Buffet (dinner) suggestions?

[draybook]

We're considering a dinner buffet during our April trip. We've only looked at Tusker House, Crystal Palace and Garden Grill. I know GG is more of an all you can eat brought to you. We're not overly enthusiastic about these so are there any reccomendations you guys can give? The wife and kids aren't really adventurous, so there would need to be some standard "American" food such as chicken. Or should we just try something like Via Napoli?

 

[Gitson Shiggles]

We're considering a dinner buffet during our April trip. We've only looked at Tusker House, Crystal Palace and Garden Grill. I know GG is more of an all you can eat brought to you. We're not overly enthusiastic about these so are there any reccomendations you guys can give? The wife and kids aren't really adventurous, so there would need to be some standard "American" food such as chicken. Or should we just try something like Via Napoli?

Hollywood and Vine

 

[Weather_Lady]

If you're looking for a character experience, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality, freshness and variety of the food at Crystal Palace. (However, the meal took FOREVER because the character rotation was agonizingly slow - so much so that we kind of took a break from character meals after that. YMMV.)

As alternatives for a non-adventurous group, I'd suggest Liberty Tree Tavern at MK (it's not a buffet, but it is family style, so all-you-care-to-enjoy, and is made up up very safe options -- salad, green beans, turkey, beef, mac & cheese, etc.) or Biergarten at Epcot (German-influenced and one of the most beautifully-themed restaurants on property, but the food is not too exotic: there's a kids' section in the buffet with American staples like hot dogs and mac & cheese, as well as plenty of simple fare on the rest of the buffet like rotisserie chicken, carved beef, tossed salads, pretzel rolls, wonderful desserts, and the live entertainment is really fun). Via Napoli, which you mentioned, is also very good if you decide you prefer an a la carte experience - and if you order a large pizza and even salad to share (rather than individual entrees), it will cost you little more than a counter service meal.

 

[DisAl]

We thought Hollywood and Vine was one of the better buffet type meals we did on our last trip. Lots of variety for different tastes, and lots of good deserts!

 

[MaryJaneP]

It has been a long time since we ate dinner there, but when we last did, Chef Mickey's was a buffet for dinner, was American fare, was a character meal, was fun, did not require a park admission, and rather tasty. We've done your other possibilities as well, but not for dinner. All were good when we ate there.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

I totally know what it's like to have a wife and daughter who are picky eaters.
I will eat almost anything.
How do you know if you will like something if you don't try it?
That being said, one of our favorite places to eat at is the Biergarten at Epcot.
It's a buffet and my wife and daughter don't feel that the selection is too unusual.
And they have liters of beer!
And a good show too.
And you get to sit with total strangers, but that's fun too.

 

[NiarrNDisney]

The best Buffets/ All you can eat places on Property IMHO are Boma, Biergarten, Garden Grill and Trail End.

 

[JenDud]

Boma is fantastic. I also love Cape May Cafe it is a seafood buffet.

 

[erasure fan1]

Boma is fantastic. I also love Cape May Cafe it is a seafood buffet.

We haven’t been for a few years but 1900 park fair was one of our favorite buffets. The food was better quality than most of the other buffets. I would also give a plus to cape may. I know you said the family style isn't your thing but Ohana is the most consistently good, and my absolute favorite in all of WDW.

 

[sdemore]

1900 Park Fare has always been one of our favorites for breakfast or dinner when we are looking for a buffet.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I agree with 1900 Park Fare...ate there for the first time on our last visit and it was very good...we're planning to eat there again on our next visit in in May, 2020... Our go to buffets are, CP for B'fast, Tratttoria al Forno, also for B'fast and 1900 Park Fare for dinner.

 

[Diesel Dan]

Trails End @ Ft Wilderness is a hidden gem, gets you out of the busy Parks and Resorts for a different experience. You can walk around the grounds and enjoy the Campground before heading back to the busy areas. The food is really good and a good variety. Not as pricey as the other buffets.

 

[slappy magoo]

Crystal Palace makes a nice breakfast spread, though nothing drastically different from most of the other breakfast buffets. Not a big fan of their lunches or dinners.

Love Tusker House.

As far as buffets in restaurants in parks, that's about as good as you get.

Outside of the parks, Boma and 1900.

 

[TrojanUSC]

Boma is easily my favorite dinner buffet on property. It features unique food options you won't find elsewhere. Also, in this Dining Plan era where so much buffet food is stuff straight off the Sysco truck, they make nearly everything from scratch - including 4 amazing soups every day.

 

[Dave B]

We really enjoy Cape May Café at the Beach Club, Breakfast is awesome, if you like seafood, you will love dinner, Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary is a lot of fun as well

 

[KWelsh]

On our last trip with very picky family members, Tusker house was a big hit -- enough plain food (rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans, corn, pita and hummus) to keep them happy, and enough slightly more adventurous stuff for the rest of us.

Chef Mickey's was also markedly improved on our last visit. (We have a Minnie obsessed 3-year-old and a Donald loving 6-year-old. We end up there a few times a year.) Again, plenty of plain stuff -- roasted chicken, potatoes, cold meat and cheeses, salad, broccoli, etc. Still not my ideal meal, or even up to the standards of Chef Mickey's a decade ago, but the character interaction -- and the blessed waiter who gave us a second round of cocktails in to-go cups -- makes it worthwhile. You won't be wowed, but you probably won't leave hungry.

 

[TrojanUSC]

On our last trip with very picky family members, Tusker house was a big hit -- enough plain food (rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans, corn, pita and hummus) to keep them happy, and enough slightly more adventurous stuff for the rest of us.

Chef Mickey's was also markedly improved on our last visit. (We have a Minnie obsessed 3-year-old and a Donald loving 6-year-old. We end up there a few times a year.) Again, plenty of plain stuff -- roasted chicken, potatoes, cold meat and cheeses, salad, broccoli, etc. Still not my ideal meal, or even up to the standards of Chef Mickey's a decade ago, but the character interaction -- and the blessed waiter who gave us a second round of cocktails in to-go cups -- makes it worthwhile. You won't be wowed, but you probably won't leave hungry.

My visit to Chef Mickey's a month ago was the worst food I've ever had in a restaurant, let alone at Disney. Just atrocious.

 

[KWelsh]

My visit to Chef Mickey's a month ago was the worst food I've ever had in a restaurant, let alone at Disney. Just atrocious.

Ah, that honor went to Mama Melrose last time around for us. I don't know how spaghetti can be simultaneously crunchy and mushy, but they nailed it. Frontera Cocina was off, too, compared to our previous trip in October.

(Maybe the real lesson is that nearly every place on property is uneven as heck these days and who knows what you're going to end up with half the time. Just go to Publix and get subs instead.)

 

[TrojanUSC]

Ah, that honor went to Mama Melrose last time around for us. I don't know how spaghetti can be simultaneously crunchy and mushy, but they nailed it. Frontera Cocina was off, too, compared to our previous trip in October.

(Maybe the real lesson is that nearly every place on property is uneven as heck these days and who knows what you're going to end up with half the time. Just go to Publix and get subs instead.)

Publix subs are the best!! Learned you can DoorDash them to your hotel last time.

 

[me_stitch]

loved Boma, did Breakfast at Tusker House and loved it too.