ESPN or Big River Grill?

[Aidensmom]

DS and I are taking DH to Disney for Father's Day. My plans for actual Father's Day afternoon/evening (it is the day of our arrival) are to go over to Boardwalk and walk around some and eat dinner. I think he would really enjoy either ESPN or BRG, but I have never been to either and don't know which one would be better. He is a hamburger or chicken wings type of guy, and we both enjoy a good beer. DS is 3, so would also like to know which is more child friendly.

Thank you for your opinion.

 

[Bobump]

ESPN ZONE IS THE PLACE !!!

ALL OF THE FOOD IS GREAT AND ATMOSPHERE IS AWESOME!!!!!!!

 

[Disney Gator]

ESPN Club is great. The food is really good, hamburgers, wings, hot dogs, chili fries...that kind of stuff. There are TV's all over the place showing all kinds of sporting events, there are even TV's in the bathrooms. You can play video games in the booths, just ask your waiter/waitress. I love it there, I go there whenever I'm at WDW and there's a big game or something at the same time, but it's fun to go just anytime.

Big River Grille is good too, they have great food and if your husband likes beer, they brew their own. I've had the red and the pilsner and they were both excellent. I've eaten at both places with my gf and she enjoyed them both as well. So I guess you just have to decide what your husband likes better, sports or beer.

 

[bugsy]

do you know if either one takes the
DDE card???

 

[newholidayx2]

Big River does not take DDE, not sure about ESPN

DS13 & I are planning on lunches at both

(sorry it is written on my itinerary as not taking DDE)

 

[n2mm]

Big River takes DDE, not sure about ESPN

DS13 & I are planning on lunches at both

No....Big River does NOT take the DDE, but according to the list ESPN does take the discount.

From WDWIG.com, also the same information on the CM employee website.

BoardWalk
Bellevue Lounge
ESPN Club
Flying Fish Cafe
Spoodles

 

[webray]

The food and atmosphere are much better at Big River, actually so are the beers. They do some great microbrews. ESPN has the usual swill as far as beers are concerned.

If it is a nice day you can eat/drink outside of Big River, overlooking the water. People watching is always fun.

 

[beccasmom]

ESPN is a fun place and the food is not at all bad. Big River has a quieter atmosphere, decent food and the beers are pretty good. We have a similar restaurant in our hometown (I'm pretty sure it's a chain) called John Harvard's Ale House.....a lot of the same types of menu choices.

 

[swilphil]

ESPN has your typical bar food, but it sounds like that may be what you want. They do take DDE and it has some fun games for your son.

 

[MichiganMomto4]

Never been to ESPN but we enjoyed our dinner at Big River. It was "date" night for DH and I so we were kidless. The food and service were good and the beer was fun because we ordered the sampler - 5 or 7 (forget how many) small glasses of each type of microbrew.

If you do choose BR, I would recommend asking for a table outside if weather permits. That's the only complaint I had there was it was very, very noisey inside.

 

[n2mm]

OMG, we had the grilled meatloaf at BRG and it was enough to feed a small village. Next time we'll be splitting that meal. We saw some great deserts going past our table, but no room for us. We enjoyed our meal at BRG, but never ate at ESPN while staying at BWI.

 

[Aidensmom]

Thank you for all of your opinions. Does anyone know which would be the easiest to get a table at on Father's Day, as neither does PS.

Thanks.

 

[Skroops]

IMO, you should go to ESPN to see it, hang out, have a drink, then head to BRG! The beer is really really good. The menu is created to highlight the beer! A couple of weeks ago I went in for a couple of pale ales (yummy) and had the appetizer of hummis. The hummis was huge and really good served with tons of pita chips. The beer and hummis really complemented each other. I wanted to keep eating and drinking and drinking but I had to give up, making a very good dent in the appetizer.

My DH thought I was really strange ordering that, but let me tell you, it was GREAT!! The manager (who was very nice by the way) said that they design the menu to go along with the beer! They take the brew very seriously.

 

[madalex]

Big River is one of our favorite places at WDW. The food is a notch above typical bar food and very good. The beers are different from those you can find at every other WDW spot and that is a good thing! If the weather permits it, sitting outside at BRG is great fun!

As for ESPN, we've gone a couple times and the food is so-so at best. The sports atmosphere is great, but I think the food is much better at BRG.

 

[skyhawk]

Sorry - don't mean to sound stupid - but what is DDE?

 

[erinch]

I like my beer/ale hoppy and on the bitter side. Which would you recommend at BRG? (or elsewhere in the World for that matter?)

 

[Eeyore2003]

We've eaten lots at both. You can probably call the ESPN Club and find out if they are having any kind of entertainment or sports celeb that day. We've seen a couple football players there and in the winter watch the "Packer Game" there.

If he'd prefer a beer to the sports stuff, then Big River is really nice. Both have the kind of food your looking for I think. Big River may have some more "homier" selections. We had a hamburger there, the meatloaf, and a chicken dish. We didn't like the meatloaf, but the other two we delicious.
ESPN Club has some delicious chicken wings.