Disney World Restaurants...worth the price?

Last time, I stuck mainly to talking about only the resort we stayed in. This time, I'll discuss some of the restaurants (that I recall from that trip), and what I thought of them.

The commons at the Caribbean Beach had food that was ok...but not my personal choice. The kids there seemed to love it, but my wife and I both thought that we could do a little better than school cafeteria type food. There were a few hidden gems, but overall, not of the highest fare (why have a "caribbean" resort, and no caribbean food?).

Magic Kingdom places we ate:

Liberty Tree Tavern - Probably my personal favorite. The food was high quality, it was all you could eat, and the atmosphere was pleasant. The servers were all wonderful, and the characters were fun to interact with in between bites.

Crystal Palace - Not bad...it was definately much better than many of the places we ate at, but not my personal favorite. I believe my wife enjoyed it more than I did though.

Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe - Fast food for folks like me! I'm a McDonald's junkie, so Ray's was right up my alley. I won't praise it, but just know that it's fast food with a bit extra on the price.

Epcot places (although we didn't eat much as far as sit downs here...strange, since it has some of the best in Walt Disney World):

Tappenyaki - This is in the Japenese area...being that I have a wife with some Japanese heritage, it was a given that we'd eat here. The food was excellent...I'm a big fan of Japanese steakhouses, so this was a great choice. Chefs were entertaining (noisy place though...don't go here for romantic atmosphere!).

Garden Grill - I didn't enjoy the food at all. It was luke warm when we got it, and didn't taste very good anyways. The characters were alright, and the restaurant was unique with the entire dining room rotating...but otherwise, not impressed. I have heard they changed the menu significantly since we went, so I may brave it once more to see.

We also ate at a cafe that sits somewhere near innoventions that I really enjoyed. Can't recall the name right at the moment though :(

Disney/MGM Studios:

50's Prime Time Cafe - While the food was merely adequate, we love the atmosphere. It's a fun place to go and role play...even learn a bit of history so I understand my parents when they talk about "their day".

Animal Kingdom:

Rainforest Cafe - I'm not a huge fan of this place. I've eaten at several different ones, and haven't cared for the food at any of them (though I am pretty picky when it comes to food). It's extremely noisy, and overall not the most relaxing place.

Flame Tree Barbecue - The seating area is horrid on most days...it's either full, or dirty. But the food is amazingly good. In fact, wish I could eat there right now!


We ate at a number of other places, I'm sure, but those are the ones that stand out in my mind. The food at Disney World is definately a bit high, but I didn't mind paying a little extra to keep the ambience and experience going (as opposed to running back to the room, or going off-site).

More to come next time!

Sincerely,

Chris