Opinion On These Restaurants

[KatMark]

[/QUOTE]
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.[/QUOTE]

We have gone to Crystal Palace without kids four out of the last five years. The characters have always come by our table and posed for pictures with my DH and I (this past September we only got to see Eeyore--but we were there at a very crowded time).

 

[NJPluto]

I was very surprised by how much I liked Pinocchio Village Haus!! DD (7) is one of pickiest eaters and she loved, loved, loved their pizza. I thought it was pretty good (as far as Disney pizza goes). I also enjoyed my garden salad. It was so crisp and fresh! We will definitely go back here.

I'd only back to Chef Mickey's for my kids. I didn't like the food here at all. It was cold and bland on the night we were there. They had really good desserts, though. Character interaction was great.

 

[robinb]

Flame Tree Barbecue - Animal Kingdom - Lunch/Supper
One of my favorites. I really like the ribs there.
Pizzafari - Animal Kingdom - Lunch
Blech. Worst pizza on Disney property.
Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot - Made ADR's for Lunch
Eh ... so-so ... Not bad food, but also not as good as everyone says it is IMO.
Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/Supper
Good burgers, great "fixin's bar". We love Sunny Eclipse.
Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/Supper
Also good. My DH likes the fish and I like the veggie sandwich.
Pinocchio Village Haus - Magic Kingdom - Lunch
I had a good salad when I ate there last.
Toy Story Pizza Planet - Disney's Hollywood Studios - Lunch/Supper
MUCH better pizza than Pizzabarfi.
Mara - Animal Kingdom Lodge - Breakfast
Standard resort breakfast.
Big River Grille & Brewing - Boardwalk - Supper
Eh ... so-so ... not bad but not particularly good. The beer was OK.
ESPN Club - Boardwalk - Supper
I only had bar-food there: beer, rings, fries & nachos. Standard bar fare.
Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney - Supper
It's been too long for me, but I have heard bad things about this place.
Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Hotel - Supper
Very good buffet, but LOUD.

No ADRs needed for ESPN or Big River. Expect to wait at Big River and at ESPN if you want to wait for a table in the restaurant part. These places are crowded with people who go to WDW with NO ADRs but on the DDP who flock to the places where they can use their credits.

We went to plenty of character meals pre-child . You won't be out of place!

 

[englishrose47]

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.

Pizzafari Loved the breadsticks
Cosmic Rays loved the Combo meal
PH Loved it had Steaks, best appie was the mini tortillasand potatoe skins, service great atmosphere awesome!!
Haven't tried the othersbut My fav is CP!!!

 

[BabaGanoush]

Flame Tree Barbecue - Animal Kingdom - Lunch/Supper Excellent 1/2 chicken and I have heard great things about their pulled pork sandwich. Onion Rings are good. Their fruit plate looks awesome. Both my mom and sister were having buyers remorse when they saw it - wanted it over the sandwiches they got.

Pizzafari - Animal Kingdom - Lunch Dont order the pizza. Disney Pizza stinks! It is not very good. However, they have a Hot Italian Style Sandwich that is great imo.

Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot - Made ADR's for Lunch Good food... though I have heard it has declined a little bit since the new chef took over. I have not been there since that happened. Probably eroding its reputation.

Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/Supper Separate lines for different types of food which can be slightly annoying. Never eaten here though.

Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom - Lunch/Supper The half soup and sandwich is an excellent deal. The chicken strips and fish are pretty standard.

Pinocchio Village Haus - Magic Kingdom - Lunch Disney pizza stinks!

Toy Story Pizza Planet - Disney's Hollywood Studios - Lunch/Supper Have I mentioned that Disney pizza stinks?

Mara - Animal Kingdom Lodge - Breakfast Eh... I dunno about their breakfast. They do serve Zebra Domes during lunch/dinner.

Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney - Supper I have heard this may be the worst kitchen on property (from someone who has been in a lot of them). They may have cleaned it up though.

Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Hotel - Supper Good Character meal. Decent food. Probably can find better if your not looking for the character meet n greets. Can get quite loud and crazy with a lot of kids running around.

When it comes to character meals, there are lots of groups without kids that visit these meals. Remember, Disney is here for kids of all ages.

 

[Tricia1972]

Flame Tree Barbecue - Animal Kingdom - Never ate Here
Pizzafari - Animal Kingdom - Never ate here
Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot - Love the food here, nice variety and a good atmosphere
Cosmic Ray's - Magic Kingdom - Very nice variety and a good value. Meals are easily big enough to be shared, especially if you want to save a little room for a snack later on
Columbia Harbour House - Magic Kingdom - Great food. Love the tuna sandwich and the vegetarian chili
Pinocchio Village Haus - Magic Kingdom - Just stay away from the pizza and you'll be fine. We had the Turkey Panini, the Cheese Steak Sandwich and the Figaro Fries - all were very good and very filling
Toy Story Pizza Planet - Disney's Hollywood Studios - STAY AWAY!! Horrible, awful disgusting pizza. Honestly - cardboard would have been an improvement. Absolutely hands down the worst CS meal at MGM. The pizza here is worse than the pizza at Pinocchio Village Haus. I really wanted to like it - DS is enchanted with the theming. Pop over to Backlot Express. Much better food.
Mara - Animal Kingdom Lodge - Never ate here
Big River Grille & Brewing - Boardwalk - Never ate here
ESPN Club - Boardwalk - Never ate here
Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney - Never ate here
Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Hotel - Supper was ok, food was fine and character interaction was fair. Breakfast here is MUCH better. Standard breakfast fare with a few little flares of originality, but the character interaction is AMAZING at breakfast (both times)

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. YES it's perfectly fine to go without kids.

Also, we ate at ABC Commissary & Spoodles Pizza Window last time & didn't think either one was very good. We may have similar tastes. We disliked ABC Commissary and weren't crazy about Spoodles (we ate in the dining room). RE Pizza Planet, for all that we didn't like the Commissary, we thought Pizza Planet was much worse and I'd go back to Commissary before I went to Pizza Planet again.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

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.

Here are my opinions:
Flame Tree ~ We really enjoyed the pulled pork sandwhich / ribs & beans.
Cosmic Rays ~ we have tried this several times and we never have good food there...won't be going back. I would go to Pecos Bills over Cosmic Rays.
LeCellier ~ was our best meal the entire week. Steaks were fantastic.
Pinocchios Village Haus ~ average food. average pizza, average salad.
Toy Story Pizza Planet ~ we actually like the pizza/salad meal here. Not wonderful, but decent.
Chef Mickeys ~ we loved it..food was very good, but more importantly we loved the atmosphere for our kids...if you are not traveling with kids I am not sure I would recommend it. I am quite certain there would be better dining choices in terms of food for you if you are not traveling with little ones. I have not been since it re-opened, but hear good things about the buffet @ 1900 Park Fare @ The Grand Floridian. ( we are trying this for breakfast our next trip)

I would recommend the buffet @ Boma at AKL for dinner or Kona @ the Poly is excellent for breakfast ,lunch or dinner. We also love Wolfgang Pucks quick service in DTD. We eat there every trip.
HTH! Have a wonderful trip!

 

[jeni16]

Thanks for all of your opinions! I'm digging through the menus again to see what else I can come up. I definately value everyone's opinion & most of the opinions were pretty consistant. I'll have to check out some of your other suggestions.

 

[jeni16]

Has anyone had the pizza or hamburgers at Mara? We'll be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and are looking for a quick bite to eat.

How about the Cheese Steak Sandwich at Pinocchio Village Haus?

And last one, How about the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich at Pizzafari?

 

[Tricia1972]

Has anyone had the pizza or hamburgers at Mara? We'll be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and are looking for a quick bite to eat.

How about the Cheese Steak Sandwich at Pinocchio Village Haus?

And last one, How about the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich at Pizzafari?

I had a LONG post above, but will chime in again for another vote of confidence in the Cheese Steak Sandwich at Pinocchio Village Haus. Honestly ordering that with Fries and a small side item (salad or Figaro Fries) will easily be enough for two.

 

[jeni16]

Thanks Tricia for the vote of confidence in the Cheese Steak Sandwich. It sounds like something good & something different.

I'm trying to be a little more specific about the items will would be eating there to get some better feedback.

Everyone is always so helpful on the boards!