Non-park dinner recs

[eyeblaura]

We are going to be at Disney in April. My daughters (10 and 7) and I are going to spend a day at Epcot and a day at Animal Kingdom together while my husband attends a conference. We are looking to leave the parks and meet him for dinner on those nights. He will have a rental to meet us but ideally I would like to keep it relatively easy for the girls and I to get there using disney transportation.

Wanting to try something new, we've done 1900 Park Fare, Ohana, HDDR, Chef Mickeys and a few things at Disney Springs, not wanting to go that far.

Considering whispering canyon cafe?

Anybody have any suggestions for a dencent TS meal, nothing too fancy as we'll be coming straight from the park.

 

[GusGus77]

Boma at animal kingdom lodge. We tried it for the first time last week and loved it!!!!!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

We only visit five TS eateries at WDW when we go there for an actual meal.
.
1) We prefer
. . . fine food
. . . excellent, top notch service
. . . innovative dishes with flair and quality
. . . overall great value
. . . relaxed and soothing dining atmosphere
. . . behaved and somewhat quiet patrons
.
2) The only sit-down restaurants we routinely visit,
. . . Sanaa - Animal Kingdom Villas Resort (one of my personal favs)
. . . Artist Point - Wilderness Lodge Resort
. . . Citricos - Grand Floridian Resort
. . . Shula's Steakhouse - Dolphin Resort (no DDP)
. . . Il Mulino - Swan Resort (no DDP)
.
3) Our (nearby) off-site Recommendations:
. . . Bull & Bear - Waldorf Astoria Bonnet Creek - Fine Dining
. . . Café D'Antonio - Celebration - Casual Italian
. . . Columbia - Celebration - Casual Spanish/Cuban
. . . Fish Bones - Hwy192 - Seafood
. . . Venetian Room - Caribe Royale Hotel - Fine Dining
. . . The Hotel Tea Room - Davenport, FL - Casual - Friday Steak-Fry, Afternoon Tea
.
NOTE1: The only time we visit other TS eateries is to renew our ratings for the eatery(ies). And, when we do these, we have "sampler" dishes (whether free or paid) so we can try several appys/entrées without pigging-out or having major weight gains.
.
NOTE2: Now, for a real treat, go to The Hotel Tea Room in Davenport, Florida on a Friday evening. It is run by a real, true "Little Old Lady" (Miss Mae), who refuses to charge big bucks! They have a Rib-Eye or New York Strip steak dinner that tops Ruth's Chris' or Shula's. The steak covers the entire plate. These are the only things on the menu for Friday nights. They get primals and do their own cutting of the steak. It is an OLD hotel with a small dining room. Has an award winning Pastry Chef from TV and he has Best-In-Show awards for pies, pastries, and cakes !!! Our total bill for the wife and I (salad, 1½"-thick-after-cooking, dessert, and taxes) was only $66.00. (You can split the steak and pay less than $35 total for two people.)

They have a nice Afternoon Tea. Breakfast is literally all you can eat for $7.00, tax included. Yep, seven bucks ... no typo! Order your eggs, bacon, pancakes (etc). After, you are asked if you want more of any of the items. NO EXTRA CHARGE. The place is about 40-min from WDW, but really worth the wait. Check them out on Facebook or Internet (http://www.hoteltearoom.com/). Ressies required for Friday night steak fry (863-421-0827) and most Afternoon Teas. They do not serve alcohol, but you can BYOB for wine or spirits.

 

[holden]

AK day - bus to meet him at Sanaa

EP day - walk to meet him at Shula’s

 

[Daniela Rose]

I would do beaches and cream. Cute, casual. Fun atmosphere. You can walk there from Epcot.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are going to be at Disney in April. My daughters (10 and 7) and I are going to spend a day at Epcot and a day at Animal Kingdom together while my husband attends a conference. We are looking to leave the parks and meet him for dinner on those nights. He will have a rental to meet us but ideally I would like to keep it relatively easy for the girls and I to get there using disney transportation.

Wanting to try something new, we've done 1900 Park Fare, Ohana, HDDR, Chef Mickeys and a few things at Disney Springs, not wanting to go that far.

Considering whispering canyon cafe?

Anybody have any suggestions for a dencent TS meal, nothing too fancy as we'll be coming straight from the park.

WCC is fun and you could access WL, by bus from either AK or EP. Dining at AKL on your AK day and at one of the EP resorts on your EP day will be much easier though. At AKL, I would do Boma or Sanaa (we prefer Sanaa) and at the EP resorts, you have your choice of a ton of great restaurants depending on what you like to eat - we like bluezoo at the Dolphin, Kimono's at the Swan and Trattoria al Forno on the Boardwalk. I would just look at the menus for the restaurants at BWI, BC/YC, Swan and Dolphin and see what appeals to you.

 

[Disneypapa]

Another vote for Whispering Canyon, especially, if you have not ever been for dinner. A favorite of mine is the House of Blues at Disney Springs.

 

[Barbydoll8]

AK day - go to the lodge and Sanaa, hands down. Best place on property IMO. Boma is a close second.
Epcot day, anywhere on the boardwalk. The swan & dolphin restaurants are a bit more upscale (except the fountain). Parking for DH there could be an issue so you want to make sure you have an ADR for anywhere near the Boardwalk. They check.

I personally don't care for the food at WCC but that's just me. Since you don't want to travel far, I wouldn't venture to Davenport or anywhere on 192. The furthest I'd go is Crossroads which is down the street from Disney Springs on 535. Familiar chain restaurants with a few surprises are found here.

 

[eyeblaura]

Thanks for all the recs. My oldest really wants to try WCC after hearing about it from a friend and we've never been. However looking at the menu i might be able to persuade her to try someplace else. She's all about thr sikky schtick though.

Sanaa sounds like a great choice, we've never been there either. We aren't doing DDP so that doesn't really matter. We just prefer a sit down dinner not fast food.

I looked up Davenport as we are actually spending our first day at Kennedy Space Center but it's the opposite direction.

 

[Deb & Bill]

it might be a little out of your distance, but Olivia's at OKW is really very good and not that expensive.

 

[hsmamato2]

Boma after AK for sure!