Dinner at Whispering Canyon or Grand Floridian?

[messyjessy]

Help - we leave for Disney in 5 days!

I'm tweaking our ADRs and still trying to decide between dinner at Whispering Canyon or Grand Floridian?

We are a family of 3 and this will be our first visit.

 

[amym2]

Where are you staying? If you are staying at WL, I'd do Whispering Canyon (our kids love it) but otherwise I probably wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. That is, unless you have time to kill anyway and want to walk around the Wilderness Lodge and dream about a future visit. We loved it there!

 

[dreamscometrue101]

It would depend on what type of food/atmosphere you enjoy as well as which Grand Floridian restaurant you were considering.

We enjoy Whispering Canyon but it's quite loud and the food reminds me of a fancy barbecue.

At the Grand Floridian, 1900 Park Fare is a buffet with characters that can be fun, but the food is just alright. Grand Floridian Cafe has great food and service but is very quiet. Then of course you have the 2 signature restaurants, Narcoossee's and Citricos.

If I just had to pick from this list and I didn't want to do signatures, I think I'd opt for Whispering Canyon.

 

[Ro Z]

Whispering Canyon is a loud interactive type meal. Grand Floridian Cafe is a quiet more intimate dining experience. We love GFC. Food is good service is good and they have chocolate fondue for dessert. If you want a more rowdy type of meal go to WC. We have only been for breakfast. It was good but DS was shy and when they threw his hat up onto the lights overhead he worried he wouldnt get it back. When he asked for more oj the server told him ' all ya gotta do is hollar partner' He looked at me and said I thought I couldn't yell in a restaurant'!! Kinda funny. IMO if you want a quieter dinner choose GFC. If you want a themed dinner WC. Either way have a great time!!

 

[MSSANDRA]

So depends on where at the GF, when you are eating and where else you have planned. We are not huge fans of WCC though we do like the WL and end up eating there at least once when we are there just because it is east. We like some of the places at GF much better. Any reason it's between these places? Where will you be that day? Lot of other choices I might would make .

 

[messyjessy]

Oops - forgot to mention - I was planning on Grand Floridian Cafe

 

[jwfla422]

Oops - forgot to mention - I was planning on Grand Floridian Cafe

We were there recently and enjoyed dinner, but for sure, a TOTALLY different experience than WCC (like "night" and "day" difference)...feel free to check out my review with photos of GFC. (we enjoyed it btw )

Our Grand Floridian Cafe Dinner Experience

 

[sleepydog25]

Help - we leave for Disney in 5 days!

I'm tweaking our ADRs and still trying to decide between dinner at Whispering Canyon or Grand Floridian?

We are a family of 3 and this will be our first visit.

I'm not a huge fan of WCC. The food is middling and the interaction between guests and CMs is hit-or-miss. However, many swear by WCC and go there every trip. Be prepared for it to be loud (with or without shenanigans). On the other hand, I've had better meals at GFC but, as others noted, it's quieter, more staid. Though I prefer GFC's food, if this were my very first visit to WDW, I'd opt for WCC, especially if I had a child. For the first trip with my youngest daughter, we opted to do a meal at WCC (we were staying at the Wilderness Lodge), and though the food and service were both mediocre, I still have fond memories of her doing the stick pony race around the restaurant. Either choice, have fun!

 

[Jeanieblue114]

Cafe at dinner is not quiet.
I can't hear the person next to me when the place is full.
Wcc is loud but it's part of the rip roaring time.

I was last at wcc in sept for lunch. Low crowd, good service. Some fun interactions. Food was tasty.

Gf cafe i was last at for lunch end of aug.
My previous trip was 2 years ago and dinner. Service was rushed and chaotic, food was on the floor and never cleaned up, very very loud, the marshmallow on my fondue dessert had a hair and when i mentioned it the server offered to just bring me one new marshmallow. I just declined and didnt eat it. We did mention we enjoyed the dinner rolls and the server offered some to go but then brought them in a used looking gift shop bag just floating loose in it.
When we returned this past august, i didnt notice the cleanliness isdue, but the food wasnt very good. The lettuce in my cobb salad was old. The server was ok but not friendly.

Given the choices, at least comparing a recent lunch to a recent lunch, i would do wcc. For dinner, i might compromise and go to the territory lounge at wilderness lodge. Themes and flavors of wl restaurants but a bit calmer environment.

 

[sleepydog25]

Granted, any restaurant on any given night can be loud and service poor. No argument there. But, as a generalization, GFC remains a quieter locale than WCC. My focus would be on which spot best epitomizes the Disney fun people expect when first visiting the World and, between the two choices you've offered, WCC has the better chance to thrill. Though I love the Territory Lounge for drinks, I don't believe you'd find it a good venue for dinner as it is a bar and offers only a limited appetizer-style menu. Have fun deciding!

 

[juliebug1997]

We like WCC over GFC. My DH can eat like a teenager still, so all you can eat is a good thing for us.

 

[figment_jii]

My family also likes WCC over GFC. At WCC we ask to sit in the "quiet area" (back room), which isn't as noisy as the main dining room. The service has been consistently good and we enjoyed our food. I've eaten twice at GFC (once lunch and once dinner) and both times there were issues (slow service once, crabby server the second). We went right at opening, so it wasn't very busy or noisy. The food was good, but nothing impressive.

 

[mckelvey72]

My son LOVES WCC.....but that is because they put sprinkles in the milkshake!!! It is a fun but loud experience and if you have an active child, they can do "pony" rides etc.

Fun dinner!! We stayed at WL and decided to try it...and we will again in December when we go.

Donna

 

[hookedonears]

Help - we leave for Disney in 5 days!

I'm tweaking our ADRs and still trying to decide between dinner at Whispering Canyon or Grand Floridian?

We are a family of 3 and this will be our first visit.

Just remember, a rule of thumb at Disney is that the more entertainment offered for kids, typically the worse the food is. The quality of the food at WC just wasn't good when we ate there, and I've heard too many bad reviews since then as well. We haven't eaten at the GF Cafe, so I can't recomend there, but I did hear a review from a food critic several years ago who said that they were not impressed witht the GF Cafe. Now I can recomend Narcoossees, or Citricos at the GF. They are great.

 

[Carlyzmom]

We had a blast at WCC!! It is a must do place for us!