Help me tweak these dining choices

[maybethisyear]

My family has booked our first every Disney visit for 11/27-12/2 at CBR on the free dining plan.
We are 4 adults and a 4 year old. All of these choice are not set in stone, and I am wishy washy on all of it. My husband is an adventurous eater, but I am not. My parents, who will be joining us, are one indifferent eater and one that has had gastric bypass surgery and will share plates as often as possible. Our 4 year old will not eat chicken fingers, anything fried, anything sweet. You get the point.

Breakfast - I love breakfast, but the majority of our group (including the 4 year old) could almost do without it completely. We may use excess counter meals and snack credits to share some breakfasts at the resort.
Lunch - We plan to go QS and locations could be flexible if we don't end up in the right place
Dinner - Looking to do our TS meals mainly as dinners


Plans so far

Sunday - Arrival and no parks
Lunch: At resort
Dinner: Disney Springs somewhere or is the table restaurant at CBR any good?
Monday - Hollywood Studios
Lunch: Possibly let everyone pick their own place depending on what the mood is for,
or split into two groups to go to
- Fairfax fare, rosie's and/or toluca legs
Dinner: Hollywood & Vine
Tuesday - MK (SO confused what to do with this one)
Lunch: Be Our Guest hopefully!
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern
Wednesday - Epcot
Lunch: Katsura Grill
Dinner: Garden Grill? Rose Crown? Via Napoli? I'm confused
Thursday - AK
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ
Dinner: Yak & Yeti
Friday - Whichever place we felt we need to revisit for more time.

 

[DynamicDisney]

Garden Grill was very good! We had lots of character interaction, the restaurant slowly rotates for different views of Living With The Land, and the food was very good! If you do not go to BOG on your MK day, Columbia Harbour House is one of my favorites! The lobster roll is my go-to! Yak & Yeti was good - I had a noodle bowl, and the wonton dessert was yummy!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I think your choices are great! I think generally buffets are usually the better option for people that are picky eaters. I have not eaten at Yak & Yeti but we plan on trying it for this next trip. We have eaten at Tusker House though and they are fabulous! Plus you have the fab 5 there! I would definitely go with Garden Grill on your epcot day. We loved Garden Grill. As for Disney Springs there is a lot to choose from there! Not sure if you are looking for quick service or table service that night though. We have eaten at both TREX and Rainforest. The food was pretty much equally good, we thought TREX was a little on the loud side though. I have also heard great things about Earl of Sandwich (which is QS) and also Raglan Road. Hope some of this information helps!

 

[mrzrich]

I would not eat at both Liberty Tree AND Garden Grill. I would do one or the other as the food is similar. Of the two, I would say the quality of the food and the characters give Garden Grill the edge.


On your MK day, a nice respite from the park can be had by having dinner at one of the Monorail Resorts. I have had nice quiet 1 credit dinners at The Wave and The Grand Floridian Cafe. Ohana at the Poly is a much sought after ADR, but I'm not sure the group that you have described would like it.

 

[maybethisyear]

I think your choices are great! I think generally buffets are usually the better option for people that are picky eaters. I have not eaten at Yak & Yeti but we plan on trying it for this next trip. We have eaten at Tusker House though and they are fabulous! Plus you have the fab 5 there! I would definitely go with Garden Grill on your epcot day. We loved Garden Grill. As for Disney Springs there is a lot to choose from there! Not sure if you are looking for quick service or table service that night though. We have eaten at both TREX and Rainforest. The food was pretty much equally good, we thought TREX was a little on the loud side though. I have also heard great things about Earl of Sandwich (which is QS) and also Raglan Road. Hope some of this information helps!

I think we will go with table service in Downtown Disney. Our 4 year old can sometimes get overwhelmed if there is A LOT of noise. Pretty even keeled kid, but will plug the ears if it is continuously loud.

 

[DynamicDisney]

I second Raglan Road at DS. T-Rex is pretty loud, true.

 

[maybethisyear]

I would not eat at both Liberty Tree AND Garden Grill. I would do one or the other as the food is similar. Of the two, I would say the quality of the food and the characters give Garden Grill the edge.


On your MK day, a nice respite from the park can be had by having dinner at one of the Monorail Resorts. I have had nice quiet 1 credit dinners at The Wave and The Grand Floridian Cafe. Ohana at the Poly is a much sought after ADR, but I'm not sure the group that you have described would like it.

I hadn't even thought of the monorail. This is why I am clearly a newbie. I've tried to keep things fairly simple, but varied enough where we aren't choosing the same foods over and over again.

 

[Just1Princess]

With my difficult to please diners, we do Liberty Tree every trip and we are all happy. Dinner there is a set menu so make sure you've checked that one out. Same deal with Garden Grill. Both of those do bring out a few options, though.
Hollywood and Vine is ok in my opinion, you will get characters dressed for Christmas, which is awesome. The buffet is supposed to have holiday choices, I've never eaten there at that time of the year.
Hope that helped a little.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I think we will go with table service in Downtown Disney. Our 4 year old can sometimes get overwhelmed if there is A LOT of noise. Pretty even keeled kid, but will plug the ears if it is continuously loud.

Yeah I know how you feel, my 9yr old is on the spectrum so he gets irritated if its really really noisy someplace. My 9yr old though really liked Rainforest, both times we ate there (ate there for Breakfast at AK and for Lunch at Disney Springs)...he really liked the theming there, lol...I couldn't pull him out of the giftshop when it was time to take our seats, LOL

 

[maybethisyear]

With my difficult to please diners, we do Liberty Tree every trip and we are all happy. Dinner there is a set menu so make sure you've checked that one out. Same deal with Garden Grill. Both of those do bring out a few options, though.
Hollywood and Vine is ok in my opinion, you will get characters dressed for Christmas, which is awesome. The buffet is supposed to have holiday choices, I've never eaten there at that time of the year.
Hope that helped a little.

We figured Hollywood and vine as the one SET character dining experience. The 4 year old is Christmas obsessed - so it makes the most sense. Doesn't care too much about princesses, at least not more than just seeing them for meet and greets in the park if we can make it happen. Plus, we live close to Storyland in NH and get to see Cinderella and lots of other characters regularly. It's Mickey & Friends that would be the stars on this trip.

 

[mrzrich]

I hadn't even thought of the monorail. This is why I am clearly a newbie. I've tried to keep things fairly simple, but varied enough where we aren't choosing the same foods over and over again.

Oh, then please take a look at Grand Floridian Cafe. The Grand Floridian has an AMAZING gingerbread house and is decorated impeccably for Christmas.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We have never eaten dinner at Liberty Tree, thats usually a lunch place for us. If you are looking for a different type of place you could try the monorail resorts, Ohana I hear has a fun dinner (although no characters at dinner), Kona also has good food (both places are at Poly). Grand Floridian has 1900 Park Fare which is a really really fun dinner (it has cinderella & prince charming, but also the tremaines who are very very funny!). Contemporary has Chef Mickeys (although their food gets so so reviews and I tend to think their breakfast is a lot better than dinner). You could also take the boat to Wilderness Lodge to Whispering Canyon Cafe (again this place is a TON of fun, but it is on the loud side) or take the boat to Fort Wilderness for Trails End (again I haven't eaten hear but I have heard they are very good). If you want to stay in MK for dinner theres always Cinderellas Royal Table but I think they are way over priced, LOL...and The Plaza is pretty good as well. its a mom and pop type shop and they have good ice cream there. Crystal Palace is also in MK and they are a lot of fun if you like Winnie the Pooh Characters. Choosing the right dining is always the hardest part of a vacation, LOL!

 

[maybethisyear]

Oh, then please take a look at Grand Floridian Cafe. The Grand Floridian has an AMAZING gingerbread house and is decorated impeccably for Christmas.

gah! We'd have a major freak out moment over this, lol. Maybe our last day can be returning to MK and doing a trip around some of the resorts on the monorail too.

 

[mrzrich]

A freak out in a good way? Or a melt down?

 

[maybethisyear]

Definitely good way.

 

[Bebella]

I saw someone else mention this...but I would skip Liberty Tree Tavern and have dinner at Ohana. Or choose another monorail resort restaurant...but would skip having dinner at MK. If you're planning on staying all day until the fireworks, then it will be a nice break for you to leave the park for a bit too.

I would do Via Napoli in Epcot, but Garden Grill gets consistently good reviews, it's just not the type of food I enjoy as much as pizza! If you haven't already, check out the menus for the restaurants so you have an idea of the types of food to make your remaining decisions.

 

[DisBuckMan]

I think the gastric bypass guest is the only monkey wrench in your plans for the TS meals. You've got several buffets/family style meals (Hollywood & Vine, Liberty Tree Tavern, Garden Grill) scheduled where he/she will be charged a full credit regardless of how much or how little is eaten...no exceptions. No sharing allowed at those restaurants.

Since you're on free dining, you might not care, but figured I'd at least mention it.

 

[SunnieRN]

Disney Springs tends to be a half day experience for us, at least. AS there, on the dining plan we really love Wolfgang Puck Express. Great food, you order as you walk in, but your food is brought to you and the plates are cleared. We usually try to show up as breakfast is weaning, so have brunch. Shop for several hours (can never get the grandmunchkins out of the Lego store or a world of Disney), then have our TS dinner before returning to the resort.

At MK have you considered going to CHH for lunch? You could then go to BOG for dinner.

There doesn't seem to be a middle ground for LTT at dinner. It seems as if people strongly love or strongly hate it.

Have a wonderful vacation!!!!

 

[maybethisyear]

I think the gastric bypass guest is the only monkey wrench in your plans for the TS meals. You've got several buffets/family style meals (Hollywood & Vine, Liberty Tree Tavern, Garden Grill) scheduled where he/she will be charged a full credit regardless of how much or how little is eaten...no exceptions. No sharing allowed at those restaurants.

Since you're on free dining, you might not care, but figured I'd at least mention it.

You hit the nail on the head with the part where we are on free dining, so we don't care as much. It's more about us enjoying things as a family. However, with the other comments I think we will be ditching Liberty Tree Tavern for a monorail restaurant and that will drop one of the family meals. I've been on the fence about Garden Grill, so if we figure that we can get an additional meal as a group without it then we may drop that too. Thanks for pointing that out. "Free" or not, it does change the value.

 

[maybethisyear]

Disney Springs tends to be a half day experience for us, at least. AS there, on the dining plan we really love Wolfgang Puck Express. Great food, you order as you walk in, but your food is brought to you and the plates are cleared. We usually try to show up as breakfast is weaning, so have brunch. Shop for several hours (can never get the grandmunchkins out of the Lego store or a world of Disney), then have our TS dinner before returning to the resort.

At MK have you considered going to CHH for lunch? You could then go to BOG for dinner.

There doesn't seem to be a middle ground for LTT at dinner. It seems as if people strongly love or strongly hate it.

Have a wonderful vacation!!!!

I haven't considered that switch. For some reason I thought that lunch at BOG was the best use of our credits. Maybe that is a mistake. I do like the previous suggestions of going monorail for dinner during MK day, especially with the Christmas decor at the resorts. But I will take a peak at the menus and see what I come up with.