Hi all! In my next post, I decided to write about a Character dining that we loved doing! This is all pre-pandemic so unsure how they will all be once they all open back up. Garden Grill is opened now with characters but I am not 100% on how they are doing everything. This is solely based on my experiences prior.
Photo credit to Walt Disney World Website
The Garden Grill Restaurant is located in Epcot in the Land Pavilion. It is a family-style all you can eat! Chip n Dale and pals are also there to visit you! I have been to Garden Grill for both breakfast and dinner. I liked breakfast better but I would be willing to try Lunch/Dinner again (I'll explain further down). The cool thing about this restaurant is not only is it a character dining, but you're also rotating around so you will get all different views of the living with the land ride below! I thought it was super cool because you would always see something new! I get dizzy easily from spinning things and I did not even feel the movement if that is something someone may be worried about.
We did the breakfast in 2016 actually and was before we had children, so it was just my husband and I. As soon as you sit down you will notice the hidden Mickey on the plates on your table. My favorite item was the Chip's Sticky Bun Bake, I am a huge cinnamon roll person so this was the best and huge! You will first receive your sticky bun bake and seasonal fruits. After you will receive your main entree of bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, tater tots and you cannot forget the mickey waffle! A Disney breakfast wouldn't be a Disney breakfast without those! They also came with three different dipping sauces plus a warm chocolate-hazelnut drizzle! Many of the foods you will be eating there is made by the items you can see in Living with the Land attraction! Your portions do depend on your family size, but don't worry! It is all you can eat, you just tell your server you would like more and they will bring you out extra! I know we asked for extra bacon well because of its bacon and the same with Mickey waffles. The drizzle with the waffles is AMAZING! Highly recommend. Everything we had was always nice and hot and fresh, and great service! Price point was perfect for the breakfast and I would totally go back again!
The character interactions were on point as always as well! It was just us there (adults) and the characters still came to us and interacted. I point this out. We were snubbed by another character at a different location because we were only adults. This character skipped us by waving and walked to the next table with children. We had to ask for that character to come to our table. So I appreciate when character dining locations treat everyone the same regardless if its just adults or have children. I loved Mickey in his farmer outfit!
Not only do they do breakfast but they do lunch and dinner as well. We did dinner back in 2018 with our friends! I was pregnant with Jace at the time so we had Talia with us. Lunch and dinner are the same menus and prices just as an FYI. I know some locations have a different menu or price, but they are the same. So if you want Garden Grill but can't find dinner be sure to check for lunch or vice versa! I will say I didn't take as many photos of the food options this time around because Talia HATED the characters during this time so most of my time was focused on her. Luckily Brianna was able to and sent them to me to use here!
Dinner/Lunch is also family-style just like Breakfast is and your first portions will be based on your party size. We went with our amazing friends Brianna and her daughter Ari! Again no need to worry though! It is all you can eat! You will first receive a salad and rolls then the rest of the meal which consists of Grilled Beef with Chimichurri, All-Natural Sliced Turkey Breast, Seasonal Vegetables, Herb and Leek Stuffing, Creamy Mashed Potatoes and my favorite Macaroni & Cheese! Personally, for me, I couldn't enjoy it much due to my daughter being terrified of the characters. I maybe only had one helping of everything and couldn't enjoy it to the fullest. I know the rest of our party loved it! I do remember loving the green beans and mac and cheese! I honestly cannot remember the rest. For dessert, you will get Berry Short Cake and cookies! The cookie was your typical Disney cookie but it was of course good! The Berry Short Cake was alright but I wasn't a fan of the sauce personally, but I am also not a berries person. Also since Talia and Ari were not over 3 their meals were free, which is always an added benefit when you go to Disney with children under 3! I do believe the price point is pretty good for this dining experience.
Okay, let's talk about the characters for dinner. They are the same characters as lunch and dinner. But also keep in mind the characters are subject to change if any reason. I have seen it happen at other character meals. During our meal, we went on an off-time so the characters kept visiting out table and interacting which was super fun and awesome... if you didn't have a scared child. Ari who was used to the characters loved the characters and enjoyed them so much! She loved that they kept coming and interacting with her. Her and Talia are the same age for comparison of some children liking the characters vs not enjoying them. I want to say is if you have a child terrified of the characters, I wouldn't recommend character dining. I say this because this happened to me with Talia. I couldn't enjoy my meal or interactions because I had to constantly hold her and "shield" her from the characters. She was only 13 months during this visit and wasn't familiar with characters still at this moment, it was her first time since she was probably 3 months. What I recommend once everything is finally back to "normal" is if your child never had a character interaction or haven't had one in a while is still book the reservations at the time you can to secure the reservation because some can be so hard to get. Once you get here do a character meet and greet at a park and see how they interact. If they do good then great! I would keep the reservation if not you may want to consider canceling. For me paying all that money and not being able to enjoy was a little disappointing. Again this is all based on my opinion, you do whatever you feel is best for your family! My daughter loved the princesses but was scared of characters like Mickey, Minnie, etc. So you can take note of that too and decide which character experience you prefer. Currently, during these times everything is so different so honestly doing a character dining with a terrified child may be easier because the characters stand far from you.
I cannot wait to write more reviews for you regarding dining locations! Let me know if you have any specific ones you would like me to discuss or resorts! Be sure to subscribe!
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