I think we are going to save the money and skip out on MNSSHP during our Oct trip with DS6 and DD2. That gives us an open evening and I’m considering making one more dinner reservation (if anything decent is even available!)
So where would you eat? We will be at Hollywood Studios that day --so anywhere in HS or a resort. Good for the kiddos. No dining plan. Character or not.
We already have reservations at Be Our Guest for lunch, dinner at Via Napoli, character breakfast at Trattoria al Forno and breakfast at Chef Mickey’s.
Doing Fantasmic?
If so, I’d suggest the latest F! dinner pkg
If none of the HS joints excite you, you are a very short Friendship Boat ride to all of the Epcot area resorts’ restaurants, plus the Boardwalk, and if you have hoppers, Epcot itself, via the IG which places you right at the ws.
A lot of ppl like the restaurants at the Swan for high quality at not so Disney pricing. Garden Grove there has a character dinner that might fit your sched. They also have a sushi place, Kimonos, which is very decent quality at very decent prices. The Fountain, is a diner/sandwich place with a nice selection of ice cream. Outside of Epcot WS, I haven’t eaten a full meal anywhere else in the area except for Mama Melrose for the F! pkg which I HIGHLY recommend if you are going to do Fantasmic.
The Beach and Yacht Clubs have a few places I see ppl discussing a lot.
We tried Sci Fi for the first time on our last trip and loved it. Burgers and shakes are great, the atmosphere is unique, and it’s really quiet too - because everyone is watching the film clips.
I found it difficult to get a reservation at the time I wanted, used the finder tool here to help.
Beaches and Cream down at the Beach Club is fun too, again can be hard to get depending on the time you want. Off - peak meal times might be easier.
I would not suggest the sci-fi diner with kids. DD5 found it to be scary because it was so dark and the movie clips aren’t for kids. You would also need one of the tables, not the cool car seats because I assume your two year old will need a high chair.
If you are staying in the park (and I definitely recommend seeing fantasmic if you haven’t yet), I love 50s prime time, it is really fun with kids and one of the less expensive meals because it’s not a buffet. Hollywood and vine is really cute with characters and the buffet is fine.
I would also suggest trying out a boardwalk or epcot restaurant because the friendship boats are easy and it is a cute, fun ride. You have a lot of really great choices!!
We love 50’s prime time. We started going to it when my daughter was 6 and she liked it. We also love Sci-fi but I can see where the movies might be scary for some littles. Our daughter loves Sci-fi because she has gotten to be guest chef several times.