Help Me Narrow Down Our List...

[CaroM8]

Hi everyone!

Our stay is not until September but I am having a hard time narrowing down our restaurant choices. Specifically our table service meals. We booked with the free dining plan promotion so cost is not a factor in deciding where to go. It is my husband and I and our 6 year old daughter. Staying for 7 nights at CBR, 5 park days. I guess our criteria is good food with some sort of theming or entertainment for the little one (characters etc..) Here is what we have so far:

Akershus - For sure eating here on our Epcot day for a late breakfast (11am ish) as to only use 1 dining credit per person instead of two. 6 year old is really into princesses!!
Ohana - Absolutely want to have a dinner here, ideally we can time it during the fireworks. Not sure which day to book it for yet.

Which would you choose for Hollywood Studios - Round Up Rodeo or Sci-Fi Dine In?

MK - Are CRT or BOG worth the 2 dining credits? Since we are already doing Akershus for the princesses, would CRT just be more of the same?

VERY undecided for our meal at AK - Tusker seems interesting for the characters. Loving the menu at Yak & Yeti. We are also open to hopping over to the lodge for Sanaa (seeing animals!) or Boma. Help?

On our arrival day we will probably head over to the boardwalk area - favorite ones out there? I wrote down Beaches & Cream and Trattoria Al Forno so far...

Also forgot to mention that we have the Hopper tickets so even on a certain park day, we could go have dinner at another park...

Thanks!

 

[PalmettoPath]

My two cents with full subjectivity. I would not do 'Ohana personally as it is not what it used to be. Doing both Akershus and CRT is not necessary. I find CRT far superior to Akershus in every way. I would do Round Up over Sci Fi. Tusker is good for character breakfast at AK, but we like Y&Y as well. BOG is great for ambiance these days, but the food quality is not what it used to be. Different experience than CRT entirely. Your Boardwalk mentions are both okay IMO, but again, very different so would depend on the experience you prefer.

 

[kylenne]

I don't DDP but conventional wisdom is that 2 credit meals are absolutely the worst value for credits. As long as you understand that going into it, CRT is good--it's actually a must do for us every trip, and we find it's better and better each time. Of the 2 princess meals, Akershus is going to objectively be the better value at 1 credit, but dining in the castle is so special it needs to be done at least once imo.

BOG otoh is awful now and I can't recommend it in good faith comparing it to other 2 credit restaurants, even just CRT. It wouldn't be worth your time as 1 credit if I'm honest, it's dropped off that badly. The ambiance is "loud school cafeteria" in the main hall, which is a shame for how beautiful the space is.

If you have your heart set on 'Ohana, do not be deterred by PP or other naysayers on the boards. It's an incredibly inconsistent restaurant. For every "it sucks now" opinion, there is one that enjoyed it. I'm in the latter camp (we had a lovely time there last summer), and at 1 credit you really have nothing to lose if you end up not liking it--it's not like you're paying OOP. I've never tried to time meals for MK fireworks so I can't help you there. But the night we ate there was about 7 and we just walked to the beach to watch the fireworks afterwards. (We were staying at the Poly, though.)

We love Tusker House. Character interaction is always stellar there and the food is probably the best you're going to see on a character buffet. We like doing a late breakfast reservation here so we catch the change to lunch.

I've eaten at both your HS options and Woody's Roundup wins that one by a country mile.

Boardwalk area...I can't help you with that because my favorite places to eat over there are at the Swan & Dolphin, lol.

 

[Micca]

Ohana - Absolutely want to have a dinner here, ideally we can time it during the fireworks. Not sure which day to book it for yet.

I would pass on 'Ohana, but if you've never tried it, you probably should.

Which would you choose for Hollywood Studios - Round Up Rodeo or Sci-Fi Dine In?

Sci-Fi for sure. I'm not aware of anything like it anywhere else.

MK - Are CRT or BOG worth the 2 dining credits? Since we are already doing Akershus for the princesses, would CRT just be more of the same?

I'd probably skip Akershus and go for CRT. I mean...it's inside the castle! BOG is a huge cavernous space, pretty meh for atmosphere.

VERY undecided for our meal at AK - Tusker seems interesting for the characters. Loving the menu at Yak & Yeti. We are also open to hopping over to the lodge for Sanaa (seeing animals!) or Boma. Help?

Tusker is good, and Boma is arguably the best buffet on property. Never tried Y&Y, Sanna is nice but might be more of a challenge for picky eaters.

On our arrival day we will probably head over to the boardwalk area - favorite ones out there? I wrote down Beaches & Cream and Trattoria Al Forno so far...

Beaches & Cream would be an awesome arrival day choice! Be sure to take a look at the No Way Jose, it's large and could be shareable for a family of 3 (with one being a 6 y.o.)

 

[focusondisney]

We’ve done Round Up Rodeo twice, but probably won’t be back. They’ve recently removed some of the side, including our favorites. The atmosphere is cute but chaotic. Everything feels rushed, the food is premade & preplated. THEY just bring it all out & we ended up with so much at the table it was hard to fit it. It feels very rushed. Sci Fi, on the other hand has more choices so it’s easier for us to find something we want. The atmosphere is quiet, dark & relaxing. We definitely prefer that, especially on a really hot day.

Also going to suggest Cape May Cafe for a non Princess character breakfast. It has Donald, Goofy & Minnie. The food is consistently good.

 

[Djm_in_buffalo]

I think in large part, some level of fun, your daughter’s character selection and openness to different food needs to be factored in.

For us, the best park food that we had on a recent trip was at CRT. But, me, my wife and our 3 year old daughter all preferred Storybook. Why? Boat ride to/from MK was fun, I believe the characters and theming was preferred by my daughter (gasp!) and the food was still very good. In the future would do both.

For the price, dinner at Akershus was OK but probably wouldn’t return. For a 1 credit brunch, I would give it a bit more consideration.

Sanaa and Boma both have delicious -to me and the Mrs. - food. Our daughter didn’t love either. We go to the local zoo a fair amount, so while I thought the animals were awesome at AKL, our daughter was mostly unfazed.

Sci-Fi was really cool.

 

[erinch]

Crystal Palace was my daughter’s favorite at that age.
If your daughter is into characters and you don’t want to wait in line for them, you might consider Hollywood & Vine at DHS to get Minnie, Mickey, Pluto and goofy in Halloween costumes in September.

We love both Tusker and Boma.
In non character dining, both my kids loved San Angel at that age, and still do. They also loved Coral Reef. Get a lunch ressie right when they open and request being seated by the tank.

At Ohana , there are only a few fireworks view tables. Better to eat earlier, and go out to the beach?

 

[motherdaughtercruisers]

AK - Y&Y is always reliable, but we just tried Tiffins and loved it!

 

[TheDailyMoo]

We like doing a late breakfast reservation here so we catch the change to lunch.

This is one of the most underrated hacks in all of Disney Dining...assuming one is into the spices and flavors used in the preparation of the dishes

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Which would you choose for Hollywood Studios - Round Up Rodeo or Sci-Fi Dine In? Our last meal at Sci Fi was awful and we won't return. We've not yet been to Round Up Rodeo but would choose that over Sci Fi.

MK - Are CRT or BOG worth the 2 dining credits? Since we are already doing Akershus for the princesses, would CRT just be more of the same? Be Our Guest is worth it to me because Beauty and the Beast is my favorite. DH and I ate there in 2022 for the first time and I cried when we walked in. I've done CRT once back in 1998 and it was when they only had Cinderella there for breakfast but we had lunch. I can never quite pull the trigger on paying for CRT.

VERY undecided for our meal at AK - Tusker seems interesting for the characters. Loving the menu at Yak & Yeti. We are also open to hopping over to the lodge for Sanaa (seeing animals!) or Boma. Help? We really enjoyed Tusker House. Going to Boma is on our list, too. No opinion on Yak & Yeti.

On our arrival day we will probably head over to the boardwalk area - favorite ones out there? I wrote down Beaches & Cream and Trattoria Al Forno so far... No advice here...this is one of my least favorite areas for eating except Cape May breakfast.

 

[DisneyDadWV]

We are trying 'Ohana for the first time on our upcoming trip in mid-late April, and I could not get a reservation after 5:00 PM even though it was day 65 of our reservation window. Maybe you'll have better luck in September in getting something close to fireworks time.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Hi everyone!

Our stay is not until September but I am having a hard time narrowing down our restaurant choices. Specifically our table service meals. We booked with the free dining plan promotion so cost is not a factor in deciding where to go. It is my husband and I and our 6 year old daughter. Staying for 7 nights at CBR, 5 park days. I guess our criteria is good food with some sort of theming or entertainment for the little one (characters etc..) Here is what we have so far:

Akershus - For sure eating here on our Epcot day for a late breakfast (11am ish) as to only use 1 dining credit per person instead of two. 6 year old is really into princesses!!
Ohana - Absolutely want to have a dinner here, ideally we can time it during the fireworks. Not sure which day to book it for yet.

Which would you choose for Hollywood Studios - Round Up Rodeo or Sci-Fi Dine In?

MK - Are CRT or BOG worth the 2 dining credits? Since we are already doing Akershus for the princesses, would CRT just be more of the same?

VERY undecided for our meal at AK - Tusker seems interesting for the characters. Loving the menu at Yak & Yeti. We are also open to hopping over to the lodge for Sanaa (seeing animals!) or Boma. Help?

On our arrival day we will probably head over to the boardwalk area - favorite ones out there? I wrote down Beaches & Cream and Trattoria Al Forno so far...

Also forgot to mention that we have the Hopper tickets so even on a certain park day, we could go have dinner at another park...

Thanks!

CRT is not worth it IMO, food is not that great, so if you have Akershus for princesses, I'd choose that. Be Our Guest is pretty good, just the ambience alone is worth a visit at least once.

We LOVED Trattoria al Forno, food was very high quality.

AK-those are tough because they're all good. Boma has a lot of choices of food which is nice.

 

[CaroM8]

Thank you all for your input!

Regarding Ohana - I did read a few places that it is not as good as before. We've never been and really want to give it a try. Also, if we time our reservation to eat just before the fireworks, would we be allowed to go watch them by the beach at the Poly even though we are not staying there?

For HS - I think we are leaning more and more towards Sci-Fi. Only because Rodeo seems like a very loud and busy place, also we do like BBQ food but it's not a must do for us.

Still super undecided for AK - Tusker has a slight advantage for now.

One of you mentioned Coral Reef - I had thought about that one. Heard the food was meh, but I know that kiddo would get a kick out of the fish tanks.

90% sure we are keeping Akershus for the princess brunch. Still debatig BOG...

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

One thing to consider regarding Beaches and Cream on your arrival day- this is an incredibly hard to get ADR since the place is so small. If you wanted to book it later in your trip you would have a better chance of getting the reservation. Food is ok, desserts are better than entrees. If you can't get the ADR at Beaches and Cream Trattoria al forno is a great alternative. If your daughter likes pizza they have a cute Mickey shaped pizza on their menu. Their pizzas are homemade unlike most other locations at WDW.

Sci-Fi has a cute setup but some kids don't like the very dark atmosphere and at times slightly creepy movie clips playing on the big screen but if your daughter doesn't mind those things I would say go for it. An alternative would be Hollywood and Vine. The food is ok but the character interaction is great.

 

[Pyxie]

Which would you choose for Hollywood Studios - Round Up Rodeo or Sci-Fi Dine In?
I've never been to Round Up, but I am less interested in it than I was at first after the menu changes. I'd still give it a try. Out of the 2, I really do like Sci-Fi though. The atmosphere is nice and I actually think the burgers are very good. They are fresh made patties and not frozen like your typical theme park burger.

MK - Are CRT or BOG worth the 2 dining credits? Since we are already doing Akershus for the princesses, would CRT just be more of the same?
Value wise, 2 credit meals are never "worth it," but if you got the DDP for free and don't mind sacrificing one of your other TS meals, I would pick CRT of the two.

VERY undecided for our meal at AK - Tusker seems interesting for the characters. Loving the menu at Yak & Yeti. We are also open to hopping over to the lodge for Sanaa (seeing animals!) or Boma. Help?
Tusker House is our favorite character meal on property. I echo the previous comments about booking a late breakfast so that you get the turnover between breakfast and lunch. Basically you get both meals for the breakfast price, and while the savings don't really matter in your case, it is fun to get both kinds of food.

On our arrival day we will probably head over to the boardwalk area - favorite ones out there? I wrote down Beaches & Cream and Trattoria Al Forno so far...
I haven't eaten at any of the boardwalk restaurants so I can't really speak these.