MK Dining Lunch Advice Needed

[Opie100]

My DW, 5yo DD, and I are planning a trip to MK on 5/17 or 5/18 (will probably be 5/18 to avoid EMH crowds on 5/17). For this day of our trip, we will not be staying "on campus", so we don't plan on taking our usual afternoon break back at the hotel.

THEREFORE, we would like to know where we should do a lunch break to get out of the sun and relax, without boring DD to tears. What dining options should I be pursuing? Should we head out of the park to Grand Floridian or Polynesian? We are only a month away, so I suppose options will be limited. We also have a Bippidi Boppidi Boutique ressie at the castle at 5:40pm, for what that's worth.

I'd just like to keep DD up until 9:00 for the SpectroMagic Parade, so a break of some kind will be required.

 

[walkerag]

My suggestion would be to jump on the monorail and head over to the Contemporary to Chef Mickey's! I'm sure your DD would love that, we sure do

 

[blanq]

Another option would be to take the boat over to Ft Wilderness and have the buffet at Trails End Restaurant. This would be a relaxing option, and would get you away from the hectic pace of the theme park. The buffet is $14.99 for you, and would be $9.99 for your daughter, so it is reasonable. It includes soup, fried checken, chili, mac & cheese, pulled pork, salad bar, sundae bar and assorted desserts.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

For lunch, we like Plaza Restaurant (They serve sandwiches, soup, salads, ice cream desserts, etc.). We always have our biggest meal of the day at dinner though. If you want a heavier meal, Tony's get pretty good reviews for lunch (reviews are mixed for dinner). LTT's lunch also gets very good reviews (better than Tony's).

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Hey, Opie! We'll be in the MK the same day as you.

I like the idea of leaving the park altogether. I also like the idea of going to Ft. Wilderness - the boat trip over would be fun. Or, perhaps, taking the boat and heading to the Wilderness Lodge and Whispering Canyon for lunch? That'd be entertaining, for sure, and just kicking back in that glorious lobby for a bit would be worth a lot.

Or the Poly, maybe Kona.

You've got lots of options. But, leaving the park ... yeah.

 

[ntsammy5]

You can also take the boat to WL and go to roaring Forks.....

 

[DizneyDogs]

My suggestion would be to jump on the monorail and head over to the Contemporary to Chef Mickey's! I'm sure your DD would love that, we sure do

Just a note Chef Mickey's isn't opened for lunch just breakfast and dinner

 

[Tam1067]

We've had nice TS lunches at Kona in the Poly and Plaza in MK.

If you want CS, you could also head over to the Poly and have something at Captain Cook's. That said, it's almost as crazy busy there during the lunch rush as the CS places in MK are.

 

[MickeyNicki]

I would go to the Poly, go to Capt Cooks and get lunch to go and then sit outside by the volcano pool and eat and relax

 

[Opie100]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think we may head over to the Wilderness Lodge - we will probably want to get out of the sun and plus I'd like to see what it looks like over there!

 

[scanmom]

take the trail from WL to Ft. Wilderness and check it out too. It is a very nice campground, and has a petting zoo to visit. You can also visit the horses that pull the Main Street vehicles. they are housed in a very nice barn that you can walk right into. And I think (not sure) you can rent the water mice or bicycles there too. It is really nice to get some fun time away from the hectic feeling of the theme parks. I would probably reconsider and eat at Trails End. The chicken there is the best I have had anywhere (in WDW and in the "real" world). It is a nice, sit down meal, without being too fancy. My kids LOVED it!

 

[Gotta Love Eeyore]

We usually go to the Crystal Palace to have lunch with EEyore, Pooh, Tigger and Piglet. My kids at ages 9 and 7 still participated in the parade around the restaurant.

 

[christophfam]

We usually go to the Crystal Palace to have lunch with EEyore, Pooh, Tigger and Piglet. My kids at ages 9 and 7 still participated in the parade around the restaurant.

This would be my vote also. I've done full days, many times, with my kids when they were young (parents live 45 minutes away and we often stay there). I found the most relaxing and enjoyable times have been at CP for lunch. The kids were entertained by the characters and oh the A/C was SO nice!! We've also gone to The Plaza which we enjoyed, but the kids could only last so long there without that extra entertainment.

The times that we tried to leave the park and go to a resort were not so successful. Leaving the park requires more walking. It just didn't work for us. It is so tiring being there all day that leaving and coming back without a true break in your room just exhausts you more.

If you go with CP or the Plaza, take a nice leisurely stroll around Liberty Square after eating. There are some nice quite paths with park benches along the way that we would sit and just unwind at. Then Mickey's PhilharMagic isn't too far away for some more downtime.

 

[Opie100]

That sounds like fun! Ok - booked it. 12:55pm - about 60 mins later than what I wanted but at least it wasn't 3:00! I guess we will bring some food to eat with us to eat between rides before then!

Thank you for your advice!

 

[christophfam]

That sounds like fun! Ok - booked it. 12:55pm - about 60 mins later than what I wanted but at least it wasn't 3:00! I guess we will bring some food to eat with us to eat between rides before then!

Thank you for your advice!

Expect to have a wait (up to 1/2 hour) even with your ADR. That way you are prepared if it happens and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't. We've always seem to have a wait there.

Have fun!!

 

[walt's assistant]

Another option would be to take the boat over to Ft Wilderness and have the buffet at Trails End Restaurant. This would be a relaxing option, and would get you away from the hectic pace of the theme park. The buffet is $14.99 for you, and would be $9.99 for your daughter, so it is reasonable. It includes soup, fried checken, chili, mac & cheese, pulled pork, salad bar, sundae bar and assorted desserts.

Great idea! I second this one.

 

[Opie100]

It does sound good. Is a ressie usually needed for the Trails End buffet lunch?

 

[Coconuts]

That sounds like fun! Ok - booked it. 12:55pm - about 60 mins later than what I wanted but at least it wasn't 3:00! I guess we will bring some food to eat with us to eat between rides before then!

Thank you for your advice!

Did you book CP? If you did, I think it's a great choice; you stay in the park and don't lose time on transport(if this is your only day in MK) so you can see more things/ride more rides.

CP is a great character meal that most kids love.

 

[Opie100]

We did book CP but if we run into some kind of need-to-eat-now meltdown, Trails end could be a nice backup.

 

[Coconuts]

We did book CP but if we run into some kind of need-to-eat-now meltdown, Trails end could be a nice backup.

If you are in a need-to-eat-now meltdown, then Trails End won't be your answer. It will take at minimum 30 minutes(door to door time) to leave MK and go to FW. If you would need food quickly, I suggest getting a snack/eating something smaller at a CS/kiosk in MK, and keeping your ADR for CP.