Restaurant Suggestions

[RJlvsTigger]

My hysband and I will be staying at the WL with our 1yr old son 11/30 to 12/7. I want to call ahead for priority seating for a couple of character meals. Can anyone offer any suggestions as my husband and I have never been to one. I think my son would really enjoy it. Also, any suggestions for other restaurants suitable for a 1yr old would be appreciated.

Thanks :animwink:

 

[WDWspider]

Originally posted by RJlvsTigger
My hysband and I will be staying at the WL with our 1yr old son 11/30 to 12/7. I want to call ahead for priority seating for a couple of character meals. Can anyone offer any suggestions as my husband and I have never been to one. I think my son would really enjoy it. Also, any suggestions for other restaurants suitable for a 1yr old would be appreciated.

Thanks :animwink:

Hi, I never have either. My son is 16 months. We are going on our trip in two weeks :sohappy: . Anyway here are the PS character meals we made:

Resterauntasaurus at AK - Breakfast Buffet (Donald Goofy and more)
Ice Cream Social at EPCOT - Ice Cream (Mickey and Chipmunks?)
Tony's Town Square at MK - Breakfast (Winnie the Pooh and friends)

 

[Katherine]

The crystal Palace Buffet is kinda pricey (but what in wdw isn't:lol: )but it's great! Also the Rainforest Cafe is so cool! There are "rain storms" and animals that move constantly, He won't get bored! I love this restaurnat the foods not the best bust the atmosphere is!

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Two words:

CHEF MICKEY'S !!!!!!!!!!

 

[WDWspider]

Originally posted by Katherine
The crystal Palace Buffet is kinda pricey (but what in wdw isn't:lol: )but it's great! Also the Rainforest Cafe is so cool! There are "rain storms" and animals that move constantly, He won't get bored! I love this restaurnat the foods not the best bust the atmosphere is!

Currently the Crystal Palace is down. The Tony Town Square PS I have is the normal Crystal Palace one.

I have Rainforest Cafe PS also, but no Characters there.

 

[dreamer]

If he doesn't like Chef Mickey's (at the Contemporary) he won't like any character meal. It is consistently rated a favorite. It has Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Chip, Dale and lots of fun. The food is great.

If Crystal Palace is open, it is also one of the best -- it's a "classic."

If you don't get good PS times, go when you want, because in early December you'll probably get better times just walking in. (Don't tell them you have PS if you go earlier. Trust me on that.)

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Character meals at WDW are great - in my opinion THE best is breakfast with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore & Tigger. Its always held at the Crystal Palace in MK - but to to refurb is currently sited at Tonys Town Square.
A word of warning - on our first visit my youngest daughter was just under 2 yrs and despite a "gentle introduction" she was scared of all the characters for the entire holiday

 

[Married@WDW]

I must agree -- Chef Mickey's for the Fab Five characters and Crystal Palace (if it's reopened) for the Pooh characters are the best character meals on property.

We did Tony's on our last trip to see Pooh and the gang -- the food was very good, but the choices are slim, so I'd check the menu first. We also love Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner -- it's basically Thanksgiving type food and the Fab Five are dressed in Americana costumes. We wore our red, white and blue Mickey t-shirts last time for some cute pictures. I've heard fantastic things about The Garden Grille in The Land in Epcot -- especially that the food is VERY good and kids get lots of attention from Mickey, Chip and Dale because the restaurant is smaller and not usually overly crowded -- but we haven't been there yet.

A great site for menus is the WDW Information Guide -- http://www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm.

They also have a great section on character dining --
http://www.wdwig.com/cb.htm

Some of our other favorite kid-friendly non-character meals are:
* Ohana's -- family style restaurant with roasted meats presented on huge skewers which made our nephew's eyes bug out and the "host" sings songs and plays games with the kids.

* Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki -- Hibachi-style Japanese. The food is simple enough that our three nephews and niece always have plenty of choice and they love watching the crazy chefs make flaming volcanoes and throw around shrimptails.

* Whispering Canyon Cafe -- Great anytime of day. The waiters and waitresses are quite playful and really fun -- no real script, just craziness whenever the want! There are usually some fun activities for kids here and there. Be sure to ask for ketchup but make room on the table first.

Happy planning!

 

[animegirllover]

In my opinion, I would suggest you to have Garden Grill at Epcot.

 

[hockeymom]

Originally posted by animegirllover
In my opinion, I would suggest you to have Garden Grill at Epcot.

I agree, Garden Grill is great!

 

[Big Pooh]

Married@WDW and animegirllover talked about 2 of my favorites, dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and Garden Grill at Epcot. The food is very good at both and since I'm a history buff, and a Chip n Dale fan, I enjoy both very much. Keep in mind your 1yo may not like the characters. They're VERY BIG. Especially if you're 1 year old and less than 2ft tall...:animwink:

Cheers :wave:

 

[Disneynutcase]

Dittos on the intimidation factor. I've been with enough small kids who absolutely wanted no part of any fully costumed character.

Therefore, I have two suggestions.

1) wait before you book a character meal. Instead when you get to a park, go out of your way to find the characters and see how your little one reacts. I swear to God, my eldest kid from 14-20 months would absolutely howl and "need to be out" of any restaurant that had full-costumed (namely the giant animals) roaming the room. By 2 years old, she was fine.

2) May I suggest you get a ressie for a princess breakfast, either in the castle (which absolutely requires Priority Seating reservations) or at the Norweigan restaurant in Epcot. All the characters on display at these meals have beautiful gowns and such, but you can see their faces. Plus they can actually talk to your little one which helps a lot.

Hope this helps.

 

[RozFan]

How about the Villains Buffet at 1900 Park Fare? Oh, wait they discontinued it....

I'm just a little bitter about that one.

I have to agree with the majority here and say Chef Mickey's. Good food and great character interaction!

 

[goofyman]

You won't go wrong with any one of the choices everyone has listed. Chef Mickeys is prob number one for most people. I really like the Donald Resterauntasaurus also. And if you are looking for a fun place to eat and is a great value, look no further than right in WL. Wispering canyon is great fun for any meal. Just be sure to ask for the ketchup!...
Have fun the little one will be great to watch when the characters come up to them!!!:king:

 

[wannabeBelle]

so far I Am agreeing with all the people here who said to check out your child's reaction to the characters. My friends two girls absolutely FREAKED when they met Mickey!!! but my niece who is about the same age had absolutely not a problem in the world just getting cozy with the characters!! At the breakfast at Hollywood and Vine she went over to Goofy like he was a long lost friend and sat right on his lap. Of course she had seen him like 7 times at different character meals already so....At my suggestion my friend made ressies for Cinderella's Royal Table. Well his girls went bonkers. They loved it!!!! he said that was absolutely the highlight of his trip! His little one was so happy when Snow White came over and hugged her!!! Good luck whichever meal you decide!! Belle