At a lose to what restaurants to go to...

[Melissa518]

Morning everyone,

This is the first time I will be going to Disney since I was a kid, so the planning is sometimes overwhelming. What I am unsure of is what restaurants to make reservations to. It is me, DH, and DS (6.) On the first day we are going to Chef's Mickeys because we don't plan on going to any parks that day. After that I have no idea what to do. On either Saturday or Sunday we are going to DHS because of Star Wars Weekend. Are the Fantasmic packages worth it? Can anyone else suggest some restaurants that are kid friendly, not wayyyyyy too expensive, and possibly another character meal. BTW, we are staying at AKL.

Thanks!

 

[Melissa518]

That should say at a LOSS....It's early, and my day off!

 

[Hootch]

of suggestions. Crystal Palace is a good character meal. It's a completely different set of characters from CM. My son enjoyed it when he was six. Also, Boma is a buffet style (Disney does not refer to it as a buffet, restaurant in AKL. The flavors can be a little exotic, but they have a kids sections that serves the typical fare. It's about the same price as most of the character meals. Breakfast and dinner are both very good.

At the Hollywood studios, Backlot Express and Studio Catering company are good counter service locations. 50s Prime Time Cafe may work for a table service option. If I remember my son liked it about that age. Mt daughter was younger and didn't take it too well.

Enjoy Star Wars weekend. We went a couple of years ago. I overlooked the Imperial section until the last couple of hours. There were all kinds of characters roaming around. I didn't have the video camera until the last bit and I regretted it.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

About the best advice I can give is to go to www.allearsnet.com and take a look at the menus for each restaurant. That'll give you an objective idea of what's out there.

Subjectively, you can read reviews here, but I'm constantly amused at how opinions about any given restaurant can vary so widely. So the proverbial "grain of salt" is called for.

DS and y'all might enjoy 50's Prime Time in the Studios. There are no real "reasonable" prices at WDW, but 50's is less agonizing than some. It's just a fun place, with decent enough food. Re the Fantasmic! package - once upon a time, it was a good deal, but these days, I just don't think you save all that much time getting into the ampitheater by using the package. It is nice to pay one price for your meal, though.

In a sense, just about all the park restaurants are "kid-friendly," as in they're used to having little ones.

 

[RMAMom]

If you are looking for not to expensive then I would stick to the buffets. Crystal Palace is fun for kids with good food for the adults. It's a great choice for your MK day. Characters are Pooh, Eeyore,Piglet and Tigger.

If you are staying at AKL then Boma is also a good pick. It's not character but it is delicious and the best and I think one of the cheapest breakfasts in the world. Also good at dinner but not sure of pricing.

Cape May Café is also a very good value, breakfast is a character meal.
Dinner is not character but is a very good value and delicious.

If you look at the top of this page you will see a link for Dining, click on it. You will have the option to look at all of the menus and pricing.

If your staying on property you can decide if it would be cheaper to add the dining plan compared to out of pocket expenses estimated from the menus

 

[Wunderkind]

Morning everyone,

This is the first time I will be going to Disney since I was a kid, so the planning is sometimes overwhelming. What I am unsure of is what restaurants to make reservations to. It is me, DH, and DS (6.) On the first day we are going to Chef's Mickeys because we don't plan on going to any parks that day. After that I have no idea what to do. On either Saturday or Sunday we are going to DHS because of Star Wars Weekend. Are the Fantasmic packages worth it? Can anyone else suggest some restaurants that are kid friendly, not wayyyyyy too expensive, and possibly another character meal. BTW, we are staying at AKL.

Thanks!

How long are you staying? Just a long weekend? A whole week? If your stay is short then I would add a Crystal Palace reservation the day you go to MK or a breakfast/lunch at Tusker House (since you are staying at AKL). If you are staying a bit longer I would suggest trying Ohana's character breakfast to your character dining line up. Fantasmic dinner packages are very difficult to get. They don't have Fantasmic every night anymore. If you are able to secure a Fantasmic reservation, try for Brown Derby dinner package. It is definitely pricer but it doesn't get mixed reviews like Hollywood and Vine or Mama Melrose's. If you skip the Fantasmic dinner package and just go to the show instead, then the other restaurants mentioned by other posters sound like viable options (i.e., 50's Prime Time and Backlot).

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I agree with DREAMFINDER 2 ck out ALL EARS.NET. See what works for you.

 

[Minnie824]

At HS I would suggest Sci Fi. Our DDs (and us actually) really like it there and I think your DS would as well. As for other character meals, we enjoy Crystal Palace.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

Ohana breakfast (Poly) was tasty and fun with Pluto, Mickey, Lilo & Stitch.
In HS...strongly suggest 50's PTC. We didn't enjoy Sci-Fi for dinner, but the burgers at lunch seem to get really good reviews.