Garden Grill during COVID
I have to admit, this was the hardest reservation for us to get at Disney World during our trip in May 2021. We really wanted this our first day for lunch, but we never got it. So we kept the reservation we happened to find before our trip for one of our evenings at Epcot.
So this was one of two locations that we used the mobile check in function in the My Disney Experience App. You are able to use it within 20 minutes of your dining reservation time. I did like the ability to be able to complete all of this information myself rather than waiting in line at the check in counter. Although with social distancing still going on at the time, the crowds were rather limited when it came to dining, so there was little lines and waits.
We were sat fairly quickly. The way the restaurant currently works is that the characters roam up top, and guests are seated down below. I enjoy this for many reasons. One - it gives everyone a great view of Living with the Land. Two - I like the booth seating down below vs the table seating at the top. Three - Melody still has a great fear of the characters. Having this distance did help her from having a complete break down. She was upset at first, but when she realized they would not come to our actual table, she calmed down. Although she still never took a selfie with them.
The food is fairly the same as previous visits. It is always slightly different since most of it comes from their greenhouse below. Our favorite meal here is still breakfast, but with the park opening at 11, breakfast is not currently being offered. We started with salad and rolls.
Then we were brought our main course. We had turkey breast with gravy, grilled beef with chimichurri, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn medley, stuffing, and macaroni and cheese. The turkey was good. I did not care for the beef. I did find a few pieces cooked to my liking, but it was quite fatty what I had. Brad and my dad really enjoyed it. The stuffing was decent too, but still not what I loved. My favorites here are always the vegetables. I could eat the entire bowl of macaroni and cheese myself if I am being honest.
For dessert we had berry shortcake with whipped cream. They were nice enough to bring Brad some without the berries. I didn’t get a picture, but they brought Melody cookies and a cupcake for her early birthday.
Melody also snapped some pictures during our meal. Unfortunately she has reached an age where she is for sure charged for the all you can eat meals even though she doesn’t eat anything. I mean I expected it, but it is sad we have hit that point, ha.
I can see why it is one of the harder reservations to get a Disney World right now. It gives you great character access and the food is still some of the best Disney has to offer.
