Which restaurant the first night after our flight?

[izzycan]

I'm not quite sure where to ask this question.

Last year when we went to Disney, we drove our own vehicle.

In December, my 6 year old and I are flying in without the rest of the family. Our flight arrives at 5:40, and we will just have carry on bags. How long will it take us to get to the hotel from the airport on the Magical Express?

I need to know this so I can make dinner reservations...

Also, which restaurant is recommended for our first night? It will have to be at Downtown Disney or one of the hotels.

Should we go straight to dinner off the flight, or check in to the hotel first?

Thanks so much!

 

[kd2226]

Sorry, I can't remember how long it takes on magical express. But my suggestion for dinner the first night would be to make a reservation at your resort's onsite restaurant (if there is one) as you will probably be tired from travelling and might just want to enjoy taking in your resort. Otherwise, we have done the character dinner at Chef Mickey's on the first night, and that was a fun way to jump right into the magic of Disney and get everyone excited.

 

[Ro Z]

You can plan on an hour or 2 to get from airport to resort. Sometimes it is longer than others. You don't say where you are staying but I would suggest t-rex or rfc. Unless your 6 yr old doesn't like noise or dark. I think they would be a great place to start. As a matter of fact DH and I are starting our Nov trip at RFC. We like to sit at the bar and get drinks and apps. Love the nachos! Have a great time!!

Oh and I would check in online and go to your resort first. Then get dinner. That way when you are ready you can go back and crash from all the excitement of the first day!

 

[disney_girl123]

What resort are you at? Best idea would be to make a reservation there, then you can check in and not have to travel too far to dinner.

Magical express time ranges, but give yourself 60-90 minutes to be safe (though in my experience (I usually stay at POP), it tend to be more in the 45-60 minute range. Don't forget to give yourself time as well to get out of the airport!

 

[izzycan]

We are saying at All-Star Sports. My niece is there doing the Disney College Program, so she got our room for cheeeeapp. Our flight is only an hour and a half, so I don't think we'll be too tired from the travel. Thanks for the responses so far!!

 

[lovemy3girls]

We like to do a character meal for our first night. Gets you into the Disney spirit! Chef Mickeys is a good one, or if your child is a girl 1900 Park Fare might be fun! You coukd try T Rex or Rainforest Cafe at DTD. Or, head over to Beaches and Cream (no reservation necessary) and have burgers and ice cream!

 

[Quin]

Unless you and the little one are up for a really late dinner, I'd say to skip the ADRs the first night. You need to plan on at least 1.5 - 2 hours from your plane landing to you reaching your resort; then you still have to check in and then get Disney transport to another resort or DTD to eat. 8:30 pm at the earliest before you can eat, and that's only if all the stars align perfectly. One little thunderstorm at the airport and your whole schedule gets thrown out.

I'm afraid you'd be better to figure on just eating at your own food court. If you do get there early you can go to DTD and eat at a CS place like WPE or EoS. Or just go to Ghiardelli for a massive ice cream (start your vacation on a sugar high!). No ADRs, no stress.

 

[Ro Z]

IMO it is easier to get from Sport to DTD than it would be getting to another resort. Have you thought about grabbing food from the CS at Sport and enjoying the pool, playground and game room right there? Our first trip to WDW my son was 6. We stayed at CBR. We had to walk past the playground to get to the bus and it was so hard to get him past the playground. He would have been happy staying there all day but we wanted to do Disney!

 

[Tinaphpc]

What resort are you at? Best idea would be to make a reservation there, then you can check in and not have to travel too far to dinner.

 

[disney_girl123]

We are saying at All-Star Sports. My niece is there doing the Disney College Program, so she got our room for cheeeeapp. Our flight is only an hour and a half, so I don't think we'll be too tired from the travel. Thanks for the responses so far!!

I would suggest heading to Wolfgang Puck Express the first night in DTD. It was by far one of my favourite meals last year, and you have the added benefit of not having to rush for a reservation. I just checked and it's open until 10:30. The other great perk of WPE is that you get the food delivered to your table after ordering (our drinks were refilled, dessert came to us ) so you get a little bit of a table service experience without the need for a reservation! And the food is AMAZING! (try the pesto pizza!)

 

[circus4u]

If the dining reservation is at one of the resorts, would it be possible to take the Magic Express directly to the resort where you have dining reservations and then take Disney transportation back to the All Star Resort, especially if you do advance on-line check-in?

 

[goofyintoronto]

I would suggest heading to Wolfgang Puck Express the first night in DTD. It was by far one of my favourite meals last year, and you have the added benefit of not having to rush for a reservation. I just checked and it's open until 10:30. The other great perk of WPE is that you get the food delivered to your table after ordering (our drinks were refilled, dessert came to us ) so you get a little bit of a table service experience without the need for a reservation! And the food is AMAZING! (try the pesto pizza!)

OMG i totally agree! it was one of my fave meals!. I very highly recommend the bacon wrapped meatloaf with mashed potatoes. best one i ever had. EVER! the spaghetti and meatballs was also phenomenal. so good. for dessert, you must try the cheese cake. the creme brulee topping was amazing! WGPE is a must do for us each time we go to DTD.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using DISBoards App

 

[goofyintoronto]

If the dining reservation is at one of the resorts, would it be possible to take the Magic Express directly to the resort where you have dining reservations and then take Disney transportation back to the All Star Resort, especially if you do advance on-line check-in?

no i dont think you can do this. they have records of where you are going. they can only drop you off at your resort.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using DISBoards App

 

[disney_girl123]

no i dont think you can do this. they have records of where you are going. they can only drop you off at your resort

You didn't mention if you are on the DDP either (but I'm guessing no if you got a reduced room rate), but if you are you need to go to the resort to pick up your KTTW card before you can use the DDP. I'm pretty sure they drop you off based on your info in your booklet, so they will be dropping you off at the resort.

 

[princesspooh323]

I would highly recommend eating at the quick service restaurant at your hotel. We have tried character meals on the first night to get into the spirit of things, but last year we ate at the hotel's quick service. We loved it. It was so nice to arrive and take our time and eat when we were ready without having to make it to a restaurant at a specific time. We are doing that every year from now on.

 

[jimmytammy]

I would highly recommend eating at the quick service restaurant at your hotel. We have tried character meals on the first night to get into the spirit of things, but last year we ate at the hotel's quick service. We loved it. It was so nice to arrive and take our time and eat when we were ready without having to make it to a restaurant at a specific time. We are doing that every year from now on.

I agree with this. Transport to DTD or anywhere else on property can take a long time. Sports has a good variety of food, its not the best on property, but it is good for a need to eat before bed kinda place. You can immerse yourself in the WDW experience right there at your resort, relax by the pool, etc.
ME will probably consume 1hr 30m or so, depends on if you are 1st to be dropped or last.

 

[sndral]

Depending on where you are on the plane and how big it is, allow 15+minutes to deplane. Add 15+ minutes to catch the MCO tube/shuttle and then walk across the terminal and downstairs to DME. Add wait time for the DME bus to fill up before it leaves, travel time to WDW, time for other resort stops (we were once stop 7 - norm is 3ish) add resort check in time and ditching your carry on.
We have 5ish pm arrivals for our upcoming trip and I made our ADR for 9pm in one of our resort restaurants.
Sometimes all of this goes really smoothly and you are early off the plane, the DME bus leaves the minute you show up and your resort is the first stop ('09 @ the Poly was like that for us,) other times the stars don't align. I second the WPE in downtown disney cs, great cs option and you can stroll DTD and shop that first night or, if the DME is slow you can hang @ your resort and do the food court.

 

[rachel09985]

I would recommend getting a ressie for a restaurant that does not have a credit card guarantee and charge you if you fail to cancel in the window.

You don't know what your plane is going to, if it is going to be late, so better to avoid possibility to get that charge.

 

[ncc1701]

We just go to DTD and eat at WPE Marketplace. I don't want to worry about ADRs on arrival day.If you want you can also try to get into RFC or TRex.This way if your flight is late and you just want to eat at the Resort cancelling an ADR isn't an issue.