Table service for the first time! Where to eat?!

[Mark Wilson]

My girlfriend and I have booked an 8 night stay at Disney this November. We are staying at the Music resort thingy. I decided this year to 'upgrade' the dining plan to the standard one so we could get some table service meals.

The only problem is, we don't really know where we want to eat! We've made a couple choices that we'd like to try to get into (If we can get ADR's..)

So far, we obviously want to try Be our Guest, we would like to go for breakfast if possible as that somehow counts as a quick service.

We'd also like to go to Cinderellas Royal Casle. We are away it takes 2 dining credits, but my girlfriend really wants to see it so that's fine.

She also wants to go to the Dino place at downtown disney and the Sci Fi theater.

Any other table service recommendations? Need one for Animal Kingdom and perhaps another one for Hollywood Studios.

 

[belledream]

I would recommend taking the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge instead of eating at AK. Trying the buffet, Boma. Good, unique, bang-for-1-TS-credit buck. Either that, or bus to Downtown Disney around dinnertime and try something there! If you prefer to stay in park, Tusker House is sort of like Boma. Yak & Yeti was 'meh', and there's always Rainforest Cafe - the food is typical, but we always enjoy the atmosphere there. It's probably a lot like T-Rex though.

HS...I'd say 50's Prime Time for some good ol' comfort food. Or take a park break and walk to the Boardwalk/EPCOT resort area and try one of the restaurants there - since you're already going to Sci Fi.

 

[littleroo]

Oh have you come to the right place and this question will generate many opposing views! I would suggest Sanaa, Ohana, Garden Grill, Raglan Road, Bongos, San Angel, The Brown Derby, And Chef Mickeys. Some of these places having amazing food and some are just amazing experiences. Here is where my opioin differs from many. Trex is cool but I would suggest sitting at the bar and observing the meteor shower from there. Great atmoshere but food is soso!

Enjoy and happy eating!

 

[HeatherWatson]

As already mentioned, 50s Primetime in HS is awesome! Tusker House offers a fantastic character breakfast in AK. We like Crystal Palace in MK because we are Pooh fans. 'Ohana at the Poly is FANTASTIC!!!

 

[AnCsMommy]

I totally get wanting to do Cinderella's Royal Table, we have two boys but did it anyway because the little girl in me just HAD to get inside that castle. We've enjoyed a lot of Epcot restaurants, Be our Guest, The Brown Derby, Tusker House, and Fulton's. T-Rex was just okay, pretty typical chain restaurant food, but if you guys are really into theming it's spot on.

 

[lostpro9het]

IMO, the resorts are where you want you eat! My suggestion, in no particular order:
Il Mulino at The Swan
Sanaa at AKL Kidani
The Wave at Contemporary
Kona at The Polynesian.
Also
Paradiso 37 at DTD.

 

[JDMom]

Are you doing all 4 parks & DTD? I would skip CRT. Your getting a great castle at BOG. My picks would be:
MK: Liberty Tree Tavern for LUNCH. it is so busy at MK. I hate to break a night up with a sit down.
Epcot: We are trying Tutto this trip. I love Rose and Crown. My hubby loves the beer! Germany is fun w/ok food.
HS: Sci-fi over 50's. I hate leaving a park. So if you are doing the park twice, go for 50's.
AK: Honestly, they close early enough to hit up BOMA for a late dinner.
DTD: Raglan Road!
Resorts worth your time: O'Hana or Kona at Poly, Beaches & Cream at BC, 1900 Park Fair at GF. Chef Mickey is fine for breakfast.
Good luck with your picks. Just remember, everyone has a opinion. i usually go for something new and experience, The food can always be hit or miss anywhere. Again, I just do not do the 2 credits for a TS anymore.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Are you trying to save money with the DDP? The restaurants you've mentioned (cheap 1-credit meals and a 2-credit meal) are about the worst possible value for your dime if you're using the DDP. I'm not saying you shouldn't eat at those places, but if Sci-Fi, CRT and T-Rex are your must-dos, understand that you'll be spending quite a bit more to eat there on the DDP than if you paid out of pocket. (If you don't believe me, check out distripplanner.com, which has a calculator that compares the cost of your desired ADRs OOP and with the DDP.)

If you're willing to be more flexible (and trade better-quality food for slightly more subtlely-themed ambiance), better dining-plan-value alternatives would be Akershus (instead of CRT - it's still a castle with princesses, but for 1 credit), Biergarten, Coral Reef, Crystal Palace, Liberty Tree Tavern, 'Ohana, Raglan Road, Sanaa, Boma, etc. If at Hollywood Studios, Mama Melrose or the Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge (note: the HBD Lounge doesn't take ADRs), although we typically avoid dining at Hollywood Studios as it has the worst restaurant selection of all the parks. If you opt to pay out of pocket, note that at most buffets and restaurants, lunch is cheaper than dinner (whereas on the DDP, dinner is the better deal as you're technically getting more bang for your buck).

 

[harryk]

Are you looking for a buffet or a true sit-down experience where wait-staff comes and takes your order?
Are you on a basic dining plan or a delux dining plan - this causes your selection options to change a bit?
Germany is a buffet as is Norway and Crystal Palace. My family has not had happy experiences at any of the Poly options over the past 20 years. The Grand Flo has great restaurants as does the Animal Kingdom lodge and DVC resort at the AK.

 

[Disnee4Me]

The first time we dined at a sit down (besides the Castle) was at Liberty Tree Tavern for their family style dinner. It was awesome and we had a late reservation and just as we got outside the fireworks began. That was back in '02 when you could just call and make a reservation the day before ...

 

[JillC LI]

A related question: When you say you "upgraded" to the standard DDP, do you mean you got the plan as part of a free dining package that included the QS DDP? If so, consider this: On our last trip, the cost of upgrading to the standard DDP at a value resort was nearly identical ($27 difference) to the cost of automatically getting the standard DDP for free at a moderate resort. You might want to consider going that route instead. If you re paying for the DDP and not getting it free then ignore this post

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

(If you don't believe me, check out distripplanner.com, which has a calculator that compares the cost of your desired ADRs OOP and with the DDP.)

That's amazing

 

[thomas998]

As another poster mentioned you've picked some dodgy places if you are using the DDP... In general the DDP doesn't save you anything if you have to pay for it unless you use it to eat at the most expensive places and avoid the 2 credits per meal deals.

If you are paying for it then run the number on the places you've scoped out and you may find it is better to pay as you go and not us a plan at all.

Also... you should know that the castle is for theme not food... If you absolutely must do the castle then make sure you don't do a breakfast there it is the worst food you'll find in the park and if you are paying 2 credits for it an absolute rip-off.

 

[katieee]

Our favourites as a couple...
Ohana (MUST DO)
Raglan Road (great atmosphere)
Coral Reef (when else do you get to dine next to an aquarium?)

 

[Mark Wilson]

I'm getting the FREE dining plan. It was free, so we aren't super interested in getting the most value for the dining plan. I did upgrade from the free quick service to the standard dining plan. It wasn't a lot of money $200 or something for the 8 nights? I looked for a moderate place to stay at and couldn't find anything close to the price of the value resort.

 

[Matt_Black]

My suggestions- 1900 Park Fare, 50s Prime Time Cafe, and Sanaa.

 

[catmom46]

I would also suggest Coral Reef, Kona Cafe, Cape May Cafe (if you like seafood), Captain's Grille, Boma, Sanaa. While I liked Akershus a lot, if you're going for theme, then CRT is better.

 

[AnCsMommy]

A related question: When you say you "upgraded" to the standard DDP, do you mean you got the plan as part of a free dining package that included the QS DDP? If so, consider this: On our last trip, the cost of upgrading to the standard DDP at a value resort was nearly identical ($27 difference) to the cost of automatically getting the standard DDP for free at a moderate resort. You might want to consider going that route instead. If you re paying for the DDP and not getting it free then ignore this post

We priced out a value with the upgrade (We've got littles so those sit down meals are a godsend at the end of a long day), and the moderate was cheaper!

 

[ColoradoEquestrian]

Go for 'Ohana! If you enjoy mild heckling, Whispering Canyon is a fun one. We enjoyed Biergarten for the show and community seating (probably only because we lucked out and were seated with some super friendly extroverts!). Last I checked, lunch at BOG was also QS. That's probably a better value for DDP than breakfast. We also loved Liberty Tree Tavern in MK. Good luck, there are so many great choices!

 

[T-BoneMickeyFan]

Ohana is just great.