Dining choices with teens/preteens

[ankemom]

We are trying to iron out where we want to make reservations for our upcoming trip. We do have to DDP to use. Was wondering if anyone had thoughts on our choices so far or is there a "must" that I left out and should consider instead? (We prefer dinner as we are not big breakfast eaters.) My teens are not picky and eat like grown folks. They love a good steak, seafood, sushi, as well as the comfort foods. I'd prefer new experiences.

Arrival Day-no parks: Disney Springs?

Ohana

Cinderella's Royal Table

Sci-Fi Diner

Tusker House

Chef Mickey's

Be Our Guest (lunch-QS)

Missing something maybe at Epcot so we can be there for Illuminations?

 

[Calee]

Honestly with teens i would check out Disney Springs on arrival night. Shops, music, food..I think they would like it. Have you all been before?

 

[prisjoyce]

My teens enjoyed the options at Disney Springs, particularly Homecomin & Morimoto.
For food in the parks, their favorites were Le Cellier (2 credits) & Skipper Canteen. They really loved the dining plan for snacks- so many options.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[kiramay]

My boys request Biergarten every trip. They can eat a lot!

 

[coolbrook]

I agree with Skipper Canteen, cool atmosphere and good food. I also recommend Spice Road Table in Epcot for tasty small plates which we all shared and watching the night time show. We didn't care for Chef Mickey or Cinderella's Royal Table that much. Those were one-and-done for us. My 5 kids range in age from 16 to 28 now and we have been to Disneyworld many times almost always on the dining plan. All the other restaurants you mentioned were hits with my family.

 

[Bjkandma]

I would recommend Disney Springs for arrival night. Homecoming for dinner that night. There is a lot of free entertainment, (look for Living Statues), shopping and snacking. In Epcot we have enjoyed Chef De France and Spice Road

 

[Newsies]

You have some really great choices up there! I think Homecomin' would definitely be the best bet for your family at Disney Springs. It's my favorite restaurant on property. I love comfort food, and their fried chicken is incredible!

I think I would skip Chef Mickey's. Tusker House has better food overall, and you'll still meet Mickey, Goofy, Daisy, and Donald. If you'd prefer to do another character meal, I'll recommend Storybook Dining at Artist Point. That seems like it could be really fun for teens, since Dopey, Grumpy, and the Evil Queen are a lot of fun to meet and can rarely be seen in the parks.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Via Napoli at Epcot for the BEST pizza on property. My teens love it and their pasta mixed with seafood is a favorite also.

 

[TOBS2010]

I echo skipping Chef Mickey's. The food isn't that great. 1900 Park Fare has better food in my opinion than Chef Mickey's, especially for dinner if you are looking for another character meal. Ohana for breakfast is better than Chef Mickey's if you are looking for another breakfast. Ragland Road in DS could be fun for them as well. In Epcot you could also consider looking into Coral Reef. My kids are too picky for there, but it is a different atmosphere. Definitely keep Sci-Fi! Be Our Guest for lunch is a great opportunity to get into the castle for an air-conditioned lunch. I don't think its worth the price/two TS credits for dinner. CRT is ok, but I think you get better food at Narcossees or the California Grill unless you really want the princesses/eating in the castle experience. With teens look into some of the heavier snacks that you can utilize as meals to maximize your snack credits as almost mini meals if you are on the dining plan.

 

[heidijanesmith]

When my kids were teens, they loved; Sci-Fi, T-Rex, Teppan Edo, Le Cellier and Cape May Dinner Buffet.

They were bottomless pits, so the dining plan worked well for us. The snack credits where a great help, keeping them full.

 

[Saxsoon]

We are trying to iron out where we want to make reservations for our upcoming trip. We do have to DDP to use. Was wondering if anyone had thoughts on our choices so far or is there a "must" that I left out and should consider instead? (We prefer dinner as we are not big breakfast eaters.) My teens are not picky and eat like grown folks. They love a good steak, seafood, sushi, as well as the comfort foods. I'd prefer new experiences.

Arrival Day-no parks: Disney Springs?

Ohana

Cinderella's Royal Table

Sci-Fi Diner

Tusker House

Chef Mickey's

Be Our Guest (lunch-QS)

Missing something maybe at Epcot so we can be there for Illuminations?

I am a former Disney Teen, now 29, but stuff like Ohana, Scifi Diner, Chef Mickey's, and Be our Guest are absolutely some of my favorites. Have you asked your kids what they want?

 

[Wild4Walt]

Chef Mickey's is always at the bottom of my list - it tends to be louder and IMO, geared for younger kids ( the under 10 crowd ). With boys, unless CRT is your pick then I'd skip that as well. It's all Princesses. I know my 15 year old nephew would want to skip.

So many good places at Disney Springs now - Boatrights are Raglan Road are 2 of our favorite sit downs. Lots of cool entertainment at night too so it's worth walking around for a bit before or after your meal ( or both ) .

 

[DISNEY1975]

Our first night tradition for many many many years was Spirit of Aloha.

Being from New England, it was the perfect venue to be outdoors in a tropical atmosphere with great weather for dinner. I also liked the fact there was entertainment. Since we typically left our house at 4:30 am for a 7am flight, we were pretty tired by dinner time. Getting to see a show and not have to hold a conversation at a dinner table for 2 hours was great. Food is like nothing I can get around here, so that is a plus too. Its just a relaxing night that gets us in the Disney spirit for the rest of our trip. We didnt go to the parks on our first day.

Now...fast forward a million years, we dont even go to Disney on our first day in FL. Im too old for the 3:30am wake up for first flight out! I now take a noon, 2 pm flight getting into MCO around 3 - 5. Because of this, I dont think staying at a Disney hotel is a great value, but instead we stay at a Disney Springs hotel for the night and go to Disney Springs for dinner. Hotel for the night is about $100, compared to $500ish at Disney. There is lots of outdoor entertainment and plenty of great dining venues. Only drawback is there is so much great shopping, I end up spending more than If I were staying at the $500/night hotel inside the park!!

 

[shocker]

My teens thoroughly enjoy Flametree BBQ (QS AK), Sci-Fi, & Dlux burger (DS). They wanted to love BOG, but after trying lunch, then a dinner, its scratched completely off the list.

Buffets (or family style AYCE) are great if they are bottomless pits & now that they are teens & can get their own stuff. We had a great family dinner at Boma. But honestly, I wouldn't shy away from any, you might prefer to pick some in-park options so you're not chasing food & using gobs of park time transporting all over (teens aren't much of a fan of that).

 

[ChimCher-ee]

My picky-eater teen loves Teppan Edo. It's on our list for every trip, sometimes twice a trip. I will add, though, that we don't have any style restaurants quite like it at home, so it's a novelty for us.