Garden Grill at Epcot

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Garden Grill is a character dining family style restaurant located inside Walt Disney World’s (WDW) Land Pavilion inside the Epcot Theme Park. Once you enter The Land Pavilion simply walk to the back of the top level and you will see the restaurant. There are also benches and bathrooms just outside in case you need them.

Garden Grill serves American food in a family style, meaning food is served in large plates with small plates for each person. You’ll be greeted upon arrival by a cute Mickey Mouse table setting!

Once seated you will notice the restaurant is actually moving! The tables slowly rotate in a circle and allow you to see scenes from The Land ride including homesteads, rain forests and prairies. Don’t worry it goes very slow. In fact, we did not make a complete circle before we were done eating. The food is great!!! They also serve mac and cheese for the kids (even though I particularly love WDW mac and cheese) and finish the meal off with a fruit cobbler.

While eating you will be visited by Mickey, Chip, Dale and Pluto so have your autograph books and cameras ready and on the table. Our family loves character dining because it saves us from standing in character lines in the park. Garden Grill also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also all the veggies served during meals at Garden Grill are grown inside The Land Pavilion!

We love Garden Grill! The food is delicious, the characters are fun and the restaurant rotates! Definitely one to add to your trip. Prices range from $35 for children to $60 for adults. This restaurant also has the option of Candlelight Processional tickets during the Holiday season.

Want to add this dining to your WDW vacation? Ask me how! You can message me at Callie@wanderkeep.com or you can find me on Facebook at Callie at Wanderkeep Travel. As always my services are complimentary!

Top 5 Walt Disney Restaurant Picks

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You’ve probably been following my posts on booking Disney! This time let’s focus on eats.

Now I will preface with saying we are now fully vested in the dining plans. It wasn’t always this way. In fact, up until two years ago we really had one or two sit down meals each visit in an attempt to save money. After realizing the dining plan was a better way to go and save money we have had the chance to have more sit downs and we are loving it.

This post will focus on sit down or rather table service dining. I’ll post later on quick service and snack places.

1. Raglan Road

Raglan Road is located in Downtown Disney. Score you don’t even need park tickets for this one. Yes-it really is my number 1 pick. The entire restaurant is set up like a large old Irish pub. I felt like I was sitting in a mahogany filled and dark green covered dining extravaganza. The food is utterly amazing. I’m a steak and potatoes girl and this one hits it out of the park. Oh and the bread pudding-to die for. Get it-you won’t be sorry. I also love love love that they have professional Irish dancers perform. They are from Ireland. They also invite children to come on the stage and do a jig.

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2. 50’s Prime Time Dinner

Such an adorable place where everything is set up like to 50’s from the Dad’s bar waiting area to the tables that are each individually made to look like a kitchen table. We have always been lucky enough to get a good seat. The waiters/waitresses dress in 50’s gear and the cooks are “Mom and Dad”. The servers will totally tell on you and punish you. Hubs didn’t believe it and got in trouble for his manners and for sassing. The food is great-servings are big and they specialize in meatloaf and pot roast. Also the dessert menu is on a view master! Located in Hollywood Studios/

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3. Crystal Palace

I choose this one for the Character Dining. Pooh and his friends live here. I love the breakfast buffet. In my book any buffet in which I can eat as much bacon as I want is a winner. The buffets are actually pretty decent. I also like that the characters come to each table for picture opps. If you book early you can actually get into the park before it opens and take pictures on an empty main street-cool! Located in Magic Kingdom.

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4.Yak and Yeti

Yak and Yeti has a fun Indian and Asian fusion menu. It has a fun decor that is traditional yet focuses on the Mt. Everest Theme. Now I personally am not a big international food fan. I get better every year. My hubs loves it. So when I choose Yak and Yeti as one of my top picks I mean it. There’s plenty to eat even if you’re not a big curry fan. The food is good and interesting. The also have both table service and a cafe which is considered quick service. Located in Animal Kingdom.

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5. Ohana

Ohana has big family tables and family style servings. The restaurant focuses on the tastes of Polynesia. The servers come around and bring awesome rolls and noodles. These are served family style. Meats are brought around the room and are cut from a stick. They have lovely Polynesian dancers and singers and all the children get leis. It has wonderful ambiance. Plus even in Disney who doesn’t want to be in Hawaii? You must must must book ahead for this one. Located in the Polynesian Resort.

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Yes I have really been to all of these! I try and change it up each time we go and not go to the same restaurants. I have booked meals this time at Whispering Canyons, Be Our Guest, Raglan Road, Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, Tony’s Ristorante….and the Sci Fi Dine In. Notice some I can’t stay away from!! I can’t wait to share how fab the new restaurants are with you!

Booking Disney-Free Dining Plan

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028There are a million ways to save while booking a Walt Disney World trip. I mentioned previously how to save money in flights and how to save your self the trouble with a travel agent. Well let’s move onto the dining plan.

WDW offers several dining packages when booking your trip. The most common is the simply named dining plan. It offers one quick service meal-a grab and sit down, one table service meal-a sit and be served meal, and one snack daily.

Up until last year we NEVER used the dining plans. We totally saved money by not using them….bahahah but it was all a lie. We budgeted 100.00 a day per person for dining on our trip and we almost always came close to using it. We also only ate at one sit down table service meal the whole trip.

I learned that the dining plan really did save us money-about 40.00 a day per person-verses our budget. Also we ate a million times better. We also didn’t stress out or crunch numbers when ordering at table service restaurants. See you can order one meal,one dessert, and one non alcoholic drink-refillable for each person. So I was able to get an entree for 50.00, a dessert for 10.00 and a drink. In one meal.

The great thing about the dining plans? Disney offers free dining throughout the year. WDW just announced their free dining for the Fall 2015.

I already booked our trip but I guesstimated based on previous years dates when free dining would fall and guess what-it worked. Our trip was already book but our travel agent adjusted and credit our bill!.

Since we have the meal plan I have already booked all our meals. Oh and character meals are included! Not all but almost all!

Not only is the free dining a great savings but it helps make our trip more enjoyable and stress free. Where are we eating? Coming soon!!!

And while I don’t get paid anything by Disney to promote them I do so because my wish is for everyone to get to travel and enjoy this amazing place.