ADR decisions - help me decide between 2

[delgrec]

I am trying to decide between 2 options 2 different days. Just some background - It will be me, my husband and DS 4 and DD almost 3, we will be going in Nov and are staying at POFQ. Both kids are pretty adventurous eaters. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

For DHS, would you choose Mama Melrose or 50's Primetime Cafe for lunch? We have been to Primetime before but we have constant access to top notch Italian food at home, so those are two things to consider.

For Epcot, would you choose Marrakesh or Garden Grill for dinner?

Also, I just thought of another question. We plan on hitting MK on our arrival day. We will probably get there around 1. We do not want to make it a late night and I want to have a good, welcome to disney, dinner. Would you choose...Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon or something else? The food does not have to be great. This dinner would be more for the experience. We need to be able to get back to the hotel by 7 or so and I am sure the kids will be pretty tired so I don't want to travel to much to get to dinner. The closer to MK the better.

Thanks for any thoughts!!!

 

[disneychic2]

For DHS I would vote for 50s PTC since you have good Italian at home. Love PTC!

For Epcot, I would choose Garden Grill since the place rotates and would maybe be fun for the kids?

I would say Whispering Canyon, but that's a boat ride away from MK. Only takes 5 minutes travel time, so still may be an option. Otherwise, Crystal Palace all the way!

HOpe this helps. Have fun!

 

[doclegler]

I really dislike all the TS choices at DHS, so I'm skipping that part of the question. We always chose quick service there, and leave early for another ADR at a resort.
For Epcot, would you choose Marrakesh or Garden Grill for dinner?
I would definitely chose Garden Grill simply because of the characters! The food is also quite good. My picky 4 year old really enjoyed the choices in November. I've never done Marakesh, so I can't comment on that one.

Would you choose...Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon or something else?
Chef Mickey's, hands down. Easy to once again see all your favorite characters and get a taste of what's to come. Although the food is average, I think its great for small children.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

No ? 50's.
And Garden grill between your 2 choices.

 

[Hopefully]

We really enjoyed the Prime Time Cafe at the DHS, especially if you have good Italian at home.
I too would go with Garden Grill with children your ages. We love Marrakesh, but I think they would enjoy Garden Grill better.
Which characters would your children be interested in? If it is Pooh and friends then do Crystal Palace. If it is the classic 5 then do Chef Mickey's I think either is a fantastic choice. If you go to Chef Mickey's, it is a quick walk, or monorail ride back to the MK to get your bus home to POFQ.
Have a Great Trip.

 

[seadd67]

For MK, we love CP!. Its so bright in there and all the pooh chacters and there parade. The kids really love it. Chef Mickeys,is really fun to but seems a little more noise then CP. Really I do not think you could go wrong with your choices H ave a blast

 

[delgrec]

Thanks for the opinions! I will definitely go with Primetime. Still thinking about the others. Keep any thoughts coming.

 

[hannahryan]

Primetime - love the theming and the fried chicken!
Garden Grill - at your kids ages, you can't have enough character meals
Crystal Palace - the food is pretty good, the characters are fun and you will be right there in the MK. Then you can walk right out and over to the buses; no hastle with additional traveling to a resort.

 

[MHSweb79]

If your family loves Chef Boyardee, then Mama Melrose would be fine dining. In no way would I call it "good Italian food."

We love Crystal Palace any time of the day or night. We've got 2 ADR's there for our next trip!

Garden Grill- OK food, nothing to write home about. Nice experience with rotating restaurant and good character interaction. Pretty pricey for what you get.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

at DHS we like Hollywood & Vine for lunch, it is cute and you get to see characters. The food is good for us. But If I had to choose between the two you chose: I would go with 50's Primetime, we did not enjoy the food at Mama Melrose.

I would choose Garden Grill for Dinner.

I would choose Crystal Palace because you still get to see characters and the food is better than Chef Mickey's. Whispering Canyon is a good choice too, it is fun and you can get some quiet time after a while too many character meals starts to wear on you and you need a break.

 

[asdfghjkl13]

I have never been to Marrakesh, but I love Garden Grill. Love the atmosphere there and good character interaction and food too.

Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, and Whispering Canyon are all good, but....
food wise: Crystal Palace
entertainment: whispering canyon (hilarious waiters/waitress)

 

[CathieArms]

I am trying to decide between 2 options 2 different days. Just some background - It will be me, my husband and DS 4 and DD almost 3, we will be going in Nov and are staying at POFQ. Both kids are pretty adventurous eaters. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

For DHS, would you choose Mama Melrose or 50's Primetime Cafe for lunch? We have been to Primetime before but we have constant access to top notch Italian food at home, so those are two things to consider.

50s Prime Time. If you have "top notch" Italian at home, then you might be disappointed here, I'd think.

For Epcot, would you choose Marrakesh or Garden Grill for dinner?

Not a huge fan of Garden Grill, but your kids would likely enjoy it more than Marrakesh.

Also, I just thought of another question. We plan on hitting MK on our arrival day. We will probably get there around 1. We do not want to make it a late night and I want to have a good, welcome to disney, dinner. Would you choose...Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon or something else? The food does not have to be great. This dinner would be more for the experience. We need to be able to get back to the hotel by 7 or so and I am sure the kids will be pretty tired so I don't want to travel to much to get to dinner. The closer to MK the better.

Thanks for any thoughts!!!

I think Crystal Palace. The kids would love the characters, and you wouldn't have to leave the park.

 

[lovesdumbo]

DHS-I've never been to 50s but think you might like it more than Mamas

MK-we like the food at CP much better than CM

Epcot-my kids LOVE Garden Grill. The character interaction is very good here. We've been to Marrakesh and while I enjoyed the food my kids did not. I was VERY loud there.

 

[3sweetpeas]

We were there at the beginning of March and I can't answer the first two questions but we went to 2 out of 3 of the last choices, Chef Mickey's being the one we did not do. What characters would excite your kids the most? We really liked Crystal Palace and the Pooh characters would probably be a hit with your kids. We went to Whispering Canyon for lunch and really liked the food but we went for the fun and it just didn't happen. When I asked for ketchup our waiter told us that they didn't "bring ketchup at lunch". I can't say how it would be for dinner. Is your daughter big on Cinderella? Our first night we went to 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. Cinderella and the prince dance and the stepmother and stepsisters are very fun! I think you'll enjoy any of the above choices Have fun!

 

[02AggieGirl]

We love Crystal Palace!! The food is great and our family loves Pooh and friends. It's a must for our family.

We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner one trip. The atmosphere/characters were fun but the buffet wasn't my favorite. But the breakfast is probably great.

 

[disneybliss2]

50's Prime Time
Garden Grill
Chef Mickey's--my kids loooooove the characters and interaction here
I will say the food is better at CP at MK, but my kids really love Chef Mickey's. If you're looking more for the interaction and for a fun, festive Disney atmosphere, then definitely go w/ Chef Mickey's.

 

[delgrec]

So if I told you that we already were planning on a Tusker House breakast, would that help anyone decide between Chef Mickey and Crystal Palace? Does Mickey typically appear at TH?

Also, now I am debating between Primetime and Sci fi. thoughts?

So appreciated all the thoughts!

 

[02AggieGirl]

So if I told you that we already were planning on a Tusker House breakast, would that help anyone decide between Chef Mickey and Crystal Palace? Does Mickey typically appear at TH?

Also, now I am debating between Primetime and Sci fi. thoughts?

So appreciated all the thoughts!

The characters at TH are usually Donald, Daisy, Mickey and Goofy.

Again we like the food better at Crystal Palace so we also go with it.

I really didn't like Sci-Fi at all. I would stick with PT 50s.