good restaurants in disney
 

I'll be going to Disney in two weeks and I'm just wondering if anyone could recommend some good restaurants there.

Good means something different to different people. Inside Disney there is no good value. Everything is overpriced. Restaurants we typically repeat include the Seafood restaurant at the sea in epcot. There is a home cooking type restaurant in Frontier land that does character dinners and enjoy the SciFi Dinner Theator in MGM. All typically require reservations.<BR><BR>Good luck and have fun

No themed dinners. More upscale dinners. Thinking I would have to go to different resorts and out of the parks. Anyone else have any recommendations?

I forgot to mention that there will be no kids with us.

lucienne - check out wdwig.com. They post menus from most Disney restaurants on that site as well as pictures of the decor. It is the best source info on all things Disney as well. If after reviewing this information you find you have additional questions, check out disboards.com. The bulletin board there is very active and has one board devoted to Disney restaurants.<BR><BR>

Bennie,<BR><BR>Thanks for the tip!!

Downtown Disney should be a good start. Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood. There's also a fine Italian restaurant right in the middle of the boardwalk (can't remember its name).

we had the best steak I have ever had at the Canada pavillian at epcot. For $50US it better be considered upscale.

Rainfoerest Cafe?...sorry but I have to disagree.<BR><BR>This is jsut a basic them e restaurant located in many malls. Food is mediocre but kids like the plastic look &quot;rainforest&quot; them.<BR><BR>Its a place I have taken kids...but would never go there without kids.

<BR>While we don't go to Disney to eat, (playing in the parks takes all our time :) The Columbia House in the Magic Kingdom has GREAT clam chowder. While its a counter-service restaurant and certainly not like New England, it is very good and we return to it each year.

There are tons of good places to eat. I don't know what your budget is, but the California Grill at the Contemporary Hotel is wonderful, ask for a window seat with terrific views of Disney world and if you time just right you might get a chance to view the nightly magic kingdom fireworks. It is pricy though! There is also a restaurant at the Grand Floridian-Alberts and Victoria which is really fancy you have to wear cocktail attire, seven course meal with a harpist playing Disney tunes. Be prepared to spend at least 200-300 dollars. I went to DW last summer for the first time with a child and experienced the character meals for the first time which is pretty good food and its also fun interacting with the characters even if you don't have children. The luau at the polynesian is great, the show is cute. Eating at the parks and hotels is not inexpensive, so be prepared, even junk food.

Outside of parks there are some more alternatives. On the Boardwalk the Flying Fish is good. Agree with California Grill. There is a Schula's Steak House in the Dolphin if you are looking for Steak.

Thanks you for the suggestions. I've been to disney world at least 10 times, but I usually go with my family. Now I'm just going with my fiance, so we like to splurge. Definitely trying California Grill. Is the Italian restaurant in the Swan good?

I highly recommend the restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge. I cannot remember the name but they have 2 - one more casual &amp; the other more upscale - that's the one I am referring to. They have Northwest cuisine - for example, salmon on a plank. I second the California Grill. We went with our 2 year old &amp; felt out of place - it's definitely more sophisticated than the average Disney restaurant &amp; very few kids.

I have not tried the Italian at the Swan but the restaurant on the Boardwalk is called Spoodles - more meditterean (sp?) than just Italian. Spoodles is one of the better restaurants at Disney in my opinion. We also enjoyed the Coral Reef at the Living Seas Pavilion in Epcot when we were there in Feb. Also in Feb we at at O'Hanas at the Polynesian. Its a fixed price all you can eat deal. It wasn't bad but not outstanding either (except the drinks). <BR><BR>Why not do a monorail crawl? Use the monorail to travel between the Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Poly having drinks and appetizers at each. <BR><BR>Have a great trip.

I will second the Wilderness Lodge's Artist Point restaurant. Shoot, I love everything about the Wilderness Lodge. We also enjoy the Coral Reef at Living Seas at Epcot. If you can get your hands on The Unofficial Guide to WDW they rate restaurants as well as all of the hotels and rides. <BR><BR>Have fun - I'd love to do Disney without the kiddles!

Spoodles, Flying Fish Cafe (both at Boardwalk) Artist Point (Wilderness Lodge), Palio (Swan), Jiko's (Animal Kingdom Lodge), California Grill (Contemporary Resort), Citricos, Narcoossee's and Victoria &amp; Albert's$ (Grand Floridian), Shula's Steak House (Dolphin) and Yachtsman Steak House (Yacht Club) all seem to get consistently high marks.

We ate at Victoria and Albert's in the Grand Floridian for our anniversary. The hotel is fabulous - worth a visit to see it but the restaurant (in my opinion) is overrated and overpriced. My husband and I are used to eating at &quot;upscale&quot; restaurants that may be less pricey but have better cuisine. A corny aside, they presented us with a chocolate &quot;happy anniversary&quot; card and a complementary menu (wow). We also ate at Roy's restaurant outside the &quot;Disney&quot; grounds and were very impressed by the quality of the food - they also have some &quot;special&quot; martinis that were tasty (they're a spin-off of the Roy's in Hawaii chain). There was a fish house (I think it's name was &quot;The fish house&quot; that also had some very good choices. Enjoy

i like bongo's cuban food in Pleasure Island.

I will third the Wilderness Lodge's Artist Point restaurant.<BR><BR>Lovely property, lovely food, elegant service.

I was thinking about going to Wilderness Lodge. What type of price is it?

We were there in December and hands down the best restaurant we went to was Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It has all the characteristics that make a good restaurant great.<BR><BR>1. It knows what it wants to be: in this case a restaurant that showcases African cuisine without being too &quot;different&quot; .<BR><BR>2. The interior of the restaurant is attractive, makes sense, doesn't sacrifice comfort for &quot;impact&quot;. In this case the lighting designers have been very creative in giving the effect of a perpetual sunset. The colors convey the African theme but the look is contemporary and forward looking. African wants to be part of the New World.<BR><BR>3. The wines showcase South African wineries. Many wines are available no where else at this point and there is a good range of prices and varietals.<BR><BR>4. The service is warm, prompt and friendly without being too familiar. Many servers are representing their country and are proud of their job.<BR><BR>5. Although the expense of the meal may be high compared to other places, the cost of the presentation at Disney is much higher than almost anywhere else. Dinner is a good value here. <BR><BR>A second recommendation would be California Grill and we always sit at the bar at Wolfgang Puck in Downtown Disney and people watch and have sushi or graze on a bunch of appetizers. I prefer the bar area to upstairs. <BR><BR>

Dolciana - Not only is the Victoria and Albert restaurant overpriced for what it is, so is the hotel. I stayed at the Grand Floridian a few years ago on business and found it very dull, mediocre service and too far from most of the parks.<BR><BR>As to restaurants, I would recommend getting out of the park and going into Orlando or Winter Haven for some good meals. I believe there is now a Zagat restaurant guide for Orlando -- check it out. I'm sure it includes restaurants in the park.<BR><BR> You are a captive audience at Disney and they know it. Friends of mine looking for an Orlando restaurant suggestion from their Disney concierge were directed only to Disney restaurants until the concierge admitted (sotto voce) that they were not ALLOWED to recommend off-site restaurants.

You stayed at the Grand Floridian on BUSINESS?? How did THAT happen and how much did your clients pay?

OK, I'll jump in here. Where are you from, Bootman4U? Have you never heard of conventions? That's called being at a hotel on business and it's done by thousands, perhaps millions of people every day in this country. If it weren't for business meetings and/or conventions major hotels wouldn't exist, including places like the Grand Floridian. So what's your point?

Flying Fish and the California Grill were our favorites...

Busterla,<BR><BR>You are actually the first person I ever heard say that you did not like the Grand Floridian. I don't think that it is that far away from the parks. You have the monorail in the hotel which is definitely a huge bonus, and makes the trip to the parks more enjoyable. I'll definitely get the Orlando Zagat. Thanks.

We ate downstairs at Puck's in downtown Disney and liked it a lot. I have heard from a number of people that downstairs is better than upstairs. When we compared the menus, the downstairs one looked more interesting.