Me too. I love buffets.
I especially like that younger kids can SEE the food before they make their choice. I’ve had way too many kids order “Chicken tenders” expecting them to look one way and then it eat them after I spent $9 on them because they didn’t look “like the regular ones.” Same with Mac and cheese.
While I agree it is likely shocking my response is something along the lines of “but did you die?”
Yes! This is exactly what you are supposed to do as aweful as it is.
I am so not a gernaphobe but COVID has tried to break me. However,
Yes! Yes this! It is so anxiety provoking for me to have someone choosing the quantity of food I get. Or worse yet, touching certain foods to other certain foods on my plate.
Of course. But that was the point, lots of restaurants break lots of rules. And behind closed doors in the kitchen, they’re likely worse than what someone is doing in plain view
I love that stuff! It’s one of the main reasons I only eat brealfast there on MK days. Well… and Eeyore.
You are my people!
Some foods can touch. Others can’t.
I still get anxiety thinking about some of the plates I saw coming away from the food tables at church covered dish supers as a kid.
Especially if any are liquidy or runny…
What’s wrong with having potato salad, baked beans and jello all mixing together?
Ok we will not be having potato salad at all, but the jello may depend on the flavor…
Didn’t die, but years ago a CDC study found that when many people thought that they had the flu, they actually were experiencing food poisoning … I’ve had my share of what I though was the flu.
This is key. Not only for the no surprises aspect you mentioned. Hungry but Disney-simulated kids are much easier to get fueled up when they can see and smell the food they think they don’t need.
One reason we’ll usually have at least one buffet scheduled each day. When they’re open.
That’s an excellent point. The thought that grosser things might be happening in the kitchen doesn’t help me deal with poor buffet behaviors, though, it just makes me want to stay home. I am a bit of a germaphobe, so denial is my friend. 
If I don’t see off-putting practices I can assume/pretend that they don’t happen. Yes, I know I am not really logical about this.
This is so me 
By flu do you mean how people misidentify gastrointestinal illness as “flu”? Or these people were really having symptoms of an upper respiratory illness?
In any case, buffets would die their own death if enough people didn’t care for them. 
Really?
That’s so funny.
No one in my family has ever had the “food touching” concern.
I watch my family make plates of food intentionally touching. Like mountains of mixtures.
Nothing! That’s called a picnic. Pulled pork and some cole slaw and that’s my kind of dinner. Let it all run together!
No buffets for us when we go this Fall. Unfortunately, people are still not sanitary even now. Why is it so difficult for people to actually wash their hands and have their kids do it too. I’ve seen too much that I won’t go to buffets again.