15 yo Birthday Dinner Ideas

I’m looking for ideas for my daughter’s 15th birthday dinner in July. She is a picky eater, and we will also have our 12 & 15 year old sons with us, who are much better eaters.

We haven’t been to DLR for almost 10 years, so the kids don’t really remember it, but they are very familiar with WDW. For her last birthday at WDW, this child chose EPCOT for the day (but regrets and wishes she had chosen DS) and wanted her dinner at Cape May Cafe (a buffet - seafood, but that doesn’t matter because she didn’t eat any seafood).

Any suggestions for a place for a birthday dinner for her? We will be at DCA that day, but have park hopper passes, and we are staying on property without a car. Buffet or table service is fine. At WDW, some restaurants have a “secret” menu for kids who have graduated from kids meals but aren’t ready for the adult menu yet, and she has liked that in the past. I’m not sure whether any DLR restaurants have that. She is amenable to character meals, but she’s outgrown the princesses and would find Goofy’s Kitchen too noisy. (Her favorite character meal at WDW is Tusker House in AK - she will hug the characters and tell them it is her birthday.)

Thanks for any suggestions!

The only character dinner in DLR is Goofy’s Kitchen and I wouldn’t recommend it because the food isn’t all that superb.

The best buffet is Storyteller’s Cafe in the Grand Californian. They have characters at bfast (all creatures so usually Chip n Dale, Meeko, the Brother Bear characters & possibly Brer Fox), but lunch and dinner would be just the buffet.

As for table service, Ariel’s Grotto is a beautiful location. Princesses only meet for breakfast and lunch so at dinner you wouldn’t be running into any princesses if you chose dinner. I’ve never had their dinner food, but the lunch food is delicious and I believe it’s similar at dinner. Although with a buffet you would be sure to have more options for her if she’s picky. I feel like a lot of the table service in DLR doesn’t have a lot of variety so take a look at the menus to get her help deciding.

I’ve never heard of any secret menus for kids over 9 that aren’t really ready for the adult menu, but call the restaurant and ask. Especially if it’s for her birthday I’m sure they would be happier to help accommodate.

BTW I wish I had something like a Tusker House to recommend to you! We just got back from our first time to WDW and Tusker was my 2nd favorite character dining we did but only because Mary Poppins called me practically perfect at 1900 Park Fare.

Thank you, lolabear_la. We have decided on Storytellers for character breakfast for the day after her birthday. The kids haven’t seen the Brother Bear characters or Meeko since they were little, so that will be new for them. On the night of her birthday, we plan on Wine Country Trattoria for the World of Color menu and then going to see World of Color. I think that will be fun for the birthday girl and her brothers will also enjoy it.

I think you are right about Goofy’s Kitchen - my daughter’s one objection to it was that there would be lots of kids there, lol. It seems like it is similar to Chef Mickey’s at WDW, which my youngest loves but which my daughter has outgrown.

I’m glad you liked Tusker House. We try to go to the very last breakfast seating so they are changing over the food, which gives us the option of eating some breakfast foods and some lunch foods. That tends to be the perfect combo for a family of very varied eaters. It also seems like the characters aren’t as rushed as they are at some character meals. We haven’t been to Mary Poppins, but we’ve done dinner with Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare, with a huge multigenerational family party, and every single one of us was pleased with the food.

Thanks for the help!

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Storyteller’s is an awesome choice! The atmosphere being in the Grand Californian is very beautiful. So glad you are trying it. :slight_smile:

My kids are younger so they LOVE Goofy’s and yes Chef Mickey’s is the WDW equivalent of it. From the Napkin-waving to the chef costumes to the similar types of foods offered. At Goofy’s though you get Chip n Dale instead of Minnie and Daisy so that was one we also enjoyed on our trip.

For Wine Country Trattoria make sure to sit outside. The atmosphere is very beautiful and although I have never seen the inside I have heard it’s not as great. We’ve been once, for my birthday last year. The food was great but we had very slow service. Seems like our server was brand new and/or overwhelmed. But it seemed like a one-off problem so you should enjoy it quite a lot!

I really liked the food at 1900 Park Fare quite a bit. We’ll have to try the Cinderella dinner next time!

You will love the Cinderella dinner at 1900 Park Fare - definitely do try it next time you are at WDW.

I think the Goofy’s Kitchen/Chef Mickey’s thing really depends on a kid’s personality. My older kids have grown out of it, but my 12 year old still likes to go. He loves the food and he loves the high energy atmosphere with the characters and the napkin waving, etc… He’s pretty quiet most of the time, and I think he is still hanging on to this type of character meal as a way to be silly and have fun without people (read: older siblings) thinking he’s being a baby, lol.