Need advice for restaurants for BLT stay w/ young kids

[Baltmom]

We are taking our kids (ages 4 and 6) to Disney for their first trip in November, staying at BLT. We probably will eat most breakfasts in, do counter service for lunch, and sit-down restaurants for dinner. We are sort of "foodies" but aren't looking for any gourmet experience, just average to good food, within an easy commute to BLT, and an atmosphere our kids might enjoy. Grandparents, who are somewhat picky, are joining us for three days. haven't decided to do a dining plan, but if we do, would be deluxe plan.

So far, for dinners, I am thinking about Royal Castle, Boma, Whistling Canyon, the Wave, California Grill, Ohana, and San Angel (have been there before and liked it despite mixed review) or Hacienda. maybe Chef Mickey's for breakfast one day since it is so convenient.

I was planning on Mickey's BBQ but given some of the negative reviews, was going to replace it with Whistling Canyon, which might still be fun for kids even though no characters. Would love feedback on whether I'm missing some good options or have made some mistakes with my selections (still have over a month until I can even make reservations so plenty of time to stew over this).

 

[Baltmom]

Bump, please help, any input much appreciated.

 

[momtoejanda]

Anything on the monorail is nice and convenient for you. I found that my kids really enjoy the character meals so that would be my recommendation. I would try Ohanas at the Poly. You can do the character breakfast or dinner without. Also they have a luau that you might enjoy.

In the magic kingdom you may want to try Crystal Palace. It has the Winnie the Pooh characters but I find that the food there is always really good.

 

[smiths02]

Are your kids both girls?
It looks like the only character meal is a princess meal (unless you do Chef Mickey breakfast). If you have a boy, I would definitely look into Crystal Palace-I thought the dinner there was great.

 

[Baltmom]

I have one of each, the girl is older. Being the little brother, my son knows his princesses, but he also does like Pooh and Mickey. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian is nice. You have Mad Hatter, Alice, Pooh and Tigger for Breakfast. Then you have the Stepsisters and stepmother, I forget who else, for dinner.

Heard the Stepsisters are a riot.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

I'd definitely choose another character meals in your day. I've also found that lunch can be easier than dinner with young ones. They tend to tire out quickly and can some times be too cranky for dinner out every night. We try to do some lunches as well as dinners. The contemporary has a nice CS meal place and most parks do as well.

I'd look at Crystal Palace or Kona for dinner in place of Whispering Canyon. We thought the food was not great and the antics weren't worth the travel. The Wave is nice; I think that is a good pick. I'd think about Tusker House for a lunch in place of Boma. Boma is hard to get to and takes a full night. Tusker House has a character breakfast that you can do late or has a lunch that is often referred to as Boma light.

 

[smiths02]

Boma is "hard" to get to, but, I stayed at AKL twice and never had a problem getting from one place to another (although we did have a car to go from one resort to another, we used buses for the parks). I think Boma is worth it just to check out the AKL.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian is nice. You have Mad Hatter, Alice, Pooh and Tigger for Breakfast. Then you have the Stepsisters and stepmother, I forget who else, for dinner.

Heard the Stepsisters are a riot.

The Stepsisters ARE a riot. You might like the 1900 Park Fare breakfast.

 

[Baltmom]

Thanks for the input, keep it coming. Strangely enough, I think Tigger in particular would be a huge hit with my kids.

 

[Baltmom]

Also, with no car, how would one get to Boma? I'm assuming cabs are available, but is their a disney transportation way to get their as well?

 

[Quin]

The Stepsisters ARE a riot. You might like the 1900 Park Fare breakfast.

The Stepsisters are only there for dinner, though. Breakfast is "UK Disney" - Alice, Mary Poppins, Pooh.

OP: With the kids I would eat in the parks or on the monorail. When the grandparents are there I'd opt for places like the Wave, Cali Grill, Ohana, Boma.

We've been to WCC several times; the "antics" are wearing thin and the food choices are not as appealing to us. Crystal Palace at any meal is a good choice and you can't go far wrong with CM for breakfast. CRT is pretty much a classic although it is pricey/2 TS credits on the dining plans (as is Cali Grill). Tusker House is a good character breakfast option on an AK day, especially if you go to morning EMH ropedrop and then have the breakfast late.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

If you are taking Disney transportation, I would walk or take the bus to Magic Kingdom and then get on the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Just remember to get off the second stop. THe first stop is Kidani and the second stop is Jambo. You want to get off at Jambo.

 

[ElizabethG]

One of the reasons we love BLT is the convenience in getting to our favorite dining options. My DDs favorite is Mickeys BBQ. That is her #1 must do! It is very easy to get to/from because there is a boat that goes in a loop from the Contemporary, Fort Wilderness, and Wilderness Lodge. Ohana for dinner has really good food. Breakfast there has Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto. We also love 1900 Park Fare. Dinner is my favorite with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Step Mother, and Step Sisters.

 

[Magic3forme]

1900 Park Fare was sooo much fun in December for dinner. The step sisters were screaming at each other !! Then their mom put them in a time out. It was too funny. Anastasia kissed my son on the cheek and that pic will be part of his wedding video I thought the food was much better than Chef Mickeys.
We go to Chef Mickeys all the time, just because my son loves Mickey and Donald.. dont love the food, but we are there for the characters.

Crystal Palace is a good choice too. I prefer it for dinner. Dh and dd love omelets, so they really enjoyed the breakfast!

Ohana is fun for dinner too. (havent ever done breakfast).

Garden Grill at Epcot has Mickey, Chip, Dale and Pluto. The food was good, and it was fun to be in a moving booth.

Our whole family enjoys Biergarten... the entertainment is fun too!

 

[anjalee6]

We really like Crystal Palace too. If your kids like Tigger, this would be one to do. We really enjoy 1900 Park Fare for dinner. The stepsisters are really entertaining and I'm sure your daughter would love to see Cinderella. It was a fun meal for us. We don't really like Whispering Canyon. The food is just okay and over the last few trips, it's gotten less enjoyable. The antics are also a little too much at times and it can get really loud. We don't mind entertainment, but we don't like being annoyed while we eat. I guess some people really like it, but it's not for us. We would rather have a nice character meal.