QUICK SERVICE OPTIONS

Here are my favorites

MK - Cosmic Rays because they tend to have a bit more of a variety than Pecos Bills, Casey's, etc. I had ribs, mashed taters and garlic green beans there last year and it was delicious!

Epcot - I just can't pick. Sorry. All of the food in the World Showcase is outstanding. It just depends what you are in the mood for.

AK - Flame Tree BBQ - Great options, and loads of seating with awesome views. (Stay away from Pizzafari... it's awful, frozen Connie's pizzas. Though, I'm from Chicago so I'm a pizza snob. sorry. )

DHS - hmmm... the ABC commissary is pretty good. We really don't spend a whole day here so we usually eat when we hop to another park. LOL.

I'm a big fan of the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco for a quick service meal. Everything I've had there is scrumptious and its a nice change from the standard fare. And I'll second what Disneygal said about Flame Tree BBQ in Animal Kingdom, lots of great options!

MK is cosmic rays

Epcot Yorkshire Fish Shop in World showcase or Sunshine Seasons in Future World

Ak flamin BBQ

Hs there is no good counter service we always eat at 50's prime time cafe

Downtown Disney Earl of sandwich

If you get over to Port Orleans French Quarter try the beinets

Epcot: Definitely Sunshine Seasons. It's almost like a food court, with choices of many different types.

MK: Columbia Harbour House

AK: Flame Tree BBQ. Love the chicken, and it comes with this type of a view!

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Tangerine Cafe. It is bad "middle eastern/Mediterranean" food. The "lamb" is nothing more than the gyros-type of meat.

Zz.

Hum... aren't you free on Sunday morning/early afternoon? We could make a quick jump over to AK and do EE and then Flame Tree!

Zz.

Maybe it's the meat stuff? I usually recommend it as a vegetarian option, since I've only had meatless things from there and they were fine, though not much different than the food from the standard shwarma and falafel trucks in our neighborhood. The downside of the World Showcase is that if you're used to really good authentic food from the culture of whatever pavilion you're eating at, the generic options for quick service really hit you on the head.

Going to throw my hat in for Columbia Harbour House, once again because of the vegetarian chili which is cheap and filling.

Really liked Flame Tree, too, the portions were big enough to split.

My picks would be...
MK Columbia House or Casey's
EPCOT Sunshine Seasons
AK none
HS none
Resorts Poly Captain Cooks

Columbia Harbor House is my favorite counter-service restaurant at Magic Kingdom. They have some interesting menu options. Cosmic Ray's and Pecos Bill's are good, but not as good.

I agree that the ethnic counter-service fare at Epcot's World Showcase isn't really authentic, but it's still better than burgers and fries. Sunshine Seasons is quite good over in Future World and gives you lots of options, so if you have picky-eating children, you can get something interesting while the kids get something boring.

Yak and Yeti counter service at Animal Kingdom is...okay. I've never tried Flame Tree and won't this year, since we have a lunch ADR at Tusker House.

IMO there are no really good counter service places at Hollywood Studios. Toy Story Pizza Planet is good for amusement park pizza, but it's just pizza, not something interesting. Walk or take the boat to Epcot and get something better.

MK - Pecos Bill is my favorite and Casey's is next.
AK - Can't give any recommendations but I have heard good things of the aforementioned Yak and Yeti.
HS - Writer's Stop for a sweet snack/coffee. I like ABC Commissary or Pizza Planet (only with kids though, which I don't think you are taking)
Epcot - Tangerine Cafe, Nachos from the Mexican pavilion are two that come to mind. Highly recommend Baklava from the Tangerine Cafe for dessert.

IMHO, I don't think there's a counter service restaurant in any park or resort I would arrange my day around. Some are better (much better) than others. But really, it's all fast food. The restaurants that stand out, I think are because they offer options far different than burgers, pizza, and hot dogs, not because the food is outstanding. Some of the restaurants people have mentioned that distinguish themselves are Columbia House, Flame Tree BBQ, and the French Patisserie. Even Flame Tree doesn't have a good vegetarian option and lame kids menu.

MK - is hard 'cause there are three I love. Pecos Bill, Casey's and Columbia Harbor House

HS - not really any great options BUT Fairfax Fare is interesting.

AK - Flametree and Yaki & Yeti. Maybe Tusker House.

Epcot - Hard to beat the variety in World Showcase. We LOVE Boulangerie in France, Yorkshire Fish Shop and Tangerine cafe. Sunshine Seasons up front is good, too!

Epcot Sunshine Seasons (in The Land) has a wide variety of food. One of the better selections n the parks, in my opinion.

As far as the resorts go, I Like Pop Century's food court( not sure of the name, if any) , I have to go there to try the new cupcake (the King?) next time I'm in WDW . In the value resort.
The one in POR for moderate (so far, have only hit there, and The Coronado)

I think we are missing out several very good quick service places at the resorts here. I would highly recommend the Artist's Palette at Saratoga Springs (try the flatbreads and their soups), Captain Cook's at the Poly (build your own Dole Whip soft serve ice cream!), and The Mara at AKL.

Of course, these places can be a bit out of the way if you're spending the day at the parks.

Zz.

Like scrappy mentioned, Captain Cooks is a great place for quick serve. The grilled cheese is highly recommended the nachos with pulled pork are a great option too. The plus is the Dole Whip like Zz said and the Poly is a quick boat ride or mono ride away.

RP - Sunshine Seasons IS delicious, and the food is fresh, fresh, fresh! Lots of the stuff they use is grown right there in "The Land". Yum-O!

DHS - Suprisingly, Starring Rolls has AWESOME sandwiches...really piled high with more meat than bread. A good, filling lunch to get you going before you drop on ToT.

MK - Cosmic Rays. Good stuff, good selection, fun music.

Have a great time! You've done a lot of planning for this trip...she's gonna LOVE IT!!

Haha, for those of us with weak stomachs that would be a terrible idea!

Actually, I find that while the Table services are getting worse thanks to the dining plan, counter services are becoming more varied and interesting

At MK; I loved the waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow, Cosmic Rays is solid and I liked the gourmet dogs at Caseys

Epcot: Sunshine Seasons, Cantina, Tangarine Cafe, and the French Pastry shop are all solid choices

DAK: Love Tamu Tamu- the tandoori chicken salad and beef pita were amazing- although there are no kid options there. The others have changed thier menu with thumbs up for the new grilled chicken sandwich at Restarauntosaurus (which now has gourmet dogs). Flame Tree I think has gone downhill recently although its still good

Unfortunately, DHS still suffers greatly in the CS department. I would try the pretzel dogs at Mim and Bills. We were dissappointed in both the Backlot and Fairfax Fare recently

I shared one with my dad on my most recent trip and yes, I approve. We both love very meaty sandwiches, and my mom and sister don't. My dad and I enjoyed it. Not extremely memorable, but a good sandwich nonetheless.

Why do you say that? The only place we noticed that has ever suffered from the Dinning Plan has been Fultons and that's because they changed everything from the menu to management when they started taking the DP in January.

We tried Flame Tree a few years ago and it was the worst mean we ever had. The ribs were like rubber and tasted terrible. We had to trash it and go somewhere else and we have never gone back there.

I think there are several restarants that have taken a "hit". To name a few I noticed on this most recent trip

Liberty Tree Tavern, 'ohana, and Coral Reef all are not as good as they used to be. Thats not to say they stink (although I would say that about Liberty Tree Tavern), they are just not as good. I think this is due to the dining plan. Since the goal of the dining plan is to give you a meal at the same cost, Disney will then try to put about the same cost into each entree. The quality has gone down at some places IMO.

But I have noticed a lot more interesting and unique options popping up at QS places in the last year. Gourmet hot dogs and to a lesser degree burgers have been making their way to menus. The tandoori chicken salad and beef with cuccumber sauce in a pita at Tamu Tamu is very unique. The waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow cant be found anywhere else. The new food court at the Art of Animation also has numerous unique offerings

I haven't eaten there in about 25 years, and I have an ADR in October for Dinner. Could you elaborate why you think it stinks?

Also, Does anyone else feel this way?

Liberty Tree Tavern is one of my favorites. I've only eaten there as part of the dining plan so I have no comparison of the restaurant before and after.

Although I am no expert on Table Service dining as so many of you are, I do always include Teppan Edo in every single visit. I have noticed during this year's trips to the World that things are really different there from how they were 15 years ago. There is no longer a little salad with that great ginger dressing as an appetizer, and none of that light soup either. You just get your main course, and now it is pretty heavy on the udon noodles and much lighter on the veggies, which is what I like most about the place. There is also no more orange sherbert at the end of the meal.

I was also a bit disappointed last visit that they would not allow me to combine the veggie meal and the chicken as a combo. They will allow meats to be combined, but would not include extra veggies as one of the combo items.

But I do keep going.

I honestly do not see any difference in it since the dining plan. I do not think it stinks either but, While I am a fan of lunch there I do not really enjoy their dinner. There is really nothing wrong with it. It is served family style and is your basic home cooked meal.
To me, if you are on the dining plan there are far better places for a one credit meal than there.

Is there someplace in the Magic Kingdom that you would rather eat? I hate Tony's, so I don't want to go there, and I didn't really want a buffet, I'd rather have something more relaxing with a waitress. So that leaves out Crystal Palace. Be Our Guest won't be open yet, that pretty much leaves me with LTT, doesn't it?

I did consider heading over to Wilderness Lodge for Whispering Canyon, but I couldn't get a reservation.

How about jumping on the monorail and doing one of the resorts. Kona is great. I am sure there are others that are good too.
I myself would choose the Plaza Restaurant over Liberty Tree. Granted, you will be eating a sandwich but I would much prefer eating there.

Crystal Palace is still one of, if not THE, best buffet at a WDW theme park. If one can shut out the noise, it's a great place to go.

I've stopped going to Liberty Tree when they stopped doing the character dinner.

Zz.

Okay, thanks so much for your feedback! I'm going to give this LTT meal and eating at a resort some more thought.