1st night dinner w/kids...opinions/reviews NEEDED!

[firecracker]

We'll be arriving on a Sunday afternoon and will be doing "other" things (NOT using a park day) when we arrive.

We are an outgoing family (dh 35, me 32, dd 7, dd 6) and we're looking for a great start to our vacation.

We plan to ride the monorail and perhaps swim at our hotel. Where would you recommend we eat dinner? I was thinking Chef Mickey's, but the reviews here on the board have been lukewarm. I dunno, my kids enjoy the characters, but it's not absolutely necessary.

What do you all think? Remember, we won't be going to the parks that day.

Thanks!

 

[mep319]

Me again! You didn't mention where you are staying. Could be a good nite to sample the resorts offerings. If your not too into the character thing the Boardwalk is great. Flying Fish and Spoodles are two of our favorites. I see you have DD, there is a new Character Dinner at GF w/ Cinderella and the gang. That is our plan for our first nite, I figured DD would love it! And if you didn't get the breakfast it might take off some of the disappointment, if any.

 

[wdwcustar]

Since you seem to be planning on hanging around the Magic Kingdom area, why don't you take a boat ride over to Wilderness Lodge and have dinner at Whispering Canyon?

While I've never been there myself, I have heard many, many reviews and read thousands of descriptions, and it sounds like your family would be the perfect victims-- I mean customers for the staff at WC. That's my two cents!


Enjoy Your Trip!
Jeff



---------------
July 2002 - Off Site at Comfort Suites Maingate East
June 2003 - WDW Swan and Comfort Suites

 

[bweagle]

If your not set on a character meal....I'd suggest 'Ohana at the Poly or Boma at AKL. These were by far the 2 best meals we experienced on our last trip to WDW. Great food, great atmosphere.

 

[wld]

My family is a bit older, but this trip we did 'Ohana the first night and the girls thought it was a great choice. The food was really good as well and afterward we took a stroll around the resort.

 

[Epcotgal8]

I know that ANY place on any given day can have it's ups and downs but I can tell you that we have always enjoyed Chef Mickey's dinner buffet and it is a GREAT way to start your vacation. We missed this place only once in our 5 trips (thought we'd try new places) and everyone including dh missed it. We made it a must do last trip and enjoyed it as much as ever. There are enough choices and quality that everyone in your party should find food they enjoy and it may sound hokey but it feels so Disney!

 

[magicplace4me]

How about the hoop dee doo? A great non-park day event and if you can get an early seating you may be able to squeeze in a hayride afterward! It sounds like your going to be in the vacinity and its a great place for outgoing types!

I like Chef Mickey's also, the food is nothing special but its okay and the atmosphere is great. Like the HDDR its a place everyone should experience at least once!

Wispering canyons and ohanas are great but the other two will put you quickly into the Disney spirit!

 

[sha_lyn]

I would pick 'Ohana's or the new Cinderella Dinner at 1900 PF. Jsut make the PS early enough so if there are fireworks and/or EWP you can view them from the Poly Beach or GF boat dock.

 

[JulesMom]

I would go to Chef Mickey's. We always had a good time there. It will really get you in the Disney spirit!!

 

[firecracker]

I'm leaning towards OHana's or the dinner at the GF because of the possibility of fireworks or the EWP.

Could we see either of those from the Cont. if we went to Chef Mickey's.

Also, if we're staying at ASMo, how do we get a bus to another resort? or is it easier to just drive our car?

Thanks...

 

[sha_lyn]

Could we see either of those from the Cont. if we went to Chef Mickey's

Yes you could see both from the CR but IMHO the food and service at CM's is horrible.

Also, if we're staying at ASMo, how do we get a bus to another resort? or is it easier to just drive our car?

We drive to WDW but rarely use the car once we arrive.
To get to any of the MK resorts just take a MK bus and then hop on the monorail. To get back there should be busses running from TTC (take the monorail to TTC)until an hour (or is it 1 1/2 hrs) after all the parks close.

 

[bweagle]

Originally posted by firecracker


Also, if we're staying at ASMo, how do we get a bus to another resort? or is it easier to just drive our car?

We stayed at ASMu this summer and used the Disney bus system to go practically everywhere.

If you're talking about the MK resorts around the lagoon, then if I were you, I'd take the bus to MK and then hop on the resort monorail and head to whatever one you are leaning to that way. We did this the past two years and it works well. Actually we took the monorail to the Poly from MK and then took the small boat that runs from the Poly back to MK after the EWP. From there we just walked over to the bus stop and headed back to ASMu.

The only times we used our car was for meals at OKW and AKL, but that was mainly because we were going elsewhere after the meals.

 

[sheilap]

Your kids (and you!) might also enjoy Rainforest Cafe in DTD, unless of course you live near one and it's no big deal for you. We usually don't do parks on the day we arrive, so we head over to DTD and stroll, have dinner, then stroll some more.

Otherwise, O'Hana gets my vote. The kids will have a blast, and the food is awesome!

 

[Epcotgal8]

As others have said, you can take a bus to the MK and then have options on how to get to the resort where you'll be dining. It's really a matter of personal preference. Some people don't care to drive when they're on vacation. If I was driving I'd be one of those folks. My husband on the other hand really prefers to drive when we have dinner p.s. at another resort. That way we get there much faster and don't have to worry about delays in transportation making us nervous that we'll be late for our p.s. We usually valet at the MK resorts which in our opinion is worth it when we come out from having dinner and we are all full and tired and don't want to have to do transfers and deal with the busses to get back to our resort. We do always use the Disney transportation system to the parks so I'm not knocking it at all but we prefer the car to go to other resorts for dinner. Just OUR opinion. As for Ohana, we dined there on the first night of our vacation in May. We all enjoyed it and that is saying a lot since I'm not usually into Oriental/Polynesian etc. food and booked it since it's a place we hadn't tried and I knew the rest of the party would like that kind of food. I didn't eat everything they served bit tried it all and liked it. I LOVED the beef and they had shrimp/vegetable wontons and I never thought I'd like them but they were great! Do check out the menu though because I have a couple of friends who went there (one just last week) and didn't care for it. Her dh did though and she said it was because he loved all the "meat" - beef, turkey, pork. MY dh liked the shrimp so there IS more than meat to eat. Have a great time whatever you decide!

 

[crs7568]

I think your kids will love the atmosphere at Chef Mickey's. We always start our vacation with dinner there. While the food is not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, in my opinion it is worth the price.

 

[meeko_33785]

If the kids want to start the trip by seeing Mickey, Chef Mickey's is not a bad choice. If not, I would recogmend Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge. It's a lot of fun for kids that age. You should be able to see the fireworks and Electrical Water Pagent from the dock at the Lodge as well.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

Ohana's is the place we will be having our first night dinner this year. We like to do HDDR on our last night but it's great fun for the first night too. It however might make for a late night for your travel day. We too stayed at ASMo last year and never moved our car all week. We had planned to use our car for HDDR and DD but were so pleased with the bus service that we used it for everthing with no problems.


jordan's mom