Dining places you wouldn't miss with 2 and 4 yr old

[Masoncoopermom]

Planning our first trip for September and have free dining . What are some places you would highly recommend??

 

[scdufek]

For us, Crystal Palace @ the MK. It has Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eyore. I'm not sure if you have a girl, but my DD at that age loved the princesses at Cinderellas Royal Table (we did breakfast and it is 2TS credits).

 

[butterflies114]

My kids loved all character dinning experiences. My kids favourite in order were

Chef mickey,s dinner
TRex / no characters but boys love Dino's
Ohana breakfast
Crystal palace anytime
coral reef / No characters but they loved the sharks
Garden grill

 

[jana616]

From your screen name I'm guessing you have boys? My boys were 4 and 2 when we went in 2009. We ate dinner at Crystal Palace, lunch at Hollywood and Vine, breakfast at 'Ohana, dinner at Chef Mickeys, dinner at T-Rex (not on dining plan), breakfast at Tusker House, and then also 'Ohana dinner and Le Cellier lunch (no characters, more for us than for them!).

We really enjoyed all of our meals. We loved our breakfasts at Tusker House and 'Ohana. We also really, really liked our lunch at H&V. It had gotten so many bad reviews on here, but we thought the food was fine and the character interaction was best by far. If your boys liked Jake and the Neverland Pirates, he is there along with other Disney Jr. characters. We also liked Chef Mickeys, but not as much as those. My least favorite was CP. It was so crowded and hectic and it felt really rushed to me. I had heard such awesome things on here, so maybe I just had high expectations.

'Ohana dinner doesn't have characters, but it was such a fun meal! There are tons of activities for the kids to do, and the food was awesome. They were also really good about bringing both my boys (even the 2 year old who wasn't on the plan) kids meals for free since they didn't like the food. We loved it there!

 

[DisneyDreamingInMI]

Our boys were 2 and 4 on our last trip and some of their favorite restaurants were: T-Rex Cafe, Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, and 50s Prime Time. I think they thought it was so great that there was a place where you could eat dinner with a TV right at your table!?!? The boys were a little disappointed that we didn't meet any "beautiful princesses" this time around, so I am considering adding Akershus to our list of must-do's on our next trip!

 

[Funfire240]

I'd say Tusker House Donald's Safari Breakfast - you can't go wrong with Mickey, Donald and Goofy

 

[goldenears]

I would Try to snag one of the beginning of the day Crystal Palace reservations. The restaurant is really beautiful and it is a fun character breAkfast for the kids. I would also do Chef Mickey's. The food is nothing special, but you get all of the "classic" characters and the interaction is good. If you are interested in a dinner show, I would recommend the Hoop De Doo Revue. I have 3 kids under the he of 6. My oldest was 1 when she first saw the show and she loved it. We also did it a year ago and they all loved it.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

pre-park opening at Crystal Palace for breakfast as well as Chef MIckey's for breakfast are the first things that come to mind. For that age set, Hollywood & Vine for breakfast is also a great meal. If either child is a girl, CRT and Akershus are wonderful if they're into princesses.

 

[summermac]

Crystal Palace for sure.
My son (5 on last trip) also really enjoyed 1900 Park Fare (Cinderella, Prince and the steps). He asked Cinderella to marry him!!
SciFi might be fun for your kids too.

 

[333disneymom]

CRT at dinner - both times we went - were quite noisy and chaotic. I would recommend breakfast if you go there. Chef Mickey's is fun with Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Minnie present. Garden Grill is also nice for parents because it is not a buffet. Instead of rushing to get food to sit down and catch characters, you can relax while food is brought to you. Also, it's a better place to get pictures of the characters without other diners in the background. Cape May Cafe breakfast was very nice and relaxing too. For character interaction, Hollywood and Vine can't be beat, especially if your little ones like Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

 

[Wendy31]

Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort - it's the only character meal where you can find Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, & Pluto (in one place)

Crystal Palace at the MK - Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, & Piglet

Garden Grill at EPCOT - Mickey, Pluto, Chip, & Dale - plus the restaurant slowly revolves through the "Living with the Land" ride which is kinda cool for kids

Hollywood & Vine character meal at DHS - if your boys like the Disney Jr characters like Handy Manny, the Einsteins, Oso

Coral Reef at EPCOT - you dine right beside the aquarium & your boys can watch the fish while they eat

Sci-Fi at DHS - eat in cars while watching clips from Sci-Fi movies

T-Rex at Downtown Disney - Dinosaurs!

Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge - fun servers, stick horse races for the kids, & lots more fun stuff!

'Ohana at the Poly - coconut races for the kids, hula lessons, etc.

 

[CamoMama]

We loved Garden Grill, Sci Fi Dine In Theater and Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale ere awesome at GG. There were no characters at the others, but the food was great. The girls LOVED the movie screen at Sci Fi, cartoons and old movies like "Cat Women From Mars" or the moon, or something like that, Tom and Jerry, just great fun. And you get to eat in a car. Oh, and peanut butter chocolate cake, to die for. The Liberty Tree has characters at lunch, but we did dinner there, which is family style and just delicious (rolls with honey butter, I could have eaten just those and been happy).

For lunch we did Tusker House at AK, Donald, Daisy, Minnie and Goofy were okay, but the pictures and food were terrific. The options for kids at the buffet were great, and the adult buffet was slightly more exotic. Yum!

For character breakfast: Crystal Palace, hands down. Winnie the Pooh and gang were awesome. The CMs were incredibly nice and were very quick with towels when my klutzy kiddo knocked over her apple juice, and helped make her not feel bad about it. And of course, the buffet breakfast and omelet bar were lovely.