disney dining plan-where to dine

[momof2forever]

Hi,

This is our first time at Disney World. We will be on the free dining plan. Would love to get ideas on where to eat for TS meals to get the most out of the free dining. What time is best breakfast, lunch or dinner. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

Also CS meals would be appreciated.

 

[kcashner]

There are lots of threads on this.

Best is very difficult to say given that we know nothing about you or your family...or what you are looking for.

On our May trip, we did a "big girl" trip--no character meals. Our favorites for food quality were Le Cellier, Les Chefs de France, and Coral Reef. For atmosphere, we liked 50s Prime Time and Planet Hollywood (I have a teen). They had good food and atmosphere.

I wouldn't go back to Whispering Canyon--the atmosphere was great, the food was terrible.

DD liked Teppanyaki, I prefer the Japanese steakhouse in our town.

On past trips, for character meals we love 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey's, and Cape May Cafe. Cape May is breakfast only, the others are breakfast and dinner. We also like Liberty Tree Tavern for character dinner.

We didn't like the Donald's Breakafastasaurus--rushed character interaction, food only average.

CS--Kringla Bakery at Norway in Epcot. For big servings, Cosmic Ray's at MK or Peppermart at Coronado Springs. We liked several of the items at SSR where we stayed. AK Tusker House and Flame Tree BBQ are great.

 

[momof2forever]

Thanks for your response.

It will be myself, dh, dd (age 6) and ds (age 3).

I was thinking Le Cellier, Ohanas and Spoodles and would love more suggestions. We will be staying at Pop Century. Any ideas on Narcossees, LLIberty Tree Tavern, Kona Cafe?

 

[3princesses4us]

Someone made a chart around here not long ago showing what restaurants gave you the most for your credits. The top ones were (in order):
1) Alfredo's- though it gets very mixed reviews
2) Le Cellier- a definate must I can say!
3) Spoodles- will be trying this one in September
4) Chefs de France- don't know about the kids...
5) Coral Reef- used to be 2 credits just last year!
6) Concourse Steakhouse
7)Big River Grille- ?
8) Maya Grill- ?
9) Nine Dragons
10) Kona Cafe- definately try

Counter service rankings:
1) Pepper Market (CSR)
2) Cosmic Rays (MK)
3) Riverside Mill (PO)- good
4) Wolfang Puck Express (DTD)
5) Everything Pop
6) Tangerine Cafe
7) Sunshine Seasons (Land at Epcot)
8) Tusker House (AK)
9) Tomorrowland?
10) Flame Tree BBQ (AK)

As for the ones you specifically asked about, 'Ohanas was the bottom of the list as far as value for resort restaurants but many people on here love it anyway. Liberty Tree Tavern was pretty low on the value list but don't let that stop you from trying it, it seems cute. Narcoossee's was about #15 so pretty good value there for your credit. Hope this helps.
Oh and as a general rule, you seem to get the most out of your TS credits if you use them on dinners. They seem to be least valuable at breakfasts which are cheaper anyway.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I would rec. Kona. My DD, also 6, loves the sticky wings (appetizer) and is already talking about them. After dinner you can go outside and watch Wishes from the beach-it's very nice.

We also like LTT for dinner (and lunch). We had dinner there late on evening after Wishes and we ended up being one of the last groups. We got "tons" of character interaction. They came around all the time. The food is also good.

Our fav. princess meal is now Park Faire for dinner. The food is great! Best buffet at the world IMHO. There is only one princess-Cindy (though on our last trip Aurora made a surprise visit!) and of course Prince Charming-and the mice We have yet to see the FG, but we've always dined late so maybe she was gone by then. My DD6 loved all the kids food and liked being able to serve her self from the lowered serving area. She also enjoyed dancing with Perla and Suzy. Again, I should note that we dined later, towards the end of the seating times, and have always found it to be extra pleasant-the characters (other than Cindy and Prince) come around more often and the room is less noisy. We always try to dine (lunch or dinner TS) at the less busy times. Either a late lunch or early or late dinner. The last time we ate at Storybook Princess in Norway we were the last group to check in for lunch (just before 3 p.m.) and even though we were early, they were waiting for us. It was nice eating so late as they didn't try to rush us out. Of course, the princesses still only came around once and it was early in the meal.

Hope this helps. Have fun!