Hi Frances!
Thanks for your question. It seems like there are endless Princess-themed restaurants and character dining restaurants catered to our younger Mouseketeers (preschool aged up through 7), but the double-digit young lads (10 years and older) may not appear to have as many options, at least on the surface. Having a son who is 12 years old now, I completely understand the question. As a family who travels to
Disney every year, here is what I can say my son thoroughly enjoys at
Disney World:
Garden Grill Restaurant at Disney's EpcotMy son always asks us to eat at this restaurant. This is a nice family-style, table service, character dining restaurant. Featuring our favorite Disney pals, Chip 'n' Dale, it give you the character dining experience that fits his age. It's not too young, such as the Disney Junior themed Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios, nor does it have an over abundance of Disney characters, such as Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. What really impresses my son, however, is that the restaurant is a rotating restaurant. This, above all else, impresses him the most. As the restaurant rotates, you are also treated to the visual scenes of the
Living with the Land attraction. This a neat bit of ingenuity by Disney, as you get a chance to see the scenes of Living with the Land without being on the actual attraction (or seeing guests on boat rides while you eat). If your son has similar tastes, I think he would love
Garden Grill Restaurant.
A few others my son enjoys:
*50's Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios
*Cape May Cafe at Beach Club resort
*Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot
*Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue Dinner show at the Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort
*Rainforest Cafe at Disney's Animal Kingdom
*T-REX at Disney Springs
*Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Hopefully this gives you a snapshot of what your son may enjoy. These restaurants are at my son's top of the list!
Have a magical time when you and your family visit
Disney!
Terry