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I will be able to make our ADRs on June 24. Trying to decide where to eat on our first night. We WON'T be going into a park that day and we're on the dining plan. We are a family of 7 - Mom, Dad, 3 young adult DDds and 2 teen DSs. We are not opposed to character meals. We usually do Hoop Dee Doo our first night, but DH wants to try something else. Suggestions please.
We usually go to either Downtown Disney or a resort on our first night. Some of our choices have been:
Boatwrights at POR
Ohana
TRex
Paradiso 37
Captain's Grille at YC
Maya Grille at CBR
Ragland Road
That would be sort of hard to pass up the Hoop for the first night. It's just a perfect "Welcome to Disney" opener. But I do understand wanting something different too. The Luau (Spirit of Aloha) might be a good switch. The atmosphere is nice and welcoming and very tropical and sorts. It's a good vacation welcoming opener too. It gets a bad rep sometimes but I still say it's fun, enjoyable, and good. There's always Ohana at the Polynesian as well. Whispering Canyon, Boma- Flavors of Africa, and TRex at DTD might be cool too. Oh, and I almost forgot, there's always the Hoop :-)
Since we usually arrive late afternoon we don't go the parks the first day either. We always go to DTD and eat at Wolfgang Puck express but I think we'll try Earl of Sandwich this time. That way we save a TS for either a character breakfast the day we check out or put it with another TS credit for a signature meal.
This will be the first time, in like 20+ visits, that we are not going to a park on day of arrival.
We are heading to DTD and going to try the Earl of Sandwich for the very first time. I've heard nothing but great reviews on this place:cloud9:
We always do Ohana on our first night, ALWAYS!!!
It's a great "you are in Disney" first meal. Follow it up with a spin on the monorail, wishes from one of the monorail resort's, and you have a great first night to kick off your trip.
What about Chef Mickey's!
How about California Grill in time for Wishes to get the Disney juices flowing?
We did 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian last fall, but I don't know if your DSs would be so thrilled with the princess characters.
Ohana would be an excellent choice, as you can try to time your ADR so that you are done eating in time to watch/listen to Wishes from the beach at the Poly. That's what I'd do with personally.
If you aren't going to a park your first day, then a resort restaurat or DTD would be a good choice. Hop Dee Doo is a great arrival meal to kick start the trip and is also a great send off at the end of a trip! :mickey:
Here are my suggestions-
Ohana
Cape May Cafe (this is our arrival day dinner!)
Raglan Road
Kona
Boatwrights (we stay at Port Orleans and this is a great place for dinner at our resort)
Chef Mickeys
:mickey:
Cape May Cafe is our arrival day dinner in October as well...it's a great deal if you're on the dining plan, and it's a nice atmosphere in the evening with the Boardwalk, etc. around. Also, we've learned that if you're not going to a park, it's still pretty easy to get to (go to HS and take the boat over) which makes it a little less stressful that all that bussing around.
Of course, it is a bit seafood intensive...if everyone's ok with that...
I never do much the first night... Earl of Sandwich for me on my first night... Become sort of a tradition the last few years... Book Bay Lake Tower, park view... Get in, unpack, relax, shower, change, head to DTD... Get Earl of Sandwich, back to room... Sit on balcony and watch the fireworks (either Wishes or HalloWishes cause I usually head down in October, depending what day I arrive and if MNSSHP is that night or not)...
I would consider eating at your home resort on your first night. The food courts or sit down restaurants are a great place to soak up the flavor of the resort.
If you want to resort hop on your first night, I'd consider the CA Grill, O'hana, Sanaa, or Artist Point. The first two would be a little too close to the MK for me on a non park day. The latter two are great ways to immerse you in the Disney experience, too!
I second the idea of eating at your resort! For the first time, that's our plan for this trip, and we're actually rather looking forward to it. Time to swim, to settle in and then a nice meal to end out the day. We're at Port Orleans, and Boatwright's has always served us a super meal.
When we do visit other resorts, AoA is one of our favourites if you're looking for counter service and Whispering Canyon at WL is a good time for table service.