Counter Service Galore!

[AvonleaCF]

I've decided to only do two (maybe one) sit-down restaurants this trip, so I've been perusing the menus for CS places. Here are my must-hits:

Magic Kingdom:
-Casey's Corner
-Pecos Bill

Animal Kingdom:
-Flame Tree Barbecue

Epcot:
-Sunshine Seasons
-Cantina de San Angel
-Snacking along the World Showcase

MGM:
-Backlot Express
-Pizza Planet

Downtown:
-Earl of Sandwich
-Wolfgang Puck Express

Any other suggestions? I want to avoid eating at the same place twice. I'll probably keep breakfast very simple in the room and then do an early lunch in the parks, and dinner in the parks as well.

Are there any CS places at resorts that are worth going to? I'm staying at Wilderness Lodge so I'm sure I'll hit up Roaring Forks at some point. Any good places along the Monorail line?

Oh and I'm all set for snacks. I know where to find the Dole Whips, German pretzels, Mickey bars, funnel cakes, etc. :eat:

[LandFan]

We like Mara at AKL. They have a nice African stew in a bread bowl!

[Friend of Figment]

You can get Tonga Toast at the CS in the Polynesian if you decide to breakfast out one morning.

[disneymom15]

We like Harbor House at MK.

[SBETigg]

Captain Cook's(Poly) and Gasparilla Grill(GF) are both good. Maybe check out Kona Cafe's coffee bar in the morning. Also worth a stop, Columbia Harbour House at the MK. Yakitori House, Tangierine Cafe at World Showcase.

[elmjimmlm]

Pizzafari in AK is great...Their Italian sub is the best...:thumbsup:

[mickeys_princess_mom]

I've decided to only do two (maybe one) sit-down restaurants this trip, so I've been perusing the menus for CS places. Here are my must-hits:

Magic Kingdom:
-Casey's Corner
-Pecos Bill


Oh and I'm all set for snacks. I know where to find the Dole Whips, German pretzels, Mickey bars, funnel cakes, etc. :eat:
You might like Cosmic Rays in Tomorrowland (roasted chicken is a nice change of pace). We love Harbour House, too.
I want a Dole Whip right now!:papple:

[garymacd]

We found a beautiful place to eat our meal from Flame Tree. We just got back, btw. had a great time, thanks.

When you get your food, turn to your right out of the serving area and you will see a sign for Flame Tree Dining area. Enter and find a set of stairs leading down. Just keep finding stairs that lead down. Keep going and you will find yourself in a covered dining area right against the water with a great view of Everest. We had the area pretty much to ourselves.

Beautiful!

[Figment52]

Magic Kingdom -
Columbia Harbor House is great! We've eaten there quite a few times over the years. Plenty of seating, and yummy food.

Pinocchio Village Haus. Standard fare, but good non the less. And you can see into the Small World ride from a window in the seating area. Also plenty of seating.

World Showcase -
Yakitori House in Japan is awesome. We ate there by chance the last trip, and really liked it. I'm not sure why, but it wasn't busy at all - and we were there during free dining in 2006. Plus, the setting is a beautiful Japanese garden - up the hill and almost in back of the pavillion. If the weather is bad, or too hot, there is indoor seating, too.

DD really liked the Tangierine Cafe in Morocco. I liked it too, though it was a little too spicy for me. On a side note, we've found the Cast Member's in all of Morocco to be some of the friendliest in the entire WS. Not sure why.

Fish and Chip stand in England. Great food, and you can take it with you no problem - we liked eating in the English Garden. The line can be a little long sometimes, but it goes quickly.

Studios -
Starring Rolls Bakery is good for a quick breakfast or yummy pastries and desserts.

Pizza Planet wasn't bad, though the only reason we ate here was due to the lack of CS options at DHS.

Animal Kingdom-
Tusker House was a must do for us every trip. They've changed it recently, so I'm not sure how it is now. The lines were always long, and it was sometimes hard to find a table, but the food was really good.

I know you said you were looking for CS options only, but consider The Plaza Restaurant in MK for a TS meal. We had free dining in 2006, but decided to leave one TS credit open to decide once we got there. It was free, so if we couldn't get in anywhere, no big deal. We were able to get a same day ressie for the Plaza with no trouble, and the food was excellent.:thumbsup:

[brownie]

We like Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe at the Magic Kingdom, so you might consider that. We also like to eat at the Backlot Express at Disney Studios, so I think that is a good choice.

We weren't impressed with Pizza Planet the one time we ate there.

[Mickey'sGirl]

I personally think that the Tangierine Cafe in Morocco at Epcot is the best Counter Service at WDW. We usually eat there more than once on every trip. Terrific fresh tasty food.

We also LOVE Cosmic Rays at MK .... if only to be serenaded by Sonny Eclipse. :sing:

Have a great time!

[Ropachs]

Like other pp's, we like Cosmic Ray's in MK, specifically for the cheesesteak sandwich. It was off the menu during our last trip (huge disappointment!) but is apparently back, can't wait to see!

[Disnamic Duo]

I think Pepper Market at CSR is the best CS in all of WDW. GREAT selection! My 2nd favorite you already have listed (Sunshine Seasons)

[Taja]

Columbia Harbour House in MK.:thumbsup:

Yorkshire County Fish & Chips in EPCOT. But only if you like fish & chips! *LOL*

[Jared]

Columbia Harbour House is the one counter service location my family always visits every trip, and I definitely it prefer to the two restaurants you mentioned. I don't eat burgers or hot dogs, so Pecos Bill Cafe and Casey's Corner do not appeal to me. I had the chicken wrap at Pecos Bill Cafe in October and was disappointed.

Otherwise, your list looks good. Sunshine Season Food Fair is delicious.

:tasty:

[#1donaldfan]

Pizzafari at AK, Yorkshire Fish Shoppe at EC, Columbia Harbor House MK, and at HS we love the turkey legs at Tolcua Leg stand located just before you go onto HM....:mickey:

[jonahbear2006]

I did all my research on the menus last trip cause it was our first time on Dining Plan. I chose all our counter services based upon largest variety and best options for dessert. This is what I came up with.
Gasparilla Grill- at GF - Excellent. ate there 2x
A+
Flame Tree BBQ- A+
Electric Umbrella- Epcot A+
Pizza Planet-HS- Food was ok but games!!! B
Starlight Rays- MK-A+ large variety AND this is the only counter service in all 4 parks you can get away with refilling your soda if you are slick about it. A+
Pecos Bills-MK- Burgers are the best we had in 9 days at WDW. They are great and they have the best bar to load up your burger yourself. A++
Pizzafari- AK-great breakfast!!! A+
Sassagoula Floatworks-POR- LOTS of variety and GREAT desserts!!! FANTASTIC MEAL! A++
Earl of Sandwich- DD-Eh! well, it was ok. Kind of reminded me of quiznos. Lots of stuff on the sandwich that was kind of weird. I ordered only for a child and I had to eat it cause he wouldn't. C

That was about it. We had a great time eating. I have yet to find a place at Disney that was just not edible at all, however, Hubby hated Major Domo's Fav. Pie at The table in MK. So I am sure whatev. you choose will make you happy.

[Natazu]

Looks like you have most of the great ones. They're all on our "every-trip" list except for Pizza Planet.
Three of my favorites you don't have are Starring Rolls, Tangierine Café, & Cookes of Dublin.

Starring Rolls Café (Counter Service) ☺☺☺☺
Starring Rolls gets my Diamond-in-the-Rough Award. The sandwiches here are as good as any four-star lunch bistro I’ve ever been to. They also offer more dessert selections than almost all the other Counter Service places. I don’t consider at day at MGM complete without a Turkey Focaccia with Fresh Mozzarella and Arugala from Starring Rolls.

Tangierine Cafe (Counter Service) ☺☺☺☺☺
Quality meats and vegetables, atypical meals, astounding flavor & lots of food for the money. This place has it all. The Shawarma Platters are one of the best values going for Counter Service. If I lived in the area, this is the only restaurant I’ll make a special trip into a park just for lunch.

Cookes of Dublin (Counter Service) ☺☺☺☺☺
If you're in the mood for food that's woefully bad for you but tastes unbelievably, delectably, decadently good, this is the place to be. Everything here is deep fried, even the dessert. Actually, there is a chicken pot pie which isn't deep fried... I think. Starting at "awesome", each item on the menu is as better than the one before. We can't walk by without getting some scallops and a Doh-Bar. Bring your appetite and the number of a good cardiologist, then dig in. (all-you-can-drink soda fountains too!)

[AvonleaCF]

Starring Rolls sounds good. I think I've passed it by on every trip (this will be my 13th).

Cookes of Dublin doesn't really appeal to me. I can't handle too much heavy and fried food, especially in the Florida heat.

And I would have considered the Tangierine Cafe but I recently spent 10 days in Israel and ate so much schwarma and tabbouleh I don't think I can handle it again for a while. But I've never "snacked around the World" before so I really want to get a small think at a bunch of countries and fill up that way. But we'll see when the time comes.

Oh and Columbia Harbour House at the MK USED to be my favorite. I loved the vegetarian chille in the bread bowl, but they discontinued it. Then I liked getting chicken strips there (something I never eat anywhere else!) because they were so good and I loved the atmosphere. But those are now discontinued! Maybe if I'm craving the tuna sandwich I'll stop there. But I think Pecos Bill is better just because of the fixins bar.

I may go to the Grand Floridian and eat there. Might be pretty much the same food, but at least it's in a different atmosphere.

Oh and does anyone know if the Rainforest Cafe takes ADRs? I was thinking of just walking up and seeing if I could get a seat at the bar. How hard would it be for one person?

[Crow]

Ill have some free CS in Sept so may try some diff places
have to agree on Cookes being good.
have yet to try Earl of Sandwhich but want to.

Pecos Bills in MK i may hit again, loved the fixins

Flame Tree in AK was good. i may try Pizzafari

Epcot---so many places, Fish & Chips, Lotus Blossom, have to try Tangierine. Kringla Bakery in Norway is good (schoolbread & viking coffee or :beer:)