I am glad that you had a better experience than me! I cannot remember which cut I ordered, but I do not think it was the filet, which was probably my mistake. But again, at those prices, all of the cuts should be perfect and done as ordered. The reality, though, is that it’s hard to judge a place after only one meal. But at WDW, with so many good options and so little time, if a place does not impress me on the first try, I am unlikely to go back.
@TheGraceysButler - I agree that prices are on par with a place like Ruth’s Chris or Flemings - the thing about prices at restaurants for me is that if I love it, then I feel like it was a good price regardless. If I don’t like it, I feel like I got ripped off!
Signatures (require 2 dining credits): California Grill (Contemporary Resort) and Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge) are my two favorite restaurants in WDW. Le Cellier (Epcot), Monsieur Paul (Epcot), and Flying Fish (Boardwalk) are also VERY good, but in my opinion a step down from the other two. Hollywood Brown Derby (Hollywood Studios), although not an “official” signature restaurant also requires 2 credits; in my opinion, another step down (but the Cobb salad for lunch is an excellent deal if paying OOP). Artist Point (Wilderness Lodge), Yachtsman Steakhouse (Yacht Club), Citrico’s (Grand Floridian), and Narcoossee’s (Grand Floridian) round out the signature list. These all get excellent reviews, and are on my ADR list for my November trip.
Regular TS in Parks:
Epcot - Biergarten, Via Napoli (MUST have the pizza), La Hacienda, Tutto Italia, Rose and Crown (in that order)
Magic Kingdom - Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch is excellent. Tony’s is OK if you’re looking for a sit down meal, but nothing special. Haven’t been to Be Our Guest yet.
Animal Kingdom - The Ahi Salad at Yak and Yeti is one of my favorite meals in WDW; other entrees are hit or miss (Seafood Curry is good, but very heavy).
Hollywood Studios - Momma Melrose for pizza, 50s Prime Time Cafe (fried chicken is excellent - and I live in the South)
Regular TS outside of the parks
Raglan Road (Downtown Disney) - one of my favorites in WDW; Boma (animal Kingdom Lodge) - one of the 2 best buffets in WDW (Biergarten being the other); Beaches and Cream (Boardwalk) - OK burgers, awesome ice cream. Sanaa (Animal Kingdom Lodge) gets uniformly excellent reviews; will be trying it for the first time in Nov
And I HAVE to mention Victoria & Albert’s, WDW’s only 5-star restaurant (Grand Floridian Resort). VERY expensive ($300-plus for 2), and not on the Dining Plan, but will probably be one of the best meals you will ever eat.
I have to agree with you. I rarely judge a restaurant by a single meal, but as you said, with so many options in WDW, if I have a less than excellent experience at a restaurant, I’m not likely to go back. My stand-out example of this is the Wave. It came highly recommended from an “ultimate foodie” friend whose opinions I highly respect. The food was OK, but the absolutely horrible service so overshadowed the meal, it will be a LONG time before I go back there again…
My approach exactly. Living in Pensacola, I can get excellent seafood (except Maine lobster) year-round, so I don’t order a lot of that in WDW. Likewise, we have several very good Japanese restaurants in town, so although Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining are both quite good, I don’t eat there very often. We have a very good steakhouse, but very little “fine dining” options, so I hit the signatures pretty hard. Likewise, Euro-ethnic, African, and Mexican are all dismal locally, so I gravitate towards those as well. But as far as the prices go, I’m guessing the people who complain do not do much dining in NYC, Chicago, DC, LA, NOLA, etc…
Our last trip we did 50’s prime time, Ohana, BOG lunch and dinner, Boma, Sanaa, Akershus, Tusker House, and Beaches and Cream. Our favorite were BOG, Ohana, and Boma. I could have ate those zebra domes all.day.long. Best advice though, get up at 6 am eastern Time And Make Those adrs.
Our kids loved the Coral Reef Restaurant at EP that last time we went. The food was good but I’m not sure I’d declare it as “must do”. However it certainly was a unique dining experience as none of us had dined in front of a giant aquarium before.
'Ohana (Dinner-Polynesian Resort) Time your ressie so that you can watch wishes. Or do an earlier ressie and enjoy Wishes on the beach with a Lapu Lapu in hand (yummy drink)! This is all you can eat, and it is wonderful!
California Grill (Dinner-Contemporary Resort) Great place to also watch fireworks from MK or have an early dinner to enjoy the spectacular view. My favorites are the fillet and the sushi. Yum. The bread is wonderful. Pricey, but worth it.
Chef Mickey Breakfast- if you want to do a character breakfast for your kids. Do Chef Mickey or Tusker House. The food is better at TH but you get all 5 characters at Chef Mickey which helps you not wait in lines at parks. These guys come to your table and the breakfast food is good.
Animal Kingdom Lodge- Sanaa- the food is African-Indian but go for a drink, the bread service and view of the animals (request a table by the window during daylight hours).
Epcot- Snack around the world. Via Napoli is very good if you love good pizza. La Hacienda is good for gourmet Mexican and you can watch Illuminations if you luck into a table with window view. Not idea viewing, but can be nice.
CRT- For breakfast if you have little girls that are into the princesses
Be Our Guest- Love the atmosphere at dinner, its yummy and a glass of champagne in the MK feels naughty and lovely at the same time!!!
We are also trying WL this summer and are really looking forward to it. We are planning on trying Artist Pointe when we stay there one night for dinner and then having our meals at Epcot each day.
For TS meals, we love La Hacienda de San Angel, Rose and Crown, Les Chefs de France, and Biergarten.
