Are these good resturants for the kidos?

candicenicole19

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
401
Hello again,
Back with yet another question~! I got the dinner pack, well the package that includes food and I call ahead to hold our tables but with out knowing anything about them or what they have to choose from. I have 3 girls, 6, 3 and 8 months and I want this to be a blast for them so please let me know if there is anything you would change from this! Also, are the times good? Will we be able to watch the fireworks if we eat at this time? Will we have enough time to get to the castle? I want it to be the least crowded. I know, It is never not dead in Disney but you know what I mean! Is there a must go to resturant that I am missing? LOL! Thanks Candice
1.Chef Mickey 8:30
2. 1900 Park Fare 7:00
3.Akershus (SP) @ Epcot 6:35
4. Ohana 6:50
5.Garden Grill 7:00
6.Wispering cayon wilderness lodge 7:20 princess:

Only 13 days until I leave for my 15 hour ride to DISNEY WORLD! :cheer2:
Counting down the days to the BEST vacation EVER! :hourglass
 
Sorry, They are all dinnners. I thought that since I had the dinner plan I should use them for dinner. I thought that would be the best way to go! Was I right? Thanks! Candice
 
I think you have made some great choices! My girls are 6&4 and we've been to everyone besides 1900 Park Fair (although we do plan to try this one in Oct. when we go). Your experience at the Whispering Canyon Cafe could go either way depending on who you get for a server. Some REALLY play up the humor, while others don't. Unfortunately, we had one that didn't but it was pretty funny watching all the stuff going on at other tables! Chef Mickey, IMHO, is a sure thing! We've always enjoyed the character interaction there! Good luck with your trip AND your drive! We drive from Wisconsin every year--it often makes for an interesting trip!
 

I think those are great restaurant choices for your girls! The only thing that I wonder about is if the times are a little late for younger kids - will your girls be able to hold off that late for dinner? If so then you'll be fine! You must be so excited!!! :cool1:
 
I think you've chosen a great mix! Are they all dinners?

Chef Mickey - I consider Chef Mickey's the "quintessential" Disney character meal. It's in the middle of the Contemporary Resort, and, while you're eating, the monorail runs through the resort above where you're sitting. Your girls will probably love that! The characters you'll probably see are Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, & Dale, and I think Goofy is in the lobby. There are also lots of fun things going on like napkin twirling which your girls will enjoy. We ate here for breakfast last year, and the characters seemed a little rushed. But, that's probably a "hit or miss" kind of thing. This year, we're trying dinner. It is a buffet, and I've read mixed reviews on the buffet selections. But, again, that's probably "hit or miss"...

1900 Park Fare - We've never eaten here, but it's on my list to try. The dinner is w/ Cinderella & Prince Charming & Suzy & Perla (maybe the Fairy Godmother too). I'm not sure if all the characters circulate around the dining room or if some just stay in the lobby. It's located in the Grand Floridian which is a gorgeous resort. It's another buffet, but, generally, I've read really good reviews on this one.

Akershus (SP) @ Epcot - We ate here for dinner last year, and, this year, we're trying breakfast. The only difference in characters at breakfast is that I think Ariel only shows up at lunch & dinner. Otherwise, the characters are normally a mix of all the princesses except Cinderella. However, last year, Snow White wasn't there, and Cinderella was "subbing" for her when we were there. The restaurant is lovely - very nice setting - large & spacious. And the character interaction was very good. However, we weren't impressed w/ the food at all at dinner. And I was very glad we had the dining plan - if not, we would have paid $13.00 for DD to eat a PB & J "uncrustable" & for DS to eat a $13.00 hot dog! LOL! Neither DH nor I really liked our dinners - my chicken & pasta was kind of dried out & clumpy - not tasty at all! DH says his was just "okay". The desserts, though, were scrumptious!

Ohana - This is only a character meal at breakfast, but dinnertime is fun too! There's hula hoop contests & fun things like that. Even though we had an ADR, we waited extra for a table where we could see the castle which was quite nice. It was very crowded, and we had an earlier ADR. Even w/ our ADR, we probably waited 45 minutes before we were seated. Once we were seated, our waiter brought the kids little drink umbrellas w/ which to play, but he wasn't too keen w/ bringing them something else to eat besides the "all you can eat" adult selections. (He did finally bring them something else.) The Poly is another nice resort to visit. Originally, we were going to stay & watch Wishes from the beach at the Poly, but we decided to go back to the beach at FW.

Garden Grill - We're trying this for the 1st time this year as well. The characters look fun - Mickey & Chip & Dale & Pluto or Goofy, I think. At one time, this restaurant slowly revolved & overlooked "Living w/ the Land" ride which was kind of neat. I'm not sure, since the renovations, if it does this still or not.

Wispering Canyon - This looks like another very fun restaurant. We haven't tried it yet, but it's on my list! This restaurant always gets rave reviews. And it looks like it has a great family-fun atmosphere!

Our other favorite character meals are Crystal Palace w/ Pooh & Friends in the MK and Liberty Tree Tavern w/ Minnie & Goofy in the MK.

I thing your selections looks really good and will be lots of fun for your daughters! And you've got a nice variety of characters & fun meals. The only thing I would perhaps question is the later ADR times, but, if your girls are used to eating later dinners, it shouldn't be a problem. (W/ our kids, I have to make our dinner ADR's for earlier, so we don't have "meltdowns". ;) ) Also, the later your ADR is, the longer you may have to wait before you're seated.

Depending on what time of year you're going, Wishes normally begins at 10:00 pm. If you're going to watch the show from the park, you need to allow enough time to get in the park & find a good viewing spot for your family. The night-time parade (Spectro) takes place about an hour usually before Wishes, so people will "camp out" waiting for Spectro & then stay for Wishes. When we were there in May last year, by 8:00 pm, Main Street was getting crowded w/ people waiting for the parade.

In Epcot, people were waiting for Illumimations by 8:00 pm as well.

But, again, all that depends on the time of year you're going.

I don't think you can see Wishes from Chef Mickey's (I could be wrong though), but you can see Wishes from Ohana's. You probably would not be able to see Illuminations from inside Akershus.

Hope this helps!!
 
1.Chef Mickey 8:30 - I have not eaten here but I have seen many people state that the Crystal Place meal is better in the MK I have eaten at CP and it is very fun and good Pooh and the gang
2. 1900 Park Fare 7:00
3.Akershus (SP) @ Epcot 6:35 Are you wanting the Princess's, try to do the breakfast
4. Ohana 6:50
5.Garden Grill 7:00
6.Wispering cayon wilderness lodge 7:20 This is a wonderful place.

Howver like some others have pointed out I think the time is real late for little ones. Unless you are doing a big breakfast and a late lunch, you may want to move them more to 5:30 or 5:45 :sunny:
 
You've chosen some really good restaurants. My DS6 & DD2 LOVED 1900 Park Fare. The food was awesome, esp. the strawberry soup! However, we HATED the food at Akershus. The character interaction was good, but the food was terrible! None of us ate much, and I feel like we wasted a TS credit. I won't do that one again. Also, Cinderella was there when we went and I told her I heard she wasn't at Akershus and she said, "Who told you that?" So I'm not sure if it was a one time thing or if she is always there. I haven't eaten at GG since the menu change, but there are lots of opinions on these boards regarding it! My son LOVED Whispering Canyon. We had an awesome waitress and my DS still talks about "the restaurant with all the ketchup." He also got a kick out of our server throwing about 20 straws on our table! The food was really good, also. My favorite by far, though, was Ohana's. Everything was delicious! I will include it in every trip we make. Have fun!
 
I agree the restaurants are great choices, but I also agree with the other poster who questioned the times. Having a 10 yo DD and a 2.5 yo DD (who will turn 3 in June at WDW)..I schedule reservations for around the youngest DD (her normal eating times). If it's abuffet I make it for 6 to 6:30pm. If it's aplace where we order and they bring it..I make it earlier because it takes more time. We went when she was 13 months old and when she was 25 months old and this year she will be 3. Not once did we ever have any kind of "melt down." She was so good. As long as she gets a nap here and there and is fed she's A-OK. Only you know your children and how long they can go. They get pooped out after a long day in the parks. My DD fell asleep at dinner one day and it was 5pm and she has never done that before..she won't even sleep in the car! JMHO. Hope you have a great trip! :)
 
Everything looks good but I would watch out with your late dinner time too!

Having an 8:30pm ADR, doesn't mean you'll get to sit right at 8:30.. you may not be able to get a table till 845-9...

If you can get it switched to a little earlier that would probably be good...
unless your kiddos are like mine and wake up late, eat late, go to bed late.
 
please, please, please rethink Akershus... if it weren't for the Princess's it would have been miserable. NONE of my family liked it and we are as varied in opinion and ages as it gets. the crystal palace would be a great replacement!
 



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