If you had only one TS restaurant to choose from, what would it be?

[jrsharp21]

So on our trip in May, we have decided that since there is going to be 11 of us there that trying to schedule TS meals would be way too hard. Most of the group would rather be at the parks anyway than sitting and waiting for a meal. So with that in mind we decided to go no meal plan and let everyone fend for themselves at the parks. Some people like eating QS meals while others would rather just grab a turkey leg or chimi chonga.

But we did decide to try to do one TS during the 7 days we will be there. So if you had to make a choice for one TS, what would it be?

Usually when we are at Disneyland we will either go to Rain Forest or Blue Bayou.

[KJSJpipe]

I would think with a party that size your best bet would be a buffet and you may have to book it through group dinning.

Our favorite Buffets are:

Animal Kingdom Lodge- Boma, lots to choose from including 'normal' food for the picky (children or adults ;))

Beach Club Resort - Cape May Clam Bake, great seafood and enough other choices if any one does not eat seafood.

[Drince88]

I agree, Boma is a nice option.

Another option, if everyone is carnivorous in their eating habits, is Ohana. (They have vegetarian options, so I've been told, but the feature of the restaurant is the meat skewers).

If you want to be loud, Whispering Canyon is another great option for groups (especially if there are kids involved - make sure at least one of them 'needs' ketchup).

Also, you may want to determine if anyone is 'expecting' this group meal to be a character meal - that totally changes the equation!

Whatever you decide, I highly recommend a resort restaurant, and not a park one - that way you don't have to deal with people not having park hoppers, etc.

[jrsharp21]

We will all have park hoppers. So that leaves all in park spots open to us.

Seafood will probably be out of the question. There are a couple of people in the party that are turned off by even the smell of seafood. I am one in that group. It makes me feel nautious.

No one is expecting a character meal. We are just looking for a place that has a cool atmosphere, like a Rain Forest Cafe.

[Barberella]

I am in agreement that a buffet would be a good choice - so another vote for Boma (and I would've said 'Cape May' as well, but you've ruled that out).

So for a 2nd choice, you might consider Chef Mickey's - it's a buffet and it does have characters, which is nice for the children. I didn't like having my picture taken before-hand, but recently someone in a trip report said that it was a highlight with their large group (as that is the only picture they have where they are all together). Also the Contemporary is a little bit easier for most to get to and from - riding the monorail is always cool.

[fairestoneofall]

No one is expecting a character meal. We are just looking for a place that has a cool atmosphere, like a Rain Forest Cafe.
Personally, I wold not chose Rainforest Cafe for my only TS meal with my entire group. It's dark and loud and it would be hard to enjoy everyone's company. I'm not sure if you were considering this or just using it as an example.

[mom22gls]

In July, we had a party of 8, and I planned all the TS meals. This was a diverse group, of kids, ranging from 8 to 17, and adults. When I asked which restaurant they liked the best, the vote was unanimous for Boma. While it's a buffet, the general atmosphere is relatively quiet and there is a good variety, which suited everyone. There's also a nice wine selection. A plus is it's also a chance to visit a very nice resort-the gift shop is cool, and there are a lot of places to view the animals. The group can, easily, meet there, even if people are in different parks before dinner-just grab the AKL bus. Keep in mind that, with the DVC expansion, they have added a bus stop within the resort, and tell people to be sure to wait for the second stop, Jambo House, which is the hotel. The bus announcement doesn't mention this until after the first stop, which doesn't help if you got off there.

[mckat]

Given one TS- I would go to Bomas as well. The secret there is to take very of small servings of almost everything to try it and then go back for what you love. Lots of great kids food and fruit for the fussy. I'm not a spicy food lover, but can eat almost everything there- and don't get me started on the selection of little deserts. If you do Bomas however, I would recommend coming to it from an AK afternoon if you have one. AK shuts early and going to AKL feels like an extension of the Park and day. It blends beautifully and the bus ride is about 5 min. Don't forget to go early enough to head through the resort to the patio to see the animals. They feed them around dinner time so they are close. There are African Cast members out and they can explain what you see. A good question to start a conversation with kids is to ask if they have this kind of animal where they come from. It is one of my favorite "modules" of activities to do this AK then AKL Boma mix. Where ever you go, I'm sure you'll have a great time.

[jrsharp21]

Personally, I wold not chose Rainforest Cafe for my only TS meal with my entire group. It's dark and loud and it would be hard to enjoy everyone's company. I'm not sure if you were considering this or just using it as an example.

RF was just an example. That is a favorite of the groups at Disneyland but want to mix it up at WDW.

I am liking the Boma more and more. I like the animal aspect. My niece will love that.

[mickeymom5]

I agree that Boma is nice, but Biergarten would be fun too! It is a all-you-can-eat buffet in Germany in Epcot. The band is fun and there is a dance floor if anyone gets the urge to dance! The food is good and the service is great!

I haven't tried it, but the new restaurant in Italy sounds good.

Will the new Mexican restaurant be open during your trip? That is another option.

Wow..it looks like I am partial to those Epcot eateries...:p

[jrsharp21]

I am supposed to ask about the Mexican restaurant next to the Tres Amigos ride. How is that? After describing it to them, it reminds the family of the Blue Bayou as far as atmosphere goes.

[fairestoneofall]

I haven't eaten there in about 15 years. WOW, now I feel old. But I do remember that sort of ambiance, but I didn't feel the need to be 'fancy'.

[jengold29]

I am supposed to ask about the Mexican restaurant next to the Tres Amigos ride. How is that? After describing it to them, it reminds the family of the Blue Bayou as far as atmosphere goes.

I haven't been there in a while, but it was not know for having the best Mexican food. If you're from CA where they have really great Mexican food, you may be disappointed.

[petesimac]

I loved Tutto Italia and might make that my first choice...if not for the new Italian place -- the pizzas look so darned good! -- I think the new place in Italy would be my choice.

Or...

The new Mexican restaurant looks fabulous.

Or...

We've always liked Sci-fi Dine-In as a lunch option; we have to do it once per visit.

[adriennek]

We've always liked Sci-fi Dine-In as a lunch option; we have to do it once per visit.

I have to disagree with this choice for the OP. We went and had a fun time. I would recommend it for a lunch visit -- but not for a group of 11 for their one meal together.

I would totally vote for Boma for my first choice: Great food and a buffet. Whispering Canyon would be a close second - it's not a buffet but the environment is really fun and they can handle big groups well, based on our dinner for 11 last October. ;)

Adrienne

[petesimac]

I have to disagree with this choice for the OP. We went and had a fun time. I would recommend it for a lunch visit -- but not for a group of 11 for their one meal together.

I would totally vote for Boma for my first choice: Great food and a buffet. Whispering Canyon would be a close second - it's not a buffet but the environment is really fun and they can handle big groups well, based on our dinner for 11 last October. ;)

Adrienne

Yeah, that's why I mentioned it as a lunch option, lol.

[Rockchalker]

Have you looked into any Grand Gatherings options? Based on the size of your group, they have several dining options (or did when my family of 10 went back in 2008.)

We DID have the dining plan, but I don't know if it required for everyone to participate or if some in the party can pay OOP.

We had a great buffet style breakfast at Tony's with Mickey and Minnie.

[danyoung]

Some great suggestions above, with Boma being a strong contender. My first thought, though, was 'Ohana in the Polynesian Resort. If you're not familiar, they seat you at your table, bring drinks and bread, then they start bringing appetizers - bbq chicken wings, pot stickers, salad, things like this. Then they start bringing the main event - skewers of meat - beef, chicken, shrimp, sausage. They slice off however much you want, then keep bringing back more and more till you are about bursting. Dessert currently is a tasty banana bread pudding. But if you ask, they might bring you out what they used to serve - pineapple chunks with a caramel dipping sauce. Sounds simple, but it's such a wonderful light taste after that meat-heavy meal that it's the perfect finish!

The restaurant can be loud, as they play hula hoop and coconut rolling games with the kids. But the atmosphere is really light and fun, and the food is just to die for!

[rph13]

I am supposed to ask about the Mexican restaurant next to the Tres Amigos ride. How is that? After describing it to them, it reminds the family of the Blue Bayou as far as atmosphere goes.

I haven't been to the Blue Bayou since 2001 but from what I can remember the Mexican restaurant (blanking on the name--San Angels Inn, maybe??) in Epcot is very similiar in atmosphere. They are both on the dark side and the table are about 4 inches from each other. We went this past Janurary and had a really hard time reading the menu, it was that dark, the waiter helped us out by explaining what was on the menu. I am from New England and we don't eat a lot of mexican food but to me the food there didn't seem overly mexican. We had the steak dish and it was great.

It use to be difficult to get into this restaurant but maybe with the new place opening up it will be easier?

[DizneyMommy]

'Ohana for sure!!! We had an amazing meal there, beautiful view over the lake, and it is something very unique for us, there is nothing like it here at DL. We tried to do TS experiences that were nothing like what we have here at home, we felt 'Ohana was the most relaxing and enjoyable meal we did the whole trip out of all 6 TS's we did. I also think they would be one of the places that would have the easiest time accomdating your group and getting you all together in one table. It is big and open and I saw another very large group dining there with several tables pushed together.

As far as the noise, when we were there the entertainer came out once for about 10 minutes to play some very nice calm Hawaiian music on his ukulele and sing, and then took a break for about 20 minutes and came back for the coconut races which took maybe 10 minutes and then went back for another break. It is not constant entertainment, so there are quiet/down times. Even at full capacity, the restaurant did not feel loud to us, which was part of why it was so relaxing after a week of character meals and noisy venues, this was a nice break.

They do serve shrimp on skewers, but I'm sure if you told your server when you were seated not to bring any shrimp, she would skip it. There were already 2 or 3 other meats so you wouldn't feel like you were missing anything, and I normally can't stand the smell of seafood but I didn't even notice the smell of the shrimp.

[jmunzert]

I have to put a vote in for 'Ohana at the Polynesian resort, for me it is not a Disney vacation if I don't have dinner there, I do LOVE Boma but for me nothing can beat 'Ohana

[jbsj78]

'Ohana!! I love everything about 'Ohana - the food, the service, the atmosphere. We look forward to our Disney trips for many reasons, but 'Ohana is up there as being one of those top reasons!

[bochnikm]

We went in August and had three TS meals with a group of twenty-five! We dined at Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyons and the Biergarten. The staff was great accommodating our group at every restaurant.

See
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=145008
for more details.

In 2009 we also did a large group - only 8- for breakfast at Goofy’s Beach Club Breakfast at the Beach Club - that went great as well.

We also did a large group in 2006 at 50's Prime Time Café in DHS

Buffets seem to work best with large groups.

Most fun with antics - Whispering Canyons and 50's Prime Time Café

Fun with dancing - diner at the Biergarten

Best characters - Chef Mickey's and Goofy’s Beach Club Breakfast

Best place to hear each other talk - Goofy’s Beach Club Breakfast and 50's Prime Time Café

[fairestoneofall]

OK, side bar....

I am seeing all of these recommendations for Ohana. While it is on my ADR wish list for my May trip I'm curious if I will enjoy it if I'm not a huge meat eater?

[mom22gls]

OK, side bar....

I am seeing all of these recommendations for Ohana. While it is on my ADR wish list for my May trip I'm curious if I will enjoy it if I'm not a huge meat eater?

Not a problem. There is quite a variety of food, including yummy noodles, salad, and other appetizers. If you eat white meat and seafood, the main courses include grilled turkey and shrimp. If you have more stringent dietary requirements or preferences, just call the restaurant ahead of time, and they can adjust your meal. I read one account of a diner, who was a vegan, and had a wonderful meal there.