Fun restaurants for a 5yo

[yenlee]

I'm looking for places that would be fun for a 5yo who doesn't really care for meeting characters. Preferably places that have decent grownup food. (The kid food is mostly irrelevant.)

I've decided for sure on Teppan Edo (which we love) and T-Rex (purely for the spectacle). I'm heavily leaning toward Sci-Fi and Whispering Canyon. The other places I am considering are Liberty Tree (for lunch), Garden Grill (because it moves, not because of characters), Via Napoli, and Ohana.

Any advice? I really appreciated all of the responses to my earlier questions, so I figured I'd go for another. Thanks, everyone.

 

[GrammyJudy]

Ohana at the Polynesian has coconut races; Biergarten at Epcot has buffet and entertainment. Persdonally I do not like Sci-Fi as the food is not good and Whispering Canyon was disappointing.

 

[megthewonderful]

Ohana, Garden Grill, 50s Primetime and Mickey's Backyard BBQ are great options for a 5 year old. I thought the Whispering Canyon was fun and the food was OK, but my kids didn't enjoy too much. And I'd pick the 50s Primetime over the Sci-Fi. The food at the Sci-Fi was terrible, but you do have to eat, and the 50s Primetime has a food good options.

 

[yesiamcrazy]

Our personal feelings for sci fi was that it was not that great food or fun wise. However if we had had better service it might have been better.

We LOVED LOVED LOVED Via Napoli and really enjoyed 'Ohana.

We enjoyed Garden Grill but for the characters. I don't think it's that fun just because it moves.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I personally LOVE Sci Fi!!!!! So does my son. First, the theme is truly amazing. So much fun. Since it is a drive-in, the food wont be anything gourmet, but it is quite good. I had the best ribs there....very tasty, not fatty at all. My son had the burgers which he loved...its quite tasty. Shakes are yummy. onion rings are good. You really cant go wrong. This place is a winner with themeing. Your son will love eating in a car while watching movie clips.

I honestly dont think 50's would be fun for a 5 yr old. At that age, they dont understand the humor. Scolding isnt fun to them. The food is ok. But would the decore alone be enough to wow him??? I personally dont think so.

 

[ShuisFan584]

I definitely recommend Ohana!

We had a 2 year old with us our past trip and Ohana was easily her favorite restaurant. She's normally a very picky eater and won't eat much. However, we were all impressed as to how much she ate at Ohana! We didn't have to order her a kid's meal since she loved all the food that was brought to our table.

Plus, she loved all the activities. She got to learn how to hula and played the maraccas while doing the limbo. Our trip was over a month ago and her dad tells us that she still asks him for the lei every morning and asks to "hula" and so they hula dance together. Even when she comes over to our house to visit, I'll start the hula and she'll get really excited and start doing the hula with me.

 

[3pletprincesses]

Ohana for dinner!

 

[Edgehopper]

Biergarten and Hoop Dee Doo are good options. Maybe Marrakesh? I'd say 50s Prime Time is a good choice for a 5 year old--scolding him might not be fun, but waitresses scolding his parents will be!

Raglan Road has Irish step dancing and excellent adult food, that's another option to look at (and a really good one on DDP).

 

[Bunnyfeather]

My 5-year-old ADORES Sci-fi. The theming is just so different from anything else she has ever seen. She enjoyed Whispering Canyon, the endless milkshakes and the ketchup won her over there. Ohana was awesome. The limbo and races and stuff really livened up the dining experience and the food was wonderful, too.

I would consider 1900 Park Fare for a 5-year-old who doesn't get too excited about the traditional characters, too. The stepsisters and stepmother are very sarcastic and witty, a much different experience from the standard Mickey or princess meal!

 

[ktlm]

If you asked my 5 year old DD, she would tell you Biergarten. My friend's 4 year old son would tell you the same thing.

 

[lblume91]

While my DDs liked the atmosphere of Biergarten, they certainly didn't like the food! We didn't care for Sci Fi. I knew the tables were cars but I didn't think about it enough, I guess. It didn't occur to me that I would spend my dinner looking at the backs of my kids' heads! It was just kinda awkward. We had a server who was having a bad night & the food was just blah. All those combined to make a bad experience.

50s PT is a favorite. Kids think it is hilarious to watch adults get "in trouble"!! There was a guy at the next table who kept forgetting to keep his elbows off the table. The server made him stand up & sing I'm a Little Teapot in front of everyone. His kids were falling over laughing!!! Our server kept calling DH "Skippy", which cracked our girls up. That name has followed him home!

Whispering Canyon is fun. We've gone 3 or 4 times & enjoyed it every time.

As for Garden Grill, it moves so slowly, the kids may not even realize it's moving! I wouldn't go there just for that. The food was okay & the characters were great.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Our DS was 5 on our 2010 trip. Here's his favorites (and ours) from 2009 and 2010.

Magic Kingdom- Crystal Palace. Although a buffet, the quality of food is very good, much better than other buffets we have been to.. We really enjoy lunch and dinner -- especially the cold salads, the salmon, and the carved beef. DS loves the Pooh Characters (I know you said characters don't matter)... but it's a fun place where DS can get up and move around and not be stuck at a table. He would not be happy to have to leave the fun attractions to sit in a boring restaurant. But CP is OK...

Hollywood Studios - SciFi Diner. The food is OK, not great. We are fine with it for lunch -- burgers, onion rings, etc.... DS loves sitting in the cars and watching the old SciFi movies on the big screen. He liked 50s Prime Time a lot too. I'm not exactly sure why? It's just different. Milkshakes are to die for.

Animal Kingdom -- Aside from the Tusker House character breakfast, he likes Yak and Yeti. He did NOT like it in 2009... he didn't want to leave the rides/attractions. But he did like it in 2010. There's some funny decor and statues and we made a tradition of going around the restaurant and making funny faces by the statues and taking pictures. Food is VERY good. See my reviews (link below).

Epcot -- Garden Grill (but we love characters). Coral Reef was fun too. We had a table by the tank, great views of the sea creatures. DS liked that a lot. (again, check out my reviews pics and a video). Teppan Edo is fun but we have places like that at home that do the chop chop fancy tricks when cooking on the grill. Marrakesh was quite fun with the music and belly dancing. And Biergarten too. Now, not far from Epcot is Flying Fish Cafe at the Boardwalk Inn. We LOVED the food and there are entertainers on the boardwalk outside the restaurant (comedy, magic, etc.). DS was a part of one of the acts.

 

[shburks]

Wow...answers are all over the place here! Here's our experience...

Took our son right after he turned 5 and just before he turned 6, so twice that same year he was 5. Here's what he really enjoyed without characters:

Biergarten (loved singing/instruments)
Boma (just a fun place to see the animals before dinner! Parents love the food)
Raglan Road (again, dancing and music. Plus he LOVES fish and chips!)
Kona Cafe (neat atmosphere at the resort...fun kid sundae dessert!)

We did WCC for breakfast, so maybe we had a different experience. Our server was kind of funny but he didn't get the humor.

We are doing Marakesh this fall plus Ohana. We always do a few character meals, too...just for fun while he's still young enough to think it's fun.

Have fun planning.

 

[wdwpirates]

I don't have kiddos but DH is pretty close....hee hee...

I'd suggest 'Ohana for dinner...lots of activities for the kids, always things for them to look at, servers are really friendly. Whispering Canyon would be a lot of fun for breakfast or dinner. The servers are funny and are forever keeping kids entertained, they have a huge table with Lincoln Logs for kids to play with while waiting for their table.

Those would be my biggest picks. Hope it helps!!

 

[ElizabethB]

Coral Reef - our boys loved it at that age. Unfortunately, the food isn't that great anymore.