For those of you who have taken PICKY EATERS to WS, I need advice!!

[Joyous2002]

My niece, great nephew & I are planning a WDW trip in May of next year. We have already picked out several places to dine while we are there, but when it comes to picking out a dining location in Epcot, I'm am totally stumped!
Niece & GN are VERY picky eaters & everywhere I suggest gets
vetoed. San Angel Inn & Alfredo's might be possibilities, but my
niece will only eat pizza & won't touch pasta-and as for Mexican, she won't venture beyond Taco Bell! They will both eat Japanese Steakhouse food, so Japan might be a possibility if it isn't much different from that. My niece likes steak also, so maybe Le Cellier would be a good choice. She will only eat shrimp in the seafood line & fried at that, so I guess Coral Reef is out. Norway, Germany, France, UK-absolutely no way, judging from the menus I've seen. If you have taken picky eaters to Epcot before, let me know what you tried & did they like it? Any & all suggestions are most welcome. Please help-I don't worry so much about my GN, since about all restaurants have kids meals, but my niece is a different story. I'd rather not have to settle for cheeseburgers & chicken fingers! HELP!

 

[Whizzo25]

In Epcot, you might try a side trip ( not very far at all) to the Cape May Buffet in the Beach Club. My niece is almost as bad as yours. She loved the buffet. There are fried shrimp, peel & eat shrimp, salad, veggies, beef tips, delicious breads, muffins, and desserts are bountiful. You might also consider a big lunch at Beaches & Cream and then just a lite meal somewhere else for dinner. We're considering Canada for this fall's trip since we've never been there and the group likes steak. Keep checking on the boards for restaurant reviews. Who knows, maybe your niece will have a revelation by then!?

 

[GoofysPrincess]

Well... I have quite a few picky eaters too.

We do fine with the Fish & Chips in UK, Le Cellier in Canada, Alfredo's in Italy (if they like pasta...).

We can do Teppanyaki in Japan as long as we order a separate side of noodles without vegetables -- naturally this adds to an already kinda pricey meal. Also, the ginger dressing on the salad gets mixed reviews -- I love it.

Surprisingly, we do fine in Germany. There are lots of plain meats and the spaetzle is actually a big hit -- basically just noodles with gravy. They have lots of salads to choose from and everyone can usually find something they like.

We also do fine if we just snack around the World. Different people basically eat at different counter service places and we don't really do a big sit-down meal...

Restaurant Marrakesh was a bit of stretch for us -- we ordered a sampler platter and everyone kinda found some things they liked but no one really ate enough to get full (except me), and again, it's kinda pricey to not get full...

We've never eaten at the Garden Grill, but I think we'd like it if we did.

We have never tried China due to the general disregard my family has for vegetables and white rice; fried rice is fine but not if it has vegetables in it... Can you say argh!?

Mexico has always been a no-go for my family since they will not go near an onion or pepper. I may just have to go by myself one of these days...

Hope that helps!

 

[Doctor P]

Frankly, with kid's meals, the restaurants don't vary as much as you would think. As I recall, they had American food available on all of the kid's meals along with some ethnic food. In any case, Le Cellier is very tame food for kids and picky eaters. San Angel Inn is good, but it is authentic Mexican food and a lot of adults don't even like the slightly different flavors (even though we love it). Outside the WS, Garden Grill is another great option for picky eaters and has a great kid's meal. Keep in mind that they let anybody order the kid's meals (or multiple kids meals if you need more to eat).

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Just a side note. The Cape May buffet does not offer fried shrimp as a selection any longer. It does have chicken fingers on the children's side.

 

[cinmell]

Joyous2002, thank you for posting this! My husband and I are very picky and we usually end up eating counter service food at Epcot. We have tried Alfredos but would like to try other places but didn't know where to try because we are very picky and usually just eat the basics. Thank you again for asking the question and thanks everyone for your suggestions

 

[Magic2000]

We've eaten at France, Mexico, Italy, Canada, China, and of course at the American Pavillion - with three picky eaters, my two teenagers and a 5 yr old. Naturally, the little one just gets chicken fingers, AGAIN!

I would suggest Canada, as they seem to have the best standard food - meat and potatoes, as well as great cheese soup. My girls are willing to at least try the restaurant, and if they really don't see anything they want, they order off the kids menu. We usually get an appetizer, so they're happy. Also, for the restaurants we've tried, they've all been happy to "make that plain", or "put the sauce on the side", or whatever special requests the girls have.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

I assume you are looking at sit-down restaurants. However, there are a lot of counter service options.

I think you will be okay at the Germany buffet. Also the Rose & Cown has some standard fare. Good luck!

 

[lorik]

Believe it or not my extremely picky DS loved the food in Norway. He found most of his favorites on the buffet there. He had meatballs, mac and cheese, and a turkey sandwich. He would live on these foods alone if it were up to him. Checkout the menu at www.wdwig.com.

 

[vicb]

My son is quite picky at age 6 and my daughter used to be at that age also (she is a more advernturous eater now at 10). When going to WDW resturants we check menus to be sure there is something DS will eat a little of but we don't let his pickiness stop us from trying where we want to. Sometimes he has surprised us by trying and liking new things. We have found the key is not to pressure him, we encourage him to try something and tell him if he is still hungry after we will get him a yogart or fruit. At SAI he ordered a chicken quesadilla "unassembled". He ate the plain tortilla, chicken and cheese without complaint! We always look at it as the experience is good for him to learn from. ANy of the resturants mentioned will have something a picky eater can eat and are quite accomodating to special requests!

 

[vicb]

My son is quite picky at age 6 and my daughter used to be at that age also (she is a more advernturous eater now at 10). When going to WDW resturants we check menus to be sure there is something DS will eat a little of but we don't let his pickiness stop us from trying where we want to. Sometimes he has surprised us by trying and liking new things. We have found the key is not to pressure him, we encourage him to try something and tell him if he is still hungry after we will get him a yogart or fruit. At SAI he ordered a chicken quesadilla "unassembled". He ate the plain tortilla, chicken and cheese without complaint! We always look at it as the experience is good for him to learn from. ANy of the resturants mentioned will have something a picky eater can eat and are quite accomodating to special requests!

 

[DeeP]

I would vote for either the restaurant in Japan or Le Cellier in Canada. They both have foods that it sounds like your niece and great nephew will eat.

 

[RumpleMom]

Epcot-The Land, Garden Grill restaurant has a very simple, but really good menu. My kids enjoyed the fact that the foods they were eating were grown in the area we had just toured on the boat ride. Also the Ice Cream Social there has farmer Mickey.

The food court has lots of really good choices.

 

[imbe@aol.com]

Originally posted by Joyous2002
My niece, great nephew & I are planning a WDW trip in May of next year. We have already picked out several places to dine while we are there, but when it comes to picking out a dining location in Epcot, I'm am totally stumped!
Niece & GN are VERY picky eaters & everywhere I suggest gets
vetoed. San Angel Inn & Alfredo's might be possibilities, but my
niece will only eat pizza & won't touch pasta-and as for Mexican, she won't venture beyond Taco Bell! They will both eat Japanese Steakhouse food, so Japan might be a possibility if it isn't much different from that. My niece likes steak also, so maybe Le Cellier would be a good choice. She will only eat shrimp in the seafood line & fried at that, so I guess Coral Reef is out. Norway, Germany, France, UK-absolutely no way, judging from the menus I've seen. If you have taken picky eaters to Epcot before, let me know what you tried & did they like it? Any & all suggestions are most welcome. Please help-I don't worry so much about my GN, since about all restaurants have kids meals, but my niece is a different story. I'd rather not have to settle for cheeseburgers & chicken fingers! HELP!

I know you said you looked at the menus in France, and don't think they'd be good for you .. but maybe you should reconsider. I've got some VERY picky eaters in my group too, and .. they actually ASKED to go to Chefs de France this year! LOL

 

[soccer mom]

One trip, my 7 year old son (now 20) only ate french fries for almost every meal the week we were at the world! The rest of us tried everything!

We didn't make a big deal out of it, and he was happy. One week of fast food won't hurt anyone. You can get the "kids friendly" food everywhere.

 

[JulieJo]

We had a very long walk to the US pavilion with a "starving" daughter because she wouldn't eat anything but a hotdog. We take PB sandwiches with us and we don't have to deal with her pickyness. BTW...she is worse than anything mentioned here...PB, hotdogs, grilled cheese (only at home) and plain rice with butter on it. Not much in the way of options at Epcot. Surprisingly, this is one of her favorite parks!

 

[pooh2001]

Canada - if you go and our child likes chocolate,
try the 'moose head' dessert. Before my DS
devoured it- we took a picture (sorry no scanner to put it on the web). It's one of my DS's favorite desserts and pictures in our photo album.
My pickey DD - age 7 - at pasta wit butter and
sauce on the side. Don't remember what my DS ate.
But he finished his plate.

Another EPCOT place to eat which everyone liked
is in the Land - Sunshine Food Faire. But get there by 11 am or after 1:30 pm for a table.

We did not do the Garden Grill - maybe next trip -
Easter 2003. menu looked good - even for pickey eaters.

Outside of EPCOT - short walk...
Beaches & Cream at Beach Club
Cape May Buffet at Yatch Club
Spoodles at Boardwalk
Dolphin Fountain at Dolphin (20% off to DC memebers)


Check out www.wdwig.com menu's

enjoy

 

[msybelle]

My DS age 4 only eats about 5 different foods. Luckily, chicken nuggets and fries being two of them, are served in most of the restaurants. In Epcot there is a counter service spot just before Canada that serves McDonald's fries and nuggets. Also, at Le Cellier in Canada, he loves the pretzel breadsticks.

 

[vicb]

Also good just outside of Epcot is ESPN CLub. My DS had a pb&j with chips and chocolate milk there. And I think they had grilled cheese too. Very kid friendly.

 

[UltimateWDWFan]

I am a VERY picky eater. Don't like anything that has a sauce on it, or anything with mayo. And, tell me this, why does every entree come with nasty vegetable? (It's not that I don't like any vegetables; I like corn and... corn.)

Anyway, I'd like to try some of the WS restaurants, but it's hard to find one that serves hamburgers to people over the age of 12. Recently we went to LeCellier; I thought I could get a nice steak there, but whatever it was prepared with turned me off, so I ordered chicken. (With chicken, you can often scrape off whatever nasty things they do to it.) Anyway, I had a great time at LeCellier, and the chicken was... okay. (And for me to give it a rating of "okay," that's saying something!) I absolutely loved the pretzel bread that they served.

The one thing I'd suggest is maybe eating your main meal at the American pavillion counter service and then having a PS for desert-only at one of the other WS restaurants. If your relatives are anything like me, they'll be less picky about desert, and then you can still enjoy the ambience of the restaurant without paying a lot for a meal that they won't like. The deserts at LeCellier looked great, but by the time I ate all that bread and then ate enough of my meal to look respectable, I didn't have room for desert. We tried to get back in for desert later, but you really need a PS for even that.

Good luck!

/th