Akershus or Garden Grill

[Gator]

I've got a dilemna and I need some opinions. On my next WDW trip, I'll be at the Castle for lunch on a Sunday. The next day I've got ressies for lunch at Akershus. So that's two straight princess meals, which my daughter will love, and my son....will probably love, but not for the same reasons.

I've never been to the Garden Grill, so I don't know what I'm missing. I know that Mickey and pals are there, but we'll be seeing them a few days later at Chef Mickey's. I love the food at Akershus - how does GG rate?

[lettripp]

The food at GG is good, but not as good as Akershus. GG food is served family style - some sort of meat, side and desert... not as creative but still tasty.

[DisneyMom12]

GG is one of my must go to while at The World. Great character interaction, and great food. Everything served is grown on property. If I remember correctly you get chicken, flank steak, fried cat fish, and mixed veggies for adults, and chicken fingers and fries for kids. I love the cat fish. GG is really a hidden gem in my opinion.

[bostonsam]

GG was a great time for us,character's were extra special with our kidsThe food was good...You are actually moving but its so slow you don't realize it until you notice the change of scenery(awesome)...but think I read recently that the characters are not there anymorecould be wrong?

[5togetherWDW]

As far as I know, the characters are still at Garden Grill -- they just serve during shorter hours. They used to have meals going all day -- (I adored the ice cream social ) now, they only do dinner. Because of my allergies (in this case, apples) I need to eat off the children's menu. This summer the children's steak fries had been removed from the meal -- replaced with sweet potato fries. It was great for me, but my children wished they still had the great steak fries. The desserts are not as good as they used to be (the hot pan of cooky was a family favorite) but overall the menu does please -- and the characters are great.

[thesplashmountaineer]

we ate there on september 30th.
the characters are still there.
Garden Grill is great if you want character interaction and I love the fact that the restaurant is moving.

The food is just okay in my opinion. It was our second time there and we went back for the ambiance, not for the food. If you like big flavors and variety, this is not for you.

I think they should update their menu and be more connected with the living with the land ride. I would love to have a great mix of what we see on the ride be served on my plate.

I love Akershus.

[ElenitaB]

You don't mention how old your daughter is, but considering the princesses are face characters, would she be upset if any of the princesses looked different from one day to the next? Or they didn't remember the conversation she had with Princess XYZ the very day before. I mention this because my son fully expected Mickey to remember, out of all the many children he sees every day, what they "talked" about, and that wasn't even from one day to the next.

[Gator]

Or they didn't remember the conversation she had with Princess XYZ the very day before. I mention this because my son fully expected Mickey to remember, out of all the many children he sees every day, what they "talked" about, and that wasn't even from one day to the next.

Great point! Hadn't really thought of that. She's 5 and a lot more aware this time around. I really love the food at Akershus - I've been there my last 4 trips. But at this point, I'm leaning towards switching to Garden Grill. I'm sure the food won't be as great, but you can't get too much of Mickey, right?

[Mousemates]

Garden Grill has great character interaction, a unique experience (our kids when smaller loved the idea of a moving restaurant) and food that while not "the best of the best" to an adult...was very much enjoyed by the kids (not bad, by adult standards...but more of the home style meat and potatoes meal.

[jensantuit]

We ate at the Garden Grill for the first time in August and loved it. The characters interaction was great, they spent a ton of time with us especially when were trying to find the hidden Mickey in the mural The food was delicious and plentiful. And our server was very attentive. We will definitely eat here again.

[azcavalier]

Akershus has better food, period. And hey....princesses!

Garden Grill has Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale for characters (we were there two weeks ago). The food is not as good as Akershus, but it is all you can eat. The service is also fairly slow. We've been twice, and both times our meal took at least 90 minutes....which coincidentally is about the amount of time it takes for the restaurant to make a full rotation.

[whitney37354]

Akershus for the food, GG for the character interaction. It just depends on what's more important to you.

[Ms. Mode]

We love GG but thought Aker was
(we did love the princesses though)

[brivers222]

Great point! Hadn't really thought of that. She's 5 and a lot more aware this time around. I really love the food at Akershus - I've been there my last 4 trips. But at this point, I'm leaning towards switching to Garden Grill. I'm sure the food won't be as great, but you can't get too much of Mickey, right?

We got lucky and Had the same Ariel at Akershus and at CRT 3 nights apart... she remembered us as the cute couple from the norway breakfast.

But yes the face characters all look different and its very noticable... probably even for a kid who would be paying more attention to them then most.

[clausjo]

We enjoyed Garden Grill when we ate there and have it planned again for our trip in February. I asked my daughter which one she wanted, she's 8, and she chose Garden Grill. She loves that the restaurant moves. Plus, she's REALLY picky and didn't enjoy the food in Norway very much.

[disney323]

We ate at GG for the 1st time last week. We have always tried to get reservations there and it has always been booked. We happened to be in the Land and hubby said, go ask to see if they'd take our name for a wait. So, we did and it was only a 15 min. wait. It was delicious. Family style food of turkey, stuffing cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, flank steak, warm rolls with maple butter. and delicious apple crisp. Mickey Pluto, Chip & Dale. Enjoy!