Dinner Review: 1900 Park Fare

During our recent visit to Disney World we booked a lot of character dining meals for the kids. The kids had fun at all of them and it was fun for us as adults to watch the awe in their eyes. While we enjoyed all of the character meals, one stood out for both the character interaction and the food; 1900 Park Fare was our favorite, hands down.

Location

The restaurant is located in the Grand Floridian. So, if you can, try to arrive early enough to give yourself time to explore the hotel, it’s pretty impressive.

Once you are in the lobby, look for the sign for the restaurant. It’s not hard to find, but if you are running late or can’t find it just ask the front desk. The restaurant is located down a hallway off the main lobby.

For those with strollers, there is stroller parking right outside the hallway. We parked our stroller there and felt it was a nice location for stroller parking, because it was close to the restaurant, but not in the way.

PhotoPass Opportunity

Once you reach the hallway where the restaurant is there is a podium where you check in for your reservations. The cast member will take your name and give a buzzer. When your buzzer goes off you will be brought to a very pretty castle scene that is painted on the wall where a PhotoPass photographer will take your picture. These are some of our favorite pictures from the trip!

The Dining Room

The cast member will take you through the double doors to the dining room. The dining room was really nice. It was not as big as other buffets we had been too, which made it hard sometimes to get food if the dining room was filled. It was a cozy environment and, even though there were many conversations going on, it was not loud. I loved the carousel horses that were on display in the restaurant, they were very pretty.

We were seated at a large round table, because there were eight of us. None of us had any trouble moving our seats when we got up to go to the buffet. There was plenty of space around the table for us to move and for the characters to chat with the kids.

I loved the frosted doors to the restaurant. They gave some privacy to your meal and contributed to the overall cozy feel of the restaurant.

Cast Members

All of the cast members we came in contact with at the restaurant were wonderful. From the podium, to the PhotoPass photographer, to our waitress, everyone was attentive and very friendly.

In fact, one of the kids was celebrating her birthday while we were in Disney and the waitress knew this. So she brought out birthday cupcakes for all of the kids. A lot of the restaurants that we visited brought her a dessert, but this was the only restaurant to bring one for each of the kids. Very thoughtful!

Characters

During dinner we met Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, and Aurora. I will admit we were very disappointed that the step-sisters were not there. We had heard so much about them and were very much looking forward to their antics, but Lady Tremaine was hysterical.

We told the kids to tell her they like to wash floors and Lady Tremaine was very happy to hear that. So she hired them all. Then she told one of the boys that he was going to marry one of her daughters. We asked why her daughters were not there and she told us that they though it would be funny to have an ice cream fight. So they had to stay home for the night. One of the girls gave her a hug and she said (with a disgusted look on her face) “Oh dear. Affection. It’s happening.” She had so many funny lines and we laughed quite a bit.

Prince Charming was pretty entertaining too. We overheard him say to another table, “Oh good. I see my mother-in-law has left.” Plus, he like my husband’s hat and said that his father, the king, would like a hat like that, but in red (my husband’s hat is blue).

Food

This restaurant was our last sit down meal at Disney during this trip, so we had a lot of great dining experiences leading up to this reservation. Boma has always been our favorite for food and Chef Mickey’s was so much fun with the characters. So we weren’t sure how this would measure up to those experiences. We were pleasantly surprised though.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we still absolutely love Boma, but the food at 1900 Park Fare was very, very good. The selection was fantastic. I didn’t realize when I made the reservation that they had such a wide variety of food and everyone was very pleased when they saw the buffet selection.

Here are some of the things they offer:

• Salads
• Butternut Squash Ravioli
• Carving Station With Herb-crusted Striploin and Jerked Turkey Breast
• Strawberry Soup
• Mongolian Beef Stir Fry
• Key Lime-Ginger Grilled Chicken
• Fried Sustainable Mississippi Catfish
• Jasmine Rice
• Sushi
• Paella
• Peel-n-Eat Shrimp
• Japanese-style Green Beans with Edamame

Plus they have a buffet area for the kids and a dessert table that has lots of good sweets to try.

Conclusion

Overall I would give this restaurant a very high rating. The location is easily accessible, the ambiance is very nice, the cast members were wonderful, the characters were entertaining, and the food was really good.  Another bonus is the size of the dining room gives you a cozy feel and it was never crowded at the buffet.

So if you are looking for an entertaining buffet, with a wide variety of food, that is not crowded, this is the place for you. It has landed on our list of “must-dos” for the next trip and we are very excited to experience it again. Maybe we’ll meet Anastasia and Drizella next time. Fingers crossed!

Have you ever dined at 1900 Park Fare?

Thanks for reading!

*Liz*