Garden Grill??

[Mommy2TwoMickeys]

My family and I are thinking of eating at the Garden Grill our first day at Disney(going to Epcot). We figured it was the easiest solution since its family style and it should keep my son entertained with the characters, scenery,etc. How would you rate the food at the restaurant(to my family, it sounds very good) Also, what time does the restaurant accept its first reservation since it only serves dinner??? Thanks in Advance!!!

 

[Princess Sleepy]

I can't answer your question about what time they start taking ADRs, but I can tell you about our two experiences.

We went when my girls were 2 and 5 and again when they were 4 and 7. It was among the best character interactions we had on either trip. Chip and Dale managed to teach the girls, in pantomime, how to tell the two chipmunks apart. It's a lesson they haven't forgotten. They came by twice, as did Pluto, who was very silly with the girls and I got great pictures!

The food was above average and you can eat as much as you want. The girls got cupcakes to decorate and that was a big hit. The revolving restaurant is also fun; try to get seated on the outside ring.

I can recommend this restaurant whole-heartedly.

 

[krbrat]

I agree with Princess Sleepy. We eat there every visit. It is one of my favorites. My grandkids love it.

 

[monami7]

We love it. It is requested by everyone in my family. Including my father!

 

[cindydare]

I think the earliest ADR time is 4 pm. My family loves the Garden Grill and we go every trip! This year we're saving it until our last night at Disney! We have had some of the best character interactions there...especially with Pluto!! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!

 

[Mommy2TwoMickeys]

Thanks for sharing your experiences!! I am looking forward to it! We can make our ADR's in 12days

 

[lucyem]

We ate there in October and really enjoyed it. They did try and seat us at a table with chairs on the inner ring. I asked for an outside booth. We had to wait a while longer but it was worth it. You might want to make the request when you check in. I did not but had not realized there was an inside ring.

 

[Fantasmiss]

We've been twice and to be honest, it's our only BAD dining experience in WDW. The cast members there were UNBELIEVABLY rude and sarcastic. Characters were ok, food was below average. Still we went back a few years later to give it a second chance, cast members were a bit better, still not nice or helpful though and food still not good. I have to add, I r e a l l y wanted to like it, I love the characters, I love Living With The Land and the whole revolving thing is really cool as well, but it none of that could save it from being a b a d experience. Would DEFINITELY avoid....

 

[CamoMama]

The Garden Grill was the best character interaction we had in our entire 8 days of park dining. they were awesome. Our server was wonderful and the food was awesome. My daughter and I who both hate fish tried the mahi mahi, just to say we had, and loved it, it was moist and not at all fishy. The dessert was an apple crisp with vanilla bean whipped cream, sooooo delicious. The kids dessert is now a red velvet cupcake shaped and iced like a ladybug, very cute and also very tasty. The revolving restaurant was also very cool, every time we looked up we had a different view. All the characters conspired with me against my 16 year old daughter who had insisted on no more character pictures; Farmer Mickey sat next to her and put his head in his hands and acted silly, then hugged her and got her laughing while I snapped away. The rest pretty much followed suit, squeezing in between the tables to get to her. It was awesome.

 

[LarryBoy]

Chalk up another fan of Garden Grill. We love it! We go every trip. The food is good and it by far my favorite character meal or experience. For one reason the place is not as huge so the characters have more time to spend with each family, and I also love the fact that it is so much more quiet and peaceful than any other character meal. I think this is due to the circular rotating seating, where as most other character meals are in a big open room. That is particularly important when you have an autistic child.

 

[Hook326]

Loved the GG! Atmosphere, food, characters, & staff were great!

 

[Mommy2TwoMickeys]

Fabulous!! I am very excited to try this restaurant now!!

 

[brymolmom]

We had a big family trip in January - 15 of us. All the women did the princess meal in Norway and the men did Garden Grill. The guys all really liked GG a LOT! It was my son(8)'s and nephew(10)'s favorite meal of the entire trip.

They really liked the food and the characters and my son loved how the restuarant turns.

I am bummed I missed it myself. It is a must-do for us on our next trip.

 

[Karbase8]

I had a mixed experience with me and my DS11 last summer. We waited about 40 minutes to be seated which we really didn't mind actually. Our waiter was nice, Mickey and Chip/Dale were wonderful, Pluto was not to us. The food was so/so my son did not like the family style very much, however he is a picky eater. I must say though as a Disney fanatic, the only thing that I found lacking was the food overall in Disney, I really find it poor to mediocre. I mean the character interactions are pretty good. The dessert was really good. I would give it a try, I love Living with the Land and Soarin and the Pavillion in general. Good Luck!

 

[MissLiz]

We felt that the characters were fantastic here. Each character came around multiple times and would sit down with us each time. It was great for our girls.

The food, on the other hand, was not good at all. We had looked at the menu online for a while before deciding to eat there and we thought it would be really good. The meat was dry and the fish smelled so much that we couldn't smell anything else at the table.

I'm hoping that we just had a bad night (or late afternoon...we had an early ADR) because the service is great and the character interaction was amazing.

 

[AggieMickey99]

Another positive experience for GG! DM, DD7 and I went this past November. We spent the entire day at EPCOT, dined at GG at 6:30 then found a spot to watch Illuminations. Our meal and experience at GG was wonderful. Character interaction was the BEST! DD7 was wearing her Pluto hat so of course when Pluto came by he really interacted with her! She loved it. The food was really, really good and comforting. DD7 was served baked chicken, mac & cheese, steamed broccoli, and sweet potato fries. DM and I were served a platter (family style) of beef, mahi-mahi, and turkey, and sides of course. We loved the food. Very fresh, cooked perfectly. We ate off of DD7 plate and she ate off ours. We even asked for seconds of the things we really liked. The cobbler dessert was heavenly! We all 3 rolled out of the booth! We walked really slowly to World Showcase. This will be on our repeat list for June 2013!

 

[chipanddalemom]

We have eaten there the past 5 years and love it. The salad is the best! I did like it better when the fish was fried catfish but things change. The kid’s platter is also really good and my children loved the sweet potato fires. The character interaction is the best I have seen. I believe they start taking reservations at 4 but not a 100% positive about that.

 

[HeatherL]

LOVE LOVE The Garden Grill! The food was great and the kids loved the "spinning restaurant". We will definitely eat there again!

 

[tndvc]

Does anybody know the current cost for The Garden Grill? Is your beverage, soda or tea, included? Thanks for your help!

 

[lumpyandgrumpy]

Mind you, our last Disney trip was December 2007, but we LOVED Garden Grill! Ate there for our first meal in WDW (off the ME bus and straight to Epcot for our ADR) and had such a great experience that we walked up for a late lunch on our last day and were able to be seated! The character interactions were unhurried and magical! And the food was really good--especially the turkey and sides! (Didn't care for the flank steak, but with so many options--no biggie We're so excited to go back on our trip in June!!!!