WDW Restaurants - GTA perspective?

[MECH8T7]

I'm planning our first WDW family trip this March Break. I've spent a lot of time trying to plan out the days and activities at the parks. But I am trying to decide whether we should also be making a real effort to get around to some of the popular sit-down WDW restaurants.

So far, I've got us signed up for CRT and the Hoop Dee Doo Revue and, as we are staying at the Poly and AKL, I expect that we will be eating at Ohana's, Boma and Jiko. We will probably try to at least get another PS for a chacter meal at one of the resorts, e.g. Chef Mickey's. But, apart from that, I'm not sure what else to do. We'll be there for just over a week.

I can already tell that eating too many meals at the WDW restaurants will get quite expensive, particularly if you factor in the idea that we might put our kids in on-site childcare depending on the restaurant.

Anyways, my question is whether anyone can give me a sense of how the top WDW restaurants compare to GTA restaurants? Or, if you have a personal favourite restaurant, is there a local restaurant that it reminds you of? Artist's Point at Wildnerness Lodge looks intriguing but, if its nothing special, I'm just as happy to go to a food court or off-site.

TIA for your views.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

O'hana's and CRT were great.... we also ate at Whispering canyon cafe and loved that too (dh got put in the canyon jail for having a potty mouth and ds got a 'large' pop)

Didn't get to chef Mickey's but I found the character meals were overrated.... characters only come around to the table once in most cases (except the princess brekie in Epcot... perhaps that was b/c we were the only ones there with 2 boys and no girls!!lol) the Ice cream social in Epcot was pretty good for a character 'snack' also.... characters spent more time at our table.... perhaps that was b/c it was a quieter time of the day for the restaurants though but it was a great break mid afternoon at Epcot!

 

[belle1627]

Anyways, my question is whether anyone can give me a sense of how the top WDW restaurants compare to GTA restaurants? Or, if you have a personal favourite restaurant, is there a local restaurant that it reminds you of? Artist's Point at Wildnerness Lodge looks intriguing but, if its nothing special, I'm just as happy to go to a food court or off-site.

Hi there,

On our last trip we did Chef Mickeys, it is alot like Tuckers Marketplace but with a Disney twist. My dd and ds loved Chef Mickey's as did I. Characters came around several times and they sing a great song where you twirl your napkins in the air. It was a blast, I recommend it. They also have food that caters to the young ones (ie chicken nuggets etc).

We stayed a AKL, which was awesome. We ate at Boma and I loved it, but my dh didn't. It was expensive and unless you like the foods served, it is a waste.

My kids loved the sci-fi dine in theater at MGM. You are seated in a "car" and watch movies like at a drive in. Pretty cool.

Avoid Planet Hollywood(downtown disney), food and service was terrible.

There are alot of places we ate for lunch that were okay like pizza planet or restaurantsaurus for something quick.

We are doing alot more character meals this time (princess breakfast, Epcot; 1900 Park Fare dinner, GF; Lunch at the castle and of course Chef Mickeys. We are staying at a offsite villa this time so we "hope" to save costs on at least one meal a day. Food is such a huge expense.

Have an awesome time!!!!!

belle1627

 

[Mortlives]

I think part of what draws us to the restaurants we go to at WDW is the fact that there is nothing like them in the GTA. I only wish we had a House of Blues here. I've never been to a WDW restaurant and thought "this is just like [fill in the blank] back home", and that is part of the appeal. FWIW, though, the buffet food we've had at Disney is far superior to any buffet we've had around here.

Kungaloosh!
Morticia (who's already got her 'Ohana and Boma PSs).

 

[hockey mom]

The one problem is that there are so many great places as far as theming and food that it is way too time consuming to try even a portion. We love Chef Mickey's because of the great character interaction and the napkin dance. I love the theme of 50's prime time and we try to hit LeCellier for a taste of home.

My advice is to pick a few of interest and resign yourself to the fact that unfortunately you cannot scratch the surface with one trip so you will just have to go back

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Have to agree with Hockey Mom that there are just too many different restaurants to hit them all. We are taking the approach of trying different ones each time we do down and go back to our favourites. So far our favourite is Ohana's but we are big meat eaters. I liked Boma but he didn't so we probably won't be back. We both loved Chef des France too so we are thinking of returning there. This trip we are trying Chef Mickey's and Whispering Canyon Cafe as our new different places.

If you want cheaper than try Beaches and Cream Soda shop at the Beach Club -- yes it's burgers but I don't know of a place like it in the GTA. Another cheaper alternative is Trails End Buffeteria at Fort Wilderness. It doesn't have the variety of some of the other buffets but it is still really good and by far the cheapest.

The one place I wish we had in the GTA is Earl of Sandwich. Loved this place and it's really cheap.

 

[SaraMc]

There really isnt much in the GTA that is like being at Disneyworld. However when we are feeling like we are missing Disneyworld and we cant get back, there is a somewhat close second. We head to Yorkdale Mall to the Rainforest Cafe or to the One in Niagara Falls. Its not the same, there is no Mickey but the feeling that I could walk out into Animal Kingdom or go shopping at Downtown disney is very simular.


Only 20 days to go!!

Sara

 

[The House of Mouse]

We had the dreammaker package when we went last May, and therefore ate our way around the world. We are going back in March and surprisingly the first restaurant the kids said they wanted to go to again is Teppanyaki in Japan. I think this is because it was so different than everything else. Have you been to this web site to scope out the menus?

http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm

Depending what type of dining you would like the possibilities are endless. Of course, sci-fi is a perennial favourite.

Happy eating and see you there!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Canoe (in the TD Bank building) reminds me a little of California Grill ... only because the view is so nice. The atmosphere and food at CG are much better than Canoe, IMO. The interior at Montana's (chain restaurant owned by Cara's) reminds DBF of Whispering Canyon cafe but there's no comparison in the service you get. I've been to the location at Don Mills/Hwy 404 several times and service has been pretty poor... each time the waiter took a long time to come and get our order and disappeared shortly after our food came out, never bothering to come back to check if we needed anything. The Jerusalem has similar foods to that of the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco.

If you're on a budget Beaches and Cream, Pecos Bill, the Tangerine Cafe and the lunch vouchers at AK are great The bakery in France is also great for dessert and coffee. I also like Kona for dinner and breakfast. It is slightly more expensive than counter service, especially if you get a pot of coffee and dessert afterwards but it is generally quiet because everyone is over at 'Ohana. A cheap character "meal" is the ice cream social ... I think it costs about $6.99/person but the ice cream you get is pretty big. My favourite part is that it's pretty quiet in the afternoon so the characters have a lot of time to spend with you.

My restaurant to avoid is Citricos. I know this restaurant gets great reviews for being quiet and romantic but my experience was the opposite. Tons of kids (in terms of ratio of kids to parents), drunk adults and awful service. For the amount of money you're spend there, you can get a better meal at CG or Jiko.

 

[cottontail]

If you have children it is nice to research the character breakfasts and do the one that interests you the most, we usually did a later breakfast and used it as a combo breakfast/lunch, with eating cereal or muffin in our room.

If you can figure out a park schedule you can also do the character meal in that park, which makes for a nice relaxing time in between hitting the attractions.

Your choice of resorts will be very nice, we did those exact two resorts for our 25th anniver, FAMILY holiday. (how could we go to wdw after saving for 4 years to make that trip happen, and leave the kids behind?) lol.

Deb.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Bunnyfoo -- How funny. My DS used to work in the kitchen at that Montana's when it first opened. They had problems with the first owner and the Montana's corporate office finally took it over. I don't know if they still are running it or whether it has a new owner but for a while there the service was really, really bad. We went again last week and it wasn't bad but the food took a long time to come and the place was mostly empty. It is somewhat similar to the Wilderness Lodge though.

 

[hopadoo]

We have eaten almost every where on the property. (At least it seems that way!) As far as your kids, take them to all of the restaurants, except Victoria and Alberts. If you and your husband want great food and service, this is it!! It is $95 per person, DH must wear a jacket and tie and there are no children allowed. Get your baby sitter for this one! Also, do not take children to Artist's Point in WL. But, Whispering Canyon in WL is fun, fun, fun! Sci Fi is great, as is Prime Time Cafe at MGM. Set in a 50's theme, "mom" serves your food. It's great, also! Chef Mickey's, Grand Floridian's character breakfast and Alice's Tea Party are wonderful!!! Get the kids a tea party reservation (if they are old enough) There are no babies, etc. Old enough to enjoy it!!! Marakesh in Epcot, was good, but once was enough. Le Cellier was excellent!!! I hope that this helps a little!!

 

[StuartMI]

Boma sort of reminds me of Movenpick Marche.