[diamond58]

HI! I'm new to MouseBuzz and a first timer with DH,DD and DS at Disney. We will be going Aug. 27 - Sept. 2 and staying at POP Century. We are on the Deluxe DIning Plan. I Have made all of my dining reservations, but am still on the fence about the Garden Grill for Dinner at Epcot. I'm wanting to enjoy a good meal, be on the side closer to Future World, and have enough time to get a good spot for Illuminations. I tried to get Reservations at Le Cellier, but they are booked SOLID lunch & Dinner. I haven't tried the Rose & Crown, but I'm thinking that my son won't be crazy about the menu. I haven't ruled out the Coral Reef, but I've seen better reviews for the Garden Grill. PLEASE HELP! Did I make the right choice with the Garden Grill? . Here is a list of my DR'S:

August 28:
Chef Mickey's Breakfast (10:50 AM)
Hoop-Dee-Doo Review Dinner (5:00 PM)

August 29:
Cinderella's Royal Table Breakfast (10:15 AM)
Crystal Palace Dinner (7:45 PM)

August 30:
Princess Breakfast at Akershus (10:25 AM)
Garden Grill (6:30 PM)

September 31:
Donald's Breakfastosaurus (10:15 AM) (Apparently this is now called Donald's Breakfast Safari at Tusker House)
California Grill (8:00 PM)

September 1:
Play 'N 'Dine at Hoolywood and Vine Breakfast (10:05 AM)
Fantasmic Dinner Package at Brown Derby (4:50 PM)

September 2:
'Ohana Breakfast (9 AM)


I actuially have 3 Dining Credits left over. Any ideas where to use them? Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!

[llama]

Welcome to Mousebuzz!

I haven't been to the Garden Grill in many years - but I think the food is good. It's serve "family style" and is a Chip & Dale Character Dinner - of course, there is the novelty of restaurant turning (very slowly). It's definitely a more relaxed restaurant than Coral Reef.

Coral Reef is a beautiful restaurant and since it went to one point on the DP, a pretty good deal. It's great if you can get a seat by the aquariums. It is basically a seafood restaurant and the food is much improved over the last few years. There's lots of kids - but it is slightly more upscale than Garden Grill.

[gcbdad]

I've never been to the Garden Grille but I have heard it was pretty good.

Have you checked out the menus yet. Here are the menus from Allearsnet.com.

Restaurant Dining Menus from Walt Disney World

By the way, I like the Rose & Crown.

[b1wife]

Our family ate at Garden Grill in Dec 06. We were really impressed with the food, the atmosphere, and the characters. We saw Mickey, Chip, and Dale. They were patient with our kids (DD 3, and twins DD/DS 9 mo) and let them get comfortable before they approached them. I would recommend staying with Garden Grill. It's a neat place!

[lisalovesmickey]

Welcome to Mouse Buzz!

The nice thing about Garden Grill is that it is a Family Style with the Characters rather than buffet. A bit more relaxing way to do character meals.

Wow, you have 3 dining credits left over? Can you do dinner on the 2nd?

If so Whispering Canyon at WL gets decent reviews as a good place for kids. ( I have not been there but I am going in Sept) or a Beaches and Cream lunch with the kids would be fun.

Lisa

[dac921]

We ate at the Garden Grill for lunch last April and loved the food...
My daughter enjoyed the characters very much... and she was 13.5 years old

[diamond58]

Thanks for the input! Just another quick question...

How do you get the "Countdown to..." thing listed under your signature in the posts? I noticed several of you have them.

[lisalovesmickey]

Go to User CP, Edit Options then scroll down to the section regarding countdowns and follow directions.

Lisa

[Jennatrz]

Originally Posted by diamond58

Thanks for the input! Just another quick question...

How do you get the "Countdown to..." thing listed under your signature in the posts? I noticed several of you have them.

You have to have over 100 posts for that to pop up.

[lisalovesmickey]

Originally Posted by Jennatrz

You have to have over 100 posts for that to pop up.

Oh duh. I did not know that, sorry
Lisa

[12Amigos]

We've eaten at the Garden Grill several times. I'm not a huge fan of the food , however, the chracters seem to have a little more time to spend at each table. I'm not sure if it's because we tend to eat at 'off' times, but on every trip we've seen each charater at least 3 times and been able to take a picture with all of them together.

When we were there last May, my daughter had one of those purple spike balls from Figment. Chip and Pluto saw it on the table and spent almost 20 minutes putting it on each of their noses and onto each of the children's heads. When the dessert came out they came back along with a couple of characters and played in the whipped cream with the kids. It was a horrible mess but the children are still laughing and talking about how much fun they had there.

[rlb]

I will be there at the same time and will be staying at Pop Century too! I love Coral Reef. I was a little afraid of the reviews, but I decided to try it and now we love it. The crab legs are great and the chocolate wave dessert is one of my favorites! I would give it a try if I were you!

(Holy Cow I just noticed that you are looking for a meal for the same day we will be dining at Coral Reef!)

[diamond58]

O.K....Does the Coral Reef have divers in the tank? I found a video on 'You Tube' that actually had characters signing autographs and Mickey Mouse Scuba Diving in the tank! (YouTube - Mickey Mouse scuba diving) I must admit, the menu sounds SCRUMPTIOUS! I don't think any of our dining reservations have seafood choices. I may have to change my reservations to the Coral Reef if there are still any available.


HOW COOL rlb that we will both be staying at POP Century and visiting Epcot on the same day!

[cinderbella]

A lot of people love Garden Grill but I've never been there. I am however an advocate for Rose and Crown! If you make your ADR about an hour before Illuminations begins then you'll have a front row seat for the fireworks..it's the best place (in my opinion) to watch the show!

[cinderbella]

Originally Posted by diamond58

O.K....Does the Coral Reef have divers in the tank? I found a video on 'You Tube' that actually had characters signing autographs and Mickey Mouse Scuba Diving in the tank! (YouTube - Mickey Mouse scuba diving)

Mickey is not there every night..and only on special occasions ..usually people pay to have him come down and swim up to a table to deliver a message. The divers are usually there but I guess it just depends on if any divers are in the tank at the time..