Epcot Dining

[bluebirds]

When go to Disney next May(Only 7 months to go) we would like to have a meal as a family at Epcot watching the fireworks as i have heard they are fantastic. How do we go about booking in advance for a good vantage point in a restaurant. Which restarants at Epcot do you good knowledgable folks recomend. The family are not picky and will eat just about anything. I have looked at various sites about Epcot and can not find anywhere to book tables. [beer][drinkpepsi][drinkpepsi][beer]

[djdigitald]

I booked up to eat in the British Pub, i phoned up the day Hurricane Charley hit and won't begoing til 18th November (Rose and Crown normally gets booked up 3 months in advance!) Call 001 407 939 3463 to get through to Dining Reservations.

[Nostromo]

The best view to eat and see Epcot fireworks at the same time is the outdoor Cantina de San Angel at the Mexico pavilion. (Not the restaurant). Even if the chairs get full-up, (and they do) you can sit at the base of the trees facing the lagoon.

The next best would be from the open areas in the Rose & Crown pub.

There are many places for fine dining in Epcot, but to me the best by far (and the best restaurant anywhere in Orlando) is Chefs de France in France pavilion. The food and wine are exquisite to say the least. Try their Lobster Bisque![msntongue][msntongue][msntongue][msntongue]

[MTP]

We have enjoyed dinner in the Teppanyaki Room - great fun meal cooked before you by talented chefs/performers and then go to the balcony of the Japanese pavilion for the fireworks.

[ianandsue]

On our recent visit, we unexpectedly ended up in Germany, this was made only because our party couldn't make their minds up and in the end our seven year old son did it for us! What a brilliant night we had too. The food was really could, a hot buffet, three course for $19.99 per adult and the steiners were huge, so huge in fact that Rose had to watch the Fireworks with one eye closed because otherwise she could see two of everything! The atmosphere was the best with everyone swinging their steiners, doing the oom pa pa bit and German version of Birdy song! The whole place was themed as the square of a German market town and it was an experience we will try to do again and certainly never forget - a great ending to a great holiday and the fireworks afterwards were just awesome.
Sue

[bluebirds]

Like the idea of the German themed bar. The other half was based in germany many years ago. Be a case of reminising over large steins. What time to the fireworks start? and what is the best time to get the bars restaraunts for viewing?[beer]

[Nostromo]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by bluebirds
Like the idea of the German themed bar. The other half was based in germany many years ago. Be a case of reminising over large steins. What time to the fireworks start? and what is the best time to get the bars restaraunts for viewing?[beer]
[/quote]

The fireworks start at precisely 9pm. As for the best time to be in a bar/restaurant, it depends on where you want to go. Cantina de San Angel starts to fill-up over an hour earlier even in off-peak time. Likewise, the viewing area of Rose & Crown does too. The former is the best place to go if you are doing World Showcase anti-clockwise (as we always do) and the latter if you are going clockwise.

The view of the fireworks from the enclosed restaurants is not very good to non-existent. There will be too many things and people in the way. Unlike MK, Epcot has tallish trees surrounding the lagoon and a lot of the pyrotechnics are at a lower level than MK's 'Wishes'. At Epcot, if you want a good view of the Fireworks, you have to find yourselves a good vantage point.

[jaynekent]

Does this mean you have to be seated in the open part of the restaurant at the rose and crown, or do you eat and then move to a terrace? we go in 3 months and 9 days so we are approaching booking day and i want to make sure i get it right! And thanks for the advice on buying simon venesses guide, am wading through it and finding it a great help:)

[Nostromo]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by jaynekent
Does this mean you have to be seated in the open part of the restaurant at the rose and crown, or do you eat and then move to a terrace? we go in 3 months and 9 days so we are approaching booking day and i want to make sure i get it right! And thanks for the advice on buying simon venesses guide, am wading through it and finding it a great help:)
[/quote]

You can actually get a table on a part of the terrace of the Rose & Crown and eat and drink there while watching the fireworks. But these are popular and the best tables are allocated on a first-cum-first served basis on that evening, even if you have a prior booking. Having said that, I have heard (but never tried to take advantage of) stories that if you make a booking early, then go in earler on that day and talk to the 'right' person the 'right' way (whatever that means), you can get a good table with a view that will be held for you upto 15 minutes before the show starts. I stress that this is a story that someone else told me and I do not know if it really works.

[hadrian]

We booked a priority seating table at the Rose & Crown in August this year. I booked it 2 months in advance and had a table reservation for 6.50pm. We arrived early and were told we could go straight to a table inside. As we wanted to see the fireworks from the veranda I asked if there was a table available on the veranda. The staff were really helpful and said if we were prapared to wait a table would be available by 7.30 ouside. We were given a radio pager and told we would be paged when the table was ready.

We eventually got to out table as promised by 7.30 and were were in an ideal spot overlooking the lake. We had a lovely meal and finished it just in time for the display. The staff asked if we would like to stay seated whilst the display was on and of course we said yes. There was never any pressure to rush the meal or leave the table.

I think we were very lucky and I guess it shows the reservation time doean't really matter as long as it is early evening rather than later, when the chances of getting a table outside would be worse.