Let's talk buffets

[weschmom]

With two kids (ages 6 and 2.5) we are all about the buffets at Disney. It's much easier to move at our own pace, and not have the down time of waiting for our meal to arrive. Plus there are many more options for picky little eaters like ours.

So....here's what I have planned (jotted down) so far (we will be on the DDP):

-Play N Dine @ Hollywood N Vine (a must -- kids love this)
-1900 Park Fare (for DD)
-Restaurantosauras (?? - don't know much about this one)
and today read about:
-Liberty Tree Tavern dinner buffet

Are these good buffet choices? I'm sure there are some others that are at resorts, but I'm trying to limit our transit time (leaving more time for park fun), and thus only want to include the 1900 PF meal and have the rest be park meals.

We did CP last year and it was nice, but my DS is going this year and he doesn't really know the Pooh characters as much as the others.

Thoughts please?

Thanks!

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

We have never tried any of those but our favorites are:

Boma
Ohana
CP

Trying for the first time:
H&V breakfast
CM breakfast

We have a 35 month old (just shy of 3 by 1 week) 5, 7, and 9 year old with us this trip. So we love buffets too!!!

 

[nhpgator]

unless they have changed things - Liberty Tree Tavern isn't a buffett - it is all you can eat but served family style - but it is really good - we love it!!

The buffet at Fort Wilderness is really good - but not in the park - but just a boat ride a way.

we really like 1900 Park Fare and Play n Dine - weren't that fond of Breafastasorous - but it wasn't bad. We really like CP but if you're not apooh fan, that indeed could be a problem.

Epcot has the princess breakfast that is part buffett part all you can eat table service served family style.

have fun

 

[lynninpa]

How about Breakfast at Chef Mickeys?! Breakfast with the "classic characters" is a fantastic way to start a day in Disney!

 

[Goofy22]

With two kids (ages 6 and 2.5) we are all about the buffets at Disney. It's much easier to move at our own pace, and not have the down time of waiting for our meal to arrive. Plus there are many more options for picky little eaters like ours.

So....here's what I have planned (jotted down) so far (we will be on the DDP):

-Play N Dine @ Hollywood N Vine (a must -- kids love this)
-1900 Park Fare (for DD)
-Restaurantosauras (?? - don't know much about this one)
and today read about:
-Liberty Tree Tavern dinner buffet

Are these good buffet choices? I'm sure there are some others that are at resorts, but I'm trying to limit our transit time (leaving more time for park fun), and thus only want to include the 1900 PF meal and have the rest be park meals.

We did CP last year and it was nice, but my DS is going this year and he doesn't really know the Pooh characters as much as the others.

Thoughts please?

Thanks!

1900 pf was all it was amde out to be the food was ok but thought it would be alot better .

Chef Mickeys at the contemporary is great for kids boys and girls!

Whispering Canyon maybe one for your son!!!! they have an all you can eat skillet or menu no buffet.

 

[Maggi May]

Buffets really are convenient when you have little ones.

I know you're trying to avoid travel time but one meal to consider is the breakfast at the Poly with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo and Stich. Because the Poly is on the monorail you can hop it to the Magic Kingdom before and after the meal.

It's served family style rather than buffet which means there's a smaller selection, but I think it makes it a bit more easier when they bring to food to you. Our DS's favorite meal to eat out is breakfast, so he loved the eggs, waffles, bacon, sausage and fruit. This meal was probably the "calmest" character meal we've been to.

 

[GoofTroop]

I know you're looking for "in park" buffets, but what about Cape May buffet one of the days while you're at EPCOT? Also, served family-style (all you can eat) at Garden Grill in EPCOT. The restaurant slowly rotates while you eat....And there's also characters. If I remeber correctly it's Mickey, Pluto, and Chip and Dale.

Elizabeth

 

[septbaby]

Chef Mickey's would be a great addition. My 6yo DNephew lists it as #2 favorite thing at Disney (meeting character is #1).

I don't know first hand about the buffet at Fort Wilderness (Trails End), however I do know that there are pony rides there and to combine the two might be fun. I think the minimum age may be 4, so only your daughter could ride. Similarly there is the Campfire, singalong and movie there too, another way to combine a meal and some fun at the campground. There is a small fee for the pony ride, but no charge for the other activities.

We had planned to ride the ponies after our Chef Mickey's breakfast. We took the boat over to Wilderness Lodge for a look around and then planned to hop back on to go to the campground. It ended raining as soon as we set foot in WL. We spent some fun time in the WL arcade instead!

 

[MickeyNicki]

I would do the Princess Breakfast in Norway instead of 1900 Park Faire and add in Cape May/Goofys Beach Bash breakfast too

 

[weschmom]

I would do the Princess Breakfast in Norway instead of 1900 Park Faire and add in Cape May/Goofys Beach Bash breakfast too

We did the Princess breakfast in Norway last year, and it was phenomenal, but DD really wants to meet Cinderella, so that's why we ended up with 1900PF.

Which park is Cape May/Goofy's in??

 

[Twende]

Our favorite dinner buffets are Boma and Cape May in the Beach Club Resort. We just tried Cape May for the first time and we thoroughly enjoyed the entire meal!

For Breakfast we love Boma. We always plan this on our last day as a farewell to our journey.

As someone said Liberty Tree is served family style is is good food but not great or anything different.

1900 Park Fair was again good. Only the desserts were great for us. It was quite noisy in there and unless you had a child who really wanted the character interaction then I would skip it.

 

[erikthewise]

One you didn't mention is Garden Grill in Epcot. It is not a buffet, but then neither is Liberty Tree. Both are family-style fixed-menu restaurants. In our experience the food is noticeably better at Garden Grill, though Liberty Tree is OK and has good character interaction and service. Garden Grill has Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale. It is a revolving restaurant and you can see scenery from the Living With The Land ride. If you ask to sit on the lower level, you get your own private booth!

PS: Liberty Tree has menu service for lunch, and the Thanksgiving-style character meal is only at dinner. Garden Grill has the character meal for both lunch and dinner.

 

[weschmom]

Our favorite dinner buffets are Boma and Cape May in the Beach Club Resort. We just tried Cape May for the first time and we thoroughly enjoyed the entire meal!

For Breakfast we love Boma. We always plan this on our last day as a farewell to our journey.

As someone said Liberty Tree is served family style is is good food but not great or anything different.

1900 Park Fair was again good. Only the desserts were great for us. It was quite noisy in there and unless you had a child who really wanted the character interaction then I would skip it.

Thanks for your input!! My DD really wanted to see Cinderella, so that's why I was thinking 1900PF. Is there any place else, other than the castle, to see her? I'd prefer not to spend 2 dining credits on the castle, and I've read many times that the food isn't that great, and actual Cindy-time is minimal.

Boma -- is that in Africa @ Epcot? What's the food like for breakfast? Characters?

Since my son is 2, I'm trying to find the most FUN places to eat...i.e. character interaction.

Are there any other good meals at MK that I'm missing? I did enjoy CP last year, so maybe we'll do that again. I just need to have DS watch "My friends Tigger & Pooh" on Disney Channel a lot in the next few months!!

thanks!

 

[weschmom]

Garden Grill has Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale. It is a revolving restaurant and you can see scenery from the Living With The Land ride. If you ask to sit on the lower level, you get your own private booth!

PS: Liberty Tree has menu service for lunch, and the Thanksgiving-style character meal is only at dinner. Garden Grill has the character meal for both lunch and dinner.

Hey this is great to know! I somehow totally missed reading about this one! I will definitely check into this!

Thanks so much for the tip!!!

 

[tigger536]

Boma is in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Its one of our favorites as well. Breakfast is more traditional fare than dinner, but there are some unique dishes at both meals (as well as things for picky eaters). At dinner there are more fun African dishes to sample than at breakfast. We've eaten at Boma for both (multiple times) and would go back. There are no characters, although your kids would propbably enjoy getting to view the animals at the AKL - go before your ressie or stay after and have a look around the resort, its really well themed.

 

[las3888]

We love the buffets with DS (2.5 y/o) as well! I also just really admit that I love a buffet! Anyways, the Liberty as mentioned before is not a buffet. Study the menu carefully in advance if you can. It is not as wide of selection as a buffet is. There is a possibility your DC may not find something they like as much as a regular buffet. It was good, but not something we will probably go to really soon again. DS wasn't a huge fan of some of the food, but there was something for him to eat.

Good luck...

 

[Goofy22]

We did the Princess breakfast in Norway last year, and it was phenomenal, but DD really wants to meet Cinderella, so that's why we ended up with 1900PF.

Which park is Cape May/Goofy's in??

The meet n greet in toon town in Mk cinderella , belle, aurora etc... are usually always there!!!!

 

[Wendi2000]

With two kids (ages 6 and 2.5) we are all about the buffets at Disney. It's much easier to move at our own pace, and not have the down time of waiting for our meal to arrive. Plus there are many more options for picky little eaters like ours.

So....here's what I have planned (jotted down) so far (we will be on the DDP):

-Play N Dine @ Hollywood N Vine (a must -- kids love this)
-1900 Park Fare (for DD)
-Restaurantosauras (?? - don't know much about this one)
and today read about:
-Liberty Tree Tavern dinner buffet

Are these good buffet choices? I'm sure there are some others that are at resorts, but I'm trying to limit our transit time (leaving more time for park fun), and thus only want to include the 1900 PF meal and have the rest be park meals.

We did CP last year and it was nice, but my DS is going this year and he doesn't really know the Pooh characters as much as the others.

Thoughts please?

Thanks!

Haven't been to Play N Dine (although we did have ADRs when they first opened and ended up canceling) I've heard it is fun for the kids!

1900 Park Fare is fabulous. Really, really good food for a buffet... even if it weren't a buffet it would be good! The characters have recently changed a bit, I wish I'd known it secretly reopened early while we were there, I would've certainly tried to get an ADR!!! Love this place!

Restaurantasaurus is no more... but check out Tusker House instead.

Liberty Tree Tavern isn't a buffet, but it is all you can eat. A server brings the food out to your table. It is a character dinner. I didn't think the food was very good, but it wasn't bad... just meh. The character interaction was OK for us, nothing special, the characters stopped just enough for photos but didn't really interact much. We had a late dinner though, maybe they were just tired already!

I would recommend Boma (not a character meal but a spectacular buffet restaurant). You could get there very quickly after a day at the Animal Kingdom since they usually close at 5pm.

I also think you might enjoy 'Ohana - not a character meal, and not a buffet, but it is family style so your food is brought to you. The food is really good, and the kids get to participate in fun and games during dinner so they don't get bored waiting for food, etc. Gives parents a little more time to enjoy their meals without rushing for the kids too. They can learn the hula, have coconut races, and parade through the restaurant. If you go during Wishes, they also dim the lights and pipe in the music and it is nice to see the show from outside the park.

 

[monkey11375]

If you want to stay in the park, which makes a lot of sense, my favorite buffet style restaurant is definitely the Biergarten in EPCOT. Great entertainment, tons of selection, it's the one buffet-style I hit every trip. If you're willing to leave the park, then Boma is the way to go.

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

Chef Mickey is our new favorite. The food was phenominal and you can't beat dining with the gang!