I am going in January my first time on the DD plan as well and I am going to:
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Character meal: Princesses)
Coral Reef Restaurant
Biergarten
Chef Mickeys (Character)
The Crystal Palace (Character)
The Garden Grill (Character)
Grand Floridian Café (1900 Park Fare in GF is also a Character)
I came to these choices from my cousins who go to Disney every year (sometimes twice a year) with their 11, 9 and 4 year old. They told me that The Crystal Palace was the best buffet in Disney according to them so I will see. They told me Chef Mickeys was a must but they also like CRT. We are not trying it this year but we are going to try to make Disney a once a year thing too so there is always next year!! I also looked on different sites to read the reviews of restaurants. I was back and forth about different ones but the reviews really helped!! I am going with a 2 year old and a 1 year old so we choose a lot of buffets for them really because there will be a variety of food. Hope it helps!!