We're visiting Walt Disney World with our 12 year old son in August. I've read so much about restaurants, but I'm not quite sure what would be the best - breakfast, lunch, dinner? Anything ususual? It's time to make those advance reservations. Thanks

Go to www.disboards.com for detailed WDW information. There is a section about dining with links to menus with prices.

At Epcot: Living Seas aquarium restaurant (watch "dinner" swim by).
At MGM: Sci Fi Diner (sit in convertables under the stars and watch old scifi clips while you munch).
At the Boardwalk: Spoodles Tapas or Flying Fish (peddle a surrey while waiting for dinner reservation).
At Magic Kingdom: Diamond Horseshoe Saloon (has vaudeville show, go early for lunch seating).
Off site: Murder Watch Mystery Theatre at the Grosvenor Hotel (Saturday nights only; musical comedy mystery dinner theatre).
Those are my recommendations! Have fun!

Sue,
We really enjoyed the Rain Forest Cafe while @Disney. Best themed restaurant there.
We also ate at Planet Hollywood. Really fun to stroll around and see cool stuff from movies. The Hard Rock Cafe is always a hit with us. We love to see all the memorabilia from bands, and the pulled pork sandwich, in my opinion, is excellent.
In MGM we ate at the Drive-In Cafe. This place was great! Some of wait staff wear roller blades, you sit in a car (front and back seats), huge screen in front of you. Just like a real drive-in. Food was also good ~ excellent milkshakes.

My sons enjoyed all of these places. Have fun!

Magic Kingdom: Cosmic Rays

MGM: Mama Melrose (especially if they still have the Fantasmic Priority Seating Dinner Special)

Sue, just don't expect too much in terms of food quality, especially in the parks. The very few restaurants that we found that had decent food were; Spoodles, Chefs de France, Rainforest Cafe and The Land in Epcot and the deli on The Boardwalk.

We stayed on the club level and had breakfast there, which was the one good meal of the day. The food at the fast food restaurants is inedible. Processed chicken in the grilled chicken sandwiches, awful pizza, mushy tomatoes and iceberg lettuce in the salads and most everything is fried. YUCK! I lost 5 pounds in 4 days. Think of your trip to WDW as an oppurtunity to diet. Let's face it, you don't go to WDW for the food, unless you live in a culinary wasteland.

We have enjoyed the buffet in Norway - I think it is called the Alpenhaus. The Japanese steakhouse is also good - similar to a Kobe steakhouse, teppanyaki type of cooking. Both require advance reservations unless it is a slow day.

I found the Crystal Palace Buffet to be outstanding. It's pricey but you get excellent food, drinks, great dessert, cool atmosphere and Winnie the Pooh. Even without young children of your own, it's fun to watch the little ones interact with Pooh and company. My brother the sports nut also got to watch Priest Holmes (NFL star) eat.
By the way, it has a great selection for people who don't dig on beef, swine or poultry.
Make priority seating.
For a somewhat cheaper alternative try the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian- great service and good, reasonably priced food.

My favorites are The Flying Fish at the Boardwalk (make sure you try the Banana Creme Brulee dessert)and the Epcot resturaunt in Mexico (the indoor one). It's like you are really outside looking at a volcano and the food is great too.

The restaurant at Norway is Akershus. It's buffet is wonderful. We also enjoy Spoodles on the boardwalk and Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness lodge.

Palio's in the Swan. Excellent Italian Food in a relaxed atmosphere. You will not be disappointed.

Here is a link to check out all the restaurants in WDW & it will give you an idea of the prices too. Below are a few of our favorites.

http://www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm#res

At the Magic Kingdom for fast food we like either Pinocchio Village House or Pecos Bill Cafe. They both have the "fixin" bars that make the "disney" food tasty.

The Pinocchio Village House (Fantasyland) has a window that overlooks "It's a Small World". Pecos Bill Cafe (Frontierland) is best during a parade. Outside there is a stone wall that starts ankle high & ends up about knee high (depending on how long your legs are!) & it is perfect to sit there while you eat & watch the parade.

In Epcot I'd say it would be the Beirgarten in Germany (lunch & dinner). It has a buffet with sausages, sauerbraten, rotisserie chicken & schnitzel.

The Garden Grill (breakfast, lunch & dinner) in the Lands pavillion is really a wonder in it's self. It is a revolving restaurant & as it revolves through you see part of the ride "Living with the Land". They also have character dining (Farmer Mickey, Chip & Dale), an ice cream social & a little ceremony they call the "Hitching Ceremony" for the adults.

At MGM my favorite is the Prime Time Diner (lunch & dinner only). It has a 50's theme & the waitstaff are your "brothers & sisters", mom is the hostess. They interact with all the guests, make them clean their plates or they'll tell "mom", stand them in the corner for having their elbows on the table, all kinds of silliness. They have tv's at the table that shows some of the great comedeys from the 50's. When was the last time you saw "I Married Joan"!!

The one hotel restaurant that we love is the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. For dinner they have an all you can eat "canyon skillet" that has 5 kinds of bbq'd meat, salad, bread, beans & cole slaw. They also have a menu. The waitstaff is silly here too. Ask for ketchup & see what happens!!

For something different, go to the buffet at BOMA in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Delicious food! And afterward you can walk out by the pool and savannah to look at the animals.

Portabella at the entrance of Pleasure Island. Wonderful Italian cuisine. I try to go there everytime I'm in the Disney area.

My husband and I go to Disney once a year from NYC. Our favorites are Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge...great food well worth the price and the Sci-Fi Drive In at MGM...great atmosphere. Hope your trip is fun!

Jennifer do they happen to serve any game in the wild kingdom restaurant or would that be in bad taste?