Garden grill reviews needed

[FenwayGirl]

We are booked at the Garden Grill for the first time. My DGS wants to meet Chip and Dale and I think they appear here...any info would be welcome:blush:

[W24toISMdirect]

One of my personal faves. Food is excellent... I even liked the fish and I HATE fish.

If you kids are into the characters also, it's a real no brainer. Personally I find the circular nature of the place to be great for chartacter interaction as they just loop around the circle as opposed to jumping table to table while smaller children get overlooked by face characters that can't see well and handlers shoo off the swarm of kids that attempt to interact with characters at other peoples tables.

We had a Crystal Palace dinner for instance go south after my son got upset when a character missed him. Can't happen at Garden Grill.

[wdwluv]

LOVE IT!!!

Really liked the food, and like PP, really liked the fish. My favorite item in the meal.

My kids LOVED it. And again, like PP, character interaction was great. And my kids had so much fun with watching the scenery go by! We are booked again for our trip this week! A must do for us now.

[Butters]

Is it just chip and dale? I thought I heard that Mickey was there too.. Anyone else?

[TinkerbellT421]

Is it just chip and dale? I thought I heard that Mickey was there too.. Anyone else?

Last time we were there there was Chip and Dale, Pluto and Mickey.

To OP, I LOVED the food there! I too even liked the fish (It was catfish that night). And I do not care for catfish, or atleast was scared to eat it, but it was really good and actually enjoyed it. There is food for any type of taste bud in my opinion.

I agree with the other posters the character interaction is by far excellent. I know for us, they spent a lot of quality time at each individual table with lots of interaction, posing for pictures (Even though posing for pictures can be somewhat tight as to not knock into someone elses table). But all in all it was a great experience. Hope to visit again soon.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Exactly! Chip, Dale, Mickey (in a Farmer Outfit) and Pluto.

We've had the BEST character interaction here, each time we've been. It is just been awesome, and we've had so much fun with them.

The food is also good, and served family-style, so you can enjoy as much as you'd like.

It really is a "must-do" for us each trip.

[mydisneygirls]

We went once and never went back. Sorry to disagree, but I remember we didn't care for the food. Would rather a buffet with a lot more choices to choose from (and better tasting in my opinion).

[Disney4us2]

We love the Garden Grill. Love the character interaction, with farmer Mickey, Chip & Dale and Pluto. I like the lower tier, the booths make it like a private dining experience. You don't really see any other's. I like that they bring the food to you instead of getting up to refill the plates. It makes for a more relaxed character meal. You also won't miss any characters since you don't have to leave your table to get your food.

My DD was 11 all three times we went this past year, and she was able to order off of the childrens menu in addition to the regular menu. She loves her mac n cheese. We were on the dining plan all of those times.

The only thing I didn't care for was the dessert. I would rather have more of the salad they have. OHHH and the bread with the maple butter... :cloud9:

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

1st time we visited, we had many family members and it included several toddler and preschool aged children. It was perfect for our group of 14. The characters interacted with our group SEVERAL times - Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. There was no having to get up and miss family time because it is all you can eat family style and NOT a blasted buffet where you have to keep getting up to refill plates. It was one of the best meals that we had as a group, everyone got plenty to eat (including my teenaged twin boys), plenty to drink, and plenty of almost one-on-one character interaction.

[gaffz70]

One of our fav's
I didn't know much prior to going and I almost cancelled our ressie - so glad I didn't.

Loved the family style food served, there was something for everyone. Loved that my kids were eating something other than chicken fingers or pizza.

Great character dinner without all of the hustle and bustle of most other character dining experiences. It was quiet and personal, I felt we had quality time w/ the characters. Mickey even sat down w/ us for awhile. And if your kids want to meet chip & Dale, you can't go wrong!

[Tigerinvestigator]

Without a doubt our favorite for both food and atmosphere. You will leave absolutely stuffed! The character interaction is terrific and if you are a fan of Chip and Dale it will be heaven. They will appear at your table...over and over and over and over.......:thumbsup:

[PETE FROM NYC]

We try to dine there once each trip.
Food is decent, but not spectacular.
DW and I are the worlds biggest kids, and we enjoy all the character interaction.

[LVT]

It is one of our family favorites. We get an early res. and the characters are great.

[Crow]

food was good and fresh. Veggies and fish are raised there Ive heard.
Character interaction was good also. Fiancee learned how to tell Chip and Dale apart. Id eat here again

[FenwayGirl]

Thanks for all the reviews! We are booked at 4:45 May 8th!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Yummy! Enjoy :thumbsup:

[crltkcagle]

Love the food, atmosphere, character interaction and service there! Stick with it you will enjoy it!:thumbsup:

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

We eat there every time, because it is the only character dining left that includes Chip and Dale. :dale::chip: The food is good and "garden fresh," which sometimes means the veggies are undercooked in my opinion. Served family style, all you can eat, so everyone should be able to find something they like. The kids' dessert used to be a "do-it-yourself" cupcake, which was a big hit with Crazy Girl and Chipmunk Boy.

Also, as the restaurant rotates, there are a few FABULOUS Hidden Mickeys!! :mickey:

[tinxmom]

We have eatn at GG on our last few trips. Just got bacl from the World and didn't do GG this time - tried WCC. BIG mistake and will switch GG back into rotation for next trip!

[azcavalier]

We've been twice, with mixed results. In both cases, the character interaction was great. The first time, Chip sat down next to my DD8 (I think she was 8) and teased her for a few minutes. He pretended to eat her head, and then wrote on a napkin that she was "a nut", thus he was trying to eat her. We were all cracking up. She still talks about that, and it's been about four years.

Now, also on that trip, the food was not very good. I don't remember exactly why, but we were singularly unimpressed with it, and it was the worst meal of the trip, and we decided there was no reason to go back.

However, last year, we went to WDW with another family. My DW and I volunteered to take the all kids to dinner while the other couple went out for a special dinner somewhere else. Since we would be in Epcot, we wanted somewhere that we didn't have to let each child pick from a menu (there were 7 children total). So, we decided to give the Garden Grill another try. This time, the food was very good, and we had a great time.

[Gator]

Honestly, I was underwhelmed. I've done plenty of character meals in my many days at WDW, but this one was at the bottom. I'd read so many reviews that I thought it would be great. Spinning room, great food, character interaction = great, right? Nope.

It was so loud in there. Louder than Chef Mickey's - which I can handle. Between water exhibits and the round room, it was a blessing to get it out.

The food was just OK. It was similar to Liberty Tree, but I liked GG a lot less for some reason. Also the dessert wasn't as good as most places.

The character interaction was good, but the whole place seems cramped. I did it so that we could have a meeting with Mickey, and I got that. Otherwise, it's a meal worth skipping. Especially with all that Epcot has to offer food-wise.

[LudwigVonDrake]

I ate there once and wasn't impressed :shrug:

[ElenitaB]

Once again, this thread shows how each and every restaurant will have its fans and its detractors. Not a problem for me. As my dad used to say, "more for me." ;)

We love GG not only for the food but for many of the reasons mentioned above:

Great interaction with the characters. My elderly mom got lots of hugs and kisses from Mickey and was blushing away (she would blush at the drop of a hat). And I can't tell you how many times over the years, Chip and/or Dale would sit with my son and play with his Pok-e-mon or Legos, or draw with him.
The design of the restaurant in the round means that the littler members of your party won't see the characters from afar and get antsy while waiting their turn. As as one of the PPs mentioned, the CMs will usher errant little ones back to their table as well. Huge plus when parents aren't up to parenting. (I'm not a fan of having someone else's kid at my table as has happened at Chef Mickey's and Cape May.)
The constant change of scenery is also helpful when the kids (or even some adults) get impatient during a meal.

GG is a winner in my book, and we go as often as we can fit it into our plans.