Well, this will be our first trip to Disney - going end of August with the
Free Dining. We are staying at the Pop Century - upgraded the dining. The amount of restaurants Disney offers is unbelievable!!! Wondering if anyone could help me out with what restaurants/theme dinners are a must do - 2 adults + 2 kids (boy 9, girl 8).
Thanks for your help!!!
Of course it completely depends on your family's tastes, but I'll be happy to add some advice and my own personal faves.
On the regular
DDP, for a first trip, I would avoid any meals that require 2 TS credits. You want to maximize your experiences this time (note that I am already assuming you will like it so much that you will be back!).
Your kids will be required to order from the kids meal menu at any non-buffet TS (and at all CS locations). The kids choices are very basic and the portions are not large. If that works for your family (at that age my kid LIVED on mac-n-cheese so it was perfect for us), great! If not, then you want to concentrate your TS meals on buffets. Buffets all have the stereotypical kids-food choices but kids and adults can select from all the items; they are not segregated by age.
Of the buffets, I would particularly recommend Crystal Palace in the MK, Biergarten in Epcot, Cape May Cafe at the BC/YC resort, Boma at the AKL resort, and 1900 PF at the GF resort. CP & 1900PF are character meals; the others are not. At ages 8 & 9 I think you want a few character meals but probably not every single day.
Ohana is one of my all-time favorites but getting an ADR may be a challenge and this is one restaurant that I absolutely would not recommend trying for a walk-up in August during Free Dining. Ain't gonna happen. In fact, I strongly recommend ADRs for all your TS meals. Being tied to a schedule bugs some people, but traipsing around in the Florida heat trying to find someplace to eat that's not a 3-hour wait bugs me more.
Of the TS restaurants I'd recommend Tony's in the MK (good atmosphere), Yak & Yeti in AK (good atmosphere and GREAT food), and pretty much anything that appeals to your tastes in Epcot - just go for something that you can't get at home. Sadly, I would not recommend ANY of the TS in DHS.
Do give some thought to your CS meals as well. If you like hamburgers you can certainly get a hamburger at every single park, but with a little judicious management you can get some pretty awesome CS meals and never touch a burger the entire time you are at WDW. In AK, Flame Tree offers good ribs and chicken. At DHS go to Starring Rolls; at lunchtime they have a couple of cold sandwiches that are delicious plus a big choice of desserts (you get sandwich plus desert plus a side of chips or fruit plus your drink). At Epcot a prior poster already menioned Sunshine Seasons; my other 2 big CS recommendations are Norway and the Boulangerie Patisserie in France. At MK take the resort loop monorail to the Poly and go to Capt Cooks; the Pulled Pork sandwich with fresh house-made potato chips is out of this world and for dessert you can get a serving of the famous Dole Whip ice cream. For a longer mid-day break, take a bus to the Coronado Springs resort and eat at the Pepper Market; fabuous choices there.
Enjoy!
Sci-Fi at HS. Perhaps not the best out there but sitting in a car and watching old sci fi movie clips is a lot of fun for the kids. I believe the burgers and milk shakes are a hit! Boma at AKL is a very good breakfast buffet. I agree with others on Cape May Cafe, character breakfast or dinner buffet, is great along with LeCellier, Teppen Edo, Ohana, 50's Prime Time. We are not adventure eaters so I tend to pick more the normal kind of places. Having fun making your decisions. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Who doesn't LOVE talking about Disney!!!!!!! 
