could use some restaurant suggestions About This Page:

[Lollipop Mom]

I'm in the process of putting together our last minute trip for after Christmas and could use some recommendations for restaurants. My parents recently bought an RV to spend their retirement travelling and Dad has some upgrade he wants done to it. A place in kissimmee can do it on 12/30 so he offered to bring our family to WDW for a Christmas gift. DH and I were already planning a trip in May with our boys but since we aren't close to the date for making PS for May yet I hadn't started looking into dining yet.

We'll be going with my parents, DH and I and our sons who are 3½ and almost 2. I already have a PS for breakfast at Chef Mickey's and one at CP w/ Pooh. I just need help with dinners. What are some restaurants that would be good for eating with the kids? I'm assuming we'll try to do Wispering Canyon at the WL one night. Maybe Ohana? My parents are picking up the meal tabs and have said they would rather sit down for dinners than do counter service. EVeryone is OK with counter service for lunch but my Dad believes dinner must be at a seated restaurant! Any good ones in the parks? We'll be in the parks 12/29 through 1/3 so I know it will be crowded. Would that mean we'd be better off eating in the parks than taking the time to go back to resorts to eat? or would we be OK eating at an off time (like early dinner or something) at a resort and heading back to the parks for dinner hour?

I'm overwhelmed with this last minute planning stuff on top of getting Christmas ready for the boys! I am a believer in going prepared though...knowing what we really want to try to do before we hit the gates, we can always change plans to go with the flow but at a crowded time the last thing I want is to stand around in the parks saying "I don't know...where do you want to go eat?" for 20 minutes then waiting forever for a table at our choice!

Thanks so much!

[rescuesk]

Planning is always a good thing, but don't stress over it! You will have a great time!

Here are some dinner suggestions:

Magic Kingdom: Liberty Tree Tavern, dinner with the characters. Dinner is family style, turkey, ham, beef, mac and cheese, taters and veggies.

Epcot: Germany's Biergarten. Buffet style, lots of entertainment (no characters), seating at tables of 8 (your groups may get their own table, or you may be seated with a party of 2). Very nice and great food!

MGM: 50's Prime Time Cafe. We have only done lunch there, but we love it. Old-fashioned "comfort" food, and "mom" is your waitress. (No elbows on the table!)

Resorts: You should do Whispering Canyon, as you planned. Make sure someone asks for ketchup.

Cape May Cafe (Beach Club) either breakfast with Goofy or their Clambake dinner. I am getting hungry just thinking about it. Both are buffet style.

I have also heard wonderful things about Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness. Not sure if it is on now, and cannot speak from personal experience, but it is on our "to-do" list.

If you have your PS in place before you go, you should be able to eat in the parks easily. Keep in mind that a PS will get you a seat, but not alleviate the whole wait. Also keep in mind with young children that sometimes a break out of the parks is a good thing. If you are going to do, say a water park, during the day, it may work to eat an early dinner at a resort and then head to the park for the night. If you spend a day at the park, then eat there, and then do more of the park, it may be too much (for kids and adults!) The break is a nice change of scene, crowds, pace, and soothes everyone's nerves!

Hope this helps!

Sue

[snorris]

I'd have to agree with Sue,

Liberty Tree Tavern is a great dinner site in MK (turkey dinner and amazing Apple Crisp for dessert!) Plus they have characters which the children are sure to love.

Cape May Cafe Clambake @ Beach Club. It's a hop skip and a ferry ride from Epcot and MGM. Highly Recommend and look out for the dessert bar..it was amazing! Kids have their very own buffet here--sized down for kids (kind of hard for adults to bend down though!) with Chicken Tenders, Mac & Cheese Etc.

O'hanna is also great...if you get the right seat, you can see Cindy's Castle, which is beautiful all lit up at night.

Hope that helps and gives you some ideas!

Sarah

[SMG]

Here's my 2 cents .

This is from our trip 2 1/2 years ago:

At Epcot we ate at San Angel Inn(Mexico) and LeCellier(Canada), both of which we'd eat at again!
At MGM we did Sci-Fi Diner and wouldn't do this again (we'd do 50's Prime Time instead).
At MK we ate at Chrystal Palace (Character Bkfst) and it was really good.
We didn't do AK that trip so I can't tell you about that.
We ate at CBR (Captains Tavern) one night and had Prime rib which was wonderfull also!
Happy planning!

[BreadBaker]

We just came back (and I want to go again!) - 12/3-8. I'd recommend Le Cellier and the Biergarten. I was really surprised that my extra choosy child found something to eat in both places, but he did.

If you were at the MK but it was an early closing night, I'd also consider the Kona Cafe at the Poly. You could take the monorail over and then back to the TTC.

If your everyone likes pasta, perhaps Mama Melrose's in MGM.

As far as AK goes, I'd make that a resort dinner night.

Brighid

[Disneyval]

Okay... here are my best kid suggestions...
Magic Kingdom
1. Liberty Tree Tavern - Definitely Great
2. Tony's Town Square - Never been myself. .but have read Rave reviews on all the boards.

Epcot
Where to start??? YOu can't go wrong with many places here.. however.. with small children.. not all places are good for them.
The Land - Why can't I remember the name of the restaurant??? the one that revolves??? Help me out here someone... Anyway.. this is great because it has characters.. good for the kids.. and the food is fabulous... if you don't have dinner here... you should at least try the ice cream social.

All of the other restaurants are excellent food wise... but not extremely interesting for the kids... (jmho)

MGM -
1. Hollywood & Vine - I only had breakfast here. but I have to say this is a DEFINITE return for me.. I am sure it is just as much fun at night... I assume there are characters at the Dinner buffet also... but it is a fun choice for both adults and kids alike.

2. Prime Time - Fun for all.. I personally was not crazy about the food.. it was okay.. but I did have fun.

Resorts:
Polynesian -
1. O'Hana's - A MUST DO!!! All will be pleased.. the kids get to have fun.. and the adults get a Great meal...
2. Kona - Fabulous Food.. just no entertainment for the Kiddies

Contemporary
1. Chef Mickey's - You are already doing this!! Great Choice!

Grand Floridian
1. 1900 Park Faire - Great for either Breakfast or Dinner... try it!

Beach/Yacht -
1. Cape May - as said by many others.. great for the adults if you are seafood lovers.. and the kids have their own buffet.
2. Beaches and Cream.. Nice and casual 50's dinerish type.. burgers and such.. fun for everyone... there is an arcade right there also if the kids get fidgety.

Boardwalk
1. Flying Fish - if you get a babysitter one night - try this with just the adults... A great place!!!

Downtown Disney
1. Rainforest Cafe - Good food for both adults and kids. Fun environment for the kids.

Well.. I think that is enough rambling for now.. if you need more. .. just ask!!

Kathy

[joyjoy]

That revolving restaurant in The Land pavillion is the Garden Grille. I would recommend that one for the ice cream social. It's a very nice break in the afternoon and inexpensive for a character thing. Plus the restaurant revolves.

[My2Beans]

O'hana is a great choice for multi-generations! My parents joined us in WDW and felt the same about sitting down to dinner each night. They were skeptical about a "family style" meal but LOVED O'hana! Plus, you can see the fireworks over the castle and they have races and songs for the kids! This is a favorite of everyone in our family!

[TheGoof]

I'm pretty sure that Hollywood and Vine no longer is hosting Character Breakfasts, and dinner never had characters there.

But the buffet is decent, and is often included in the Fantasmic! dinner show, so it's a good place for dinner.

We happen to love the food at Prime Time, next door, but with Disney restaurants, quality is one thing that can be widely variant on different trips.

With the exception of Victoria and Alberts any Disney restaurant has a kids menu, so finding something for them to eat shouldn't be too much of a problem. At the ages you are talking about, they may actually be afraid of the characters, it is not uncommon, so although I think the character meals are a good value, I wouldn't plan one for every dinner.

At Epcot, I would probably pick a place based on the Adults likes/dislikes, rather then the kids. The kids will be fine, assuming you can take them out when you are at home, without too much problem.

Animal Kingdom really doesn't have much for sit down, except Rainforest Cafe, and it also tends to close earliest of the the 4 so you probably won't be having dinner there, I would go to Downtown Disney or a Resort, if you aren't heading to another park afterwords.

At MK, both Liberty Tree and Tony's are excellant. There are no characters at Tony's, but when we were there in December, my DS loved the spaghetti and meatballs. He finished a decent sized bowl, and wanted more. I had to get him a second kids meal, which he came very close to finishing. I think he may be hitting a growth spurt (he can really eat when he does!)

Enjoy your planning and your trip!