Biergarten - worth a second try?

[Rebecca924]

Hi there,

I notice there are a bunch of happy Biergarten diners out there. We ate there on our last trip and it quickly made our "never again" list. I consider our family to be pretty laid back and not very picky.

We were there for dinner. I felt really crammed into a very small area. We were seated with a friendly but LOUD family of three (all adults) who kept bickering with each other. Our waitress was sweet, but very quiet and very hard to find. The music was interesting but very hard to see the performers. I was not impressed with the food - and I am NOT a picky eater. It was very dark and I did not really care for the atmosphere at all.

I don't see why this restaurant is popular, but as I've only been there once, perhaps I should give it another try? I'm looking to see what I missed that seems to draw everyone to this place.................. Thanks for your input!

 

[larryz]

I can understand how you might not like it. I lived in Germany for 3 years, and I find the experience very much like a combination of a small town gasthaus with an Oktoberfest tent. If you live close enough to one, I suggest a few evening meals at one of the Hofbrauhaus restaurants here in the US -- Pittsburgh, Las Vegas or Cincinnati -- to get you in the mood.

Good the food we've always found it, but timing is everything. They sometimes run out of certain meat dishes (like the roast pork or schnitzle) and you have to watch for it to come back up.

As for rowdy tablemates -- well, it's the luck of the draw. We've seldom been with another group that does more than say hi at the start of the meal and bye at the end. I understand that if you're adamant, there are a few tables that only seat 4 or 6. But it would likely increase your wait.

Half of the reason for being there is the band and show -- did you get to see it? Somehow, I get the feeling you missed it. Definitely sit thru the show!

 

[Rebecca924]

My mom had said they had a great show which is why we booked it. I am guessing maybe we came in at the tail end of it? There was some music, but nothing entertaining. No silliness, no crowd participation, none of that. Then it was over and all was quiet. Plus we were crammed in a corner on what seemed like the second level? Maybe we just had not very good seats and missed the show as well. Already have my reservations for our next trip, but maybe we'll try it again on a future trip.

 

[larryz]

Yeah, I'm guessing you missed the alpenhorns, the polka dancing with the kids, the bells...

Next time, make sure you see the whole show.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I didn't like it at all. The entertainment would have been nice, if people didn't allow their kids to go down there alone & run wild. I spent the entire time thinking a little one was going to get hurt. FWIW, I have an 18 yr. old, so I wasn't worried about my own. He wasn't down there. On the buffet, there were 2 salads I actually liked okay, so I ate those & a piece of bread. I thought I could fill up on desserts. Unfortunately, even with my major sweet too, I didn't find any I thought was really good. IMO, it was buffet food & nothing more. I can see why someone who normally likes buffets & is a big meat eater would love it. However, I don't think it's a great fit for everyone. Sometimes, I think the beer has a little to do with some rave reviews. Not all, but some. What surprises me is when people recommend it as the best restaurant in WS.

 

[CathieArms]

I'd try it again. We were there for lunch in '09 and I liked the food. We totally didn't get into the entertainment because our timing was off...there just was no crowd participation. Literally DEAD. We'll try again in June and I'm hoping for a MUCH better situation.

 

[mmay60046]

Is there a schedule for the show? Our party of 10 will be eating here in May and we're all fun-loving, good-time having decendants of German immigrants and I'd hate to miss the show.

 

[RMulieri]

Experience the excitement of Oktoberfest with a festive dinner show in the Biergarten.
Daily at 1:15, 2:15, 3:15, 4:45, 5:55, 7:05 & 8:05pm
Length of show: 25 minutes
Seating based on restaurant availabilty
If you are seated late and miss the show , you miss it..I loved the Biergarten but I was quite annoyed we were seated almost an hour past our adr time.I guess b/c it was December , free dining and the Candlelight processional dinner pkgs were trying to be crammed in and out to make their show

 

[mmay60046]

Experience the excitement of Oktoberfest with a festive dinner show in the Biergarten.
Daily at 1:15, 2:15, 3:15, 4:45, 5:55, 7:05 & 8:05pm
Length of show: 25 minutes
Seating based on restaurant availabilty
If you are seated late and miss the show , you miss it..I loved the Biergarten but I was quite annoyed we were seated almost an hour past our adr time.I guess b/c it was December , free dining and the Candlelight processional dinner pkgs were trying to be crammed in and out to make their show

Thank you! I suppose I shouldn't have been lazy and looked it up myself LOL!

Our ressie is for 6:45 so hopefully that will be plenty of time for us to be seated for the 7:05 show, especially if we show up at 6:30.

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

Experience the excitement of Oktoberfest with a festive dinner show in the Biergarten.
Daily at 1:15, 2:15, 3:15, 4:45, 5:55, 7:05 & 8:05pm
Length of show: 25 minutes
Seating based on restaurant availabilty
If you are seated late and miss the show , you miss it..I loved the Biergarten but I was quite annoyed we were seated almost an hour past our adr time.I guess b/c it was December , free dining and the Candlelight processional dinner pkgs were trying to be crammed in and out to make their show

Thanks for posting the show times, but CRUD! Our ADR is right about the time they'll finish, and I'm not sure we'll eat long enough to get the next show. Just checked to see if I can change it, but looks like there's nothing that will work. Booo!!! Then again, my 4 yr old is a really...slow...eater... Guess that may work in my favor for once!

 

[StEpHandMiKe<3Disney]

I really like the food but it doesn't offset the fact that you don't know who you may be sitting with. The first time we ate there, we sat with a gentleman that was there alone so we really felt obligated to talk to him. It was fine in the beginning, and then he just ended up being really weird. It made our dinner very uncomfortable. Last year, we sat with a hilarious family from New York and had a great time. I still would rather just sit with my darling husband.

 

[MYD714]

This is our one never again restaurant. We hated everything about it.

 

[palavra]

This was our favorite restaurant. I really think personality type comes into play with restaurants. Some people prefer dark, cozy and quiet. others like loud and in your face. And then there are the in between people. We really fall into the middle catagory. Sometimes, I love a quiet, intimate dinner, but at others, I love the music, energy and atmosphere of a place like Biergarten.

Fwiw, I wasn't sure I would love the food, but it was great to me. Even my picky 7 year old found several things she liked.

 

[RMulieri]

This was our favorite restaurant. I really think personality type comes into play with restaurants. Some people prefer dark, cozy and quiet. others like loud and in your face. And then there are the in between people. We really fall into the middle catagory. Sometimes, I love a quiet, intimate dinner, but at others, I love the music, energy and atmosphere of a place like Biergarten.

Fwiw, I wasn't sure I would love the food, but it was great to me. Even my picky 7 year old found several things she liked.

I agree..I was kind of onthe fence and so glad I tried it,We have had good table mates,and some not so good ones .But the food and atmosphere are great

 

[Cherinva]

I'd give it another try...I've been there a couple of times and have enjoyed it.

 

[LoriJune]

We ate at the Biergarten last month. I wouldn't have chosen to, but my father-in-law really wanted to go. I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the food my family liked, and the service was good. I wish you didn't have to sit with strangers though, there were 6 in our party and we were seated with a couple who looked and acted like they weren't enjoying anything at WDW. If not for that, we would go back.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

First time to Biergarten Dec. 2010. Went for lunch... I thought the buffet food was pretty good. It would be better to have sauer braten but I understand that's a dinner perk.

The music was entertaining but we have German Festivals where we live. Still nice. We had a quiet family (mom, dad, son) at our table. If we had people at our table who were annoying... I would just drink more of those $12 liter beers and be more annoying than they are...

Is dinner different? Meaning, is it a little rowdier? Audience cheers, the ziggy (Zichte? spelling), ziggy, oi, oi thing? We didn't get that at lunch at all. But it was a cold day in Epcot, maybe everyone was happy to just be warm.

Maybe everyone should complete a quick checklist so compatible people can be seated together... sort of a personality quiz...

How many beers do you intend to drink? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6+
Are you a loud drunk?
Can you keep your intimate conversations to yourself?
Do you prefer fine dining or would you prefer the ability to burp at the dinner table?
Single, Married, In a Relationship? Looking?
Can you yodel?
Can you yodel with a mouth full of sauer braten?
Do you smell bad? Last time you took a bath _____.

etc....

 

[Eliza32]

Having visited Munich in December 2009 and finding that we loved it, we booked Biergarten for during our WDW visit in September 2010. We loved that too. Being a generally friendly couple who enjoy meeting strangers (as in people we don't know, not generally stange people!!) we enjoyed the sitting together bit, just as we did in the bierkellers in Munich. We both felt that the food was really good too.
One tip for getting a good time during the day - just turn up early and ask if they can fit you in. we went over an hour before our ADR time to see if we could get in a little sooner as we were really hungry, and they fitted us straight in. Guess it depends on how busy they are, but worth a try as you've still got you ADR time to fall back on.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

The show is a ton of fun. We lucked out on seating last year - right next to the dance floor. We were one of those people whose 3 and 4 year olds were dancing their little behinds off on the dance floor while we ate. Sorry to PP, but I think they were perfectly safe! The music was so much fun and engaging! OP, you may have missed the show. I checked Steve Soares' site and booked around the show. A 6:45 reservation was perfect last year and we booked the same time for March.

 

[fairestoneofall]

my family loves it. but we've seen the show both times. personally, i am not an adventurous eater (nor am i a big meat eater). i still always leave there as stuffed as i can be. we've also had nice table-mates at both of our visits there.

it's worth giving it another shot.

but not everyone likes everything. and that's okay. that's why Disney offers a lot of variety!