Disney Dining Suggestions Needed! (Please.)

[101disneyfan]

Could somebody please tell me what the best restaurants (your opinions of course) to make the best use out of the Disney Dining Plan?

Also, which option do you prefer? (Full, Quick Service, etc.)

We will be a party of three, and would like at least either one character meal, or one dinner show (Hoop de Doo, etc.). If it is a character meal, we want, regardless of theme, the largest amount of characters, and it would probably have to be a dinner...

If anyone else can make use of this thread for planning their own trip, please feel free!

Thank you all in advance for your suggestions.

 

[Bone Daddy]

Could somebody please tell me what the best restaurants (your opinions of course) to make the best use out of the Disney Dining Plan?

Also, which option do you prefer? (Full, Quick Service, etc.)

We will be a party of three, and would like at least either one character meal, or one dinner show (Hoop de Doo, etc.). If it is a character meal, we want, regardless of theme, the largest amount of characters, and it would probably have to be a dinner...

If anyone else can make use of this thread for planning their own trip, please feel free!

Thank you all in advance for your suggestions.

First thing is when are you going to be in the World. That goes a long way in determining what may be available to you. It seems that the quality of food is of little interest to you, and that helps to expand the choices. If you have a young daughter, the most memorable of character meals would be Cinderella's Royal Table at the MK. That tends to sell out quickly (180 day reservation window) , and also takes 2 table service credits from the DDP ( which I don't think is worth it). If you're staying at the Contemporary, Chef Mickeys has a good (not great) breakfast and lunch, but with all the A-list characters (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto). I've never done a dinner show (I don't trust the food), but I've heard on the Dis that Ohana is improved. Hope this helped.

 

[twocat]

First thing is when are you going to be in the World. That goes a long way in determining what may be available to you. It seems that the quality of food is of little interest to you, and that helps to expand the choices. If you have a young daughter, the most memorable of character meals would be Cinderella's Royal Table at the MK. That tends to sell out quickly (180 day reservation window) , and also takes 2 table service credits from the DDP ( which I don't think is worth it). If you're staying at the Contemporary, Chef Mickeys has a good (not great) breakfast and lunch, but with all the A-list characters (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto). I've never done a dinner show (I don't trust the food), but I've heard on the Dis that Ohana is improved. Hope this helped.

Just to clarify a few things in your post, Bone Daddy.
Chef Mickey's only serves a breakfast and dinner buffet, not lunch.
Ohana isn't really a dinner show although they have nominal entertainment for the kids. When I think of dinner shows, I think Hoop De Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness or the Luau at the Poly.
You're spot on about CRT!

 

[shburks]

Just to clarify a few things in your post, Bone Daddy.
Chef Mickey's only serves a breakfast and dinner buffet, not lunch.
Ohana isn't really a dinner show although they have nominal entertainment for the kids. When I think of dinner shows, I think Hoop De Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness or the Luau at the Poly.
You're spot on about CRT!

True about Chef Mickeys but they do add lunch at busy times of the year!

 

[goofyintoronto]

If your on the DP i would recommend the princess breakfast at Akeshus at the Norway pavilion instead of the castle. Its only one dining credit and your daughter will love the princess'!

Other character meals we love are tusker house breakfast, food is yummy. And Crystal palace, preferably breakfast but all other meals are great too. Love the breakfast food at CP. Nice atmosphere too.

My fave non character restaurants:

Via Napoli, - amazing pizza
Tutto Italia, - really good pasta
Chefs de France, - overall delicious
Teppan edo, - great show by the chefs, and good food.
Scifi, - love the theme. Fun! Yummy burgers, apps, and shakes.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

How old is your child? What time of year are you going? What kind of food do/don't you like? Which parks are you visiting?

If your child is on the younger side, you may enjoy Mickey's Backyard BBQ.
Otherwise, I would choose HDDR over the Luau. We've done all of these.

My kids' favorite character meal is hands down Chef Mickey's.

We generally eat breakfast in our room (we stay at DVC so have a kitchen) or on the go. We try to do one TS per day and QS or snacks the rest of the time.

Some of my favorite (1 credit) TS are 'Ohana, Chefs de France, Teppan Edo, and high on everyone's list right now is Be Our Guest. My favorite DHS TS is Sci Di Drive In. I really like breakfast at Kona Cafe but it's not a great value for your TS credit. (So pay out of pocket for the Tonga Toast or macadamia nut pancakes! Or go there if you can't think of any other way to use your TS credits.)

A good value QS is Cosmic Ray's. Some portions are so large, you can even split a meal and stretch your credits out. You can also get Mochaccinos as a drink with your meal which is a good deal if you are so inclined.
Another good value QS is Sunshine Seasons. Lots of variety and great dessert choices. Probably my favorite QS anywhere.

Give us more details and we can help you out more.

 

[ilovevacation]

So...i can tell you that we felt the same way you did. We actually kept all of our receipts and minus tip, we spent ~$300 more then our dining plan would have cost, plus one counter service went unused, i might have gotten sick if i ate again. In my opinion, although eating signature where you have to use two meals, is the only way we could eat everything, but not the way to technically spend the most.
We could return to:
Narcoosse
Yachtsman
Le cellier ( was 1 for lunch 2012)
Chef Mickey breakfast, then mk for rope drop
Cape may

You likely won't go wrong. Just make the reservation, you can always change them.

Have a great trip!

 

[juliebug1997]

There are lots who say to go to Akershus because it's a cheaper version of CRT, but I think every one should try CRT once, especially if you have a daughter (although I have seen lots of excited little boys in there too). For her to be able to come home and tell everyone that she ate in the castle is a huge moment.

Our favorite character meals are: 'Ohana Breakfast, Garden Grill (they only serve dinner), Crystal Palace (breakfast and lunch are best), CRT and 1900 PF Breakfast.

Our other favorite places are: Biergarten, Via Napoli, Le Cellier, the Yachtsman, Yak and Yeti, Liberty Tree Tavern, and Nine Dragons. A lot of people don't like Nine Dragons (or at least don't talk about it). It is good, basic Chinese and it doesn't have a heavy soy sauce taste which is good for those of us who can't handle MSG. Plus, it's not always crowded!

 

[artemis908]

To me, there is a big difference between getting the value out of your DP by dollar amount and experience. I try to find a middle ground in between the two. I personally don't like QS. I am not a sandwich/burgers/fast food type of gal. That's why we are trying the deluxe dining plan next month.

The signatures, which require 2 meal credits, are the more expensive ones. I think if you have little girls you might want to try Cinderella's Royal Table. It comes with a free photo with Cinderella and you get the chance to dine in the castle. If you make the reservation for breakfast before park hours you get a chance to walk down Main St when no one is around (good for pictures!).

The Garden Grill is my favorite character experience. You get more personal time with the characters and the characters never seemed as swarmed with kids.

I would try Le Cellier for lunch since it's a signature for dinner now. And don't forget Be Our Guest!

 

[disneydreamkate]

Our first trip we did the regular DDP (1TS, 1QS, and 1Snack per day).

During that trip we tried to get the most out of the plan by eating many Character Meals.

Since this is your first trip, I would recommend CRT at MK. I know there have been lots of less-than-great reviews of the quality of food, but when we went the food was "Okay" and worth the $$$ simply for the fact that you get to eat in the castle. Would I do it again? No, but I am glad we did it. It was a special experience for all my kids.

Cape May Clambake for dinner is nice and we have had good luck with the quality of food there. All you can eat crab legs and clams. If you like seafood, this is a good bet.

Tusker House Breakfast. Great characters (Donald, Daisy,Mickey, and Goofy) and food is consistently rated higher than Chef Mickey.

Boma for dinner. It is not a character meal, but AKL is a destination itself. You can get there early and just soak in the atmosphere, walk out and see the Savannah, and after dinner take a peek through the night goggles at the animals. There is a wonderful gift shop here too.

There are so many to choose from, but there are my few that I feel are special places for a first time trip.

 

[Mommyof3inVA]

I highly recommend the Laua--it is great food (very traditional Hawaiian style food) and it is great entertainment. We had level 3 seats (cheapest) and we were able to see great, now it was not front row, but we were fine with that.

I think that the best character meal is at Chef Mickey's--you get to see the major characters--Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto. You also get great character interaction and the buffett is actually surprisingl good. We ate there for breakfast and loved it. The Mickey shaped waffles are a must. We are going to try dinner this next visit.

 

[jamescanuck2001]

it can be a pain to get there (unless you will be at port orleans, key west, or saratoga) but downtown disney has great restaurant options

raglan road has live irish music and gets good reviews

rainforest cafe and tyrannosaurus rex are child pleasers

house of blues has a gospel brunch on sundays (not on dining plan) that we enjoyed

http://www.houseofblues.com/venues/clubvenues/orlando/gospelbrunch.asp

 

[Zannon]

If you want a Princess dinner, I highly recommend the Princess dinner at Akershus in Norway at Epcot. The food was excellent and we had some great character interaction (even when my dad, who is in his 60's and looks shockingly like Grumpy, got a little creepy with Snow White). Plus it came with a photo package with Belle. When we were there, we had Belle, Ariel, Snow White, and Princess Aurora. I think the food choices here were better especially if you have a kid that has to order off the adult menu than that at CRT. Really all CRT has above Akershus is the atmosphere, although the Askershus atmostphere is still pretty neat.

The buffet and character breakfast at Tusker House at AK has always been good to us and the interactions with Donald, Goofy, Daisy, and Mickey have always been fun, but last year my wife said it smelled funny in there and now we can't go anymore. I think it was because it was so rainy the weeks right before we were there that the whole place got a musty moldy smell. I don't think it's something that's always an issue, my wife just has problems with bad smells and is kind of a freak about going back anyplace that might give her bad smell flashbacks.

Table service meals that we always enjoy are Drive In Theater at Hollywood Studios (my kids love it), OHana at Ploy (interactive dinner for the kids that's a lot of fun and if you go late enough, you can watch the fireworks at MK from there), Biergarten in Germany at Epcot (fun Oompah band and dancing for the kids during dinner), and personally I really Like Liberty Tree Tavern at MK, but my wife does not, so I always get veto'ed on going there (she's not a fan of the Thanksgiving-esque menu).

Quick service places that we always enjoy are Cosmic Rays at MK (great selection), Sunshine Seasons Food Court at the Land at Epcot (also great selection), the wife and I love Tangierine Café in Morocco in Epcot (great food and a lot of it), and Lotus Blossom Cafe at Epcot in China is always good (partially because my son will eat his weight in their potstickers if we'd let him).

 

[goofyintoronto]

One more addition i wanted to make. TREX! Its so much fun for kids. Heck, im quite entertained by it too! Lol. Atmosphere is great and i love the food. My son LOVES their nachos!