Where to Eat - The Easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015 - page 194

• Mickey's Backyard Barbecue at Fort Wilderness: Mickey, Minnie, and

“friends”—typically Goofy, Chip, and Dale, in cowboy outfits.
For the princesses, we prefer Cinderella's Royal Table, which is also the only opportunity
to see inside the beautiful castle. Absurdly expensive? Yes, but it's a special experience that
can't be duplicated elsewhere.
For Mickey, we like Garden Grill at Epcot and Tusker House lunch at Animal Kingdom.
Both are conveniently located inside the theme parks, making them easy to access while
you're visiting those parks. For Mickey at the resorts, Chef Mickey's is a family favorite,
as is breakfast at 'Ohana.

Dining for Couples
For couples looking for the most romantic atmosphere and the best food, we suggest:
•

California Grill : Located on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort, Califor-
nia Grill offers breathtaking views of Magic Kingdom during the evening fire-
works, in addition to a great menu focused on fresh ingredients, sushi, and contem-
porary cocktails.

• Artist Point : Nestled inside Wilderness Lodge, this romantic rendezvous is

themed to the restaurants found in the great National Park lodges of the west. Buf-
falo, salmon, and a terrific mushroom soup and berry cobbler are menu mainstays.

• Victoria & Albert's : For a truly special occasion; astonishing dining.

What About Early Breakfast at the Parks?
Tusker House at Animal Kingdom, Akershus at Epcot, Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood
Studios, and Cinderella's Royal Table and Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom all routinely
open at 8am for breakfast, which is often a full hour before the rest of the park. Many
people recommend these 8am breakfasts because they afford an opportunity to get pictures
in the park “when nobody else is around”. Unfortunately, and particularly at Magic King-
dom and Hollywood Studios, this is not usually the case because hundreds of other people
have the same idea. 8am reservations are also awfully early and awfully expensive. Trans-
portation from the resorts is also dodgier and less consistent so early. With the parks
routinely opening at 15 minutes prior to the officially stated time, an 8am reservation either
means rushing through the meal and hoping the characters arrive in time for a hasty exit, or
wasting precious morning touring time eating. Instead, we recommend a late breakfast or
early lunch, which allows you to sleep in an extra hour and hit the priority attractions when
crowds are lowest before taking a restful, air-conditioned break with the characters.

Recommended Dining
Families using the 9-day itineraries introduced in Chapter 6 will find recommended dining
at the top of each day in the graphic of the itinerary. The associated To-Do Lists for these
itineraries have instructions on when and how to book the reservable table service meals, in