Garden Grove Confusion

[dzaharchuk]

Hello!

I am finishing up my tentative dining plans before my 180 day mark, and saw on WDW site that the Garden Grove has character meals. I see that it is NOT on the DDP, but I cannot find much other info. Even the days/times as listed on the dis boards menus page were confusing. Some of guidebooks don't even list it...

Has anyone eaten there- would it be worth paying OOP? It looks really pretty, and I did read that it is easier to book.

What days and times do they do character meals?

thanks!!

 

[Woodyplus3]

Hello.

The Garden Grill is a lot of fun and it is included on the dining plan. Its full name is Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Harvest Feast at The Garden Grill and it is only open for dinner.

The character interaction is very good and the food is family style and we have always enjoyed it.

Hope this helps.

 

[Disneymad]

Hello.

The Garden Grill is a lot of fun and it is included on the dining plan. Its full name is Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Harvest Feast at The Garden Grill and it is only open for dinner.

The character interaction is very good and the food is family style and we have always enjoyed it.

Hope this helps.

The OP asked about the Garden Grove not the Garden Grill. This is a character meal that's held at the Swan/Dolphin resort

I've never done it myself but you might find something useful from the S/D website here. I think it gets confusing because they rotate their menu throughout the week.

 

[dzorn]

If you are talking about garden grove that is as the Swan Hotel

http://www.swandolphinrestaurants.com/gardengrove/index.html

Garden Grill if of course in EPCOT.

Denise in MI

 

[dzorn]

The OP asked about the Garden Grove not the Garden Grill. This is a character meal that's held at the Swan/Dolphin resort

I've never done it myself but you might find something useful from the S/D website here. I think it gets confusing because they rotate their menu throughout the week.

Great minds think a like.

Denise in MI

 

[Nadjalu]

IF I am not mistaken, no restaurant at the Dolphin or Swan take the DDP.

So I would assume it would be OOP.

 

[Robert P]

Hello!

I am finishing up my tentative dining plans before my 180 day mark, and saw on WDW site that the Garden Grove has character meals. I see that it is NOT on the DDP, but I cannot find much other info. Even the days/times as listed on the dis boards menus page were confusing. Some of guidebooks don't even list it...

Has anyone eaten there- would it be worth paying OOP? It looks really pretty, and I did read that it is easier to book.

What days and times do they do character meals?

thanks!!

Garden Grove at the Swan has w/e character breakfasts. They do not accept ADR's for those.

They also have nightly dinner buffets, characters there as well. 3 different themes, which kinda rotate during the week (certain nights, certain themes). I believe the characters are Pluto & Goofy every night except the Fisherman themed nights, which are Mon. and Fri., where it is Rifiki and Timon.
They do accept ADR's for the dinner buffets.

They are not on the DDP, so OOP it is. They do accept discounts though, and I know that DVC members get a 20% discount.

If you have any other questions, I'll try to help.

 

[dzaharchuk]

Thanks for the link, I guess it clears up the days/meals confusion. I wish they had character breakfasts, I already have more than enough dinners.


Just curious, though- has anyone eaten at the character meals there?
Was it worthwhile?
Why does it seem like no one even knows anything much about it?

thanks for feedback!

 

[smnslc]

We had breakfast at Garden Grove 2 years ago. Characters were Goofy and Pluto from what I remember. Food was very good for breakfast. We did make ADR through the Dolphin concierge because we were staying there.

 

[Brook1099]

Where in the Swan is this restaraunt located, may try this place for dinner while staying off property.

 

[dharmster]

Just curious, though- has anyone eaten at the character meals there?
Was it worthwhile?
Why does it seem like no one even knows anything much about it?

thanks for feedback!

I was just there over Thanksgiving and I had a great time. We had dinner ressies just as the restaurant was opening and Pluto and Goofy came out after we had our salad. The restaurant has a giant tree in the middle with twinkling lights in the branches and paper lanterns hanging, which gave it a magical feel. After being seated our server brought out a salad with nice presentation that was tossed at the table and served. There was a nice wine list. The night we were there it was a Mediterranean buffet theme, and while there were things I didn't go back for, there was plenty that we all enjoyed. There's a separate kids buffet, but DS ate well from both. The dessert buffet was delicious...lots of small bites to sample! It didn't get particularly busy, so we had a few passes by with Goofy & Pluto which was great.

The reviews on AllEars and especially in my fav guidebook (The Complete WDW) are completely dreadful for Garden Grove. I don't understand what the deal is. I loved the ambiance with the tree, the food was good, good wine list, nice presentation and good time with the characters. I'm going back with DS in May! I'll just keep it as our little secret restaurant

 

[TDC Nala]

Why does it seem like no one even knows anything much about it?

It is at the Swan resort, which is 1) not a Disney resort, although it is not offsite and 2) not part of the dining plan. Therefore it is not heard about much on the boards or within the larger Disney planning community. We get very little info here about restaurants that don't take the dining plan, with the possible exception of Victoria & Albert's.

 

[disneysuncat]

We ate there on a Friday when they had the seafood buffet. It was in October, and the character interaction was fantastic. There weren't many people there at all, and Timon and Rafiki came to see us twice, spending quite a bit of time with us. We had our stuffed Timon with us, so Timon was playing with our Timon. The food was good, and they had a triple A discount from what I remember. It was really pretty in there with the tree and the lights, too. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

 

[AirGoofy]

Thanks for the link, I guess it clears up the days/meals confusion. I wish they had character breakfasts, I already have more than enough dinners. Just curious, though- has anyone eaten at the character meals there? Was it worthwhile?Why does it seem like no one even knows anything much about it?thanks for feedback!

We had a character dinner there two years back on a Sunday. It was Goofy and Donald. It was a buffet with crab legs and other seafood. The food was terrific. Goofy pretended to drink my (age 3) dd's Sprite. She laughed so hard - not sure if she remembers or just remembers from us talking about it.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

If you're looking for a character meal that different than most (or if you're a Lion King fanatic, like me), I highly recommend the Garden Grove character dinner. I have eaten here on Mondays/Fridays on multiple occasions & have enjoyed it.

The food: On the nights I go, they have the Fisherman's Wharf (seafood) buffet. The buffet is good and they have lots of things that you don't find on most other WDW buffets (probably since Garden Grove doesn't participate in DDP). Also, they serve bread & salad at your table (the Caesar salad is excellent) & you can order wine.

Characters: The character interaction here is excellent. In my experiences, the characters spend plenty of time with each table & they come around multiple times. Also, on Monday & Friday nights, they have the Lion King characters Timon & Rafiki (AFAIK, this is the only meal with these characters). Also, Timon will pretend to pick bugs off the tree & Rafiki will sit and meditate next to the tree.