Best Family Dinners

[Leasha_Loves_Disney]

In your opinion what is the best restaurant to have a family meal? My family (there are 9 of us) is going down in late August and I am trying to find places that we would enjoy. If you have any must do's please let me know.

Places we love the atmosphere of but don't want to do again until we try everything:
- Whispering Canyons
- Hoop-dee-doo
- 50's prime time

 

[Trollingforthimbles]

We enjoyed 50's PT immensely. The food was tasty, the milkshakes were amazing, and the atmosphere was unforgettable. We didn't have kids with us, but we still acted like children as we were treated to a very in character server who scolded us for various things throughout the meal. Now, we had better meals in WDW, but we certainly didn't have a more memorable dining experience.

Haven't been the WCC or HDR (though we plan to attend the latter this November) so I can't help you there. Have fun wherever you chooses

 

[staceylynnga]

It mostly depends on your budget and the food preferences of your family members. As much as i like some of the buffets, I'd avoid these because it's nice to sit down as a family and enjoy that time without getting up and down for food.

In the past, we've enjoyed California Grill and Yachtsman Steakhouse. For more affordable choices, maybe Kona Cafe (really loved the food here). This trip, we are looking forward to Garden Grill (not sure they can put 9 at one table, but family style is nice), Sanaa, and Captains Grill. We liked Le Cellier but I feel its too tight in there, same for Chefs de France.


I've also read some decent review lately of Boatwrights at POR and Turf Club at SSR.
Have a great trip!!

 

[mdsd8700]

Would agree with PP and say that budget would play a key role. I would recommend the CG, we very much enjoy it and the ability to watch the fireworks from the balcony is a very nice way to end the evening. Kona is a nice choice as well and easier on the budget. If you all like Italian, Il Mulino New York Trattoria in the Swan is very nice and you can get a resturant.com certificate to save a bit. Not sure if you have looked at all the menus on Allears, but is a great place to see everything the World has to offer food wise.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

[POOHS3]

If your family is like mine, one obstacle is trying to please as many palates as possible.

I do agree that buffets are hard to sit down and enjoy everones company. Some suggestions would be: Ohana, Tutto Italia (never tried Via Napoli yet), Teppan Edo, Kona Cafe. These are a few places we have tried and enjoyed.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Teppan Edo, Via Napoli, Tusker House and Ohana are my recommendations. Also, Crystal Palace is a GREAT character breakfast that I'm sure you will all enjoy.

 

[fuji]

I think raglan road in DTD is a good choice for a large family it's a bit roomier then other restaurant and has a decent variety of dishes. In the evening there is entertainment (though I'm not sure if the entertainment is every night)

 

[BrittanyBB]

We really enjoy Liberty Tree Tavern(a must do for us!), Tusker House and Whispering Canyon as well

 

[newserenity]

We just got back and we absolutely all loved Ohana. There were activities for the kids every 15-20 minutes and they had such a blast. The atmosphere and the food was just great. After dinner we watched Wishes on the Polynesian beach. It was such a fabulous evening@

We also really like Biergarten in Epcot. The food was good and the live entertainment was a hit. They girls loved being allowed dance in front of the stage. There were a lot of food options and even my uber picky DH said it was his favorite meal of the trip!

My favorite meal of the entire trip was Boma! OMG it was fabulous! I ate and ate and ate until I almost had to be rolled out of there. LOL The atmosphere is very nice at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and there were many selections to choose from including kid friendly (or non adventurous diner friendly) options. I wanted to cancel another ADR to go back. We ate at Tusker House as a last minute change of plans and I wasn't too impressed. It was good, but didn't hold a candle to Boma!

 

[crabbygal902]

We usually travel with a group of 8, but we went in January with a group of 18!

The biggest hits were...

Le Cellier--the group of 8 was seated together, the group of 18 was split into 2 tables. Le Cellier has always been incredibly accommodating for my large travel parties, and we love the food
'Ohana--always a huge hit with my groups that have many ages, appetites, and tastes. There are several large tables to accommodate big groups.
Biergarten--entertainment for the young ones, beer in huge steins for the older ones.
Cape May Seafood Buffet--lots of food choices, even for those who don't eat seafood.
Teppan Edo--We had all 8 of us at one chef's table, which was really fun...I bet that you could comfortably seat 9. Great food, very very nice staff

 

[Catie.Hiltz]

Our MUST do's are Crystal Palace for breakfast and Chef Mickey's for dinner-those are both buffets and I am not sure if you have any young kids who might need help with the buffet and then you spend the whole meal constantly getting up lol

We also love the Luau at the Polynesian....its a dinner show with unlimited beer for the adults! and the food is served family style, and they get the kids involved and teach them the hula

Another good one is Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner...no characters, but the meal is yummy and served family style as well

 

[Belle83]

When I went for a family reunion, about 35 of us ate at Tutto Italia. It was a nice restaurant for a large group. Food was a crowd-pleaser, for sure.

I haven't been to Ohana, but that would be one I would look into for a family meal.

 

[Satchmo128]

I think raglan road in DTD is a good choice for a large family it's a bit roomier then other restaurant and has a decent variety of dishes. In the evening there is entertainment (though I'm not sure if the entertainment is every night)

I was going to suggest Raglan Road as well. We went there on our last trip and thought it was great! There were 4 of us, plus a baby

 

[Satchmo128]

Another suggestion would be Via Napoli in Epcot. The pizza's they have look like they could feed an army!

 

[MsLeFever]

My husband, who is really a foodie, always insists that we eat at Biergarten because he LOVES dancing with the kids, and singing and even getting to meet another family (since with only 4 of us we usually share a table.)

There are a good variety of foods and even things that my picky eater DD will eat!

 

[tww369]

If your going to be near MK the go with Crystal Gardens. CG is a buffet with plenty of food choices and even the "adults" get a kick out of getting their pictures taken with Pooh and the gang!!

 

[DisneyLindsay]

Absolutely love Ohana, especially for a large group, we have gone 2 times with large parties, one of 14 and another of 22 (all around one BIG table) The service is great and the food excellent. IT is definitely a must do for us every trip!
We have heard amazing things about the Yachtsman so we are going to try that as well this year!

 

[KBoopaloo]

I just took a trip with extended family, we dined with either a party of 11 or a party of 15 at every meal. Here is my review:

Chefs de France - Had a late lunch seating, they sat us all together, everyone loved it

Mama Melrose - Had a late lunch here as well, again we were all seated together and it had something for everyone

Tusker House breakfast - they sat us at two tables back to back and the waitress was fantastic

Boma Breakfast - maybe our favorite of the trip. We were all seated together and everyone LOVED it

Via Napoli Dinner - They sat us at the giant table in the middle of the room. It was great!

I would recommend doing late lunch seatings like we did if you can. We had a big breakfast, skipped lunch, ate at France and Mama's at 2:50 or 3:00 and had that meal replace our dinner. It was great because a lot of the restaurants were quieter at this time. I was especially nervous about feeling crammed in at Chefs de France but the restaurant was almost empty except for us.