Dining suggestions near Magic Kingdom?

[jfoster]

Hello all! We are 2 weeks away from making our ADRs. We are in the process of mapping out our days and determining where we will be when. It appears as though we will be dining around Magic Kingdom 3 evenings. We plan to book Be Our Guest and Ohanna...does anyone have any other suggestions? Last year we ate at Chef Mickey (didn't care for) and Kona Cafe. We are hoping to try all new locations this year. Any suggestions? Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[heatherandnick]

I think it depends on what you are looking for.

If you want a signature experience, we LOVE Cali Grill. They have great sushi, wine, views, and service. We also adore Citricos. We have gone once and it's definitely in our top 3.

We are looking forward to our ADR at The Wave. The menu looks yummy if you are looking for a nice place with fresh, local food.

If you are taking kids or want something more exciting, I would try BOG. Anything new is exciting!

A lot of people love 'Ohana. We went once and it was okay... we are 2 adults and it was loud with spotty food quality. We did have a great view of the castle and wishes.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[goofyintoronto]

I think it depends on what you are looking for.

If you want a signature experience, we LOVE Cali Grill. They have great sushi, wine, views, and service. We also adore Citricos. We have gone once and it's definitely in our top 3.

We are looking forward to our ADR at The Wave. The menu looks yummy if you are looking for a nice place with fresh, local food.

If you are taking kids or want something more exciting, I would try BOG. Anything new is exciting!

A lot of people love 'Ohana. We went once and it was okay... we are 2 adults and it was loud with spotty food quality. We did have a great view of the castle and wishes.

Good luck and have fun!

I agree with the above. we didn't care for ohana. slimy wings, poor quality beef. gross pork. only good items were bread, salad, and dessert. noodles and potstickers were ok but a bit dry.

I agree about California grill as well. AMAZING food! I have yet to find a better steak than the one i had there. so good.

keep in mind California grill is closing in February for refurb. they will be closed probably til the fall.

Sent from my Galaxy SII using DISBoards App

 

[Quin]

If the original poster is 2 weeks away from their 180-day ADR date, that means they're going to be at WDW in May 2013 (same as me!). Cali Grill will be closed for refurb that month so there's no point in suggesting it. The OP already said they plan to eat at BOG.

And I strongly recommend Ohana; with kids or without we've had good food and a wonderful experience.

For your third ADR, one suggestion is to make a pre-rope-drop breakfast ADR at CP. If you prefer a dinner again, 1900PF is a particularly good choice if your group includes teens or tweens who may think they're too cool for characters. 1900PF dinner is as close as you can get to a Villains meal because of Lady Tremaine and the StepSisters. Hilarious! There are 3 nearby signatures: Narcoossees & Citricos at GF plus Artist Point at WL; all are very good food but pricey and take longer out of your park time.

For other 1 TS meals I hesitate to suggest WCC at WL: the only meal option at dinner is a family-style platter and the items simply don't appeal to me (and jalapeno cheesecake for dessert? NOT!). I would recommend that you look at LTT in the MK, though. Check out both lunch & dinner as they are very different. You could eat a mid-afternoon TS lunch at LTT and then just grab a CS dinner, or simply snack through the evening. Like WCC, lunch is a regular menu while the dinner meal is a set platter, but the food choices on the platter at LTT look better to me.

 

[MJMcBride]

Ohana is definately not the same. Maybe grand Floridian cafe or maybe WCC at the wilderness lodge

 

[DVC Kelly]

On my last trip we had the early seating at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue and then headed over to the Magic Kingdom (which lined up with that park having the Extra Magic Hours that night). It seemed to work out flawlessly.

 

[mickeynut1]

A few choices close by would be 1900 Park Fare, GF Cafe, and WCC. We've eaten at 1900 PF and WCC and while 1900 PF is just ok (IMO), we've always loved WCC.

 

[MJMcBride]

I thought for a character buffet 1900 Park Fare was solid.

 

[jfoster]

Thanks....worth mentioning it is a family vacation with our 3 little guys ages 4 7 and 9. We will be there May 8 to the 15th, so I guess we won't be able to do Cali Grill. Would like to stick to a 1 vs 2 table credit meal, since our kids can't really appreciate fine dining yet. Will probably have been at MK all day so don't want to stray too far...plan to return after dinner. Thanks for the continued suggestions...they are appreciated. Last year was our first, so we are rookies!

 

[ses1230]

There is the Grand Floridian cafe which is good and has a casual atmosphere.

There is also The Wave. We went last October and my daughters (3 and 6 at the time) loved their kids meals. The food was pretty good, for me the appetizers were definitely better than my entree, my DH enjoyed his though.

 

[CareHeartsDisney]

Thanks....worth mentioning it is a family vacation with our 3 little guys ages 4 7 and 9. We will be there May 8 to the 15th, so I guess we won't be able to do Cali Grill. Would like to stick to a 1 vs 2 table credit meal, since our kids can't really appreciate fine dining yet. Will probably have been at MK all day so don't want to stray too far...plan to return after dinner. Thanks for the continued suggestions...they are appreciated. Last year was our first, so we are rookies!

I would recommend Crystal Palace. We just ate there a couple weeks ago. The food is good and I'm sure your kids would love the characters. My boys are 10 and 12 and still love doing character meals.

 

[pixiegirl14]

We are trying Grand Floridian Café per another poster's suggestion.

 

[Iadoreeeyore]

I would definitely recommend getting a reservation at CP before the rope drop. You can have a good breakfast with Winnie and friends and have an opportunity to take pictures in front of the castle before the crowds arrive.

 

[theduhaimes]

I would recommend Crystal Palace. It is located in MK and every time we have eaten there the food has been good. My kids love the characters and it keeps them entertained.

 

[kris4360]

Liberty tree tavern was good. But i also thought 'ohana was great!

 

[MJMcBride]

Liberty tree tavern was good. But i also thought 'ohana was great!

I did not like LTT at all for dinner. Lunch has a menu that I heard was good

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We really loved The Wave! The atmosphere is relaxed, but the menu is unique (kind of "Cali Grill light"). We went with DS when he was 3 and he even enjoyed it! It made a nice evening, we got to walk around CR and then walk over to MK afterward. Highly recommend the Wave!

 

[BlueSkies]

jfoster..I agree with a few of the other pp's and recommend the Grand Floridian Cafe..It has alot of nice options for adults and kids alike...and the if you have time you can even stroll around the lobby a bit which has a pianist and an orchestra in the evening...

If you prefer staying in the MK...I think that the Plaza Restaurant is a good choice..tasty burgers ..sandwiches..and ice cream too..

As for LTT while I think they have a very good lunch menu ..and the Ooey Gooey Toffee cake desseert is TDF...I dont care for their family style limited dinner buffet...

If you are interested Allears.net has a very comprehensive and pretty current listing of restaurants and menus...

HTH...

 

[jamescanuck2001]

Grand Floridian Cafe is very good value, love the styling too

 

[hokie98]

We really loved The Wave! The atmosphere is relaxed, but the menu is unique (kind of "Cali Grill light"). We went with DS when he was 3 and he even enjoyed it! It made a nice evening, we got to walk around CR and then walk over to MK afterward. Highly recommend the Wave!

I agree; we really like The Wave too. It's also fairly easy to get an ADR there. We knew we wanted to eat there last week on our trip, but wasn't sure when. I made our ADR earlier in the day before our meal. We were also looking forward to trying Kona Cafe, but ended up canceling the 2 ADRs I made there when it became clear they wouldn't really fit with our schedule. But if you like fusion sort of food, I'd definitely give The Wave a try!