we will be at wdw 5/3-5/10, karen does not wish to do any adr's even though i keep telling her the dining plan crowd will keep us locked out of all our favorites most likely, since we will have a rental car for the first time since 1996, anyone have any suggestions for a good off property restaurant, not too far away or too fancy a dress code directions would help but not necessary if you have an address or website thanks
Charley's Steaks...it's on 192 right near the main gate entrance, in a small strip mall next to that hotel that sits right on the main gate entrance (Holiday Inn?). ; Absolutely killer, unbelievable steaks and U-pick-em lobsters...price is moderately high (a little lower than Yachtsman). ; Ooooh...Awesome! Timpano Italian Chophouse - on Sand Lake Road (from Disney, jump on I4 East for about 4 miles and exit on Sand Lake Road...turn left *west* and it's on your left about 300 yards). ; Good Italian...mix of northern and middle, good wines, reasonable prices, nice place. Also, don't underestimate some on-site places without ADRs...I've never had a problem getting into Restaurant Marrakesh, Maya Grill at Coronado, Big River or ESPN at Boardwalk, or Olivia's at Old Key West...even during the most crowded times of year.
olivia's is a favorite, so that might be workable, we've never had any problem with that or marrakesh, love that vegetarian couscous platter, maya grill is highly likely just because we will be at coronado at 5pm at least 3 days thanks for the suggestions for the first 12 years we did wdw we almost never made any adr/res, one of the things we most liked was dining well on a whim, we really miss being able to do that
I agree - it has put a bit of a crimp on my style there, which was always to just flow free through the parks and eat wherever we fancied. ; With the meal plans, hotel/meal combos, etc, some restaurants have essentially been eliminated from our list due to the fact that the only way to eat there would be to make ADRs, and I just don't do that. ; Le Cellier is but a distant fantasy for dinner...Italian is pretty packed too. Fortunately there is no shortage of good restaurants at Disney, and if you are flexible as far as not having a set restaurant in mind on a set night, and are flexible with eating times (we don't mind eating as late as 9-10pm, so that also helps us avoid most of the ADR crowd), you can eat almost anywhere. I'd say whenever I do to Disney, I most often hit Maya Grill, Jiko, San Angel Inn, Rainforest Cafe, Restaurant Marrekesh, and ESPN Club. ; I can sometimes hit Le Cellier, but only for lunch, and occasionally throw in Tusker House, Boma, Whispering Canyon, Turf Club, and Nine Dragons...as well as the ones I named to you the first time. BTW - I forgot to throw in Turf Club the first time - the food is very good, excellent meats, burgers, steaks, chicken...the fries and o-rings with 3-dips are fantastic, and the prices are moderate too - and it's not terribly crowded unless you hit the heavy season - walkups with reasonable waits are usually possible, and they've got alternate outdoor seating if you're willing that can save some wait time. ; With same-day reservations, you can get in even on crowded season. ; It's over at Saratoga Springs...hidden in the back of the main building just off the boat dock. ; Very good for dinner, great for lunch...and an easy boat ride from Downtown Disney, or from the Saratoga bus.
we will be staying at saratoga springs, so turf club is always a possibility, we do have 1 adr, for a lunch at le cellier at 1pm, made that as soon as we made res, all i could get was a lunch, dinners all gone for the entire week of our stay
Our first trip to WDW, as a couple, was the first year of Free Dining. ; When we couldn't get into Le Cellier we asked our Concierge at the AKL (we were staying on the Concierge Floor) and was told that Le Cellier has been difficult to get walk-in dining since the day it opened. ; It has been a crowd favorite for a lot time
