9 days/10 meals - any suggestions?

[jacksgirl]

So here are my initial plans. There are four of us: me, DH, DS16, and DS9. Any thoughts on these meals? Any changes you would suggest?

Ohana (dinner)
Ohana (breakfast)
Sci-Fi
50s Prime Time
Rainforest (or T-Rex)
Rose & Crown Pub
Chef Mickey's
1900 Park Fare (dinner)
Tony's Town Square
Garden Grill (or Whispering Canyon)

 

[goofyintoronto]

So here are my initial plans. There are four of us: me, DH, DS16, and DS9. Any thoughts on these meals? Any changes you would suggest?

Ohana (dinner)
Ohana (breakfast)
Sci-Fi
50s Prime Time
Rainforest (or T-Rex)
Rose & Crown Pub
Chef Mickey's
1900 Park Fare (dinner)
Tony's Town Square
Garden Grill (or Whispering Canyon)

I'd ditch Tony's FOR SURE....the nastiest meal i've ever had in my whole life at Disney. So disgusting. Their marinara sauce killed all the dishes. I tried my son's meatballs and i refused to swallow. My chicken parm was gross too. Others who've dined there and avoided dishes with marinara seemed to think their meals were ok?

Between Rainforest & Trex i'd go to TRex....rainforest you can get anywhere.

1900 PF dinner is fun, but the food is disappointing. Just a heads up.

Are you doing Chef Mickeys dinner or breakfast? I'd definitely ditch dinner and do breakfast. Even thou breakfast wasnt that good, its better than dinner.

All other choices are great thou!

 

[ThePrincess&TheJohn]

I would definitely go with Whispering Canyon. I've loved every meal I've had there. The skillet is great. Your son would probably get a kick out of the antics too!

 

[Harters2WDW]

Are you doing Chef Mickeys dinner or breakfast? I'd definitely ditch dinner and do breakfast. Even thou breakfast wasnt that good, its better than dinner.

I agree with this! Dinner is rather average there. Breakfast isn't anything amazing, but much better than the dinner!

 

[lcj19]

I would drop Tony's and go with Liberty Tree Tavern (it is a family favorite )

 

[jacksgirl]

Ok, so no one likes Tony's? DS16 wants Italian, so Mama Melrose's or Tutto Italia? It should be noted that his idea of "Italian" is Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill lol.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Try Tutto Italia or Via Napoli!!

 

[tofubeast]

Ohana (dinner)- never been
Ohana (breakfast) - never been but heard great things
Sci-Fi - Thought the food was a major so-so (read current reviews)
50s Prime Time (awesome!! Fun place and a fair priced TS for Disney standards)
Rainforest (or T-Rex) (never been, but I am sure your DS will love it)
Rose & Crown Pub (great food, fun atmosphere)
Chef Mickey's (did breakfast. Fun place to see the Fab Four characters)
1900 Park Fare (dinner) (never been)
Tony's Town Square (SKIP....worst meal I've ever had at Disney. Had hoped to hear it had improved in 2 years, but I guess not. So not worth it.)
Garden Grill (or Whispering Canyon) (I hear both are nice)

If your kids like seafood, consider Cape May buffet. YUM. I also really enjoyed the buffet at Boma (at AKL). We've never stayed at AKl, so it was also a fun excuse to go tour the resort.

 

[tofubeast]

Ok, so no one likes Tony's? DS16 wants Italian, so Mama Melrose's or Tutto Italia? It should be noted that his idea of "Italian" is Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill lol.

I had the egglant parm at Tony's. A frozen microwave dinner was better than what I was served!

I have heard mixed things about MM. I ate at Tutto awhile back and thought it was delicious.

 

[Huff]

I've eaten at Tony's many times and always had great food and excellent service. Never a bad meal. It gets mixed reviews every time but overall most enjoy it. Mama Melrose is ok but not for us, service is mediocre every time. Tutto Italia or Via Napoli are both very good but check menus on allears.net before going.

For great pasta thats counter service head to Port Orleans Riverside for their create your own pasta station. Excellent!

T-Rex and Rainforest are so-so. Decent food but nothing notable and we have Rainforests here in Phoenix so nothing Disney unique about it. T-Rex is a unique theme kids enjoy and is owned by Rainforest.

Ohanas is excellent. Next door is Kona Cafe, which is one of the best and most overlooked restaurants at WDW.

Prime Time and Sci-Fi are both very good. Its the atmosphere thats fun. Great value if OOP but if on DDP there are better choices.

Coral Reef is a unique experience and we've always had very good food and service.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

You will never get a universally positive or negative opinion on any restaurant. There must have been a reason you chose these. Why not give them a try.

My personal opinions:

So here are my initial plans. There are four of us: me, DH, DS16, and DS9. Any thoughts on these meals? Any changes you would suggest?

Ohana (dinner) - It's been several years since we've eaten there. We weren't impressed, but many people are. If you're a family of serious carnivores, definitely give it a try.
Ohana (breakfast) - We haven't tried this one, but eventually will.
Sci-Fi - We went for lunch & had burgers, onion rings, & fries. The kids had shakes. After reading so many negative reviews, we were pleasantly surprised. It was the best burger I've had a WDW & everything else was great too.
50s Prime Time - I'm still trying to talk myself into giving this one a try.
Rainforest (or T-Rex) - We too prefer T-Rex to Rainforest. We feel the food is a bit better. Probably not enough to choose it, if you really prefer RFC's atmosphere.
Rose & Crown Pub - We haven't tried this one.
Chef Mickey's - A lot of fun for kids. This is really one you're going to for the atmosphere & not the food. If that's not the reason you booked it, you may want to reconsider. I agree breakfast is a safer bet.
1900 Park Fare (dinner) - Fun atmosphere/great characters. Typical buffet fare to us.
Tony's Town Square - We ate at Tony's last Monday. It definitely wasn't the best food I've had at WDW, but we also didn't think it was as bad as some say. The pasta sauce is reminiscent of Ragu Chunky sauce. If you like Ragu, you'll be fine with it. It's definitely better than Chef Boyardee as I've seen some post. The rolls were disappointing, but we were comparing it to bread at signature restaurants. That's not exactly a fair comparison. The fish dish I ordered was over salted, but was cooked perfectly. My dessert was the best part of the meal. Unlike another poster, we would consider returning to Tony's, but we won't be going back to LTT for dinner. As I said, there will never be universal agreement.
Garden Grill (or Whispering Canyon) - GG has the best character interaction I've experienced. You get a lot of attention from them. The rotating restaurant is also unique. Ask to sit in the booths on the bottom row, if you can. The food is served family style & is similar quality to other FS meals. We haven't tried WC.

 

[TwoAtDisney]

I'm curious, will you be on a Disney dining plan? Your choices seem to be OOP places because you haven't included any of the (my opinion only!) better quality TS spots. We consider SciFi a burger place, 50's a low quality/small quantity mom & pop spot (but some go just for the entertainment), & so on & so on with your list. However, if you are going OOP, then I understand your list & for out of pocket, not bad choices.

 

[OneLittleSpark7]

If Tony's is something that appeals to you I'd encourage you to give it a try. We also had a wonderful experience there. The appetizers are amazing and our entree was pasta (slightly basic but also not bad). Getting a reservation at parade time and requesting the front dinning room grants you a pretty nice view of the MSEP too!

 

[aoffhaus]

I'm curious, will you be on a Disney dining plan? Your choices seem to be OOP places because you haven't included any of the (my opinion only!) better quality TS spots. We consider SciFi a burger place, 50's a low quality/small quantity mom & pop spot (but some go just for the entertainment), & so on & so on with your list. However, if you are going OOP, then I understand your list & for out of pocket, not bad choices.

Can you tell me what you would consider to be the better quality TS spots? I am reviewing my reservations for DDP and want to make sure that I made some good choices.....thanks!

 

[goofyintoronto]

Try Tutto Italia or Via Napoli!!>>> I agree!!

I commented already but forgot to make detailed comments about the other restaurants you chose. so here we go:

Ohana (breakfast) - LOVE this place. Relaxed beautiful atmosphere, food is tasty (and all you can eat!). Love their pineapple bread & juice! .
Sci-Fi - Decent burgers & shakes. Atmosphere rocks!
50s Prime Time - Antics are great. Food is good. Although i found the chicken to be way too salty. Get the PB&J shake!!
Rainforest (or T-Rex) - TRex has decent food. Its a fun place to eat.
Rose & Crown Pub - Great food! Terrific view of illuminations if you can swing it.
Chef Mickey's - not worth going IMHO. But if you must, choose breakfast over dinner.
1900 Park Fare (dinner) - a bit disapointing variety & quality of food. But the characters are a riot. I think this place is worth checking out once in your life.
Tony's Town Square - GROSS! Avoid at all cost! As mentioned already, try Tutto or Via Napoli.

 

[Huff]

Can you tell me what you would consider to be the better quality TS spots? I am reviewing my reservations for DDP and want to make sure that I made some good choices.....thanks!

If you are on DDP heres my list of some of the better spots. Prime Time, Sci-Fi, T-Rex, Rainforest are all good food but considered lower end of the TS restaurants (Burgers and such). All below are for dinners, as breakfasts I'd rather pay than use DDP. We don't do any character buffets as I find them expensive for just ok food. You're paying for the characters so good if you have small kids.

Coral Reef Good food and great atmosphere with the large aquariums.
Ohana Excellent and fun for smaller kids too
Kona One of the best overlooked restaurants
LeCelliar Great steaks but we do lunch here now as dinners are 2 credits
San Angel Excellent Mexican but not for everyone. Great atmosphere.
Boma one of the best buffets. Unique foods so not for picky eaters.
Chefs De France Great food and fun staff.
Cape May Cafe has very good seafood buffet.

For counter service credits heres my list of best.
Port Orleans Riverside food court. Creat your own pasta is excellent!
Wolfgang Puck Express in downtown Disney is very good.
Seasons in Epcot has some very good choices for all.
Flametree BBQ at Animal Kingdom
Cosmic Rays at Magic Kingdom

 

[aoffhaus]

If you are on DDP heres my list of some of the better spots. Prime Time, Sci-Fi, T-Rex, Rainforest are all good food but considered lower end of the TS restaurants (Burgers and such). All below are for dinners, as breakfasts I'd rather pay than use DDP. We don't do any character buffets as I find them expensive for just ok food. You're paying for the characters so good if you have small kids.

Coral Reef Good food and great atmosphere with the large aquariums.
Ohana Excellent and fun for smaller kids too
Kona One of the best overlooked restaurants
LeCelliar Great steaks but we do lunch here now as dinners are 2 credits
San Angel Excellent Mexican but not for everyone. Great atmosphere.
Boma one of the best buffets. Unique foods so not for picky eaters.
Chefs De France Great food and fun staff.
Cape May Cafe has very good seafood buffet.

For counter service credits heres my list of best.
Port Orleans Riverside food court. Creat your own pasta is excellent!
Wolfgang Puck Express in downtown Disney is very good.
Seasons in Epcot has some very good choices for all.
Flametree BBQ at Animal Kingdom
Cosmic Rays at Magic Kingdom

Awesome....we are on DDP. Thank you for the list. I have Ohana and Coral Reef already reserved. Need to check on my others. I did book one character meal at Chef Mickey's, it will be my son's third birthday that day. Figured I would do something exciting for him.

 

[bcrook]

Kona One of the best overlooked restaurants

Not looking to argue, but I did find it interesting while I was making my last round of ADRs, Kona was the most difficult restaurant to book for breakfast and dinner. We are going the last week of May. With the new CC reservation policy in effect, I think a lot of people are jumping on the restaurants that don't require the CC. And Kona may be the best of that bunch.

The secret may be out...

 

[jacksgirl]

I'm thinking about adding Kona in there somewhere, maybe for a lunch. We've been to WDW several times, but never tried Kona, and I've heard really good things about it.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

so here are my initial plans. There are four of us: Me, dh, ds16, and ds9. Any thoughts on these meals? Any changes you would suggest?

Ohana (dinner) not overly impressed on my last two trips
ohana (breakfast) fine
sci-fi fine
50s prime time fine
rainforest (or t-rex) skip them - highly overpriced and poor quality. Yak and yeti at ak or pucks at downtown (quickserve is 3x better than most disney sit downs now)
rose & crown pub fine
chef mickey's food quality is actually pretty bad...better be all about the animals for you
1900 park fare (dinner) fine
tony's town square ditch...some of the worst italian food on earth - not even exaggerating
garden grill (or whispering canyon)

like both...garden grill was excellent when we went in september after about 10 years. A nice surprise.