Favorite Character meal? Can you tell me about Garden Grill?

[Tigger1]

Would like lunch or Dinner Character meal. What would you suggest? Ever been to Garden Grill. Is it family style? How is the food?

 

[ClearScreen]

Would like lunch or Dinner Character meal. What would you suggest? Ever been to Garden Grill. Is it family style? How is the food?

Family style turkey, beef and a fish, mashed potatoes and vegetables. It is similar to Liberty Tree but not as good.

The interaction with Chip and Dale, Pluto, and Farmer Mickey is fine. The restaurant rotates and the view is better on the Lower Level. The food is so-so. Not one of our favorites. We did it once and nobody ever asked to go back.

 

[disney world dreamer]

Would like lunch or Dinner Character meal. What would you suggest? Ever been to Garden Grill. Is it family style? How is the food?

garden grill is my favorite character meal.
its only open for dinner.
yes its served family style.
i'm not sure what kids 3-9 would get because i've only been with ages 10+.
you get dinner rolls, salad, mashed potatoes, sliced beef that is really good!, some kind of seafood that i did not eat because i don't do seafood but my sister and my niece's friend said it was really good.
i was a bit hesitant about dessert as well because i'm not really a blue berry fan but whatever it was it was really yummy!

the character intereactions were the best i've had.
i especially enjoyed chip n dale.
it doesn't feel rushed or chaotic like at some character buffets.

and the atmosphere is unique with the restaurant rotating slowly and hearing the sounds of living with the land.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Bland, totally unforgettable food. Family style, so you get what you get. No menu to choose from; no buffet with lots of choices. Bad service the night we were there--waiter totally disappeared. Semi-circle booths that aren't as easy for dinner conversation. Restaurant rotates. We had the bad luck of being right in the front when Mickey got to our table. So everyone waiting to be seated is taking pictures, yelling, waving to Mickey. So much for private one-on-one with the main character! One and only restaurant my whole family agreed we'd never be back to.

But I know I'll be in the minority on this one. Many people rave about the place.

For characters, we loved dinner at 1900 Park Fare. Food is very good and the stepmother and stepsisters are hysterical.

Also really enjoyed Tusker House, although only went there for breakfast. Going to try dinner on next trip. Food was a little different than typical character buffets. Interaction was fun.

 

[Mommymarie]

We have eaten at just about all character meals and this is a favorite!! Food is amazing and character interaction is better than most places....they bring food for kids but they are allowed to eat adult food as well.

 

[AllyinWonderland]

I love the character interaction at GG. It is less chaotic than a buffet style character meal and the interactions feel more private. However, I am not impressed by the food, especially when comparing it to all of the other great options at Epcot.

My favorite lunch or dinner character meal is Tusker House. 1900 Park Fare would probably be my second choice.

 

[DizDaD7]

Would like lunch or Dinner Character meal. What would you suggest? Ever been to Garden Grill. Is it family style? How is the food?

Meh, is about the only way we can describe it.

Yes it's Family style... Food was very salty for our tastes though....The character interaction was very good though, and often....Unfortunately there are way many more character meals that are better.

 

[Miskey]

Garden Grill is the only restaurant that my family consistently asks to return to on every trip. We love the food!

 

[Tigger1]

Thanks for all the replies. I am still undecided. The thought of not having to get up to get our food is a big plus for us. Children are very young. Also like that children can eat off adult food. I did not care the choices for the kids. Planning on Tusker House for another night. Have not been to Crystal palace in years but family was not to happy when they went.

 

[jenjersnap]

My boys love everything about Garden Grill, the food, the rotating and the character interaction. We think it is 100% better than LTT dinner it is compared to frequently. I agree that being family style was a huge advantage when the kids are small. I would try it if it works for you.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Our Ratings of Garden Grill: (*rev 03/16/2015*)
. . . food price value: B
. . . food quality: C
. . . food quantity per serving: A
. . . food prep speed: B
. . . food selection: C
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: B
. . . eatery atmosphere: B
. . . eatery convenience: B
. . . staff friendliness: B
. . . staff attentiveness: B
. . . character interaction: A
Our Recommendations:
. . . appys:... Living-with-the-Land Harvest-inspired Farmer’s Salad
. . . entree:.. Turkey Breastwith Lemon Caper Sauce
. . . dessert:. Skillet Cakewith Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
NOTE1: The eatery revolves within The Land pavilion and portions of spin include farm
scenes from the boat ride. The food is plentiful, but quality merely average. You pay for
the characters and not the food or food quality. Food is served family style and there is
always more, as it is All You Care To Enjoy. Characters include Mickey, Pluto, Chip-n-Dale.
As the eatery is one of the smaller character locales, the character interaction is GREAT.
NOTE2: The lower deck tables have one-side seats which can make talking among the
table diners tough, especially if you have six-to-eight people, which takes about 12-feet
in linear distance. This means that you cannot easily stand to interact with characters.
The upper has standard tables that seat people facing each other and you can stand and
interact. I recommend upper tier for characters; lower for viewing the river-ride scenery.
There is little chance of motion sickness, as the eatery moves so slowly. If you do have
a concern, the upper level happens rarely.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

OUR WDW CHARACTER MEAL & BUFFET RANKINGS (*rev: February 2015*):
Results are listed from best to worst
Best Food (quality first, then variety):
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Ohana
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House, breakfast-Lunch (moved from #1 Spot due to menu changes)
. . . Garden Grove Swan-dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Tusker House, Dinner
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Cinderella Royal Table (since new menu)
. . . Chef Mickey's
Best Character Interaction (time with guest first, then friendliness):
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House, Dinner
. . . Ohana
. . . Garden Grove (Swan, dinner)
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Chef Mickey's
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Crystal Palace (barely enough time for a photo)
Best Atmosphere (surroundings and ambiance):
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Ohana
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Garden Grove (Swan, dinner)
. . . Chef Mickey's
NOTE1: Results are listed from best to worst. Overall, Tusker House wins due to best food and the length of time the characters stay at each table. A close second is 1900 Park Fare. By far, Chef Mickey's is the loser, due to mediocre character interaction and almost terrible food quality. The very distant second worst is Cinderella Royal Table, for brief time at tables by characters and the new menu.

 

[Sarah627]

Garden Grill was the only restaurant my 5 yo daughter asked to visit again on our next trip and, considering we did 2 princess meals, I think that's really saying something!

The food, I agree, was not spectacular, but it was decent. I especially enjoyed the beef and the turkey with stuffing. The salad and rolls were also good My daughter had chicken legs, broccoli, and mac & cheese. Drumsticks happen to be her favorite food, so she was very pleased with the meal. I don't think she cared for her dessert, but I don't remember what it was and she's not a big dessert eater in general.

The rotating restaurant was the best part for us. We were on the lower tier, so the little could walk up to the barrier and check out each new scene. She especially liked the farmhouse. I thought the curved booths offered more privacy during most of the dinner. It was a little awkward when we passed the front entrance and it felt like all the people waiting or walking by were watching us eat, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

The characters were awesome! They each came by several times. It got to the point that we were just waving to them as they walked by. The server offered to take pictures of both of us with the characters, which never happened at any of the other character meals we did.

Of course I would recommend riding Living with the Land before you eat there to get some familiarity with the scenes (and because it was fun ). We also did the Behind the Seeds tour right before we ate there. It was really interesting for me and the little really liked some of the "special" plants they grow, like Mickey shaped watermelons. Supposedly some of the food they grow in the greenhouses you tour is served in the restaurant, so that was a good way to get the little to eat her vegetables!

Of the princess meals, Akershus was our favorite. It felt more relaxed and they had a parade for the kiddos. The other character meal we did was the Disney Jr. Lunch at Hollywood & Vine. The food was not great, but it was a fun lunch for a Disney Jr. fan.

 

[tinkerbella16]

You are going to get mixed reviews on this one, some people love it and some hate it. We LOVE it! We had dinner here in November and it was our favorite meal the whole trip! My BIL couldn't stop talking about it. It was our arrival day dinner and what a great way to start the trip. The food was so good and they bring plenty of it, and were generous when we needed more of our favorites. We had a nice booth on the outter part of the restaurant, so that was nice, rotating around and seeing parts of Living with the Land ride. Our service was wonderful from start to finish. We had a 5:45 ADR and were seated exactly on time. The characters each came around 3 times and were so funny! I cannot wait to go back again.

 

[kastoney]

Looks like you already have Tusker House planned which would be my suggestion. I'm not a huge buffet fan in general and Tusker is the one and only character meal we've actually enjoyed

 

[Tigger1]

Was able to get Chef Mickeys and Akershus, tusker house. Now debating between 1900 Park and Garden Grill. I have been to 1900 before but this is all boys 5 and under. Looked into Hollywood and Vine but the pictures remind me of a cafeteria. Does anyone recommend Hollywood and Vine.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Personally, I'd choose ANYTHING over Chef Mickey's. It's not a character meal, but how about T-Rex at downtown Disney? If it's all boys 5 and under, probably can't go wrong with dinosaurs!

 

[Tigger1]

Personally, I'd choose ANYTHING over Chef Mickey's. It's not a character meal, but how about T-Rex at downtown Disney? If it's all boys 5 and under, probably can't go wrong with dinosaurs!

I do need to go to Trex. Do i need a reservaton? I have the member card for Trex and Rainforest.