Garden Grill Breakfast with Chip and Dale at EPCOT

We tried the Garden Grill breakfast for the very first time, and I have to say…..we love it! We are no strangers to character dining at Walt Disney World.  In fact, as I sit here writing this, we have enjoyed every character dining experience that Walt Disney World has to offer, except for the new Storybook Dining at Artist Point! Today, I want to share a popular, fun Disney Dining experience that I am sure your family is going to love! Garden Grill at EPCOT is a relaxing, fun filled way to add some Disney magic to your vacation!

Garden Grill is located in the Land Pavilion at EPCOT.  You will find this location tucked away on the upper level of the Land Pavilion, overlooking the Living with the Land attraction.  The atmosphere is so laid back.  It is definitely one of the more relaxed character dining locations.  The entire restaurant rotates very, very slowly as you are eating, so you are getting glimpses of the Living with the Land attraction below.  Another thing I love about Garden Grill, is the way the tables are set up.  They are more “private” in a way, most like booths or smaller tables to give you a more quiet atmosphere. They can certainly accommodate larger parties, but the seating allows you to really just focus on the people at your table, and not be distracted by the families around you.

At this location, they serve all three meals of the day.  I think the menu is very family friendly, and good for picky eaters.  The breakfast is typical breakfast fare, including an AMAZING, gigantic cinnamon roll cake, Chip’s Sticky Bun Bake.  SO good!  Not to mention some fruits, Mickey waffles, and breakfast meats.  Lunch and dinner are turkey, potatoes, pot roast, macaroni and cheese, etc. I think that this makes it somewhat easier to get an ADR for, since you have the option for all three meals of the day. One tip ~ book a pre park opening breakfast.  This puts you in a good position to be one of the first guests on Soarin’ for the day!  You may even be able to ride it twice!  It is one Table Service credit on the Disney Dining Plan.

Garden Grill has your classic characters in their farming costumes.  I think this is a fantastic character dining experience if you have boys in your family.  There are not any female characters at this location.  However, the princess loves Mickey and his favorite farming friends, too! The featured characters are Chip and Dale, and this makes it extra unique.  You cannot dine with these little guys anywhere else! They are super cute in their farming costumes, and adding in Pluto for some antics makes it a perfect meal for everyone in your family.  The restaurant is set up in such a way that it is easy for the characters to get around without a handler.  So keep that in mind ~ in case you need to politely ask a server or a family next door to take some photos for you! Moving without a handler also makes their time at your tables a bit longer, and they may even visit more than once!

This is a unique character dining experience.  We did not feel rushed, at all, to get through our meal.  The food is served family style, so you aren’t getting up all the time to fill your plate and maneuver your way around a busy buffet. Also, it is in a quiet location in general.  While I love Chef Mickey’s and Cape May Cafe ~ both which are comparable dining experiences ~ I feel like they tend to be a bit loud and overwhelming because of their location.  When we ate at Garden Grill, we rode Soarin’ twice, back to back! It was amazing.  That way we didn’t burn a Fastpass on Soarin’, and we could pre book Frozen Ever After for later in the day. A total win-win!

Disney World has TONS to offer when it comes to character dining experiences, and food in general. While we have never had a bad experience ~ character or food ~ at a character dining location, I feel as if some are more enjoyable than others. Garden Grill is one of those! I think it is definitely under appreciated, and almost falls in the category of a “hidden gem” at Walt Disney World.  You even get some glimpses of the upper area of the Living with the Land attraction that you can’t see from the boats when you are riding. 

I hope your family plans to enjoy a meal at Garden Grill at EPCOT!  You will be so glad you did!