Hmm...Decisions..Decisions...

Ah ha...So your not telling me your secrets..That's it...No tip from me...LOL..

I make sure we find a menu that the family can find something they enjoy. Then I look for variety of theme.

I tend to choose theme first, then look at the menu. If the menu isn't satisfying, we will dine somewhere else. I don't look at price no matter if we are on the DDP or not. When we are on vacation, we expect to spend $$ and like to splurge on nice meals. We totally think a great dining experience is worth it.

We try to also choose new dining establishments, but tend to revisit favorites too!

These are the restaurants I want to try next time that I've never been to:

T-Rex (DTD)
Yak and Yeti
Tutto Italia (DH has not been, I have)
Cali Grill
Chefs De France
Nine Dragons
Yachtsman Steakhouse

For me, it's a combination of menus and reviews. Price is not important at all. I'm on vacation...I expect to pay big bucks for meals. Dinner is most important. I generally stick to steakhouses, American cuisine and Italian cuisine. (Hubby doesn't like seafood very much, but if there's lobster on the menu, I can get him to go to a seafood restaurant.) I check out the menu first, then look at reviews. If the menu looks good, but the reviews are bad, I'll skip it.

Since we are using the DDP, I actually decided to look first at the more expensive places so we could get the biggest bang for our buck. After that, I went for atmosphere because I want DS (2 years old) to be entertained by what was in the restaurant. Thirdly, I wanted to make sure there was a decent variety of food, as my sister is a vegetarian, her boyfriend has a corn allergy, and the rest of us all prefer something different that being said, we didn't have a hard time deciding

I always check out the menus and for every trip I do 3 new restaurants that I haven't been to before. And for me I don't worry about the price because I get the dinning plan.

Menus are important because otherwise we are looking at the place only. We have been lucky and found many of those places that have both.
We really were going to do Brown Derby, DH was SURE he wanted it. I printed out the menu and after 5 minutes he replied, "Yeah, I don't think that's the one."

Love the story behind it and the atmosphere they are creating but the food...meh.
So on to the next adventure.

Price plays a HUGE part for me. But then, some of my ancestors were Scottish, so I come by it honestly.

Anyway. My first consideration is the food, so I check the menu at any restaurant I contemplate booking. Hubby and I both love international flavors, so places like Yak and Yeti, Boma, and Restaurant Marrakesh rank high on our list. I have a serious aversion to making the equivalent of a small monthly car payment for any meal, so signature dining rarely makes the list (although we will do signature dining three times total between our September and November trips). If most reviews say the food is mediocre or worse, I might still book an ADR there, since everyone's tastes are different - but the menu would have to really, really appeal to me. Finally, atmosphere isn't usually a big factor, but we love 'Ohana and eat there regularly even though I can (and have) made several of their dishes at home.

I've felt the same way about Brown Derby every time I checked their menu.

Now we have this September anniversary trip coming up. Our actual anniversary falls on the day DHS has EEMH. We want to eat someplace special that evening, but also want to take full advantage of evening park hours. And since none of the other DHS restaurants impress me at all, I booked Brown Derby, hoping it will be better than I anticipate.

Glad you enjoyed 'Ohana as we will be dining there in October with Princess Lapu and her family...Never tried it before,but looking forward to it..

I don't think you'll be disappointed, Your Majesty. On our first visit to 'Ohana we had in our party a semi-vegetarian (she eats seafood but no red meat or fowl) and a full-on vegan, and even they loved the food. (The chef made two special appetizers and a special main course for the two of them.)

As we are using the dining plan this trip, I too wanted to get the most bang for my buck and try restaurants we would not otherwise have chosen. I enjoy a good meal, but my children quite frankly would rather spend the extra money on souvenirs, and so normally would choose less expensive places to eat.

This trip I picked a selection of restaurants who accepted the dining plan and were a little on the pricier side. I then narrowed my selection to those with a vast majority of good reviews, then then finalized based on the menus in thought were appealing.

I will be waiting form their palates to mature a little before we try signature dining.

We look at menus, then price, then theme. With three kids and a picky husband the menu is key. Price is the second factor (there ARE five of us!) and the theme really is a minor player. We've had some really awful meals at some beautifully themed places (inside the Mexico pavilion in 2011 ) so we've learned from that.

For this trip we have one signature (Le Cellier, which is a must for us on every trip) as well as quite a few other table service that we wanted to try and have never gotten around to.

We have been to most places that we have any desire to try. So, we now tend to stick with our favorites. Once we both pick our must do for the current trip we will look at a few in which we have not tried. Usually that is first based on theme. Then we look at the menu. We do not consider price at all nor do we read reviews. Sometimes location is taken into consideration.

This is a thread hijack, but Scrappy, what is your MUST do restaurants for each trip? I am just curious, since you and MrHub have tried almost everything.

We both agree Cali Grill is a must do. That is sometimes where our agreement ends . I love both the Brown Derby and Yachtsman Steak House. Mrhub would probably go with Flying Fish and then the Brown Derby. We both do agree that Narcoosee's, a more recent find for us, is quickly making its way up to the top of both of our lists.

We study menus and make a list of places to try. Than I go down the list and see which ones fit into our schedule. We always like to go to at least 2 signature restaurants. We also have favorites that we always go to every year.

we usually go to the same places because my wife is very picky so we go with what we know she likes. I do always throw one or two new ones though

Well, last trip, I did some research and looked up the ones people perceived as the best, looked at the menus and reviews and then, decided if I should try it and then planned my visit based on what I was doing. So I ate at Sunshine Seasons and Tangierine Cafe during my stay at Epcot for the first time on my last trip. At the same time, I also know what favorites to keep so I do some planning to ensure I get at least one trip eating my favorites. I guess generally speaking, I eat at park restaurants on park time and Downtown Disney and resort restaurants if my plans are that I'm not spending all day in the parks.

Remember to bring your Hawaiian shirt and order a side car of malibu rum with your Lapu Lapu! LOL

I agree with Barb (and others!). We spend quite a bit of time with menus and reviews, both from this board and other sources. We look for interesting flavors and combinations - and cheese!- and love to try a new place or two each trip. But it takes some time to check and double check menus, etc. We price compare a bit, but most Disney signature menus have similar prices except for V&A - which is worth every penny!

Whit! Taxi!...LOL..

OH GOOD! Our TA thru that one, Narcoosee in when Yahtsman didn't fit and the menu honestly looks wonderful!

Ok, I have to admit, it's theme for me most of the time. I'm not a picky eater at all and can find something anywhere I go so I truly pick our new things based on theme and atmosphere. For example: I wanted to eat in Cinderella's castle. I honestly could have cared less if they served bologna sandwiches because I simply wanted to be inside there eating!

I'm the same at home. I'll take a so-so steak out on a deck, overlooking a lake with a breeze and ducks floating by over a terrific steak in a brick building.

1) Is the restaurant near where I'm spending the day? I don't usually park-hop
2) Do I like the style of food?
3) Is it already a favorite or new to me?
4) Have I heard good things about it?
5) Price