Looking for Recommendations

[mupt02]

We will be heading to WDW Aug 2010 for our first big family vacation. There will be 2 adults and 3 kids ages 4 ,2, and 9 months. We are planning on 2-3 character meals. What I'm having a hard time figuring out is the other TS meals? What are good restaurants for kids this age that still have good food for the adults? We are open to any meals or any location, but there are just so many restaurants, we don't know what to pick.

Also, does anyone know, if we don't use all of our TS meals, can we use them as QS meals? If we can, how do we go about doing that?

[AlohaPolynesian]

If you are on the deluxe dining plan then you can use your meal credits for TS or QS. I think the regular plan is different, though.

As for restaurants, I would recommend Coral Reef. Kids always seem to love the big aquarium and looking at all of the cool fish. They have good food for the adults, too. Everyone I've taken there loves it.

Ohana dinner isn't a character meal, but they do have a singer who entertains the kids and plays games. It's a really fun time and the adult drinks are all amazing...try the Island Sunset and Lapu Lapu!!

[mupt02]

Thanks. Any other thoughts?

[Beckypooh1972]

Enjoy your vacation! It's so much more fun with little ones. So I have 2 year old twins who've been twice. I've also talked to other Moms in the parks and I have the following suggestions:

Avoid the Deluxe Dining Plan because most kids can't handle that many sit down meals a day. I met a Mom who lamented their decision to upgrade to Deluxe because her kids were having a hard time sitting through those long table service meals 2 -3 times a day; she felt they'd wasted their money on the Deluxe plan.
I'd go with the basic plan and throw in a few kid friendly Table service restaurants like Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, etc. Our kids have also done well at The Wave, 50's Prime Time Cafe, Chefs de France.

Buffets have their pros and cons: Pros, kids under 3 eat and drink for free and there is a good variety of food. However - cons, you have to really work for your food and with 2 or more kids you'll be up and down several times to get food. I would strive for a variety of sit down and buffet table service and definitely at least one character meal. Good luck and have a great time!

[Chip's My Hero]

Check out the Sci-Fi dine in theater. It's at DHS and its fun! You eat in old cars and movie clips run on a big screen. The food is pretty good, and the atmosphere is really cool.

[Nadjalu]

Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. They have great food, a bbq skillet that is all you can eat. Pork, brisket, chicken, baked beans cornbread type stuff. They also have a regular menu, I had the ribeye and it was wonderful.
The kids would like it because the staff do antics. Like if you ask for ketchup the CM screams to everyone in the place you need ketchup and whoever has a bottle on their table runs it to you. (you ending up with 16 bottles of the stuff on your table). Kids love to run it to you.
DH is a refill king, he will drink 5-6 refills per dinner. About the third one the waitress brought him a gallon jug with a 3 ft straw.........very funny.
So it can be entertaining.
I would highly recommend it.

[Withacy]

The PRO on the DxDDP is that you know you'll have a place to sit when you get your food. Eating informally in your room or someplace like that may be easier, but if the park is crowded, QS with a number of little ones isn't necessarily any easier. You just have to pick the right restaurants. It's also about the seating as much as the theming - some places have tables set up close together (like Liberty Tree Tavern), and that's hard when you're trying to manouver with little ones.

At MK, I'd say Crystal Palace - Buffet choices, Pooh characters at all the meals, and periodically they get the kids up to dance and parade around.

Coral Reef is good - kids love watching the fish - get an early time, and you might have a better chance of getting right up near the aquarium.

At the resorts, Ohana and Whispering Canyon Cafe are great with little kids. Same with Chef Mickey's & even 1900 Park Faire.

[pedrobogus]

The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom is wonderful for the character meals! You get Pooh and friends and is on the cheaper end of the buffet prices. The food is really good and the location can not be beat.

[MAGGIED]

we have been traveling to WDW with our children a couple of times a year for the past 10 years.... here are some of their favorites...

DD... is allergic to nuts and doesn't meat... she loves to eat at Mama Melrose, Chef Mickeys for character meals (I don't think the food is great here though), Chefs de France, she also likes the Princess meals in Norway...

DS... loves meat... he likes LeCellier... for character meals he likes the breakfast at the castle (not for the pricesses but for the food) and he loves Crystal Palace (he loves Tigger)... both kids have had fun at dinner at O'Hanas

[JennyT2]

My kids LOVE every restaurant we have eaten at in wdw. They love the comfort food at Liberty Tree Tavern in MK - roast turkey, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese.
They are both steak eaters so they love LeCellier, Coral Reef (added bonus of the fish tank) Grand Floridian. Also, Biergarten is so much fun and they enjoy most of the food.

[ebtbmom]

I don't think it's on the dining plan, but the T-Rex Cafe in DTD is delicious. The food here is way better than at Rainforest and totally worth the money. It's decorated with giant dinos and meteor showers happen every 15 minutes or so.