Mississippianna
Still loving Disney World like a 6-year-old
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2008
DH and I ate at GG on January 31, with our 2 1/2 year old DD. We had a 5:30 ADR, but we arrived around 5, and were seated by 5:15. After waiting around 10 minutes to even be approached by our server, I was getting anxious about the whole experience. However, after our server arrived, everything went SO smoothly.
He took our beverage order, and explained we'd be receiving the dishes on the menu, family style, and to feel free to ask for more of anything we liked. Also, he said because DD was under 3, she would be receiving the children's selections listed on the menu free of charge. What a relief! We weren't sure if she'd share with us, we'd have to order her a child's meal, or if it would be like the buffets where she would eat free.
I can't say enough good things about the food AND the characters here. I preferred the layout of GG to other character meals. You don't see the character across a big room. They don't really come into view until they're just 3-4 tables away, and in our hour there we got to say Hi to all of them twice. We saw Chip, Dale, Farmer Mickey and Pluto.
First, we received this piping hot and delicious basket of rolls. You can see I got a little excited and we'd already torn off a couple and dipped into the butter before I got a photo.
Following that was a, very generous for two people, bowl of garden salad. We absolutely loved this tangy bacon dressing. It was more sweet than tangy, but not too sweet. I ate two bowls full. At the same time that our salad came out, they brought DD's plate. Good timing! This is a place where they know toddlers need their plate right away to start picking at. I don't have a picture, but it was a small bowl of mac and cheese, on a plate with french fries and 4 chicken nuggets. The same M&C, fries and nuggets you get absolutely everywhere else, but DD liked the M&C and ate one whole chicken nugget, which is a huge endorsement from her.
The salad (Again, you'll see we had already dipped into it. I'm not very good at food photos, am I?):
Now, for the best part, the entrees! Fish with vegetables, which was good, but I preferred the turkey and dressing. And, flank steak over potatoes. DH and I both tried all 3, declared our preferences, and divided. The turkey was moist, the dressing perfectly seasoned and the gravy and cranberry were perfect compliments. I wish I could describe this sauce over the flank steak better, but I didn't get much of it. I will tell you this, my DH liked it. He does not like anything peppery or spicy. It was kind of a light cream sauce. The mashed potatoes were excellent, tasted fresh and like homemade.
Dessert! DD had worms and dirt: chocolate pudding with crumbled Oreo cookie and gummy worms on top. Sorry, no photo. She tossed aside the worms, and barely stopped eating pudding to say Hi to Mickey (by this point it was his second stop at our table!) We had what they called a fruit buckle, but I'd say it was a berry cobbler or crumble with whipped cream on top. This skillet it was served in was 6-7" across. One of these would serve 3-4 people.
Was it a good value? I think so. We got a salad I would order again, entrees we both loved, and a dessert. All of that for around $32 each. You would spend about that at the average table service restaurant to get three courses. Best of all, you don't have to run back and forth to a buffet. I would absolutely recommend Garden Grill, especially to couples with children under 3, a parent traveling solo with kids, and adults without kids who want to experience character dining in a low key atmosphere. This is the only one we've been to without a lot of loud music and some kind of character parade during your meal.
We have now eaten at Crystal Palace, Tusker House, Chef Mickey's, 'Ohana and Garden Grill with our daughter, and hands down Garden Grill was our favorite experience.
Let me know if you have any questions!
He took our beverage order, and explained we'd be receiving the dishes on the menu, family style, and to feel free to ask for more of anything we liked. Also, he said because DD was under 3, she would be receiving the children's selections listed on the menu free of charge. What a relief! We weren't sure if she'd share with us, we'd have to order her a child's meal, or if it would be like the buffets where she would eat free.
I can't say enough good things about the food AND the characters here. I preferred the layout of GG to other character meals. You don't see the character across a big room. They don't really come into view until they're just 3-4 tables away, and in our hour there we got to say Hi to all of them twice. We saw Chip, Dale, Farmer Mickey and Pluto.
First, we received this piping hot and delicious basket of rolls. You can see I got a little excited and we'd already torn off a couple and dipped into the butter before I got a photo.
Following that was a, very generous for two people, bowl of garden salad. We absolutely loved this tangy bacon dressing. It was more sweet than tangy, but not too sweet. I ate two bowls full. At the same time that our salad came out, they brought DD's plate. Good timing! This is a place where they know toddlers need their plate right away to start picking at. I don't have a picture, but it was a small bowl of mac and cheese, on a plate with french fries and 4 chicken nuggets. The same M&C, fries and nuggets you get absolutely everywhere else, but DD liked the M&C and ate one whole chicken nugget, which is a huge endorsement from her.
The salad (Again, you'll see we had already dipped into it. I'm not very good at food photos, am I?):
Now, for the best part, the entrees! Fish with vegetables, which was good, but I preferred the turkey and dressing. And, flank steak over potatoes. DH and I both tried all 3, declared our preferences, and divided. The turkey was moist, the dressing perfectly seasoned and the gravy and cranberry were perfect compliments. I wish I could describe this sauce over the flank steak better, but I didn't get much of it. I will tell you this, my DH liked it. He does not like anything peppery or spicy. It was kind of a light cream sauce. The mashed potatoes were excellent, tasted fresh and like homemade.
Dessert! DD had worms and dirt: chocolate pudding with crumbled Oreo cookie and gummy worms on top. Sorry, no photo. She tossed aside the worms, and barely stopped eating pudding to say Hi to Mickey (by this point it was his second stop at our table!) We had what they called a fruit buckle, but I'd say it was a berry cobbler or crumble with whipped cream on top. This skillet it was served in was 6-7" across. One of these would serve 3-4 people.
Was it a good value? I think so. We got a salad I would order again, entrees we both loved, and a dessert. All of that for around $32 each. You would spend about that at the average table service restaurant to get three courses. Best of all, you don't have to run back and forth to a buffet. I would absolutely recommend Garden Grill, especially to couples with children under 3, a parent traveling solo with kids, and adults without kids who want to experience character dining in a low key atmosphere. This is the only one we've been to without a lot of loud music and some kind of character parade during your meal.
We have now eaten at Crystal Palace, Tusker House, Chef Mickey's, 'Ohana and Garden Grill with our daughter, and hands down Garden Grill was our favorite experience.
Let me know if you have any questions!
If you go on the boat ride they will tell you some of the food you will be eating. I think they raise catfish so that would be a possibility. Not to mention the restaurant slowly rotates and you can see part of the ride. It's Great!
