[Jen in Maine]

Reviews for Garden Grill? Looking at a character dining while we are there in February. . . thinking either this or Chef Mickey's at Contemporary. DD would really like to see Mickey. Advice?

[llama]

The Garden Grill serves a "family-style" dinner with Chip 'n Dale, Mickey and Pluto. I haven't been there in a while, but the food was good - not fancy - but good. The restaurant it's is very nice and revolves very slowly - it's neat to see the Living With the Land exhibt as you go by.

Chef Mickey's is a buffet and it is WILD! But it's probably your best bet of seeing more characters.

If you want a quiet meal, go to The Garden Grill. Your DD might get more attention from Mickey here.

If you want craziness and the characters are more important than the food (although the buffet is ok) go to Chef Mickey's. (Have to admit that I'm not much of a buffet fan, so others will probably have different opinions).

[missy H]

Didn't they stop the characters at the garden grill in the summer? Or have I got it wrong?

[johnkimv]

Originally Posted by missy H

Didn't they stop the characters at the garden grill in the summer? Or have I got it wrong?

I think they stopped the characters for lunch only. Dinner will still have characters.

[LittleMissMagic]

We were there in July and the characters were there at lunch.

But Llama said it best.... Chef Mickey's is crazy. It's more difficult to get into, and the character rotation doesn't necessarily work so you see every character there... you're only guaranteed Mickey.

Personally, I prefer the Garden Grill. You sit down and they bring the food to you. The character rotation works out very nicely (only four characters - Mickey, Chip, Dale, and Pluto), and you can often see the same character more than once. They time it so that your meal lasts approximately one rotation. If we finish before we rotate all the way, we typically just sit for a little longer (however, we usually book the latest seating time - don't do that if you're the first seating time).

Either way you go, you're bound to have lots of fun. It's all based on personal preference. GG has the cooler atmosphere, but Chef Mickey's has better character selection.

Hope you have a wonderful time at WDW!

[mickeyspal]

We do the Garden Grill every trip. Like Llama said, the food isn't fancy but it's very good. This past trip we had Pluto, Mickey, Chip and Dale at our table.

[quakercub]

It's certainly easier to get a ressie for GG. But, I like the party atmosphere at Chef Mickey's. It's also one of only two places that you can see that other Disney icon, Donald Duck

[johnkimv]

Originally Posted by LittleMissMagic

We were there in July and the characters were there at lunch.

They stopped the characters at lunch in September.

[Soundgod]

Originally Posted by johnkimv

I think they stopped the characters for lunch only. Dinner will still have characters.

No, they killed lunch altogether.
The characters are still there for dinner. I think you'll find it easier to get reservations for Garden Grill than Chef Mickey's and you'll probably get a bit more character time there as well.
On the other hand, I'm no fan of family style service and for me, the menu at Garden Grill is very limited in choice when compared to Chef Mickey's.
On the other other hand, Chip and Dale are no longer at Chef Mickey's, they were replaced with Donald last year. So, if they want Chip and Dale, it's Garden Grill for dinner and Cape May Cafe for breakfast.

[Soundgod]

Originally Posted by quakercub

It's certainly easier to get a ressie for GG. But, I like the party atmosphere at Chef Mickey's. It's also one of only two places that you can see that other Disney icon, Donald Duck

It's the only place you'll have the duck at dinner.
Tusker House only has a character breakfast.

[A Goofy Family]

We had an early dinner (3:40)at Garden Grill earlier this week and it was great. We had a party of 12 and they just kept the food coming, it was really good and the kids (5 of them ranging from ages 8-18) had alot of character interaction. They made their rounds several times. We didn't have to worry about being away from the table when the characters made their rounds like you do at a buffet over at Chef Mickey. We enjoy both restaurants, but would probabably favor GG at this point. It's much quieter too.

[timkelmom]

We are considering trying GG on our Sept. '09 trip. I am happy to hear that most enjoy it. The kids have sort of outgrown character meals, but I still love them.

[lovemysons]

It is one of our all time favorites. The character interaction is excellent, and the food is not bad either! :)

[Jen in Maine]

Thank you everyone! We are there for only 3 days (short weekend trip with daugther and mom) and didn't think we would even do any character dining this time - we did Cinderella's Castle last year, but will be in Epcot and daugther is 6 and really likes Mickey, so thought I would give it a shot.

Thanks for the input!