Opinion On These Restaurants

[jeni16]

DH & I are pretty picky eaters so after looking through all of the menus, I came up with the following placed that looked like they would have items we would like. Does anyone have any opinoins on any of these? We ate at a couple of bad places last time & I don't want to waste my money on crappy food again. It will just be the two of us, no kids.

Flame Tree Barbecue - Animal Kingdom - Lunch/Supper
Pizzafari - Animal Kingdom - Lunch
Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot - Made ADR's for Lunch
Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/Supper
Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/Supper
Pinocchio Village Haus - Magic Kingdom - Lunch
Toy Story Pizza Planet - Disney's Hollywood Studios - Lunch/Supper
Mara - Animal Kingdom Lodge - Breakfast
Big River Grille & Brewing - Boardwalk - Supper
ESPN Club - Boardwalk - Supper
Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney - Supper
Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Hotel - Supper

A couple of additional questions:
1) Do you need ADR's for ESPN Club, Big River Grille or Planet Hollywood?
2) Do adults ever go to the character meals without children? I don't want to go to one of these & be the only table without kids.

Also, we ate at ABC Commissary & Spoodles Pizza Window last time & didn't think either one was very good.

 

[TammyC]

Everyone has different taste, but here is our opinion..

Flame tree - good pulled pork sandwich, corn was soggy, didn't like beans

Le Cellier - everything we had was good, be sure to make ADR, cheaper for lunch than dinner

Cosmic Rays - standard counter service, difficult with larger groups because you have to go to different counters to get different food, had good pasta salad but no longer on menu

Columbia Harbor House - good chicken strips, fish and veggie chili

Pizza Planet - we thought the pizza was pretty good, but opinions here vary widely

ESPN - cool sports theme, food quality similar to Applebees, etc.

Tammy

 

[Serenity]

The only ones I can tell you about are:

Flame Tree Barbecue- Animal Kingdom - Good quality and value.
Pizzafari - Animal Kingdom - Didn't like it. The pizza was just very bland.
Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom - Really good variety and again good value.
Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom - Really good value and offered something different. The fish, chowder, Starboard sandwich and the salads are all really good.

I have been very pleased over the last few years to see Disney give a lot more variety to the counter services spots. It is not just hamburgers and chicken nuggets they way it was years ago.

 

[jeni16]

Thanks for your opinions!

 

[AnninIowa]

We highly recommend Big River Grill! We are picky eaters, too, and Big River has more "plain" choices. The service we've had has always been great, and sitting outside with the view of the Epcot resorts is so relaxing!

 

[KatMark]

DH & I are pretty picky eaters so after looking through all of the menus, I came up with the following placed that looked like they would have items we would like. Does anyone have any opinoins on any of these? We ate at a couple of bad places last time & I don't want to waste my money on crappy food again.

Flame Tree Barbecue - Animal Kingdom
Pizzafari - Animal Kingdom
Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot
Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom
Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom
Pinocchio Village Haus - Magic Kingdom
Toy Story Pizza Planet - Disney's Hollywood Studios
Mara - Animal Kingdom Lodge
Big River Grille & Brewing - Boardwalk
ESPN Club - Boardwalk
Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney
Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Hotel

Flame Tree Barbecue -- loved the pulled pork, ribs and beans (me--not hubby)
Pizzafari -- tasted like cardboard pizza to us--but we are from Chicago and we have some of the best pizza
Le Cellier -- our FAVORITE Disney restaurant--we have loved everything we have had
Cosmic Rays--did not like at all
Columbia Harbour House--DH (and kids when they used to go with us) love this place--good sandwiches, soups and salads
Pinocchio Village Haus -- had a turkey panini this past trip which was okay
We have never eaten at Toy Story Planet, Mara, Big River Grille or ESPN. We have not done Planet Hollywood in Florida--we have one in Chicago and we have eaten there and the one in Vegas and did not like it at all.
Chef Mickey's is very good for breakfast; dinner is fair to average for dinner buffet

 

[ilovecountry]

I only went to a few of those listed, but-

Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom- The food is inexpensive & has a nice selection

Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney- It's hit or miss w/ some people. We loved it & are going back this summer. Our service was awesome & our food was fantastic. Not to mention we loved looking around the place too.

 

[rsquare]

Just a few comments...

Flame Tree - decent pork BBQ, but nothing absolutely wow. It was satisfying when DW and I were really hungry

Cosmic Rays - We enjoy the variety, average (for Disney) quality food.

Columbia Harbour House - Our favorite CS place. We always make a point of eating there at least once each trip. I think we've tried everything on the menu there and nothing is bad. Of course your tastes may vary....

We really haven't had any desire to try the others except for LeCellier, but never were able to get ADRs early enough.

Good luck with the food hunt!

 

[septbaby]

Out of curiosity where did you eat that you just didn't like? Maybe that might influence some comments on your current list. Also for some of those on your list the you may get different replies for dinner vs breakfast or lunch, so tell us what meals you may eat at these places or if it didn't matter.

 

[mpls_mm]

DH & I are pretty picky eaters so after looking through all of the menus, I came up with the following placed that looked like they would have items we would like. Does anyone have any opinoins on any of these? We ate at a couple of bad places last time & I don't want to waste my money on crappy food again.

Flame Tree Barbecue - Animal Kingdom
Pizzafari - Animal Kingdom
Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot
Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom
Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom
Pinocchio Village Haus - Magic Kingdom
Toy Story Pizza Planet - Disney's Hollywood Studios
Mara - Animal Kingdom Lodge
Big River Grille & Brewing - Boardwalk
ESPN Club - Boardwalk
Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney
Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Hotel

I liked Flame Tree a lot, we all did. barbecue sandwiches were really good.
Cosmic Rays, we don't mean to, but we always end up eating there. They are usually one of the last ones open at MK, plus we like the fixins bar. On EMH nights we have eaten there at midnight and the kids love Ray.
Used to work at Pinocchio Village, can't bring myself to go there.
We always eat at Toy Story too but I don't know why, the games are super expensive even by Disney standards and the pizza just isn't that good. But the kids love saying they went there. They look forward to it every time.

 

[septbaby]

We always eat at Toy Story too but I don't know why...pizza just isn't that good. But the kids love saying they went there. They look forward to it every time.

You are too cute: its Pizza and the kids want to go. They don't care that its bad pizza, heck the probably don't even realize its bad pizza!

When I was a kid it was simple, good hotels had a pool and really good hotels had a pool with a slide. Of course it was more complex for Mom, but us kids kept it pretty simple. The same applies here we're just too old to get it!

 

[mla2177]

Lecellier was my favorite meal ever!!!! The cheddar cheese soup was heavenly. I also highly recommend the chocolate mousse!

Columbia House Harbour was my favorite counter service meal in all of WDW. The tuna was a nice break from pizza and burgers.

Toy Story Pizza Planet had pretty decent pizza. I think it is the best choice for any other CS in MGM.

Planet Hollywood was one of my favorites. I really liked the atmosphere and their burger was very good.

Then there's Chef Mickeys. I hated this restaurant! I've heard the breakfast is much better, but the dinner was very disappointing. Out of 4 adults not one of us liked any of the food there, and we are by no means picky eaters. We ended up grabbing snacks back at OKW since we were all starving when we left there!


I did love Liberty Tree Tavern if you are trying to do a character meal. It was one of my favorites!

 

[jeni16]

Out of curiosity where did you eat that you just didn't like? Maybe that might influence some comments on your current list. Also for some of those on your list the you may get different replies for dinner vs breakfast or lunch, so tell us what meals you may eat at these places or if it didn't matter.

I updated the first post with this information! Thanks for the tip. It's always so hard to find good/somewhat inexpensive places to eat around Disney.

 

[chanty]

These are the 4 that we can comment on:
1-Toy Story Pizza Planet - Disney's Hollywood Studios
2-Big River Grille & Brewing - Boardwalk
3-ESPN Club - Boardwalk
4-Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney

1- It's ok. Not the best pizza in the world but it's ok!
2- We went there in 2005 and it was great! Only sad part is that they don't take adr's there.
3-Love ESPN! We loved the food too (Nachos are awesome!). Gives my hubby the sport fix he needs during our vacation! Again, no adr's here (and the lines can be long!)
4-The food is ok, the atmostphere is good. You have to eat there once.
I believe they don't take ADR's there as well. (if you're on the dining plan, you might want to check but I believe it's not on the plan!).

 

[Terk-1]

Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot - Made ADR's for LunchThis is a must for me on every trip. Great food.
Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/SupperThought the food was just so-so and the desserts were awful.
Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Hotel - SupperThis was the worst meal & service I've ever had at WDW. The food was awful and the service was horrible. Won't go back for dinner again.

A couple of additional questions:
2) Do adults ever go to the character meals without children? I don't want to go to one of these & be the only table without kids.I do. The Crystal Palace is a must for me on every trip. Last trip & my upcoming trip, ate both dinner & breakfast there. Food & character interaction were great.

 

[Terk-1]

Coming from 1 picky eater to another, can understand what you are saying. These are my must dines on every trip that I have always found plenty to eat & have been very accommodating in the "leaving things out or off or replacing certain veggies with others."

1. Le Cellier - I've had the shrimp cocktail, but asked for a side of regular cocktail sauce. This helped tone down the wasabi. The NY Strip steak (was able to get it without the sauce & with regular potatoes.
2. Rose & Crown (the steak & fish with mashed potatoes & green beans is very good).
3. 50's Primetime Cafe - the shakes & the fried chicken is great!
4. Crystal Palace - Plenty to choose from & great food.
5. Casey's - great hot dogs here.

 

[Disney_luvin_family]

Flame Tree Barbecue - Animal Kingdom - Lunch/Supper My family likes Flame tree. We like their chicken and it makes for a Great lunch- we usually make it a late lunch or early dinner. We don't care for the beans there- but they have good food for a counter service. We also love the setting...where all of the tables are. It's a beautiful area with a duck pond, ducks, and lots of beautiful trees and a good view. There's a large amount of seating!
Pizzafari - Animal Kingdom - Lunch "OK" is all I have to say. My Daughters liked the pizza, my DH and I thought the sauce was bland.
Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot - Made ADR's for Lunch lunch is a great choice for this place. The food is great, service is great and lunch is a bit cheaper- with about the same experiance.
Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/SupperWE LOVE cosmic Ray's. There are decent options and we like the fixin's bar for hamburgers! There are TONS of toppings and my DH likes that.
Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/Suppernever eatten here...
Pinocchio Village Haus - Magic Kingdom - LunchWe like the figgaro fries here. The food is average for a counter service- not bad at all- just not AMAZING by any means. If you go here, get there right when it opens (or at an off time) and you can sit overlooking the "it's a small world ride"
Toy Story Pizza Planet - Disney's Hollywood Studios - Lunch/SupperOK
Mara - Animal Kingdom Lodge - Breakfast good
Big River Grille & Brewing - Boardwalk - Suppernever been
ESPN Club - Boardwalk - Supper never been
Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney - Supper we've never had a problem here- just long waits if you get there after 6 pm. The food is fine- it's a fun atmosphere.
Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Hotel - Supper We have been to MANY character meals and we don't like this one. We didn't care for it at all. I am certainly not saying that you shouldn't go, we just haven't had a good experiance there yet- we've been there twice and didn't care for it either time. Another character meal we don't care for is the one in the land in Epcot. The rest are good

There are a lot of people that go to character meals when they don't have kids. DH and I did it before our first daughter was born and we enjoyed it. We did think (this was 6 years ago) that the characters would kind of wave at us as they "skipped past" our table and they moved on to the tables that had kids. I don't know if this would still be the case, but that was our experiance. It was at CP. We went to the character dinner at Cinderella's castle and got lots of attention from the fairy godmother, and a little from cinderella, but not as much as other tables that had kids. I am not complaining about this- both experiances were fun and worth it. I am just telling you what we observed.

 

[mfamma]

Chef Mickeys and Le Cellier are the only two choices on your list that have better than average food. We have eaten at most of the other places on your list and the food at a Chillis or Outback steakhouse in your own home town would be better. Are you trying to eat on a budget for most meals or can you spend more money on food?

 

[jeni16]

Chef Mickeys and Le Cellier are the only two choices on your list that have better than average food. We have eaten at most of the other places on your list and the food at a Chillis or Outback steakhouse in your own home town would be better. Are you trying to eat on a budget for most meals or can you spend more money on food?

We can spend more money on food. I'm a pretty light eater so I just hate to spend alot of money on food when I'll only eat about 1/2. DH will eat his entire meal so sharing is out of the question.

I'm also not a fan of being constrained by ADR's so I like to try & find places that have good food but don't require them. A few ADR's per trip is enough for me! I also love to snack, so I normally eat smaller meals to save room for all of the other goodies around the World.

 

[tinkgurl]

Pizzafari - We love it there! We always eat there. Great food!

Cosmic Ray's - Another one we love! They have a great variety of food and you just gotta love Sonny Eclipse!

Pinocchio Village Haus - Another one we love! They have great food and if you find the secret tables, you can get a great view of the Castle and Fantasyland!

Toy Story Pizza Planet - We thought this one was just okay.

Chef Mickey's - This is our first night tradition! Great food, great atmosphere, and you get to see Mickey and the gang!