Like many of you, my wife and I spent many hours scoping restaurant reviews and reading Disney guides to plan our dinners; so I wanted to share our experiences and thoughts.
Jiko
Very relaxing atmosphere. We had priority seating and were seated at a very nice horseshoe-shaped booth. It's a bit upscale, but our two kids 5 and 9 were not out of place. They offer a sampler appetizer platter that gives you the chance to try some of the exotic dishes and spices. We loved all of them! None of the appetizers was too spicy. My dad had the salmon and liked it fine. I had the filet with mac and cheese. The filet was so tender I would not have needed a knife to cut it. It was a thicker cut than the one I had at Le Cellier. I just didn't like the mac and cheese -- too chalky for my taste. Our server was very nice. He was very helpful selecting menu entrees and provided very good service. Overall, I'd give it a B+ or A-
Le Cellier
We had to split our party into two reservations when we made priority seating, but the hostess said she would try to get us tables close by. I figured out later that the hostess behind the podium has nothing to do with actual assignment of tables. That's done inside by someone else, and I don't think the hostess even conveyed our request to the person in charge. Anyway, we sat clear across the restaurant from each other. Oh well. With stone floors and walls and polished wooden beams, the atmosphere was distinctive and a bit noisy (which was great for us with kids!).
The cheese soup delivered on its reputation. We especially liked the variety of bread sticks delivered to our table. The pretzel bread sticks were my favorite. The filet came served on a bed of mushroom risotto with mushroom sauce. The filet was not as thick as some but very tender, cooked to my requested temperature. The mushroom sauce comes dangerously close to being too rich and overpowering but avoids these. My brother, who is a plain meat and potatoes kind of guy, loved it as much as I did. Overall: A
Spoodles
We cancelled Calif Grill reservations due to our schedule changes; so I was prepared not to like this substitute restaurant. Instead, I loved it! We were seated in less than 10 minutes. The atmosphere was pretty noisy, again welcomed for us and the kids. My wife and I both had the scallops au gratin (based on a tip from the Boardwalk bartender) and we loved it! The scallops were tender and flavorful with not-too-chessy mashed potatoes. This was one of our favorites. Overall: A
1900 Park Fare Character Dinner
Oh boy. Had priority seating for 8 at 8:10 and arrived a half hour early. They were having a lot of trouble seating tables on time, and I watched several dads loudly complain to the staff about wait times over 40 minutes after their reservation. To make a long story short, we got seated close to our reservation time, but it took a lot of friendly but persistent cajoling on my part with the manager. Some made excuses for the restaurant that with character meals people stay at their tables longer. However, I would only suggest that they do this every night, and Disney should have it figured out by now. Just know that seating here can be stressful and possibly delayed.
When we were seated, Tigger came to our table immediately. He was lots of fun and hammed it up with the kids and adults. The food was, well, cafeteria food in quality. The large chef carving the prime rib was rationing slices of meat that were nicely pink. I'd read somewhere that the prime rib here tends to be overcooked, but this one was fine. The server was very nice, and the characters were lots of fun, which is what it's all about. An added bonus was walking through the Grand Floridian.
Overall: C for the chaotic table seating and mediocre food.
Character Breakfast in Epcot Akserhus(don't remember how it's spelled)
This was a very nice breakfast. Service was efficient. They served a skillet of scrambled eggs, cheese potatoes, bacon, and sausage. We met Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, Princess Aurora, and Mulan (our 9 year old daughter disgustedly that "Mulan is NOT a princess; she's just a girl who saved China"). The characters efficiently signed autographs, posed for pictures, and found some unique topic to quickly discuss with the kids. We had the first seating at 8:30 and a great table that afforded a quick exit by 9:10. Overall A
Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney
We did an early dinner here prior to Cirque du Soleil. We have eaten at several sites for this chain and have never been disappointed. We had priority seating and only waited about 5 minutes to be seated. The service was fine. Our family loves the coconut fried shrimp, and it pleased us as usual. I got he Monsoon Grill which also included crab-stuffed flounder and a crab cake. All were delicious. Gourmands would probably complain that they were a little bland in taste, but I enjoyed the whole meal. We enjoyed several obligatory monsoons and gorilla rants during the meal. Lots of fun. Overall A
Mama Melrose (Fantasmic Dinner Package)
I wasn't too sure of this place, but we had a good time here. We were seated promptly to a nice private table. The meal came with a choice of flatbread, salad, entree, and tiramisu. For flatbread we selected the four cheese hoping that the kids might eat a slice. They didn't eat any, but my wife and I enjoyed it. The salads were mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Fresh and good. For entree, I was going to order the veal, but our server cautioned that another patron had complained that evening that it was too fatty. So I steered clear and ordered the seafood pasta dish. I liked it just fine. My wife had the tenderloin and declared it "wonderful." The tiramisu was okay. We ended up very glad that a) we didn't miss Fantasmic and b) we had saved seats. The amphitheater was almost packed when we arrived 40 minutes early, except for the saved section. Overall A-
So, overall we had a very good experience with Disney restaurants! The cost had not been as bad as we feared, thanks in part to all the great info available online. Priority seating is a must. Why everyone wouldn't use it, I don't understand.
Jiko
Very relaxing atmosphere. We had priority seating and were seated at a very nice horseshoe-shaped booth. It's a bit upscale, but our two kids 5 and 9 were not out of place. They offer a sampler appetizer platter that gives you the chance to try some of the exotic dishes and spices. We loved all of them! None of the appetizers was too spicy. My dad had the salmon and liked it fine. I had the filet with mac and cheese. The filet was so tender I would not have needed a knife to cut it. It was a thicker cut than the one I had at Le Cellier. I just didn't like the mac and cheese -- too chalky for my taste. Our server was very nice. He was very helpful selecting menu entrees and provided very good service. Overall, I'd give it a B+ or A-
Le Cellier
We had to split our party into two reservations when we made priority seating, but the hostess said she would try to get us tables close by. I figured out later that the hostess behind the podium has nothing to do with actual assignment of tables. That's done inside by someone else, and I don't think the hostess even conveyed our request to the person in charge. Anyway, we sat clear across the restaurant from each other. Oh well. With stone floors and walls and polished wooden beams, the atmosphere was distinctive and a bit noisy (which was great for us with kids!).
The cheese soup delivered on its reputation. We especially liked the variety of bread sticks delivered to our table. The pretzel bread sticks were my favorite. The filet came served on a bed of mushroom risotto with mushroom sauce. The filet was not as thick as some but very tender, cooked to my requested temperature. The mushroom sauce comes dangerously close to being too rich and overpowering but avoids these. My brother, who is a plain meat and potatoes kind of guy, loved it as much as I did. Overall: A
Spoodles
We cancelled Calif Grill reservations due to our schedule changes; so I was prepared not to like this substitute restaurant. Instead, I loved it! We were seated in less than 10 minutes. The atmosphere was pretty noisy, again welcomed for us and the kids. My wife and I both had the scallops au gratin (based on a tip from the Boardwalk bartender) and we loved it! The scallops were tender and flavorful with not-too-chessy mashed potatoes. This was one of our favorites. Overall: A
1900 Park Fare Character Dinner
Oh boy. Had priority seating for 8 at 8:10 and arrived a half hour early. They were having a lot of trouble seating tables on time, and I watched several dads loudly complain to the staff about wait times over 40 minutes after their reservation. To make a long story short, we got seated close to our reservation time, but it took a lot of friendly but persistent cajoling on my part with the manager. Some made excuses for the restaurant that with character meals people stay at their tables longer. However, I would only suggest that they do this every night, and Disney should have it figured out by now. Just know that seating here can be stressful and possibly delayed.
When we were seated, Tigger came to our table immediately. He was lots of fun and hammed it up with the kids and adults. The food was, well, cafeteria food in quality. The large chef carving the prime rib was rationing slices of meat that were nicely pink. I'd read somewhere that the prime rib here tends to be overcooked, but this one was fine. The server was very nice, and the characters were lots of fun, which is what it's all about. An added bonus was walking through the Grand Floridian.
Overall: C for the chaotic table seating and mediocre food.
Character Breakfast in Epcot Akserhus(don't remember how it's spelled)
This was a very nice breakfast. Service was efficient. They served a skillet of scrambled eggs, cheese potatoes, bacon, and sausage. We met Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, Princess Aurora, and Mulan (our 9 year old daughter disgustedly that "Mulan is NOT a princess; she's just a girl who saved China"). The characters efficiently signed autographs, posed for pictures, and found some unique topic to quickly discuss with the kids. We had the first seating at 8:30 and a great table that afforded a quick exit by 9:10. Overall A
Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney
We did an early dinner here prior to Cirque du Soleil. We have eaten at several sites for this chain and have never been disappointed. We had priority seating and only waited about 5 minutes to be seated. The service was fine. Our family loves the coconut fried shrimp, and it pleased us as usual. I got he Monsoon Grill which also included crab-stuffed flounder and a crab cake. All were delicious. Gourmands would probably complain that they were a little bland in taste, but I enjoyed the whole meal. We enjoyed several obligatory monsoons and gorilla rants during the meal. Lots of fun. Overall A
Mama Melrose (Fantasmic Dinner Package)
I wasn't too sure of this place, but we had a good time here. We were seated promptly to a nice private table. The meal came with a choice of flatbread, salad, entree, and tiramisu. For flatbread we selected the four cheese hoping that the kids might eat a slice. They didn't eat any, but my wife and I enjoyed it. The salads were mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Fresh and good. For entree, I was going to order the veal, but our server cautioned that another patron had complained that evening that it was too fatty. So I steered clear and ordered the seafood pasta dish. I liked it just fine. My wife had the tenderloin and declared it "wonderful." The tiramisu was okay. We ended up very glad that a) we didn't miss Fantasmic and b) we had saved seats. The amphitheater was almost packed when we arrived 40 minutes early, except for the saved section. Overall A-
So, overall we had a very good experience with Disney restaurants! The cost had not been as bad as we feared, thanks in part to all the great info available online. Priority seating is a must. Why everyone wouldn't use it, I don't understand.
