On my last couple of visits to Disney, I've had occasion to eat at several of the Celebration restaurants. You don't seem to hear/read much about them, so I wanted to spread the word. If you're not familiar with Celebration, it's the "town that Disney built" and it is located right off of I-4/US192. Celebration itself is like an old-fashioned small town. My family could be entertained just walking around. There is a large lake with a promenade and benches surrounding it, as well as one of those interactive fountains that kids love to play in. Many small shops and a movie theater round out the entertainment.
I've been to three restaurants and really enjoyed them all. In addition to good food, I was pleasantly surprised that prices were similar to what I'd pay in DC (if not less) rather than the typically inflated Disney prices. Although you could take kids to any of these restaurants, they are really not geared toward kids (except for Market Street Cafe). Here are my mini-reviews:
Cafe D'Antonio- Good Italian food. You can really decide how nice/pricey you want this meal to be. Plenty of appetizers and add ons if you wanted to make a big night of it, but you could also just have a simple dinner of pasta. Good lunch menu here. Can't remember if they had a kids menu, but I know they didn't have anything that my 3 year-old niece liked, so we skipped this place when she was with us, but food and service were both good on my two other visits.
Market Stree Cafe- This is your best bet if you have kids along or if you're a nostalgia lover. Themed like a '50s diner with lots of homestyle comfort food. Went with a large group including a 3 year old and 1 year old. Plenty to entertain the kids with and service and food were both good.
Celebration Town Tavern- This is primarily a steak and seafood restaurant. A separate section (Boston something I think) is a bit more upscale. Food here was pretty good but service was very slow and we had the baby with us, however I would still recommend this place if you didn't have small kids with you.
In summary, if you're looking to try some new places on your next trip to Disney, I highly recommend that you try out Celebration. Good food, good prices and just walking around the town is fun. Free parking if you have a car. Can be a bit of a pain to get here if you don't.
I've been to three restaurants and really enjoyed them all. In addition to good food, I was pleasantly surprised that prices were similar to what I'd pay in DC (if not less) rather than the typically inflated Disney prices. Although you could take kids to any of these restaurants, they are really not geared toward kids (except for Market Street Cafe). Here are my mini-reviews:
Cafe D'Antonio- Good Italian food. You can really decide how nice/pricey you want this meal to be. Plenty of appetizers and add ons if you wanted to make a big night of it, but you could also just have a simple dinner of pasta. Good lunch menu here. Can't remember if they had a kids menu, but I know they didn't have anything that my 3 year-old niece liked, so we skipped this place when she was with us, but food and service were both good on my two other visits.
Market Stree Cafe- This is your best bet if you have kids along or if you're a nostalgia lover. Themed like a '50s diner with lots of homestyle comfort food. Went with a large group including a 3 year old and 1 year old. Plenty to entertain the kids with and service and food were both good.
Celebration Town Tavern- This is primarily a steak and seafood restaurant. A separate section (Boston something I think) is a bit more upscale. Food here was pretty good but service was very slow and we had the baby with us, however I would still recommend this place if you didn't have small kids with you.
In summary, if you're looking to try some new places on your next trip to Disney, I highly recommend that you try out Celebration. Good food, good prices and just walking around the town is fun. Free parking if you have a car. Can be a bit of a pain to get here if you don't.
While we were dining, we noticed quite a few Disney "blue ID" employees there as well, so maybe service was kicked up a notch that day?
