Clueless about the dining at Disney!

[grumpy28]

If anyone would be so kind to help me, I would really be grateful!

We are planning our trip for Sept(free dining), and I keep seeing everyone mention how crucial reservations are....problem is, we have never been to DW, so we know nothing about any of the places to eat/where they are located/ect...

We would like at least 1 character meal (Cinderella if possible).

Can someone help! We are a family of 3 w/ a 7 yo DD. We like to eat, but don't want to spend all of our time in the restaraunts. TIA

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

1900 Park Faire is my favorite Cinderella meal (it's only 1 ts credit each.)
It is a buffet and is located at the Grand Floridian Resort.

My dd was just 1 when we went and she enjoyed every second of it!
We are going again this trip, just for her!


Here's a link to the restaurant menu's...it is a great place to start planning.
http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

Hope it helps!
Sheli

 

[KatMark]

If anyone would be so kind to help me, I would really be grateful!

We are planning our trip for Sept(free dining), and I keep seeing everyone mention how crucial reservations are....problem is, we have never been to DW, so we know nothing about any of the places to eat/where they are located/ect...

We would like at least 1 character meal (Cinderella if possible).

Can someone help! We are a family of 3 w/ a 7 yo DD. We like to eat, but don't want to spend all of our time in the restaraunts. TIA

More info would be helpful. How long will you be there? Which parks do you plan on going to? Where are you staying? If you would like to send me a pm, I will be happy to give you some suggestions once I have more information. Or you will get plenty of suggestions here as well.

 

[mdoc]

If you're a little adventurous, you might enjoy the dinner buffet at Boma; it's one of our favorites. Crystal Palace in MK has good food and the Pooh characters. Coral Reef at Epcot is a unique experience because of the view of the fishtanks. I really like the Trail's End Buffet at Fort Wilderness, but it's not the most efficient use of your dining credits as it's probably the cheapest buffet on Disney property. Sci Fi at DHS is another unique experience - you sit in cars and watch trailers for B sci fi movies.

 

[grumpy28]

Thank you all so much for helping me out!! I will look into the suggestions you all gave, as they all sound great!

 

[Kerri G]

Chef Mickeys, Chef Mickeys in the Contemporary! A must do for us! Easy to get to from MK just hop on the monorail. We were there Monday for Breakfast and the characters were: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald & Pluto.

Have fun!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I always look at what park will be having morning and evening EMH and plan from there. I never miss morning EMH in MK or Epcot.

I also don't like a table service meal EVERY day.

It would be helpful to know what hotel you are staying in. It's easy to get from park to park, not as easy to get from hotel to hotel unless you have a car with you.

Here goes. In MK we like the Crystal Palace. If doing morning EMH it's good for a late breakfast but we also like to go there for dinner. Also like Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. It can be hard to get CRT for breakfast but it's pretty easy usually for dinner. Cinderella is there for pictures before going upstairs to eat. The Godmother and the Mice do a little song and come around for pictures during the meal. It's actually pretty nice and I happen to like eating in the castle.

Epcot - Biergarten for dinner is our favorite table service. My family has always liked it. It's very cute inside and we just love the music show. I like to get an ADR 15 to 30 minutes before the music is scheduled to start so we can be seated, order our drinks, get to the buffet and be seated to enjoy the performance when it starts. Also like Mexico for the atmosphere, France for the food and have liked Le Cellier but my friend just came back from Disney and said Le Cellier was definitely not as good this time.

DHS - Hollywood and Vine was okay to me, for some reason my mom really likes it so on family vacations we return there over and over. I will never return to Mama Melrose.

AK - have only done CS meals.

DTD - have been to the RainForest a ridiculous number of times. I think it's fine, the food is nothing spectacular, but what can I say, it's a crowd pleaser for my family. Also, Ghiradelli's is fun for sundaes.

Try to plan your dinner ADR's early enough so you get out in time to see the nighttime parades/shows. Don't miss Spectromagic and Wishes in MK, Illuminations in Epcot and Fantasmic in DHS.

Some of the hotels have good restaurants but depending on where you are staying they may be easy for you to get to or really just be a waste of your time.

Have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!