Tell me which ones are the best counter service

[2disneycrazy]

I decided not to go with the dining plan for my trip for 2 adults and 1 child in the month of July. Since we will be eating breakfast in the room and a number of lunches by the pool with cold cuts, pickles, bread and other snacks that I plan on buying, I figured the dining plan wouldn't work for me. We are planning on 2 character meals (both breakfasts) and one dinner, Whispering Canyon and possibly Trail's End. That's really it for table service and we will be in Disney for 16 days.

What I really would like to know since we will be spending 10 days in the parks what counter service restaurants are the best. I've already read about Flame Tree Barbecue, Tusker House, Columbia Harbor House and we're planning on trying those. Are there any others? Which ones have the largest portions so if we're not very hungry one adult meal will be enough for an adult and my nephew to share. Which one has good pizza because my nephew really enjoys pizza? And most of all which one has the best chicken nuggets? My nephew eats chicken nuggets like crazy, but they he is picky about the way they taste.

He will eat homemade chicken cutlets every day if he could and chicken nuggets also, but if they taste anything like the frozen Banquet ones, forget it, he won't touch them. If he can't get good chicken nuggets, which restaurant - counter service - has the best chicken strips? He's only six but he loves his chicken and pizza.

The 2 character meals that we're planning on are Crystal Palace for breakfast and Donald's Breakfast in Animal Kingdom. Are there any other character meals (breakfast or possibly lunch) that we should try instead of the two I mentioned.

I read so much about Whispering Canyon that I think my nephew would love it and his mother and I will get a big laugh when he asks for ketchup. He has to have ketchup on chicken, et cetera, so he will definitely be asking for it.
He will really enjoy the stick horse races.

Does "Trail's End To Go" have tables outside where you can eat? I thought that would be a good way to have a dinner before going to the camp site to meet Chip and Dale and roast marshmallows.

Any other suggestions on where to eat for counter service meals is appreciated.

 

[JadenLayne]

Pizzafari in Animal Kingdom has good Pizza.
You can also get Pizza at Pinocchios at Magic Kingdom.

There are so many good places to eat. Have you looked at the menus on Deb's sight?

www.allearsnet.com

Then go to dining and menus.

Are you not doing any character dinners? I would definitely recommend Chef Mickey's for your nephew. Liberty Tree Tavern is also very good as is The Garden Grill at Epcot.

 

[chamonix]

We like Pinocchio Village Haus in Fantasyland at Mk. They have pizza, though we love the turkey bacon panini--and yes, it is definitely enough for more than one person.
http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_pin.htm
Can't help you with the chicken strips, they have them, but I don't know what they taste like. From what I have seen, chicken nuggets at WDW are mostly of the banquet looking type, not the higher end looking chicken strips. Will he eat chicken that isn't deep fried? If so, try getting the rotisserie chicken at Cosmic Rays in Tomorrowland, they also have roasted chicken legs. When my dd wants chicken in a park we usually look for roasted chicken instead of fried.
http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/men_cr.htm

 

[danny1649]

Cosmic Ray's at MK

 

[__disneygirl]

There is another thread going right now about great counter service places... you might want to check that out. We like Columbia Harbour House, Pecos Bill's Cafe, & Casey's Corner.

 

[pdchris]

Cosmic Ray's at MK

Ditto that. But I wonder if it's cause I like the name?

 

[daisy_77]

We liked Columbia Harbour House, Flame Tree BBQ, and Casey's Corner.

 

[michaelwilliammidd]

MK- Cosmic Ray's, Pinochio's Village Haus, Columbia Harbour House
Epcot- San Angel Inn Cantina
MGM- Backlot Express
AK- Tusker House

 

[lillielil]

Earl of Sandwich!

It's in downtown disney, is super-cheap, and amazingly delicious.

 

[mamacatnv]

I 2nd Earl of Sandwich

We also really liked Tangeriene Cafe in Morocco - They had burgers on their kid menu. This was by far one of the best CS's we ate. The platter meals were large enough to share.

Also Cosmic Rays had a rib/chicken combo that my DH and I shared one night and our DD had chicken strips.

 

[magiccouple2004]

tusker house and flame tree barbeque was good
cosmic rays also in mk
pecos bills in mk
catalina eddies in mgm was ok
also earl of sandwich in dtd

 

[patsal]

MK Casey's is super good and has relatively inexpensive hot dogs
Cosmic Rays has good variety and great portion sizes for sharing
Pinocchio's village house was a tasty surprise in December
Columbia Harbor house is just not what it used to be for us and we really dont' go there anymore--portions are smaller, no chowder in a bread bowl, etc.

AK Tusker House--so much better than average fast food
Pizzzafari, best pizza and coolest atmosphere
Flame tree gets great revies, personally we will be trying it in July

MGM Pretty much ickky all around, but our favorite edible CS came from the Backlot Express great grilled veggie snadwich and very good mandarin chicken salad.

Epcot Much better choices here.
DS said the Double bacon cheeseburger at the AMerican Adventure pavillion was really good. Why one wants a Cheesburger in Epcot is beyond me, but whatever!

Sunshine Seasons in the Land is great for variety and quite tasty
Moracco has a great take out platter
Actually in Epcot we tend to get a littel of this and a littel of that in World showcase and share.

DTD Wolfgang Puck express is tasty and a good portion size value, Earl of Sandwich again good, fresh and tasty

 

[mouse4ever]

I was looking for the same info so... subscribing!

 

[curiouser]

We always get chicken strips at Cosmic Rays in MK. I believe all the chicken strips in WDW are basically the same, as far as CS goes. When we get them at Cosmic Rays they are normally hot, fresh, and yummy. Its nice white meat chicken that pulls apart nicely if you pull the strips into pieces. It also comes with a side of fries or carrots. My BF and I normally can split one order and be content for lunch.

 

[mommystieg]

DD#2 basically only eats chicken nuggets so I know where you are coming from. If memory serves me correct, most of the chicken at the CS places are strips (we ate so much CS one visit that I remember going around singing, "Chicken and fries, chicken and fries, all we ever eat is chicken and fries.")
In MK, we enjoy Pecos Bill or Columbia Harbor House
In Epcot, we make at least one visit to the Liberty Inn
In AK, we liked the pizza at Pizzafari
In MGM, we don't really like the CS food here, although, last year we ate at the Backlot Express and it was pretty good.

I would also like to suggest Chef Mickey's for an additional character meal--they only serve breakfast or dinner, though. Another character breakfast we are trying this trip is 'Ohana -- they have Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto.

 

[stschaefer]

MK - Cosmic Rays and Pecos bills - good selection and topping bar
Epcot - Electric Umbrella, Sunshine Seasons
AK - Tusker House or Flame Tree BBQ
MGM - we eat at Boardwalk bakery or Beaches and Cream...

 

[hookedup]

I guess I am in the minority here but I did not think the pizza at Pizzafari at AK was very good - in fact when we look back at the trip where we tried it (which was 2003) it was one of our worst meals.
Ditto with Pecos Bills - another one of our worst meal experiences (2004 trip)

On the other hand we did like Columbia Harbor House, my dh LOVES the counter service at the America area at Epcot (Liberty Inn?) he thinks that's some of the best CS at wdw (I think it's OK). I thought Cosmic Rays at MK was decent.

As far as pizza goes at WDW we have ordered delivery service from nearby pizza places and found that to be better than any we have had on property.

 

[5disneyfreaks]

We truly enjoyed Pecos Bill. In fact it is one CS we all agree to go back to. The one CS we all agree NOT to go back to, Pizza Planet in MGM. Even though I will go out of my way for a good pizza, my kids can eat any pizza at any time. And they think it was nasty.