Please help with ADR's - first visit to Disney

[kathy23]

Hi everyone. We (2 adults, 6 year old girl, 2 year old boy) are visiting Disney for the first time soon. To be honest, I am completely overwhelmed with all of the restaurant choices. My husband is against a TON of character meals and just cares about better quality food so I was thinking we should try and get the most bang for our buck. I already booked Mickey's BBQ b/c my son loves Mickey. My daughter wants to see the princesses but really has no favorite. Would you recommend Askerrhaus or 1900 for dinner? Also, how is Tusker House with Mickey? Thoughts on Crystal Palace? But, I could really use just any advice on what restaurants are your favorites - characters of not. (remember I said I was overwhelemed....lol) Thanks so much.

 

[Sappermont]

We love Tusker House breakfast. It's a character meal and we found the food to be of high quality (more so than some of the other character buffets). I've never tried it for lunch/dinner but I no reason to be it would be less quality than breakfast.

 

[DLFan123]

If you want to know what people think about WDW food, you came to the right thread! Seriously, you could read the dining reviews on this thread for the next 6 months and get lots of ideas, but I think the bottom line is that Disney provides lots of opportunities for memorable, delicious meals, both in the form of character breakfasts and at regular restaurants. Don't forget about counter service options, too. You won't get to meet characters, but Epcot has some amazing counter service food. While in Epcot, I'm not even sure you need ADRs for any restaurants (which is a shame since they offer some of the best table service food, too). The counter service at Sunshine Seasons is wonderful and there are lots of choices for all taste preferences. We really like the fish and chips from the counter service in Great Britain. The French bakery has lots of sandwiches and a cheese plate that is absolutely superb (plus lots of yummy dessert options). We like Tangeriene Cafe but also love Middle Eastern cuisine.

As far as character buffets, I'd say obviously those are more about the experience. The Akershus buffet gets good reviews, especially at breakfast. My understanding is they have a cold buffet and then bring you a family style platter of hot items. It sounds like it is the best value for a princess buffet. We loved Tusker House at AK for the Donald's Safari character breakfast. I have read some not so great reviews of Tusker House for lunch and dinner. We also really enjoyed Crystal Palace at MK for lunch buffet with Pooh and friends. Depending on what hotel you are staying in, you might find it nice to do a character buffet at one of the resorts. We like Cape May character breakfast with Minnie and friends. There are just lots of great options. Good luck and keep as posted on what you decide! Oh and I don't think all of these need to be booked 180 days in advance. You can get in to many of these buffets with much shorter notice, at least this has been our experience.

 

[Hopefully]

I think you will get more answers if you post this on the main Restaurant Board. It gets far more traffic.
This board is intended for folks to write their reviews of meals they have had.
A moderater can move this for you, or head on over there and post.
Good Luck

 

[chloesmommy]

We love the character buffets for the characters but food wise they leave some to be desired but worth it to get the character interaction without standing in line. We have done several buffets and like the convenience of not waiting for food with tired little ones. We love boma at AKL they have lots of kid friendly food with lots of diferent and more exotic flavors, also love Ohanna for dinner. Good luck and dont stress too much

 

[disnmooner2013]

I would do Crystal Palace for breakfast and get an ADR for before MK opens. You can get better pictures since peoples head wont be in the shots; and it is much cheaper for breakfast than lunch or dinner. The only moderately priced table service restaurant with decent food at MK is the Plaza. I would however, eat at Columbia Harbour House or Be Our Guest (lunch) both counter service; over the Plaza. To me the best "bang for your buck value" is at Sanaa at AKL Kindani Village. I would go here for lunch or an early dinner before it gets dark out. It is the only restaurant where you can view animals while eating. It also is for Disney a more moderately priced restaurant with very good food. At Epcot, I would go to Askershus Princess Storybook meal for your daughter. Also, since there are so many princesses at Askershus this could take care of character meals with also doing Crystal Palace. This would only be 2 character meals so not too many for your husband. To me these are the two best ones for character interaction. The other restaurant to go to with your kids in Epcot would be Via Napoli. This is the only good pizza on Disney Property in my opinion.