first-time visit need recommendations -restaurants with awesome atmosphere

[bullynj]

hello everyone. We are taking our first family vacation to Disney World on May 2 for five nights. I am so incredibly excited!!

I have two questions. The first one is regarding a specific restaurant, someone told me about. They say that there is a restaurant, where when you are sitting eating you are surrounded by aquariums of fish. Is this true?

My son loves Disney's Little Einstein's lightning McQueen and Mater are there any restaurants that have anything to do with these characters?

what is the sci-fi diner theater like?is it appropriate for a four-year-old?any recommendations on places like bees would be great. My son tends to be impatient when we go to restaurants, and I would really like to go to a place where he has a lot to look at so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

 

[tigergrad]

Congrats on your first trip to WDW! I think the restaurant you are talking about with the fish is the Coral Reef at EPCOT. I have never eaten there so I can't comment on that. Character meals for you son: I would recommend, Chef Mickeys, Hollywood & Vine, Crystal Palace or Donald's Safari at AK. Menus are available under the dining tab at the top of the DISboards page. The is also 2 Rainforest Cafes (AK & DTD) and a new T-Rex also at DTD.

 

[vicki_c]

There are no Cars themed restaurants or character meals.

 

[PictureJumpr]

Coral Reef is lovely, make sure to check in a little early and request a table next to the glass.

There are no Cars-themed character meals, but there are plenty of others (some of which the PP already recommended):
~Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary
~Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, Pluto at Ohana Breakfast in the Polynesian
~Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Pooh at 1900 Park Faire Breakfast in the Grand Floridian
~Cinderella, Prince Charming, Stepfamily at 1900 Park Faire Dinner in the Grand Floridian
~Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore at Crystal Palace in MK
~Chip, Dale, Mickey, Pluto at Garden Grill Dinner in Epcot
~Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine, Aurora (some combination thereof) at Akershus in Epcot
~The Cape May Breakfast at the Beach Club is a character buffet too; it's been so long since I've been to that one that I can't remember who is there
~Playhouse characters at Hollywood & Vine Breakfast at DHS - not sure if the Little Einsteins are part of this or not?
~Donald, Goofy (I think?) at Tusker House Breakfast at AK
~Of course, the CRT at the castle has Cinderella et al for Breakfast and Lunch, and the Fairy Godmother and friends for Dinner. Very high price tag and a very hot ticket, though.

Sci-Fi may be a big hit with a little guy, but the kids I travel with generally find it dull. The 'cars' that you sit in are cool, and as for the 'movies' playing on the drive-in's screen, they are all tame and should not bother a young child.

As the PP mentioned, Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex have lots to see.

Ohana Dinner at the Polynesian has activities for the kids like dancing, coconut racing, and singing.

The Biergarten at Germany/Epcot has live music and dancing - the kids we travel with love this one.

The 50s Prime Time Cafe at DHS has TVs playing 1950s-era clips on the tables, and sometimes you'll get shenanigans from the servers.

The Whispering Canyon Cafe at the WL has hobby-horse races, and other various activity going on during the meals. Make sure you order large drinks, though. And you have to ask for straws.

 

[baby1disney]

hello everyone. We are taking our first family vacation to Disney World on May 2 for five nights. I am so incredibly excited!!

I have two questions. The first one is regarding a specific restaurant, someone told me about. They say that there is a restaurant, where when you are sitting eating you are surrounded by aquariums of fish. Is this true?

My son loves Disney's Little Einstein's lightning McQueen and Mater are there any restaurants that have anything to do with these characters?

what is the sci-fi diner theater like?is it appropriate for a four-year-old?any recommendations on places like bees would be great. My son tends to be impatient when we go to restaurants, and I would really like to go to a place where he has a lot to look at so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

Congrats on your first trip to the World!!! You'll definitely be back!!!! I believe Coral Reef is the restaurant as well. I, too, have never ate there...but hear the food is phenominal!! Sci-fi diner is really cool!!! The tables are shaped like the front end of the cars. Two people in front and two in back..just like a car. I'm going to break in down for you by the park. the ones my family and I love to go to:

Magic Kingdom(MK):
Crystal Palace
Liberty Tree Tavern
Pecos Bill(that's a counter service)
Main Street Bakery(Need I say more?!?)

Disney's Hollywood Studios(former Disney's MGM Studios):
Sci-Fi Diner
50's Prime Time(AWESOME!!!)
Mama Melrose
Pizza Planet

Disney's Animal Kingdom:
Flame Tree Barbeque(sp?)
Tusker House(very good breakfast and you get to be first in line for the Kilamajaro Safari ride!!)
Rainforest Cafe'

EPCOT:
San Angel Inn(Mexico Pavillion)
Sunshine Seasons..inside of The Land area..near Soarin'
Garden Grill

These are just a few of the places that we have eaten at. There are tons more to choose from. A really good book..called the Burnbaum(sp?) is excellent for that!! They even have a WDW just for kids book as well.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more!!! But look at it this way: IF you don't get it all done...you'll just have to come back!!!

 

[Pakey]

Coral Reef has one wall that is a large salt water aquarium. The food is okay; we think the children's menu here is one of the worst. We have eaten here many times as adults only groups but our last visit was taking our 4 year old grandson (also an impatient little fellow) who has a salt water aquarium at home. We thought he would love it. He was bored to tears in 5 minutes and the service here is generally pretty slow so it's a long meal. This was the only meal during the entire week where he got antsy/fussy.

Sci Fi is a great place. It's not the best food in Disney but the atmosphere is so much fun. My grandson also enjoyed Cape May because the character interaction here was better than any of the other character meals (Minnie didn't spend as much time at the table but we practically had to force Donald and Goofy to leave). We like the food at Tusker House the best for character meals (even on our adult only trips we like this place) and he also enjoyed Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters.

 

[JoePa4Ever]

Coral Reef is my favorite WDW restaurant - love the atmosphere with the aquarium view. We have been with our son for the past 3 yrs (on our last trip he was 4 yrs old) and he has enjoyed going there - it's neat to see sharks, giant sea turtles, and other creatures swimming by as you dine. We've always had excellent meals here and never any issues with the service.

As pp have stated there is no cars themed meals - however, Lightning McQueen & Mater are available for meet-n-greets at Hollywood Studios.

Leo & June are currently two Little Einsteins characters who are part of the Hollywood & Vine character meal @ HS. The other current characters at Hollywood & Vine are JoJo & Goliath - although there is a substantial rumor that these characters will be replaced in the near future.

Sci Fi is a very fun place to eat - we ate there for lunch for the 1st time last year and our 4 yr old had a blast. He thought it was cool to eat in a car while watching the old movie clips on the big screen.

 

[tlriv5]

We loved Coral Reef and it would definitely keep a little on entertained through the whole meal!

My kids loved Sci-Fi. My youngest were 10 at the time, so I bit older. The atmosphere is pretty cool and the movie clips are pretty tame, a little guy would probably really like it. They also have wonderful milkshakes!

The Ohana breakfast at the Poly is a lot of fun. Stitch usually causes a little mischief and the kids get to do a parade around the room with the characters.

My kids favorite has always been the Whispering Canyon. The waiters do a lot of practical jokes with you and they have horse races around the room on stick horses. Try to order something that needs ketchup...that is a lot of fun for kids!

And you can't go wrong with a few character meals! Have fun!!!

 

[PixieTopaz]

Rainforest cafe at Animal Kingdom is pretty AMAZING-your son will love all the mechanical animals there and the periodic lightning storm

 

[Incredimom3]

Ohana has a wonderful dinner with live entertainment. Food is served family style, and there are lots of options, so there should be something for everyone. We went last year and had reservations when they first opened at 5:30 pm. Shortly after the meal started, a Hawaiian man came in with his ukelele and began singing songs and leading games. My kids loved the dance lines, limbo competition and hula lessons. And, they cook the meat on a fire pit in the center of the restaurant. I thought it was a great experience. Your son might also like the Mad Hatter at the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at 1900 Park Faire in the Grand Floridian. Oh, also, at Wilderness Lodge, they have a the Whispering Canyon Cafe. It's set in an absolutely amazing resort, with giant totem poles and outdoor geyser. The restaurant is loud and there are lots of silly games. Kids ride wooden horses around the restaurant and they have bottomless milkshakes. You might check Allears.net. They have a wonderful section of ratings and reviews, and they publish menus.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Another vote for O'Hana Dinner!! One of my faves!! Great for the adults because the kids have the parade and coconut races to occupy them, and great for the kids because, well, parade and coconut races!

Do yourself a favor and try to book at 6 or 630pm, then mosey downstairs and out to the beach, and watch WISHES FIREWORKS over Cindy's castle from across the Lake!!!

 

[ickletarakins]

If you haven't already made your dining reservations, I would do so ASAP. If you can't get into a restaurant that you really wanted to see, try again within a week of whatever date you want to eat--sometimes they leave a couple spots open for last minute reservations (although this is happening far less often now with so many people using the dining plan).

Coral Reef at EPCOT is definitely the restaurant you're talking about. Food is pretty good and yes, it's cool to see the fish swimming around

Another one at EPCOT is the Biergarten restaurant in the Germany pavilion. I would do lunch rather than dinner (I think the buffet offers better food at lunch) and they have a cute little musical show that's ongoing throughout the day.

Ohana is awesome for dinner. GREAT food and they do a little parade with the kids and give them leis. They are also pretty quick about bringing the food so there aren't long periods of waiting if your child gets antsy.

Sci Fi is good as well--not the best food IMO but great milkshakes and atmosphere. However...it is very dim in there and they do play clips that I'm sure some young children would find a bit scary. So that's something to think about.

Another option at MGM is Prime Time Cafe. I love their meatloaf and fried chicken (it's all homestyle food) and the atmosphere/service is funny and great.

 

[JerseyJanice]

When my son was 4, his favorite WDW dinner was at Chef Mickey's. Second runner-up was the Crystal Palace. Both restaurants have very interactive characters.

The SciFi is a great place to sit and eat on a hot, sunny day. It's so dark and cool, it's very calming in the middle of the day. They serve a great hot fudge sundae with kid's meals too.

 

[Hopefully]

I agree with a PP. IFyou haven't made your ADR's for this May you may be out of luck for the popular restaurants like Coral Reef. Restaurants make reservations 180 days (6 mnonths) in advance and many completely book. Call ASAP but have alternatives in mind, Good Luck