Dining Musts

[Heather Felker]

My husband and two daughters (seven and five) will be going to Disney Jan. 2019. Which restaurants are MUSTS? Which restaurants do we need to make reservations for in advance (aka princess restaurant?), and how do we do that?

 

[sharonabe]

My husband and two daughters (seven and five) will be going to Disney Jan. 2019. Which restaurants are MUSTS? Which restaurants do we need to make reservations for in advance (aka princess restaurant?), and how do we do that?

Reality is YOU are the only one who can decide which restaurants are MUSTS for your family. I can't think of any restaurant that would be a MUST for mine.

If you decide you want to do Cinderella's Royal Table (in the castle in Magic Kingdom), you will need to be on Disney's website or on the phone with Disney dining 180 days before your vacation to try to reserve it. It's very popular. If you don't get it at 180 days, you'll want to keep checking on the website to see if anything comes available up until the day you want to eat there. You need a credit card to hold the reservation. (CRT is one of the places that will charge you for the entire meal price when you make the reservation; most other restaurants don't charge you until or unless you don't show for your reservation, and then they will charge you $10 per person.)

If you decide there are other MUSTS for your family, you'll want to reserve them at 180 days as well to get the best chance of reserving them on the days and times of your choice.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Whispering canyon is great for kids that age. Lots of kid friendly antics they will love. just don't ask for ketchup or you get ALL the ketchup.

 

[TJA]

My husband and two daughters (seven and five) will be going to Disney Jan. 2019. Which restaurants are MUSTS? Which restaurants do we need to make reservations for in advance (aka princess restaurant?), and how do we do that?

We make our dining reservations right on the Disney website.

Our must-do restaurants have dwindled as my kids are older now, but the one that remains is Ohana dinner. We love everything about the entire experience and atmosphere. Served family style all you can eat....that way, everything gets to focus on the food(s) they like the best. Personally, I like the noodles and the steak. It's a hard to get reservation, so book that one at the 180 days.

When my girls were the ages of yours, I always booked Chef Mickeys (mickey characters) and Crystal Palace (pooh characters) as those were our two favorite character meals. We also enjoyed 1900 Park Fare for a nice mix of princesses and other types of characters. CRT is probably the most exciting princess experience for young girls actually walking inside the Castle and meeting princesses. Akershus in Norway/Epcot for princesses is good food but not quite the same as CRT as far as the experience, but it's a great alternative if you can't get CRT or don't want to spend as much $.

Be Our Guest is also hard to get and a cool experience inside that Castle. We've always enjoyed lunch there, good food and good atmosphere. Dinner is changing into a signature 2-credit service, so nobody has any reviews of that yet. The only time a character is there is dinner and that's the Beast as you exit (unless they change that). Book at 180 days if interested.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

For 2 girls I would suggest at least one Princess meal and one classic character meal. Our favorites are CRT for princess dining in the castle and Tusker House for classic characters. Beyond that it really depends on what type of food your family enjoys. Some of our other favorites are Sci Fi at DHS, Biergarten and Garden Grill at Epcot, and BOG at MK.

 

[sanapp]

We make ADRs for any TS meal that we are planning. I prefer to know that I have the reservation rather than not being able to find a place to eat or have to eat at a QS location. My daughter always preferred Akershus in Epcot for a princess breakfast much more than CRT. Akershus is also an easier ADR to get. My daughter's all time favorite is Tusker House for breakfast, but that is because Donald Duck is one of her favorite characters. You need to think of your families style of eating and figure out if you are okay with doing Quick Service type of locations or do you prefer Table Service Meals. You could always go on allears.net and review the menus of various location to find out which are most appealing for your family and go from there. Of course then you have to look at your budget as TS meals especially character meals can get pricey.

 

[mickeymom22]

Akershus in Epcot is super fun for a princess meal, but if your daughters love Rapunzel or Ariel you should try the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk. We just recently ate there and loved it. Be Our Guest is just so beautiful inside. If you have a Belle fan the details in there are amazing, but you won't see her there.

Other places without princesses that my family loves: Sci-Fi Dine In, Garden Grill, Biergarten and Tusker House.