Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2018
- Messages
- 232
We just got back (literally, last night) from our trip to WDW! Lots of emotions and thoughts...I'll do a full-blown TR, but thought I'd share our experiences of where we ate here, so others who are planning can have this info. First, this board was so very helpful not only in helping us choose where to dine, but where NOT to dine. We had almost no bad meals on our trip because of this!
CHARACTER MEALS
Garden Grill (breakfast): This was a PPO breakfast. It was a pretty standard fare as far as food went (biscuits, eggs, sausage, bacon, Mickey waffles, fruit...forget what else). The food was decent, nothing really amazing, but not bad. Character interaction was great! We met Chip & Dale, Mickey, and Pluto. And they each came around twice. It took less than an hour, so we were able to walk right onto Soarin (same building) as soon as it was over. Just be sure to request a lower-level table, so your pictures with the characters have the land scenes in the background, as opposed to ours which have a wall.
Trattoria Al Forno (breakfast): This is the breakfast where you meet Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider. It was AMAZING. You begin with a set of pastries in a frying pan, then choose your meal from a menu. Everything was delicious. Bonus points because you can get breakfast cocktails at this one. The character interaction was great and the service was as well. This one just "feels" magical. Even our son enjoyed it (and in his words, he does NOT like princesses!)
$$$$ MEALS
'Ohana (dinner): We had a 4 pm reservation, and honestly I wasn't too happy about it...until park day. Since it was an early dinner, we snacked for lunch and were still ravenous by the time our reservation came around. I was worried because recent reviews had said service was poor...this was not our experience. This was easily one of our favorite meals. The food was INCREDIBLE. The service was fantastic. The view was of the castle, Space Mountain, and the Poly pool. The bread pudding was TO DIE FOR. This was not a cheap meal. But it's one I know we will go back to on every visit.
Be Our Guest (lunch): This was the one I was hoping for most. While I'm glad we got it, and thought the service was excellent, the food was ok. Not bad by any means, but we definitely felt that we were paying more for the ambiance. Only the West Wing and Ballroom were open for lunch; WW was small and full so we ate in the ballroom. It didn't seem too crowded or loud in there. The grey stuff cupcake was delicious. I'd like to try the dinner next time, but other than eating there just because I love Belle so much, I don't think I'll feel pulled to go back (and it pains me to say that!)
Sci-Fi Dine In (lunch): We had a very decent meal here. The kids loved the theme and the food was really good. Our server was great as well. He understood we had to be somewhere at a certain time and didn't seem to mind that we had to rush a little bit. We would definitely go back here!
Biergarten (dinner): This was a treat for my husband because he ate there as a child. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have eaten here because I'm not a big fan of German food as a whole. This place was just pure fun. We had a table on the floor and our kids spent most of the meal dancing to the band instead of eating. Our server seemed to really enjoy my husband's attempts to speak German and she was super friendly as well. The apple strudel was DIVINE. I could've just eaten that alone. It was a bit of a different pick for us but we really enjoyed it.
Paddlefish (dinner): We ate here on a non-park day. I knew they had remodeled the boat and while I don't love the trend of everything going super-modern, the redesign is beautiful. We sat at a window by the wheel and my kids had fun watching the volcano from Rainforest (or is it from T-Rex?) going off. The service was good, and food was good. The chocolate creme brûlée was amazing (clearly I love desserts!). I'd eat there again, but would try Boathouse first. I wouldn't say this restaurant is a must-do for us though.
Grand Floridian Cafe (dinner): We ate here on a whim on our last MK day so we could visit the GF. Getting a reservation last minute on the app was really easy. Even though it's in the GF, it's really casual - I'd guess at least half the people there had come from the parks, like us. Service was great, food was ok - my husband had the NY strip and wasn't impressed. The cupcakes were delicious! I'd say this is a good option for a cheap eat at a monorail hotel, but don't expect the steak to be on par with a steakhouse.
CASUAL/CHEAP
Rosie's All-American Cafe (lunch): We ate lunch here on our first park day, at HS. I had to look on the map to remember what it was because we literally just picked a place walking by to eat at. The food was fine but nothing memorable.
Boatwright's (dinner): We ate here the night we checked into our resort. Getting a last-minute reservation was easy. Food was good and service was polite but REALLY slow. The kids really enjoyed the "make your own cupcake" dessert. This was an ok pick since we were in a pinch.
Les Halles (lunch): This is the "cafeteria" in France. It was so good we ate here twice! We found the staff to be pleasant and we ordered as many pastries as we could. This is one we most definitely will return to.
Columbia Harbour House (lunch): We really enjoyed this place. We ate upstairs, and found a table with a view of Haunted Mansion. We loved that it wasn't super crowded and noisy. The food was really good as well. There was so much on the menu I wanted to try but didn't since I'd had an upset stomach the day before.
Muddy Rivers (lunch): This is the pool bar at POR, where we stayed. Nothing special, but worked for us since we were there.
Riverside Mill Food Court (dinner): This is the food court at POR. We chose to eat here one night after being in the pool at FQ, because the selection was better. The make-your-own pasta was great but really heavy. Overall it was fine but we only ate here once or twice on non-park days.
Sassagoula Floatworks (breakfast): This is the food court at FQ. We came here for the beignets and they did not disappoint! I only wish we'd come here more than once but we usually ate breakfast in our rooms on park days while getting ready.
Earl of Sandwich (lunch): Yummy sandwiches, fast service, one of the cheaper options in Disney Springs. A win for us!
- Special note: My sister has major food allergies (gluten, dairy, and grain) and had almost no problems eating at WDW. Every place had an allergy-free menu available, even QS places in the parks. In some cases the chef even came to speak to her about the menu. She was very impressed as this was a major concern for her when planning the trip.
Hope this is helpful! Any questions?
CHARACTER MEALS
Garden Grill (breakfast): This was a PPO breakfast. It was a pretty standard fare as far as food went (biscuits, eggs, sausage, bacon, Mickey waffles, fruit...forget what else). The food was decent, nothing really amazing, but not bad. Character interaction was great! We met Chip & Dale, Mickey, and Pluto. And they each came around twice. It took less than an hour, so we were able to walk right onto Soarin (same building) as soon as it was over. Just be sure to request a lower-level table, so your pictures with the characters have the land scenes in the background, as opposed to ours which have a wall.
Trattoria Al Forno (breakfast): This is the breakfast where you meet Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider. It was AMAZING. You begin with a set of pastries in a frying pan, then choose your meal from a menu. Everything was delicious. Bonus points because you can get breakfast cocktails at this one. The character interaction was great and the service was as well. This one just "feels" magical. Even our son enjoyed it (and in his words, he does NOT like princesses!)
$$$$ MEALS
'Ohana (dinner): We had a 4 pm reservation, and honestly I wasn't too happy about it...until park day. Since it was an early dinner, we snacked for lunch and were still ravenous by the time our reservation came around. I was worried because recent reviews had said service was poor...this was not our experience. This was easily one of our favorite meals. The food was INCREDIBLE. The service was fantastic. The view was of the castle, Space Mountain, and the Poly pool. The bread pudding was TO DIE FOR. This was not a cheap meal. But it's one I know we will go back to on every visit.
Be Our Guest (lunch): This was the one I was hoping for most. While I'm glad we got it, and thought the service was excellent, the food was ok. Not bad by any means, but we definitely felt that we were paying more for the ambiance. Only the West Wing and Ballroom were open for lunch; WW was small and full so we ate in the ballroom. It didn't seem too crowded or loud in there. The grey stuff cupcake was delicious. I'd like to try the dinner next time, but other than eating there just because I love Belle so much, I don't think I'll feel pulled to go back (and it pains me to say that!)
Sci-Fi Dine In (lunch): We had a very decent meal here. The kids loved the theme and the food was really good. Our server was great as well. He understood we had to be somewhere at a certain time and didn't seem to mind that we had to rush a little bit. We would definitely go back here!
Biergarten (dinner): This was a treat for my husband because he ate there as a child. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have eaten here because I'm not a big fan of German food as a whole. This place was just pure fun. We had a table on the floor and our kids spent most of the meal dancing to the band instead of eating. Our server seemed to really enjoy my husband's attempts to speak German and she was super friendly as well. The apple strudel was DIVINE. I could've just eaten that alone. It was a bit of a different pick for us but we really enjoyed it.
Paddlefish (dinner): We ate here on a non-park day. I knew they had remodeled the boat and while I don't love the trend of everything going super-modern, the redesign is beautiful. We sat at a window by the wheel and my kids had fun watching the volcano from Rainforest (or is it from T-Rex?) going off. The service was good, and food was good. The chocolate creme brûlée was amazing (clearly I love desserts!). I'd eat there again, but would try Boathouse first. I wouldn't say this restaurant is a must-do for us though.
Grand Floridian Cafe (dinner): We ate here on a whim on our last MK day so we could visit the GF. Getting a reservation last minute on the app was really easy. Even though it's in the GF, it's really casual - I'd guess at least half the people there had come from the parks, like us. Service was great, food was ok - my husband had the NY strip and wasn't impressed. The cupcakes were delicious! I'd say this is a good option for a cheap eat at a monorail hotel, but don't expect the steak to be on par with a steakhouse.
CASUAL/CHEAP
Rosie's All-American Cafe (lunch): We ate lunch here on our first park day, at HS. I had to look on the map to remember what it was because we literally just picked a place walking by to eat at. The food was fine but nothing memorable.
Boatwright's (dinner): We ate here the night we checked into our resort. Getting a last-minute reservation was easy. Food was good and service was polite but REALLY slow. The kids really enjoyed the "make your own cupcake" dessert. This was an ok pick since we were in a pinch.
Les Halles (lunch): This is the "cafeteria" in France. It was so good we ate here twice! We found the staff to be pleasant and we ordered as many pastries as we could. This is one we most definitely will return to.
Columbia Harbour House (lunch): We really enjoyed this place. We ate upstairs, and found a table with a view of Haunted Mansion. We loved that it wasn't super crowded and noisy. The food was really good as well. There was so much on the menu I wanted to try but didn't since I'd had an upset stomach the day before.
Muddy Rivers (lunch): This is the pool bar at POR, where we stayed. Nothing special, but worked for us since we were there.
Riverside Mill Food Court (dinner): This is the food court at POR. We chose to eat here one night after being in the pool at FQ, because the selection was better. The make-your-own pasta was great but really heavy. Overall it was fine but we only ate here once or twice on non-park days.
Sassagoula Floatworks (breakfast): This is the food court at FQ. We came here for the beignets and they did not disappoint! I only wish we'd come here more than once but we usually ate breakfast in our rooms on park days while getting ready.
Earl of Sandwich (lunch): Yummy sandwiches, fast service, one of the cheaper options in Disney Springs. A win for us!
- Special note: My sister has major food allergies (gluten, dairy, and grain) and had almost no problems eating at WDW. Every place had an allergy-free menu available, even QS places in the parks. In some cases the chef even came to speak to her about the menu. She was very impressed as this was a major concern for her when planning the trip.
Hope this is helpful! Any questions?
