which buffets on DDP are best for dinner?

[krmlaw]

really need advice here ... or should we skip buffets on DDP?

 

[Dizzymrslizzy]

I really like 1900 Park Fare, and Chef Mickeys for dinner.

 

[BCBug]

Boma! It's our favorite. Chef Mickey's is good for the characters.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Non-character: Biergarten in Germany at Epcot (out of this world!!!); Boma at AKL

Character: Crystal Palace.

We went to all of the above for dinner. Excellent food at all of them, and each one has different food too so you wouldn't get bored! Even though Biergarten is German, there really is something there for everyone (including little kids...we brought our boys there at ages 3 and 1!), and there is some great live entertainment at dinner too. I am extremely picky when it comes to German food, and theirs is wonderful! I think even my grandfather would have enjoyed this place (his mother came from Germany and he was more picky than I am about German food!!). The atmosphere is also terrific...feels like you are outdoors in a German garden, but you are inside in air-conditioning! We're returning to Biergarten on our July trip for sure!!

Even though Boma is African, there is something there for everyone as well. The spices are unique on many of their dishes...DH and I have very sensitive stomachs so we got heartburn that night but we tried more of the exotic dishes and most of their desserts contain alcohol which also does not help heartburn. We're not returning there this summer, but we would consider it on a future trip again, we just wouldn't get the spicier items. There are many items for kids there as well, and even though many of the desserts had alcohol in them, they had other familiar (non-alcohol) desserts as well and my boys were very happy with their cookies for dessert! The food was so good though, especially the prime rib (freshly carved for you) and the nut-crusted salmon. Some very exotic and unique salads too! We also had the best service of our whole trip there!

Crystal Palace has the Winnie the Pooh characters and is wonderful even if you don't have kids with you! The atmosphere is beautiful, it is conveniently located on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom too. Not your typical character buffet. They have delicious peel 'n' eat shrimp, some wonderful salads, and the most delicious salmon ever! It's ancho chile rubbed salmon but it is not spicy and did not aggravate my heartburn at all! And I ate plenty of it! They had plenty of kid-friendly favorites as well, and some fabulous desserts. We're returning there on our July trip! Possibly for both breakfast and dinner!!

All 3 of those buffets are well worth it on the DDP!! We are planning our dinners so that we have some buffets, but also some a la carte places that are kid-friendly for our boys so I am not constantly running to get food for the boys and myself!! We will also be on the basic DDP, with a few things being paid for OOP (still costs less than doing the deluxe plan). Dinners we are looking at so far are CRT, Crystal Palace, Biergarten, Whispering Canyon, The Wave, Cape May Cafe (clam bake buffet, and I hear it is excellent so you may want to look into it as well), Captain's Grille, Chefs de France, and for our third day at Epcot either San Angel Inn, Le Cellier, Marrakesh or Garden Grill (not totally sure yet). We also may end up at Kona Cafe for a dinner or Kouzzina, not sure yet. Also throwing in a couple of character breakfasts (OOP), Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare and maybe Crystal Palace too. Plus one a la carte breakfast at Kona Cafe, and maybe another at Kouzzina, both OOP. I have until mid-January to finalize everything and make our ADRs.

Good luck with everything! You'll be happy no matter where you eat I'm sure...you'll be at Disney!!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hey, I just noticed in your signature you will be going in July 2010 also!! We'll be there from July 13 through the 23rd. We're staying at BWV, it's our first DVC stay!!! Wilderness Lodge looks so nice too, and so convenient to MK, just a boat ride away! We'll be checking it out when we go to Whispering Canyon for dinner one night! Maybe we'll be at WDW at the same time...when do you go?

 

[Tam1067]

Are you looking for characters or not?

No characters: we liked Boma and Tusker House but did not like Biergarten at all and wouuld never return there. We're trying Cape May for the first time this Xmas.

Characters: food tends to be decent but not great at all of them. For us, food alone was best at 1900 Park Faire, second best at Crystal Palace, and worst at Chef Mickey's. But since you don't go to these places for the food, you really want to decide if you want the characters, and since these places have completely different characters, your choices will be easier.

Family style is another option. Food is brought to you, and it's all you can eat. We do not like Garden Grill and had the worst Disney meal ever there. We do like 'Ohana though.

 

[krmlaw]

We are going from July 3 - 10, so we'llmiss each other! Its our 1st DVC stay too !

We are definately going to go to Ohana, one of our favorites. I was looking at Cape May too, b/c Dh and I love clams. We've been to Boma before, so we arent sure if we are going to make it this trip.

Its SO hard to pick DDP plans. We are on the basic too, and figure b/c we have the condo most bfasts will be in the unit. So we'll use our TS for dinners, with one character bfast thrown in, and our CS for lunches.

We are only doing parks 3 days (Def MK, Epcot and trying to decide b/t AK and DHS) and doin both water parks, so thats hard too, b/c so many good restaurants are in the parks.

We definately want to eat near the boardwalk, b/c we've never been there before, and definately at DTD, b/c we'll be there a few times.

 

[bangzoom6877]

We are going from July 3 - 10, so we'llmiss each other! Its our 1st DVC stay too !

We are definately going to go to Ohana, one of our favorites. I was looking at Cape May too, b/c Dh and I love clams. We've been to Boma before, so we arent sure if we are going to make it this trip.

Its SO hard to pick DDP plans. We are on the basic too, and figure b/c we have the condo most bfasts will be in the unit. So we'll use our TS for dinners, with one character bfast thrown in, and our CS for lunches.

We are only doing parks 3 days (Def MK, Epcot and trying to decide b/t AK and DHS) and doin both water parks, so thats hard too, b/c so many good restaurants are in the parks.

We definately want to eat near the boardwalk, b/c we've never been there before, and definately at DTD, b/c we'll be there a few times.

SO how excited are you about your first DVC trip? We are ecstatic!!!

We will also do some breakfasts in the villa. We're getting a 1-bedroom so plenty of room to eat. But that will be cereal or maybe frozen waffles, that's as far as I will go as far as cooking on vacation! We will also use our CS for lunches (we may pay OOP for a lunch at 50s Prime Time, have not decided yet), TS for dinners and a few OOP breakfasts on our 10-night trip. We have a 7-day ticket. We were going to get a 6-day ticket and have 2 days each at MK, Epcot and DHS (not going back to AK, not that into it and neither are the boys), but Undercover Tourist had the 7-day ticket for the same price (it was buy a 4-day ticket and get up to 3 extra days free) so we decided that since we will be walking distance from Epcot, we will go there a third day on just a cultural and more relaxed trip to the WS only. We will sleep in (for my kids that's 7:30 or 8:00!) and get to Epcot at 11AM when the WS opens. We will have lunch there, go into the stores, the kids can enjoy seeing the different countries also without rushing. We will also have dinner there. So we're making it an eat-and-shop-around-the-world day! Just a day to relax and eat without waiting in lines for rides. It will also free up more time on the other 2 days we are at Epcot to do more attractions in the Future World, especially since I am sure the kids will want to repeat the Nemo ride, Turtle Talk and Soarin'!

Since you want to check out the Boardwalk anyway, I say go for a dinner at Cape May Cafe! It's at the Beach Club just across from the Boardwalk which makes it a convenient walk or leisurely boat ride away! We're definitely trying it for dinner and for breakfast in July!

 

[imortalcandy]

the best food and is worth using on the DDP is Ohanas!!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Our favourite buffet for dinner is Cape May. We have been to most of them and think that Cape May has the most consistant food quality and also that it was better prepared.

 

[TimandTanya]

1900 Park Fare, food is good, but the entertainment alone is worth it. The evil step mother and the step sisters will have you laughing so hard. A total Disney Moment!!

 

[bangzoom6877]

1900 Park Fare, food is good, but the entertainment alone is worth it. The evil step mother and the step sisters will have you laughing so hard. A total Disney Moment!!

Loved the entertainment there as well, the atmosphere is really nice and what's more elegant than walking into the lobby of the Grand Floridian? I like the food (nothing too special, but it was good). DH said he could take it or leave it. The kids liked the food but they were more shy around the characters than they were around Mickey and Minnie! We are thinking of trying it for breakfast next time, I hear it's excellent!