Recommendations for Character Dining

[DerraZ]

Hello all-! We are taking a family trip in June, my Husband and I, and our daughters/sons in law and kids. On our Epcot day, we would like to let the 4 adult parents have an afternoon/evening to enjoy around the World Showcase without the kids, while Grammy and Papa take them to a character dinner and meet up for the Epcot show later. We took our girls to Chef Mickeys on our very first trip when they were 7 and 11, so a long time ago. Is it still pretty good or not? We have 3 Granddaughters, ages 8,6 and almost 3. The youngest is starting to recognize the Princesses but really into the traditional characters, especially Minnie and Mickey. Considering Tusker House, however, with Park hoppers, we could go from Epcot to AK but can we go back to Epcot after dinner? I feel like you can only hop once/day? Is that correct? Any and all ideas would be much appreciated! Thank you-

 

[BrianL]

Hello all-! We are taking a family trip in June, my Husband and I, and our daughters/sons in law and kids. On our Epcot day, we would like to let the 4 adult parents have an afternoon/evening to enjoy around the World Showcase without the kids, while Grammy and Papa take them to a character dinner and meet up for the Epcot show later. We took our girls to Chef Mickeys on our very first trip when they were 7 and 11, so a long time ago. Is it still pretty good or not? We have 3 Granddaughters, ages 8,6 and almost 3. The youngest is starting to recognize the Princesses but really into the traditional characters, especially Minnie and Mickey. Considering Tusker House, however, with Park hoppers, we could go from Epcot to AK but can we go back to Epcot after dinner? I feel like you can only hop once/day? Is that correct? Any and all ideas would be much appreciated! Thank you-

You can absolutely hop as many times as you want per day if you have Park Hopper tickets, so no worries there! Many people do all four parks in one day - enter and exit at will.

Tusker House is one of my favorite restaurants for the food and atmosphere. Note that some of the food is a bit more exoitc (not very but al little) but they do still have the basics for kids too. The characters in their safari gear are really cool!

If you want to stay in Epcot, I recommend Garden Grill. They have an "all you care to enjoy" meal that is brought to your table as skillet, and it is fresh and delicious - turkey and thin-sliced steak, potatoes, veggies. They also bring a crock of mac & cheese, and you can get more of anything that you want. The characters are Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale - all in Farmer outfits. The restaurant itself is one of the older ones in Epcot and rotated through the scenes of Living with the Land!

 

[VGCgroupie]

I would look at character dining at Garden Grill in Epcot. Or head over to Beach Clubs character meal. Topolinos at Riviera is a great option too and just Skyliner ride away.

 

[nyy]

Garden Grill is an excellent recommendation! With 3 kids, you won't have to the hassle of getting up to the buffet, keeping an eye on everyone, or missing characters. The food choices are more limited and it is family style.
Chef Mickeys is very loud, busy, and crowded. Those 2 restaurants have a completely, almost opposite vibe. We have done both, many times. We enjoy both.
BC and Topolino's do not have characters at dinner.

 

[DerraZ]

You can absolutely hop as many times as you want per day if you have Park Hopper tickets, so no worries there! Many people do all four parks in one day - enter and exit at will.

Tusker House is one of my favorite restaurants for the food and atmosphere. Note that some of the food is a bit more exoitc (not very but al little) but they do still have the basics for kids too. The characters in their safari gear are really cool!

If you want to stay in Epcot, I recommend Garden Grill. They have an "all you care to enjoy" meal that is brought to your table as skillet, and it is fresh and delicious - turkey and thin-sliced steak, potatoes, veggies. They also bring a crock of mac & cheese, and you can get more of anything that you want. The characters are Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale - all in Farmer outfits. The restaurant itself is one of the older ones in Epcot and rotated through the scenes of Living with the Land!

Thank you! I think it will either be Tusker House or Garden Grill... considered O'hana but reviews aren't great, but thank you for the suggestions and input!

 

[Cinderbrella1]

Garden Grill in the Land pavilion at EPCOT is wonderful; my family still talks about the food and fun that we had there. We also love Topolino's and Tusker House. I've never really enjoyed Chef Mickey's, but my kids did.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Sorry I missed the keyword of dinner. We have been to Garden Grill and really loved it.

 

[patty57]

I love the food at Tusker House, but for kids, Garden Grille is a winner. Turkey, steak, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese...good kid food. Mickey, Goofy, Chip & Dale in farmer outfits. Plus, the restaurant rotates, and you can look into the Living with the Land attraction.
Edited to add that it's Pluto, not Goofy.

 

[BrianL]

Thank you! I think it will either be Tusker House or Garden Grill... considered O'hana but reviews aren't great, but thank you for the suggestions and input!

Honestly, Tusker House and Garden Grill are among my favorite restaurants on property - you can't go wrong!

 

[DisneyCayley]

Garden Grill is my vote for you-agree you wouldn't have to worry about keeping track of everyone at a buffet and when we went the characters all came around multiple times. Chip and Dale were hilarious, Mickey and Pluto were great! I think they usually just come one at a time but it was my parents 50th so Chip and Dale posed together with all of us. It was a special memory to have! Have fun with your grandbabies!

 

[DanceDisney23]

Garden Grill is great but we (fortunately) also find them very efficient. We’re usually in and out within an hour. Depending on how much alone time you want to give the parents, you might also want to think about after dinner Epcot plans with the grandkids.

 

[BrianL]

Garden Grill is great but we (fortunately) also find them very efficient. We’re usually in and out within an hour. Depending on how much alone time you want to give the parents, you might also want to think about after dinner Epcot plans with the grandkids.

It takes one hour for the restaurant to rotate fully, so that's what they shoot for. You get to see everything and you exit pretty close to where you began. They don't rush you though, so if you get lots of refills on your skillet it could take a bit longer.

I do see on the menu that the strawberry shortcake is back as the desert - they had gotten rid of it for a while and were doing apple pie I think. It may be seasonal now. The strawberry shortcake is good!

 

[DerraZ]

It takes one hour for the restaurant to rotate fully, so that's what they shoot for. You get to see everything and you exit pretty close to where you began. They don't rush you though, so if you get lots of refills on your skillet it could take a bit longer.

I do see on the menu that the strawberry shortcake is back as the desert - they had gotten rid of it for a while and were doing apple pie I think. It may be seasonable now. The strawberry shortcake is good!

It takes one hour for the restaurant to rotate fully, so that's what they shoot for. You get to see everything and you exit pretty close to where you began. They don't rush you though, so if you get lots of refills on your skillet it could take a bit longer.

I do see on the menu that the strawberry shortcake is back as the desert - they had gotten rid of it for a while and were doing apple pie I think. It may be seasonable now. The strawberry shortcake is good!

The menu looks really great for our kiddos, including the strawberry shortcake, so hopefully, that remains on the menu! If it doesn't, there are many great treats to spend extra $$$ on

 

[BrianL]

The menu looks really great for our kiddos, including the strawberry shortcake, so hopefully, that remains on the menu! If it doesn't, there are many great treats to spend extra $$$ on

Apparently they brought it back in April of last year, which was just after I was there:



This is a typcial main course:



Yes, they put Goldfish crackers on the Mac & Cheese! You also get salad and bread with some nice whipped butter first:



I think you're already sold on Garden Grill - but just in case.

 

[karen4546]

Imo, Garden Grill is the best option for you. Summer storms are going to pop up and to be on the safe side, staying in the same park is going to be so much easier. If you decide on princesses, you can try for Akershus.

Garden Grill is fun and if they have ridden Living with the Land during the day, they can point out familiar scenes. If they did not ride earlier during the day or even if they did, you can ride Living with the Land again and Soarin.

Enjoy you trip !

 

[DerraZ]

Apparently they brought it back in April of last year, which was just after I was there:

View attachment 1050983

This is a typcial main course:

View attachment 1050984View attachment 1050985

Yes, they put Goldfish crackers on the Mac & Cheese! You also get salad and bread with some nice whipped butter first:

View attachment 1050986

I think you're already sold on Garden Grill - but just in case.

Thanks for the great, yummy looking photos! Pretty much planning on it, but Tusker House as a back up if needed

 

[BrianL]

Thanks for the great, yummy looking photos! Pretty much planning on it, but Tusker House as a back up if needed

Tusker House is great too. You do have to factor in how much time it will take to hop to AK and back. It's not that convenient. It'd be one thing if you were going somewhere Skyliner adjacent, but AK is a bit far - you'd spend a good amount of time waiting for and riding the buses.

 

[_19disnA]

If you will already be at Epcot, I agree with others that Garden Grill is a great option for a character meal. Since the restaurant slowly revolves and service is family style, you don't get the hustle/bustle associated with many of the other Disney character meals who have buffets. We ate there during a prior trip with 2 other families and our party included small children. They enjoyed the character interactions as they move between tables while the restaurant revolves. There was plenty of time to get autographs and take pictures. We never felt rushed.

The family style service also works out great since everyone can take whatever items they like.

It would be a very long monorail ride to Contemporary from Epcot (via TTC) if you wanted to eat at Chef Mickey's. We also ate at Chef Mickey's last time and enjoyed it was well, but we were staying at the Contemporary so it didn't require a long travel time to get there.

We have never eaten at Tusker House, so can't provide any input on that one.