Epcot Garden Grill Help

[magicforus]

Hi,
We are set to eat at The Garden Grill at Epcot in August on the free dining plan. I am getting a bit worried, as my friend just came back from there and said the meal there was the worst of all of the restaurants they ate at. Can anyone give me some advice - should I change it to perhaps The Coral Reef, or should I keep it??
There are 6 of us 3 adults and 3 kids - 8,6,5.
Thanks for all your input.

 

[Kaybee]

Oh don't change your mind! We ate there in May and my family thought it was the best meal they have had! The kids will enjoy the more quiet time with the characters as the Garden grill is more relaxed atmosphere from the other character meals. I think while we were there the characters came around at least 5 different times! Also, the resturant revolves so you see different scenery from the "land" ride during your meal which all the kids in our party found that "cool". The food itself was great. The adult platter was flank steak, pork, and catfish, great fresh veggies too. The children's platter was chicken tenders, fries, and mac&cheese. The best part for the kids was the children's dessert. They were each given their own plate with a plain white cupcake. On the plate had several little compartments filled with decorations for the cupcake..gummy worms, frosting, m&m's, candies, etc.
The adult dessert was fanastic. You needed to walk around Epcot after the meal we were so full!! Don't change your mind you will love it!!

 

[Jacksmom99]

Don't change it!! We went in Feb with the kids and the food was FANTASTIC!!! One of my favorite meals!

 

[Hanover]

Don't change it! It's our family's favorite character meal and we've been to a bunch of them.

 

[The Sweetness]

My fam muchly enjoys the GG You cant please everyone though, and it *is* possible that for some reason the kitchen was having an off night for some reason, that one time

 

[alacazander]

We love it and booked it for September again. It was one of our best meals! You'll love it. Sorry your friends had a bad experience!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We did it for the lst time in april with our 3 teen ds and really liked it and we discovered a new food - fried catfish. Everyone loved it. No one liked the mac and cheese though. The characters came around alot and the dessert plate was great too. Our server was fantastic. So attentive.

 

[RI&BMOM]

We loved the Garden Grill. We had lunch there in June. The food was great and the character interaction was excellent. We will definately be eating there again next trip. You will have a great time.

 

[imageid]

We had dinner at the GG in June. We really enjoyed it. The food was good, the character interaction was by far the best and our kids like everything especially making their cupcakes ! I would not change your plans.

 

[jjatwdw]

Don't change!!! It's our favorite character meal and one of our overall favorite meals at WDW. The restaurant is nice and quiet and the food is awesome. It's a must do for us.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

Another vote for not changing it!!! It is one of our favorite meals too!!!! The character interaction is wonderful and we LOVE the food!!!

 

[midge3426]

Keep your reservations! The Garden Grill has good food, nice atmosphere, and great characters. I think you would enjoy the Garden Grill much more than the Coral Reef.

I think The Croal Reef needs to revamp their menu. We have gone twice and the menu is very limited. The only thing that is neat is the extra large aquarium in front of you.

 

[Harambe]

We will be eating here AGAIN in August. We love it.

Here's something to keep in mind. We once went to the 1900 Park buffet at WDW with another family. The dad had to have gone up to the buffet two or three times, loading his plate. However, he had asked for his drink from the waitress with no ice. The drink came with ice - and he just bashed this whole buffet experience!

Point being - take all others' opinions with a grain of salt (and pepper, if you use it).

 

[Melora]

This is our MOST favorite restaurant. I LOVE their flank steak and the fried catfish. I adore the atmosphere too!

 

[BlindTyldak]

We go every trip, sometimes twice. It's one of our favorite meals at the parks, so another vote to keep it! I also really like Coral Reef, but with seafood you are much more at risk of a bad meal if the chef is having an off night.

 

[ceecee]

We loved it. Great charactor interaction and they visited several times. We had the best smoothy there! DD loved the kid's desert plate. The food was good and certainly not the worst I've ever had at WDW by a long shot.

 

[Mousema]

I made ressies for September for GG and the CM I talked to said she went there for dinner at least once every 2 weeks. There's one big vote!

 

[vital]

We did it for the lst time in april with our 3 teen ds and really liked it and we discovered a new food - fried catfish. Everyone loved it. No one liked the mac and cheese though. The characters came around alot and the dessert plate was great too. Our server was fantastic. So attentive.

Fried Catfish is new to you? I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at myself because I ASSumed that everyone has had it. I'm from Mississippi where there are many, many catfish farms and it is a staple here. I'm glad you enjoyed it! I don't like it as I caught a catfish as a child and had my pic taken with it (it was like 7lbs) and was so proud. Then, they cleaned it and ate it and I was scarred for life!

Back to topic, I went with DS6 and exMIL in June and ate there. It was a surprise characater dinner for son. Boy did I choose good. The food was good and the character interaction was fantastic! They came around several times and stopped for pics and play each time. We will visit again when we go back!