Best Disney Dining Experiences

[dolewhipandpixiedust]

After reading everyone’s worst experiences I thought it’d be great to hear everyone’s best experiences!

My personal favorite was Crystal Palace May 2017. My brother and I went and they saw his birthday button. When we got to the table there was castle confetti and our server was awesome! Then he got a cupcake and a card. This got my 16 year old brother into the character meal spirit!

 

[DJFan88]

We loved the character interaction with The Mad Hatter and Alice at 1900 breakfast. Lots of good variety food too. Alice made my 16 year old son take a picture with him and we teased him all-day. The Mad Hatter grabbed me for photos where he was making faces and stuff.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

When we got married we wore the wedding ears at all our adr's. Got free dessert at almost all of them. That was before we discovered FD.

 

[dolewhipandpixiedust]

When we got married we wore the wedding ears at all our adr's. Got free dessert at almost all of them. That was before we discovered FD.

I’m making shirts for our honeymoon! The ones I made last trip made for some good interactions with characters and some nice surprises!

 

[Destinyz12]

Just went back to Disney World for the first time in over 20 years, since I was a kid. Did a weeks worth of dining reservations, and while most of my experiences were good, my definite favorite was breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Food was really good quality, lots of variety, and the characters were all very engaging and fun- and even came around 2x.

 

[Wild4Walt]

What a great idea for a thread!

My favorite was several years back when Disney was still doing Grand Gatherings for large parties. Our party of 7 adults and 2 toddlers at Tony's Town Square for breakfast. Tony himself made an appearance with Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Goofy. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was festive. What a great way to start the day in the park.

 

[DisneyHardin]

One of my favorite dining memories was at Chef Mickey's. DH was being a grump about having his picture taken with the characters. Pluto just stood by him and indicated that he wasn't moving until they posed for a picture. It was fantastic and the picture ended up being my favorite one of the trip.

Another that was wonderful because of the experience was Narcoossees last year. It was our first time eating there and only our second ever signature meal. It was fantastic. The restaurant was very quiet and our server was fantastic. We just had a lovely dinner.

 

[Pmlocke]

I have trouble picking the best of the best but I can tell you about the top two. My 60th birthday, my wife and I were dining at the Crystal Palace for dinner. We were seated and as usual there was mickey confetti on the table. My wife excused herself to go wash up and told me to order her a water. She had actually gone to talk to a CM asking if they could do something special for my birthday. The Characters all went around and then they had the parade as usual. The suddenly a booming voice came over the public address system "Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, please help us celebrate a young mans 60th Birthday as Winnie the Pooh and Friends take him on his own special birthday parade". Just then I was surrounded by all of the characters who dragged me out of my seat and we paraded around the entire restaurant. We go to Disney every year to remember and cherish our youth and believe me, I never felt so special or young in my life. The next year we were there for our 42 Wedding Anniversary and we were dining at 1900 Park Fare. Anastasia had just come by and I told her I was so glad she had because Cinderella had tried to cozy up to me but I like my girls dirty. The look on her face was precious. She immediately called her sister Drizella over and I got a kiss on both cheeks from the sisters. My wife was laughing so hard she forgot to take a picture so I got a second kiss from them both. The pool finally washed the lipstick away the next day. It isn't the food, it's the interactions that we enjoy so much.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

My 1st visit to Disney World was in 1970 at the Welcome Center before the park even opened, my father bought me a charm bracelet with Cinderella, the Prince and Snow White and the 7 dwarfs, that I cherish to this day. My love of Disney began 48 years ago, and throughout the years I've experienced many, many "Bests". The spectacular changes over the years, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, so much more to see, so many wonderful places to stay, to eat (from the early days of only hot dogs and hamburgers to the wonderful dining options offered today) and activities (Food & Wine, Flower & Garden Show) to enjoy. I first experienced them as a child with my parents, and for the last 22 years with my son. I've imparted that love of Disney to him and I hope the next phase will be when I bring my future grandchildren.

The best:

October 2017 - My son and his best friend's 21 st birthdays (friends since the age of 3), celebrated with a week-end at Disney and a wonderful dinner at Raglan. The food, the drinks, singing & dancing, the ambiance, the service, everything was wonderful, right down to two , unexpected, complimentary desserts, Ger's Bread & Butter Pudding and Dunbrody Chocolate Kiss. A night to remember.

February 2015 - 10 of us, 4 w/ February birthdays celebrated together. The evening began in Epcot as we walked to the restaurant, an acapella group of young men, seeing our many birthday buttons, stopped us and sang us happy birthday in the middle of the street. We then had an outstanding meal at Teppan Edo. The hibachi grill master gave us a great show, even better food, we laughed and had so much fun. The food (freshly grilled and seasoned) was made even better by the service we received, the friends and family we shared it with, it was a wonderful night. I've learned that the food doesn't have to be 5 star to be a best, it's often the combined experience that elevates it to a "BEST"

There have been so many "Bests" before and after.... but I also look forward to those yet to come.

 

[Beer Me]

I bet no one else mentions this restaurant in this thread.

On our first trip with our son who was only 20 months we were not very Disney savvy. We were staying at the Swan and one evening decided to go to HS for dinner. The park was an absolute madhouse and of course every restaurant was packed to capacity. After a fruitless couple of hours we gave up and returned to the hotel in defeat and saw the Garden Grill and went in having no clue what it was. We just wanted some food. It's turned out to be an above average buffet but then the characters showed up. We had no idea! The place was half empty so everyone came around multiple times to play with our son. Pluto had him down on the floor and played forever like he was having the best time in the world and had nothing else to do. Our boy had a blast. One of my favorite Disney memories from a restaurant you almost never hear about.

edit: I meant GARDEN GROVE in the Swan not the more well known Garden Grill in Epcot.

 

[MiniMinnie]

My best Disney dining experience pretty much happened out of accident. My party was spending the day in Epcot and we had a dinner reservation at the Garden Grill. There was a torrential rainstorm that lasted about 1 hour and we all got caught in it between Future World and World Showcase. We were soaked through our clothing. We at first were all going to purchase new clothing but decided that to be expensive and just trudged back to the bus and to the resort to change. We cancelled Garden Grill as there was no way we were getting back to Epcot in time. We looked on the Disney App to see if anything was available and this place on the Boardwalk called Trattoria al Forno. We booked it and headed on over and to make a long story short the meals(pasta, pizza, desserts, drinks) were all amazing. Our waiter was also the best waiter we had the entire vacation.

 

[BrianL]

I bet no one else mentions this restaurant in this thread.

On our first trip with our son who was only 20 months we were not very Disney savvy. We were staying at the Swan and one evening decided to go to HS for dinner. The park was an absolute madhouse and of course every restaurant was packed to capacity. After a fruitless couple of hours we gave up and returned to the hotel in defeat and saw the Garden Grill and went in having no clue what it was. We just wanted some food. It's turned out to be an above average buffet but then the characters showed up. We had no idea! The place was half empty so everyone came around multiple times to play with our son. Pluto had him down on the floor and played forever like he was having the best time in the world and had nothing else to do. Our boy had a blast. One of my favorite Disney memories from a restaurant you almost never hear about.

I think that must be Garden Grove. I didn't even know they had a character meal at the Swan until I looked it up. I looks like a lovely place too!

 

[Pamlico]

Thank you so much for the thread! After reading the worst reviews I was getting nervous for our tripand I kept second guessing every reservation I made. I love reading these! Thank you!

 

[DisneyFive]

Hoop Dee Doo Review with my 'pretty conservative" parents. This style of show and food were right up their alley and seeing them goof off and unwind there was just a riot.

Dan

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Thank you so much for the thread! After reading the worst reviews I was getting nervous for our tripand I kept second guessing every reservation I made. I love reading these! Thank you!

I'm with you! Keep the good memories coming

I don't have a memory yet that absolutely stands out, but I always enjoy Raglan Road. I have an Irish family and being around the food and music/dancing reminds me of the trip we all took to Ireland several years back. I try to get in a meal there once per trip because of it.

 

[tlmadden73]

Tusker House - a great "late lunch (4:00 PM)" after a long day in the park with a 2-year old.

Our first character meal ..ever .. Was just a great experience all around. And then seeing my son march around the table with his friends we were touring with and Donald brought a tear to my eye. He was having so much fun and so excited! (and so were we!).

And the food was amazing too.

 

[loves to dive]

We've had a number of them through the years:

One year when my son was a teenager and would everything in site, we were eating at HBD. I never eat everything on my plate so he finished my appetizer, finished my entre and was still hungry. The server noticed he had eaten all of it and dared him to eat another entre on the house. He was game so the chef made him something special (I don't remember what it was) and brought it out himself. Of course, he ate it all, which brought the chef out to ask how it was and to ask if we were game for dessert. So I got my grapefruit cake and he got a dessert for free. I'd like to say that was the first or last time a chef/cook/owner came out and offered him more food but it wasn't.

Last year in August we ( my now adult son and I) finally got around to going to Victoria and Albert's. The food and service were excellent. The servers very professional, right up until the final course. The harpist was playing some Beatles song and my son dared to say he thought it was better than the original. Right as the server walked up to do our coffee thing, I held my hand up to my son and told him he was dead to me for saying that. At first the server was shocked and then my son said something snarky back and we started going at each other (quietly of course) and the server couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. When it came time to give us our chocolates to take with us, he gave us each an extra serving because we entertained him so much.

Two weeks ago we decided one afternoon to see what was available that night and California Grill popped up, another place we had been meaning to try but just hadn't gotten to yet. So we booked an ADR for around 9:30 that night. We got there a little early and they went ahead and took us up, it was right when the fireworks were starting so our server asked if we wanted to wait to order after the noise died down and we said yes. When it came time to order he gave his recommendations then I asked if they did wine pairings or flights. He said they didn't but if I would trust him he would do one for me, which I did. It was an excellent meal, he was an attentive but not too hovering server and his recommendations and pairings were spot on.

 

[dolewhipandpixiedust]

One of my favorite dining memories was at Chef Mickey's. DH was being a grump about having his picture taken with the characters. Pluto just stood by him and indicated that he wasn't moving until they posed for a picture. It was fantastic and the picture ended up being my favorite one of the trip.

I'm planning our honeymoon for next year and for once in his life my fiancé doesn't want to act like a child, but my future MIL and I both told him that he's gonna meet a couple charter and like it! Especially since when he proposed he had dressed up like the school mascot.

She had actually gone to talk to a CM asking if they could do something special for my birthday. The Characters all went around and then they had the parade as usual. The suddenly a booming voice came over the public address system "Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, please help us celebrate a young mans 60th Birthday as Winnie the Pooh and Friends take him on his own special birthday parade". Just then I was surrounded by all of the characters who dragged me out of my seat and we paraded around the entire restaurant. We go to Disney every year to remember and cherish our youth and believe me, I never felt so special or young in my life.

I wish I had thought of this for my brother's birthday! Honestly, we were both surprised that they even noticed his button.

Thank you so much for the thread! After reading the worst reviews I was getting nervous for our tripand I kept second guessing every reservation I made. I love reading these! Thank you!

That's exactly why I started this thread! I read all 54 pages of the worst dining experiences and I started second guessing but, I know Disney can be amazing and I want to hear those stories!

 

[heidijanesmith]

Le Cellier! I know this eatery does not get a lot of love, but we have had nothing but great experiences at this place.
Wonderful CM's, steak done perfectly and a lovely experience.

We had just come from a really bad experience at Yatchtsman. I think we were there on a bad day; the service was terrible, our steaks were improperly cooked. As a high end steakhouse at WDW I expected more. We have great steak in Iowa, so I have expectations for a "steakhouse". They specialize in steak, they should know how to cook a medium rare steak and a medium well steak.

The Le Cellier was an amazing experience after the awful one at Yatchtsman. We book Le Cellier every year now and have never been disappointed. Steaks done to perfection, exactly the way we asked for them to be cooked.

 

[dolewhipandpixiedust]

Le Cellier! I know this eatery does not get a lot of love, but we have had nothing but great experiences at this place.
Wonderful CM's, steak done perfectly and a lovely experience.

We had just come from a really bad experience at Yatchtsman. I think we were there on a bad day; the service was terrible, our steaks were improperly cooked. As a high end steakhouse at WDW I expected more. We have great steak in Iowa, so I have expectations for a "steakhouse". They specialize in steak, they should know how to cook a medium rare steak and a medium well steak.

The Le Cellier was an amazing experience after the awful one at Yatchtsman. We book Le Cellier every year now and have never been disappointed. Steaks done to perfection, exactly the way we asked for them to be cooked.

We will be going to both places for our honeymoon next May so hopefully we have good experiences at both!