Dining with Teens

[AKERSDCL00]

We are going the second week in Feb. 2010. My DH and I have 3 teenage children, ages 17,14,13. Please help with any ideas on what dinner arrangements you might suggest. They love Mickey and Minnie but are growing up. Personally myself , I would go for anything, but you know how teenagers can be sometime. I want to make sure its enjoyable for everyone.

Thanks

 

[disney queen]

how about involving them in the planning?

 

[ThumperandLitenin]

My only suggestions would be to keep it casual and keep it fun:

50's Prime Time Cafe
Trails End Buffet
Whispering Canyon Cafe (apologies to KatMark! )
The Wave
Beaches and Cream
CS in all of the Parks
ESPN Zone
'Ohana
Any of the food courts at the resorts are fun too.

One of the best times I've ever had was spent at the food court at AKL where my son, two of his friends and I played cards on a rainy night.

 

[NMAmy]

My dd is 18 and we've taken her and a friend since she's been 14. Some of their favorites:

Prime Time Cafe
Whispering Canyon
Planet Hollywood
Rainforest Cafe
Sci Fi
Le Cellier
Picabu's and the Fountain at the Dolphin

 

[GovieMom]

I have an 18 and 20-year old. So far their favorites have been:

Le Cellier
'Ohana
Crystal Palace (for the food, not the characters)
Sci-Fi (for the atmosphere, not the food)
Beaches & Cream

 

[VegasMike21]

Here are some places they'll probably enjoy

50's Prime Time Cafe
Sci Fi Drive IN
Ohana (Dinner)
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Coral Reef

 

[rcraw45425]

I have an 18 and 20-year old. So far their favorites have been:

Le Cellier
'Ohana
Crystal Palace (for the food, not the characters)
Sci-Fi (for the atmosphere, not the food)
Beaches & Cream

Another recommendation for Sci Fi (get the burgers) and 'Ohana if they enjoy Asian food (and meat, it's very meat centered). T Rex, Rainforest Cafe and Planet Hollywood are good for variety, and if you have a car you may want to venture over to Universal City Walk for the Hard Rock Cafe or try out "The Kitchen" at the Hard Rock Hotel. Both of those have good variety, good sized portions and cool music memorabilia.

 

[janeapplemeadow]

I took three teens this summer and I was quite suprised at the dinner that they absolutely loved. The #1 fav. was the California Grill. I was a little nervous about this ADR before I left but they each found items they loved, and wanted to go back again. Other favorites were, O'Hanna's, The Plaza, Whispering Canyon and the Biergarten.

 

[helloconnie]

Are your teens both boys and girls?

Here are some of my reccommedations:
Magic Kingdom
The Plaza - sandwhiches, salads, and ice cream - no characters involved
Tony's Town Square - Italian

EPCOT
Coral Reef (The Seas) - Dine while you watch the fishes! Signature Dining
Le Cellier Steakhouse (Canada)
Tutto Italia (Italy)

Disney Studios
Sci-Fi Dine In Theater (You sit in 'cars' and watch old science fiction movie clips while you eat fare like burgers
50's Prime Time Cafe - you sit in 'dining rooms' and 'kitchens' styled in 50's decor while TVs play old clips of sit-coms like 'I Love Lucy' and 'Father Knows Best'. The waiters/waitresses are your 'cousins' and really play the part. It's fun albeit a bit corny.

Animal Kingdom
Yek & Yati - inside the park


Resort Dining
Animal Kingdom - For a nice dinner close by after leaving the park try Jiko's. Great views while you dine. Signature Dining
Contemporary - California Grill. Great food, great atmosphere, GREAT view of the MK and fireworks. Signature Dining.
Polynesian - O'hana's - Also easy to get to from the MK.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Japan & Prime Time are good food & fun.

 

[igk]

Agree with Japan - Teppan Edo. Sophisticated enough for older teens and fun for younger ones. Good food too.

 

[PatsMom]

Once my DD got to be a teenager, she was pretty active in the planning of our trips. In fact she used to do a great job on the spreadsheets planning where we would eat, etc. She'd read restaurant descriptions and reviews and check out the menus on allears.net. Before it got to be time to make our ADR's she and I would sit down and finalize which restaurants she wanted to go to, mixing up old favorites with new places. This way she chose where to eat (or at least had input) and was very open to trying new places and new food.

Her goal in life now is to eat at every restaurant at WDW. She has a list and crosses them off as she goes, writes in new ones, etc. She is very disappointed that her Dad and I are going without her next week (she's in college now so can't just miss school like she always used to). She made me promise not to try any new restaurants without her and is already planning our dining for a family trip in January.

 

[MamaQuack]

I only have 1. He is 18 now but loves Disney and loves eating. He could break my bank account at Bistro de Paris or Flying Fish but also loved a good burger. One thing I learned years ago was to involve him in the choices. He was always happy if he had a part in the decision making. Ahead of time we discussed parks, counter options, seated options, menus, etc., etc. We always had back up choices and he was always very happy. Fortunately he is not a picky eater and has no dietary issues so that helped a lot. He still prefers to sit down some place air conditioned for both lunch and dinner - its a good break for both of us. Now he is in college and just wishing he were eating at WDW!!!!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

I travel with 4 boys who are now ages 13, 18, 20, & 22. So with that said I must say, "They eat a lot!"

We have gone several times and have also cruised with them so we try to do one sit down "plated" meal and one "all you can eat meal" each day. Breakfast is normally just a grab and go.

They all read the menus etc and vote #1, #2, and #3. I give each #1 10 points, #2 is 5 points, #3 is 2 points. We choose the top 6 in highest points. LOL

This November's 3 days are as follows:
50's prime and WCC for Thanksgiving
Rose & Crown and Ohana Friday
Le Celier and Boma on Saturday

They picked, so they can't complain. LOL

My guys like both Boma and WCC for breakfast as well but we are not doing any breakfasts this trip so we can get to the parks earlier.

 

[VegasMike21]

Are your teens both boys and girls?


EPCOT
Coral Reef (The Seas) - Dine while you watch the fishes! Signature Dining

Coral Reef is NOT a Signature Dining Restaurant.

 

[goofy's friends]

My teen is a girl and she loves Prime Time Cafe, Whispering Canyon, and Teppan Edo.

She enjoys "eating around the world" too-- she's an adventurous eater though. We love Marakesh and I'm sure if you have boys, they will too with the belly dancers

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

This November's 3 days are as follows:
50's prime and WCC for Thanksgiving
Rose & Crown and Ohana Friday
Le Celier and Boma on Saturday.

We'll be at WCC for Thanksgiving dinner this year too!

I have a wide variety in my kids' ages, DS17, DD14, and DD7 so when I planned meals this trip I incorporated what everyone likes. The girls are big Disney fans and love seeing the characters. DS likes to eat, PERIOD, and flirting with the princesses So he happily sits through princess meals! DD7 is very particular, but as long as she can have plain chicken or a plain hamburger, she's good to go! The rest of us are pretty adventurous. Here's what we came up with.

Beaches N Cream
Chef Mickey's (obviously for DD7 mainly)
1900 Park Fare BF
Ohana dinner & BF
Sci Fi
Cali Grill
Kona for BF and dinner
Gardenview tea (girls' tradition)
Yachtsman
Narcoosees
Flying Fish
Tusker House BF
WCC
Yak & Yeti
Akershus
Tutto Italia
Chefs de France
Crystal Palace BF

 

[MomsOf2boys]

We'll be at WCC for Thanksgiving dinner this year too!


Beaches N Cream
Chef Mickey's (obviously for DD7 mainly)
1900 Park Fare BF
Ohana dinner & BF
Sci Fi
Cali Grill
Kona for BF and dinner
Gardenview tea (girls' tradition)
Yachtsman
Narcoosees
Flying Fish
Tusker House BF
WCC
Yak & Yeti
Akershus
Tutto Italia
Chefs de France
Crystal Palace BF

Hey...If you see a family of 8 with 4 of them being young boys at 8:05 ish at WCC come and give me a shout! We'll be the ones taking pics of the food. hee hee

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

Hey...If you see a family of 8 with 4 of them being young boys at 8:05 ish at WCC come and give me a shout! We'll be the ones taking pics of the food. hee hee

Of course!!!! Here's a pic of me and my kiddos, plus we'll be with my DM and minus DH(he's off to Iraq next month again). Our ressie is for 8:55pm. It'll be so nice to finally meet a fellow Dis'er! I'll be taking food pics too for my dining report. Going to start my pre-trippie, a little late obviously, this evening. Be on the lookout!

Us at Planet Hollywood April 09

 

[ohiotodds12]

We just returned from 10 days of eating at Disney with two teens, 14 ds and 13 dd. My son is going on 6' 2" so he eats well. Love those football players. Anyway, we were blessed with free dining but he loved everywhere we went. I would say that they in the past have not liked Japan as we have great Japenese steak houses here in Columbus and it is kind of plain there. They loved the buffets with their favorite being places such as Boma (no characters and a good selection of food), Le Cellier, 50's and Ohana. He was happy anywhere there was burgers for a counter service. I seriously could not afford to feed him at any of the signature restaurants. Our bills would have been (with tip) 195.00 at most of the single sit down places. Put that with the 68-75/day for counter service, we are up to 275 a day with snacks. They both love the characters still so we did a few breakfasts in places and our son even danced with Minnie Mouse, love the pictures, can't wait to show his football teamm (I wouldn't do that to him!) Any questions about the food, let me know, would be happy to answer.