One of the highlights for many Disney World guests is enjoying a Disney Character Dining experience.  Today we visit the Garden Grill Restaurant in Epcot for a Character Dining meal in a very unique setting.

Garden Grill Restaurant

The Garden Grill Restaurant is located within The Land Pavilion in the Future World section of Epcot.  This is the pavilion that is best known for the Soarin' and Living With The Land attractions.


One of the most unique features of the Garden Grill Restaurant is that it rotates!  That's right.  This restaurant rotates at a blistering speed of one revolution per hour.  Although you can tell that you are moving if you are constantly staring at the walls, most guests hardly notice the slow steady movement throughout their meal.  There are two different seating areas: the outer booths, which have the best views of the Living With The Land attraction and the inner tables.  If you anticipate any concern about the rotation, then you should select the inner tables, where the motion is less noticeable.

Mickey Mouse at Garden Grill Restaurant

Disney Character Dining At Its Best!

Chip 'n Dale's Harvest Feast is definitely one of the better non-princess character dining opportunities at Disney World.  Four different characters make their way, one at a time to your table for personal interaction during the roughly hour long dining experience.  Leading the way is Mickey Mouse himself in overalls.  Farmer Mickey meets and greets all of the diners one table at a time.  You have enough time to get autographs signed and pose with Mickey Mouse for pictures.

Chip at the Garden Grill Restaurant

Chip was next to visit one table and he was quite animated, pardon the pun.  Besides posing for pictures he exhibited a playful interaction with lots of personality.

Pluto at Garden Grill Restaurant

Pluto was next to visit.  Ever the fun loving dog, he "played" with us for a while and posed for great pictures.

Dale at Garden Grill Restaurant

Dale was the last to make his way to our table.  He definitely had a personality that was distinct from Chip's and that made the interaction all the more fun.

Suffice it to say the Disney Character interaction was great and definitely among the best at Disney World.  The spacing of the tables allows for more personal interaction with each of the characters.  If you love Disney World Character meals then this is one you should definitely try!

Chip 'n Dale's Harvest Feast - The Food!

An important part of every restaurant review is a discussion of the food, so we definitely want to share with you our pictures and impression of the food at this Family Style served meal.  The menu is the same for everyone with unlimited portions for an items (including dessert) that you would like more of.  The price is the same regardless.

The meal start with fresh warm rolls and orange blossom honey butter.


This was follow-up up by a "Living With The Land" Harvest-inspired Farmer's Salad.  As you can see from the picture above this was a loaded salad with fresh vegetables, egg, and bacon.


The main courses consist of a large platter with a trio of choices: Char-grilled Filet of Beef with Demi-Glace Steak Butter, Roasted All-Natural Turkey Breast with Stuffing and House-made Gravy, Tilapia with Tomato Jam.  Also included were Garden Fresh Vegetables, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, and Bacon and Leek Dressing.

All of the above items were very tasty, but I would have to say our overwhelming favorite was the Filet of Beef.  It was excellent.  As mentioned earlier, the meal is All You Care To Eat with additional portions of any or all of the items.  The choice is up to you and your family.



The meal is completed with a pair of dessert choices.  There was the Seasonal Berry Skillet with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and the cone cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

Disney Dining Review - Summary

Chip n' Dale's Harvest Feat at the Garden Grill Restaurant was a great Disney Characters Dining experience and a great "dining" experience as well.  The unique rotating restaurant setting with views into the Living With The Land attraction was an added bonus.  It certainly was one of the best Character Meals due to the orientation of the tables, letting you truly have personal time with the characters when they came to visit.

The food was above average and there was opportunity to get more of the items that you enjoyed the most.  The service was excellent and it all came together for a very enjoyable dining experience.  We would definitely rate this meal a "Must Do" for families.

The Character Dining Experience does accept the Disney Dining Plan and it counts as 1 Table Service Credit per person.  They also accept the Tables In Wonderland Discount for 20% off.

Disney World Guests are often given the opportunity to learn while they are being entertained at Epcot.  The topic of learning within The Land Pavilion in Future World is: Living In Harmony With Our Environment.


The Land Pavilion
More so than in any of the other Future World Pavilions, The Land Pavilion, both inside and outside exhibits ties to the environment.  Even the landscaping around The Land was done in a fashion to embody the natural riches of our land while the trees nearest the entrance develop white blooms that are meant to look like clouds surrounding the upper portion of the mountain like building.


As you near the entrance you will notice a large mosaic that extends on both sides (pictured above).  This was constructed to depict the layers you would find if you dug down into the earth.  The tile work is quite amazing and worth taking a close look at.


Once inside the pavilion you enter a large open atrium that serves as the hub for the building.  The large skylights designed into the roof provide natural sunlight and symbolically connect The Land to the nourishing sun.



While glancing upward you will also notice the 5 large globes hanging from the ceiling.  The upper most represents the earth, while the lower four each represent one of the seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.


Also in the Atrium you will find the Quick Service Restaurant called: Sunshine Seasons.

The "original" main attraction for the Pavilion: Living With The Land is a boat based journey through a series of different environments and challenges that man faces on the planet.  The ride concludes with an incredible tour through Disney's special gardens uses state of the art planting techniques that increase produce yields and allow plants to grow in otherwise inhospitable conditions.


On the "new" main attraction called Soarin' which presents a hang gliding simulation over some of California's most scenic landmarks, the environmental ties aren't as strong and it doesn't share the cohesive theming ties that the rest of the pavilion has.


On the 2nd level you will find the Garden Grill.  This unique rotating restaurant features fruits and vegetables that are grown in The Land's greenhouses.  The restaurant also gives views into the Living With The Land Attraction.


The last attraction in this pavilion is called: Circle Of Life: An Environmental Fable.  This uses the popular characters from The Lion King to help tell the story of the need to protect our environment.

Entertainment + Education = Edutainment?
Walt Disney always believed that it was important to entertain the guests first, and if they were able to learn something in the process all the better.  The topics presented in The Land are serious, but they are presented in a way that you can be entertained no matter your age or ability to grasp all of the concepts presented. 

The Disney Imagineers do an excellent job of harmoniously linking the structure and its landscaping to the   story of Environmental Awareness and Living in Harmony with Nature.  The next time that you visit Epcot and you make your mad dash to ride Soarin', pay attention to everything else that The Land has to offer and you may come away with a better understanding of our Environment.