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I'm looking for some advice about dining on Thanksgiving Day in WDW. We've never been during this time of year, and I'd like to make sure my family and I have a traditional meal. We weren't able to get a reservation at Liberty Tree Inn until the day after. There really isn't a lot of information online about Thanksgiving meals at the parks/resorts this year, soooo, I currently have the following options:
Lunch:
Grand Floridian Cafe
Dinner:
Kona Cafe
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Has anyone eaten at any of these places for a Thanksgiving meal? Is there one you'd recommend over another Or, is there a place NOT on this list that I should keep my eye on for a possible reservation? Please help! TY
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Last edited by santos928; 09-19-2017 at 02:09 PM..
We've never stayed at WDW past the Monday before Thanksgiving, but I know several restaurants--even the pricey Victoria & Albert's--offer a traditional Turkey Day dinner.
Whispering Canyon is a definite for that. Since dinner there is served family style, that might be an especially homey place to try booking. Probably tough to impossible to get by now, though. I bet Trail's End in Ft. Wilderness Campground would but have heard the campground was heavily damaged by Irma. If TE is bookable, people may not think of it for that reason.
Garden Grill in Epcot has turkey year-round and serves family-style, too. I'm pretty sure they'll lay out all the traditional fare. Again, likely difficult to book.
Like you, I expect GF Cafe does a turkey feast. Its atmosphere is cozy and homey, I think, as well as serving very good food. GF Cafe tends to be far less popular than other places because many find the GF itself too fancy for them. As a result, it may be easiest to book this close to the holiday. We've had wonderful meals there and think it a little-known gem.
Consider also 50's Prime Time Cafe since it specializes in traditional American foods. That one may be tough to get because it is so well known for homey good eats.
For a particularly down-home in Florida feeling, Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' in Disney Springs might be a good choice. It's somewhat new and has gotten rave reviews. Could be a very interesting place.
Oddly, WDW shifts almost instantly from Halloween to Christmas with little mention of Thanksgiving. Maybe they figure international guests probably do Christmas but aren't familiar with or interested in American Thanksgiving.
I dunno but hope you can find someplace for a delicious meal.
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Last edited by Her Dotness; 09-19-2017 at 02:38 PM..
Thank you! I am lucky enough that I already have reservations for:
Lunch:
Grand Floridian Cafe
Dinner:
Kona Cafe
Whispering Canyon Cafe
But, I only want to keep one of the three above and am trying to decide which one would be the best for a Thanksgiving meal environment, since we've never been to any of the three. I wish they would post their turkey-day meal plans...but the only mention online is that these places WILL do something Thanksgiving related.
I see now that Disney has finally posted the official list of restaurants hosting Thanksgiving meals. Looks like most of my guesses were wrong
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall – Lunch and dinner
Biergarten Restaurant – Lunch and dinner
Chef Mickey’s – Dinner only
Coral Reef Restaurant – Lunch and dinner
Jiko - The Cooking Place – Dinner only
Le Cellier Steakhouse – Lunch and dinner
Olivia’s Cafe – Lunch and dinner
The Wave… of American Flavors – Lunch and dinner
Whispering Canyon Cafe – Lunch and dinner
We ate at Biergarten on Thanksgiving a couple yrs ago. It was delicious as always, and they did have traditional Thanksgiving offerings as well as some of their normal dishes.
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Oh, sorry! I didn't understand that you already have booked the three. I thought you meant you were considering those three and wanted other ideas that might be better.
I'm not sure GF Cafe does a turkey dinner at lunch. Their current menu combines breakfast and lunch, so one can have a true brunch if desired. The dinner menu is quite different.
If traditional turkey is what your family wants, then I'd keep Whispering Canyon dinner. With the GF Cafe at lunch, you could sleep late and have a hearty American breakfast or eat more usual lunch foods.
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If I had to pick from those 3, I would choose Whispering Canyon Cafe. I love that resort and restaurant, and I would think of where you'd like to spend a little time before or after your meal.
We spent Thanksgiving week at WDW in 2010. We chose to spend Thanksgiving by the pool rather than going to a crowded park. That evening, we went to 1900 Park Fare for dinner and loved it! Not only did we get a delicious meal (traditional food as well as other stuff), but we got to see the Grand Floridian decorated for Christmas. They had the life-size gingerbread house up which was awesome to see as well as their gigantic tree. We got lots of pictures around the resort. I highly recommend going to a resort that you'd like to see decorated. I don't think it's a guarantee that all of them will be decorated by Thanksgiving, but I would certainly take that chance because how often will you be back at that time of year? I knew we wouldn't be, and I wanted to see at least 1 resort with its Christmas decorations up. In addition, we got to see the hysterical stepsisters and stepmother along with Cinderella and Prince Charming. Couldn't ask for a better time
I hope you get the type of meal you want; it looks like your Whispering Canyon booking would be the best. We usually go after Thanksgiving, but we are such slackers about booking table service meals, we'd likely just eat at our resort food court, which has nice turkey platters all year (turkey with two veggies and a roll) that taste like Thanksgiving to us.
We have been on thanksgiving and just about everywhere has traditional dinner as well as their specialties. The food courts even have traditional dinner.
We have been on thanksgiving and just about everywhere has traditional dinner as well as their specialties. The food courts even have traditional dinner.
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Agreed. We have been to WDW many times at Thanksgiving and I don't recall a restaurant that doesn't offer a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Last year we had Thanksgiving dinner at Olivia's and it was very good. Be aware that the traditional Thanksgiving dinner is pricey but what isn't at WDW.
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Or, is there a place NOT on this list that I should keep my eye on for a possible reservation? Please help! TY
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I didn't understand that you already have booked the three. I thought you meant you were considering those three and wanted other ideas that might be better.
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