Best restaurant for Christmas dinner

Where are you staying? We moved down in 2024 and decided a new tradition would be to have a staycation and Christmas dinner in WDW , in 2024 we stayed at SSR and ate at the Turf Club ( better than we expected!) and 2025 we stayed at Kidani and ate at Sanaa, ( its our #1 fav on WDW property) this year I am out of points lol until I can borrow on 101/1 and then I'll take what I can get:) Of course you dont have to eat where you are staying.

We will be at Riviera on Christmas Day. We are willing to go anywhere on property as I do want to go to MK early that day since I've never been. Plan is to leave when it gets too crazy. Not sure what we're doing after that, but this will help determine it.

How about Topolino's ? that way when MK gets crazy , you can go back to your resort, relax, etc and gave time to get ready for a nice dinner. Not sure if the price is going to be worth it for your teenager though?

If you plan to camp out in the MK I might suggest Liberty Tree for the all you care to enjoy holiday favorites. Just remember that if you decide to leave the MK you might not be able to get back in. They regularly reach capacity.

If you will be around MK all day then Liberty Tree Tavern. We ate at Grand Floridian Cafe before on Christmas and it was good and then have plenty of things for picky eaters. You can also take in the Grand Floridian that way. If you want to be closer to your home resort there is Trattoria over at Boardwalk which should also fill a picky eater. If you want to spend more and your daughter likes mac and cheese Flying Fish is terrific. My daughter is also a picky eater and she is able to get that there while we enjoy a very nice meal.

I have a 13-year old (almost 14 year old) who eats like a 5 year old, so I feel the pain.

We've done Christmas at WDW twice (because our daughter's birthday is Christmas Day).

The first year the kids were 4 and 2, so we went to Cinderella's Castle for a 9:30-ish breakfast for the Birthday Girl. We were staying at BLT and didn't rope drop (because it's Christmas morning...sheesh!), and when we hit the entrance to MK it was a WALL of people all the way to the castle. We had a stroller, so I put my 4 year old in my shoulders and elbowed my way to the Castle to make sure we checked in on time. My hubby followed with the stroller and the toddler. It was a great decision, because once we were in the Castle, it was peaceful compared to the chaos outside. We enjoyed our meal, and then did our FP+ (remember those!) and left.

In 2022, we attended the Christmas Eve Vigil Mass at the Contemporary Ballroom and ate at Cali Grill for Christmas Eve dinner. It was crazy expensive, because it's pre-fixe. But they let our picky kid order the "Seasonal Flatbread" as a pepperoni flatbread for the appetizer. Then he loved it so much, he ordered it again as a Main. It's $100 for two pizzas, but he was happy and the rest of us had a lovely meal. Very worthy of Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Day that year, we ate at Via Napoli. Not your typical Christmas Day, but it was delicious, and we all loved pizza!

Since you're staying at Riviera, I strongly recommend Topolino's. Their character breakfast is one of our teens' top two character meals. Picky kids can definitely get what they want. But it wouldn't really work if you're trying to get into MK early. Topolino's for dinner is great too, but I would take a peek at the menu and see if your daughter would like it.

If your kiddo likes traditional Christmas food like turkey, ham, dressing (ours does not), Liberty Tree is a perfect Christmas meal. I would love to do that for a holiday. But the ambience at Crystal Palace is also wonderful with a larger variety of food. It's probably our teens' fave character meal.