Off-property fun, family-friendly restaurants

[ms.yt]

We're going in a couple of weeks with our kids, our in-laws and my husband's niece and nephew, who are very picky eaters. We're staying at a house off-property, and I was wondering about some places we could go on our out of WDW days that would be fun and have basic choices like chicken strips and fries for the picky ones. I'd like to try some places that we can't go to in our area.

 

[OKW Lover]

You can find just about any of the national chains very near Disney property. You don't mention just where you are staying, but do a google search for your favorite family restaurant near your hotel/Disney address. For example "Fridays near 32830" will show you all the Friday's location near WDW.

 

[jm106]

we liked to walk Internation drive where there are a lot of places. one we enjoy is Bahama Breeze. Also tu Tu Tango is a fun, eclectic sort of place, Tapas food with a large menu. http://cafetututango.com/
Cuba Libra in orlando too, I have been to in philly, love it. Joes crab shack- they have an outdoor playground too

 

[Berlioz70]

Buffets:
CiCis
Sweet Tomatoes
Golden Corral

Restauarants:
Olive Garden
Ale House
Fundruckers
Red Lobster

Cheaper Options:
iHop
Steak 'n Shake
Denny's
Waffle House

Fast Food:
Chic fil-a
Wendy's
McDonalds

All of those are on 535, about 5 seconds from DTD.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Restauarants:
Olive Garden
Ale House
Fundruckers
Red Lobster

At first it might not seem like one but I would also add the Bonefish Grill to that list of restaurants. Everytime my family and I have been there we see families with kids and they do have a kids menu. Plus their prices are very comparable to the locations you already listed.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Moved over to the Orlando thread

Have fun planning!

 

[Procrastinate]

Friendly's - kid friendly food and fabulous ice cream.

 

[Detailor]

I suggest a few choices that aren't inside the Disney parks but still on Disney property at the BoardWalk resort area. Try the Big River Grille and Brewery and/or the the ESPN Club at BoardWalk. Both have basic food types. ESPN Club has all the TVs showing various sports games/matches and there's a gift shop with some sports-themed arcade games. There's also an ESPN Grill at the Wide World of Sports complex. I assume that it's similar to the BoardWalk restaurant but I've not been there since the restaurant was called All-Star Sports Cafe. Expect good but not great food at the ESPNs and pretty good food at Big River.

Our family's favorite Disney area restaurant in Orlando is Bahama Breeze but you should go online to review their menu to see if the food will work for your family. It's a great atmosphere and terrific for families.

Another family favorite for us is the Celebration Town Tavern - a New England-type restaurant - in Celebration.

Dick Taylor

 

[Reddog1134]

My wife and I discovered Flippers Pizzeria on our last trip. We liked it so much, we went back a 2nd time.

 

[dmmichelle]

When we visited in 2008 we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my parents. It was about a 2-minute drive from Sea World which was our destination that day and one of the reasons we picked a restaurant in this area. The interior is really fun and the food was excellent and lots of choices for kids.

It was a treat for us as we don't have Cracker Barrel in Canada.

Michelle

 

[baler31]

Black Angus Steak House, The Village Inn, Miller's Ale House

 

[Brian Noble]

I was wondering about some places we could go on our out of WDW days that would be fun and have basic choices like chicken strips and fries for the picky ones.

If there is a chain restaurant with two or more US locations, at least one of those locations is within a 5 minute drive of the WDW border. I think you'd find it almost impossible to find one that *didn't* have chicken strips and fries.

 

[BrownDalmatian]

If you're going to be near International Drive, then you're going to have TONS of options. Not sure of what type of food you all like, so it's hard to make a recommendation. You could always go on Google Maps and search for "restaurant" on International Drive, and you'll get a bunch of ideas.

 

[isla bonita]

We have tried to find new ones every time down.

Ale House
Steak N shake

They were big hits with all of us.

 

[TotoToo]

Here are two you are going to want to SKIP! Yuck.

 

[ms.yt]

Thanks for the suggestions, everybody. We are staying in a house in Rolling Hills Estates. Does that make a difference on any of the suggestions? I looked at the website for Miller's Ale House, and it looked good. Which location would be closest for us?

 

[4parkers]

The one on
1490 E. Buena Vista Dr.
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

I'm tryingto buy one of the restaraunt.com gc after taking medication...blah

 

[3sweetpeas]

Last year we ate at Giordano's and really enjoyed it. I'm not a pizza fan but this was very good. I just got a $25 gift card for $5 on Restaurant.com . Mousesavers has a code for half price.There are several Orlando locations

 

[Obadiah Stane]

Bahama Breeze....

Flippers.....


Miller's Ale House....

Fuddruckers......

 

[happymommy]

When we visited in 2008 we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my parents. It was about a 2-minute drive from Sea World which was our destination that day and one of the reasons we picked a restaurant in this area. The interior is really fun and the food was excellent and lots of choices for kids.

It was a treat for us as we don't have Cracker Barrel in Canada.

Michelle

I went to that same Cracker Barrel in December! My son especially liked it - I could not believe the portions of food, and it was good. The menu was huge also, and the prices were so reasonable (my son ordered a steak, which came with two side dishes and biscuits for about $9.00).

They have a store which has a TON of candies from when decades past - very fun to pick up a little treat for later.

We actually have a plan to go there this March again - the kids liked it and it was very wallet friendly for me!