When my family started planning our recent August vacation to Walt Disney World, there was one place that I knew we would need to book. While everyone has a favorite restaurant and character meal, The Garden Grill in Epcot’s Land Pavillion is always at the top of their list.  We have enjoyed dinner here on our last three visits to the parks.

What makes this restaurant so special?  EVERYTHING!!!  The Garden Grill is located in Future World of Epcot.  The restaurant slowly rotates as you enjoy your meal and interact with Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. By the time you have finished your meal, you have made one full revolution within the scenes of the Living with The Land attraction.

Note: You will want to make sure that you enjoy this attraction that travels through the greenhouses before dinner.  Your kids will be amazed to see how they are growing and producing many of the fruits and vegetable served at the restaurant.

I am a self-proclaimed “character junkie”, so I enjoy all the character dining that is offered at Walt Disney World. My husband is not.  However, we all enjoy this restaurant as it is very relaxed, and we always get extra attention from the characters. We can always count on Chip and Dale to be overly excited about my second son’s lanyard full of their pins. Pluto often gets silly, whether he’s playing peek-a-boo with his ears or a making his ears stand on end.  You just have to love seeing Mickey all dressed up in his overalls and plaid shirt.  We just can’t get enough of The Garden Grill.

The food at the Garden Grill is delicious. Because the meal is family style, there are no repetitive trips to the buffet bar, I can hear my husband cheering! Chip and Dale’s Harvest starts with warm bread with maple butter followed by a Farmer’s salad (all grown in Epcot!). The menu is subject to change, but the adult platter often includes char-grilled filet of beef with red wine butter, mashed potatoes, roasted turkey breast with stuffing and parmesan encrusted tilapia. The children's platter includes oven baked drumsticks, sweet potato fries, broccoli, and macaroni and cheese.  In the past, desserts have included a warm apple crisp with vanilla bean ice cream, a harvest skillet cake with vanilla bean whipped cream, or berry cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream.

There’s no doubt you will leave dinner with wonderful memories of a delicious meal and treasured moments with some of your favorite characters.

If you are heading to Epcot, this is one of my top recommendations. The restaurant counts as one table service meal on the Disney Dining Plan.  I hope you love Chip and Dale’s Garden Harvest as much as we do and while you’re there, be sure to look for those “hidden Mickeys”.