No love for Garden Grill?

[natedog24]

Whenever anyone is making recommendations or looking for them for restaurants, the Garden Grill hardly ever comes up. I know there is a TON of good food in Epcot, but why doesn't the Garden Grill ever get much love from the Intercot community (myself included). In fact, it's one of the few TS restaurants I haven't been to in WDW (admittedly, I did make ADRs there for my next trip because I want to try some new places).

Reviews I've read online lead me to believe it has good food and characters present. What am I missing? More importantly, what is the Garden Grill missing??

[honeybear]

You make a great point! I ate there years ago and it was one of the best meals I had at Disney. It is funny that no one ever suggests it. I also like that it rotates. I find that interesting. I am not sure why Garden Grill doesn't get any love.:confused:

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We're big Garden Grill lovers, and try and suggest it often. Hands down, it is the best character interaction we have each trip, the food is good and of all of the times we've been, only once was the service less than perfect.

I think it gets lost with all of the other options in Epcot. There are so many good places to eat, that this one gets overlooked, especially since many dismiss it as "just" another character meal.

[Scallywag]

We have planned to eat there every trip, but always ended up changing it for something else. ( Just didn't sound as interesting as some of the other options ) Then when we get to The Land building we say "Next time". Well, we have ADR's for this June. We promised to keep it this time. We have a 3 year old who likes Chip -N- Dale, so it makes it a done deal for us. I'm sure will like it.

[disneymom15]

We ate there once in 2008, We loved it, great interaction and great food. Don't know why, but we always seem to overlook too!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Epcot is the one park that has an abundance of good TS restaurants and although a lot of the WS menus aren't all that exotic, people (including me) feel like they are being adventurous by eating at one of the WS restaurants. I can eat a meat and potatoes type meal at several places when I'm at home, so even though its good, its not at the top of my must try lists....although the character experience and the rotating room does have some appeal.

[faline]

I wasn't overly impressed the last time I ate here. Years ago, when it was a full service restaurant (no characters), it was one of my favorite place in Epcot.

[d_m_n_n]

My kids love this place and we always enjoy it. But when I think of Epcot, I automatically think of world showcase. Well last month my kids requested it again...hands down the best character interaction we have EVER had. I'm glad they spoke up and we were able to get in :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[lawgirl]

This is one of our favorite places. I love GG. The food is great, our servers have always been great. The characters are great. It's our "must do" every trip.

[AgentC]

I have always enjoyed the Garden Grill. I think it is one of the best places to meet Mickey in a low key atmosphere.

However we don't go there as often as we used to. One reason definitely is the number of options at Epcot. We try to eat at different places .

I think the other reason it gets overlooked is the menu is family style and hasn't changed for quite sometime. I think if there were additional menu options or if it changed from time to time, it would get more buzz.

[DizneyRox]

I think the menu has changed...

They only serve dinner, it's a rather small place if I recall correctly, and it's a pretty pricey meal. Is it two credits on the dining plans because of the characters? That would explain things..

Last time we ate there, which I believe was the last trip to the parks for us, it was like $120 out the door for the three of us, no drinks, etc. That's a bit much...

It was good, just not that good...

[Scallywag]

It's only 1 TS. I did ask about that.

[etibbetts]

I tried garden grill for the first time in September and loved it! The food was delicious, service excellent and the best character interaction I've ever had at a buffet. I'd highly recommend it!

[Crow]

I liked it the times I was there. didn't get there last few times though. I would def recommend it

[DizneyRox]

It's only 1 TS. I did ask about that.
It's a great use of a TS credit then...

[Middle of the Map]

We tried to eat there several times, but they never had any reservation times that worked with our schedule. On my last trip, we checked it out for dinner and were put off by the price. Ended up eating a great meal and very affordable meal at Seasons.

[buzznwoodysmom]

We have only eaten at Garden Grill once, but it was a great meal. One of the reasons we haven't repeated it is because we are trying to eat at all the WS places before repeating ones we have already tried.

The other reason is because DH is allergic to fish and DS allergic to seafood and poultry. That leaves a very limited menu for the two of them. Even though I loved the meal it's one we likely won't repeat very often, even once we've tried all of the Epcot restaurants because of these allergies.

Not sure why I don't suggest it more often. It think it could be because when someone asks about recommendations at Epcot most people immediately think of the WS restaurants. There are so many great places to eat in Epcot.

[TheVBs]

I have been wanting to try this place for awhile! I've seen some great reviews on it, and I love Chip and Dale. I was determined to book it for this next trip, but only having a dinner option is awkward. I think that's a mistake on Disney's part. We would be more than willing to try it for dinner, but we are always in the WS by dinnertime. We would have to cut that short to walk back to Garden Grill for dinner, then go back to WS to finish walking around there. Not a huge deal, but awkward enough that we decided to pass. A lunch there would be perfect though.

[Katzateer]

It is also a good choice for solo diners. Privacy and you can relax and get a great meal while getting a rest from long day at park. The food is very good. I am not a big fan of the dessert but ask for the dirt pudding instead of the apple/cranberry crumb.

[KylesMom]

We used to really enjoy Garden Grill when they had a luncheon option available. It was a great place to enjoy a cool spot with good food and great character interaction in the heat of the day at Epcot. However, once they removed the lunch option, we never went back. There are too many fabulously yummy places to go in World Showcase in the evenings!

[TinkerbellT421]

Honestly I personally think they did themselves in when they got rid of the lunch hours. I remember you could barely get in there, lunch or dinner as a walk up. Now every time you happen to go into the Land it appears as though it's constantly closed so a lot of people probably assume it's a non-opened or closed permanently restaurant. Now, when we have been there around dinner time there is barely anyone in there too, you can easily get a walk up there now. We haven't eaten there in a probably about five years, but when we did eat there I thought the food was great and as someone else posted, the character interaction was great too. I think it's one of those "out of sight out of mind" type places now, it really is a shame, I think they would do better to get lunch back in...I never understood why they got rid of that anyway because the Land is JAMMED during lunch hours, they would probably do better at lunch than dinner...but I agree there seems to be very little love for it...but it is definitely worth it, at least IMO.

[Gator]

Honestly, I'm just not a fan of the place. I like the characters there - it's the only place you find Chip and Dale anymore. But there's plenty I didn't like about it.

1. LOUD! - I know most of WDW is pretty noisy, but GG takes it to new heights. It may be from the very loud Land pavillion echoing every conversation into the dining room. It may be the waterfall. It might be the engine moving the whole place. Whatever it is, it's impossible to have a conversation there without shouting.

2. Food is just ok. I'm not much of a complainer when it comes to food at WDW. The food here is average to good. The problem is that at Epcot, you have a lot more excellent options when it comes to food. I don't go there to eat the same stuff I can get at Chef Mickey's or any IHOP across America. I go to Epcot for the international appeal, and so I prefer to eat internationally.

3. Tight quarters. With the characters coming around, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of space for them to maneuver or for my kids to get and take a decent picture. Maybe because we were on the inner level next to the giant wall and close to the ceiling I feel this way.

4. My first and only experience there started with some kid blowing his food all over the place like a despot regime hosing down dissenters. I know that jaded my wife, and if momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy.

[whitney37354]

We had some of our best character interaction at GG. We enjoyed watching the scenery change in the rotating restaurant. I loved being in the booth & it was like we were the only ones in the place! The food was just okay, but I think that's because I had a picky DH & DD at the time. Now, four years later, they wouldn't be as picky & I think they would enjoy the food more. We thought about trying it again on our last trip, but we didn't even try for a walk up. DD still talks about that restaurant & what went on there!

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

I agree with previous poster that the dinner-only change was annoying because most people are waaay across the WS by then. We go there almost every time because it is the only character meal with guaranteed Chipmunk Love. The character interaction is great, maybe because the shape of the restaurant helps to limit interruptions from the impatient/clueless people 3 tables away.

There are also a couple of great Hidden Mickeys there!

[LudwigVonDrake]

I ate there once for lunch years ago (mid 90s) and wasn't impressed. The food wasn't that great in my opinion. Maybe I'll go back one day :mickey:

[Katzateer]

Of all the character meals that is the one the girls always asked to go to. From first visit at 18 months to teen years, they still love it. The moving of the dining room, the characters, and the food choices made them happy. The butter used to be shaped like Mickey, I believe. It wasn't always the whipped stuff. And I think they liked the open area in front of the table instead of being at a table facing each other. Fun times. But I agree, lunch was our favorite time to go.

[#1donaldfan]

We tried it our last trip and really liked it. The service was great and the food was really good. I'd go back !!!:mickey: