Tink Tested: Biergarten Dinner

Location: Germany pavilion in Epcot
Parking/Transportation Situation: Park in Epcot main parking, or take the monorail from the Ticket and Transportation Center. If you're staying at The Beach Club, Yacht Club, BoardWalk or Swan and Dolphin, you can take the boat or walk. If you are staying at a Disney Resort that is not on the monorail line or one of the four listed above, you can take the bus from your resort to Epcot.

Meals Served: L, D

Characters/Entertainment: No characters, but a live Oompa band plays throughout the day, creating a lively atmosphere with their cowbells, Alpine Horns, accordions and more. 
Type of Cuisine: German

Type of Menu: Buffet

Pricing/Dining Plan: $$$/ 1 Table Service Point Per Person
Full Menu: Biergarten Dinner Menu

Atmosphere: Boisterous German outdoor beer hall, where it's eternally nighttime 

Dress Code: Theme park casual

Guests Who Would Enjoy This The Most: Families, kids, German food lovers, beer fans, music lovers

Level of Difficulty of Getting a Reservation: Easy

Fun Stuff for Kids: The live music is entertaining, and kids are welcomed down to the dance floor. Kids also tend to like the eternal setting of a fall evening.
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: This is cool!!!

Stand out dishes: German Sausages, Pork Schnitzel, Apple Strudel, Bavarian Cheesecake
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: The only option here is the buffet, but generally speaking, any all-you-care-to-eat option is a good value on the Dining Plan.

Experience: Yes, I am finally bringing you a review of an in-park restaurant! You've gotta understand though... it's summer. In Florida. Going in to the park involves risking trampling and a moderate amount of melting. I promise, once the weather cools down and the crowds go home, I'll be dining in the parks more often, and sharing those experiences with you.
     I was really excited for this one, because I had never been to Biergarten and a huge part of why I started this venture was to get to try the things I have never experienced at Disney before. The reason I have always avoided this location is pretty lame, and it all boils down to one word: Sauerkraut. Though I adore the sights and sounds of the Germany pavilion, I have always been super turned off by the strong sauerkraut smell the wafts out of the Sommerfest quick service location. It just turns my stomach. I sort of assumed that Biergarten would smell the same way, since they do, in fact, serve sauerkraut. Well, you know what assuming does, huh? I was very pleased to find that Biergarten did NOT smell stinky or unpleasant at all. But let's back up a bit...
     So we booked this a day before we visited. We were meeting friends from Tampa in the park that night for fireworks, and decided that eating at a full service location made the most sense, since Florida summer weather tends to lash out irrationally, and it would give us an indoor place to be for a while before the show. Generally, Biergarten is pretty easy to book. I think this is partially due to German food not being as enticing to many Guests as, say, Italian or Chinese food, and partially due to their seating method. The beer hall uses classic German banquet tables, seating smaller parties with other Guests. This makes it more likely that they can get another party in with a quick shift of the seating plan, as opposed to needing to get a whole empty table. It is common that Biergarten, along with Morocco's Restaurant Marrakesh, have same day, or even walk-in spaces available. (It's good to remember for Candlelight Packages, Food and Wine Packages, and Flower and Garden packages that Biergarten is one of only two all-you-care-to-eat restaurants in Epcot, the other being Garden Grill in The Land. This makes it one of the best values if you have big eaters in your group.)
     Our reservation was for 7:15pm. When we got to the park, around 6:45pm, the sky was dark and rumbling. We put our heads down and picked up the pace, hoping to outrun the impending storm. When D slowed to look at something, the poor thing got barked at to keep going. But we knew what was coming! And sure enough, right as we stepped into the Germany pavilion, the skies started to open and flashes of lightning increased in frequency. Luckily, our friends, C and C, and their twins, had also made it safely over to World Showcase before the storm hit. We checked in and got our pager. The seater asked us if we were ok with going up and down stairs. She said she had a great table for us, right by the entertainment. Knowing that not only did the hubs and I have our 2 year old and 6 year old, but C and C had their 2 year old twins, as well, I asked, "Would we need to go up and down the stairs to get to the buffet?" When she said we would, I politely asked to forfeit our better view, and be sat on the same level as the buffet. The idea of toting multiple plates, and multiple toddlers up and down stairs seemed a little more daunting than I could handle just then.
     When the pager went off, we were walked to our banquet table, right on the main level. Because we were a party of 8, we got a table to ourselves. Or server, a serious-looking older German man named Robert, came over and greeted us and took orders for our included soft drinks. Our friend, having been here before, mentioned that she doesn't know what it is, but for some reason, Biergarten has the BEST Diet Coke. I know, weird, right? She was SO right though! I think it's the thick, heavy steins that the drinks are served in, which keep the soda ultra cold. Or it was all in our heads. Either way, the Diet Coke was great! Of course, most of you would probably like something a little stronger in your steins, and you can certainly get it. There are many fantastic German beers on tap for an extra fee, but since we aren't drinkers, we were thrilled with our sodas.

     Our table had a great view of the stage and dance floor and the entertainment was in full swing. The Oompa band was so much fun! The kids loved clapping along and you couldn't help but tap your feet to the sweet, sweet polkas they were playing. My kids particularly loved when the band would yell the German beer hall cheer, "Zicke-zacke, zicke-zacke...", and would prompt the crowd to hold up their steins and yell, "Hoi, hoi, hoi!"

     I loved the setting of an outdoor beer garden at Oktoberfest. The lighting is set to give the illusion that it is always nighttime here, and the artificial trees are showing their most bold autumn colors. The fronts of the buildings looked authentically Bavarian, and really took me back to my trip to Germany a couple of years ago.
     As soon as we got our drinks, we were prompted to go up and get our food from the buffet line. Because they seat in huge waves here, filling the dining room almost all at one time, the line for food gets pretty large early in your seating time. If you don't like to wait, you many want to stay seated and enjoy the entertainment until the line dies down a bit. The buffet is a mirrored one, where the same items are offered on two different sides, with different items being offered in the middle. They hadn't caught K's egg allergy note, so I had to ask to speak to a chef. I did get to go up to the buffet with the chef and do the typical allergy walk through, where the chef points out what K can and cannot have. Because of the large number of sausages and meats, we had plenty to give the little guy.
     The buffet had far more variety than I was expecting, and everything looked fresh and delicious. There was sauerkraut, but I didn't even smell it when I got up right next to it, so I was pleased about that. Some of our favorite items were the roasted pork with applesauce, the pork schnitzel, and the sausages. The hubs quickly made mini-sandwiches out of the pretzel rolls and the sausages. He pretty much makes sandwiches out of everything. Some are gross, but this one was bomb and I ended up making myself one, as well. D loved the roasted chicken and she ate the applesauce like it was going out of style. Her and I also shared some of the cheesy baked mac and cheese, which was delicious. K liked the pork, the cheese cubes and the salami the best. Everyone was eating, entertained and enjoying themselves. C and C's boys also dug in with gusto and everyone was able to find something they liked.

     Dessert was pretty impressive too. Of course, apple strudel is their specialty, but I liked the Bavarian cheesecake the most, and K ate two plates worth of sliced watermelon. And the chocolate chip cookies! Oh, the cookies! I know chocolate chip cookies are not what you'd be expecting to be a stand out at a German buffet, but these were fresh, warm, chewy yet crispy, equating to total deliciousness. Totally surprising! And with all of the other desserts, I bet a lot of people passed them up. What a shame. Nothing like a good cookie.

     By the time we were wrapping up, bellies were full, the polka had been danced, and all of the cold, crisp Diet Coke that we could handle had been consumed. Our server brought us the check and then did something incredible that really touched me. He came over and individually thanked us and shook our hands, saying it was a pleasure to serve us. So simple, but SO sweet and memorable. A true Disney touch.
     After eating, we exited the Biergarten, only to find out that we had missed a huge storm! In fact, there was still quite a bit of wind, rain and some lightning. The storm had almost cleared the park, so we took advantage of having such a small number of Guests around and let the kiddos play in the rain puddles and dance around to the pre-Illuminations music. We all watched the fireworks in the sprinkles and didn't mind getting wet at all. Another awesome night for the books!
     And what was my verdict on Biergarten? I was VERY pleasantly surprised! Great food, fun entertainment and atmosphere, and great service. I will say, lunch seems to be the best deal here, since it's about $10 less per person, on average, and has the same offerings. Good to know!

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to D (6 yo girl) D, did you like Biergarten?   "Beer garden? I don't drink beer."   And you won't until you're 21. It is the name of the restaurant we went to with C and C and the twins.   "Oh, yeah! I loved it. It was delicious. I liked the food and the desserts and the food."   Ok, so we have established that the food was good. What about the band? Did you like the music?   "Yeah, that was so fun! I like that they had music playing there so that you could dance and not be bored."   Yes, I enjoyed their boredom prevention technique as well. So you think other kids would like it?   "I do. I really do. You have to try the food though. Sometimes they didn't look good or I didn't know what they were because they were like, in Spanish. But I tried the stuff and everything was really good. Especially the cookies and the cheesecake."   Probably not so much in Spanish, as they were in German, but that is great advice for other kids, D. You have to try stuff, right?   "Or you won't know if you like it. How do you know you don't like something if you don't try it?"   Wait. You sound like Nonnie.   "Well, you say that to me."   Uh-oh. It's happening.

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy)  K, did you like the restaurant with the music and the sausages?   "Yeah, Mamma. I like it."   What did you like about it?   "Music. And hot dogs."  Ok, fair enough. What about the watermelon? You liked that too, huh?   "Yum. Wata-melon good. I eat it all."  You kinda did. They had to replace the tray after us.   "Mamma, it's Nonnie. Say hi." (Hands me a Disney Photopass card that he is pretending is his phone. Then takes it away from me, and pretends to take my picture with it, and walks away.) "I send dis to Nonnie."  Dude you are more technologically savvy than I am, I swear.  

Will we be back: Ja! (Yes!) I'd do Biergarten again, but next time I'm doing lunch to save some moola.