Anyone eaten at Garden Grill lately?

[loveysbydesign]

We have always wanted to eat there but have never been able to get a ressie for any of our trips! I was able to get a ressie this time and am super excited as we have been dying to try it and my in-laws are coming along for their 1st trip to WDW.
However I talked to a friend who has eaten there and she said the entire experience was horrible, poor food, poor service and poor character interactions.
So I'd love to hear feedback from anyone else who had been there recently!

 

[OhThePain]

I haven't been there in a year and a half or so but from my experiences, your friend must have gone on a really off night or maybe they were in a mood for whatever reason to begin with that skewed their opinion a little (you never know, it happens... even in Disney).

IMO, the food is nothing great. You'll eat, you'll get full, but it's by no means anything to write home about.

Wait staff is hit or miss anywhere, in general. I have never experienced bad service at GG, but I am sure it happens to some people.

The character interaction is some of the best on property IMO. The restaurant is not very big, is round and rotates around some of LwtL. The shape and size of the restaurant allows the characters to visit each table multiple times. The last time my girlfriend and I ate there we had a running gag with all the characters durring the meal. It was a lot of fun. The character interaction is what makes GG worth visiting, IMO.

You have to remember to take everyones opinions with a grain of salt, be it a perfect strangers opinion or a close friends. You made the ADR for a reason. Something drew you to GG in the first place. Stick with your initial gut instinct and give yourself the chance to make your own opinion.

 

[JenKatt]

We were just there this past weekend. It was really good. It isn't high class food, but good comfort food. My family raved about the steak and turkey. The kid's sweet potato fries were very good.
I agree with the character experience. We saw every character at least twice.
Service is hit or miss. We had a slight miss, our server was a little scatterbrained, but it didn't take away from the experience.

 

[maryann987]

We actually ate there yesterday, it was ok, you have to ask for more food, there were 5 of us and they brought a plate with 2 slices of beef, one fish, a few slices of turkey, potato under beef, dressing under turkey, very slim pickings, we just kept asking for more. Waiter was good, but slow, the characters were good with the little ones, really took their time with our 4 & 2 year old grandbabies, best experience we had with characters was Chef Mickey. Like everything it all depends on time and staff. We have done Garden Grill a few times with the little ones, different experience every time. Have a great trip!

 

[hpygrll]

Food is nothing exciting - character interaction is not great and I was not impressed with the servers. I would not go back.

Jenny

 

[sweetpea29488]

We've been to Garden Grill at least 5 times with the last one being a year ago. We've always enjoy the food and characters. We even plan to go next year with our niece. We love it!!!

 

[pixarmom]

Garden Grill is our boys' favorite restaurant at WDW and our arrival night tradition! Our three boys (ages pre-school to pre-teen) love Garden Grill - and they all have very different tastes. Our most recent visits were in March and July of this year.

We think the character interaction is outstanding. As a previous poster mentioned, we typically see each character at least twice during dinner. And the characters never seemed rushed - they spend a nice amount of time with us on each visit. The atmosphere is very low-key compared to other character meals. The restaurant rotates very slowly throughout dinner, so you will see different scenes in the Land ride. We always request a lower level booth - they are semi-circle booths with high sides, so all you see is your family, the characters and the scenes from the Land ride.

As for the food, we previously described the food as good. But in July, we thought the food was great! Everything was very fresh, and the quality seemed to improve significantly in just a few months.

Have a great trip!

 

[loveysbydesign]

Thank you everyone..I am feeling more reassured now. We are not hard to please and are not into fancy, gourmet food. Just want to relax, enjoy a comforting meal, get our money's worth and of course, hope that my kids have a fun time with the characters.

We've only done one other character meal and that was at the LTT back in May 2006 for our 1st visit to WDW. The food was ok but the interactions were amazing!

 

[loveysbydesign]

Also wanted to add that this is the only sit down meal we have planned due to a limitied amount of $$$. We've had our sump pump die this week and my dh's truck needs $1600 worth of work, plus my dd has a tooth emergency that has to be fixed at the orthodontist next week. We also ran out of heating oil as the gauge on our oil tank broke. And not a money issue, but my Aunt passed away on Monday. So it has just been one things after another.

My in-laws have graciously offered to help us pay for our half of the meal and I'd feel really bad about it if the food was crappy as well as te characters. Keeping my fingers crossed that all will go well!

 

[OhThePain]

Thank you everyone..I am feeling more reassured now. We are not hard to please and are not into fancy, gourmet food. Just want to relax, enjoy a comforting meal, get our money's worth and of course, hope that my kids have a fun time with the characters.

I would also like to add that out of all the character meals, this one is probably the quietest and most relaxing of them all. Even when it is crowded is never seems to be too loud (compaired to other character meals).

 

[JEANMR1]

One of the things I love about this restaurant (definitely not the food) is that it is great for crazy, anxious people like me. We sit in the lower booths and because of the layout I don't have to 'worry' that a character is going to forget out table. The setup is very linear. No crisscrossing in what looks like random patterns (I realize it isn't random) in Crystal Palace or Chef Mickeys. I get to relax more. Perhaps I need drugs, do you think?

 

[guarn3md]

Quick question - we are planning to do Garden Grill for our April 2011 trip. The IPO at Wilderness Lodge is making my dining reservations this Saturday (180 day mark). I like the description of the lower level booths - do you request them specifically when you make the dining reservation? Is this something I should mention to the IPO at WL when they make my dining reservation? We will have five people in our party - 3 Adults and 2 kids - is the booth big enough for five?
Glad to read the good reviews! We have never been to Garden Grill and I am looking forward to this dinner!
Debbie

 

[whitney37354]

We ate there in June. Character interaction was great, service was good, but we didn't like the food.

 

[rubato]

We were there in January. There were positives and negatives.

Positives: Characters were awesome. Great interaction. The theme of the restaurant is pretty neat. The dessert was wonderful.

Negatives: The meal itself wasn't good. The dinner took us 2 full rotations of the restaurant, which means about 2 hours. Our waitress was WAY overworked and just couldn't get to us.

I think it's worth a try.

 

[Agri]

I ate there this past August. We loved it! The characters definitely come by at least twice and the interactions had us all smiling and laughing. Its quiet and relaxing and the food is pretty tasty. I agree, the food isn't gourmet/spectacular, but all of it put together makes it definitely worth the price - especially if Chip 'n Dale are two of your *must see* characters.

We're really disappointed that we couldn't get in our last visit (in Sept/Oct.) and haven't gotten a reservation...yet...for our upcoming Dec. visit.

 

[EeyoreEma]

We were there in April, and loved it! The food was good - nothing spectacular, but very good - and the character interaction was among the best we've ever had. We'll go there again someday (can't get a reservation for our upcoming trip)!

 

[loveysbydesign]

Great to hear that in general the characters are great and the food is edible-lol1 We'll be there on Nov. 17th and I am so excited to surprise my kids with this dinner!

 

[Disney Geek]

I have to agree with the majority of people here and say that the food is edible but the character interaction is the best! We were in the lower level booths and the characters came around 3 to 4 times! That was 1 year ago and we are going back in December!!! Hopefully the characters will be as good this time!

 

[CB Wolf]

We were there in late September. It was one of our favorite experiences of our entire trip. It is about the best Character interaction you will find. The atmosphere is very relaxing, and the fact that the restaurant slowly rotates through the Living With The Land ride, is great. although simple, the food is fresh and delicious. They bring out the Salad first, in a bowl to share, as well as very good Bread. Then the Platter of food with everything that they offer on it. When they return they ask you what you would like more of. Our Drinks were kept full, and we never felt rushed. The Desert was great, a nice alternative to standard desert fair. I will defiantly return in the future.

 

[Stitch2007]

We were there just last week for the first time. I really enjoyed it. I thought that the food was good. Our server (Lisa) was awesome and the character interaction was great. I would probably book again on our next trip.