Eat (and Meet) This: 1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

Lady Tremaine never. breaks. character.

One of the things that I find myself saying most often when it comes to Disney vacation advice is “if you enjoy planning 6 months out, have at it – but I swear it isn’t necessary.”

Before we were local, I was definitely one of those people that enjoyed messing with ADR restaurant bookings up to 180 days before our trip. I did it because I was looking forward to the vacation. It added to the fun to think about where we were going to go, what we were going to ride, and where we were going to eat well in advance of heading back to Florida. But here’s that tip again: It isn’t necessary. At all. In fact, the very best restaurants on WDW property are pretty easy to get right before you want to go.

Case in point, we were hanging out with friends after school last night and at around 6:15 p.m. we decided to grab some dinner. I logged onto the app and made a reservation for 5 people at 1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa for 7:45 p.m. And we drove over. Easy peasy.

1900 Park Fare is always on my short list of dinner buffets at Walt Disney World. It’s one of the only dinners on property that has both incredible characters AND amazing food.

Located on the first floor of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, with an entrance right next to the also wonderful Grand Floridian Café, 1900 Park Fare offers an amazing character experience at its breakfast and dinner buffets. At breakfast, you’ll typically find Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter, and Mary Poppins.

But at dinner, you get Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia. And don’t get me wrong – I love me some Cindy.

The boys getting some love from Cinderella. I know the picture is blurry but I still adore it.

But at this meal, Drizella and Anastasia steal the show – and having them all in one room only adds to the hilarity, as you’ll get some pretty incredible interaction among them all throughout the evening.

Anastasia being Anastasia.

I think one of my favorite things about this meal is the extent to which there’s something for everyone with the characters. Little girls can get their princess and Prince Charming fix – but my boys can also get in a game of rock, paper, scissors with Drizella.

And everyone in the room can enjoy Drizella heckling her brother-in-law from across the room. (Yes, this is actual footage taken from our table last night….)

While you’re busy having a blast with Cinderella and her step family, you’ll also be eating some killer food. Kale salad, broccoli slaw, cornbread, butternut squash ravioli, steamed shrimp, Mongolian beef with jasmine rice, herb-crusted prime rib, Italian sausage with peppers and onions, butter chicken, smoked pulled pork with coffee BBQ sauce, shrimp scampi, cheese tortellini with lemon cream, honey Sriracha salmon, lemon pepper chicken wings…. I could go on and on and on and on. My personal favorites are the broccoli slaw, honey Sriracha salmon, Mongolian beef, and butter chicken. But I wouldn’t kick the prime rib out of bed for eating crackers. Especially if it comes dressed in the creamy horseradish sauce that it was wearing on my plate last night.

Prime Rib, Butter Chicken, Broccoli Slaw, and Chicken Wings

Corn Bread, Italian Sausage, Steamed Shrimp, and Tortellini

Kale Salad, Pulled Pork, Mongolian Beef, and Honey Sriracha Salmon

There are plenty of options for wee picky eaters too – hot dogs, pasta, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, corn….all available at kiddie level on either side of the main buffet.

And for dessert – if you can still find the room, you’ll find your usual bite sized fare –  things like cannolis, key lime tarts, fruit tarts, cheesecake, and chocolate mousse – along with warm bread pudding with vanilla cream sauce and apple cobbler.

The bread pudding with vanilla sauce is not to be missed.

All in all, 1900 Park Fare will always be on my short list for go to adult and kid friendly and fun meal options at Walt Disney World. The food is amazing, the characters are entertaining for kids and adults, the service is Grand Floridian level, and the character visits are well organized – so you don’t typically find yourself waiting ages past finishing your meal to meet with anyone.

All in all, while it is as pricey as any Disney character meal buffet at $49/adult and $29/child as of the time of this post, it is a great option when you’re looking to splurge a little on a special meal. To me there’s nothing more aggravating than paying an arm and a leg for a character meal at Disney World and eating lackluster food – so the spots where you get both incredible character interaction and an amazing meal are golden.

What is your favorite dinner buffet on property? If you’ve been to 1900 Park Fare, what did you think of your meal??