Dinner Ideas

CRDIS

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 13, 2008
Messages
21
We're planning our next trip for May 2009. On our last trip, May 2006, we ate at Le Celliar, Chef Mickey's, Cape May Cafe, Tony's Town Square, Mama Melrose's, Whispering Canyon Cafe. Now we're looking for new ideas. We loved all of these but want to add some new experiences. There will be 4 of us, Mom, Dad, and two boys 7 and 9.

Which restaurants do you recommend? We are planning on doing the Dining plan for one sit down meal each day.

Thanks
 
My family cannot take a trip to WDW without a breakfast at Crystal Palace. We highly recommend it.
We are also fans of California Grill. That is 2 TS per person so you have to decide if it is worth that to you. For us, we just pay cash for the dinner and usually do it our first evening on property so we can see Wishes.
You didn't ask about CS but we also make at least one visit to Flame Tree BBQ at Animal Kingdom. I love their ribs!

Good luck and have a great trip.
 
My kids love Sci Fi diner and still every now and then bring up their experience at 50's Prime Time as well. Now neither of these are going to be great culinary experiences but the atmosphere and theming is worth a visit.

Of course by the time you visit the new T-Rex restaurant will be open at DTD, I wouldn't miss that!
 
I'm a big fan of Cinderella's Royal Feast at Grand Floridian. It's a dinner buffet.Good food, nice atmosphere and even though you have boys, who probably aren't into Cinderella, the character interaction is good and funny with the evil Stepmother and Wicked Stepsisters

I also love the Brown Derby at DHS. It's more adult, but if you took your boys at Le Cellier, Brown Derby won't be a problem. Great food, great service, wonderful atmosphere. And don't forget Pete and Kevin both said if they could only eat one last final meal at WDW it would be at The Brown Derby.
 

It's a little on the pricey side but The Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios is excellent.
 
Boma at AKL. Slightly different but enough kid-friendly food.
 
My family cannot take a trip to WDW without a breakfast at Crystal Palace. We highly recommend it.
We are also fans of California Grill. That is 2 TS per person so you have to decide if it is worth that to you. For us, we just pay cash for the dinner and usually do it our first evening on property so we can see Wishes.
You didn't ask about CS but we also make at least one visit to Flame Tree BBQ at Animal Kingdom. I love their ribs!

Good luck and have a great trip.

I thought that California Grill was closing. We usually try to do our Counter service for breakfast, grab a snack in one of the parks as "lunch" and then use the sitdown meal around 4-5pm when the kids (read that Mom and Dad) are starting to fade.
 
A family favorite from our last trip when my DD's were 10 and 12 was Kona Cafe. The food was very good! We also ate at several of the places you listed. One suggestion is to eat at buffets early in your trip and places where you order from the menu later. We found we were disappointed with the food at Chef Mickey's and Liberty Tree Tavern after eating at LeCellier, Kona Cafe, Chefs de France, and Rose and Crown earlier in the trip. On previous trips we enjoyed CM and LTT more when we planned them at the beginning of the trip.
 
We always eat at places that have no comparison at home.

Marakesh, Boma, Paris, Germany, Good Seafood, ect. Go for new experiences.
 
we always eat lunch at the 50's prime time cafe....
not the greatest food, but it's fun and the milkshakes are outstanding...

when you check in at the podium, be sure to ask for a very interactive server...some are, some aren't....if you want the full experience, say you want someone active...

for really outstanding food and service, we love Citricos at the Grand Floridian...however, it's a signature restaurant, meaning it would be 2 table service credits on your dining plan....
but if that doesn't bother you, Citricos is our favorite restaurant at WDW....we have always had outstanding food and service there..

we also enjoy the Brown Derby at DHS....not quite as much as Citricos, but it's also very good...
but it's also a signature restaurant requiring 2 table service credits...

on the dining plan, very good value would be dinner at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom....
it's a character meal....the dinner is very good....AND it's only 1 table service credit on the dining plan (as are all the character meals)...
it's not 'fine' dining, like citricos or the brown derby, but it's one of the better character meals (and in my opinion, a much better value than wasting your table service credit on a character breakfast)...
 
it is definitely kid friendly. they have chicken fingers, mac and cheese, desserts, etc (ZEBRA DOMES!! YUM) and now that appetizers aren't included on the DDP, here you get the appetizers anyway!
but.. the BEST thing is.... get there early and check out the savannah. Just walking INTO the lobby is a great experience, but continue through and see the animals. (be careful though... you may end up booking this resort for your next stay!:rotfl: )
 
Right now our must do's are:

Crystal Palace in MK
Boma at AKL
Chefs de France EP

This year we slipped in 1900 Park Fare and Chef Mickeys for the first time.
 
one word: Boma.

it sounds like there are kid friendly foods from what the other posters are mentioning (not that I noticed when I ate there) and if you and your family are adventerous eaters, you cannot go wrong!

the soups are amazing! and the food is so unique and yummy. It's my favorite so far (since I haven't eaten at every single restaurant on property).

good luck!
 
I think we'll definitely have to try out Boma.

One question on the Dining Plan - why did they do away with including the appetizers and gratuities? I'm not too upset about the appetizers, but it was so nice knowing that the tips were included as well. On our last trip, I talked with some of the servers who were very happy that the tip was included and the amount of the tip (around 18% I believe). I'm sure the servers aren't getting 18% from everyone.
 
what about that place at fort wilderness where you can get the fried chicken to go and have a nice family picnic??!!!

Trail's End!!! that's it !!!
 
I think we'll definitely have to try out Boma.

One question on the Dining Plan - why did they do away with including the appetizers and gratuities? I'm not too upset about the appetizers, but it was so nice knowing that the tips were included as well. On our last trip, I talked with some of the servers who were very happy that the tip was included and the amount of the tip (around 18% I believe). I'm sure the servers aren't getting 18% from everyone.

It was a way of raising the price. Regardless of the official word it's all about the money.
 





New Posts










Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top