Best Dining in Disney World

[zdelacruz]

We have a Disney trip planned for November 2013 I'm super excited!! It's our first time going as a family and my second time ever . Anyway on to the point, where would you recommend to eat anywhere in the World? I wanna do at least one character meal and at least try one restaurant in each park including Downtown Disney. What are your recommendations We don't want to waste our money on mediocre experience/food. Also another question, can we make ADR's even if we don't stay on site?

Thanks!!

 

[TDC Nala]

Anyone can make ADRs within 180 days.

 

[edk35]

You are going to get a lot of different responses. I would just keep reading the Dining reviews. I think some places are hit and miss anymore. I think it depends on what time of year you go too. Crowd levels definitely play into it. The best character breakfasts we have had in the past few years... Cape May over at Beach Club and O'hana at the Poly. Friends enjoy the dinner there as well and go back almost every trip. We don't eat the dinner because of the peanut sauce and having three kids allergic...we don't want to chance it.

We tried Crystal Palace again this past summer and didn't think it was good and was not worth the price. Pretty much feel the same about Chef Mickey's which we also ate at this past summer.

 

[disnmooner2013]

Sanaa - Animal Kingdom Lodge (only restaurant you can view animals while eating; and has very good food)
Via Napoli - Epcot (IMO only good pizza on Disney property)
Crystal Palace - Magic Kingdom (I would go for breakfast. It is much cheaper for breakfast and has a very good breakfast selection with good interaction with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet.)
50's Prime Time Cafe - Hollywood Studios
Kona Cafe - Polynesian (great breakfast and dinner)
Yak & Yetti - Animal Kingdom

 

[DisGirl819]

Character meal: cape may cafe breakfast and garden grill dinner. Yummy food and fantastic character interaction

Mk: we are trying CRT and BOG this time.
Epcot: we loved rose and crown
Dhs: I've heard good things about a Sci fi and brown derby
Ak: love tusker house lunch. This is a must do character meal for us
Resort: captains grille at yc is delicious and so quiet. Best resort meal.

 

[VillianDiva]

Resort - Kona (breakfast), Boma, Kouzzina, WCC (breakfast)
Animal Kingdom - Yak and Yeti
Epcot - Chefs De France or Via Napoli
Hollywood Studios - Sci Fi (honestly, I would just have a shake here and go to a resort for dinner)
MK - Liberty Tree for lunch
DTD - Raglan Road

 

[kimber11]

I would say Be Our Guest is a must and so if the Chef Mickey's breakfast with all of the fab 5 characters. We also quite enjoyed Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood and Vine at Hollywood Studios and Akershus (with all of the princesses) and Chefs de Frances (with an animatronic Remy) in Epcot. Have fun planning and have a great trip!

 

[JimmyV]

We have a Disney trip planned for November 2013 I'm super excited!! It's our first time going as a family and my second time ever . Anyway on to the point, where would you recommend to eat anywhere in the World? I wanna do at least one character meal and at least try one restaurant in each park including Downtown Disney. What are your recommendations We don't want to waste our money on mediocre experience/food. Also another question, can we make ADR's even if we don't stay on site?

Thanks!!

OK. Here's the problem. Your post title asks for the "best" dining, but then you state that you want at least one character meal and a restaurant recommendation in each park. The problem is, the best dining is found outside of the parks with no characters in sight. So are you looking for the most favorable options within your constraints, or the best dining without qualification? The suggestions for each would be very different.

 

[Pats Dragon]

We just got back from 10 days at DW and this trip our favs were: BOG dinner-wonderful food and experience. The beast is there! Loved everything about ohana this year. Via napoli had wonderful beer and spaghetti. Cape May was super. Loved Cooks at DTD. If you really have to have a burger the one at pollo compare DTD was very good as well.

 

[davinakb]

Might also help to know more about dining preferences. Picky eaters? Likes, dislikes? IE we are big wine drinkers, so places like Jiko w/ its killer wine list is totally us - but if you're not into signature or wine, it may not be for you.

Luckily this is the right place for you, sure you'll get great advice. Enjoy your trip.

 

[mudfish]

My wife and I loved Kouzzina in Downtown Disney... It was a nice quiet dinner... I had the Snapper which was excellent and the house wine was great as well...

 

[katt789]

My favorites include:

-Be Our Guest for dinner!
-Crystal Palace, with Winnie the Pooh and friends for breakfast, bonus if its a pre park opening meal
-Le Cellier for lunch, best filet I've ever had, and the cheddar cheese soup and bread is amazing!
-Boma over at AKL for dinner buffet is awesome!

 

[brertoad]

Sanaa - animals, great food, naan bread is delicious
Boma - great food, zebra domes and desserts are awesome, sample anything you want on the buffet
Tusker House - buffet, samosas, curry, good variety, character interaction
Cookes of Dublin - DTD great food
Biergarden - great entertainment, buffet food is good
Quick Service Japan - great food for QS
Quick Service France - ham and cheese croissant, lots of desserts to choose from
Sci-fi Dine In - atmosphere is awesome
Mama Melrose's - atmosphere, like the chicken parm
Via Napoli - great food, best pizza, best ice cream sundae "Ugly but good" sundae
Ohana's - fun with friends or family, good food
Kouzzina - great calamari, great goat cheese appetizer, steak was good, they serve good bread and olive oil too
Captain's Grille - we usually do breakfast here
Cape May - seafood buffet (dinner), pretty good variety

 

[sephorachick]

MK- Columbia Harbor house & Liberty Tree Tavern are my picks
Epcot- Biergarten dinner
DHS- Brown Derby or Primetime 50s for fun experience
DD- T-Rex
DAK- sanaa
Offsite-Yachtsmen steakhouse for a great meal
best bfast- I LOVED cream chz stuffed french toast at Cinderellas royal table & also loved KOna CAfe too Chef Mickeys is fun as well & good bfast buffet
def go to ghiradelli's in DD or Fantasyland storybook treats for ice cream

 

[sephorachick]

My wife and I loved Kouzzina in Downtown Disney... It was a nice quiet dinner... I had the Snapper which was excellent and the house wine was great as well...

Kouizza is at the boardwalk as FYI not DD

 

[clc053103]

A thread like this always confirms for me that Disney dining is inconsistent! For example, We thought Kouzzina was terrible- bad food, atrocious service, loud. Yet someone else will have a great experience. I have also eaten the absolute worst meal at Narcoosee's ( so terrible they comped it) yet it has since become our favorite! S take all reviews with a grain of salt!

But here goes..,
Kona cafe breakfast
LE cellier lunch
California grill, Narcoosees and Flying Fish dinner.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

I will only say DO NOT choose not to eat anywhere because of bad reviews because some of my best meals have been at restaurants that get trashed here on the boards. I have eaten some good meals at restaurants that I was leery about and horrible meals at places I had high expectations about. For a theme park breakfast I would choose Crystal Palace or CRT at MK. If you don't mind princesses do CRT for dinner, I LOVED the food there and it is wonderful to eat in the castle. Or my suggestion in the MK area is a monorail ride to one of the resorts, my favorite Restaurant in WDW is Ohana breakfast or dinner. At the AK do Tusker House for lunch or dinner OR my suggestion is to take a quick bus ride across the road to the AK lodge and go to Boma, love love LOVE Boma! At DHS do either the SciFi or Prime Time, both are great themes. Epcot there are so many choices it depends on what you are in the mood for except for don't eat in China, that is the only place that I hear consistent bad reviews. Coral Reef is a great place despite bad reviews you will hear, and I had the best steak there for it being a seafood place.

 

[hardlabor]

For the best there is only one Victoria and Alberts