Buffet vs sit down? Which is better

[Melanie151]

We will be in WDW staying at CSR for 10 nights. I have made 10 ADRs so far, and they are all buffets, except for Ohana's and Tutto. Will we get tired of the food, it is mostly the same at all buffets?

Here is the list of what we have:
Ohana
Boma
Tusker house for breakfast
Chef Mickey for late breakfast
Hollywood Vine Lunch (because of the little einstein)
HDDR
1900 Park Fare Dinner
Crystal Palace lunch
Tutto Italia
Biergarden

Would you suggest any changes? We will be 4 adults and 2 kids 2 and 4 and are on the dining plan.

 

[Kimberly815]

I would venture to guess that Tusker House and Chef Mickey's for breakfast will be pretty much the same. (You can't exactly do too many new things at breakfast).

I would also say that Hollywood Vine, 1900 Park Fare, and Crystal Palace will all be fairly similar, but not exactly the same Menu.

Ohana, Boma, HDDR, and Biergarden all have more specialized menus for each. You can check out all the menus here on the Dis with the restaurant and Dining menu tool: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm

I also like to check out Allears.net when looking for menu info. We like to go for the buffets more when we are traveling with a bigger group (especially if we have some pickier eaters). Then there is always something for everyone.

 

[MickeyNicki]

I think they all sound very good, and somewhat different. I have a lot of pics of Ohana, Tutto, Beirgarten, and Boma breakfast from our April trip in my signature so you can check out the food.

I also suggest you go to the menus and compare the buffets, that might help you out too

 

[Hootch]

you'll be eating a lot of the same food. Tusker House and Chef Mickey's will have some of the same food because it is breakfast, but there will be sufficient differences. HDDR is not a buffet. Biergarten and Bomas will be very different type food - both good.

I think you will find enough variation with all your ADRs. Your kids may end up eating the same type of food all of the time, but mine do even when given a choice. You should have a fairly wide variety.

BTW, is Biergarten for dinner? I think the wiener schnitzel is only served at dinner. I have a hard time finding good German food where I live.

 

[SuzieN]

We tend to eat at a lot of buffets too simply because our kids get better choices. We have 3 kids, 2 who are in the children's dining plan, and the choices for them, even at TS restaurants is not very good. The kids' meals are portioned for very small children and when your kids are 9 and 6 they need more than 4 chicken nuggets to sustain them! Stick with what you've got - it looks great!

 

[crisi]

I dislike buffets in general. The food is, IMHO, much worse coming out of a warming tray. I also find buffets with small kids to be a major pain in the back end - I don't eat. The first trip we all go up and DH gets food for one kid and I get food for the other. Then we go back to the table. Then I sit and watch kids while DH goes up. Then its my turn to eat. I get back to the table, take two bites, and need to go back for one of the kids. I eat two more bites and they were "all done" and squirmy. (My kids are older now and can handle their own plates). Other people love them though and have much better experiences than I've had.

To me, one buffet over the course of the week is plenty.

 

[ransom]

I'm a snob about buffet restaurants outside of WDW. I simply don't go to them at all. But at WDW, I've learned to enjoy them!

So we tend to do a mix on our trips, as far as TS restaurants go. Maybe 1/3 buffets and "family style," and 2/3 traditional sit-down.

Breakfasts can get repetitive, but they're probably your best candidate for buffet. As others have pointed out, you're not going to get much of a different choice at a table service place. Just choose different things each time, and you shouldn't be bored.

For lunch and dinner, your selections look somewhat varied. I might personally make some different choices (for example, Tusker House instead of Boma for dinner, and Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch instead of Crystal Palace), but that's pretty much personal preference.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We will be in WDW staying at CSR for 10 nights. I have made 10 ADRs so far, and they are all buffets, except for Ohana's and Tutto. Will we get tired of the food, it is mostly the same at all buffets?

Here is the list of what we have:
Ohana
Boma
Tusker house for breakfast
Chef Mickey for late breakfast
Hollywood Vine Lunch (because of the little einstein)
HDDR
1900 Park Fare Dinner
Crystal Palace lunch
Tutto Italia
Biergarden

Would you suggest any changes? We will be 4 adults and 2 kids 2 and 4 and are on the dining plan.

Have you asked the other 2 adults in you party what they think? If they're happy with a lot of buffets, everything should be fine. We typically won't eat at buffets, except occasionally for breakfast. So, if our dining companions booked several buffets, we probably wouldn't be joining them on another trip where they chose the restaurants.

HDDR & Ohana are family style, which I prefer to buffets. Tutto Italia is a regular TS restaurant, & based on recent reviews, a good choice. Biergarten's food doesn't appeal to us, but it sounds like it will be different than the avg. WDW buffet. That's a good thing, if you're booking lots of buffets. Now for the others, I'd probably rethink them & keep the ones I really want & switch some of the others to regular TS. In the end, it's your choice & if you really like buffets, you should keep them.

ETA: Whatever you decide, you should definitely keep a couple character meals.

 

[tiggerrulz]

The buffets will certainly give you more choices, especially for the kids, but I agree that the food can be a lower standard at buffets. I also find that I tend to eat more at buffets, so if that is an issue....