Let's talk about Biergarten

[Mississippianna]

DH and I like German food. DD will be 4 at the time of travel, is not a picky eater, but has a tendency to not eat much at all in loud, busy restaurants. She doesn't handle loud noises well at all. A lot could change between now and the first week of November, so it is hard to judge what she'll be able to handle then.

Anyway, I keep going back to Biergarten as a dinner or lunch option, because the food sounds good. We are staying at Beach Club, so I was thinking I could fit it in on our arrival night. Right now we have a res at Cape May. Our flight arrives around 4 and it will be the end of a long day, as we live a 2-hour drive from the nearest airport Southwest flies out of. So, we will all be tired.

Since we will be there for F&W, do you think we could satisfy a love of German food at their booth and the Quick Service counter in Germany later in our trip?

Tell me about your good/bad/indifferent Biergarten experiences. If you have young kids, did they enjoy it? How much entertainment is going on during your meal and how loud does it get?

 

[minnie mum]

No small children now, but have dined at Biergarten a couple of times. We personally love the place. After living in Germany for a few years, we get to relive some of our dining experiences there and the food is very good.

But it is loud. It's the acoustics of the place combined with the music and several hundred other diners. Unavoidable. So if your little one isn't able to tolerate loud environments at the best of times, this is probably not the ideal spot for dinner when she will be very tired.

Under these circumstances, I'd keep your Cape May ADR and sample the F&W offerings later.

 

[TDC Nala]

It is quite loud. And your party won't be seated alone, they have communal tables, usually for 8. A party of three will have at least one more party seated with them. Most kids LOVE the dance floor, they always go up and dance with the band.

 

[wolf29]

We tried it last year and found it to be adequate. Food & service was good, show was entertaining, but nothing extraordinary. No more busy or loud than the other buffets. Overall, we enjoyed it, but are not going back this trip. Given the option, I'd stick with Cape May and do F & W and counter service for Germany.

 

[Buckimion]

Expanding on what Wolf29 said, as long as it's not your first day activity, DD may find out that just about EVERYWHERE is noisy and hopefully become acclimated to Biergarten by the time of your visit.

 

[Belle83]

I loved Biergarten! I was honestly not looking forward to it because I'm not familiar with German food, hate buffets, and was not interested in eating with strangers. It was one of the best meals of our trip. Lots of music/entertainment, and it gets pretty loud. The kids sitting next to us seemed to enjoy it.

I have a bunch of pictures in my trip report from it, here:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41553790

 

[Pakey]

Biergarten is at least 10 times louder than Cape May. We are adults only and go for the beer but there are a lot of children on the dance floor. If my adult children didn't like it so much, I'd pass on it as it's very noisy.

I have read on here that if you go for a mid afternoon lunch that it's usually quieter/half empty. We always go for a later dinner.

 

[Mississippianna]

Thanks everybody for the input! Maybe I'll make an ADR for later in the trip, so we have that in case the F&W and QS options don't hit the spot. I still have an open evening in the week. Since we're staying at BC and have Park Hoppers, we could easily have dinner somewhere in WS on our AK day if we feel up to it.

 

[KatMark]

This used to be one of our favorites at Epcot. However, we were there this past September and were very disappointed with the meal. Service was top notch, we sat with a lovely family, had a low tiered table right by the band, but the food was bleh! The best part of the meal was the desserts. It will be a few years before we go back.

 

[Aunt Bee]

My whole family, ages 3 to 90, loves the Biergarten; the atmosphere, the Om-Pa-Pa, the dancing.

The service is good, the beer is EXCELLENT, the food, to me is mediocre and, for some reason, the buffet is unusually messy. I'm not a big fan of the food and our picky eaters don't like it, either, but all the atmosphere and fun overrides that.

Last time we scheduled for a 4:00 meal and there were very few people there. We had a front and center table next to the dance floor, but the band show and dancing weren't their usual length. I asked and the CM said that the late afternoon hours usually had shorter shows. It wasn't nearly as much fun as going when it's full and noisy and everyone is clapping and waving around those beer mugs...

 

[krb2g]

It has been years since we tried the Biergarten. I liked it a lot, but it is a loud environment. If you make an ADR for later in your trip and find that Sommerfest and F&W satisfy your German food cravings, you could always cancel the ADR....

 

[ozzz17]

We loved it!! We enjoyed it 2 years ago with a very shy 4 ds, shy 7dd and challenging 12dd. My shy ones did interact and did some dancing. Yes, it was loud but they truly loved it and requested it again this time.