Garden Grill or CM for dinner

[Ercole]

It has always been tradition that CM is the first night meal on vacation. But I'm kind of on board with some of the reviews you read here on the DIS regarding dinner at CM. Since EPCOT has EMH our first night there, would you think GG is a reasonable sub where the kids can still feel the magic with some character interaction? Have never been there and your thought would be much appreciated.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would go with Chef Mickey's because my family and I have been there a few times for dinner and each time was a very positive experience.

 

[LindaR]

Garden Grill is one of our favorite character meals. WAY calmer and quieter than CM and the character interaction is great!

The only way to know is to give it a try!

 

[LindaR]

You might want to take a look at the menu to see if that appeals to you/family.

 

[irishtigger]

I really didnt like the garden grill at all. The food is awful and I wasn't impressed with the service or the character interaction. My family and I will never eat there again. If you want a change of pace you could try 1900 park fare in the GF its still characters.

 

[peimikes]

GG was among the best meals we had on our trip to Epcot last fall. Food was great and they keep bring out what you liked best from the platter. Character spent the most time at our table of any Character dining I`ve been to. We loved it and booked it as our first TS meal at the parks this year.

 

[kjmommie]

We love the Garden Grill just for the character interaction. The food is okay but the atmosphere is fun with the rotating floor and in The Land Pavillion. We have done Chef Mickey's twice for breakfast and won't be going back. It is loud, the characters go by too quickly, and the food is just okay as well. It is soooo big!

However, I think that with kids they seem to like either of them. It was more the adults who had the strongest opinions about Chef Mickey!!

 

[Ercole]

We love the Garden Grill just for the character interaction. The food is okay but the atmosphere is fun with the rotating floor and in The Land Pavillion. We have done Chef Mickey's twice for breakfast and won't be going back. It is loud, the characters go by too quickly, and the food is just okay as well. It is soooo big!

However, I think that with kids they seem to like either of them. It was more the adults who had the strongest opinions about Chef Mickey!!

I agree with you, kjmommie. Now that we're working on our second hand in counting the number of times we visited WDW, I'm all for letting the kids have their character meal, but I'm also beginning to get a little cranky when it comes to food that's not prepared the way it was in earlier years. I know everyone has a different opinion, but frankly, our character interaction at CM has never been an issue from the very first visit years ago to recently. But since there's no free DDP, everyone (well, I can't speak for everyone), but many of us are a little more cautious on how we spend our dollars, especially since dinner is the biggest outlay of the day.

No matter what is said or written about CM, it's still a tough ressie to book.

 

[Mowdogs31]

Chef Mickey's. Although it can be a little loud, we always enjoy ourselves there and the food seems to fit out tastes a little more.

 

[Steve_WDW_TRIP]

I love garden grill

 

[tinacaplan]

What characters are out at GG?

 

[jdisnut]

What characters are out at GG?

I know Chip, Dale and Mickey are there. Not sure if I forgot anybody.

I would choose Garden Grill over Chef Mickey's. The kids will probably be happy at either restaurant, and I think the food is significantly better at Garden Grill. Honestly, that's more of an indictment of Chef Mickey's than praise of Garden Grill, but I digress.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

Anywhere but Chef Mickeys

 

[pixarmom]

We've been to both several times, and have a very strong preference for Garden Grill - it's our arrival night tradition every time!!

We think Garden Grill is way more low key than Chef Mickey's, the food is really good at Garden Grill (in our opinion!) and the character interaction at Garden Grill has always been some of the best at WDW! The characters seem to take more time with the kids there than other places, and if you sit on the bottom level in the booths, you don't see all the other people around you - just your family, the characters, and the scenes from the Land ride that gradually pass as the restaurant rotates. The other thing we love about GG is that the food is served family style, instead of buffet. So we don't have to take turns with our three kids getting food and juggling plates. We just sit, and the food and the characters come to us!

The only downside to GG for some (not for us, our boys love Chip and Dale) is that it's Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale. No Minnie. But again, our three boys don't mind that at all! And Mickey does have overalls to fit the theme instead of his traditional costume, in case that may matter to some.

Good luck with your decision, OP!

 

[JerseyJanice]

I found the atmosphere at Garden Grill to be very "blah," probably, though, because we were seated in the inner circle. I thought it would be fun in there to have a view of the Land boat ride scenery, but our table was just dreary. We didn't see much.

We did like the food at GG in 8/08. Salad dressing, flank steak and catfish were all outstanding.

We have really liked the food at Chef M's in past trips, but not so much our last dinner (9/09).

I personally would choose the place where I most wanted to be that night. Chef M's goes with a MK night and GG, obviously, Epcot.

 

[goofy4prez]

I would go with neither. I have been to both of them and did not find the food to be even average. For me it was not a positive experience. Sorry, but no matter how many characters run around, if the food is not decent it's just not worth it for me. JMHO

 

[Space Mountain Kid]

GG! I LOVE getting to watch the land and seeing characters and love the food but if you have a tradition with cm you might wanna choose that. keep your tradition or try something new?[for me its try something new] it's a touch choice maybe you should have a vote with who your going with.Good Luck!

 

[SGMCO]

I would go with neither. I have been to both of them and did not find the food to be even average. For me it was not a positive experience. Sorry, but no matter how many characters run around, if the food is not decent it's just not worth it for me. JMHO

I totally agree! If you have kids and feel like you have to go to a character
dinner, I suppose you can go but otherwise I would avoid them like the plague.

 

[smithpack]

We have done both, and I would go with GG. I loved the character interaction here, and that the restaurant spins above the living with the land ride. You don't have other tables scooted up right next to yours, and we love the food. I especially love the salad. They get their food from the Living with the Land ride, and you can tell it is fresh. I also love food served family style as I have 4 kids under the age of 8. We have been 4 times and never had a bad experience. We do like Chef Mickey's as well, but my kids loved Chip and Dale at the GG. They were hilarious, and they play off of each other. Again, it's all personal preference.