Grand Floridian Restaurants

[DisneyFamily123]

Would love some discussion about Grand Floridian restaurants. Most likely dining at them all but would love to hear about others' experiences. We are DH, DW, DS5 coming in December. (DS5 does fine in restaurants)

Grand Floridian Cafe - Scheduled 1 lunch, thinking about a dinner too. Never been here before. The menu looks very good, and it's just 1 DDP credit. Not too many reviews....not a popular restaurant? Seems like a nice and bright atmosphere. Can you hear the lobby music inside the restaurant? Thinking this might be a backup plan since I hear it's not hard to get in without an ADR. Is this a hidden gem? Or just an average restaurant.

Narcoosees - On the water, good seafood, can see Wishes from here. That's why we are going on a night when Wishes is 8pm. Dined here last year... food and service was very good, but not so great that I crave coming back. Maybe next time, I should get the whole lobster. 2 DDP credits.

Citricos - Gets great reviews, but the menu doesn't have a lot of choices. Dined here last year... food was good, nice presentation, great service, a more upscale feel. 2 DDP credits. We will arrive early on our 1st day, have lunch at Crystal Palace, then dinner here so we can enjoy the lobby in the evening at our resort. But thinking about switching to 1900 Park Fare, which would be more fun for our 1st night at WDW. Could do Citricos another night or skip it.

1900 Park Fare Dinner - Will be going the first time next tripThis is what we like about dining in Disney -- FUN places. Met the step sisters at the Halloween Party last year and they are hilarious. Is this worth doing twice in one trip? Some reviews don't speak highly of the food, but I can't imagine it's anything but good here at the Grand...

1900 Park Fare Breakfast - We just loved this place last year. The food was great... Mary Poppins, Alice and Wonderland, and the Mad Hatter, Tigger and Pooh... strange mix of characters, but love them all.

Gasparillas - OK... not a restaurant. But we like to get a quick serve of pancackes and bring them back to our room for an early breakfast while getting ready. Do they have anything other than plain pancackes? We loved the chocolate chip pancakes at All Star Sports. And I'll have jog over to the Polynesian one morning to get Tonga Toast and bring it back to our room at the Grand.

 

[Basketmouse]

You NEED to go to Narcoosees. The surf and turf is delicious and if you're getting dessert then you should get the almond crusted cheesecake

 

[esrags01]

1900 Dinner is fun, and the food is not bad either. I think twice is OK if dinner and breakfast--different food.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I feel precisely the way that you do about Narcoossee's.

I've never tried Citricos because, despite the great reviews, I just can't get very excited about the menu or the prices. I know I'll eventually go and at that time I'll kick myself for not going sooner.

I had lunch at the Grand Floridian Café for the first time last January and loved it. Everything we had was delicious, the dining room is very pretty and it was a perfectly relaxing mid-day break for us. I'm excited to go back again, which I will be doing in November for breakfast. Hopefully we'll make it back for lunch again some time in the future.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We will be there next trip during wishes so looking forward to that. We enjoyed Narcoosees last trip. The service was great But we didn't see the fireworks there. My DS4 had a stuffed Simba lion from AK and held him up and roared at one of the waiters passing by. The waiter kept roaring back everytime he passed by. And I keep hearing about that almond cheesecake - note to self.

You NEED to go to Narcoosees. The surf and turf is delicious and if you're getting dessert then you should get the almond crusted cheesecake

 

[sotoalf]

Don't let a limited menu dissuade you, especially when considering a classy joint like Citricos. Every item is prepared with imagination and served freshly, by an outstanding staff -- maybe the best in a signature restaurant outside V&A's.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I left V & A off my list because of the price even though understand it's a good price for that class of restaurant. Maybe we will do that on a future trip and let DS do the kids club. Honestly, Citricos was quite formal and nice for a family that doesn't dine much. I can't imagine how wonderful V & A is.

Don't let a limited menu dissuade you, especially when considering a classy joint like Citricos. Every item is prepared with imagination and served freshly, by an outstanding staff -- maybe the best in a signature restaurant outside V&A's.

 

[Legendofthehawk]

Love love the grand floridian!

Who doesn't like lobster and steak for breakfast?

We had reservations at 1900 park faire, and even though we got there in time the line was just crazy. Switched over to the cafe which was pretty empty, and the food was rich and excellent.

Lunch also seems to be a really nice treat.

 

[Golf4food]

The Grand Fl Vafe has great breakfast ad well - my favorite food in all WDW is their maple vanilla French toast. Can't miss it. The GFC is a hidden gem -enjoy it!

 

[katie26]

I honestly think Citricos is a must. My family makes it a priority to visit at least once or twice every trip, and every time, the food has been outstanding. The braised short ribs in particular are really, really good.

We also all agreed that, while we liked Narcoossee's, we weren't crazy about it. The almond crusted cheesecake is really good, though, and it's a nice atmosphere. The food isn't bad at all, just nothing to write home about IMHO.

Grand Floridian Cafe is really nice for breakfast; never tried it for lunch or dinner. Lobster eggs benedict were delish.

 

[Pakey]

I would choose Citricos a hundred times over Narcoosees. Although Citricos is not V&A, it's my favorite of the signatures (and Narcoosees is my least favorite).

I think the GF cafe is okay for breakfast or lunch but I wouldn't burn a dinner here. It's not that good.

1900 Park Fair. There are characters there. What else do ya need?

 

[FloraFauna]

We went to Grand Floridian Cafe for dinner last month on our first day of vacations. It was very good. I had the spice dusted tuna and it was delicious! For dessert I had the dessert sampler. It was another good choice! The restaurant is very pretty--very light and airy with lots of pretty florals.

I would definitely eat there again.

 

[Leota]

Citricos is fabulous. I had one of my best meals ever there. I can't wait to go back again this coming trip.

Narcoossees is hit or miss in my experience. I had one terrific meal there & one not so hot meal there. Because it's so expensive, we're probably not going to go back. It's just too costly when they are having a bad night.


We just discovered lunch at GF Cafe last trip & loved it. It was a really nice way to break from the heat & hustle of MK. The atmosphere was very nice, service was good, our food & drinks were delicious. It's become a must-do for us for MK days. We were only there for lunch, but given where it's located, I doubt you would be able to hear the lobby music. You could always stop in Mizner's for a drink & listen to the music there, but your child would probably be bored there.

We haven't been to 1900 Park Fare since 1998, so I have no idea how that is now. It was a good breakfast experience back then.

Gasparilla was closed when I stayed at GF & it's not something I would travel for.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Breakfast
Can anyone tell me what's great about breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe compared to 1900 and Gasparillas? We will have breakfast at 1900 at least once for the characters....Is there anything really delicious at GF Cafe that we should go there instead of 1900 a 2nd time? 1900 has many of the same dishes including lobster eggs benedict.... by the way, what is lobster bread pudding?

How about Gasparillas? We will go to Gasparillas (to bring breakfast back to room while getting ready) on a couple mornings. The breakfast menu looks boring. Any chance of getting blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes instead of just plain 'ol pancakes?

Snacks
Any good snacks covered by the snack credits on the dining plans? Gasparillas milkshakes and smoothies? Anything else worthwhile to snack on? Or are we better using those snack credits in the parks for bakery items, slushies, ice cream, popcorn, etc....?