Garden Grill, you saved me

[Sargeant Tibbs]

Is it CM? No. But the food is better! So out of the loop these days...just realized that GG is open, and has availability 60 days out. I'm ecstatic that I have a character meal booked. CM is impossible, as everyone knows.

At least now I can hop over to Epcot in 60 days and my my two year old will get to have dinner with Mickey. The goal is TH if they're open the first week of August, but for now I can rest easy knowing we've got something.

I just wanted to share this for those who really want a character meal and are shut out of CM and Topolino's (which is off my radar, it annoys me for some reason that defies logic). Garden Grill is a sure bet.

 

[jschlaud]

We ate at Garden Grill in November 2020. The character interactions were fantastic. My kids loved it!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

GG is my favorite character meal. WAY better than CM for both food and experience. Enjoy!

 

[BrianL]

Garden Grill is awesome! You know why The Land pavillion smells so good? That's why. Enjoy it!

 

[Gary Stocker]

Never had anything but breakfast there and it was awesome. Hoping they restart that meal soon.

 

[DaniMoon]

Is it CM? No. But the food is better! So out of the loop these days...just realized that GG is open, and has availability 60 days out. I'm ecstatic that I have a character meal booked. CM is impossible, as everyone knows.

At least now I can hop over to Epcot in 60 days and my my two year old will get to have dinner with Mickey. The goal is TH if they're open the first week of August, but for now I can rest easy knowing we've got something.

I just wanted to share this for those who really want a character meal and are shut out of CM and Topolino's (which is off my radar, it annoys me for some reason that defies logic). Garden Grill is a sure bet.

Did you see TH will be opening June 20! ADRs will be available to book on June 4. We are going in August, too and excited that TH is an option! Good Luck.

We love Garden Grill, too.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I’d take Garden Grill over CM any day of the week.

 

[Heather07438]

Mickey is so fun there. He even comes out to wave at people walking past.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

Did you see TH will be opening June 20! ADRs will be available to book on June 4. We are going in August, too and excited that TH is an option! Good Luck.

We love Garden Grill, too.

I did! Someone shared that not long after I posted this. I'll be up and ready to get a Tusker House ADR. With the meals being served family style at TH, it doesn't look like the old trick of booking a very late breakfast to get lunch menu items will work.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

I’d take Garden Grill over CM any day of the week.

I would agree with you overall, but now I have a 2.5 year old who loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I finally understand why people clamber after Chef Mickey's. I've had fun at both meals, but definitely the character interaction is consistently better at GG, though we've had some memorable interactions at CM's too. Those meals were pre-daughter, so I'm really looking forward to taking her to this Disney rite of passage. We were last there December 2019, but with another trip scheduled for April 2020, I held off on character meals thinking we'd do TH in just a few months. If I had known what was headed our way...I've learned not to put things off till next time.

 

[Gary Stocker]

Checked that menu (Tusker House) and not sure my picky little ones would like most of that stuff. Any attempts to broaden their palates is akin to ouling the sword from the stone.
Not having the DDP or buffets is definitely making ADR planning more challenging as paying out of pocket makes you question if a meal is worth it...with the DDP I could "get the steak and cocktail" happily and not worry about that.. the kids could eat their mac and cheese. Nuggets, etc and the illusion of value remained.

 

[motherof5]

Is it CM? No. But the food is better! So out of the loop these days...just realized that GG is open, and has availability 60 days out. I'm ecstatic that I have a character meal booked. CM is impossible, as everyone knows.

At least now I can hop over to Epcot in 60 days and my my two year old will get to have dinner with Mickey. The goal is TH if they're open the first week of August, but for now I can rest easy knowing we've got something.

I just wanted to share this for those who really want a character meal and are shut out of CM and Topolino's (which is off my radar, it annoys me for some reason that defies logic). Garden Grill is a sure bet.

My kids loved GG!

 

[DaniMoon]

I did! Someone shared that not long after I posted this. I'll be up and ready to get a Tusker House ADR. With the meals being served family style at TH, it doesn't look like the old trick of booking a very late breakfast to get lunch menu items will work.

That was our strategy, too. But I still plan to do a late breakfast. Early rope droppers, and it's a nice break late morning. My picky guy wouldn't eat much at the other meals.

 

[JayhawkFans]

I was hired as a greeter / seater (hostess) at GG. Great place to “work”. I love getting to interact with everyone.

 

[BrotherCraig]

What time does GG start serving breakfast? Is lunch menu the same as the dinner? Thank you.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

What time does GG start serving breakfast? Is lunch menu the same as the dinner? Thank you.

They are not serving breakfast right now because Epcot doesn’t open until 11am. Lunch and dinner are same menu.

 

[BrotherCraig]

They are not serving breakfast right now because Epcot doesn’t open until 11am. Lunch and dinner are same menu.

Thank you. I was going to ask the questions about hours and how can that be before rope drop but you answered that for me. Thank you so much. Makes sense.

 

[txcorey]

We love GG. The food is good and the character interactions are great. It's our favorite character meal on property. Chef Mickey's is fun, but the food has always been just mediocre. We ate at TH once and it was the worst meal I've ever had at Disney. My son and I both hated the food, and the character interaction was not good either.

 

[BrotherCraig]

We love GG. The food is good and the character interactions are great. It's our favorite character meal on property. Chef Mickey's is fun, but the food has always been just mediocre. We ate at TH once and it was the worst meal I've ever had at Disney. My son and I both hated the food, and the character interaction was not good either.

Great to hear it. We will definitely be going to GG in November. We hated Akerhaus Hall and that CM. Horrible all around and huge waste of money. Even the kids didn't care for any of it. T

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

OP here.

I did end up dropping GG for TH this morning, but I still stand by my original statement that GG can be a lifesaver if you really want a character meal. I would choose GG over many other character meals if I were choosing just for me, but my daughter loves the whole Clubhouse crew. TH delivers Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Goofy, and my daughter will be thrilled.