Mama Melrose or Trattoria al Forno

[gogo]

I need to make one more dinner adr for upcoming trip the end of this month. I plan on being at Hollywood Studios on an evening that it closes at 9:00 p.m. I'm torn between making a late adr at Mama Melrose right before park closing and then getting a bus back to my resort or a late adr at Trattoria Al Forno and getting a taxi back to my resort. I can either walk or boat to Trattoria from HS.

I only have one evening to spend at HS and I already have a late lunch that day so a late dining adr will work best. I have never eaten at either of these restaurants and both menus look good to me. And, I really only want to use a single dining credit. What would you choose? I'll be dining solo and I need to take into consideration getting a taxi from Boardwalk area which I don't mind or taking the bus if I eat at HS. I'm assuming a taxi would be easy to get from any of the Epcot area resorts around 10:30 p.m I don't mind spending the money on taxi but I'm more concerned with ease of transportation and atmosphere for solo dining. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

What resort are you staying at? Another option, if you go to Trattoria, is to walk back through Epcot and take a bus from there (if you have hopper tickets or an AP), or walk over to the Boardwalk and take a bus to another park.

The food is kind of equivalent IMO. Basic italian. Neither one is outstanding or bad. I like the Boardwalk area at night, so i'd go with Trattoria, have a drink or two at Abracadabar afterwards then walk around the Boardwalk area.

 

[gogo]

What resort are you staying at? Another option, if you go to Trattoria, is to walk back through Epcot and take a bus from there (if you have hopper tickets or an AP), or walk over to the Boardwalk and take a bus to another park.

The food is kind of equivalent IMO. Basic italian. Neither one is outstanding or bad. I like the Boardwalk area at night, so i'd go with Trattoria, have a drink or two at Abracadabar afterwards then walk around the Boardwalk area.

I'm staying at POR. I'll have to check the time Epcot is closing on the 30th. But, that could be a possibility. I agree with you that Boardwalk area is really nice especially at night. I love Italian food and it would have to be really bad for me to notice, lol. I'm trying to get to as many Italian restaurants as possible this trip. I usually travel with my son and this is probably his least favorite restaurant fare.

 

[gogo]

I think MK is open until 11:00 on 8/30. Would the busses be going to the MK around 10:30 from BWI, Yacht or Beach Club. That's a little late since the park will be closing at 11:00 but I like the idea of hopping on a bus after dinner and transferring to POR from MK. Sounds a little convoluted in theory but it really isn't. Thanks

 

[Tink522]

Another transportation option is to take a bus from Boardwalk to Disney Springs and then take the boat from Disney Springs to POR.

 

[prgal0715]

To answer your first question - I'd go for Trattoria al Forno over Mama Melrose's for sure. Service is great, the atmosphere is really nice and I've had only good experiences with the food there. Trattoria also has a different/more sophisticated vibe than MM thanks to its location outside of a theme park. If you enjoy Italian, I think you'll like it!

As for transportation, I like @Tink522's thought of taking the DS bus from the Boardwalk then transferring to the POR bus or boat. That transportation is running the latest and should be the easiest way back to your resort. Or...if you're tired and don't want to go through all that...I recommend using Lyft (or Uber if you prefer) over a taxi. It's substantially cheaper and you can schedule a pick-up right from the app. You could try one of those cute Minnie Vans, too!

 

[kniquy]

I just recently ate at Trattoria al forno and was not impressed at all. It was two of us - both our meals were just so-so the only good thing was the carafe of sangria. I had eaten at mama melrose about 2 years ago and everyone in my party was very happy with their meals.

Plus eating in the park will give you a little more park time as you wont have to leave and travel for your reservation.

i guess your only hang up is the transportation after the park closes. i think to make things easy just use uber. I think if you sign up sometimes your first ride is free so it could possibly cost you nothing. But even if you have to pay it won't be much and then you know you will make it to your resort without traveling all around. I think buses usually run for an hour after park close so if it closes at 900 and you get a dinner reservation for 845 then you could just tell your server that you are on a little bit of a time crunch and need to get out to catch the bus.

 

[gogo]

Thanks everyone, such good ideas!

 

[Nancyg56]

I like both but given a choice, I would most likely choose Al Forno, WE like it there a lot.

I would also walk to a resort after dinner and take a cab back to the resort. I have never used Uber,but you could do that too.

 

[gogo]

I like both but given a choice, I would most likely choose Al Forno, WE like it there a lot.

I would also walk to a resort after dinner and take a cab back to the resort. I have never used Uber,but you could do that too.

 

[Disneypapa]

My preference would be Mama Melrose. I like the food options and service was prompt.

 

[gillep]

Neither are at the top of my list, but we prefer Mama Melrose (we occasionally do the Fantasmic package and have always had a pretty good meal). Neither DH nor I liked any of our food at Trattoria, and the service was pretty close to nonexistent.

 

[dina7]

We have eaten at both, several times & my family enjoys Trattoria al Forno more. All of the food we have tried there has been delicious. We have dined there four times & as far as service went, once not good, once just fine, and twice amazing.

 

[Micca]

We've been to TAF twice and MM several times but many years ago. I think TAF is the superior eatery but we had different experiences each time we ate there. The first time was shortly after the restaurant opened and we really enjoyed the experience. The second time we went the food wasn't as good, and the server sort of mentally checked out about 1/2 way through the meal. I'd give TAF once more chance though, might've been an off night.