Your favorite table service rest. w/ the kids?

[starbound25]

What are your favorite restaurants to visit that are table service meals?
Ones that your kids love (with or without characters) love the food etc etc

 

[epsmith921]

We loved garden grill since the food was good for DH and me and then our daughter loved the characters. Most relaxing character meal for us and we had done crystal palace and CRT on the same trip.

The thing that was awesome for us with the age of our daughter was that she couldn't see the characters on the other side of the room. At CRT, Snow White came over and DD 2.5 years old said, "where's Ariel and jasmine?" As in, thanks for coming by, but I'd appreciate it if you could go so those two could come see me!

She loved the furry characters at crystal palace but with the go get it yourself buffet it was just a bit chaotic when combined with seeing the characters. Garden grill was a great combination for us.

 

[DISNEYNV]

We really love the Hopdee do Review, Ohana for breakfast, and Crystal Palace for dinner. These are our must dos each trip that my kids really enjoyed since they were toddlers!

 

[Disneylover99]

Biergarten for the dancing
Garden Grill for the characters and revolving restaurant

 

[MandiC]

We did Akershus which was nice but the food wasn't so great (kids pizza sauce tasted like spaghettios). CRT, the kids didn't like the food at all and it was so loud you couldn't even hear any of the announcements going on. California Grill was nice, but not exactly kid oriented or something you'd want to do with young kids that wouldn't sit still and use manners. Same with LeCellier. Tusker House breakfast was great, the kids loved it and the food was good. My 8 year old says she wants to do Hollywood & Vine again next time, but I think by the time we go again she won't feel the same it's nice for kids who love Disney Jr. characters but as far as food it is pretty typical buffet.

The only one I really want to repeat on future trips is Tusker House.

 

[kermiebudge]

Now that my kids are older (9 & 11), surprisingly for both of them, the definite favorite is Tokyo Dining! Which is a win-win because my hubby and I love it too They love the bento meal...

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Our kids love the following.

Akershus for lunch or dinner - love the princesses and the food
Ohana for dinner - love the food and the games they play
Tusker House for lunch - they love the characters and the food
Via Napoli - love the pizza
Sci Fi for lunch - love the atmosphere
50s Prime Time for dinner and dessert - they love the interactions and the desserts
Hoop Dee Doo - they love the show and the food.

Beaches and Cream - for everything and for the Kitchen Sink.

Our kids did not like CRT for lunch. The princesses were great but the food was horrible. We don't say that about many restaurants - but they couldn't eat the food. For the price we love Akershus. You get the princesses and the food is good.

 

[firsttimer4]

I'm gonna follow along. Looking for suggestions for our upcoming May 2015 trip.

 

[Scottishbrit]

We just got back a few weeks ago. My daughter ate little to nothing (5) and my son was the non stop eater (3). They did like Via Napoli and the Smoothies at AoA the best though! Snack wise the Mickey pretzels were always a hit!

 

[BrerTom]

Il pick our faves in each park...

Epcot: We love the garden grill for the characters and changing view
HS: Sci fi for the movies and modest prices for a table service
AK: Tusker house: character breakfast
MK: Be our guest - incredible theming

And for worthwhile resort picks that have been good with my kids...

Boma at AKL, something different and it's fun to check out the animals before or after in the savannah
Whispering Canyon cafe at WL
Ohana - my personal favorite... Lots of kids activities and interacting, great food.

 

[laughinplace199]

50's PTC and Sci Fi for fun and atmosphere.

CP and TH for yummy breakfasts.

CM for decent dinner and seeing Mickey.

 

[fostrmom2mny]

Whispering Canyon for my group!! Both for the kids and the skillet for the adults !

It's located in the Wildreness Lodge so makes for an oppurtunity to see that beautiful resort with several photo oppertunities as well!!

 

[pinoke]

How old are your kids?

 

[CaryHaven]

What are your favorite restaurants to visit that are table service meals?
Ones that your kids love (with or without characters) love the food etc etc

We have several - Liberty Tree Tavern because we love the food, and every time we have gone it's been very relaxed, not rushed or crowded. They also have a big table for the kids to color at while waiting for a table.

Crystal Palace is pretty good for breakfast, but my toddler does not like characters with the full costumes. My other daughter never had a problem with it though. She LOVED it even at two and has led that parade multiple times.

CRT is good and we all like it, but the for the expense I'd say it's about an occasional thing, not an everytime thing. We don't care for Akershus food although it is much less cramped there.

We all love the food at San Angel Inn and the darkness kind of makes it nice to actually feel "cooler" and less overstimulating to small kids because it is a little crowded there. DD5 always loves seeing the volcano. Side note - My very favorite day of our vacation last year was the one and only day it poured rain. We were at Epcot. We had to throw some of our plans out the window and instead rode the Three Caballeros ride several times after eating at San Angel Inn. (It's right inside the same building). Then we went over to whatever that building is that teaches fire safety and how to save money. It was just so much fun and such a great break from the heat. And when we did decide to venture outside for some rides like Mission Space and such, most everyone had gone home so there were no lines.

We also second Boma for the great food and atmosphere. BOG for the atmosphere only and meeting Beast if you can get a dinner reservation.

The only restaurants that we all said "never again" to: Chef Mickey's, Coral Reef, and Whispering Canyon. CM is the worst restaurant on property in our opinion, and we've been to it for breakfast and dinner.

I do think we'll all enjoy 1900 Park Fare dinner with the stepsisters as well. I keep hearing good things.

 

[kickash]

We took our children for their first time 2 years ago. DS was 6 and DD was 2 1/2.

We all enjoyed our breakfasts at CRT and Crystal Palace, plus we like getting in to the park early so we can eat and be at the rope drop ready to ride!

Everyone loved dinner at Chef Mickey's-we tend to like loud and crazy and that pretty much sums up the dining experience there! (Waving napkins at dinner? yes, please!)

DH and I enjoyed The Wave at the Contemporary-nice meal. DH also liked his meal at Tony's.

Sci Fi Dine In is always a favorite- love their milkshakes!

Whispering Canyon was a huge disappointment to us. We won't go back.

 

[StuckInKS]

My kids always love CRT (for the experience) and they also liked Garden Grill (loved the food and characters). I thought it was just ok, but I was definitely outvoted on that. DH and kids loved it. I also think that they would like Chef Mickey's, but we haven't tried that one yet.

 

[esquared221]

My personal fav with kids is Chef Mickeys. The food is standard buffet style food but its pretty good and very kid friendly. Plus what is cuter than Mickey in a chef costume?!

We also really enjoyed Tusker House with littles. We went for an early lunch and caught the tail end of breakfast as well. The buffet was very good and its a good fit for young kids. DH and I loved Boma and are going back on our next trip with DD7 and DS almost 3. The food is African and is a fun gastronomic adventure- tastes great and none of it is too exotic (read: off puttingly different). I remember it being fairy kid friendly as far as the environment is concerned. DD7 is outrageously picky but we want to expose her to as many different foods as possible so she'll just have to deal while we eat that delicious sweet potato dish they had last time

 

[lovetogowdw]

Best outside of the parks spots:

Grand Floridian's 1900 Park Fare Character Dinner - Read up on the reviews out there and get some ideas on how to interact with the step-sisters/mother for your children. Example: each of my boys when he was around 3 or 4 went dressed as a knight/prince bearing a cheap plastic ring with fake gemstone to "look for a princess". Trust me, the step-sisters and step-mother went wild for this one. My older son really played it up and said he wanted someone "with a lovely singing voice" (or something like that) and had both sisters screeching a song to compete for his hand. Hysterical. Oh, and Cinderella picked my little prince to dance with during the special song. They are really in character and at this venue seem to spend more time interacting with the guests than at some locations. And the food is quite good.

The Beach Club's Cape May Cafe Character Breakfast and the Polynesian's 'Ohana Character Breakfast - At both we have found great food as well as fun character interactions. Plus, it is nice to be OUT of the parks some of the time!

Favorites inside of the parks spots:
AK - Tusker House for breakfast or lunch character meal. Take a look at the lunch menu to be sure your family will enjoy the selections, but we love both meals. Fun characters.
MK - Crystal Palace has decent food and is great if you like Pooh.
DHS - 50's Prime Time -- eat your veggies and keep your elbows off the table! Oh, and great shakes.
Epcot - Coral Reef - for a relaxing meal with good food and a great aquarium view. Seems to calm the kids down several notches watching the fish.

 

[OurLittleFamily]

Our DD is 2.5 Our favorite with her was Chef Mickey's and Hollywood and Vine because of the experience. But DH and I don't mind cruddy food for the experience with her. She enjoyed having a buffet of food to choose from as well.

Food wise, we all loved Via Napoli pizza

 

[luvmy2babies]

We mostly do character meals for table service.

We have only done Ohana dinner as far as non-character meals.

For character meals we have done Crystal Palace, Tusker House, Garden Grill, Chef Mickey’s, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Akershus, and Hollywood and Vine. With the exception of Garden Grill and Cinderella’s Royal Table, all were done more than once. We will be repeating Cinderella’s Royal Table next month.

Top of the list would be Tusker House for breakfast or lunch. Food, character interaction and atmosphere all great. Close 2nd would be Crystal Palace. And it’s very close. These 2 are the only ones we have done all 3 trips. Next month we'll be doing each of them again. I paid OOP for them last summer. The atmosphere puts Tusker House on top.

We have done Akershus for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast food was much better for us. I do love the character interaction there. Belle was so very sweet both times we ate there. the others were great as well, but I'd book this meal for her if we weren't doing CRT next month.

I loved the atmosphere at CRT and the sword and wand and wishing stars and we enjoyed our dinner. DD is going to age out of BBB soon and asked to do BBB and CRT together one more tome, so I booked both for next month. This trip will likely be our last time eating there. 2 credits.

I heart Hollywood and Vine. I have a son who loves Disney Junior and loves this meal. When they say play and dine they mean it and he really enjoys himself. His sister and I love to watch him have fun at this meal. We’ll be eating there a 3rd time next month and my daughter will feel rewarded for the other times she sat through it when she sees Sophia and Doc are there.

I absolutely loved Garden Grill. The characters were great and we all thought the food was really good. My daughter though said she could do without the moving scenery and I think the moving scenery might have been why my son didn’t want to get up to interact with the characters. He just high-fived them from his seat.

I think I’d only repeat Chef Mickeys if it was early in the morning. We have had breakfast and dinner there. Loved the character interaction. Buffet is so chaotic though.

Our only non-character meal has been the Ohana dinner. We all loved the food and the atmosphere was great. And as a single mom, I love meals served family style. Female singer was a bit cheesy, but we loved the food so much. My daughter voted it best food from that trip. We’re repeating that one next month as well.