Garden Grill never again

[jmkjr72]

Ok let's start off by saying that the food was good not great but good and plenty of it
there was only 2 of us and they brought enough to feed 6

But why we will never do it again
the lack of character interaction
they didn't sign or books they weren't at the table for much more then enough time to wave and point out our just engaged buttons
I don't mind the fact that they didn't do pics because the space is really tight but they could have at least signed our books

guess what makes it worse is that yesterday we had an experience we're the cast memebrs went far above and beyond the call of duty

 

[Luv0fDisney]

That sucks about the characters. I think this is why I don't do character TS. we're grown w/ no kids and I highly doubt any of the characters will
come by...

 

[disney world dreamer]

thats odd.
i thought GG has amazing character interactions.
my party consisted of myself (29 on mother's day), my sister (35), my niece (16), and my niece's friend (16).
we did not have autograph books for them to sign but i'm sure they would have taken the time to sign them if we did.
they all came around at least once and we took pics and i told chip n dale that they need to be nice to pluto and they "giggled" about it so i feel like they weren't going to be nicer to him lol.
maybe the characters just got the feeling you didn't want the interaction for some reason.
we were very enthused when they came by to let them know not to just wave and walk past.

 

[22Tink]

Ok let's start off by saying that the food was good not great but good and plenty of it
there was only 2 of us and they brought enough to feed 6

But why we will never do it again
the lack of character interaction
they didn't sign or books they weren't at the table for much more then enough time to wave and point out our just engaged buttons
I don't mind the fact that they didn't do pics because the space is really tight but they could have at least signed our books

guess what makes it worse is that yesterday we had an experience we're the cast memebrs went far above and beyond the call of duty

It's funny that I came across your post! I'm booking my ADRs next week and I had garden grill on my list for our Epcot day. I was just thinking of maybe changing that and trying for Akershus breakfast instead. Perhaps I should!! It will be myself and 2 of my daughters.

 

[ELSA711]

Sad to hear. We've been to GG the past two visits and it's always been our fav with character interaction.
Especially Chip and Dale with the kids. Mickey is so-so but always so-so to me, lol
Pluto went above and beyond the last trip to GG too.

 

[scoobydooby]

I'm not sure that's typical? I have eaten here three times and the kids had their books signed every time by all the characters and they spent plenty of time with them. They are now older kids, in fact my boy is six foot, so hardly toddlers! Sorry it wasn't great for you.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We've always gotten the books signed and pictures. So when you handed the books to them as they came by did they shake their heads and leave?

 

[pumba]

did you ask them to sign your books...I would of if that is what you were wanting...We always try to do a character meal...with or without the rest of the family...We love tigger and pooh at Crystal palace..they are the best ever...
Akershus breakfast is amazing and I think that the person with two daughters would love that breakfast too...

 

[kandb]

I wouldn't base changing your adr based on this review. Most people have great interaction at GG. We love it there. Glad to hear the food was good, that's my main reason for going. lol

 

[VeronicaBride]

We were just there in October and had the best character interaction. They signed our books, brought birthday cards for my DD and the characters came around to our table 3 times each. Some of them sat down at our table with us and they played with DS's toy stitch doll that he brought. My kids loved this place.

 

[nco91590]

So, it was just you and your fiance at dinner? Maybe they thought you were not interested in a really in depth character experience seeing as though you didn't have kids with you. I know that everyone can enjoy character interactions, but I wouldn't expect as an adult, to have like, a long encounter. I would think they would use their time with kids instead.

DH and I don't go to character meals when it's just the 2 of us, so I'm not sure of protocol.

 

[lilandvisma]

Ok let's start off by saying that the food was good not great but good and plenty of it
there was only 2 of us and they brought enough to feed 6

But why we will never do it again
the lack of character interaction
they didn't sign or books they weren't at the table for much more then enough time to wave and point out our just engaged buttons
I don't mind the fact that they didn't do pics because the space is really tight but they could have at least signed our books

guess what makes it worse is that yesterday we had an experience we're the cast memebrs went far above and beyond the call of duty

GG is also on our "never" again list (which is very short btw, 1900PF dinner has been a 3 strike and out deal and joins GG for us).

Characters were lousy when we went, food was meh. Salad was good, but the rest was worse than buffet food IMO. I know a lot of people love it there, but we had a poor experience as well.

 

[TempleOT]

That's a shame. Every time we have gone, we had awesome interactions, especially with. Chip and Dale--they are the best! We'll be there again next week.

 

[jordansmama]

I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy GG. It's a must-do for me and my DS6- it's actually become our tradition to go there our first night in WDW. We enjoy the food (I agree- it's good, not great) but we love the character interaction- they've always spent plenty of time with my son, signing his book, posing for pictures, joking around with him. They've even made multiple trips to our table in the course of our meal. Also, my son has several food allergies and they're always very helpful with making something for him to eat.

 

[knieves711]

We went there last June and i wasnt impressed with the food at all. But the character interaction was great. They actually came around a few times while we were there.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Sorry for your experience, but glad to hear we're not the only ones with this on our "never again" list! In fact, it's the ONLY Disney restaurant that my entire family walked out of and agreed we'd never be back! And it seems like everyone raves about this place.

Food is eh. Not horrible, totally unforgettable. And you get what you get. I like either a menu or a buffet, where there are choices. If you like what's being served, great. But if you don't, you're out of luck.

Service was the worst we've had at Disney. Our waiter disappeared on us, never refilled drinks, never checked to see if we wanted more of anything. Took forever to see him again.

Characters were fine. But we had a bad time with the spinning restaurant. Just so happened that Mickey got to our table just as it had spun around to the front. So now you have all the people who are waiting in line waving and shouting hi to Mickey. Plus it felt like we were on display or something. Just not the quiet, private interaction we were thinking we'd have there.

Oh, and I just found the semi-circle booths to be cumbersome. It was hard to have family conversation. If the "inside" person needed to get out, it meant disturbing other people.

We'll stick to WS restaurants on our Epcot days!

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We went there last June and i wasnt impressed with the food at all. But the character interaction was great. They actually came around a few times while we were there.

This was pretty much our experience too. Characters were great, food was not good at all.

 

[Retro Magic]

Wow, we were there a few weeks ago and it was some of the absolute BEST character interaction I have ever had. Dale & Pluto...especially, were regulars at our table.

Food on the other hand was only ok. Probably one of our least favorite meals. One of those restaurants where I just need to do it once and I'm good. The revolving aspect and going around The Land was fun.

 

[mdsouth]

Wow, we were there a few weeks ago and it was some of the absolute BEST character interaction I have ever had. Dale & Pluto...especially, were regulars at our table.

Food on the other hand was only ok. Probably one of our least favorite meals. One of those restaurants where I just need to do it once and I'm good. The revolving aspect and going around The Land was fun.

I agree with this message. I am glad we went once to experience it once for ourselves but it is not on our repeat list. My DD and I were there in Feb and had a good experience since we had just been on the The Land boat ride and so my DD was really interested in trying out the food that she had just seen and watching the scenes from the ride from above. So, if you have kids, I highly recommend that you ride the ride FIRST before your meal at the restaurant.

MY DD who is an extremely picky eater, ate most of the veggies and even a lot of the fish due to the Disney magic and knowing it was being grown right there!

 

[tinkerbella16]

Sorry you did not have a good experience. Garden Grill was our favorite meal of our whole trip when we went in November. We thought the food was great, my Brother-in-law couldn't stop talking about it all week and that says a lot! Lol We thought the character interaction was some of the best we've had.. They each came around 3 times, spent time at our table and it did not feel rushed at all. We cannot wait to go back and it is on our must do list when we take my niece for her 1st trip in 2016. We loved it so much, we said we would even pay oop for it if we end up not getting the regular dining plan.