DLR restaurants versus WDW restaurants

[Masonmj84]

WDW vet making first trip to DLR

Obviously, DLR has far fewer table service restaurants than WDW, but I wanted to get your thoughts on the closest WDW comparison to each DLR restaurant from a quality/experience perspective. Here's my take, based on experiencing WDW restaurants and reading about DLR restaurants (not counting DTD in either place):

Ariel's Grotto = CRT (food, service, princesses) without the magic of eating in the castle

Big Thunder Ranch = HHDR (food) meets Mickey's Backyard BBQ (atmosphere/entertainment)

Blue Bayou = Boatwrights (food) meets San Angel Inn (atmosphere)

Café Orleans = Boatwrights (food) meets Chefs de France (atmosphere)

Carnation Café = The Plaza

Carthay Circle = Hollywood Brown Derby

Napa Rose = Artist Point meets Cali Grill

Steakhouse 55 (dinner) = Yachtsman

Steakhouse 55 (breakfast) = Grand Floridian Café (breakfast)

Wine Country Trattoria = Tutto Italia

Character buffets = character buffets

Agree, disagree?

 

[thmcdonald1]

Fellow WDW Junkie here!

I'd say Ariel's Grotto is more a blend of Coral Reef and Akershus....

But honestly, the experiences are very different at all of these places. I think it is safe to say that there isn't a single restaurant in WDW comparable to Napa Rose or Blue Bayou. Similarly, DLR obviously doesn't have anything like Le Cellier or Victoria and Albert's.

While some things at DLR and WDW are the same (Haunted Mansion, Dumbo, etc), some things just don't have analogues... I think the dining is on that list.

 

[figment_jii]

I've not eaten at all of the places you mentioned in the comparison, but I would make it clear that you're talking about food-style/cuisine in most cases and not food quality. Truthfully, I think it's hard to related WDW dining establishments to DLR dining establishments because they are different. Aside from ranking the atmosphere as 'casual', 'family friendly', 'formal' and things like that, I'm not really sure any locations are that similar.

For example, you list Cafe Orleans as having a similar atmosphere to Les Chefs. Other than both are casual dining (i.e., not a Signature or a buffet), there isn't really all that much that is similar between them in my experience. What about Les Chefs reminds you of Cafe Orleans (or vice-a-versa)?

I have to agree that Ariel's reminds me more of Akershus than CRT in terms of atmosphere (not the food, but Ariel's is not Nowegian-inspired). In terms of food, Ariel's and CRT are similar in that they both feature non-country specific cuisine (e.g., it's not Italian or Mexican or etc.), but that could be said for a lot of locations.

Wine Country Trattoria was pretty casual, whereas Tutto Italia seemed more formal. I would probaly gone with a comparison with Via Napoli, except without the pizza or pizza ovens.

Overall, I agree with thmcdonald1, that the experiences are very different and that it's not that easy to say one place is like another place.

 

[AngiTN]

Personally I hope they are very different and have no comparison. I don't want to eat at similar places on our DL trip. I want different.

 

[figment_jii]

There are no overlaps between DLR and WDW TS dining in the way that both parks have Star Tours (where the ride itself - not the queue - is identical), except Rainforest Cafe, Earl of Sandwich, and a few CS snacks. There are places that have similar types of food (e.g., both Carnation Cafe and the Plaza Inn have middle-America comfort foods on the menu) or some similar elements in design (e.g., both Blue Bayou and San Angel are inside a dark ride and you can watch the boats float by from some tables), but the overall experience is different. The OP's list might help give some folks that are familiar with WDW a sense of what types of food they might get at the various locations in DLR (and vice-a-versa), but hopefully they won't think it means that they should expect a copy or even something very similar at any one location.

 

[thmcdonald1]

Sorry if that came off rude in any way, I totally didn't mean it to be!

I will say: you DEFINITELY have to get a steak at Steakhouse 55 if that is your thing. I've done Le Cellier, Victoria and Albert's, Be Our Guest, California Grill, and a number of others at WDW... and the steak I had at S55 beat out all of those. I can't wait to go back in May. It is probably the thing I am MOST excited about with my upcoming DLR trip!

 

[ldarcy]

I won't comment on your list exactly because I am not really a sit-down-restaurant kinda person, but I will advise to go prepared for smaller restaurants. I did enjoy French Market this week (good jambalaya & the chocolate cake looks good enough to dive into headfirst) & Village Haus (very decent burger & fries), but they are counter service.

To state the obvious, DL is not WDW. When I lived on the east coast & visited WDW all the time, I planned a trip to DL, thinking it would be the same. I didn't realize the most important difference: DL is a couple of theme parks whereas WDW is a humongous resort. The visitors at DL are largely locals out for a day trip rather than folks on a long vacation. The culture is just different, for better or worse. Also, whereas WDW has seemingly endless amounts of room, DL has relatively little. I think this will play to your advantage because the sit-downs aren't as popular for day trippers.

On the up side, as soon as it rained, the crowds disappeared! It was a typical 4:00 p.m. shower in WDW, but that is considered a "storm" in SoCal, so all the locals ran for the gates. LOVE IT. Easy access to everything. The wait times went from 50 minutes to 15 & you could get into any restaurant you wanted.

Have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[figment_jii]

Hi Masonmj84 - I'm guessing this isn't going quite the way you want it to...don't take it that you're being attacked. It's mostly that DLR and WDW dining are very different experiences and the focus of the two resorts are fairly different. Out of curiosity, were you trying to relate DLR dining options to WDW options to help you plan where you want to eat? Otherwise, I would probably wait to make a list like this until after you've dined at DLR locations so you can get a better sense of what the food and atmospheres are like instead of relying on posted menus. I've dined at lots of WDW and DLR locations and haven't really made any list like this because in the end, everything would have a "similar, but different" note attached.

 

[JennyN]

Has anyone noticed the price difference. Character meals seem to be more expensive in WDW. We will be going to both WDW and DL in February, I think we may leave character meals until DL. Just can't justify the extra money.

 

[PinkBudgie]

I can't compare them one to one but I will say that over all I like how WDW has more themed places. Our favorite was Sci-Fi Drive In and also Be Our Guest. I wish DLR would make more of theirs themed along the lines of Sci-Fi or 50's Prime Time. Those are just fun places to be!

I also noticed that DLR has way better burgers at the their QS than WDW. Due to a food allergy sometimes (mostly at Epcot) I ended up just having a burger at WDW because it was safe. It was the same bland, thin, theme park burgers that DLR used to sell everywhere about 10 years ago. Example- Hungry Bear was that way before they changed up their menu. Now I like their burgers (although I like fried green tomato sandwich even more).

 

[tiffjoy]

Hmmmm. Maybe in a couple, the comparison is there if you are looking hard for it, but I honestly don't see any similarities, myself, between food in the two resorts. I feel they are very different places.

I would instead look at the restaurants for the menu and experience, and decide what you are interested in going to based on that. I'm not sure if you are just looking at the comparison for the sake of having fun, which can be interesting, or to help you make a decision on where to go at DLR based off of your experiences at WDW? If it's the latter, that won't work very well and may cause you some disappoint or to miss some great options. For instance, you compare Carnation Cafe to The Plaza, but we have our own The Plaza Inn, which isn't anything like WDW The Plaza, and Carnation Cafe isn't anything like WDW The Plaza, either. They are really all unique places. I prefer all the character experience choices in WDW, but I like the TS restaurants in DLR better, for the most part. Both resorts are really unique places, and honestly not too comparable.

 

[ktlm]

I don't at all agree that character meal= character meal. We have always found that character wise- the Minnie's Plaza breakfast is far superior to anything WDW has to offer. Goofy's was the same way, but unfortunately they recently standardized Goofy's, so now it has a standard 5 characters just like WDW. At WDW, pretty much every character meal is a standardized 5 characters. There is never any surprise or variety. At DL, there were always more characters, and you never knew who you were going to get. We have never seen less than 7 characters at Minnie's and one time we saw 12. Some of the characters we have seen every time, but there have always been surprises (Tweedle Dum, Penguin from Mary Poppins, Gepetto, Pinochio, Mad Hatter and Alice together, Sleeping Beauty- and more). Goofy's we typically saw 7, and again there were surprises like Aladdin, Jasmine, Gepetto, and I'm sure others I don't remember. I think we are going to skip Goofy's the next trip because of the standardization. I'm really hoping that they don't standardize Minnie's by then. Even Ariel's, although it is always 5 Princesses, has a little variety and is not always the same classic 5- we've seen Pochaohontas there once, Mulan, and Tiana. I will say though that on our last trip they had changed the menu at Ariel's and it was awful!

 

[NannyBeBe]

I only remember one good meal I had in WDW, at a French restaurant in Epcot, and a noodle bowl I had.
But I remember lots of good meals at DLR -- at Hungry Bear, Ralph Brennan's, Naples, El Zocalo, Carnation Cafe, Cafe Orleans, EofS, and first and foremost -- the Little Red Wagon. I don't know how these compare to restaurants in WDW but they're good and that's what matters. Of course, I have a simple palette, so the menus for the fancy restaurants sound weird to me.

 

[MillauFr]

Via Napoli = Naples

 

[DG24]

Has anyone noticed the price difference. Character meals seem to be more expensive in WDW. We will be going to both WDW and DL in February, I think we may leave character meals until DL. Just can't justify the extra money.

I might agree with this for most charactor meals, but there is one at WDW that far out beats any other charactor meal we have been to. That is the Donald duck safari breakfast meal at animal kingdom. You have food that is american and offered at all breakfast, like eggs, bacon. But you have several options that are different and very good.

I will add just a few more things to think about as to why prices maybe different. In wdw many of the charactor meals have photo pictures Included in the price, if you are doing photopass that may not be important but, if you are paying out of pocket for pictures, it is $35 added to the meals at DL to buy those pictures.

To me, goofy's far outbeats chef mickeys, askushus far out beats arial's. Donald's Safari far out beats any other charactor meal I have been to and I have been to all in DL and WDW.

I look at charactor meals as what is your plan. We use them for a few reasons other than food. O we don't have to stand in a line for two hours to find a princess, is one. But we also use then at WDW for a different reason. To get into the park before park opening for a specific reason. When elsa and anna line was 6 hours long within minutes of park opening. We got an 8 am before park open to askushus, ate breakfast, and was second in line to meet and greet at 8:50 before park open, for the few dollars more, knocking off two hours to get princess autographs and 6 hours in line to meet elsa and anna was worth the few dollars to us. At Donald's we always end breakfast and get the first ride on safari every time we eat there, again 8 am for a 9 am park opening.

 

[Fuhnuh]

OP, I just wanted to let you know that although it would be hard to make precise comparisons, I thought your list was fun and works for me. I found it insightful and thought provoking. We love going to DLR, WDW, and Aulani, but don't find the dining so different that it is not amenable to comparisons. If I hadn't been to DLR, I would be pleased in choosing my dining by your comparisons, even if they do not capture all of the differences.

 

[ldarcy]

I only remember one good meal I had in WDW, at a French restaurant in Epcot, and a noodle bowl I had.

Really? Wow. I can remember lots of great meals at WDW. Breakfast at the Port Orleans Riverside sit-down or at the revolving restaurant in The Land & even lunch at several of the counter service meals at The Land's food court. I like the burgers at the Electric Umbrella. The sandwiches at Columbia House were terrific, barbecue at Pecos Bill, couscous & chicken at the Moroccan sit-down. Maple-glazed salmon at Le Cellier. Well, to be fair, EVERYTHING at Le Cellier is amazing. And the Food Festival is one terrific meal after another.

 

[GatorChris]

I might agree with this for most charactor meals, but there is one at WDW that far out beats any other charactor meal we have been to. That is the Donald duck safari breakfast meal at animal kingdom. You have food that is american and offered at all breakfast, like eggs, bacon. But you have several options that are different and very good.

To me, goofy's far outbeats chef mickeys, askushus far out beats arial's. Donald's Safari far out beats any other charactor meal I have been to and I have been to all in DL and WDW.

Agree with this, although we did Donald's for lunch which was waaaaayyyyy better. Paying out the nose for bacon and eggs is never of much interest to me, but the African cuisine at lunch time was awesome! Plus the characters there are great. Love that place and I'm sad that I discovered it only on my last trip in 2012.

But I love all these comparisons. BB=San Angel...great atmosphere, with one having too expensive food and the other not knowing how to make good Mexican. As for Ariels being like CRT, I wish they would take Ariels and give it more of an Eric's Castle or King's Triton's Castle feel. As it is, it looks like some place at the Monterey Bay Wharf - not very princessey.

I will say that after reading this post, it makes me miss all the great dining places at WDW that DL can't replicate. Mainly the WS and MK restaurants.