If I had more time, I would search the forum, but here's my dilemma. My parents and I are checking into Fort Wilderness on Saturday for 6 nights and we're looking for a new restaurant to try that we have never been to before. We love the Cape May Cafe and Ohana, and have been to the California Grill, Chefs de France, 1900 Park Fare, the Hoop Dee Doo, and the Luau.

Now, here's my question: if you had to pick one resort restaurant and one park restaurant, besides those above, which would you pick? At this point character meals are not an imperative, but we're not against them either.

One of these days I'm going to stay here with the dining plan, and then I'll get to try many of these places out. I pride myself on my knowledge of WDW, but this is one area where I bow to my fellow MousePadders. Thanks for your help. :-)

Chris

At a resort, I'd pick Jiko, but Boma is another good choice that seems to fit in with some of your other choices.

For in-park, I'd suggest Le Cellier - but you may not be able to get ADRs for that at this point. Yak and Yeti is getting good reviews, and I keep wanting to try Marakkesh (sp?)

For Hotel, it's easy but pricey: Victoria & Albert's. If you want something high-class but not *quite* so expensive, I'm a huge fan of the Grand Floridian Cafe. Not quite as nice as V&A, but truly a very nice experience.

For In-Park, mark up another vote for Le Cellier! I cannot say enough wonderful things about this place. From the darn-near legendary cheese soup and pretzel bread and the luxuriously velvety butternut squash soup, to the masterful re-imagination of ravioli and beautiful, perfectly prepared steaks, to "Fwedwick" our chocolate moose who was so cute he deserved a name before we mercilessly devoured him! I also can't say enough about a wait-staff who is pleasant, fun, and knowledgeable enough to help me select the perfect non-standard choice of wine for a meal. Just fabulous all the way around. I still tell friends of mine (some of whom have heard three or four times) the story of the conversation that led to that wine choice! You can bet your life it was the first reservation I made sure to secure for my next trip! In fact, it pains me a little every time someone gets clued in to this place because reservations are hard enough to get as it is...but I guess the best secrets never remain secrets long. I hope you enjoy this one and come back and tell us exactly how wonderful it was! :D

Another vote for the fine restaurants in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma is a wonderful buffet, with some unusual but not too weird choices on the buffet table (try the soups - incredibe!). And Jiko is terrific for an upper-scale sitdown restaurant, with more or less familiar items spiced slightly differently - yummy!

You're going to be hard pressed to get into any of the more popular park restaurants at this late date, as they've been booking up for the past 6 months. I really enjoy Le Cellier, but there's simply no way you're going to get in this late. Your best bet is the new Yak & Yeti in the Animal Kingdom - it's so new that perhaps it hasn't booked up yet.

Good luck!

...I really enjoy Le Cellier, but there's simply no way you're going to get in this late...

I didn't catch the date thing the first time I posted, but I'd still think there might be a very early or late reservation available at some point during your trip. It is the off-season after all. The other thing to try is a very late walk-up. Go just before illuminations starts and see if they can fit you in. The worst they can say is no! You'll probably have to wait a while, but I'd think there could be something available this time of year. At the very least, it's worth calling and finding out...

I've not tried Le Cellier without a reservation, anybody ever have any luck with this? (since the massive boom in le cellier popularity?)

My partner and I loved La Cellier when we went in april and we managed to walk up and get in without a reservation! I actually thought we had a reservation for 9pm (which i think is the last time slot) but when we arrived the waitress couldn't find us on the computer and it turned out that the person on the other end of the phone when i had tried to make a reservation had made a mistake and booked us into Cap'ain Jacks. There was no way we could get over there in time, so the fantastic person managed to fit us into La Cellier almost instantly at 9pm. It was the best meal of the time we were there so we were glad that they did. BecauseI didn't know any better at the time i rang the dining line on our first day there and managed to get reservations at almost every restaurant that we wanted to try. However this was probably because we were only a party of 2 adults and were willing to take any time and schedule everything else around that. A family with children would probably not be as able to do so. For my next trip i can't wait for the 180 days mark to arrive so i can do it all and be over-excited about that too!

Casual & Fun-
Hotel-Olivia's Cafe at Old Key West
Park-50s Prime Time Cafe at Disney Studios (MGM)

A Bit Nicer-
Hotel-Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary
Park-Coral Reef at the Living Seas at EPCOT (I have personally not been here but heard it's great. However I've also heard it's overpriced.)

I'll be at Fort Wilderness this next coming weekend (annual birthday camping :))

I'd recommend Jiko's/Boma as well. They're both very good.

I sort of like the Rose&Crown as well, in Epcot. The people that work there have always been very friendly and willing to talk, and if you can get in, the food is pretty decent too, especially on a colder night (Cottage Pie)... :)

Ok, so here's what happened:

I tried, and tried, and tried, to get a reservation for Le Cellier - no dice. That one will wait until our next trip, when I can actually plan 180 days out. We did get reservations for Boma this past Wednesday, and it was phenomenal. The food was excellent, and the atmosphere was my favorite (loud and bustling). It didn't hurt that we were sitting next to a Jungle Cruise skipper who had the most entertaining stories! We didn't actually get to a restaurant inside the parks though. Thanks for all your help!

Chris