Must Do Signatures?

[girls]

We just booked our next trip - YAY! We don't do the DDP, and after our last trip we decided for our bang for our buck, we got much better food at the signatures for what we payed compared to the regular sit down restaurants. We only eat out 1x per day (have a villa so we do sandwiches / snacks, etc in our kitchen) and this trip will do at least 1 character meal (1900 Park Fare and possible Tusker House) but we'd like to stick to Signatures for the rest of our meals. We LOVED (LOVED!) Narcoosee's last fall, so that's a must do. We also enjoyed Citricos, and would be happy to return but could also skip it this go around.

We have 2 small kids (4 and almost 3) who are good eaters and don't bother with traditional kid stuff. They love meat and we all love seafood. We all avoid my daughter's allergens due to severe food allergies to milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, sesame & mustard, but we encountered chefs who knew how to feed us all well (and safely for her) while avoiding those ingredients, and hopefully other signatures can do the same.

Any ones you'd recommend? I was thinking Jiko, but then if we do Tusker House on our Animal Kingdom Day then going back there would be a lot of back and forth (we're at BLT.) But if it's worth it, we'll do it (we will have a car which we prefer not to use there but can if necessary.) I've heard good things about Flying Fish and a steak place over in that area, but I'm wondering how convenient they are to get to.

Thanks in advance for any recs! I've been enjoying reading many reviews!

 

[girls]

It sounds like Artist Point might be one to look at? That would be really convenient since it's close to our hotel and to the MK where we'll spend most of our time.

 

[Pakey]

Staying at BLT, you have California Grill, Narcoosees and Citricos on the monorail loop and Artist Point via boat from MK.

If you don't have your own transportation, I'd stick with these choices. Most people with young diners really enjoy both Narcoosees and Ca Grill; there are a lot of family diners here (Citricos is more adult/formal). Narcoosees sits on the dock at GF; the window views on the water are really nice. Ca Grill, of course, has spectacular views of MK.

Unless you are planning to take a cab, the Boardwalk area restaurants (like Flying Fish) and Jiko at AKL are a pain to get to.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Been to Narcoosees 2x, California Grill 2x, and Flying Fish 1x. If you like Narcoosees, I think the seafood at Flying Fish is much better... I'll put CA Grill 2nd, then Narcoosees. All of them are $$$ though... We do the dining plan so I don't faint when the check comes.

We enjoyed Jiko in 2009. But don't overlook Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios. I think it is under-rated and it's convenient being right in the park.

Our DS has an egg allergy. And all the Chefs at the signatures were wonderful with that.

 

[lynn_s]

Our faves from the last trip were Narcoosees and Fultons. I got fillet oscar at fultons and could cut it with my fork. Since its not on the regular DP Fultons might me easier to get ressies for also...

 

[girls]

Thanks for the info! Is there parking at Boardwalk for people eating at Flying Fish? Or we could just go there on our Epcot Day and go through the back entrance.

We're not going to DHS on this trip, but I'm looking forward to going to Brown Derby next time we go there.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Don't know about parking, we fly and don't bring a car to WDW. But it's an easy walk to Boardwalk Inn from the International Gateway. We planned to go back through Epcot after dinner at Flying Fish Cafe... but stayed watching the entertainers on the boardwalk... and before we knew it, it was 9:30pm and Epcot closed... so we took a taxi back to the resort. So wherever you park, don't get stuck there!!!

 

[chamonix]

Agree that you need to be aware of whether or not you can get back through epcot from boardwalk area....though taxis are easy too.

If you are staying at BLT easy restaurants are: California Grill, The Wave (not mentioned previously) Narcoosees, Citricos (good, but not our favorite) and Artist Point. I would also recommend Kona at the Polynesian, it's convenient from BLT and the food is a cut above other "regular sit-down" restaurants, even if it's not considered a "signature".

We are like you: stick to signatures because for the price paid the food is far better. We eat at a signature every night when we are at WDW.

Boardwalk area favorites:Flying Fish, Kouzzina....Blue Zoo at the Dolphin is good...as is Shulas. Jiko and Sanaa are must-dos for us......

How many nights are you looking at? We prioritize all of these depending on how many nights we are staying, but they are all good.

 

[auntfrannie]

My must-do places are Citrico's and the Flying Fish! Love them both!

 

[calismic]

My husband and I LOVED Artist Pointe, The Wave however, yuck, won't go back.

 

[cbg1027]

I have been to most of the Disney signatures and here is how I rank them:

1 - Citricos
2 - Flying Fish and Jiko in a tie
4 - California Grill
5 - Brown Derby and Artist Point in a tie
7 - Narcoossee's

I think Jiko and Flying Fish would be well worth the time in getting to them.

Flying Fish is the obvious choice for seafood, but all the restaurants will have some fish options. I really enjoyed a Snapper dish I ate at Cali Grill in mid-December.

Also, I think Flying Fish has the best steak of the signatures I've been to. I haven't tried Yachtsman Steakhouse yet though.

The only place I had a bad experience at was Narcoossee's, but you liked it there. So I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the other places. Just take a look at the menus and see which sounds the most appealing.

 

[mjp12831]

Not mentioned yet - one of the best restaurant meals I've ever had I had at the Yachtsman. We had young kids (see signature) so it would be fine for you.

Also, for something very different and fun - the Backyard BBQ was surprisingly awesome. Accessible characters, walk up beer, good BBQ food buffet, and for the kids a walk up ice cream cooler with all the mickey bars they could eat.

In the ok category, but way below the above 2 signature experiences:
SoA dinner show
Breakfast at Cindy's Castle
HBD