Which restaurants have the best overall "experience"?

[mermaidwannabe]

This will be our first trip to DW and truthfully I don't see it happening for 3 or 4 more years so I want most of our meals to be experiences. Food is of course somewhat important but what I want to know where some of you had a lot of FUN or where you made really great memories. Thanks.

 

[Laura]

Well, a lot of people enjoy character meals. The big one is Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast in the castle with Disney princesses. We at there years ago for dinner, and I think it would be great for any meal, to watch the fireworks at night or whatever. There are tons of character meals, though, with all sorts of Disney celebrities. One of my favorites is the buffet at Crystal Palace.

I personally think the best food of all of the parks is in Epcot, and the themes of the various countries really help to immerse you in another place.

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm This is a good place to go, if you haven't already, to read the menus. There are also photos of the restaurants and all kinds of other info.

I hope this helps.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Thanks Laura! We do have PSs for lunch at CRT which I'm excited about. I do think it will be fun to cruise around Epcot and sample food from each of the countrie's if we can!

 

[oogieboogie]

FYI, if you didn't know, CRT only has characters during breakfast.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Thanks, I did try to get CRT for breakfast but couldn't so my DDs settled for at least eating in the castle. We're doing the Princess Storybook lunch so we'll get to see some princesses then (only not Cinderella). Those breakfasts are VERY difficult to get. I tried at the 90-day and couldn't get the CRT. It's okay though. The ambiance will be nice.

 

[java]

I think Cinderella is also at 1900 Park Fare in the GF. At least that is the meal we are trying for dinner our first night. My kids love the atmosphere at San angel in Mexico(it gets mixed food reviews here but we like it)

 

[Ocean Springs Mom]

I know what you mean about "experiences". Here is a little input from our family.
We love the Whispering Canyon restaraunt at the Wilderness Lodge. My kids love the drive up to the hotel, you actually feel like you are in the great Northwest!. They say it reminds them of the movie "The Shining"?!?! I guess that's good. The point is, you feel like you've left southern Florida. The food's good. The wait staff is hilarious and it's all you can eat.

My DD and her friend enjoyed dinner at 1900 Park Fare last year and had great pictures with Prince Charming. But it's kind of loud.

BOMA is DS and his friend's fav. The atmosphere is fabulous at the AKL and wonderful food!

Have a great trip!

 

[DisneycrazedX6]

We love to try new restaurants each trip....most memorable are:

1. Teppanyaki-love the onion volcano
2. O'Hana-fabulous view and food
3. Sci-Fi Diner-good food,love the atmosphere!
4. Rainforest Cafe-Awesome atmosphere
5. Whispering Canyon Cafe-Ask for ketchup,straws and a fork!!!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Whispering Canyon looks like one to check out. I laughed about the "Shining" comment. Rainforest is another that comes up but I haven't done any research on that. How do I get to these places from my resort (Poly) if I don't have a car though?

 

[buffett010]

We really enjoyed Chef Mickey's for dinner with our 4 yr. old DS, but i think mainly because we had just arrived at the parks (our first visit). DS loved all the characters, and got VERY shy whenever Minnie showed up as he thought she was cute. The pictures we took of his reactions to all the characters are priceless. The food was also good for both of us as well as DS, with a kid oriented buffet that is just their size, and peel and eat shrimp with some of the best cocktail sauce I've ever had. Also a great salad bar.

If you decide on Rainforest Cafe (either one), make sure you visit their website: www.rainforestcafe.com and click on Safari Club. For $15 you can join, and you'll receive a $10 gift card, priority seating without even calling, 10% off your meal or a free appetizer with an entree purchase. Check it out and see if it would be worthwhile for you to purchase. It's good at other restaurants than the Rainforest, like Joes' Crab Shack, so depending on where you live or travel, it's possible you will use it again. Plus, I believe it's free to renew every year.

Whatever place you decide to eat, you can make it memorable!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Thanks for the website! It sounds very unique...exactly what I'm looking for. I'm debating on Chef Mickey's just because I've read so many bad reports about it.

 

[kkana]

just love all the ideas and input, will keep this for reference.

 

[estnh]

Whispering Canyon looks like one to check out. I laughed about the "Shining" comment. Rainforest is another that comes up but I haven't done any research on that. How do I get to these places from my resort (Poly) if I don't have a car though?

Lots of people like Whispering Canyon, but its not for everyone. Its is very loud, and they do pick on people a bit. A few years back my daughter, who is a bit shy, left the place in tears! Personally, I don't like being shouted at when dining, or having a frying pan clanged in my ear!

 

[poohluvrs]

Bad reports on Chef Mickeys? I must've missed, were looking to book, should I not??!!

 

[jenr812]

Great question OP!!!! Thanks for all the info

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Poohluvrs - don't mind what I said about Chef Mickey's. I had just read a few posts that said it was EXTREMELY loud. I'm sure you would have a great time. I still may book a meal there too.

 

[poohluvrs]

ok thanks!

 

[pennyplanner]

My family loved Chef Mickey's for breakfast. The food wasn't fabulous but good and there was lots to pick from. The atmosphere was just lots of fun and my kids are a bit older. The characters were really great, not to mention the napkin waving. We went with kind of low expectations and had a great time.

If you are trying to get to the WL for Whispering Canyon from the Poly, you could take the monorail to the Contemporary and then take the boat to the WL.

Our lunch at WC was a meeting with my mom. She was not into the whole noisy play along atmosphere so I made that clear to our waiter who complied with just a few gentle jabs. We enjoyed the other table's antics from afar. My son loved the stick horse race and we enjoyed watching him! As my mom passed away about a month ago, it remains a wonderful Disney memory for us.

--penny

 

[StephaBabe50]

For a character meal I love Chef Mickey's. We go there every time we go to WDW. It was especially fun our last trip because it was my birthday. Mickey came over and started dancing with me and my friend All the characters make their way around quickly so you will see all of them (there is one who stands up front and doesnt come to the table, usually it is Goofy) The food there is excellent too! It is an all you can eat buffet and it is pretty big.

For a non character meal I would probably say Pizzafari at Animal Kingdom (if you like pizza!) It has really good pizza and cool paintings on the walls. When you buy a pizza you get two coupons one for a drink and one for and ice cream. So later if you get thirsty just give the little coupon to the person working at the drink stand and you get a free drink and the same with ice cream.

Hope this helped

 

[mommytutu]

We had so much fun with our dining experiences.

We had lunch in the Castle. I requested a window seat when I made our PS and we got to have lunch overlooking the carousel. It was so cool...I am so in love with that castle. I did request an early lunch time to get these great seats.

We had dinner at The Coral Reef. I requested a table next to the aquarium and so we had dinner while looking at the fish. Divers came in and swam by waving at us and such. This was dh's favorite. The food was so good and the kids loved it! I did request an early dinner time to get these great seats.

We had breakfast at the Crystal Palace and dinner at Chef Mickeys and thought both were fabulous. At both meals all the characters came to the table, well, except Pooh who stays at the front and Donald greeted everyone at Chef Mickey's. When going to Chef Mickey's be sure to ride the monorail and ask to sit up front with the driver. And when having breakfast ask for a PS time that is before the park opens, so try for 8:00 or 8:30. It's an awesome experience to go into the park and walk down Main Street when it's almost empty. Put the kids in front of the castle, next to the Walt and Mickey statue and take some great pictures without people getting in the way.

We also ate at the Poly Luau. The food was so wonderful and there was so much! The kids did get a bit bored towards the end...I guess once you've seen one hula dance you've seen them all, but ds did perk back up when the fire dancer guy came on.

I can't pick a favorite. It was worth every penny! At every restaurant dh raved about all my planning and re-planning. He finally "got it". And now I'm going through major Disney withdrawls.....