Restaurant help

[marinejjh]

I am looking for some good dining choices for each of the parks. I have a 7 and 9 yr old both boy and girl. What are a few good character meals besides Cinderella table, we don't want to use 2 credits for 1 meal. Thanks for any help.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Garden grill at Epcot. It's a fav here, good food and characters appeal to everyone, boys and girls. Tucker house at AK, best breakfast on property in our opinion, and good characters. Good lunch too, that's what we chose for thanksgiving this year.

 

[ErinsMommy]

MK: Love The Plaza for burgers/shakes/ice cream sundaes. Crystal Palace for breakfast (characters). then there's BOG which has Beast in a separate room where you visit him after your meal.

Epcot: Many enjoy and have good reviews on Garden Grill (characters) or Akershus. Non characters, Coral Reef. Not a favorite of either, and we only eat dinner in Epcot @ Le Cellier.

DHS: LOVE Sci-Fi (non characters) but great theming. Mama Melrose is also a fun place to eat. Many also like Prime Time. Hollywood & Vine have characters, but food/service is horrible IMO.

AK: Rainforest is our favorite. Not sure if there's character dining here?? ETA: Tusker House is only one I think.

Although not in the parks, Chef Mickeys, 1900 Park Fare and 'Ohana are character meals and right on the monorail line so easy access to/from MK & Epcot.

 

[Kimosabe]

Although not in the parks, Chef Mickeys, 1900 Park Fare and 'Ohana are character meals and right on the monorail line so easy access to/from MK & Epcot.

I would agree with this, especially 1900 Park Fare for breakfast (British characters) or dinner (Cinderella, the prince and the stepfamily -- they are hilarious). Very easy to get there, whether monorail or boat, either of which can add a fun travel twist for the kids....take one option there and another back to the MK. If you go there for dinner, you've also got the really cool atmosphere of the GF lobby, with the "orchestra" playing live music from upstairs...makes for a fun environment and worth a jaunt out of the park for a little while.

As for actual in-park character meals, I'd focus on Tusker House for the Mickey crowd or Akershus for princesses, depending on what you're wanting.

 

[kastoney]

The onky character meal that we truly enjoy the food at is tusker house. they have traditional breakfast items and some unique African offerings as well. Plus Mickey and friends in safari gear

 

[TheRustyScupper]

OUR WDW CHARACTER MEAL & BUFFET RANKINGS (*rev: February 2015*):
Results are listed from best to worst
Best Food (quality first, then variety):
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Ohana
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House, breakfast-Lunch (moved from #1 Spot due to menu changes)
. . . Garden Grove Swan-dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Tusker House, Dinner
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Cinderella Royal Table (since new menu)
. . . Chef Mickey's
Best Character Interaction (time with guest first, then friendliness):
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House, Dinner
. . . Ohana
. . . Garden Grove (Swan, dinner)
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Chef Mickey's
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Crystal Palace (barely enough time for a photo)
Best Atmosphere (surroundings and ambiance):
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Ohana
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Garden Grove (Swan, dinner)
. . . Chef Mickey's
.
NOTE1: Results are listed from best to worst. Overall, Tusker House wins due to best food and the length of time the characters stay at each table. A close second is 1900 Park Fare. By far, Chef Mickey's is the loser, due to mediocre character interaction and almost terrible food quality. The very distant second worst is Cinderella Royal Table, for brief time at tables by characters and the new menu.

 

[aliciadisfan]

Garden Grill in Epcot was great. Tusker House in Animal Kingdom was a surprising highlight of our trip. Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom was ok. Character interaction was good (except they were slow moving the day that we were there. We left without Eeyore because we were tired of waiting.) We did Hollywood and Vine breakfast in HS for the Disney Junior Characters, which was a hit, but we had a 5 and 3 year old. I'd say the BEST meal of our trip was at Ohana breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. It was just a magical experience with good food. We'll do it again next time.