Almost 70 Days Out and Still Can't Decide on Restaurants

[AllThingsMickey4]

So I've been officially planning this trip for over a year now and still can't decide on all of our dining!! Here's the details: we are traveling April 26th-May 3rd for our Disney Wedding (on April 28th) and honeymoon. We will be at the GF the night of the 26th and 27th, then we move to YC (Club Level ) on the 28th (checking in around 4 PM after our wedding reception). We will have the Deluxe Dining Plan during our YC stay... yes we know it's A LOT of food, we did it on our last trip and loved it.

I'm still having trouble deciding on our arrival night and last night restaurants. We are driving down and plan to arrive in Disney around 2 PM, but we are bringing our dogs, so we have to get them settled into Best Friends before we check in. I planned on just hanging around the Grand on our arrival day since this will be our first (and probably only) stay there.

Right now I have Narcoossee's at 7:30 PM for the 26th so we can hopefully see the fireworks, BUT I keep reading about how inconsistent they are regarding service and food quality... and I don't eat seafood. I've been considering Citricos, and the menu looks appealing, but the atmosphere seems lacking when compared to Narcoossee's. Of course, I would LOVE to do V&A's since we will be staying at the GF.. it's technically in the budget, but I'm frugal and just don't know if I can justify the cost I've also been looking at the intimate/private dining experience on the GF balcony, but the price is close to V&A and I don't know how the food quality would be.

And for the last night we have Monsieur Paul booked, but once again I'm not confident in my choice. We will be in Epcot our last day, so I want to do a restaurant in that area. The menu at Flying Fish is slightly more appealing to me than MP, but I haven't been able to find many positive reviews since it reopened.

So help me decide: Narcoosee's or Citricos and Monster Paul or Flying Fish!

Other restaurants we will already be dining at on the trip: 1900 Park Fare breakfast, CRT, Artist Point, Beaches and Cream (maybe between our brunch wedding reception and dessert party), CG brunch, Spice Road Table, Mama Melrose, 'Ohana, Tusker House breakfast, Tiffins, Jiko, Crystal Palace breakfast, Via Napoli

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I would go with CA grill in Contemporary for Fireworks and food preference. Easy to get to and good food.

 

[KenHutch]

The two times we ate at Narcoossee's service and the food were great. And my girls loved the float/parade they did in the water off of the dock.

 

[melana]

I really enjoyed Monsieur Paul’s.

 

[gharter]

We really enjoyed Monsieyr Paul in October. We will be going back. We also ate at Flying Fish the same time and enjoyed it. One other option that is close is Il Mulino at the Swan if you like Italian. Best Italian at WDW.
Another vote for California Grill instead of Narcoossees. If you can't get CG, then I would use that as a fall back option.
If its your wedding, I would strongly consider Victoria and Alberts. It is one of the best meals we have had anywhere ( been there 4 times). It is a dining experience for foodies.
The rest of your choices look good. Enjoyed Artist Point (we have never had a bad meal there, but reviews have been spotty). Jiko is amazing as is Tiffins.

 

[Micca]

Citrico's is our current favorite spot at WDW. The food is outstanding, the atmosphere is pleasant. I realize view is important to some, but I find that if I don't have a prime table for the view, it doesn't make much difference. You'll probably be pleased with any of the options you mentioned, maybe pick one depending on your plans prior to and after the meal?

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

I would go with CA grill in Contemporary for Fireworks and food preference. Easy to get to and good food.

We really enjoyed Monsieyr Paul in October. We will be going back. We also ate at Flying Fish the same time and enjoyed it. One other option that is close is Il Mulino at the Swan if you like Italian. Best Italian at WDW.
Another vote for California Grill instead of Narcoossees. If you can't get CG, then I would use that as a fall back option.
If its your wedding, I would strongly consider Victoria and Alberts. It is one of the best meals we have had anywhere ( been there 4 times). It is a dining experience for foodies.
The rest of your choices look good. Enjoyed Artist Point (we have never had a bad meal there, but reviews have been spotty). Jiko is amazing as is Tiffins.

I guess I should've mentioned that we did CG last May and thought it was just okay. Plus, we are doing brunch there the day after the wedding... I didn't really want to repeat it unless you think it really it is that much better than Narcoossee's.

I've been wanting to try Il Mulino, but they don't take the dining plan so I don't want to waste the credits

I am thinking about Victoria and Alberts... I'm just worried because I'm kind of a picky eater

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

Citrico's is our current favorite spot at WDW. The food is outstanding, the atmosphere is pleasant. I realize view is important to some, but I find that if I don't have a prime table for the view, it doesn't make much difference. You'll probably be pleased with any of the options you mentioned, maybe pick one depending on your plans prior to and after the meal?

That's very true. We dined at CG and got stuck in the back corner without a view at all. I guess my problem is I don't really have any plans for our arrival day It's sounding like a good excuse to splurge for V&A's

 

[Aela]

Problem with V&A is your on Deluxe, and that would be a waste. You have credits to burn.

 

[Pumbaa_]

You are over thinking this. You have great choices. Keep narcoossee and MP.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I voted for MP, hands-down, over FF. We've eaten at MP several times and the food and service are outstanding. It also feels so special to walk up the back stairs to the beautiful little restaurant. It's definitely the hidden gem of EP. We were not impressed with FF. The food was mediocre and the service was terrible. I wouldn't leave EP to eat there.

I'm not a huge fan of either Narcoosee's or Citrico's. We've had better overall dining experiences at Citrico's (food quality and service), but the atmosphere is pretty dull. Narcoosee's is beautiful and has such a lovely view, but we've had two disastrous meals there. If I had to pick one for a wedding trip, I guess I would pick Narcoosee's simply for the atmosphere. If you are willing to splurge, I would do V&A or consider the private dining. I have a friend whose DH surprised her with the GF private dining experience for an anniversary and she raved about it.

Your other choices look great - Artist Point is our absolute favorite signature!

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

Problem with V&A is your on Deluxe, and that would be a waste. You have credits to burn.

I'm not on any dining plan for our first two nights at the GF

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

You are over thinking this. You have great choices. Keep narcoossee and MP.

This will likely be my last trip for a while, so I wanted to make the best of it.

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

I voted for MP, hands-down, over FF. We've eaten at MP several times and the food and service are outstanding. It also feels so special to walk up the back stairs to the beautiful little restaurant. It's definitely the hidden gem of EP. We were not impressed with FF. The food was mediocre and the service was terrible. I wouldn't leave EP to eat there.

I'm not a huge fan of either Narcoosee's or Citrico's. We've had better overall dining experiences at Citrico's (food quality and service), but the atmosphere is pretty dull. Narcoosee's is beautiful and has such a lovely view, but we've had two disastrous meals there. If I had to pick one for a wedding trip, I guess I would pick Narcoosee's simply for the atmosphere. If you are willing to splurge, I would do V&A or consider the private dining. I have a friend whose DH surprised her with the GF private dining experience for an anniversary and she raved about it.

Your other choices look great - Artist Point is our absolute favorite signature!

Thank you for sharing your experiences! Looks like I'll keep what I have for now until I decide if I can splurge for V&A or the private dining experience.

 

[Aela]

I'm not on any dining plan for our first two nights at the GF

Oh! Then, yes, I would do V&A. 100%! We did two trips to Disney (this year and last) and I would loved to do V&A, but we were on Deluxe.

My only concern is that V&A would be one of the two days before the wedding? Do you have other plans on the night before? And is the 26th a travel day?

 

[Lisa F]

I would pick Citricos over Narcoossees for two reasons:
1) there are not that many two-tops with nice views at Narcoossees. I've been there 3 times and all 3 times (even when I booked right at opening and checked in early) I've been seated in an inner ring with no view. Most of the tables near the window are 4-tops and they won't seat a couple there. So I would not over-value the view at Narcoossees

2) I see tons of good reviews for Citricos food but we had a miserable meal at Narcoossees. The best I've ever had was mediocre, so it's off my list for the time being. I always see great reviews of Citricos but also tend to avoid it due to atmosphere... but honestly have never had a great table at narcoossees where my back wasn't to the aisle/windows (I HATE that)

I would do V&A, it's kind of a once in a lifetime thing unless you're loaded and what better time than on a wedding trip?

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

Oh! Then, yes, I would do V&A. 100%! We did two trips to Disney (this year and last) and I would loved to do V&A, but we were on Deluxe.

My only concern is that V&A would be one of the two days before the wedding? Do you have other plans on the night before? And is the 26th a travel day?

It would be on our arrival day. We are driving down and plan to leave around 6 AM, so we should arrive around 2 PM. We would probably book the latest time available. I would rather go the night before our wedding, but that's when we are having our "rehearsal" dinner with our parents and my grandparents at Artist Point

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

I would pick Citricos over Narcoossees for two reasons:
1) there are not that many two-tops with nice views at Narcoossees. I've been there 3 times and all 3 times (even when I booked right at opening and checked in early) I've been seated in an inner ring with no view. Most of the tables near the window are 4-tops and they won't seat a couple there. So I would not over-value the view at Narcoossees

2) I see tons of good reviews for Citricos food but we had a miserable meal at Narcoossees. The best I've ever had was mediocre, so it's off my list for the time being. I always see great reviews of Citricos but also tend to avoid it due to atmosphere... but honestly have never had a great table at narcoossees where my back wasn't to the aisle/windows (I HATE that)

I would do V&A, it's kind of a once in a lifetime thing unless you're loaded and what better time than on a wedding trip?

Thanks for the info on the tables at Narcoossee's! That's really good to know. I'm pretty sure I read your review about Narcoossee's.. your meal really did sound awful! I think I'm leaning towards V&A or the private dining at the GF. I want to surprise my fiancé, so I'm trying to decide which one he would like better

 

[Pumbaa_]

And I won't ever return to citricos

Pick what you want. Someone here will love or hate your choice

 

[ariane37]

We've had 3 fantastic meals at Narcoossee's BUT, we absolutely love Citricos. It was our favorite signature until Tiffins so now it's our second favorite

I've been wanting to try Il Mulino, but they don't take the dining plan so I don't want to waste the credits

I know you have all those credits to use but I have to say, Il Mulino is awesome! Absolutely worth going. Best Italian on property by far. Whatever you decide, congrats and have a great time!