Disney

[Jim]

I have succumbed to the Disney pilgrimage. After a few years of putting off my children's many requests (pleas, demands and incessant whining, really) we have booked a DisneyWorld trip for July. I have combed the usual websites for dining suggestions at Disney. However, I am looking for an honest to goodness ChefTalk insight or two. Family dining suggestions would be nice. Even a suggestion for when my wife and I stuff the kids into a suitcase so we can escape for a peaceful dinner, would be nice as well.

[Andy M.]

Go across town to Universal City and have dinner at Emeril's restaurant. Don't make the mistake of thinking his TV antics carry over to the restaurant, they don't. We had a very enjoyable dining experience.

[ZEN!!!]

Hi,

My personal recommendations are The California Grill in the Contemporary Resort, and Flying Fish and Spoodles in the Boardwalk Resort.

I've been going to Disney World since I was 4 years old. It was the only place that my parents would take my brother and I on vacation. They still go down a couple of times a year in addition to cruising. Up until a couple of years ago, I had gone down at least once a year.

Anyways, those are my recommendations. I have heard scattered gossip about Spoodles going downhill, but as of two years ago, I still love their hitipi.

There's a lot of information on www.disboards.com if you want to sift through it all. That's generally where I got to get a lot of my Disney information. They have deals and all that kind of stuff.

It's a shame that you're going in July instead of Oct/Nov when the Food & Wine festival is. I'm trying to get down there for that.

ZEN!!!

[Pete]

I second The California Grill as a great place to dine for you and your wife. The food was pretty darn good and, if you can get seats close to the windows you have a great view of the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom. We planned our dinner so that we watched the fireworks just before our dessert was served. A great place to take the kids is at MGM in Disney World. I don't remember the name but it is a Sci-fi drive-in theme. Your tables are like sitting in the backseats of a 50's car and you watch classic 50's sci-fi while eating. The food was ok, but it was a lot of fun. Also just about anyplace we ate at the world showcase in Epcot was pretty good, considering that they are serving 1000's of meals every day. My favorite there was the German Biergarten. It is a buffet restaurant, with pretty darn good food (not great but solid) and a great place to drink a liter or 2 of beer.

[Jim]

Thanks for all the input! I have heard, as well, about Todd English's place at the Swann Hotel, near Epcot. Now, if I could only hit the lottery to pay for all the good grub...

[Pete]

Not that it helps you eventually pay for everything, but Disney has a great concept. If you stay in one of their resorts and put a credit card on file and or on one of the packages that includes enterance fees, they give you a "credit card" that acts as your tickets and you can also use it to pay for things and foods all throughout the resort. It's nice because you don't have to worry about carrying cash with you. It's evil because you tend to be less aware of what you spent. The other great service Disney offers is their delivery service. No more lugging around souviners for you and friends. Buy what you want, give them your room number and resort and the following day they deliver it right to your room. The good thing is it's a free service, the bad thing is, like their no cash option, you tend to forget how much you buy if you don't have to lug it around!!!

[kuan]

My wife and I love Victoria and Albert's. There's a thread here about Victoria and Albert's somewhere. It'll run you about $100 per person with the flight of wines.

[Jim]

Thanks for all the scoop. I, too, have relished the thought of Victoria & Albert's. However, just getting us to DWorld, the hotel and the park is enough to break this cook's/teacher's bank... for quite some time. We have reserved a character meal (I can taste the tater-tots and chicken fingers already) and plan on a few sit-downs in Epcot.

[Pete]

Not that the food is some epicurian delight at the the character meals, but there are some really good things on the buffets, considering that they are serving 1000+ every day, and many of those are kids. I always found something that was more than "just passable sustanence".

[Chef Curmudgeon]

Jim
You need to splurge once. Vickie and Al's sure looked great. We didn't discover it last summer until we were killing time waiting for our shuttle back to the airport. If ever we return we won't miss it. Think it has 3 or 4 stars.
Tell you more when I see you.

[Jim]

Curmudgeon,
What's the price tag?

[Pete]

Check out this for a little more on Victoria & Albert's

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_va.htm

http://www.themeparks.com/wdw/menus/victoria.htm

And here is the link to the site I used to plan our stay at Disney

http://www.allearsnet.com/
This one really helped us to plan out our stay, from where to dine, to what rides to hit, to what shows to see, and to skip.

[gonefishin]

Originally Posted by Pete

Not that the food is some epicurian delight at the the character meals, but there are some really good things on the buffets, considering that they are serving 1000+ every day, and many of those are kids. I always found something that was more than "just passable sustanence".

I second this advice. I'm not sure of your children's ages. But look into what character meals(breakfast/lunch/dinner) and make reservations NOW!. They reservations really fill up quick.

If you've got children that are even remotely young...this will be well worth it.

have fun!

dan

[cheflusch]

say hi to my wife while you're there...she cooks at V & A's

[Kelleybean]

My husband and I and eight other family members are going to DW October 12th thru the 19th. I hear that V &A’s is really good but I need to know what the average cost is for dinner. Unfortunately we aren’t staying on the Disney grounds. We are trying to keep costs down to a minimum but we would like to go out for one or two special meals. My husband and I will be celebrating our 11th anniversary on the 17th. Any advice for places to go and things to see would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kelley.

PS: Chefluch,
If I say hi to your wife will we get a discount on our dinner?