Best Restaurants with Littles and a Date Night

[Samathon]

Booked WDW for November/December - WOOHOO! But, this is my first time going with kids (my kids will be 5.5 and 34 months when we go). We're hoping to do one sit-down meal a day (ideally dinner, but could also do breakfast) and we're not really interested in the places where the food is so-so and the theming is amazing. Good food and relatively convenient (I don't know if it's still a thing, but I remember it being a bit harder to get to some of the resort restaurants via Disney transportation and not interested in reliving that experience with the littles lol) are our priorities. We'll also be there the last bit of November and early December so I'm hoping some of the Christmas decorations will be up. If you have any recommendations specific to that time of year, please share!

Here's what I'm hoping you can recommend:
- Good character meals

- I used to love booking CRT before MK opened - is that still a thing?​

- We used to love O'Hana and Tusker House for breakfast. Are they still as good as I remember and are there others you like?​

- Must do dinner spots?
- What are your must-do quick service/snack places for lunch?
- Is there a hotel restaurant, close to or at the Contemporary (where we're staying) that is a must do with kids? My MIL is joining us for a dinner, but won't have a park ticket so looking for a restaurant where we can all eat.
- Good place for a date night? Hoping to book our first dinner out as a couple in almost 3 years lol. We used to love California Grill and Le Cellier, but not sure if there are new places to try or if those are still as amazing as I remember and top of your lists.
- Any unsung restaurants you recommend? We like great food, but off the beaten path places to eat (if they still exist!)...like The Wave the first few years it was open (I don't think it's there anymore. Has anyone tried the new restaurant, Steakhouse 71, in that spot?)...

Also, are meal plans still a thing?

Thanks in advance for any tips! Feeling totally overwhelmed at my lack of new Disney knowledge.

 

[EmilyGahr]

I used to love booking CRT before MK opened - is that still a thing?

Yes, the restaurant opens at 8am and early entry currently starts at 8:30am. Park hours may change.

Is there a hotel restaurant, close to or at the Contemporary (where we're staying) that is a must do with kids?

I would recommend Whispering Canyon or Hoop De Doo, over at Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness. Hopefully the boat between the Contemporary and WL/FW returns soon, because that would make it very easy to get to.

We used to love California Grill and Le Cellier, but not sure if there are new places to try or if those are still as amazing as I remember and top of your lists.

These are my two favorites for date night - California Grill currently has a fixed price menu that, in my opinion, is not as good as the regular menu unfortunately. We also like the Yachtsman Steakhouse, Narcoosee's, and Jiko!

Has anyone tried the new restaurant, Steakhouse 71, in that spot?)...

Yes, Steakhouse 71 replaced The Wave. Tried it in January and absolutely loved it! Highly recommend.

Also, are meal plans still a thing?

Currently there are no dining plans. Disney confirmed that they are coming back eventually, but no idea when.

 

[Samathon]

Yes, the restaurant opens at 8am and early entry currently starts at 8:30am. Park hours may change.


I would recommend Whispering Canyon or Hoop De Doo, over at Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness. Hopefully the boat between the Contemporary and WL/FW returns soon, because that would make it very easy to get to.


These are my two favorites for date night - California Grill currently has a fixed price menu that, in my opinion, is not as good as the regular menu unfortunately. We also like the Yachtsman Steakhouse, Narcoosee's, and Jiko!


Yes, Steakhouse 71 replaced The Wave. Tried it in January and absolutely loved it! Highly recommend.


Currently there are no dining plans. Disney confirmed that they are coming back eventually, but no idea when.

EmilyGahr - THANK YOU so much for the recommendations. I think we have some time to book dining reservations, but trying to think ahead so we have options. We'll def have to try Steakhouse 71. Maybe that'll be the dinner with my MIL as we'll likely have just arrived and want something relatively close to the resort. Glad you loved it! We'll definitely have to try Yachtsman and Narcoosee's - Jiko is also a favorite when we've stayed at AKL...although realizing now that we might be able to take an Uber or Lyft if it's just the two of us...(our last visit was pre-Uber/Lyft lol). Anyway, thanks for the tips...all have been added to my Disney planning notebook!

 

[danceintherain]

We don't do a ton of sit down meals with our kids. We prefer to prioritize long afternoon breaks. They do ok eating out, but not awesome, even at home when we only do it about once a month and they're not typically as overstimulated and exhausted. Even character meals are rough, because it takes so long for the characters to circulate. Lunch tends to work better than dinner, as a rule, because they're just less tired.
Beyond that, I mostly just let my kids graze at Disney. Trying to get them to all sit down and eat a full meal at the same time is more work than I prefer. So I book meals for what I want, then have Uncrustables and other easy things available for them, when they're "not hungry."

Also, I've never been able to work out getting to the parks much before Rope Drop. Rope Drop works out, because my kids wake up at dawn, but waking them up earlier isn't really appealing to any of us, especially since with the time difference, it's actually an hour later at Disney than it is at home.
As for recommendations, I would probably stick with in park meals, and restaurants in your hotel. It's just more convenient that way. Beyond that, it sounds as if you've eaten a lot of places already, so it's more of a logistical thing. I highly recommend trying to stick to their schedule at home as closely as possible and choose your exceptions carefully.
I would also recommend doing a "test" trip to a local amusement park/fair to see what happens.
I would love to do a sit down meal at Disney every day, but it's just not a good option with my kids. Even at Disneyland last month, with just my 11 year old, it was hard to work around sit down meals.

 

[leebee]

IT really depends on what your kids will eat, but we love Boma! There is an incredible variety of dishes (some African themed, some not so much) and they have a pretty decent kids bar in case you think the Littles might not like some of the more "exotic" dishes (they aren't really exotic, though). We also really liked Olivia's at OKW. If you are at a theme park, you can take a bus directly to OKW and then after dinner, take the boat to Disney Springs to catch a bus back to your resort (check the times, though).
Date night? Jaleo at Disney Springs, Narcoosees, Jiko (if you haven't done Boma), Flying Fish, Toledo. We used to love California Grill but the prix fixe menu isn't our favorite way to eat.

 

[mby]

This might sound crazy, but we took our kids at the same age to Toppolino's for dinner. They enjoyed it, and it was a great date night for us as well

 

[erinch]

Epcot—Coral Reef by the tank is great with littles. I had the shrimp and grits recently, which was pretty good. We had a very good meal at San Angel, right by the water. Fun to wave at the people in the boats. Garden grill isn’t my thing but the characters come to you.

AKL—Tusker is now family style, and we had a good experience there. Harambe is under appreciated for a quick meal, with mobile order, and there is seating at the very back where the train goes right by and you can wave at the people on the train. Satuli canteen is great and good kids options, with mobile order and lots of seating.

MK: Crystal Palace buffet was very good a few weeks ago, and the characters will be back soon. Mobile order is your friend for Pinnochio Haus or Sleepy Hollow. Jungle Skipper Canteen has great food and fun theming.

HS: we love Brown Derby. Docking Bay 7 has solid options and mobile order. Hollywood and Vine has characters and supposedly the buffet is coming back. That used to be pretty gross, but maybe will be better when it restarts. Woodys Lunch box has fun options, but seating is an issue. Backlot express mobile order is very efficient.

Whispering Canyon great with kids. Chef Mickeys is a zoo and underwhelming food imo. We had dinner at Ohana a few weeks ago, and the main proteins were pretty bad. Brunch at grand Floridian Cafe is solid.

For date night, citricos at GF is under-appreciated. My hubby and I had a date night at Jiko, a favorite. We also made the trip to Boma and it was fabulous.

For Disney springs, we had a great meal at Boathouse, ask for the covered porch.

For ressies, I subscribed to a premium alert service a month before, set a lot of alerts, and got everything I wanted except for Space 220. PM me if you would like the name.