need recommendations for foreign in-laws

[swissamy]

OK - We also are Swiss/and American so this has nothing to do being foreign or not - it just is to explain the background of my problem. My mother in law from France is coming in October for her 3rd trip to the world. She is quickly becoming a disney nut like we are and learning to love the fun and family atmosphere which is far from how she (who is now 70) or my husband were raised.

My problem: She is paying for the trip and has asked me to reserve good restaurants, regardless of price. We tried to reserve cheaper restaurants and do it the less expensive route last trip (like eating at the Japanese fast food at Epcot, or Cosmic Rays) but she said she prefers to pay a bit more and eat really well. However, she has never seen a Disney movie so does not appreciate character meals ...she doesn't care about eating with any princesses or Mickey so the castle is out, character meals are out as the food, while plentiful, is expensive if you don't care about characters. She also doesn't enjoy American life themed restaurants like Prime Time as she doesn't "get" the server interaction. I have already reserved: Trails End, Nine Dragons, Chefs De France, Le Cellier and Ohana (all for dinners) but need a few more nights . We will have boys that are 8,9,12 and 14 and are slightly picky so I don't know where else to look. I need atmosphere and good quality food. Kona has the food but is missing the atmosphere, Whispering Canyon has a fun atmosphere again she may not get it...

Any ideas for this helpless daughter in law! Blessings!! Amy

 

[Mukta]

Epcot - Biergarten. It should have food everyone will eat and the atmosphere will be familiar to MIL

MK - Plaza or Liberty Tree Tavern. Basic food, no show

DHS - Mama Melrose

AK - go to AKL for dinner and eat at either Boma or Sanaa. They seem exotic, but there is something for everyone there.

 

[Vader2112]

Boardwalk- Flying Fish
DTD - Potobello
MK Liberty Tree for Table service or Columbia Harbor House Quick Serve
DHS Mam Melrose or the Brown Derby

 

[righttrack]

Humor does not translate well.
Boma or Saana
Biergarten
Restaurant Marrakesh

 

[wolf359]

I noticed there are virtually no resort restaurants in your list, yet that is where the most "good" restaurants are located.

I think Brown Derby is your best (only?) option for dining at Hollywood Studios since the theme of 50s Prime Time and Sci Fi Dine In aren't what you're looking for.

Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom is similarly your only real option, though I really enjoy the food and I think the theming is nice.

The Magic Kingdom is tough when you rule out character meals AND require good food. Perhaps this is the time you hop on the monorail and go to the California Grill at the Contemporary?

EPCOT is pretty wide open and the list of good restaurants is pretty long. I'd suggest adding Bistro de Paris, Biergarten, or Via Napoli to the list to consider.

 

[maryszhi]

via napoli and le cellier are great choices. i would also recommend the grand cafe and whispering canyon as well. the brown derby would be good at the studios.

 

[dvcnut]

I would recommend...

California Grill (Contemporary Resort) - The crown jewel of restaurants (I think). Amazing view and convenient (within walking distance to Magic Kingdom or via monorail to Epcot). This is American cuisine at its best!

Boma or Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge) - Excellent food, unique experience, beautiful hotel. Short bus ride from Animal Kingdom park.

Coral Reef (Epcot) - Great atmosphere and good food.

Depending on when you'll be arriving, you may want to consider Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom. It's opening in the "holiday season" and has a French flair to it. The theming is supposed to be the best that Disney offers.

 

[NiarrNDisney]

I have a large family and my sisters have also married into even larger families so its hard to satisfy everyones tastes outside of Epcots World Showcase especially with all of the different cultures mixed in our growing family.
Here is a small list that seems to work for us though it is ever changing:

MK - (TS) Libery Tree Tavern, Plaza Restaurant (CS) Columbia Harbour House

Epcot - FW (TS)Coral Reef, (CS) Sunshine Seasons WS is a free for all whether its sancking around or making an ADR though with her being French I bet she would like Les Chefs or Bistro de Paris

DHS - (TS) Hollywood Brown Derby, Mama Melrose's (CS) Backlot Express, Starring Rolls or we head over to the Epcot resorts

DAK - We snack here and then head over to AKL or CSR

DTD - (TS) House of Blues, Paradiso 37, Raglan Road (CS) Cookes of Dublin, Earl of Sandwich, Pollo Campero
We also like the Giraffe Cafe at the Royal Plaza and the Benihana's at the Hilton

Resorts - (TS) blue zoo (Dolphin), Grand Floridian Cafe (GFR), Fountain (Dolphin), Kimonos (Swan), Kona Cafe(Poly), Maya Grill (CSR), Sanaa (AKL-KV), Turf Club (SSR), The Wave (CR)
(CS) Artist Palette (SSR), Boardwalk To Go & Pizza Window (BWR), Cabana Pool & Beach Club (Dolphin), Cafe Rix & Laguna Bar (CSR), Mara (AKL) Pepper Market (CSR), Roaring Forks (WL), Trails End To Go (FW)

 

[The Incredible Schmulk]

I think Chefs de France might be a bad idea. I think it's just okay, so I can't imagine what someone who lives in France, where the sidewalk cafes that Chefs is modeled after are on almost every corner of any large enough city, would think about the food there. I could see it turning out to be a very disappointing meal for your mother in law.

If she's not worried about price, I would suggest looking into filling your open slots (and the Chefs meal) with some resort options of a little better quality, probably signature meals.

In the Epcot/MGM area, you have Flying Fish, Kouzzina, the Yachtsman, bluezoo, Shula's and Il Mulino all within walking distance from the International Gateway entrance in the World Showcase, or you can take a ferry boat from both directly to the resorts containing the restaurants.

In the Animal Kingdom area, you have Jiko and Sanaa a short bus ride away at the Lodges.

In the Magic Kingdom area, you can take a boat to the Wilderness Lodge for a dinner at Artist Point, or hop on the monorail to go to California Grill, Narcoosee's or Citricos. The Wave and the Grand Floridian Cafe are also pretty good options at the non-signature level.

So, there are options, very good options, you might just need to leave the parks for a couple of hours to take advantage of them.

 

[swissamy]

If she's not worried about price, I would suggest looking into filling your open slots (and the Chefs meal) with some resort options of a little better quality, probably signature meals.

In the Epcot/MGM area, you have Flying Fish, Kouzzina, the Yachtsman, bluezoo, Shula's and Il Mulino all within walking distance from the International Gateway entrance in the World Showcase, or you can take a ferry boat from both directly to the resorts containing the restaurants.

In the Animal Kingdom area, you have Jiko and Sanaa a short bus ride away at the Lodges.

In the Magic Kingdom area, you can take a boat to the Wilderness Lodge for a dinner at Artist Point, or hop on the monorail to go to California Grill, Narcoosee's or Citricos. The Wave and the Grand Floridian Cafe are also pretty good options at the non-signature level.

So, there are options, very good options, you might just need to leave the parks for a couple of hours to take advantage of them.

Thank you for the ideas - Which ones (hotel restaurants) do you like the best - for both atmosphere and for food ? We will have 4 kids so the meal has to be something not so gourmet that they will turn up their noses and I will have to live with the consequences of an angry mother in law!

 

[The Incredible Schmulk]

With your stipulations, I would say that Sanaa is your best bet in the Animal Kingdom area. If you get there before nightfall, there is a view of the savanna from the restaurant, and the food is fantastic. Some of the entrees might seem weird to your less adventurous eaters, but I think there's enough on the menu to satisfy picky palettes.

In Epcot/MGM, I would say that Kouzzina and Yachtsman are your best choices. Kouzzina is loud and fun, with a large open kitchen and a varied Mediterranean menu. There should be a lot there for everyone there, and don't skip out on the breakfast because it's an easy meal. They have, in my opinion, the best table service breakfast in all of WDW. Yachtsman Steakhouse will serve you the best steak you can get on property, outside of Shula's, which is more expensive and considerably less Disney (it's also pretty heavily football-themed, which your mother-in-law might not care for). They also have great appetizers. You can make an entire meal out of just that part of the menu.

For the Magic Kingdom area, even though I like Citricos and the California Grill more, I would recommend Narcoossee's. The varied menu, nice ambiance and views of the fireworks from the deck on the water that surrounds the restaurant. Now, I suggest that you check out the menu for California Grill on the Disney World website and see if you can get away with it, but if it looks like a bit much for the picky eaters, I think Narcoossee's is a fine fall-back

There are other great restaurants in other resorts, but the ones listed above are the easiest to access from the parks, and they are all within easy walking or alternate transportation distance.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I think there are a lot of possibilities, but it might help if your MIL were involved in the planning process to ensure you're picking meals that would be to her liking. i.e. maybe you could form a short list of restaurants (i.e. 15 restaurants to fill 4 spots) and let her view sample menus and retaurant photos to narrow it down.

I agree with not doing anything French. You probably want to stay clear of her home cuisine when dining out of town/out of country. i.e. NY Pizza outside of the northeast is rarely on par with what you'll get up there...so why add that into your vacay? My kids are not picky eaters and we're big on making them try new and interesting things, but I also like having some kid friendly staples on the menu in case it's an evening where they just want the basics.

I think Victoria & Albert's is out b/c of the ages of the kids, but here are a few of my suggestions...
-California Grill- nice environment, lots of nice food options, and we found them to be very kid friendly.
-Sanaa- neat atmosphere, lots of really interesting food, even my picky eater friends came back raving
- Citrico's- very pretty from the pictures I've seen, the menu makes my mouth water, and I see enough on there that my kids would eat
- Brown Derby- it's been a long time since I've eaten here, but I remember it being very tasty, the atmosphere was nice, and my little brother was satisfied with the kid options (it's been a LONG time )
- Jiko- another one we've never done, but the atmosphere looks nice, menu makes me drool, and I see things my kids will eat if I don't feel like pushing new foods on them.
- La Hacienda - we live in TX and are spoiled with real Mexican and amazing Tex Mex food, but I've had friends eat here and they liked the food and atmosphere
- Kouzzina - I'm still bummed that DH had me cxl this one, but the menu looks yummy and most of the photos inside look nice
- Wolfgang Puck Dining Room - DH doesn't like his food, but we've done meals at a number of his retaurants outside of Disney and I think the food and atmosphere is always so nicely done (I personally have loved all of my meals at his restaurants), even if you're in one of his more middle range spots.
- BlueZoo- this is Todd English's spot and the menu looks awesome. Not sure how kid friendly it is, but we've eaten at one of his places in Vegas and were impressed.
- Shula's - while it's a chain and we have local places we like better than our local Shula's- it's still EXCELLENT steak and nice atmosphere.

Hope this helps.