First Food/Dining Memories....

Wow, one of my first dining experiences was a place where they used to have Captain Hook. I was and still kind of am terrified of Captain Hook :blush: It was a buffet restaurant, which I think is either 1900 Park Fare or Akershus. I hid under the table and he stomped his foot, and I began crying. I was probably 3 or 4 haha.

My first visit was in 1987 when I was a young mother. My favorite memories involve character meals we went to-remember Melvin the Moose ("Wake Up You Silly Moose" at the top of your lungs and the kazoos. both at breakfast time. Good times!)? And the Minnie's Mennehuene character meal. We also remember how the kids loved the newly opened "South Seas Dinner Theater", for kids, at the Polynesian, while Mom and Dad dined at whatever Ohana's was called then. And I'll never forget our very first meal-at Liberty Tree Tavern in MK. We lived near Boston at that time, and to me, it seemed like a Boston restaurant. So I sat there, thinking "I came all the way here and spent all this money for something I could do at home?"

My first visit was in 2003 and MGM was the first park we visited. I remember we ate at ABC Commissary and it was horrible, we ended up throwing the food away. We still haven't been back there. On the same trip we ate at Crystal Palace and Alfredo's. Alfredo's stands out in my mind it was so good and everything was so authentic./

In 1999, my wife and I took our first trip to Walt Disney World. It was part of a time-sharing "scheme," so we stayed off property and we're only at Walt Disney World for three days. We were newbies. We had no ADRs and so none of our dining experiences stand out, except possibly Pecos Bill's. Still, it was enough to know we were going to be WDW addicts. The next spring, I planned a long trip to Disney World and we stayed on property (Coronado Springs.) Our first meal was at the Rainforest Café at Animal Kingdom That still stands out for me as a highlight. I was so excited to be staying on property at Disney for nine days. The whole trip was just beginning. Our eyes were so wide inside the cafe, taking it all in. For many ensuing trips, our vacation starts there. It feels like it was yesterday.

MississippiDisneyFreak;2493535 wrote: My first visit was in 2003 and MGM was the first park we visited. I remember we ate at ABC Commissary and it was horrible, we ended up throwing the food away. We still haven't been back there. On the same trip we ate at Crystal Palace and Alfredo's. Alfredo's stands out in my mind it was so good and everything was so authentic./

Speaking of horrible food reminds me-the only time we threw away food was on our first visit and now don't remember the name of the restaurant. It was in Epcot Future World, sort of where Inventions is, if I remember right. A fast food place with lots of Italian Food, what we threw away was pizza. Anyone remember the name? Fortunately it no longer exists.

I remember getting a ham and cheese sandwich wrapped in wax paper from Aunt Polly's on Tom Sawyer Island. That was our first trip when my daughter was just two. That would have been 22 years ago. WOW! Time flies

First trip was 1990 and remember eating at Chef Mickey's. It was on the waterfront in Downtown Disney and was not a buffet restaurant. I remember my wife getting a pork chop that was dripping blood. The waiter tried to convince us that was the new best way to eat pork... :sick:

Our first dining experience at Disney World was lunch at Le Cellier in Epcot.
My first Disney dining experience was at Disneyland the first year it opened. We ate at the Chicken of the Sea restaurant which was in a pirate ship and you were joined by Captain Hook. Quite exciting, nothing else remotely like it at the time. Wish we could post pictures here, I have ones that even include construction of Frontierland in the background. This was before Disney started putting up cute walls with cute sayings - interesting.

First trip, 1981, age 12. I remember dining at the Empress Lilly riverboat (later became Fulton's) and how beautiful quiet little Buena Vista Village (later became Downtown Disney/Disney Springs) was all alight with fairy lights in the trees. Top of the World, for a broadway review dinner show that featured some stars from the Laurence Welk Show at the time (impressing my grandmother to no end). And my favorite, the buffet at the Polynesian (Papeete Bay Verandah?) with Pink Leilanis (a non alcoholic strawberry punch).

In park (which was only the MK at the time), I loved the Crystal Palace and King Stefan's Banquet Hall (Cinderella Castle, now Cinderella's Royal Table). My family did not believe in counter service/quick dining, so we had three full table service meals a day (which seems so excessive now).

My first trip was a family reunion in 2005. I had read about O'hana's here on Intercot and booked it for our first night. Everyone was exhausted, and we wound up waiting an hour past our ADR time to get seated. It wasn't anyone's favorite meal of the trip, but we did thoroughly enjoy the caramel and pineapple along with the view of the castle.

Everyone's favorite meal of the trip wound up being breakfast at Crystal Palace. I only booked it in order to get into the park early for pictures on an empty Main St, because no one in the family is a Winnie the Pooh fan. It became a must do for every trip.

Going way back, I have very fond memories of staying at The Golf Resort (now SOG), and a few really great meals at their restaurant - The Trophy Room. Outstanding seafood options at the time, but that's been gone a long time!

[QUOTE=SBETigg;2493597]First trip, 1981, age 12. I remember dining at the Empress Lilly riverboat (later became Fulton's) and how beautiful quiet little Buena Vista Village (later became Downtown Disney/Disney Springs) was all alight with fairy lights in the trees.

Me too! We ate on the Empress Lilly for a character breakfast in 1983. That is the first one I remember.

I also vaguely remember eating at a picnic table and watching an armadillo go by at Fort Wilderness and watching my parents freak out. "Mom it's just a 'possidilly!" I was 4 so this must have been 1975...

In all the times we hvae gone when i was a child, usually we would eat outside the park. The first time i went as an adult we had the free dining plan and our first dinner was at The Contempory Steak House. It was awesome, I remember we were just looking around like "this is free"?

I have somewhat similar memories to RavsRuleDisney! Our first night was spent at the Hoop Dee Do Revue...a very fitting intro to WDW. I also recall two other meals, breakfast at Top of the World and a missed dinner at The Empress Lilly. I don't recall if it was a buffet at Top of the World, but I do recall being able to see Spaceship Earth out in the distance under construction. As for Empress Lilly we had reservations but in looking at the menu when we got there some of the kids didn't want to go. So my parent's kept their reservation and my older sister must have gotten us something else at what was then the Disney Village. I don't recall what the food offerings were there onsite back then, but I guess all things considered it was a nice way for my parents to get some time away from the kids.