Restaurant recommendations needed for a disillusioned Disney lover...

[DisWishes720]

Hello friends!

We are planning a trip in February with my parents and two kids (5 and 1.5). Our last experience at Disney in October 2015 was so bad that we decided we needed to take a year off to try to gain some of that magical feeling back. My husband and mom were especially upset with our previous trip and one of their top grievances was the food. We will be staying 8 days, 7 nights at the Polynesian and I am looking for any recommendations for dinner and/or meals that are really fun and "magical" for the whole gang. I'm really hoping to make these two fall in love with Disney again, and what better way than food?? What are your recent best experiences, or things we should absolutely try? What is your favorite character meal for kids that age? What's your DREAM reservation list? HELP!

**Disclaimer** These are VERY big foodies. We are NY/NJ Italians who really love food and the gourmet experience (my husband still secretly has dreams of being a chef). He especially is spoiled by NYC restaurants that he frequents because of work, so the closest thing we can get to that would be really helpful.

 

[Aliceacc]

This is meant with kindness, not snark.

WDW is an amusement park. Sure, we love eating there, but it's not the focus of the trip...again, it's an amusement park.

We're not foodies, so we're just fine.

Here are the restaurants we enjoyed on our July trip:
Chef Mickey's, Coral Reef, Le Cellier, BOG, Cape May, Crystal Palace, Tusker House.

Was the food incredible? I don't know- we enjoyed it, enjoyed the ambience, and went back to the park.

I think that maybe your expectations don't match your destination.

 

[tony67]

If you are not on the DDP - check out Blue Zoo in the Dolphin and Trattoria Il Mulino in the Swan

Check out some of the places in Disney Springs - they are a bit new at this point to really get a solid number of review I think - and many are on the DDP (if not all)

Tiffins in Animal Kingdom is also meant to be very good.

V&A at the GF is also very high quality - but you can't bring the kids and you need to dress for it (jacket for men). I don;t know about you - but I don't want to deal with that on vacation

As far as the character buffets go - don't expect much - it is about the characters.

As the previous poster stated - Disney is not a food destination.
Back in around 2000 it was - it seems like they are making a go at that again - but the DDP does limit what they can do and be profitable IMO
So you need to go with the right expectations unfortunately.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

Each of these places has a certain amount of entertainment value: Coral Reef at Epcot gets a lot of mixed reviews but we had one of our better meals there last year. Had a very good NY Strip Steak. We loved the Baileys & Jack Daniels Chocolate Mousse for dessert. As for entertainment value, Coral Reef has a giant aquarium inside. You can watch the sharks swim while you eat your dinner.
Tusker House (character dining). We enjoy going to Tusker House for breakfast.
50's Prime Time Cafe - It's not gourmet by any stretch, but we love the fried chicken dinner there. (Comfort food). Entertainment value - This place is set up to look like your Mom's house in the 1950's.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

1. Do NOT get the DDP where you are forced into the Disney restaurants
2. Take your husband to Il Muliano in the Swan/Dolphin complex. Great pasta! Actually any of the restaurants there are generally better than Disney.
3. The new offerings at Disney Springs are good. Try them. Personally I like the Boathouse especially if you can sit outside.


Now for character meals. The food generally sucks. Sorry, but Disney knows the reason you came was to meet the characters and they don't spend a lot of money on quality food for these things. Tusker House gets my vote, but the understanding would be that it's just good cafeteria level food. There's also one at the Dolphin. No idea how the food is, but since they don't get the automatic "free food" group it might be better?

 

[VillainFavs]

Might help to know which ones you went to that they didn't like.

But if you're looking for fun and characters, you're going to have to compromise on the food. And vice versa. If you're all about the food, it's going to be more the signature restaurants that aren't big on "fun" and characters.

 

[DisWishes720]

Thank you for all your advice! As I sit here thinking about it, it seems to me that they are more upset with the price of just mediocre food. Our usual choices are always Cali Grill, Citricos, and Jiko. Our last 2 meals at Cali were really just sub par. We have had some AMAZING meals there, but recently it's just been OK. Even Jiko was not as great as it normally was. Maybe we were just there on an off week? I think they get more upset because they just spent $$$ on a meal that was not up to their expectations. When we ate at Teppan Edo however, they were totally happy and had a great time because they felt like the food was better value if that makes sense? So maybe what we do need are not signature meals, but good "value" meals where they didn't feel like they wasted $40 on just an OK steak.

I know 'Ohana is good for this, any others? I like the idea of 50's Prime Time! How about Narcoosee's? Have you had good experiences there?

 

[DWDan]

So I might be in the minority here, but I disagree with the "Disney World is just an amusement park" mindset. For what people pay to eat, sleep, and do at DW, they should have really good food. It's not a Six Flags. The restaurants can be very expensive, especially the table service ones. I know Chef Mickey's sometimes gets a bad wrap, but we really enjoyed breakfast there. All of the characters took pictures with our table, signed autographs, and it was a pretty good buffet..plus who doesn't love Mickey Mouse head shaped waffles?!. I'd also recommend the Poly restaurant O'hana. Many people on here say it's one of the best restaurants on property and I would agree, not to mention it's all you can eat. We also loved Epcot restaurants Via Napoli (Italy) and Teppan Edo (Japan). I do agree that venturing to restaurants at Swan & Dolphin or Disney Springs could be enjoyable, especially with so many new restaurants at DS. My family will be going back to the World next year and we hope to explore more restaurants, as I've found that to be an enjoyable part of the trip.

 

[Lisa F]

Thank you for all your advice! As I sit here thinking about it, it seems to me that they are more upset with the price of just mediocre food. Our usual choices are always Cali Grill, Citricos, and Jiko. Our last 2 meals at Cali were really just sub par. We have had some AMAZING meals there, but recently it's just been OK. Even Jiko was not as great as it normally was. Maybe we were just there on an off week? I think they get more upset because they just spent $$$ on a meal that was not up to their expectations. When we ate at Teppan Edo however, they were totally happy and had a great time because they felt like the food was better value if that makes sense? So maybe what we do need are not signature meals, but good "value" meals where they didn't feel like they wasted $40 on just an OK steak.

I know 'Ohana is good for this, any others? I like the idea of 50's Prime Time! How about Narcoosee's? Have you had good experiences there?

I do think that going to often and going to the same places too often takes some of the shine off of the whole thing so going with different places where there are no expectations is a good idea. Also some of the "bad value on DDP" places feel like a better value paying cash.

Both Sci Fi Dine in and 50's Primetime are great experiences in HS. the food is basic but good and huge portions and reasonable prices (more so on the portions at 50's PT but sci fi beats PT for atmosphere IMO)
In AK Tusker House gets consistently good reviews and the food is a step above some of the other buffets IMO, with more interesting choices as well (similar to Boma). Breakfast is a much better value than dinner. Also Yak n Yeti gets great reviews for asianish, their prices are reasonable especially if you get a bunch of appetizers which are REALLY reasonable. The ahi nachos are supposedly to die for and big enough for a meal or shareable as an app.
In Epcot, I just recently added Biergarten to my hit list. I haven't been there yet but I have a thread going with some great responses. IMO the experience looks phenomenal and the food gets great reviews too. Go during lunch prices and they won't feel like they have overpaid before. I also love Coral Reef but that gets very mixed reviews, I have always enjoyed my meals there and am looking forward to going back but it is probably not a safe choice. i tend to avoid pizza (nyer myself and dating a ny italian so we get lots of great red sauce italian at his place, i tend to not go out for it especially at disney).
In MK, I love liberty tree for lunch. Again great theming, reasonable prices, apparently the ooey toffee cake is to die for - last time I went there I don't think they had it so it was years ago but the menu looks fairly unchanged to me.

In the resorts I'd try the Wave rather than the CA Grill. It gets GREAT reviews, changing fresh menu with a farm-to-table theme and they have a filet there for much cheaper than CA Grill. Also on the lower end Beaches and Cream has a TON of bang for the buck. You are staying at the Poly and I would give Kona a try too - again consistently good reviews and reasonable prices. In fact most of the "2nd tier restaurants" at deluxe resorts get good reviews and the prices are way more reasonable. If you like Jiko, try Sanaa - again much more reasonable prices and rave reviews.

 

[loves to dive]

I would say just about anywhere in WS in Epcot, the prices aren't horrible and in most cases the food ranges from o.k. to pretty good. We love Spice Road in Morocco. Most of the resorts have at least one restaurant that is pretty good and the Swan/Dolphin are known for their food. You aren't going to get wow food in the parks but you can get interesting. We enjoy Skipper's Canteen in MK but the prices might be a shock. I've watched the reviews for Tiffins in AK and it gets pretty good ones. We enjoy Brown Derby in HS but you will see mixed reviews on it and the prices can be high. I'm not a fan of Prime Time but that is because I'm from the south so "comfort" food is just food for us and I don't eat fried chicken even here. The food there can be pretty heavy but there is lots of it and sharing can be done. I'm also not a fan of the whole cast interaction thing, I might just be getting old and grouchy.

 

[JesseD]

Our favorite Disney restaurant is Rose and Crown at Epcot. Something about the place we just enjoy.

 

[nco91590]

I always seem to be let down by signatures in general but have been really pleasantly surprised by TS restaurants. Our last trip we had GREAT meals at The Wave and Captain's Grille. I think I build up my expectations too much for signatures.

Disney Springs has some great choices now. STK is pretty high end and Homecoming looks amazing.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you really want a character meal, I would recommend Tusker House. The food at all of the character meals is pretty bad, IMHO, but Tusker House is the best of that bunch.

Or, head over to the character breakfast at the Four Seasons. The food there is much, much better.

We go to WDW often and I've found the signatures and the resort restaurants to have the better food. We don't even bother with eating in MK anymore. The food is just really subpar. We would rather head over to one of the resort restaurants - we've had good luck with The Wave, GF Cafe and Artist Point. Even Trail's End was pretty good and a lot of fun. In DHS, we stick with HBD. In AK, we enjoyed Tiffins on our last trip or head over to AKL and eat at Sanaa. In EP, we like Spice Road Table and Via Napoli. Or head over to the Boardwalk area and try Flying Fish, Trattoria al Forno, Capt. Grille or any of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants which are the best on property IMHO. In Disney Springs, we enjoyed the Boathouse.

 

[sjrec]

We have enjoyed The Wave, Flying Fish and Via Napoli on recent trips. We don't get the dining plan, so if a salad and an appetizer looks more appealing that's what we get. We also travel in August so prefer to eat lighter. I didn't think any of those meals were mediocre. I understand what you're saying about price, but we have a place at the beach and restaurant prices there are comparable. 4.00 for a drink on the boardwalk, 5.00 plus for ice cream. Restaurant prices 25.00 and up.
I think vacationing anywhere for a week you will have some very good meals and and maybe a meal you weren't wild about. Hopefully you will have a better experience this time ☺

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Thank you for all your advice! As I sit here thinking about it, it seems to me that they are more upset with the price of just mediocre food. Our usual choices are always Cali Grill, Citricos, and Jiko. Our last 2 meals at Cali were really just sub par. We have had some AMAZING meals there, but recently it's just been OK. Even Jiko was not as great as it normally was. Maybe we were just there on an off week? I think they get more upset because they just spent $$$ on a meal that was not up to their expectations. When we ate at Teppan Edo however, they were totally happy and had a great time because they felt like the food was better value if that makes sense? So maybe what we do need are not signature meals, but good "value" meals where they didn't feel like they wasted $40 on just an OK steak.

I know 'Ohana is good for this, any others? I like the idea of 50's Prime Time! How about Narcoosee's? Have you had good experiences there?

I am not sure why you think 'Ohana is a good choice. It's VERY hit or miss IMHO Just read the reviews... one day it's great the next it's a disaster. For me the "roll of the dice" dining has been too risky.

For world showcase avoid China (seriously the cheap stuff in NYC's Chinatown is dramatically better) One of my favs is LaHacienda. It's not Tex Mex, but the fish dish I had there still ranks as one of the best at Disney

I think California Grill took a tumble after the remodel. Not sure what happened, but it's never been as good IMHO. I have not yet had a bad meal at Jiko, but it can happen. (That's one of my big Disney beefs, consistency is an issue)

Seriously if they are steak people I would look at Boathouse. They use Gibson's steak out of Chicago and while I have not had it at Boathouse it was outstanding at Gibson's!

 

[littledebbie335]

Have you ever eaten at Sanaa? That was probably one of our best meals on our last trip.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Try resort restaurants. BoatWrights, Sanaa, Jiko, CG, Ohana, Citricos, Olivia's, these are all great meals.

 

[alex9179]

I think that if you stick to Disney's casual TS places, you'll be fine with price vs expectation. Signature pricing is quite high compared to what is served. Morimoto and Frontera Cocina are two in DS that we'd like to try even though pricing seems to be on the higher end.
We have enjoyed Via Napoli, Sanaa, Yak&Yeti, Raglan Road, and The Wave and would return to any of them if they fit into our plans. 50's Primetime was a lot of fun and the fried chicken was quite good. The PB&J shake was delicious, and I don't like PB&J and tend to forego sweets. My family still talks about that place.

I doubt we'd do character meals, anymore. Akershus breakfast was good and the interaction was cute, but my kids aren't into that kind of thing...and neither are their parents. The comparison of Tusker House to a cafeteria was our experience and was "food is fuel" quality.

I priced out a dinner at Captain's Grill(YC casual TS) and Blue Zoo(signature at S/D) for our last night. They came out to almost the same cost for what we would order, although it wasn't a straight entree-to-entree comparison. For those who want a signature experience, I'd recommend eating at S/D's restaurants where food quality, service, and value are more in line with each other.

Flying Fish just reopened and has been getting good reviews. Here is a video that the Dis people made of their visit.

 

[leebee]

We thought lunch at Wave was just OK, but dinner was really good! We also really like Boma- at least for the price it's AYCE and the food is interesting and tasty. NOT fans of Ohana at all- it's gone so far downhill over the past 10 years! I want to try Raglan Road (and you can make a reservation through Open Table and avoid the no-show charge). Honestly, I am not impressed with a lot of Disney's restaurants anymore, and on our next trip we are considering the restaurants at City Walk.

 

[tomatecerise]

Tusker house is fun and realy good (Go at 10:45 am for brunch)
Prime Time café is realy fun! Loved it! I dream of the fried chicken
Biergarten is fun and They have beer! The children can Go to dance