I'm trying to decide on our character meal at Epcot and I'm not sure which one to go with for dinner; Garden Grill or Akershus. I have 2 boys who will be 10 and 3 1/2 and they're not into princesses at all. We've been at the Garden Grill before and the character interaction was great but the food was ok. So we wanted to try something new. What are your thoughts?
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Which one would you choose?
- Thread starter GMU MOM
- Start date
wm49rs
A naughty bit o' crumpet
Well, if they're not into Princesses, have you considered a character meal at one of the other parks, or at a resort?
My wife graduated from GMU, many moons ago.....:wave:
Yes, we are doing a total of 7 TS meals (6 character and 1 at Boma) but I was trying to decide which one to book at Epcot.
The 5 character meals I have booked so far are: CP at MK, Ohana, Tusker House, Chef Mickey's and 1900 Park Fare)
wizards8507
Active Member
Six character meals seems... excessive, especially with all the otherwise great dining options available at Epcot. You should really consider getting a late ADR at Rose and Crown. If you can get a seat on the water, there's no better view for IllumiNations.
wm49rs
A naughty bit o' crumpet
Well, since you have a number of character meals already booked, how about taking them to dinner in one of the restaurants around the WS that wasn't character-based. Le Cellier, or Biergarten or the San Angel Inn? It may not have characters, but the experience of dining in a "foreign" land and all may be worth while.....
NiarrNDisney
Well-Known Member
Well only a short distance away is the Garden Grove restaurant at the Swan hotel and they have character meals.
DisneyHamm
New Member
Based on the original OP's Question about a certain two restaurants, I would have to recommend the Garden Grill for the food. The biggest part of your decision may be made already though as the Garden Grill is Hard to get reservations for. I would check that out first, you might not have a choice between the two.
bmarkelon
Well-Known Member
If you really want an Epcot character meal my vote would be for Garden Grill. Slightly better experience there for me and if your boys are not into princesses this would be the way to go. But I agree with another poster in considering a dinner in the World Showcase, Teppan Edo could be a great choice for your group. It seems that you have character meals covered and there are so many great dining options in Epcot. I have a hard time each trip narrowing our Epcot ADRs down to 1 or 2 but these character choices are never being tossed around. I toy with Garden Grill every once in awhile for a hot five minutes, for my love of Chip and Dale. Good luck and enjoy!:wave:
We really like the menu at Le Cellier but not so much at the other 2. However, it seems very difficult to get an ADR at Le Cellier. I am going to keep trying though. Thanks for the suggestions.
Thanks - I was able to get a 5:45pm ADR at the Garden Grill.
It's Ohana that I'm having trouble with. I'm trying to change Ohana from bkfst to dinner and nothing is available.
lbrad
Well-Known Member
Remember Ohana does NOT have characters at dinner :wave:
ThinkTink721
Well-Known Member
A restaurant that is close to Epcot is Cape May Cafe' - they have a character breakfast w/ Goofy, Minnie, & Donald. We have never eaten there for the breakfast, but I hear it is pretty good.
They may also enjoy Teppan Edo. We are going to try it w/ our 3 kids this Sept.
Or you could try The Coral Reef - we have never eaten there, but I hear it's nice - but, there are no characters.
If you travel out of the park, I would suggest:
Ohana for dinner (no characters)
Ohana for breakfast (characters)
Whispering Canyon for dinner (no characters)
Chef Mickey's for breakfast or dinner (characters)
durangojim
Well-Known Member
The food at Garden Grill is very underwelming, and the food in Norway is just not our taste. Coral Reef is pretty cool, and San Angel Inn in Mexico is as well due to the atmosphere.
JillC LI
Well-Known Member
I agree completely about Rose & Crown during Illuminations or even another country's pavillion for dinner. While we enjoy character meals, in general the food is better at non-character meals. If choosing between just your two options though, I would vote for anything other than Akershus if you have no interest in the princesses. Our kids loved the princess experience, but we ALL hated the food there for dinner.
This is a good suggestion. The Swan is easily accessible from Epcot, either by walking or taking the boat. I've been to the character dinner at Garden Grove; during the week, characters appear only at dinner, and only at breakfast on the weekends (Saturday & Sunday). Disneyworld.com says "you never know who might appear"; it was Pluto and Goofy when I was there.
Another good suggestion! I have eaten at Cape May Cafe for breakfast, and it is great. Minnie, Goofy and Donald in their beachwear.
Prof Ecks
Active Member
If you are looking for something two boys would like, where the food is decent and everyone is entertained, you might consider the hddr. My sons and daughter all really enjoyed that when they were around 4-12. My one son got called up on stage and that remains one his highlights from our many trips to WDW.