did i make a mistake choosing biergarten for xmas eve?

[themouseforme]

i think new experiences are a fun part of travel, and i have never had german food. but.....maybe sharing a table will be awkward (i won't mind at all sharing a table as long as i don't have to sit directly beside or directly across from a stranger). maybe most of the sausages will not be to my liking, and are rather too "casual" a type of food for xmas. i'm wrong, right?

 

[gem21]

Well my friend is of German heritage and that's what they eat on Christmas... so no I don't think it's too casual.

I've never eaten there, so take this for whatever it's worth, but I say go in with an open, positive mind. Personally I think it sounds like a great place for Christmas Eve... Yes you may sit with strangers, but you will be seated with your family/friends as well... Just think of it as a typical Christmas dinner with random relatives you'll never see again

Who knows, they might spread some Christmas cheer...

 

[tony67]

I am not a fan of sharing a table, but it might be fun on xmas eve.
After a beer or two it's not so bad.

They do have a bit more than sausage as well and unlike most places they will have the Christmas version of the show.

Silent night in the original German, how can you go wrong?

 

[michellejed]

I think you made a great choice

It sounds like fun to be with a lot of people on Christmas Eve singing and drinking great beer, oh and eating too Just be Merry

 

[robinb]

i think new experiences are a fun part of travel, and i have never had german food. but.....maybe sharing a table will be awkward (i won't mind at all sharing a table as long as i don't have to sit directly beside or directly across from a stranger). maybe most of the sausages will not be to my liking, and are rather too "casual" a type of food for xmas. i'm wrong, right?

In that case, yes you made the wrong choice. Your family *will* be seated directly next to and/or across from another family or two. I happen to love Biergarten but it's not quite as much fun for me when I am seated next to a family that keeps to themselves and ignores their tablemates.

 

[gparr]

I have gone with family as well as by myself! Being somewhat of a shy person, I have always enjoyed my visits with my table mates.

It has been most enjoyable and I already have rezzies for my Nov. visit and will have them 180 out for my April visit!

 

[koolaidmoms]

Being there the week before Christmas this past year was unbelievable for me. We thought the food was good. In addition to the sausages there were several pork, chicken and beef dishes. The German potato salad was delightful and the pretzel rolls made it worth it to us.

I am not a social person and prefer not to be seated next to strangers so I sat my family next to them while I sat at the end of the table. The people that sat with us were nice and we all had fun telling stories of WDW and our families Christmas traditions,etc...

When they told the story of Silent Night and sang it I cried it was so moving. My children loved the dancing and stories they told and of course the gold chocolate coin they got at the end of it.

Good luck on your decision but if you are at all apprehensive it may not be for you. You want to enjoy this time and if you go into it not open to talking with others or fearful of the food you may not enjoy it. Hope this helps.

 

[dalt01]

I happen to love Biergarten but it's not quite as much fun for me when I am seated next to a family that keeps to themselves and ignores their tablemates.

we are that family............we wont go there because we know that we will not meet the other peoples expectations......the one time we did, people kept trying to engage us in long conversations about where they lived and such and they were not folks that we would have chosen if indeed you were allowed to interview tablemates beforehand and i am sure they felt the same. what i am saying is that you run the very real risk of ending up uncomfortable. if you are the type with an excess of personality then you may be annoying to quiet people and if you are quiet people you may be considered snooty by they outgoing type. i am not alone here.........i have heard many, many people say that they would eat there if it were not for the table situation.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

We met a wonderful family from the midwest during our Biergarten dining adventure. They were seated across from us, while DW, DD and I sat across from them.
The tables are rectangular, with four seats on each side.

photo from ourlaughingplace . com

If you don't bond with your neighbours, it could be a long and very awkward meal.

As for the food:
* the sausage selection was OK, but relatively mild flavours.
* roast pork and other meats were OK, but nothing different from other buffets at WDW
* the sauerkraut and potatoes were excellent
* the token veggies were a bit pathetic
* most desserts were typical Disney desserts, except the Black Forest Cake was excellent - certainly the best I've had without a healthy dose of alcohol in the cherries. (My sister's wedding cake was delicious but intoxicating.)

Music and dancing -- There were a lot of very happy children on the dance floor. Most adult had a good time, and those that didn't, they just ordered a 1-litre beer to make things better.

 

[7165red]

I you don't mind sitting with strangers it will be fine, if you do change your res/

 

[addiln]

we had a great time with the people we sat with there. it was just a fun place to be and the food was pretty good. i am not sure if i would go the xmas eve but i would go there any other time. we tend to try to do something a little more fancy then a buffet for that day.

 

[OhThePain]

My girlfriend and I last ate there on NYE a couple of years ago. We shared a table with a couple older than us (we are in our 20's, they were in their 40's) and a family of 4. My girlfriend and I are not very social people but us and the older couple had a great time drinking and talking while the family of 4 was noticably uncomfy and barely even talked to themselves. If it wasn't for the other couple it would have been a pretty bad experience opposed to the great experience we had.

I tell that story because even though it is a relaxed, fun atmosphere, the way your family handles the situation or the way the other partie(s) you are sitting with handle it, it could be a great or awful experience. If you are not the types who are willing to share the meal with others or would be bothered if those who you are sharing the table with keep to themselves, I would suggest changing the ADR. If you are the types who are go with the flow type people and can enjoy the festive mood with or without total strangers, go for it.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I am not a fan and will never go bac. Did not like sitting with others and really disliked the food.

Glad I tried it, checked that one off the list

 

[catne]

do not go there if you don't want to sit by/across from strangers...unless you're a party of 8, you will get sat with strangers, that's the set-up of the restaurant. And your table-mates, totally luck of the draw if you get duds or fun folks. We went a couple of years ago, on many recommendations from friends & family about how fun it is there. Well, the stage show is very entertaining, watching little ones try to polka is great fun, and the buffet food was good (not outstanding, but good.)

However, our seatmates We were seated with a dad & his 2 adult daughters--who were very chatty and personable until...all 3 were outraged, appalled & disgusted when beer was served to DH & myself. Even though they had told us they loved German food & song, and all spoke German, apparently they thought "Beer Garden" was just a theme-name --not actually a BEER place. And the 3rd party sat at our table, an elderly couple, actually pulled their plates, flatware & drinks to the very edge of the table to avoid sitting close to strangers (and they distrusted the table so much, they actually took their drinks, napkins & flatware with them to the buffet every time...guess they thought we were going to spit in their drinks, lick the forks & blow our noses in their napkins)

Anyway, we were very glad we were seated next to the railing with an unobstructed view of the stage so we could watch the show, because it was awkward enough at that table...with one group sure we were disgusting drunks, and the other couple sure we were uncouth cut-throats...

 

[leebee]

DD and I ate at the Biergarten last week, with three other "couples" at the table. I sat across from DD, with strangers on either side of us. It wasn't bad, really! The show is so loud that there's no way to talk while it's happening, and nobody tried to carry on conversation while eating very much. We passed the time of day with the others at the table, talking about where we are from, if we'd been to Disney before, what we'd done on this trip (or others) that we enjoyed, shared opinions about Disney restaurants, etc. We didn't feel the need to exchange names even! It was a pleasant evening, and I was surprised that the food was so good! There was only one big casserole of several types of sausage. The rest of the meal offered roasted chicken, salmon, German veal meatloaf, saurbraten, roulades, roasted beef, several types of potatoes, at least 8 different cold salads (a sausage salad, beet salad, shredded carrot salad, tossed salad, etc), cooked carrots... can't remember what else, but there were rolls, pretzel rolls, and some pretty terrific desserts: a sweet/tart berry compote, apple strudel with vanilla sauce, a light, lemony cheesecake, cookies... can't remember everything, but that's a pretty good list. We'd been to Biergarten before, but I hadn't remembered the food being as good as it was! We were very pleased we chose to eat here!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

We've been there many times and have never had an issue with other folks at our table. Now we are busy talking to each other, I guess the others could have been uncomfortable or not liked us, I have no idea. I never noticed anything. We all like the food, I say go and have fun.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

i think new experiences are a fun part of travel, and i have never had german food. but.....maybe sharing a table will be awkward (i won't mind at all sharing a table as long as i don't have to sit directly beside or directly across from a stranger). maybe most of the sausages will not be to my liking, and are rather too "casual" a type of food for xmas. i'm wrong, right?

no culture celebrates Christmas more thoroughly or for a longer period of time than the Deutsch

Let's see...half of our christmas carols, lighting, christmas trees, wreaths, carolers, and probably ten other things i'm forgetting originated in Deutschland

I wouldn't worry

 

[ktlm]

If I could pick any restaurant in WDW for a Christmas Eve meal, it would be Biergarten! It has a show which is Christmas themed (that time of year) and gives DD a chance to get out on the dance floor and good food. Having other people at our table doesn't bother me at all. I have been there when we talked to the people next to us pretty much the whole time, and I have been there when we didn't talk to the people next to us at all other than just saying "Hi". I don't think it is awkward when you don't talk. (Usually people are focused on eating anyway!) When you go to the movie theater, you sit next to strangers too, that doesn't mean you have to talk to them. Usually, our family is sitting across from each other, so the other family is sitting next to us.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

i won't mind at all sharing a table as long as i don't have to sit directly beside or directly across from a stranger

1) OOPS !
2) You just made a mistake.
3) You WILL sit next to and/or across from other families at thw same table.
4) It is a beer hall environment.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

It's a fun time.

I'm not overly crazy about the food but the entertainment and atmosphere more than make up for that.

You will be seated with others.

If you are like Dalt01's family, then I agree it's not the place for you.