The Yachtsman Steakhouse

[brooks13]

I am taking my parents out for dinner for their 50th wedding anniversary, we will be at WDW. Dad loves steak best, I was thinking of dinner at the Yatchsman's Steakhouse.

They do not have admissions to theme parks, I also have a 3 yr with us. They are actually arriving to MCO about 6PM and I fear that I would not be able to make to MK area in time, like for dinner at the Concourse.

Any comments about the Yachtsman or recommmendations for a different Steakhouse? Will The Yachtsman do anything special for an anniversary of they know?

Thanks.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

We love the Yachtsman Steakhouse. We have been there every visit to WDW since it opened. We think they have the best steak around! The service is always excellent. The tables are not crammed together like in some places. The atmosphere is nice and relaxing.

I think a 3 yr old will be fine as it is not a very fancy place. It is common to see kids there.

I have had a PS as late as 9:30 at the Yachtsman. If you are there at 9, you can see a small part of Illuminations from the windows overlooking Stormalong Bay.

I have no idea about the anniversary, but knowing Disney, if you just ask they will do something.

 

[ducklite]

Where are they staying? How are they getting from MCO to WDW? If they are staying at the YC/BC, then yes, this would be a good choice, atlhough it is far from my favorite steakhouse on property these days.

Would you be willing to leave the child with a sitter? I'm concerned that your parents won't get to WDW and be ready to go to dinner until close to 7:30, if not even 8:00pm. How will the 3 year old be at that point? If s/he normally goes to bed at 7:30 it's not fair to other diners to bring her along to a late dinner, regardles of how well behaved, after bedtime all kids get cranky. Heck I get cranky after MY bedtime!

Is there any way you could schedule to special dinner for the next night?

Anne

 

[brooks13]

My folks will be staying the night offsite with my family. I will be picking them up from MCO when they arrive and that is the only night we can take them out for dinner, unfortunately. I imagine when I make a PS that it not be until 7:30 or 8PM. DD will be fine at that time, she is a night owl and will also have a nap that afternoon. Also she is good, we can take her anywhere for lengthy times and she is pretty happy and well behaved as long as she's with us. I would not consider leaving her with a sitter. Even my parents would rather eat at the hotel with her there than plan a dinner elsewhere without her.

Ducklite - what is your favorite steakhouse on the property?

Any recommendations out there for a steakhouse offsite from WDW?

Thanks to all who replied/reply.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by brooks13
My folks will be staying the night offsite with my family. I will be picking them up from MCO when they arrive and that is the only night we can take them out for dinner, unfortunately. I imagine when I make a PS that it not be until 7:30 or 8PM. DD will be fine at that time, she is a night owl and will also have a nap that afternoon. Also she is good, we can take her anywhere for lengthy times and she is pretty happy and well behaved as long as she's with us. I would not consider leaving her with a sitter. Even my parents would rather eat at the hotel with her there than plan a dinner elsewhere without her.

Ducklite - what is your favorite steakhouse on the property?

Any recommendations out there for a steakhouse offsite from WDW?

Thanks to all who replied/reply.

The best steak on property is at Jiko. Hands down. Pperiod. End of story. It's not a steakhouse though...but still, the best steak. Plus you can spend a few minutes seeing the animals before or after you eat.

After that I would say Le Cellier or Shula's. but Le Cellier would require Epcot admission, and I think Shulas is NOT kid friendly at all, nor would I bring a child there (it's a VERY adult atmosphere and there is no childs menu). So after that I would say Yachtsmans, but Jiko would be my first choice.

Anne

 

[BCV23]

We had a wonderful steak dinner at YSH this December. We also went back to Jiko that trip in order to have their steak and macaroni again. We loved it on a trip last year. Both my daughter and I had the worst steaks of our lives that night. We ordered them medium. They were medium on the inside but charred on the outside. They were very tough and fatty. We should have sent them back but didn't. Probably ate less than a third of them. Hpoe it was an off night but TWO steaks like that???

 

[Pa@okw95]

The Yachtsman is not a place for a 3 year old. It is a gormet dinning restaurant and I doubt a 3 year old can sit for an hour to an hour and a half in this type of place without being a problem to the rest of the people. Now having said that I do beleive they manage to put people with children in one area out of the way.

 

[BCV23]

I have to disagree with this. Brooks13 knows her daughter best. Two out of three of ours were fine at meals like this at three and in fact our youngest dined there around that age. The others were older than that by the time the Y&BC opened. I think YSH is an excellent restaurant but I don't know if I'd describe it as a gourmet experience either but I supppose we all describe that differently.

I do think like all WDW restaurants with the exception of V&A children including preschoolers are the norm rather than the exception.

 

[chrissyk]

We have eaten at the Yachtman's Steakhouse in the past and loved it. However, we ate there on our last trip to WDW in Feb., and that was another story! We had an early PS (6PM or so, I think), and boy did they zip us through our meal. I swear, we weren't there more than 15 minutes and that includes dessert! It was REALLY weird. I didn't have time to eat my salad before the entree arrived, and they were already taking our dessert order while we were just starting our entree. Both DH and I thought that this was a very weird experience, and we won't be dining there again (for a while, at least). It was as if they had much more important guests arriving and they wanted to get us out of there as fast as possible...it was just weird!

We're going to WDW again in 2 weeks (YIPPEE!!!!!), and we're going to be trying Shula's and Le Cellier this time around. We've never eaten at either, so hopefully one of them will become our new favorite

 

[Rafikifan]

Do NOT worry about taking your dd to the Yachtsman. We've had good meals there and great service and that was WITH our 3 children with us. The first time was when they were 23 months, 4, and 7. YOU know your child. If she is rested and accustomed to eating at nice restaurants then you will be fine. As mentioned previously V & A's and Shula's are the only two restaurants at WDW I can think of that I would not take a child. WDW IS a family oriented vacation destination after all. There are some children who can't sit still in nice restaurants (heck there are some who can't at burger joints) and then there are some who can. You shouldn't be deprived of a nice meal because some think all or most children misbehave at restaurants. It's simply not true. The staff at the Yachtsman were extremely friendly and didn't act the least bit concerned that there were kids there (and there were more than just ours) and we have been seated in various locations in the restaurant so don't be worried that you'll get stuck in a corner if dd is with you. Enjoy!

 

[ducklite]

I agree with Rafikifan to a point--but it all depends on the child. S oem children shouldn't be taken to WDW at all

I'd like to add Citrico's to teh list of places that you shouldn't take a child. ver upscale and very adult.

Anne

 

[Crazy Hakim]

Originally posted by brooks13
I am taking my parents out for dinner for their 50th wedding anniversary, we will be at WDW. Dad loves steak best, I was thinking of dinner at the Yatchsman's Steakhouse.
Any comments about the Yachtsman or recommmendations for a different Steakhouse? Will The Yachtsman do anything special for an anniversary of they know?
Thanks.

Yachtsman has one of the best steaks on Disney property. I suggest the Burbon NY Strip Steak, out of this world!
For anniversary's they usually supply a complimentry dessert platter with "Happy Anniversary" written on the plate. Make sure you mention the anniversary to the greeter upon arrival at the podium.
And don't worry about your child, they have a great kid's menu and one of the best kid's desserts (Mickey's Puzzle).

 

[mom_rules]

Like the tag says "loves Yachtsman" -haven't had a bad experience or steak there yet! Have two PS there in May.

 

[sherry8253]

HI - Congratulations to your parents for their 50th anniversary. I think you will love the Yachtsman's steakhouse. We have always had excellent food and service there. I am certain that your DD will be welcomed there. When we were there last December, there were several well behaved children there and as an adult only couple in our late 40's, we did not mind them at all. People who go to Disney go knowing that it is a place created for children of all ages (including those of us who are big kids) and we exptect to have children in Disney restaurants. So just enjoy. You have made a great choice to celebrate this special event in your parent's lives and it wouldn't be the same for them if their DGD was not included in their celebration.

 

[donmil723]

I have only been to YS twice. The first time in 2001, we loved it! Good food and good service. We raise Angus beef so we know a good steak! LOL. Last November, we went there and were seated right away. It wasn't very busy so I don't know what happened but we sat there for 15-20 minutes and no one came to wait on us. Although we saw some waiters standing around, they weren't close enough to get their attention without actually getting up and walking over to them. We ended up leaving and eating at Cape May Cafe and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Of course our waiter there gave us extra special service after we told him what happened. We plan to give YS another chance as we did enjoy our first meal there. We just knew we wouldn't enjoy ourselves if we had stayed the last time since it started off on such a sour note.

As far as kids being there, I saw several both times. My youngest is now 18 but it doesn't bother me in the slightest to see kids at a nice restaurant like YS. Of course, if they are crying or screaming, I think parents should be courteous to other diners and take the child outside until they settle down.

Donna

 

[Eggleboo]

We were just at the Yachtsman three weeks ago. I was hesitant on going there because I didn't have a good experiece last year. HOwever it was hubby's birthday and he wanted that for dinner. There were plenty of kids there and most of them were fine. One mother took her daughter out to walk around a little when the little girl was restless. No one seemed to mind after all Disney is a kid's world! We didn't order off the menu. We wanted chatabriand (spelling?) for two. It was fork tender and delicious and we even ordered it medium well. We were each asked what potato we wanted and we shared a vegetable(grn beans). I whispered to our server (who was fantastic) shhhhh it's husbands birthday so please give me the bill. He went in the back and brought out my husband his own little Mickey MOuse chocolate birthday cake. We had just finished dessert (sampler plate) so we couldn't eat the bd cake. The server boxed it for us and also gave my husband a bd card signed by all the charactors. It was a delicious, meal, relaxing yet not too stuffy for our casual taste when on vacation and it is expensive but we thought definitely worth it as we don't do it often. he one thing I have learned there is to ask them not to salt or season things if I wanted to do it myself because that was the problem last year. Everything was so salty and way too much garlic. Good luck with your decision!

 

[RAV]

The Yachtsman Steakhouse is a wonderful choice. We have been bringing our son there since he was a toddler. One evening I had a special which was a New York strip stuffed with crab meat. It was hands down one of the best meals I have ever enjoyed at WDW.

 

[Halle]

We have eaten at the Yactsman Steakhouse since our youngest was 10, she's 20 now. They cater to kids. We ate there in August 02 and Feb 03, we were never rushed. August was my birthday and Feb was business, both times my DH told the waitstaff that we were not in a rush and wanted to relax. The service was impeccable and we noted that they cater to young children, Mickey would be proud!! We were surrounded by families with young children both visits and were very impressed with the children and the waitstaff's interaction. Can't wait to have grandchildren to take!