Disney World Question - Favorite Eateries??
I have a question for all of you seasoned Disney travelers.
DH and I are taking Rowan to Disney World for 6 (really 5) days in late Feb - early Mar. DH and I have been to Disney several times before but this will be our first time with Rowan.
We're staying at the Wilderness Lodge, which will be a new experience for us b/c DH and I have always stayed at the Swan (the AAA rates rock). We went ahead and upgraded to the deluxe dining plan b/c the standard dining plan was already free during the week that we're going. It was only $250 more for our whole stay, and this way we can eat pretty much anywhere without me having a heart attack every time I have to hand over my credit card.
That said, what are your favorite places to eat @ Disney? I'm making the reservations now b/c according to Mouse Savers it's harder to get in when Disney runs dining plan promos. DD is great at restaurants so we're open to anything.
I've already booked breakfast at Cinderella's Castle & breakfast at Chef Mickey's. As a side note, thank goodness for the dining plan b/c otherwise breakfast for two at Cinderella's castle is $100. W.T.H?!?!
Has anyone been to any of the dinner shows before? We were considering one of the two over at Fort Wilderness since it's close to the Wilderness Lodge.
Thanks!!!
Re: Disney World Question - Favorite Eateries??
Honestly, food is one area where we don't really plan ahead except for 1 or 2 meals each trip. We know what we like and we eat at our favorites regularly (just go during off times instead of making reservations) and the rest of the time we just grab something quick. Also, Gavin can be unpredictable in restauarants so we generally choose something with some distractions for him. But anyway, here's my rundown for each park:
Animal Kingdom-
We almost always just do counter service here. Only place I've sat down at was Rainforest Cafe and well, if you've been to one, you know what to expect. However, I do like this with Gavin b/c there are so many distractions for him.
Hollywood Studios-
Sci-Fi Dine In is neat. Set up like a drive in theater- you eat in your own little car. Plus they have drinks with light up ice cubes. I'm a sucker for anything that lights up.
50's Prime Time Cafe is also pretty good. The waitresses will treat you like you're at home- "did you wash your hands?" "No dessert unless you clean your plate." DH likes the meatloaf.
Mama Melrose's is italian. Used to be really good but the last time we ate there it was just so so.
Only tried Pizza Planet once. It was awful. Pizza was old/cold. No no no.
Epcot-
Sounds like you've got the character dining set up- otherwise Garden Grill inside the Land is my pick for that. We really like this one b/c the food is different from anywhere else in the parks. It's all you can eat, family style and the veggies are fresh (sometimes grown right there at The Land!).
Le Cellier Steakhouse in Canada is another one of our favorites. LOVE the pretzel bread and cheese soup!
I wasn't a big fan of Rose & Crown. But it's fine for fish & chips, etc.
Teppan Edo is the Hibachi place in Japan. It was just so so. Biggest dissapointment here was that they don't do fried rice b/c it's not authentic.
Magic Kingdom-
Liberty Tree Tavern- haven't actually gotten to eat here (as many times as we've been!) but it's on our list for February.
Main Street Bakery- giant homemade cookie ice cream sandwich. O...M...G...
Noodle Station- this one is only open "seasonally" and eluded DH for many years. Was finally open the last time we were there. He liked it, I was disappointed.
Tony's Town Square- Italian food- Lady & the Tramp themed. It's ok. Nothing really super special, but decent food. If you time it right, you can watch the parades from the front porch.
Plaza Restaurant- this was an impromptu meal for us last visit and was surprisingly good. We all got different sandwiches/burgers and everyone was pleased.
Cosmic Rays- this is counter service in Tomorrowland. But is one of our favorites with Gavin. It has this singing alien thing that totally mesmerizes him. The food is same ol same ol but the toddler distraction makes up for it.
Fort Wilderness- Hoop de doo Review. This has been around forever and while it's nothing particularly special to me, it is a VERY big deal to DH's family. They love it and gradually, over time, I'm beginning to love it too. Totally cheesey though.
Downtown Disney- T-Rex is owned by the same people as Rainforest Cafe. Same idea, just dino themed. Gavin loves it but beware, it can get a little scary during the meteor shower.
I am totally overwhelmed reading this and I am not even going to Disney!
At MK we like Cosmic Ray's for counter service and the Plaza restaurant for sit down. If you want to just hop on the monorail, the Wave at the Contemporary resort makes awesome mojitos and we had one of our best Disney meals ever there. It was sooo good, and we had an awesome waitress.
At HS - I was excited to try the Prime Time Diner for the experience, but I am pretty sure I got food poisoning there
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At AK Pizzafari is pretty good for a quick and easy lunch.
We LOVE Kouzzina for breakfast (on the Boardwalk, so maybe not convenient for you). Their blueberry granola pancakes are delicious (but the service is kind of hit or miss).
Since you already booked Chef Mickey's, you probably don't need another character breakfast, but Cape May Cafe is good and easier to get into than most. I have heard good things about 1900 Park Fare for dinner (esp. if Rowan likes Cinderella).
You have a lot of eating in your future! We were there just two weeks ago with my in-laws and we did the regular dining plan. On the last day we still had 7 counter services and 3 snacks left! This was the first time we did the dining plan and we loved it!
Our favorites this time were O'hana, Le Cellier and Akerhus. O'hana was awesome! If you time it right you can see the fireworks from Cinderella's castle and they pipe the music in too! We tried to get in here again and were not able to that is how much we liked it! If you don't time it right the beach at the Poly is an awesome place to watch them too!
The princess breakfast at Akerhus was awesome and the steak at Le Cellier was amazing! Le Cellier is going signature on March 1st I believe.
I have never done the dinner shows but some of my relatives love Hoop de doo. Just remember your gratuity is included at all dinner shows and Cinderella's castle.
Since you are doing deluxe you should look at more of the signature places because you probably are not going to want to sit down to a big meal three times a day. DH and I are thinking about doing a trip in March with just us and doing the deluxe to try some of the signature places. I have heard really good things about the California Grill(in Wilderness Lodge) and Fulton's at Downtown Disney. Victoria and Alberts is a four or five star that gets great reviews too.
You can also use your table credits at counter service locations I believe. We love the sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney. It is not on the dining plan but make sure to go to Ghiradelli's and get an ice cream sundae. It is terrific! Have Fun! We loved the dining plan and I hope you do too!