Where oh where to go?

[jmm476]

My best friend and I are celebrating our 30th birthdays for 4 nights over Labor Day weekend. We purchased the dining plan and have 4 table services, but we are having the hardest time choosing which places to go. We're staying away from signature dining, so we can keep it to one credit per day and we'd like to do one day at each park. As much as I love characters, we're crossing off any character dining, since it's just the two of us. I would love to hear your recommendations.

 

[Hootch]

you'll get plenty of different opinions. Here are mine.

MK - in the park Crystal Palace. The monorail makes resort dining relatively easy. I would recommend the Wave or Kona for a resort spot.

Epcot - lots of choices but I would say Restaurant Marraeksh, Biergarten or Le Cellier.

DHS - I know this goes against conventional wisdom but I would do Sci Fi Dine Inn. It's an atmosphere thing for me.

DAK - Tusker House or you could head over to Boma which is better in my opinion.

 

[drmommy]

Are you wanting to eat one table service in each park? If that's the case, I would recommend:

AK: Yak & Yeti
MK: Tony's Town Square
EPCOT: Teppan Edo or Le Cellier
DHS: Mama Melrose

The only problem is that both Tony's and Mama Melrose are Italian. If I had to choose one? Mama Melrose. If you don't mind leaving MK and eating at a resort, I would recommend O'Hana's at the Polynesian Resort. It's on the monorail route, so it's easy to get to. The dessert is to die for!

 

[Nadjalu]

Sorry to hear you are crossing off character meals just because it is adults going.
Not only do I love Crystal Palace for the characters, the food is fabulous. Not to mention so convenient to eat in MK. It is a must do for us and it is just myself and DH. You don't have to "get into" the characters, but it is nice if you do....for them anyway and you.

Some of our favorites are Whispering Canyon, Ohana, San Angel Inn and Chef Mickey's.

Personally I like to look at the menus and plan what I would like to have or what sounds good. I get into it, make it fun not stressful. The stress part comes trying to fit everything in or which restaurant to do on what day/park.

Good luck with your effort, maybe you both can sit down and look together, make popcorn and enjoy the decision making.

 

[jmm476]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. We would like to stay in the parks if possible, unless the resort is very easy to get to from a park (ex: MK to Poly).

It's not that we don't "get into" the characters. We love to have our pictures taken with them. It's just that the character dining tends to be louder and less relaxing for us than non-character dining.

If we were to take the monorail from MK to Poly, is Kona or Ohana better? We're also trying to make sure we "get our money's worth" from the dining plan.

 

[moparop]

I am in the Kona camp personally. The best TS meal we've ever had was at Kona.

If you are looking for bang for your buck, I want to throw Tutto Italia out there. VERY tasty! We also really liked Teppen Edo.

 

[drmommy]

I think that O'hana's is better than Kona. The atmosphere is much better...despite the fact that it's in the same resort! Also, you can see Wishes from O'hana's if you get the right table. O'hana's is family style dining, so they keep it coming if you want them too! Meal starts with salad (delicious! citrussy vinaigrette), then pan-fried dumplings, asian-flavored wings. Entree is grilled/skewered steak, shrimp, pork and turkey, served with lo mein and veggies (broccoli, I think). And the dessert: the BEST bread pudding served with vanilla bean ice cream, with this warm caramel-like/banana drizzle. I can taste it now! We're going to O'hana's twice on our next trip...can't wait!!!

 

[wdwpirates]

MK - Take the monorail to Kona or 'Ohana...DH and I (in our 30's) do this all the time
AK - Yak & Yeti
DHS - Brown Derby
Epcot - Le Cellier

Have fun!!!

 

[mybestieismickey]

MK: head over to Kona. It is so yummy. I'm not drawn to the Ohana sort of meal, but I think it's because it reminds me of a restaurant that I worked at.
Epcot: Tutto Italia. Yummy food with a good bang for your buck DDP wise. And yummy Italian wait staff
DHS: 50's Prime Time Cafe. Lots of fun. But if you're looking for something calmer and you have park hoppers, would you consider heading back over to the World Showcase? Tokyo Dining is very good and nice and quiet. And most of the restaurant has a great view of the park. But if Japanese is not your style, there are lots of other great options in WS.
AK: Yak and Yeti. Cream Cheese Won Tons. Mmmm...

Good luck with your decision! I wish I had this problem right now...

 

[RAV]

I would suggest The Wave. It is easy to get to from the Magic Kingdom, has a bit more upscale feel without being a signature and the food is terrific. The bar is also very nice. We dined there in January. Everything we had was wonderful and the service was exceptional.

 

[iheartjacksparrow]

Epcot: Either Biergarten or San Angel Inn.
Biergarten's food is so good, and it's a fun atmosphere!
San Angel Inn, has delicious food! The atmosphere is beautiful...

Magic Kingdom: Doesn't really have any dining that I would say I love...
BUT I would take the monorail and head over to O'hana.
I never ate at Kona, so I can't compare the two.
But O'hana is a MUST for my family, we never miss it! I highly recommend it! Plus you can see the fireworks from a window table

Animal Kingdom: Tusker House
Pretty similiar to Boma, it's a buffet with an African flare to it.
Very Good.

Hollywood: I don't really have a favorite here but,
Sci-Fi is fun and pretty good. Not the greatest food, but it is good.
The atmosphere is a lot of fun though, I really enjoyed it.
Hollywood and Vine was okay, just a buffet.
And I haven't been to the 50's Prime Time, but I heard it's really good!

Have a great trip! (Hint hint....O'hana!!)