Suggestions for a First-Timer?

[abovelevel]

Hi everyone! I recently started reading these boards, as my boyfriend and I are planning his first trip to Disney and my first trip since I was 8! We will only be there for a few days (and that already took some convincing of him on my part), so I am doing just a few planned-ahead meals and would love some advice if anyone has any suggestions:

1) First night meal. We will be getting there around 4pm or so, but don't have tickets for the parks. Apparently, you can go see the fireworks from some of the hotels (Polynesian and Floridian I think?), which sounds like a good, easy-going first night. Any suggestions for a good restaurant to eat at at one of the hotels where you can do this?

2) Dinner at Epcot - I was leaning towards the Rose and Crown, because there is a British pub near our house we are fond of and the reviews look pretty good. The other things that looked pretty neat were Teppan Edo or Tokyo Dining. Any recommendations within that list? Also, what time would we need to eat to finish before the (9pm) show that evening? We eat pretty fast usually, but how early do we need to get there to find a decent spot to see it?

3) I am pretty set on doing Sanaa, so I think we'll do that this day. Looks like transportation might be a pain, but we will have the car, so perhaps we will drive (to/from Magic Kingdom)?

4) Last morning breakfast. I would LOVE to do a character brunch/breakfast, but I am open to a non-character if it is something really awesome! Again, won't be in the parks, but it looks like several of the hotels had good options. Does anyone have experience with Ohana or Cape May breakfast? It's just me and my boyfriend (both 24), and he is not super into it (yet! I am still trying to get him excited), so if there is an option that is slightly quieter, I will probably try to go with that. But I still really want to eat with the characters!

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Ambear]

Just gonna say that Sanaa is definitely worth it and wait for a table by the window. It takes a little longer but if you have time it adds that much more to the animal viewing experience. We got there by taking a bus from a park to the animal kingdom hotel and had no problems. But I'm sure a car would work easily too.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

As far as Epcot goes, we ate at the Rose & Crown. We had a good meal there. We did not much care for Tokyo Dining. We have never eaten at Tappen Edo, but we plan on going there on our next trip. We had a pretty good meal at Coral Reef, which is also at Epcot. Coral Reef has a nice aquarium inside. You can watch the large fish and sharks as eat your dinner. We also seen divers in the tank with sharks while we were there.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Love the Rose & Crown, we book 8:30 reservations and have been fortunate to get fireworks view many times. We enjoy Tepan Edo, it's a fun experience, and the food is good. I haven't eaten at Tokyo in many years, so no opinion. We really enjoy Sanaa, the bread service and the tomato soup are so good & filling, we share the entrees! Arrival night, one of our faves is Citricos at the GF! Enjoy your trip!

 

[mrsjoannh13]

A great place to see the fireworks is California Grill in the Contemporary Resort.

 

[minnie mum]

First night meal. Are you driving to WDW or flying and renting a car? If you're driving, then any of the restaurants at Poly or GF will fill the bill. If you aren't interested in the signature restaurants (we love Citricos) then either Kona Cafe or Grand Floridian Cafe are good. You might have more difficulty getting an Ohana ADR, depending on how far out your trip is. I'd make the ADR for 2 hours before wishes so you don't have to rush or worry if you are seated late. Then you can watch Wishes from either the Poly beach or the GF boat dock. If you are flying in, I wouldn't risk an ADR, since a delayed arrival could result in no show charges. Instead, I'd recommend checking the dining web site as soon as your plane lands and snag whatever ADR you can find at that time.

Epcot. We like both R&C and Tokyo Dining. Teppan Edo, no so much. We can get better Teppan food here at home. Again, I'd make the ADRfor around 7:00 or earlier so you could enjoy your meal and then find a spot on the promenade for Illuminations. There are all kinds of paces to watch from. Just find a place that isn't downwind from the fireworks so you don't have to deal with smoke.

Sanaa. One of our favorites. Try the bread service with ALL the dipping sauces. Unless you want to return to MK after dinner, just drive to AKL.

Last morning breakfast. Character breakfast and quiet are words that cannot be used in the same sentence unless the word NOT is included. But at least Ohana is served family style instead of buffet, so its a little less hectic.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I'd definitely recommend Sanaa. We had 5pm dinner and were seated by the windows without asking (about half or more of the tables were empty until the end of our meal), and had a great experience watching the animals. The bread service is awesome!

We usually don't make ADRs for EPCOT, and instead share CS meals and snacks around the world showcase. We did try Via Napoli this time, though, and enjoyed it. It's not the best pizza I've ever had, but probably top 10, maybe top 5. We also all liked the arancini.

There are so many fun snacks to try (especially from Les Halles) that we usually don't like to fill up at one place. We really liked the KakiGori from Japan (shaved ice - not as finely shaved as in Hawaii, but the ice isn't as chunky as a typical sno-cone. The melon flavor was really good and refreshing), the cronut from the Refreshment Port (by Canada), and the strawberry tart from Les Halles.

We had no trouble watching the MK fireworks from 'Ohana. We had an 8:30 reservation, were seated at a table far from the windows (kind of near the bar) at around 8:45, and Wishes was at 10. We could see Wishes from our table, but DD and I got up and stood by the windows for a few minutes to get a closer view. (The music is piped in.) 'Ohana was my favorite meal of our trip (out of 11 different table service restaurants).

Cali Grill is usually one of the recommended spots to watch Wishes. We haven't been since the restaurant was refurbished, but thought it was good. (We prefer other restaurants, but wouldn't have a problem returning.)

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

'Ohana is a great character breakfast. Lilo and Stitch, Mickey and Pluto- so much fun! The food is really good and served family style. Mickey waffles, bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, fruit, pineapple bread and best of all amazing JUICE... yum! We are also going to try 1900 Park Fare for breakfast this year as we've heard good things about it (we've done dinner there and loved it). We are looking forward to meeting the Mad Hatter.
Have a great trip.

 

[kastoney]

On your first meal night if you want to see the fireworks and do something really special I'd consider California Grill. Amazing food and the views of fireworks from the top of the Contemporary just can't be beat.

Sounds like rose and crown is a good pick based on our likes. Our epcot favorite is Via Napoli, as we adore the pizza.

Definitely stick with Sanna. Amazing food and atmosphere.

As far as breakfast, Kona is the best on property in my opinion.

 

[JennyDrake]

Teppan is nothing special. Your local, generic Japanese is better--and less expensive.
Kona is a hidden gem with great lunches at prices that won't break the bank.
I would go with TH for breakfast or lunch for a fun character meal with great food.

 

[baldy6060]

Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian is a good place to see the fireworks your first night. I don't think you can go wrong with any of your EPCOT choices (Biergarten and Via Napoli are great also). If you're only doing one day at the Magic Kingdom and you haven't been there for a while I can't recommend you go back and forth to Sanaa (though it is a great meal). It takes so long to leave and re-enter the park. Maybe a meal nearby? The Wave? Kona Cafe? Or something in the park (options are limited). Our favorite breakfasts are at Whispering Canyon Cafe and Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom but I have a feeling Kona Cafe's breakfast may be exactly what you're looking for.

 

[Disney Mom 7272]

I would choose Tusker House at Animal Kingdom for your character breakfast. If you don't want to go to the parks I would choose Ohana!

 

[Lucius Best]

Thanks in advance for any help!

First night meal: there are tons of good restaurants on the monorail resorts. If you time it right, you can see fireworks from inside 'Ohana, California Grill, and Narcoossee's, but not well. Citricos is great, and we also like Grand Floridian Cafe and Kona Cafe as more moderately-priced restaurants. We prefer to eat a little earlier, and then watch fireworks from Polynesian beach.

Epcot dinners: our favorites are Le Cellier (expensive but good) and Via Napoli (great pizza, not as expensive). You'd want dinner ADR around 7pm (7:30pm latest) to make sure you're done in time for fireworks. R&C has outdoor seating, if you time it right you can be eating outside with view of fireworks.

Sanaa: are you going here on a MK day? If you are doing Sanaa for dinner on your MK day and driving back to MK, that is a long trip, even with a car, because you can't drive to MK, you drive to the Ticket and Transportation Center and take the monorail to the MK. If going to Sanaa, you'd also want to take a little time to check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Last morning breakfast: I didn't see it mentioned, but 1900 Park Fare at GF and Chef Mickey at Contemporary also have character breakfasts.

 

[vicb]

Are you staying on site? That would help with a few more specific suggestions. I will offer an alternate first night... consider the Boardwalk area. You can see the higher fireworks of Illum. from the bridge at S/D or the bridge into Epcot. There are sooo many good/fun restaurants between the BW, S/D and Beach Club (ESPN, Flying Fish, Il Mulino, Blue Zoo, Big River Grill, Beaches and Cream, Yachtsman...) . If it is a warm/dry night there will be some buskers on the BW. Also you could go to the piano bar Jellyrolls.

I did the character breakfast at Cape May many years ago and found it quieter than Chef Mickeys for sure. The characters were in their beachwear.

Last trip we had dinner at Les Chefs in France, seated around 7:15. Had a leisurely meal apps to dessert, finished up and left restaurant about 15 min. prior to Illuminations. We walked to the bridge between France and Internat. Gateway, stood behind 2 rows of people and saw things just fine. But for your first trip you might want to get a spot a bit earlier, I just refuse to waste too much time staking our places for parades and fireworks. Had a lovely lunch Rose&Crown, we also love Via Napoli. Love the atmosphere at San Angel Inn but had sub par food last time. Tokyo Dining is on my "to do" list.

Good luck.

 

[mrsclark]

DH and I have been to breakfast at Cape May 2 or 3 times and we enjoyed it. In fact, it was the first character meal DH ever went to - on the first full day of our WDW honeymoon and it didn't scare him away (he hadn't been to WDW before honeymoon). The food is good and you get to meet Minnie, Goofy and Donald in their beach outfits. It is not quiet (because it is a character breakfast), but relatively it is much quieter than Chef Mickeys or Tusker House at AK (don't get me wrong I love Tusker House breakfast BUT it is LOUD - on a set schedule, I think it is every twenty or thirty minutes, the characters lead kids around the tables playing drums and shaking other instruments so if your boyfriend is not full on Disney that could be TOO much).

 

[abovelevel]

Wow, thank you sooo much, everyone!!

I think we will definitely stick with Rose & Crown for our Epcot dinner. A couple people said that the drive between MK and Sanaa might be too far and after looking into it, I think that might be end up being annoying. So, I think we'll do Sanaa our first night instead. We are driving in, so we should be able to get there in good time to maybe spend some time looking at the hotel/animals and then get to dinner. For those who asked, we will be staying at Coronado Springs.

Then, for our MK day, I am still looking between the Grand Floridian Cafe and Kona for dinner, since, as ya'll said, those will be easier to get to. None of the food options in Magic Kingdom looked very good to me, but we don't want to do anything too crazy expensive, since Disney is only half of our vacation week! But we will do one of those and then use the monorail to go back to the park if we want after dinner.

And for our last morning, it looks like he may just have to live with Cape May and whatever craziness comes with the characters. Or, if we do the Grand Floridian the night before, maybe Kona for breakfast?

Again, thanks so much to all! Just wanted to follow-up and let you know I appreciate the advice!

 

[vicb]

Sounds like a better plan .

Kona for dinner is yummy!

I stayed at CS one trip, it is a lovely resort although spread out. I was in the Casitas section.

Have a wonderful trip.

 

[merrick]

we went for our first time in december. we loved breakfast at ohana....family style and they just keep bringing more out. lilo and stitch are favourites at my house!!! tusker house was great too, we went late breakfast so they started bring out lunch buffet so we could sample both.

had a great meal last nite at the california grill at the contemporary.... meal was great and fantastic view of fireworks at magic kingdom. we didn't love the coral reef, we were really looking forward to it but found food average.

downtown disney we went to quick service wolfgang puck restaurant. it was amazing!!! if we go back, will definitely go back there and to the table service wolfgang puck restaurant as well.

 

[Greg K.]

They feed the animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge around 5, so if you can make it you'll get some excellent views of the wildlife pretty close to the viewing areas! Sanaa is great! You'll enjoy soaking up the atmosphere at the hotel, too.