Need help on some dining decisions...

[SJC1984]

Please help me out! DH and I, along with my Dad, are going to WDW December 11-18 and I have no idea where to eat. DH and I ate at Ohana our first time at WDW and definitely want to go back this time. Other than that though we have not a single clue for what to do on the other nights. From what I'm seeing on here, if I don't get out PS booked ASAP, we won't get to eat anywhere nice.

Anyway, we are so new to the whole Disney thing that we don't even know where to start and are totally going to rely on recommendations of others on where to eat during our stay!!! Please help, I'm calling to make PS reservations tomorrow evening! Thanks a lot everyone!

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

Hve you looked at the menus for the restaurants? You can find them on this site and on allearsnet.com. That is where I would start.

Since you are going to be at AKL, you have 2 wonderful restaurants to choose from .. Boma and Jiko. I have been to both several times and had great meals. Would you like a really good steak? try Yachtsman Steakhouse. The Boardwalk is a fun place to visit. Either Flying Fish or Spoodles would be good choices there.

 

[jordanyosh]

I,too, would suggest checking out www.allearsnet.com for menus under their dining section. My advice on relying on people's opinions about where to eat....they are just that--opinions/suggestions. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to food..

If you are interested in any of the Table Service Restaurants in Epcot's World Showcase, may I suggest trying for lunch reservations (known as ADRs--Advance Dinner Reservations). In the evenings the Candlelight Procession is going on during your stay and many guests have booked the CP dinner pkg. So the restaurants will tend to be fairly busy. Lunch may be a better time to go and cheaper too.

Generally speaking all Disney's Signature restaurants tend to be good to very good. California Grill, Jiko, Flying Fish, Artist Point are all good choices--pricey, but good.

Okay here are my favorites:

Animal Kingdom: Tusker House, Flame Tree BBQ--both counter service
Magic Kingdom: Cosmic Ray's--counter service--has a little something for everyone.
Epcot--FutureWorld--Season's in the Land Pavilion--nice counter service.
World Showcase--Le Cellier, Chefs De France, Teppanyaki--Table Service
MGM--Brown Derby, 50's Prime Time, Sci-Fi, Mama Melrose's--all Table Service. All pretty good--Brown Derby and Prime Time are my faves though.
Resorts--the 4 Signature Restaurant above.

good luck to you.

 

[BankBunny]

I agree that you have to take everyone's opinion at face value. I've read a lot of bad reviews of restaurants that DH and I love. I've read really good reviews about restaurants we would never try. And I've read equally great and really bad reviews about the same restaurants. Everyone has different tastes adn different ideas about what makes a meal or a restaurant good or bad. Having said that, some of our favorites are:

MK-Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch and character dinner) and Cinderella's Royal Table
EPCOT-The Rose and Crown (England)
MGM-50's Prime Time Cafe and Mama Melrose's
Boardwalk-Big River Grille and Brewing Works

 

[luvsTink]

My DH and I are going Dec 11 - 16 and here is our food "itinerary":

Sunday eve: Liberty Tree Tavern (MK)
Monday: Beaches and Cream (Beach Club) and Alfredo's (Epcot)
Tuesday: lunch in epcot somewhere, Dinner at Flame tree in AK
Wed: Peco's Bills (MK), Artist Point
Thursshhhh, lunch at Universal) Ohanas (poly) for dinner
Fri: Tusker house at AK

We always start by picking our plan for the day (parks, etc) and then we identify the restraunts. Planning our dining is probably my favorite part of planning!

Have fun!
anne

 

[Brygida]

Please help me out! DH and I, along with my Dad, are going to WDW December 11-18 and I have no idea where to eat. DH and I ate at Ohana our first time at WDW and definitely want to go back this time. Other than that though we have not a single clue for what to do on the other nights. From what I'm seeing on here, if I don't get out PS booked ASAP, we won't get to eat anywhere nice.

Anyway, we are so new to the whole Disney thing that we don't even know where to start and are totally going to rely on recommendations of others on where to eat during our stay!!! Please help, I'm calling to make PS reservations tomorrow evening! Thanks a lot everyone!

I would check out Bob Sehlinger's The Unofficial Guide. It lists all WDW restaurants with ratings from visitors based on food quality, etc (like Zagat). I think that those ratings are very representative.

If you go by this board, for every person who loves a restaurant, you will find an equal number who hate it.... because your sample size is not large enough from one posting.

FWIW, my favorites are (excellent food quality):
AKL - Boma
EPCOT - Teppanyaki, Chefs De France, Harry Ramsdan Fish & Chips, Boulangerie & Patisserie, Akershus
MK - nothing!
MGM - nothing!
GF - Citricos, Garden View Lounge Afternoon Tea
Polynesian - Kona Cafe
Contemporary - California Grill
Boardwalk - Flying Fish

Also, surprisingly the food courts at the resorts that I've tried have fairly good food. (Comparable to Boston Market, Outback, type-restaurants).

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Just got back, I didn't have any truly horrible food anywhere. I tried Akershus, but the food was just not the kind of stuff I like. And I had good service, if sometimes a little slow everywhere, with the exception of 1900 Park Fare. Anyway, here are my favorites.

AK Lodge - I loved Boma, and thought the soups were the standouts, along with the chocolate mousse crunch, and the zebra domes.

MK - My two favorite character dining spots are here. I loved the breakfast I had at CP, and the lunch I had at CRT. I also had a decent Italian meal at Tony's, which should be a must do for any Lady and the Tramp fan.

Epcot - Le Cellier was by far the standout here. The cheddar cheese soup was excellant, as was the pretzel bread, steak, mashed potatoes, and creme brulee. Coral Reef was good for seafood, but go for lunch for a better deal. The chocolate wave dessert there is to die for. Marrakesh was good, I enjoyed the belly dancer. Food wise, the only thing that was a standout there was the chicken kebab, very lightly spiced, and not at all over cooked. (I can't stand dry-over-cooked chicken.) Akershus was okay food-wise, good for princesses though. Also loved the Fountainview Cafe, CS, for breakfast and pastries, I stopped there three times.

MGM - Brown Derby is my favorite WDW restaurant, and the Fantasmic dinner is a good deal. I had, probably, the best meal of my life. Mama Melrose's and 50's Prime Time are also excellant choices. Mama's is great for Italian, and I loved the chicken flatbread I had there. 50's Prime Time is fun, the food is good, but nothing extrodinary.

AK - Loved Tusker House for CS. Had a great chicken sandwich. Flame Tree BBQ was also good.

Other Resorts

Poly - Loved Ohana's, tons of food, and the best chicken wings I've ever had. Kona, liked the food, liked Ohana better, but this is great for lunch on an MK day.

Wilderness - Loved Artist Point, for dessert I loved the coffee two ways, which had two of my favorite desserts - bread pudding and creme brulee.

 

[allshookup]

So SJC1984 did you get a chance to check out the menus? Did you make any ADRs?

 

[SJC1984]

Oh, yes! I've made our list and at this moment I'm checking it twice. PS highlights include Le Cellier/Candlelight Processional package (for our 3-year anniversary), Liberty Tree Tavern while at MVMCP, Ohana upon arrival, Boma for breakfast and dinner, 50's Prime Time Cafe, and Cindy's Royal Table! Thanks for all the great info everyone! It was really appreciated.

I'm sure there are other restaurants out there that we might like more, but at this point in our young Disney lives, we don't know what is better anyway!!!

45 days and counting!! I can't wait!!!

 

[allshookup]

Looks like you made some great choices! We are also doing the CP pkg at LeCellier for the first time so I'll be anxious to hear how it was. Have fun!

 

[Nanabug02]

Those are definitely some great choices you made...you won't be sorry!

Have some of the cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread for me when you're at Le Cellier! yummy!

 

[wendy1974]

I would recommend 50's Prime Time. If you get a good server and like to play you will have so much fun I have never been disappointed in the food here either...large portions and tastes homemade

 

[hegs65]

First off, stop what you are doing and book that Candlelight Processional NOW! Don't wait! Tickets for this event went on sale Aug 13! This is a very popular event and LeCellier is the first to be booked solid. I called back in August for my adr Nov 28 and they only had one adr at 4:00 for the 8:15 show. After doing this, then, I would say make your list fand include 1st and second choices! I don't want to sound like an alarmist on anything, but you are going to be there at a pretty busy time so you may not get the times and places you want. Unfortunately, with the new food plan in effect, the table service restaurants have been booked solid. As far as places to go, we are eating at the following: Lecellier, Sci Fi, Kona Cafe, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Earl of Sandwich, Peppermarket, and Wolfgang Puck Express. (at least this is all I can remember right now) Good luck and have a wonderful time!

 

[allshookup]

First off, stop what you are doing and book that Candlelight Processional NOW! Don't wait! Tickets for this event went on sale Aug 13! This is a very popular event and LeCellier is the first to be booked solid. I called back in August for my adr Nov 28 and they only had one adr at 4:00 for the 8:15 show. After doing this, then, I would say make your list fand include 1st and second choices! I don't want to sound like an alarmist on anything, but you are going to be there at a pretty busy time so you may not get the times and places you want. Unfortunately, with the new food plan in effect, the table service restaurants have been booked solid. As far as places to go, we are eating at the following: Lecellier, Sci Fi, Kona Cafe, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Earl of Sandwich, Peppermarket, and Wolfgang Puck Express. (at least this is all I can remember right now) Good luck and have a wonderful time!

hegs65 I was actually able to book a 4:10 CP pkg at LeCellier & I just called last week for Christmas week. I guess we really lucked out on that one! Have you done the CP before? I will have to have my DH grill your DH about it when you guys get back!