I just made ADR's for the week of July 13th-19th, 2008. We'll be staying at the Wilderness Lodge for this trip (2nd time at WL). Do my ADR's look good? I made these decisions in about 10 minutes, and we have been to most of the restaurants. The ones that are new for us are marked with "*".

13th:
Biergarten -- Dinner

14th:
Kona Café -- Breakfast
Crystal Palace -- Dinner

15th:
Chefs de France -- Lunch
Spoodles -- Dinner*

16th:
Whispering Canyon -- Breakfast
Yak & Yeti -- Dinner*

17th:
Sci-Fi Dine-In -- Lunch
Whispering Canyon -- Dinner

18th:
Ohana -- Breakfast*
Restaurant Marrakesh -- Dinner*

19th:
Whispering Canyon -- Breakfast

I am particularly interested in what people have to say about Spoodles and Restaurants Marrakesh. :confused:

~Simon :)

I don't have much experiences with any of your choices.

Kona Cafe: I love Kona, but have only been there for dinner so far. I do have a breakfast ADR there for our upcoming trip though.

Crystal Palace: We enjoyed our lunch at Crystal Palace on our last trip, but our service was not good at all. Character interaction was very basic (I'm not a big fan of Pooh though) and the food was decent for buffet fare.

Les Chefs de France: We really, really enjoyed our lunch there. Good food, and fantastic service. I loved the atmosphere too.

'Ohana: We've only been for dinner, which is completely different from breakfast, I've heard good things though...

I don't have much experiences with any of your choices.

Kona Cafe: I love Kona, but have only been there for dinner so far. I do have a breakfast ADR there for our upcoming trip though.

Crystal Palace: We enjoyed our lunch at Crystal Palace on our last trip, but our service was not good at all. Character interaction was very basic (I'm not a big fan of Pooh though) and the food was decent for buffet fare.

Les Chefs de France: We really, really enjoyed our lunch there. Good food, and fantastic service. I loved the atmosphere too.

'Ohana: We've only been for dinner, which is completely different from breakfast, I've heard good things though...

We've been to Kona for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it is one of my favorite restaurants. From now on, it will be a tradition to go there for Tonga Toast and Kona Coffee!

We've also been to Crystal Palace twice; both times for dinner. The food was excellent, and so was the service. On our most recent trip (July 2007) character interaction was horrible. Maybe that is because everybody in our party is 12 and up, but still... $30 for a buffet where the characters only wave to you is a joke. It is a tradition to go on our first Magic Kingdom day though, so unless something horrid happens, we will continue to dine here.

It is such a relief to here something good about Chefs de France. The reviews are so mixed, but we had a good time there in 2004 so I thought I would give it another go.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to go to 'Ohana on our last trip, but unfortunately reservations were impossible to get. I'm so excited to go back (we've stayed at the Polynesian before) and eat breakfast with Lilo & Stitch!

Anyway, thanks again for the reviews. It is really helpful in making my final decisions... I've only called once so far, and I would like to keep it that way. ;)

~Simon

The restaurants look fine, but, by having so many table service breakfasts booked outside of the parks, you won't be getting any early starts in the parks, and the parks (particularly MK) may be pretty crowded by the time you get there. I like an occasional, big breakfast, but we, usually make it simple and quick, then hit the parks early. Very often, there are swarms of people coming in, by the time we have done quite a few rides, and are leaving to take a break. That is very much a matter of personal preference, but we get up pretty early anyway, even on vacation, and we love getting our favorite rides in, before the crowds hit.

We really like Marrakesh- the food is good (while not totally authentic) we like the music and belly dancer too.

It's a good "Uh-oh we forgot to make an ADR, where can we go?" kind of place.

The restaurants look fine, but, by having so many table service breakfasts booked outside of the parks, you won't be getting any early starts in the parks, and the parks (particularly MK) may be pretty crowded by the time you get there. I like an occasional, big breakfast, but we, usually make it simple and quick, then hit the parks early. Very often, there are swarms of people coming in, by the time we have done quite a few rides, and are leaving to take a break. That is very much a matter of personal preference, but we get up pretty early anyway, even on vacation, and we love getting our favorite rides in, before the crowds hit.

We don't need any early starts in the parks. While I love Disney World, the parks aren't everything, and seeing the other resorts, etc., is a very fun way to start the day IMHO. :)

We really like Marrakesh- the food is good (while not totally authentic) we like the music and belly dancer too.

It's a good "Uh-oh we forgot to make an ADR, where can we go?" kind of place.

I took a look at the Marrakesh menu on Allears, and it seems that everybody in our family will be able to have something from the menu without complaints; something not very common in Epcot WS restaurants. :)

Does the restaurant get really crowded for dinner? As I've said, we've never been there, so it will be a new experience. :)

~Simon

These are the ones I've eaten at:

Kona Café -- Breakfast
Crystal Palace -- Dinner
I really liked the Kona Cafe. The food was very good and when I lost my wallet in the restaurant, the waiter returned it about 15 minutes later and everything was still there. We also really enjoy the atmosphere of the Crystal Palace although we usually go there for character breakfasts, so I can't comment on dinner.


Spoodles -- Dinner
This was very disappointing. The food was not particularly interesting or flavorful and the service was poor. If you want to eat in the boardwalk area, go to the Flying Fish Cafe. We have always had excellent meals and service there.



Restaurant Marrakesh -- Dinner* We have eaten here a number of time and the food is always tasty and the entertainment is great. Some of the dishes may seem unfamiliar, but trust me they are excellent. I don't recall its being particularly crowded in the past.

Have a great trip.

I just had dinner at Marrakesh a month ago, and it was really tasty, and the service was excellent. The only problem I had with your choices was doing Chefs de France for lunch and Spoodles for dinner. That's 2 really big meals very close to each other, unless you've booked Spoodles for very late. I try to eat a slimmer lunch when I'm dining big at night.

Here's some of the ones we've eaten at:

Biergarten - a fun atmosphere and lots of variety to the food. I was glad for that variety as we were able to find something my son would eat. On the downside, my wife didn't really care for the food and you do have to share tables with other folks (they're long tables with benches).

Chefs de France - A number of the places you have on your list we've been to because it was all that was left open for dinner on the day we arrived at the park (like Biergarten above and Chefs de France). Sometimes you find out you really like something that way - like my wife and I did with Chefs. Great food, nice intimate restaurant.

Spoodles - unlike the previous poster, my wife and I (and the kids) enjoyed the food at Spoodles - so much that she requested we make an ADR for Spoodles for our upcoming trip. Just outside the park, so easy access back to Epcot, but not crowded, nice food. We felt it was a very relaxing meal.

Another recommendations (for a non ADR meal):

If you're in the Magic Kingdom and looking for something a little better than just normal fast food, but not sit-down - try Columbia Harbor House (it's right inbetween Liberty Square and Fantasy Land). It's some fast food, but also soups, sandwiches, some nice alternatives. I've always found it to be particularly quiet at dinner time.

If you're in the Magic Kingdom and looking for something a little better than just normal fast food, but not sit-down - try Columbia Harbor House (it's right inbetween Liberty Square and Fantasy Land). It's some fast food, but also soups, sandwiches, some nice alternatives. I've always found it to be particularly quiet at dinner time.

It's especially quiet if they have the upstairs open. You can even eat on the 'bridge' that people pass under to go from Fantasyland to Liberty Square (but I don't recall if they're all small tables or not in that area - but there are some big tables upstairs)

I ate at Yak & Yeti last week and was very happy with the food:) The amount and price were good. We had some type of sundae, it was HUGE and delicious! I recommend that!!

Biergarten - ...snip...you do have to share tables with other folks ...snip....(they're long tables with benches).


We ate lunch there on Sunday. They are long tables but they had chairs not benches, unless other tables vary. We were at the table right next to the opening to get on the dance floor, stage left. The tables seat 8 so if your party is less then that you will most likely sit with others. We were a party of two and sat at our end of the table with another party of two, the other half was a family of four.
We always have a great meal there! The band is very entertaining and a lot of fun!

I ate at Yak & Yeti last week and was very happy with the food:) The amount and price were good. We had some type of sundae, it was HUGE and delicious! I recommend that!!

I have not tried that restaurant yet but I wonder if that sundae is anything like the volcanoes they have at Rainforest Cafe...those things rock but are intimidating...although I did buy one when on a field trip with my son's class....I bought his friends one and I have never seen a table of boys inhale an ice cream concoction as fast as they did that night...holy heck.

I have not eaten at many of the restaurants the OP is inquiring about. We keep it simple and have our faves. On our trip in December (5 day/4 nights) we are going to do Chef Mickey's, Cinderella's dinner at the Grand Floridian (name skipped my mind), Crystal Palace, and Liberty Tree Tavern (before Christmas Party).

We do have our fave Quick Service Magic Kingdom Restaurants such as Pecos Bill and the Columbia Harbour House is excellent...my daughter lives for chicken so I took her there once while my son and hubby ate at Pecos....a second time.

I wish we had time to do the breakfast at the Tusker House again....that was good but I don't think we can swing it this time. That was fun and very good too and I don't know how my son and hubby hit the buffet like they did and then got on Everest and survived....:D

I have not tried that restaurant yet but I wonder if that sundae is anything like the volcanoes they have at Rainforest Cafe...those things rock but are intimidating...although I did buy one when on a field trip with my son's class....I bought his friends one and I have never seen a table of boys inhale an ice cream concoction as fast as they did that night...holy heck.



I'm gonna sound like a piggy, but I also had the volcano at Rainforest Cafe last week in DtD. We went to dinner with my friend's brother and his family there. They have a 1 1/2 y/o and he inhaled the volcano.....lol. They are comparable. Both delicious. I don't like vanilla ice cream so those kinds of desserts are not my cup of tea, but they were awesome. The only reason I would choose the volcano over the sundae is because the brownie did not have nuts, I don't like nuts IN food. And, the volcano was quite a bit bigger and slightly neater....lol. 4 adults and 2 kids shared it.