h. Where to Eat at Walt Disney World

33 comments

1 Mommy02 { 03.24.08 at 12:47 pm }

We based our restaurant reservations and our location options around Extra Magic Hours. We tried to have a dinner reservation in or near the park that had Extra Magic Hours for that night, since we planend to arrive late each day and stay as late as possible.

We loved Mexico at EPCOT, Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, Bongo’s at Downtown Disney. Whispering Canyon was a great dinner but was TWO HOURS!! It’s better for brunch the day you leave after check out. We’re big fans of The Land at EPCOT.

We love Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge, thought the sit-down place at China was cheap chinese food with a high price tag, we weren’t thrilled with Big River Grill at the Boardwalk. We loved dessert at Beaches and Cream. Everything was amazing at Le Cellier in Canada. We budgeted $200/day for 2 kids and 2 adults. We tried to get one sit-down reservation per day and two counter service meals per day. We also brought PBJ & non perishable snacks from home and kept fruit in the fridge of our hotel room.

Dining is a big problem for most families because they take in too much sugar and fat, then run out of steam throughout the day. Eat healthy snacks and drink lots of water all day so everyone is in a good mood and has energy!

2 mary { 08.21.10 at 12:13 pm }

Is there a bar you can eat at the Brown Derby? Sometimes we like to stop somewhere for a quick meal and would like to try their cobb salad and a cold drink without sitting down for a full meal. thanks!

3 Dave { 08.21.10 at 12:25 pm }

Mary–I don’t know!

Such is not typical for the theme park restaurants–other than a few at Epcot.

Maybe another reader knows and can post here?

Dave

4 Dave { 08.25.10 at 7:28 am }

Mary–I was in the Studios yesterday, and asked your question. Short answer–there’s no real bar, but sometimes, if not busy, they will sell a cobb salad to go…you can’t count on it, but you can try!

5 Hossie { 07.07.11 at 9:44 pm }

What is the snack at Sci-Fi Diner? I am guessing we don’t need a reservation.
Thanks!

6 Dave { 07.08.11 at 11:34 am }

Hi Hossie!

The thought is that you’ll be there late enuf that they will seat you for a snack–if they are fully booked with reservations, this won’t work.

The snack itself is up to you–I’d get a milkshake myself! You can see a menu here: http://allears.net/menu/menu_scid.htm

7 Anonymous { 07.08.11 at 12:07 pm }

This is a great suggestion. Thanks so much!

8 Eva { 01.30.12 at 6:55 pm }

Hi Dave
What is your opinion about Chef Mickey’s for dinner vs. breakfast? We have dinner reservations for 6:40, Thursday May 10th, but they can be changed.

9 Dave { 01.30.12 at 7:01 pm }

I have not eaten dinner there, but from the reviews I’ve seen, it’s great. The food is a buffet, so all should be able to find something to their taste…

10 Sheena { 01.31.12 at 10:05 am }

Hi Dave,

I would like to do two character meals. One for the girls with the princesses and a character meal for the young boys. Which do you recommend for the princess and a character meal for the boys? And which day is and meal time is best to do either? I’m arriving Sat to Sat (June 1-8, 2013). Thanks!

11 Dave { 01.31.12 at 12:17 pm }

Hi Sheena! See the list of character meals in order on this page: http://yourfirstvisit.net/planning-your-first-family-trip/where-to-eat/dining-alternatives/character-meals-and-dinner-shows-ranked-in-order/

1, 2, and 4 are princess meals;
3 and 5 are great boy meals.

Most of these top 5 are in theme parks, and the two that aren’t–Chef Mickeys and 1900 Park Fare–are both near the Magic Kingdom, so pick your dates for them depending on which parks you are in which days…

12 Danny { 02.27.12 at 5:45 pm }

I have a nine yr. old that doesn’t want to eat off the kid’s menu (under disney dining plan) can I purchase an adult dining plan for her?

Thanks in advance!

13 Dave { 02.27.12 at 6:19 pm }

Danny that’s a great question. For sure you can if you list her as 10yo–but that means slightly more expensive tickets…

14 Michele { 02.29.12 at 1:43 pm }

Hi Dave- We are planning a WDW trip for 7/24-7/31. I’m not sure about which dining plan is best for us, but there are 2 things we would like to do. One, is to go to dinner for my Dad’s birthday on 7/26. He likes fish, but the rest of our party (total 6 adults and 2 children ages 4 & 7) are not big on fish. I saw the menus of a couple of the seafood restaurants and they seem to have things to accomodate non-seafood eaters. Which restaurant do you recommend? I would like to order a cake as well and have it brought out to the table at dinner. The next thing we really would like to do is a character meal. Which one do you recommend with my children being 4 & 7 when we go? Thanks!

15 Dave { 02.29.12 at 6:28 pm }

Hi Michele! For the birthday dinner, given your dad’s preferences, I’d go with the Coral Reef, inside Epcot–for a menu see this: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=80 and for Disney’s page see this: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/coral-reef-restaurant/

For the character meal, tell me a little more about the kids–boys or girls? Winnie the Pooh or Mickey or Princesses??

16 Michele { 02.29.12 at 10:22 pm }

Thanks Dave! I should have given you a bit more information on my kids. I have 2 boys and the would love to see Mickey!!

17 Dave { 03.01.12 at 7:36 am }

OK, then go with Chef Mickey!

18 Colleen { 04.01.12 at 7:48 pm }

Dave, we are planning our first visit with our kids the week of 10/13/12 and I am getting ready to make our Disney dining reservations next weekend. I read somewhere that the hoop dee doo revue will be closed while we are there for a renovation or something. Have you heard this? I am so sad as it is one of my fondest memories from my Disney visits as a child. Assuming it is true, what would you substitute? Is mickeys BBQ even a close second? I am so disappointed we might not be able to do the hoop de doo! Thanks for your help and suggestions.

19 Happy Fourth Birthday To YourFirstVisit.net | Military Disney Tips Blog { 04.02.12 at 7:43 am }

[...] Besides the great resources mentioned above for deciding when is the best time for you to go to Disney, Dave recommends what to do once you are there. Check out his itineraries and dining recommendations. [...]

20 Dave { 04.02.12 at 8:13 am }

Hi Colleen, I have not heard that about Hoop. (It may be true–just I haven’t heard.) The BBQ is OK, but unless you are already staying at FW, WL, or the Contemporary, it’s not really worth a special trip to FW to see…although very different, if you end up having to miss Hoop–and again, I don’t know that you will–I’d replace it with Whispering Canyon at WL.

21 Colleen Duffy { 04.03.12 at 12:44 pm }

Dave, I did confirm with WDW today that the Hoop de Doo will be closed from October to December 2012 while they make renovations. Thanks for the suggestion to do Whispering Canyon. Will try that instead. Still so sad we won’t be able to do the Hoop!

22 Dave { 04.03.12 at 1:39 pm }

Wow…I’m sorry to hear that! But thanks for the heads up…

23 Theresa { 04.13.12 at 4:49 pm }

We plan to go to WDW the 3rd week of Sept, 2012. We plan to camp @ FW. I’m trying to figure out which character dinner we should do (2 boys, one is 7, the other is 4). A friend suggested Mickeys BBQ v. Chef Mickey because she was disappointed the characters at Chef Mickey were dressed in white, not character clothing (for pictures, you know) (and I wonder what type of clothes the characters at the BBQ wear). But if we are already staying @ FW would you suggest doing the BBQ & the Hoop? Or spread things out?

24 Dave { 04.14.12 at 10:52 am }

Hi Theresa! In many meals the character costumes are tied to the setting, so at Chef Mickey they aren’t out of costume, but rather dressed in chef costumes. It won’t make a difference to the kids, as it’s the faces that make the characters. I’d go with Chef Mickey’s…

25 Jill { 05.10.12 at 4:51 pm }

We will be at wdw 9/1-9/6 with our 4 year old triplet (boys) and 2.5 year old twins (girls)! I have made some reservations and will second guess myself until it’s over! Tell me what you think. Night of arrival 9/1 – 8:15 at Whispering Canyon, we will probably get to our resort AKL around 5/6.
9/2 7:50pm at Tony’s on Main, hoping for a table on the porch for the Electrical parade!
9/3 10:15am Tuker House and 8:30pm O’hana
9/4 10:15am Hollywood and Vine
I’m thinking of changing Whispering Canyon, just not sure of having a reservation the first night. Maybe scheduling 1900 Park Fare for breakfast on 9/5?

26 Dave { 05.11.12 at 6:41 am }

Hi Jill!

OK, here’s my honest opinion: I think you a re over-scheduled, and in too many parks. Given the ages (and numbers!) of your kids, I would not aim for so many sit-down meals, and there’s just not that much at HS and AK for kids that age…I would have no arrival night schedule, and drop one or the other of your 9/3 and 9/4 meals and go back to MK that day instead…

27 Jill { 05.11.12 at 10:53 am }

Thank you Dave! We are planning to do MK on Wednesday and Thursday if there’s anything we still want to do or want to do again (Dumbo! ). The only reason we are doing Hollywood Studios is to see the Disney Jr. Characters at Breakfast and I have big Toy Story fans! I do realize we will spend shortened days there and AK, just hitting the things for preschoolers I’m going to cancel our arrival night dinner.

28 Dave { 05.11.12 at 10:55 am }

Jill, thanks for the explanation, I’m much more comfortable with your plan now!

29 Jill { 05.11.12 at 10:56 am }

So, with that additional info, do you have any other suggestions for us? We have five day tickets with dining plan so, i feel we have to use them! Just reying ito figure out the best way to do it. Thanks for your help, Jill

30 Dave { 05.11.12 at 11:29 am }

Jill, is your basketball team a group of ealry risers?

31 Jill { 05.11.12 at 6:01 pm }

They will be up by 8. I guess thats not too early! But, they will immediately want cereal or fruit, i plan to have those staples in our room for when they wake. My plan then is brunches around 10:30, lunch around 1:30 snack after nap then late dinners. ey will do well witg thi

32 Jill { 05.11.12 at 6:02 pm }

Oops.. with this schedule. As they are definitely more night owls!

33 Dave { 05.12.12 at 8:29 am }

Jill, all looks good with the exception that you really need to be at the parks 15 mins before they open–and you’ve picked a morning extra magic hours day or two, so you’ll need to get the kids up a little earlier than they are used to…

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