Garden Grill/Cape May/Whispering Canyon/Crystal Palace

[DisneyDude1977]

If you had to pick one to take a 3 year old to, which would it be and why?

[Strmchsr]

It depends on which characters the child likes best. Each one of those you named (except WC) has a different set of characters. The food will be about the same for the child regardless, so you could also pick based on what the adults like to eat. i think WC is more fun for a little bit older child. A 3 year old probably wouldn't get most of the gags there.

[Maleficent_vf]

Not having ever traveled with a 3 y/o, my opinion is probably of little value, but I have been to all four of the restaurants and would say Garden Grill would be a good choice. It seems the least chaotic of the charater meals you mentioned. Cape May and Crystal Palace are both buffets (at least they were the last time I ate at them), so there's a lot of noise and hustle and bustle. Plus, the characters at GG seem to spend more time at each table than they do at other character meals, though that may depend on the busyness of the restaurant and the CMs inside the costumes. As far as the WC, I agree with what the other poster said, WC seems more appropriate for older kids.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I would choose GG, mainly for the fact that the food is served family style, so you don't have to manage a buffet with a small child.

Also, our favourite character interaction has always been GG - the characters spend so much time at your table that you almost start wishing they would leave you alone ... it is just wonderful!

There is a children's menu at GG, but DD has always been able to "get the best of both" and eat the things she likes from the kids menu, and the things she likes from the adult meal as well.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

Also depends on what characters you want to see. If there is no preference, then I'd go with what others have said, GG. While I wasn't exactly "awed" by the food, it was ok, and its definitely less chaotic.

[Katzateer]

At that age, I would pick Crystal Palace. Winnie the Pooh and friends! Plus my girls loved the kd-size serving areas.

Garden Grill is great also if Mickey is who they would be most happy to see.

[Janmac]

For which meal?

Breakfast at Cape May and Crystal Palace, no problems. Both are big crowd pleasers. Three yr olds in our extended family rarely mentioned Mickey as being their favorite. :confused:

We generally try to do buffets with kids that age, as they can see what they're hungry for.

We've eaten lunch at Garden Grill with a 3 yr old - no problems. The adults didn't care for the restaurant, both times we've eaten there.

Haven't been able to fit Whispering Canyon in lately. Ate there back in '98, but, believe it or don't: no kids! Just me and DH.

Jan