Since we arrived late in the afternoon, we decided not to purchase the SeaWorld All-Day Dining Pass this time and instead decided to use the 20% discount offer at Voyagers Smokehouse.
We gave up on our first attempt to get dinner at Voyagers. One word - crowded. We hung out in the air conditioning just long enough to hear one woman return to her family with a tray of food and exclaim, "22 minutes... it took 22 minutes to get this" as she disappointingly looked down at the meals.
She's right. It should not take 22 minutes on line just to grab a quick meal for your family. Every minute counts as theme park guests are trying to navigate show schedules and lines for rides. I blame the Smokehouse. Yes, there were a lot of people, but the lines could have gone a lot smoother.
First, pricing is confusing. The big menu board as you enter the restaurant simply gives a "range" of prices and doesn't clearly state what's included. Second, the drink server was flustered. Instead of simply filling drinks in advance and lining them up (as they usually do for a "grab and go" quickness) orders were being filled one at a time. Third, the side items were lined up ahead of the entree. No one knew if their choice of sides (or how many) was included in their meal price. Fourth, presentation of the main entrees were less than appetizing.
The entrees looked pretty bad (especially considering most meals cost $11-$13). Scant, charred and dry-looking (no to little BBQ sauce) pieces of chicken and/or ribs lay on plastic plates with a small dinner roll.
Guests hesitantly took plates and sometimes questioned the server about price - holding up the line. I wanted a chicken and rib combo plate, but didn't like the way the one and only plate on the counter looked. Other guests has passed it up so I politely asked if another plate was available. The server didn't say two words to me. She walked away and returned with a new plate (at least the chicken looked a LOT better).
The chicken was actually very good and moist. The ribs were dry, chewy and fatty. Very much like the last time I had the ribs at SeaWorld. My husband ordered the BBQ Chicken Salad. I'm not exaggerating when I say there was about 1 tablespoon of meat on the salad. He was very disappointed.
The (free) desserts were awesome. Even if not free, the desserts are very reasonably priced (about $3 each). We both loved the chocolate cake and the carrot cake. Every time we have a bad meal at SeaWorld, we always say that we should remember to just get dessert!