Good dinner for first time in Magic Kingdom area?

[FSU Girl]

I’m doing a girls trip with my friend who hasn’t been to Disney since a small child so basically it’s all new to her. We are only going for the weekend and doing two parks. For our Magic Kingdom day I was able to get us lunch reservations for Be Our Guest and for dinner currently have 1900 Park Fare. We plan to go back to the park after to watch fireworks.

Is this a good choice for dinner? She likes that it’s a character meal. I’ve been trying to get a later time so I’ve seen some others pop up like Ohana and Cinderella’s Royal Table. So now I’m second guessing our choice. She doesn’t know anything about Disney and left all the planning up to me. Do you think we should keep 1900? Or switch to something else? Preferably near or in Magic Kingdom to easily get back after

 

[DisHmsklMom]

If you can get Cinderella's Royal Table I'd grab it. You wouldn't have to spend time leaving the park and it is always special to eat in the castle. Eat a light lunch at Be Our Guest.

 

[SG131]

As soon as I read the first line in your post 1900 park fare immediately seemed like the best choice to me. I definitely think it’ll be a lot of fun. The characters are great especially for an adult just going back for the first time. They are so funny and very interactive. While I think CRT is pretty the food isn’t that great for the price and while as an adult female I’ve learned to love character meet and greets the princesses are the ones I’m least comfortable with and they aren’t nearly as entertaining. Ohana seems to be very hit or miss as far as service goes and I know it can run behind so it may take up more of your night than you’d like.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

1900 certainly isn't a bad choice. It just depends if you want to spend that much time out of the park for a meal. Personally, for a first-timer on a girl's trip, I would snag CRT if you can get it. It's so iconic Disney and might be really fun for a first-timer.

 

[Haley R]

I agree with the others about getting CRT if you can. If not, I would stick with 1900 pf since she’s okay with meeting the characters plus I think the characters make it a truly Disney meal. We’ve done CRT twice for dinner and really liked it both times. Going up that staircase is pretty awesome

 

[wendlle]

Stick with 1900, better food than CRT and cheaper too.

 

[Nancyg56]

Personally, I would try for CRT. I know all of the deficits that come with teh meal, but dining in the Castle is awesome for a newbie. I took my friend there and she was ecstatic. Yes, it is pricey, bt it is lovely as well.

I would not wnat to leave the park to eat if I only had one day there. If you want a character meal Crystal Palace is fun. It is pretty inside, and the food will be about the same as 1900 PF.

If you are not set on a character meal, Tony's is getting good reviews lately, Skippers is fun, and the Plaze is lovely.

NO matter what, I would not choose 'Ohana. That place chronically runs behind so if your plan is to return to the park, you may feel rushed.

 

[carousallie]

Personally, I've never found the food at CRT to ever be worth the price. If you want a character meal but don't want to sacrifice park time, I'd recommend Crystal Palace. We also really like Skipper Canteen, which isn't a character meal but is in the parks.

 

[SinCityMMAFan]

1900 Park Fare IMO. It doesn't cost nearly as much and the character interaction is really, really good here. And since it's a buffet you have a variety of foods to choose from.

 

[starry_solo]

I would find a nice restaurant to eat inside the MK. If I was only spending one day at the MK, I wouldn't want to waste time going outside the park to eat and then coming back.

 

[Spencer Wright]

Grand Floridian Cafe is great. Formal yet comfortable, and you also get the opportunity to take the monorail all the way around.

 

[B-Ride]

Personally Kona Café is the choice of our family hands down. Probably our favourite meal at WDW. We all have our personal favourites but if we need to agree on one this would be the one.

 

[Wild4Walt]

So if character dining is a must then I'd do Crystal Palace so I didn't have to leave the park. I have to agree with a PP, Grand Floridian Cafe gets my vote - it was the best meal of our trip last year.

 

[FSU Girl]

What about doing Be Our Guest for dinner instead of lunch? If we did that we’d probably just do a quick service for lunch to keep the costs down. I haven’t been since it changed to price fixed though, is it worth it? She did seem excited to meet the characters for dinner since it’s so Disney. How much is Cinderella’s royal table? I feel like it was $59 an adult last time I went am I remembering that right?

 

[Nancyg56]

What about doing Be Our Guest for dinner instead of lunch? If we did that we’d probably just do a quick service for lunch to keep the costs down. I haven’t been since it changed to price fixed though, is it worth it? She did seem excited to meet the characters for dinner since it’s so Disney. How much is Cinderella’s royal table? I feel like it was $59 an adult last time I went am I remembering that right?

CRT is around $75 with tax and tip included. I like it, and have dined as a party of all adult women. I think you need to be prepared for the character chaos that can take place though. The last trip I had my two little Sweeties with me and had to tell them that had they not practiced their best manners, other people would be talking badly about them, liek we were about the hoarde of monsters chasing character down and sitting in the aisles.
I am not sure if that night was an anomoly but out was not a gteat experience in CRT.

BOG might be a nice choice for dinner, although I have not been there since the menu change. Teh BEast is pretty awesom to meet.

If your friend wants characters I think I would stick to the Classic characters, at Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends or try for the Castle. If you leave the park, I would keep 1900 PF.

 

[FSU Girl]

CRT is around $75 with tax and tip included. I like it, and have dined as a party of all adult women. I think you need to be prepared for the character chaos that can take place though. The last trip I had my two little Sweeties with me and had to tell them that had they not practiced their best manners, other people would be talking badly about them, liek we were about the hoarde of monsters chasing character down and sitting in the aisles.
I am not sure if that night was an anomoly but out was not a gteat experience in CRT.

BOG might be a nice choice for dinner, although I have not been there since the menu change. Teh BEast is pretty awesom to meet.

If your friend wants characters I think I would stick to the Classic characters, at Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends or try for the Castle. If you leave the park, I would keep 1900 PF.

I didn't realize CRT was that much, I don't think she'll want to spend that much on a meal. She's been out of town this weekend so I'll talk to her today and see what she thinks of everything. I wish the Beast met for lunch too instead of just dinner. I had mentioned to her about Crystal Palace, on the online menu they didn't have as many choices listed as 1900 did. I need a later time for 1900 to make it worth it. Right now we have 1:10pm lunch at BOG that I was able to get so that time works perfectly for us for lunch. But our dinner is at 5:15 which is just too early. I did sign up for a reservation finder and a 6:50 had popped up last night, but I was sleeping and it was gone when I woke up. It's funny Be Our Guest has popped up so many times since I've been looking, but 1900 is proving to be a really hard reservation to get.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I found the food at 1900 to be pretty bad in terms of quality. The character interaction is good though. I would go with GF Cafe, or even CRT. Although I really dont think CRT is worth the money compared to what you get to be honest. It all depends on how bad you want to see the characters.

 

[FSU Girl]

I talked to my friend and we decided on Be Our Guest for dinner instead of lunch. This way we won't have to leave the park for a meal. I found a 7:20pm time so excited about that! Love the reservation finder. We'll do a quick service for lunch instead. Any suggestions? She's allergic to shell fish so I'm think we shouldn't go to Columbia Harbor House? I just know I got a lobster roll when I went there and figure that's not good to eat near someone allergic to it.

 

[sponica]

I talked to my friend and we decided on Be Our Guest for dinner instead of lunch. This way we won't have to leave the park for a meal. I found a 7:20pm time so excited about that! Love the reservation finder. We'll do a quick service for lunch instead. Any suggestions? She's allergic to shell fish so I'm think we shouldn't go to Columbia Harbor House? I just know I got a lobster roll when I went there and figure that's not good to eat near someone allergic to it.

I have fond memories of Pecos Bill in Frontierland. I'm just happy when I'm not eating at Cosmic Rays. (Nothing against it, but I must have the same touring plan every trip because I always end up eating a late lunch there)

 

[wishuponastar1984]

I talked to my friend and we decided on Be Our Guest for dinner instead of lunch. This way we won't have to leave the park for a meal. I found a 7:20pm time so excited about that! Love the reservation finder. We'll do a quick service for lunch instead. Any suggestions? She's allergic to shell fish so I'm think we shouldn't go to Columbia Harbor House? I just know I got a lobster roll when I went there and figure that's not good to eat near someone allergic to it.

I think you made a smart choice. I think folks underestimate how much time it takes to leave and re-enter the park, especially if you only have one day at MK. I wouldn't over plan a quick service meal. Research which QS sound interesting and stop when you are hungry. I find the food in MK to be less than amazing and would plan on a few snack type meals rather than one big lunch.