My son and I just returned from a wonderful eight day vacation in Florida. The majority of our time was spent at Walt Disney World, and I'll be sharing some of our favorites from our trip over the next few weeks!
First up is our lunch at Garden Grill Restaurant. It's located in The Land building towards the front of the park. This is what the lobby of the building looks like, when you first enter. (Click on any pic for a larger view) Garden Grill is on the main level (2nd floor) straight ahead.
Here's a closer view of the front of the restaurant:
You really need a reservation for any of the table service or character meals at Walt Disney World. I made our reservations back in June for this trip! We saw many disappointed people during our trip who tried to walk up and get in at restaurants. So make sure to plan your trip well in advance, then you can start making dining reservations 180 days from your trip date.
We checked in a few minutes early, and were given a pager. This lovely Christmas tree was in the waiting area and was so pretty to look at!
We were on the free dining plan, so we paid nothing for lunch, except for our 20% tip. But this is what it would have cost if we'd had to pay out of pocket.
If you can book a trip and get the free dining plan- DO it!! We had 6 table service meals, 6 quick service meals, and 6 snacks each - for free. Totally worth it!! All you will pay is your tips - please tip your servers well! Actually, now that I think about it, we did pay a little for our plan, because we switched from the Coronado resort to Pop Century, and just upgraded the dining plan. It was a very nominal fee, though.
My travel agent was Jo Vagos with The Magic For Less. We paid a $200 deposit back in April, and paid a little on our trip each month. The balance for our trip was due one month before travel. I really suggest going this route and being able to save for your vacation throughout the year. Please be sure to tell Jo that Aimee Ransom referred you if you use her!
Jo Vagos ~ Travel Specialist
First up is our lunch at Garden Grill Restaurant. It's located in The Land building towards the front of the park. This is what the lobby of the building looks like, when you first enter. (Click on any pic for a larger view) Garden Grill is on the main level (2nd floor) straight ahead.
Here's a closer view of the front of the restaurant:
You really need a reservation for any of the table service or character meals at Walt Disney World. I made our reservations back in June for this trip! We saw many disappointed people during our trip who tried to walk up and get in at restaurants. So make sure to plan your trip well in advance, then you can start making dining reservations 180 days from your trip date.
We checked in a few minutes early, and were given a pager. This lovely Christmas tree was in the waiting area and was so pretty to look at!
Once the pager lit up, we were quickly taken to our table. The restaurant rotates very slowly, and you get to see portions of the interior of Living With the Land ride as it moves. Our waitress was named Jenna and she was AMAZING. Everyone there was friendly and helpful, and you can tell they love their job!
She took our drink orders, then brought them plus fresh rolls with clover honey butter, and a gorgeous salad that contained fresh veggies grown in the greenhouses at Epcot! It was tossed in a ranch dressing and was delicious. The rolls were fluffy and the honey butter was out-of-this-world fantastic! (I haven't eaten rolls or bread in 3 months, so that might be part of the reason they tasted so good, ha!)
Next up was the entree. She brought David a serving of mac-n-cheese (topped with goldfish crackers) and sweet potato fries, in addition to our main entree skillet. It contained turkey with a delicious bacon and leek dressing, cranberry sauce, tender pot roast with buttermilk mashed potatoes, sweet Italian sausage with peppers and onions, and green beans. Everything was perfect! I tried a little of each and my favorites were the pot roast and the turkey. Both were really tasty. Dessert was a blueberry and strawberry shortcake, with vanilla bean whipped cream. YUM!
While we ate, we were visited by some adorable characters! The coolest part? They came by several times during our meal! That never happens at other character meals we've had!
We were on the free dining plan, so we paid nothing for lunch, except for our 20% tip. But this is what it would have cost if we'd had to pay out of pocket.
If you can book a trip and get the free dining plan- DO it!! We had 6 table service meals, 6 quick service meals, and 6 snacks each - for free. Totally worth it!! All you will pay is your tips - please tip your servers well! Actually, now that I think about it, we did pay a little for our plan, because we switched from the Coronado resort to Pop Century, and just upgraded the dining plan. It was a very nominal fee, though.
My travel agent was Jo Vagos with The Magic For Less. We paid a $200 deposit back in April, and paid a little on our trip each month. The balance for our trip was due one month before travel. I really suggest going this route and being able to save for your vacation throughout the year. Please be sure to tell Jo that Aimee Ransom referred you if you use her!
Jo Vagos ~ Travel Specialist
Affiliated with The Magic For Less Travel
Phone: 407-568-2789
More Disney information to come - we had a magical vacation with lots to share! Tusker House, Chef Mickey's, Ohana, Be our Guest, and more!
