Will I be disappointed with these restaurants?

[habg1]

Dump Hollywood and Vine. Gave it 2 tries and will never go back. Blech!

 

[Alabama Minnie]

We love OHANA. 1900 is good for a buffet. Have heard good things about Tusker House, never eaten there.
I would suggest Sci-Fi at DHS. Burgers/shakes are good and atmosphere fun.

 

[3SmilingFaces]

Tusker House Breakfast was delicious. One of the better breakfast buffets in my opinion. The charcters are great there as well.
1900 Park Fare dinner was so-so. If it wasn't for the character interaction, we wouldn't go back. The characters really did do a nice job. The food alone was tolerable, we didn't go away hungry, but nothing I would make a point to go back and try again.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Have a great vacation! A few thoughts..

Dining Plan Choice and Signature DiningIf you really want to do more signature dining and shows (2 credit places), consider if the deluxe dining plan is better for you. For us, the cost to go deluxe was not much more than the Plus DDP. We enjoyed doing all our dining table service, it was fun and a welcome break for our feet. We like appetizers (included with deluxe), there's more snack credits, and the refillable resort mugs are included. We like the signature restaurants - especially Flying Fish Cafe, California Grill, and Brown Derby.

Shows? Have you considered the shows? Like Spirit of Aloha, Mickey's Backyard BBQ, or Hoop Dee Doo? All 3 are different. For young children, I'd recommend Backyard BBQ. But we like all 3.

Hollywood and Vine I'd keep it but change it to breakfast. The breakfast food was just fine, very good actually. (It's hard to mess up breakfast!) And the best character interaction -- Agent Oso, Handy Manny, a couple of the Little Einstein characters will dance with the children almost non-stop to Playhouse Disney Music, and they still do table greetings. Many character meals are just the table greetings. I agree that Lunch and Dinner (no characters at dinner) food was not good -- think of a low budget buffet like Golden Corral.

1900 Park Fare Dinner If you want to see Cinderella and Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine and the step sisters.... this is an easy way to do it. But it was pretty crowded in there. LT and the step sisters are much more fun to interact with in the park - more room and ability to joke around.


Character Meals -- We will continue to do character meals because it's an easy way to meet them without standing in a line. But, if you just want to meet the characters, you can find most of them in the parks too (but not sure about Agent Oso). But there may be lines and timing is important. Mickey is everywhere. Epcot's character spot is good for Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy? all in a row. Hollywood Studios has sorcerer Mickey all the time. Animal Kingdom has the same Tusker House characters at Mickey and Minnie's greeting trail by the Lion King Show. The one character meal I do value is Crystal Palace (good food and the pooh characters never seem to be out all at once in Magic Kingdom). And Garden Grill (Chip and Dale seem to be hard for us to find anywhere else). And Ohana breakfast if you like Lilo and Stitch. Epcot has lots of characters around the world (timing is important) and the princesses and fairies are in Magic Kingdom (can be long lines). 1900 Park Fare Breakfast has the Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland, and Mary Poppins who can be hard to find... (Alice and Mary P are in Epcot I think... again timing is important.)

Ohana - This is one place I will not return to. It gets a lot of hype in the reviews but for us, the check-in process and long wait was aggravating. The food quality in 2010 went downhill compared to 2009. Just not worth it when there are so many better places to eat. You can read my review to get more info (link below).

 

[MSLRAC]

1900 Park Fare, 'Ohana and Tusker House were all favorites of our last trip. We did have to wait about 15-20 minutes past our ADR at both 1900 PF and Ohana but it was no big deal

We've ever done H&V but I've heard many horrible reviews but just as many reviews saying that it's not that bad. It's on our list for next trip because we want to try it ourselves and see the characters.

Cape May was one of our worst dinners last trip. It was fabulous for breakfast but it will be a few trips before we even consider it again for dinner.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I am planning my ADR's and I am a little worried that I will be disappointed with the quality of food/service at my choices. We do appreciate good food (my DH works in the restaurant industry) and bad service will likely ruin the entire meal for him. I wanted to do signature dining as I think it is more our taste, but since we will have our two children with us (5 and 2) and they are 2 TS credits each I am not sure that will work. Here are the restaurants we plan on visiting so far-- we still have room for 2 more 1 TS restaurants since I plan on paying for the Tusker House breakfast OOP.

Dinner: 1900 Park Fare, 'Ohana, Cape May
Lunch: Hollywood & Vine
Breakfast: Tusker House

Word on the DIS is that you will be disappointed with the food at 1900 ParK Fare and Hollywood & Vine. Cape May is supposed to be a good buffet, 'Ohana has mixed reviews, and Tusker House is a decent breakfast but it's just breakfast.

If you want 1 TS meals with good food, I'd limit your buffets (maybe just pick 2 character meals) and then opt for some of the better 1 TS restaurants. The 1 TS non-buffet restaurants that tend to get better reviews are Sanaa, Kouzzina, Kona, The Wave, and most of the restaurants in the world schowcase - especially Le Cellier (dinner moves to 2TS credits in March), Tokyo Dining, and Teppan Edo. Akershus is a nice choice for a character meal, BTW. Unless you're set on seeing the stepsisters and Prince Charming, I'd rather go there than 1900 Park Fare (Cinderella often appears at Akershus too).

 

[JenSop]

YES! How could I forget to mention our absolute favorite 1TS place?!?!

Sanaa!!!!!!!


Love, love, love.

I've been there three times already and have never been disappointed. Excellent food, excellent service, gorgeous restaurant, and the animals right outside. This is an absolute must-do!!!!

 

[wcpamotm]

Seems like you've chosen a lot of buffets!

Out of the restaurants you've chosen that I've tried: I like Cape May Cafe, and will plan to make return trips regularly. Ohana is fun, and the food can be decent - if you get decent service. Won't return to 1900, that was perhaps my worst meal ever at WDW. The coq au vin stayed with me all night, and I don't mean that in a good way. Might be acceptable if you stick with basic, simple fare, as it has been a recurring problem at Disney restaurants that menu planning can be more ambitious than the kitchen can deliver.

If you would have leaned toward signature dining, consider The Wave at CR. It may be the closest 1-credit restaurant to signature dining. I think Kona and Grand Floridian Cafe are good choices also.

And as PPs have said above, by all means consider the Epcot TS restaurants, which all serve decent-to-good food. Except for Nine Dragons; it's certainly edible but you likely have better Chinese food back home.

 

[boldlyreal]

So we just got back and I will tell you we had great meals and outstanding meals and perfect service everywhere we ate. I will just list the TS.

great meals
Tusker House Dinner

Beirgarten the only reason my favorite isn't on the outstanding list is they had lentil soup which was yummy instead of the potato leek soup which is always devine! BTW it has pretzel bread too!

Crystal Palace Dinner

outstanding meals
Hollywood and Vine Breakfast
standard breakfast fare with hot fresh coffee and crisp apple juice loved the cheese danishes the stellar part of this meal was the character interaction dancing singing and tons of table time if you have a preschooler they will love this meal!!!!!

Cape May Buffetthe antipasto salad was amzing!!! plus tons of fresh and abundant crab legs we had 8pm reservations and our food as fresh and plentiful as if we had arrived at 5pm

Restaurant Marrakeshthe hidden gem of Epcot... So amazing and flavorful.....if you are looking for something different this is truly a wonderful place to eat...plus the belly dancer is entaining and the wait staff treats you like royalty!

 

[Rebecca924]

Cape May Cafe is our ABSOLUTE favorite - followed very closely by O'Hana. We did not have a good experience at H&V - poor service (which is very unusual at WDW). I have never eaten at Tusker House. My kids did enjoy 1900 Park - I thought it was fine. I wouldn't RAVE about it - but it was a nice meal and the kids really liked it.

 

[kdm2865]

Thank you everyone for your responses!

The reason I chose so many buffets is basically because my DD is limited to ordering off the children's menu and she won't appreciate being stuck with chicken nuggets/macaroni and cheese/pizza. I thought the buffets would allow her more choice. Another reason is that since my DS is only 2 he will not get a meal with the dining plan-- but he eats as much as my DD!

After reading the responses here I don't think we will be going to Hollywood & Vine. 1900 Park Fare I added purely for Cinderella and the step-sisters but DH and I will NOT be happy with Golden Coral type food, so I may get rid of that one too!

I'm also considering doing the Deluxe Dining Plan instead since a few of you said my DC would be fine in the Signature restaurants. This would pretty much solve the problem with not having enough choice/not enough food for my DS since we would be getting more meals per day.

 

[Colleen27]

Honestly, none of those places is really known for the food. You've got a bunch of buffets and a AYCE meat-fest, not exactly fine dining. If you want to find some good meals, look to the menu service TS at the resorts - The Wave, Kouzzina, Sanaa, Kona, etc. - and to the ethnic restaurants in the World Showcase.

Character meals are fun and all and they absolutely have their place, but we limit ourselves to 2 or 3 per trip because the food is never much more than okay and the atmosphere is noisy and a little chaotic. We find the trip is much more enjoyable for everyone (not just the kids) when we have more balance between meals chosen for the characters/theme and meals chosen for the food.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm also considering doing the Deluxe Dining Plan instead since a few of you said my DC would be fine in the Signature restaurants. This would pretty much solve the problem with not having enough choice/not enough food for my DS since we would be getting more meals per day.

Our kids are the same way about kid food and the deluxe plan was our solution - more TS, enough credits to have a few character meals without giving up nice dinners, and plenty of adult food to share when the kids are bored/uninterested in the kids' meal choices.

The signature restaurants all welcome children, and they offer better kids' choices than most of the one-credit locations, still fairly simple in most cases but more grilled meats/fish that are well seasoned, served with actual side dishes rather than veggie sticks or french fries. Also, for good kids meals look to the World Showcase restaurants; most offer a choice or two that fits the restaurant's cuisine.

 

[sharona]

We also did not like H&V lunch food. Loved Tusker House buffet and characters. Also Le Cellier lived up to the hype.

This year we're trying 50s PT, Teppan Edo, Mama Melrose, Hoop-de-Doo and back to Tusker House.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thank you everyone for your responses!

The reason I chose so many buffets is basically because my DD is limited to ordering off the children's menu and she won't appreciate being stuck with chicken nuggets/macaroni and cheese/pizza. I thought the buffets would allow her more choice. Another reason is that since my DS is only 2 he will not get a meal with the dining plan-- but he eats as much as my DD!

After reading the responses here I don't think we will be going to Hollywood & Vine. 1900 Park Fare I added purely for Cinderella and the step-sisters but DH and I will NOT be happy with Golden Coral type food, so I may get rid of that one too!

I'm also considering doing the Deluxe Dining Plan instead since a few of you said my DC would be fine in the Signature restaurants. This would pretty much solve the problem with not having enough choice/not enough food for my DS since we would be getting more meals per day.

We did DxDDp last month and worked well for my family. Our son doesn't eat normal children choices too (he doesn't like the CS choices). He doesn't eat Chicken nuggets but will get grilled chicken and veggies, he can't stand the smell of PBJ, doesn't like Disney pizza or hot dogs. So DxDDP works well b/c of the signature restaurants.

I would highly recommend Hollywood and Vine breakfast for the character interaction and the dancing for the kids. The food at breakfast is so much better than lunch. So if you pick DxDDP go to Hollywood and vine and your kids would have a ball at this place b/c your kids is the perfect age. At least try it once.

 

[EMILY MOM]

We went the week before Christmas and we tried a few new places, Whispering Canyon Cafe which was good and Ohana we did breakfast and a dinner, which both were great. Last year when we were there we did about all character meals and we ate at the Grand Floridian Park Fare for the Cinderella dining and it was really good. We ate at Le Cellier and my daughter is 9 and there was another family that kind of shared a big table next to us that had smaller children and the kids enjoyed the food also. I just read back to a comment about the food at Grand Floridian not being good, I thought it was really good for a buffet, in fact my husband thought I booked that buffet a Christmas which I didn't and he told me that he would go back because it was good for a buffet. They had some good choices. My 9 year old only eats a certain few things and they didn't have fries but they put a special order in for some. But to each his own about food, I didn't care for the Coral Reef that we went to this last time but others really like it, I didn't and my husband didn't either.

 

[kmk1180]

I am planning my ADR's and I am a little worried that I will be disappointed with the quality of food/service at my choices. We do appreciate good food (my DH works in the restaurant industry) and bad service will likely ruin the entire meal for him. I wanted to do signature dining as I think it is more our taste, but since we will have our two children with us (5 and 2) and they are 2 TS credits each I am not sure that will work. Here are the restaurants we plan on visiting so far-- we still have room for 2 more 1 TS restaurants since I plan on paying for the Tusker House breakfast OOP.

Dinner: 1900 Park Fare, 'Ohana, Cape May
Lunch: Hollywood & Vine
Breakfast: Tusker House

As you've read people give mixed reviews to Hollywood and Vine.
But what you need to consider there is your kids.
You say you have a 5 & 2 year olds?
Do they watch and/love Playhouse Disney?
If they do I would say keep it for the character experience.

When our son was 2 we took him there and for him to Meet Leo, was the greatest moment. Our son couldn't stop hugging Leo.
Well worth the price and average food buffet.

Something to think about when choosing. After all are you going to Disney with your kids to eat? Or going for the experience?
Depends on what you want to get out of your trip.

 

[steamboat_rachel]

i've done the 1900 park fare breakfast and it was great, and i've heard good things about ohana..
last trip we had our adr's at
akershus, boma, and the california grill and were not disappointed.
akershus is great because it's the quality of 2 dining points but only 1, boma is wonderful

 

[TruBlu]

If you'd like a buffet with great food I'd suggest Boma or Tusker House for dinner. Both are fantastic. The best character meal dinner buffet we've found is Crystal Palace.

 

[burberryplaid]

We had breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and loved it! It wasn't the best breakfast but very good.

We had HORRIBLE service at Tusker House! I left crying and won't be going back anytime soon! I also had a friend who went recently who also had horrible service. We both agreed the food was good but if you are worried service might ruin your experience I wouldn't take the risk here!