Hello! We were in WDW in mid-August. I've found these boards so helpful, and wanted to share our experience in case anyone can benefit from it.
My husband and I were there with our 2 kids - 4 1/2 & almost 3 (a month shy of not being free! ;-) ) Our 4 y.o. has very severe allergies to milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame & mustard. When we are with her we all avoid her allergens to make our lives a little easier. I'm also very (very!) pregnant with our 3rd (which means very hungry........) We like good food in our family, and ate most of our sit downs at Signatures.
Jiko- our 1st meal at WDW this trip. Incredible. Our waitress (whose name I wish I could remember) was just fabulous. She was probably the best we had. She made sure she was there for our discussion with the chef, and was extremely attentive. We could have the bread (yay! most places we can't.) It was delcious, a flax seed bread. They brought out olive oil for dipping in lieu of butter. Our meals were delicious. My 4 y.o. had her favorite - salmon. Her sides were roasted potatoes & strawberries. My son had the same but with steak as his entree. Both kids got a fruit cup as an app. For our 1st course they were able to easily modify the Jiko Salad for me and Boar for my husband. Both were perfect. Our main courses were prime rib (so tender and full of flavor) and the duck breast. I was very jealous of the wine list and recommendations - my husband's wine perfectly complimented his duck. I enjoyed smelling it. I felt like it was a very kid-friendly restaurant (we were there early at 5:30.) It was hard to find, though, so we got a nice tour of the hotel while looking for it! Afterwards we had a blast watching the animals. It's a must-do on our next trip.
Narcoosee's - We were there last Oct., and enjoyed it so much we made sure to get reservations. It was very good, although coming on the tails of Jiko, wasn't quite as memorable. The kids' seafood option was tilapia, which they enjoyed. My husband and I had the special - sea bass. It was very tasty although we did run into an allergy issue. My kids' food was fine. My husband and I were enjoying our garlic chips commenting how delicious they were when we realized they were covered in Old Bay which contains mustard. So if you have any less common allergies, be careful there. We're not allergic so it wasn't a huge issue - we just needed to wash out our mouths carefully and remember not to share drinks with her.
Tusker House - We had breakfast here with Donald, Daisy, Minnie & Mickey. The chef was nice, and brought out items she had specially prepared in the back as we don't let my daughter eat off buffets. We had Mickey waffles, bacon, fruit & potatoes. Our only disappointment was that she had told us she'd bring out fried plantains, and they never arrived. It was a very busy and somewhat rushed character breakfast, but my kids loved meeting the characters.
Babycakes - Once we found it, we enjoyed it. My daughter was practically bursting out of her skin with excitement. We had the cupcakes which were good. We don't eat gluten free, and that definitely affects the texture. It was a nice treat and well worth the trip to DTD.
We ate counter service at Epcot, cancelling an ADR at Flying Fish so we had more time to explore the countries. I don't know that was a good idea. I ended up not feeling well due to being really hungry. My kids had burgers on the EnerG buns and baked fries from the Amer. Pavilion. My husband and I wanted something a little tastier, but no such luck. I tried counter service at Japan and Morocco thinking sesame would be the tricky one to avoid there, but surprisingly cow's milk was want made it hard to find a decent meal. We were very hungry.
Artist Point - Oh, so good! I had heard it was not kid-friendly, and did not find this to be true at all. My kids had watermelon for their 1st course, and salmon as their entree. It was wild caught Pacific, very high quality (feeding kids crap is one of my pet peeves!) and they just loved it. They had potatoes and green beans along with it. I had what may be the best appetizer I've ever had - their "BLT" made with pork belly. I am still thinking about that! My main course was their specialty, the cedar plank roasted salmon. It was fabulous. My husband had the scallops (mussels? some sort of shellfish!) and then the buffalo for his entree. He really enjoyed both. Again, the wine list and pairings were fabulous (according to him at least!) My not so adventurous parents met us here, and they also enjoyed their meal. We had dessert here - rice dream. We've never had it before. My kids seemed to enjoy it, but my husband and I weren't fans. I wish WDW would start serving coconut milk ice cream.
Cali Grill - The view was great (there were storms that night which made it even more fun to look out all the windows.) It was very noisy, and lacked that special feeling of a Signature in WDW. We had to request the chef meet with us, which was unusual. He did a good job though once he came out. My son had steak, potatoes & green beans; my daughter salmon (we're surprised she didn't turn into a fish on this trip with all the seafood she ate!) rice and green beans. They both enjoyed it a lot. My husband and I had the tomato salad as our 1st courses. It was good. He enjoyed it a lot more than I did, but that's only because I couldn't help but compare it to the similar but vastly tastier app from Artist Point. My steak was great as was his meal. They served us nice fruit plates for dessert. It was a good meal, but probably my least favorite signature because it just didn't feel as special.
1900 Park Fare - We were there for the Supercalifragilistic breakfast. Our waitress told us the legendary chef TJ would be out to speak with us, and I could help but be a little disappointed we were there for a breakfast buffet - what could he do to make is special? Oh, did I ever underestimate chef TJ. He brought out things we've had elsewhere, but presented it in such a special way. My kids were overjoyed. He made a little sculpture display for the Mickey waffles, we had fruit, sausage, potatoes, bacon. As a special treat he made them chocolate bagels - my kids couldn't believe they were getting to eat chocolate for breakfast. The character interaction here was great. We didn't feel rushed at all.
It was a very tasty trip, and overall we were pleased with how we were able to safely feed our daughter.
My husband and I were there with our 2 kids - 4 1/2 & almost 3 (a month shy of not being free! ;-) ) Our 4 y.o. has very severe allergies to milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame & mustard. When we are with her we all avoid her allergens to make our lives a little easier. I'm also very (very!) pregnant with our 3rd (which means very hungry........) We like good food in our family, and ate most of our sit downs at Signatures.
Jiko- our 1st meal at WDW this trip. Incredible. Our waitress (whose name I wish I could remember) was just fabulous. She was probably the best we had. She made sure she was there for our discussion with the chef, and was extremely attentive. We could have the bread (yay! most places we can't.) It was delcious, a flax seed bread. They brought out olive oil for dipping in lieu of butter. Our meals were delicious. My 4 y.o. had her favorite - salmon. Her sides were roasted potatoes & strawberries. My son had the same but with steak as his entree. Both kids got a fruit cup as an app. For our 1st course they were able to easily modify the Jiko Salad for me and Boar for my husband. Both were perfect. Our main courses were prime rib (so tender and full of flavor) and the duck breast. I was very jealous of the wine list and recommendations - my husband's wine perfectly complimented his duck. I enjoyed smelling it. I felt like it was a very kid-friendly restaurant (we were there early at 5:30.) It was hard to find, though, so we got a nice tour of the hotel while looking for it! Afterwards we had a blast watching the animals. It's a must-do on our next trip.
Narcoosee's - We were there last Oct., and enjoyed it so much we made sure to get reservations. It was very good, although coming on the tails of Jiko, wasn't quite as memorable. The kids' seafood option was tilapia, which they enjoyed. My husband and I had the special - sea bass. It was very tasty although we did run into an allergy issue. My kids' food was fine. My husband and I were enjoying our garlic chips commenting how delicious they were when we realized they were covered in Old Bay which contains mustard. So if you have any less common allergies, be careful there. We're not allergic so it wasn't a huge issue - we just needed to wash out our mouths carefully and remember not to share drinks with her.
Tusker House - We had breakfast here with Donald, Daisy, Minnie & Mickey. The chef was nice, and brought out items she had specially prepared in the back as we don't let my daughter eat off buffets. We had Mickey waffles, bacon, fruit & potatoes. Our only disappointment was that she had told us she'd bring out fried plantains, and they never arrived. It was a very busy and somewhat rushed character breakfast, but my kids loved meeting the characters.
Babycakes - Once we found it, we enjoyed it. My daughter was practically bursting out of her skin with excitement. We had the cupcakes which were good. We don't eat gluten free, and that definitely affects the texture. It was a nice treat and well worth the trip to DTD.
We ate counter service at Epcot, cancelling an ADR at Flying Fish so we had more time to explore the countries. I don't know that was a good idea. I ended up not feeling well due to being really hungry. My kids had burgers on the EnerG buns and baked fries from the Amer. Pavilion. My husband and I wanted something a little tastier, but no such luck. I tried counter service at Japan and Morocco thinking sesame would be the tricky one to avoid there, but surprisingly cow's milk was want made it hard to find a decent meal. We were very hungry.
Artist Point - Oh, so good! I had heard it was not kid-friendly, and did not find this to be true at all. My kids had watermelon for their 1st course, and salmon as their entree. It was wild caught Pacific, very high quality (feeding kids crap is one of my pet peeves!) and they just loved it. They had potatoes and green beans along with it. I had what may be the best appetizer I've ever had - their "BLT" made with pork belly. I am still thinking about that! My main course was their specialty, the cedar plank roasted salmon. It was fabulous. My husband had the scallops (mussels? some sort of shellfish!) and then the buffalo for his entree. He really enjoyed both. Again, the wine list and pairings were fabulous (according to him at least!) My not so adventurous parents met us here, and they also enjoyed their meal. We had dessert here - rice dream. We've never had it before. My kids seemed to enjoy it, but my husband and I weren't fans. I wish WDW would start serving coconut milk ice cream.
Cali Grill - The view was great (there were storms that night which made it even more fun to look out all the windows.) It was very noisy, and lacked that special feeling of a Signature in WDW. We had to request the chef meet with us, which was unusual. He did a good job though once he came out. My son had steak, potatoes & green beans; my daughter salmon (we're surprised she didn't turn into a fish on this trip with all the seafood she ate!) rice and green beans. They both enjoyed it a lot. My husband and I had the tomato salad as our 1st courses. It was good. He enjoyed it a lot more than I did, but that's only because I couldn't help but compare it to the similar but vastly tastier app from Artist Point. My steak was great as was his meal. They served us nice fruit plates for dessert. It was a good meal, but probably my least favorite signature because it just didn't feel as special.
1900 Park Fare - We were there for the Supercalifragilistic breakfast. Our waitress told us the legendary chef TJ would be out to speak with us, and I could help but be a little disappointed we were there for a breakfast buffet - what could he do to make is special? Oh, did I ever underestimate chef TJ. He brought out things we've had elsewhere, but presented it in such a special way. My kids were overjoyed. He made a little sculpture display for the Mickey waffles, we had fruit, sausage, potatoes, bacon. As a special treat he made them chocolate bagels - my kids couldn't believe they were getting to eat chocolate for breakfast. The character interaction here was great. We didn't feel rushed at all.
It was a very tasty trip, and overall we were pleased with how we were able to safely feed our daughter.
