoon, angry, talking, screaming voice where she imitated how she told the cast members in the kitchen that they were “losing it,” or at least that is what I understood from the animated yelling. I could not think of a nearby kitchen where someone could retrieve butter, and it was a rainy morning, so I had visions of a cast member running with a plate of butter that he scrounged up from I do not even want to know where while running on the boardwalk holding this plate of butter in the rain, and I felt at this point that I no longer wanted the butter. My husband assured me that someone went to a supply facility close by and brought back a closed container of butter, but one could understand my concerns at this point in the dining process.
Service
I was already very unpleased when we were seated. We were given glasses of water but waited 28 minutes from the time we were seated to get our soft drinks. That made it one hour after our reservation time to get a drink.
The waitress did not start off well with me. As I informed her of my special dietary needs (no wheat, dairy, or strawberries), she proceeded to tell me how much she loved strawberries, and then, in regard to me not being able to eat them, she stated, “Oh well, it’s not the end of the world.” I do not have to take time to explain how insensitive, unprofessional, unkind, and unnecessary these statements were.
We were not the only ones who did not appreciate our waitress’s service. A woman at a table near us complained to a manager that the service was too slow. I believe the manager took her payment so she could leave.
Once we received our food, the service was more appropriate, except for another episode of scream-talking. I think this episode was when the waitress imitated how she yelled at someone to give me the butter, although I am not sure because I have tried to forget most of this entire experience. I just remember two scary scenes where she imitated how she yelled at other cast members.
Food
I asked if they had gluten-free toast and was pleased that I could order that with my two-egg breakfast platter. I ordered the eggs scrambled well done, and they were not as well done as I wanted but passed as fully cooked and not too runny. The potatoes had a good flavor. I found the sausage to be bland and did not eat my second link. My butter was hard because they scrounged it up from a refrigerator or freezer somewhere. My husband’s regular butter was so rock-hard cold that he couldn’t get it to melt on his waffles. The food was overall just ok and not noteworthy.
Would I Eat Here Again
No. Maybe I caught this restaurant on a bad day, but I am not returning to this restaurant for breakfast or any other meal. This experience was a nightmare from start to finish. It is breakfast; I can order bacon and eggs from many other places on the property, and the food was not outstanding. The food is certainly not worth the wait and the terrible circumstances. Because we were made to wait so ridiculously long, we were late getting into the park to begin our day. This also meant we were not able to get into the park as early as we desired, which lessened our chance to enter the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. We were surprised that we were able to enter the queue, but this is a major consideration when deciding whether to dine at this restaurant if you have a day at Epcot planned and are a guest who must be in the park to attempt to get in a virtual queue.
This restaurant really did not characterize what families look for with Disney dining. Either you want quick service so you can return to your park activities, or you want a nicer dining experience with Disney service. This restaurant took a lot of time and was very unmagical. I would recommend doing quick service or snacks in the park before attempting to eat at this restaurant.
Overall, I was disappointed in how we were treated, how poorly the restaurant was managed, the quality of food, and the timing of service. This restaurant has a long way to go in providing the magic that Disney World guests want. I recommend finding other breakfast options so you start your day off on a good note. You can read my review of Rosa Mexicano here.
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