Really need help deciding!

[bw52]

I've read so many threads and still have no idea where we want to eat! Please help me. We've got adults (most youngish) with a baby about a year old. Most of the recommendations are geared for children it seems (which makes sense, but that's not us). Please give me some some options for us. We will have the dining plan and prob eat at the Poly Luau one night. Don't know where else. And we don't drink any alcohol--or coffee, for that matter. Looking for mainly TS dinner places right now. Although 1 really good buffet breakfast might entice me. And we prefer to eat in the parks, unless there's something REALLY worth leaving the park for. Oh, and fun places! We might not be kids anymore, but are still kids-at-heart.

Thanks for any help!

Oh, and please don't abbreviate, b/c I won't know what you're talking about!

ETA: OK. Some of us are adventurous--some not so much. We've been to Biergarten (or however you spell that) and we liked the experience, but that food is a little too different for some people in this group. So, I would say we're willing to try somewhat different food and are really wanting a fun experience but with good food, too.

 

[LindaR]

Well it really depends on what you guys like! Some people are NOT adventurous when it comes to food.....some people are! You have to give a little info!!

We have loved Rose and Crown (and I suggest that you guys look at the menus online!), Restaurant Marrakesh, REALLY like Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch (not dinner), 50's Prime Time AND Sci-Fi.........

Some places we have liked more for the service and interaction over the actual food.

And though it seems to be SUCH a popular place.......Le Cellier is very overrated in our opinion!!!

 

[kathie859]

Crystal Palace has the best breakfast buffet! The little one would like the characters and the food is very good. An early ADR gets you into the park before opening and it's fun to see (and photograph) an empty Main St.

Chefs de France for lunch would be good especially if Remy is still making an appearance. The little guy with us in Nov (1.5 yrs old) was mesmerized and the food is good. The lunch special is affordable and filling. I've always had good service there, too.

We really like Prime Time Cafe, too. If you're lucky to get a server into "role playing" and you enjoy that sort of thing, it can be a lot of fun. Decent food, too.

Have fun planning

 

[phyllis1966]

Ok, if you don't want to leave the parks, there are lots of great options (but many of the resort restaurants are really good...).

In the Magic Kingdom (MK), we like the Plaza for an old-fashioned sandwich-shop feel. Crystal Palace (CP) has a pretty good buffet dinner with Pooh and friends.

In Epcot's World Showcase (WS), we enjoy Restaurant Marrakesh, The Rose and Crown Pub, and Le Cellier, which some people think is overrated, but if you like things other than just steak, they have a lot to offer (especially the yummy sides). Teppan Edo is a very good Japanese hibachi place, but we usually skip it because we have an awesome Japanese restaurant here at home.

In Disney Hollywood Studios (DHS), we've enjoyed the 50's Prime Time Cafe, and the Sci-Fi Dine-In was fun to try once, for the atmosphere as well as the onion rings and shakes.

The rest of our faves are at the resorts.

Have fun!

 

[FamilyShortyAJP]

We just got back and these were our picks for sit down meals at lunch time:

Epcot - Le Cellier - it is the steak house in Canada and the food was excellent! The pretzel bread that comes with the meal and the cheese soup were recommended by posters on this board and they were great! Two of us had the New York strip and it was delicious as well. Loved it! Word was that this restaurant books up quick so I made my reservations ASAP.

Magic Kingdom - Liberty Tree Tavern. I heard it was the best of the Magic Kingdom from several sources so I went with it. The clam chowder was really good (tasted more like potato soup) and the turkey dinner at lunch were wonderful!

Hollywood Studios - 50s Prime Time Cafe. I had eaten there before and it was a lot of fun and did not disappoint this time either. The wait staff is hilarious and really gets into character which just goes with the overall theme of the restaurant. The food was good as well. I've heard some people say the Sci-Fi restaurant is hit or miss so I decided against it.

Animal Kingdom - had reservations to Yak & Yeti because it seemed to be the best choice for sit down in the park but then I read some reviews that it wasn't that good so we passed on it and ate counter service at at Pizzafari which was a better choice I think. I've eaten at the Rainforest Cafe before and have not been impressed with their food and all the other sit down restaurants there seem to be a bit too ethnic without enough choices for our taste. This day we chose to do a sit down meal for dinner at our hotel instead (Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge which was really good).

We chose to do our sit down meals in the parks during the day since they are less crowded and expensive for lunch and we would already be there and wouldn't have to rush to get there for dinner (since most days we went back to the hotel mid-day for a break). It worked out great and we will definitely do that again next time we visit. Loved all the places we chose and would definitely do them again and recommend them to others.

 

[SAHDad]

My recommendations (broken down by park) for TS meals

Magic Kingdom - Crystal Palace is actually a pretty decent breakfast buffet, even if you skip the characters. Go ahead and stay for them, I recommend it, but even without them, it's worth it. An early reservation (ADR) is best, because you can see an empty Main Street, and get some really good pics of the castle. The food is pretty standard - waffles, omelettes, sausages, fruit, etc.

We haven't tried Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree for dinner, but have generally heard good things about them, so they would be on my list as well.

Epcot - for typical "American" fare, your best bets are Le Cellier and Rose and Crown. Le Cellier is a steakhouse (steaks are good, but the beer cheese soup and pretzel bread are better - someday, Disney is going to make a Le Cellier cart that sells just those, and it will be easy to get into Le Cellier again!), with some non-steak items on the menu. Rose & Crown is British fare, but they have stuff beyond bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) and fish & chips.

If Beirgarten was too exotic, then Akershus is probably out as well. It's a decent meal, but your non-exotic selections can be a bit limited.

Animal Kingdom - not many choices here. We like Tusker House, but since it is patterned after Boma (in Animal Kingdom Lodge), you might run into the same problem as Akershus. One note, however -at pretty much every buffet in WDW, you will find some variarion of chicken fingers, mac-n-cheese, and probably cheese pizza, so there is always something typically "American", even if it is aimed at the younger crowd.

DHS - we don't eat there. Seriously. I have eaten at the Brown Derby, and would do so again, but after that, there aren't many places at DHS we will eat. In a pinch, Pizza Planet is ok, but it is a CS, not a TS, so you probably don't want to eat there. We usually head over to Epcot to eat, or back to a resort.

Resorts - we have eaten at (and recommend) Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge, and have heard very good things about Artists Point as well. It's close enough to the Magic Kingdom that you don't lose a lot of time getting there. Boma is nice, and I have heard good things about Jiko (though it is 2 TS credits, I think). The menu at Sanaa doesn't wow me, but I would not rule it out for me - it sounds like your group may want to avoid it.

Chef Mickey's is not bad, but it is a character meal. California Grill was great, but takes 2 TS credits as well.

 

[MannyEdge]

My recommendations (broken down by park) for TS meals

Magic Kingdom - Crystal Palace is actually a pretty decent breakfast buffet, even if you skip the characters. Go ahead and stay for them, I recommend it, but even without them, it's worth it. An early reservation (ADR) is best, because you can see an empty Main Street, and get some really good pics of the castle. The food is pretty standard - waffles, omelettes, sausages, fruit, etc.

We haven't tried Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree for dinner, but have generally heard good things about them, so they would be on my list as well.

Epcot - for typical "American" fare, your best bets are Le Cellier and Rose and Crown. Le Cellier is a steakhouse (steaks are good, but the beer cheese soup and pretzel bread are better - someday, Disney is going to make a Le Cellier cart that sells just those, and it will be easy to get into Le Cellier again!), with some non-steak items on the menu. Rose & Crown is British fare, but they have stuff beyond bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) and fish & chips.

If Beirgarten was too exotic, then Akershus is probably out as well. It's a decent meal, but your non-exotic selections can be a bit limited.

Animal Kingdom - not many choices here. We like Tusker House, but since it is patterned after Boma (in Animal Kingdom Lodge), you might run into the same problem as Akershus. One note, however -at pretty much every buffet in WDW, you will find some variarion of chicken fingers, mac-n-cheese, and probably cheese pizza, so there is always something typically "American", even if it is aimed at the younger crowd.

DHS - we don't eat there. Seriously. I have eaten at the Brown Derby, and would do so again, but after that, there aren't many places at DHS we will eat. In a pinch, Pizza Planet is ok, but it is a CS, not a TS, so you probably don't want to eat there. We usually head over to Epcot to eat, or back to a resort.

Resorts - we have eaten at (and recommend) Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge, and have heard very good things about Artists Point as well. It's close enough to the Magic Kingdom that you don't lose a lot of time getting there. Boma is nice, and I have heard good things about Jiko (though it is 2 TS credits, I think). The menu at Sanaa doesn't wow me, but I would not rule it out for me - it sounds like your group may want to avoid it.

Chef Mickey's is not bad, but it is a character meal. California Grill was great, but takes 2 TS credits as well.

What does ADR stand for?

Thanks!!

 

[MannyEdge]

I hate to steal your thread, but are there some good restaurants on the boardwalk?

Thanks,

John

 

[adsrtw]

It stands for advanced dining reservation.

I loved the Plaza at Magic Kingdom, but I wouldn't use a credit for it. Very inexpensive! I have tons of resort and Downtown Disney favs - Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Raglan Road in Downtown Disney, Kona Cafe at the Poly.

Yak & Yeti is pretty good at Animal Kingdom. Le Chef's de France is wonderful in Epcot. And if you want to spend 2 credits, The Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios.

 

[bw52]

Thanks for the replies. Is there somewhere I can find the menus for these restaurants? I'm looking to the rest. on the disney site, but can't find the exact menu. Am I just missing it?

 

[SAHDad]

Thanks for the replies. Is there somewhere I can find the menus for these restaurants? I'm looking to the rest. on the disney site, but can't find the exact menu. Am I just missing it?

I don't recall Disney posting a list of the menus on the official site, but you can look over the menus here.

 

[bw52]

Thank you! That link is much easier to use than Disney's! I was wishing I could find the restaurants separated by place. Thanks!

 

[Hopefully]

A couple of thoughts for the new postsers here - And Welcome to the DIS.

ADR's are Advanced Dining Reservations and depending on the time of your visit they are essential for sit down, in Park restaurants. You can begin making your ADR's 180 days in advance and most of the popular restaurants book completely well in advance. Even many Resort restaurants do. Resorts do not leave tables for resort guests, all meals are open to anyone 180 days in advance.
Look at the menus here on the DIS as well as at allearsnet.com. They will give you a great idea (not necessarily exactly what will be on the menu the day you dine) of the restaurant offerings and prices.

Our favorite in park restaurants are:
MK: The Plaza - Delicious sandwiches. We usually eat Counter Service during the day in the MK and head to a resort restaurant or Epcot WS in the evening, however.
AK: Tusker House - delicious buffet with plenty of food for the not so adventersome
DHS: We love the 50's Prime Time Cafe. Good food and lots of fun
EC: We love many of the International Restaurants in World Showcase. Non are too exoctic in our opinion. I agree with the OP, Biergarten is not my favorite.
We enjoy: The San Angel Inn in Mexico. It is not your typical Tex-Mex Americanized Mexican, so if you go with that expectation you will not like it.
Le Cellier in Canada. A Canadian steakhouse - very popular and books right at 180 days
Rose & Crown in the UK - A UK pub like restaurant
Restaurant Marakkesh in Morroco. Not too exoctic and they have a Belly Dancer entertaining.
Teppan Edo in Japan - A hibachi style restaurant - really good. However you sit at tables for 8, so if your party is smaller than that you will be seated with others, if that matters to you.
Our favorite Resort restaurants are: 'OHana at the Poly, Kona Cafe at the Poly, Jiko (2 TS credits) at the AKL
We also LOVE the Hoop Dee Doo Review at Fort Wilderness, It is an all inclusive Western themed dinner show that has been running continuously for about 35 years. We went on our last trip as a group of all adults and had a great time. It is all you care to eat Fried Chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, baked beans, salad and delicious corn bread. In includes beer, wine and sangria. The show is high energy singing, dancing, audience participation and lots of corny jokes. It makes for a really fun evening.
Have a Great Trip

 

[LindaR]

Oh....bw52, one other thing to consider maybe since you stated no alcohol, the cheese soup at Le Cellier grossed us out because all we could taste was the beer. I don't drink either so it was very noticable to me (others may not catch that flavor).

 

[SAHDad]

Oh....bw52, one other thing to consider maybe since you stated no alcohol, the cheese soup at Le Cellier grossed us out because all we could taste was the beer. I don't drink either so it was very noticable to me (others may not catch that flavor).

On the other hand, DW (who does not drink, and dislikes the smell of beer) loves the soup. YMMV, obviously - maybe get a cup of the soup and several spoons, so everyone can try it before ordering more?

 

[MinniesYooHoo]

We just got back and had some fab meals. We repeated quite a few from our trip last year.
EPCOT: Restaurant Marrakesh. LOVED it. The belly dancer was really neat.
Le Cellier. It's quite good. But think of it as a couple of steps up from Outback.
MK: Crystal Palace is great for both breakfast and dinner.
Cinderella's Royal Table. VERY fun atmosphere. No characters at dinner.
DHS: LOVED Hollywood Brown Derby. The Cobb salad was yummy, and had a great steak and some lovely wine.
AK: Tusker House is good, but honestly we liked Flame Tree Barbecue just as much. It is counter service and there is a really nice covered dining area right around the corner.
If you're thinking about leaving the parks, 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian is really good for dinner. So is Ohana over at the Polynesian. Liked it tremendously more so that the Luau. The Lapu Lapu is YUMMY!!!! And my fellow DISers did not steer me wrong with the Bread Pudding!!!
Have fun!!!