On our trip in October, we are doing the dining plan classic package which gives us one table service meal for each night of our trip. We are spending 6 nights, so have 6 sit down meals to enjoy.
Our family is one full of picky eaters, so I thought others with that problem would enjoy knowing why we chose each restaurant.
First it is important to know who will eat what in our family. I always thought I was picky because I have definite likes and dislikes, but that was before I met my husband. There is not a class of food I don't like, and I am willing to give almost anything a try. I will eat most poultry, most sea food, and most red meat. My least favorite is hamburger, but a nice lean steak is something I love.
My husband, Andy, known as Goofy on our forums has a lot of things he won't eat. Andy will not eat poultry. Andy will not eat sea food of any type. He is a meat eater without question.
Our son Alex is worse than that. He will be 8 when we go in October and it is pretty tough to pick a place to eat that will have something for him. The kids meal that offers yogurt and string cheese is a lifesaver for us. Alex will eat pizza - only cheese pizza, and not the kind on an english muffin. He will eat fruit. Alex does not eat meat and we don't even make him try meat. He says he is a vegetarian, but his favorite food is McDonald's Chicken Nuggets, or those he gets from Chick Fil-A. Disneyworld nuggets don't cut it for him. He will not eat hot dogs anymore, and refuses the bean burritos he used to love to eat. He will eat pasta with marinara sauce, and some macaroni and cheese (he prefers kraft to home made or anything else) so that can help at Disney World. Alex is not a 'risk taker' when it comes to food. He won't even try new things, even if we promise he will like them.
So now you see our dilemma when it comes to dining while at Walt Disney World. Sit down dining provides a larger problem because we can't get the yogurt kids meal at most sit down locations.
For these six meals I will break them down by the Park they are in for ease of finding. I will also include information on counter service meals we will try or have tried in the past that had something Alex would eat other than yogurt.
Epcot Dining Locations:
Garden Grill, Character Meal, The Land
We really enjoyed this character meal when we were there over Christmas. This is a family style all you can eat meal with one menu for the adults, and one for the kids. For the adults there is a red meat option, chicken option, and fish option. In addition there are a few different vegetable options to round out the meal. With the three types of food, the red meat for my husband is perfect. For Alex this meal was iffy. The kids plate came out with chicken nuggets that looked much better than the standard fast food service version, macaroni and cheese, and corn. Alex didn't eat much but he did eat enough to satisfy us for this meal.
When the desserts were brought out Alex was happy to have one he could pretty much make. Cake, frosting, you know, good old junk food. We adults had a berry cobbler with home made whipped cream that was incredible. Even Andy, who is not big on whipped cream really liked it.
In addition to the food, the character interaction at Garden Grill is very nice, and we liked this meal even more than seeing the Fab 5 at Chef Mickey's in December.
Le Cellier Steakhouse, Canada, World Showcase
We could not get reservations for this restaurant in December, so it was the one I really wanted to do for our Halloween trip. This meal will fulfill Andy's love of red meat, my love of Filet Mignon, and even Alex has choices at this restaurant. He can have pizza, or a pasta with marinara sauce with carrots and apples. Perfect for our picky eater.
This restaurant has a lot to live up to for me since I have been wanting to dine here for so long. Of course I will review it after our Halloween vacation.
Rose and Crown, UK, World Showcase
With my love of sea food, eating somewhere that was known for it was a must for me. We live in Colorado, and while some sea food here is okay, when I am on the coast I am always amazed how much better it is because it is fresh.
Fortunately it is not only a place where I can get fish. Andy can get a burger, or try Bangers and Mash. Alex can have cheese pizza or macaroni and cheese.
This meal is scheduled for getaway day and I fear we will end up skipping it due to time constraints. If we do indeed keep this reservation, you will see a review shortly after we return.
Animal Kingdom Dining Locations
Tusker House, Character Meal
The reason we chose the Tusker House character meal was because it is a meal where we can see Donald, and have a chance of seeing Daisy. Aside from that, this restaurant has always rated high on the buffet, the food, and the service. While there are several new food items to try, there are also old favorites, so there is something for every one of us. This is our only breakfast meal because of the picky eaters. Neither of my 'boys' will eat eggs so breakfast for them is usually cereal for Alex or bacon sandwiches for Andy. This buffet was appealing to all of us because of the fruit options and bakery options (various danish type treats, cinnamon rolls and the like), and yes, they should have bacon for my dear Andy.
Hollywood Studios Dining Locations
Sci-Fi Dine In Theater
This is a restaurant we also wanted to try in December, but didn't do because of the type of dining plan we had.
The decor of this restaurant has intrigued all of us, and we no longer have drive in theater's in Colorado, so Alex has never been to one. The concept of this restaurant is ingenious!
It doesn't hurt that once again there is a menu that gives each of us choices for what we will eat. Alex can once again get a pizza or macaroni and cheese. Andy is always happy if he can get a burger, so no problem here at all.
I am thinking we will all enjoy our meal while watching the big black and white screen.
Magic Kingdom Dining Locations
Crystal Palace, Character Meal, Main Street
One reason we decided to go for the table service meal plan instead of the counter service plan that we had in December, was because of the character meals. We knew we wanted to do three, and those add up if you are paying out of pocket. With the table service plan, they are all included, and we get to try to Epcot restaurants that I wanted to try.
In December we did Chef Mickey's and were not impressed. The character interaction was very limited. Since we are Disneyland people, this was a shock to us. At the Disneyland character meals, they will stay at our table for minutes, not seconds, and enjoy playing with Alex. Before making the generalization that this is how it is at Walt Disney World, we wanted to try every character meal. Which is the reason we wanted to do three of them.
Crystal Palace has the Winnie the Pooh characters, including Piglet, who is very rare at Disneyland, so we are excited to see him here. Another reason for choosing this restaurant is because of the extensive buffet menu. For lunch there will be many entree choices, salad choices and more. This restaurant is one that has something for each of us to enjoy.
Of the restaurants in this list, one is a place we have eaten at before. Garden Grill at Epcot was a very enjoyable meal for us and the character interaction, while not as good as we see at Disneyland, it was heads and tails above what we saw at Chef Mickey's. For more information on that, be sure to read the two reviews, and then read a review from the Minnie and Friends breakfast at Disneyland.
All of these restaurants we are looking forward to trying on our upcoming trip. In addition to these meals there are also several new places we will be trying for counter service meals.
For those of you with picky eaters, feel free to discuss this article on our message boards for more tips on places to eat for the ones who eat nothing.