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No kids, new to Disney. Only doing 1 sit down restaurant, what's your favorite?

saskdw said:
Gotta love this place...ask advice on where to eat and get 10 people trying to re-plan your trip for you! :rolleyes:

:lmao: come on, to even think about skipping the castle AND WISHES is such a horrifying thought! The OP should be thanking us! :rotfl:
 
Gotta love this place...ask advice on where to eat and get 10 people trying to re-plan your trip for you! :rolleyes:

LOL! It's not any different than my cruise critic boards:)

No, I am very grateful for the suggestions!! Disney is new to me (at least since I was a little kid) and the all the necessary planning is a little overwhelming, so I'm loving all the input :goodvibes

Now I am rethinking my park hopper decision...sounds like it may be worth the extra $120.

I do have to admit that the ticket price was a bit of a shocker! For the cost of this 4 night trip, I could go on a 7+ day cruise. I can't even imagine paying for the food, I don't think we would be doing this trip if it wasn't for the free dining. I don't think Disney will become a regular thing for us, at least until after we have kids, but we are looking forward to trying something a little different.

Keep the restaurant suggestions coming! Every time you guys mention one, I go look at the menu and highlight it on my restaurant list if it looks like something we'd enjoy.
 


I'd definitely agree with Via Napoli in Italy at Epcot. One of our favorites and a must do on just about every trip!

I also agree that I wouldn't skip Magic Kingdom on your first trip. We don't have kids either and we go anywhere from 1 to 3 times a year and we love all the parks, but MK has the most to do and is the one that really screams DISNEY!

Have fun!!!
 
Via Napoli does seem like a good option for you guys. I haven't been yet (my husband and I are going in Aug) but it seems to get consistently good reviews and has reasonable prices.

I'd also agree that MK is a place you don't want to miss. I'd skip AK over the rest of the parks easily. No contest.
 


During our last trip, I was thinking that MK was my least favorite park during that time. It just seemed too crowded and busy. I would never skip it though even if only to ride the Haunted Mansion. :) Plus I like It's a Small World. This park is not just for kids!

OP, go to whichever parks appeal the most. Everyone is different. As for dining, I would suggest maybe finding somewhere good in World Showcase at Epcot. It's fun to dine there!

DHS is rather sad when it comes to food and AK isn't really much better plus it closes earlier. You can also get some good meals at some of the resorts so it depends on what you want to eat and what kind of atmosphere you want. You might want to make a list and then get some opinions about those.
 
We're looking into Coral Reef, just not impressed with the size of the menu. Really only 2 maybe 3 non seafood options:( We're planning on visiting the aquarium though and maybe stopping in for a dessert.

We're only going for 3 days, and MK just seemed like the best one to skip for 2 adults...am I wrong?

I would skip Animal Kingdom. No question. You just can't go to WDW and skip MK. It's just too special to miss. The heart of it all!
 
Just me and hubby, going to Disney Sep 22-26, staying at All Star Movies. Only have quick service dining. This is our first time going to Disney.

We'll probably do a nice table service dinner only one night. What is one can't miss restaurant that I should make reservations for?

We are not terribly picky but not very adventurous either and we do not eat any pork or seafood products for religious reasons, so mostly just chicken and beef. We love Mexican and Italian.

We are not planning on going to Magic Kingdom and do not have park hopper tickets if that makes a difference.

We will be paying out of pocket, and ideally I'd like to spend under $30/plate.

Where would you recommend for a nice date night?

well you'll spend more than $30 per place but Jiko is the best answer to your question. hands down the best resturant for late night dinner without kids. the servers are excellent, thewine list fantastic. and the food will wow you.
 
Wishes = nightly amazing fireworks show over the castle. Tinkerbell even flies most nights. Great music and story combined with awesome fireworks. Makes me tear up every time.
 
I just had to chime in to agree with all the PPs urging you not to skip MK. It's the heart of WDW and magical for kids and adults alike. It's just DH and me and MK is where we go on the first night of every trip without fail!

Getting there at park opening (referred to as "rope drop" here on the boards) really gives you an advantage and allows you to get a lot of attractions done before most families get in the park. For us though, MK is most magical at night. Strolling through the "lands" with the park lit up and watching Wishes (the nightly firework display)... it's a great place to be!
 
As mentioned earlier, don't forget about the restaurants at the resorts!! Since you're staying at All-Star, you'd probably want to check out a resort restaurant that is near a park (easier to get to, as direct resort-to-resort transport is non-existent.). So, my suggestions:
1. Via Napoli in EPCOT. It is a must do on every trip, however it might not be the "date night" setting you're looking for. I'd check out menus AND inside pics to get a feel for the atmosphere.
2. The Wave. It's inside the Contemporary Resort, which is a 2 minute monorail ride away from the Magic Kingdom (which everyone else agreed you cannot miss.) The food is awesome...it's a hidden gem. It's organic, local, etc... And has a wide variety of options. If you're planning to stay at the parks from open-til-close, it would be a great place to relax outside of MK for an hour, but still be close. If you're planning on going back to your room midday to relax, you can easily go there before you head back to MK for the night.
3. Feeling adventurous? Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani. If you're looking for a little spice! It's has the best atmosphere...plus you can tour AKL resort before and after.
4. Finally, Kona at Polynesian. Ok, do it has the least impressive atmosphere of all I've listed and the food is good, not excellent IMO....BUT...you have an excuse to hang out at the Poly, which has the best atmosphere on property!

Ok, so I basically just listed all my ADRs for my upcoming trip. But hey, these are the places I like!

I wouldn't try to eat at HS for what you're looking for...and I would skip AK altogether. Maybe. And I'm not looking to re-plan your trip, but....
You didn't mention when you're arriving or leaving. Reason I mention this is that a 3-day pass is $560 for two people. A 4-day pass is $595! That's only $35 total for an additional day. So, it you have a later flight on your last day, you might want to consider making that your AK day, morning only. Or if you arrive earlier the first day, you might want to check out HS for an evening.

Remember, you can do it all. Pick a couple of must-dos, per park, and plan around those. Everything else will be a bonus. Enjoy!!
 
Gotta love this place...ask advice on where to eat and get 10 people trying to re-plan your trip for you! :rolleyes:

But... When someone mentions they're new and it's their first trip...we smell blood!! ;-)
 
Sorry to join in with unsolicited advice, but as someone who has also only experienced WDW as an adult (and briefly as a teenager) I agree that MK cannot be skipped. Epcot and MK are really the only parks where you can spend a whole day (or more) in my opinion. You mentioned you were a bit shocked by the price of the trip, and I just feel like if you use one of your days on AK or HS you will be left feeling like you did not get your money's worth. Especially since AK closes early.

Instead of skipping AK as some have suggested, my advice would be to 1) Splurge on the park hopper and spend a morning in AK and that afternoon in HS so that you can have a full day each for Epcot and MK, or 2) Get a 4 day ticket and try to plan you flights so that you can spend your first evening at HS or last morning at AK. All 4 parks have something that you may regret missing, especially since you don't know if/when you'll be back.

Again, sorry for the unsolicited advice and not even answering your initial question. I just couldn't resist! :( For the record, I think Coral Reef would be a good option.
 
We're looking into Coral Reef, just not impressed with the size of the menu. Really only 2 maybe 3 non seafood options:( We're planning on visiting the aquarium though and maybe stopping in for a dessert.

We're only going for 3 days, and MK just seemed like the best one to skip for 2 adults...am I wrong?

If I had to skip 1 park I would skip Hollywood Studios. My wife and i are in our mid 50's.

It is the one park that I get least excited about. But that's just me.

Bill
 
Here would be my choices for sit down restaurants.

If in MK - I'd recommend doing Be Our Guest for lunch, maybe Plaza for a cheap dinner, or Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch.
If at Epcot - Via Napoli is good, share a pizza and salad or appetizer.
If at HS - we like Mama Melrose's, I like their chicken parm.
If at AK - we eat at Yak and Yeti or Tusker House - a character buffet (lunch is cheaper than dinner)
 
Hey there! Definitely go to MK because it really IS the whole point of the place. My hubby and I really pace ourselves to get the most out of our time. I am assuming you coming in on the 22nd and leaving on the 26th. What we do is on the day we get there, since we get there around lunch, is we take it easy and go to downtown Disney for some quick food, look around, decompress around our resort, and then go for a sit down meal that night. I would suggest Raglan Rd in Downtown Disney for less than $30 each. It is Irish food but there is chicken and beef on the menu and fun dancers! :-) Then, for the MK and AK days, we get there early and leave around lunch time (or after we eat at quick service in MK at Cosmic Ray's), go relax at the resort for a few hours (this is vacation after all!!! No sense running all the time or you go home without being refreshed), and then go back to whatever resort we were checked into for the day for some more rides that we could not do earlier or for fireworks or food. We also do the same for HS days usually. But Epcot, you really need all day or 2 half days. So, you have 5 total days but if you are coming in on the 22nd and leave on the 26th, you really have 1 half day when you arrive and 3 full days since the day you leave, you don't want to think about going to parks since you have to check out by 11 am. They can store your luggage at the checkout but the most I would do is go to Downtown Disney if you have a later leaving time. So, what I would do, if you don't want to go to MK for long is go there the night you get in to start the trip. HS has the most thrill rides, like Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster. AK has Everest which is awesome too. Epcot has Mission Space which has a gentle level if the Gforce will get you sick and of course, the world showcase which we LOVE!!! Have fun! We were going in Sept but now hopefully we are going in Feb for our 6th anniversary!
 

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