Any dining suggestions for a first time disney goer?

[disneygirl95]

Hi! My family and I are soo excited for our upcoming(February) Walt Disney World vacation. We need to book our reservations soon but we"re a little lost. We have he dining plan where we get one full service table meal a day and we are looking for the best entertainment value in the restaurants we choose(there are so many amazing-looking Disney restaurants we have no idea where to book) Any suggestions?? Any restaurant we shouldnt miss?? in my opinion i think that the coral reef(i think thats what its called! lol) in Epcot looks nice...any thoughts???

Also, we were thinking about different times to make our reservations. we dont know if it would be smarter to book a dinner earlier(maybe 4 ish) so that we can go back to the park we are in when everyone else is eating dinner so lines are shorter. Our other thought was to eat a late dinner so we miss the dinner rush and still get that time in the park when everyone is eating dinner. Is it worth it?? does the amount of people in the parks lessen around dinner hours?? when do you normally eat dinner??

I really really appreciate any advice on this subject(or any other dinsey topic/tip we should know about- seeing as its our very first disney trip so we dont know what to expect) so thank you sooooo much!!!!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

You need to book reservations NOW not soon. People have been booking dining reservations for 4+ months for your dates (can book 180 in advance).

Are you looking for character dining? How many people? How many days? Have you planned which park you'll be going to on which days?

As far as times of day to eat: You may not have a lot of option on when for the more popular places. You may just have to take what you can get.

 

[disneygirl95]

You need to book reservations NOW not soon. People have been booking dining reservations for 4+ months for your dates (can book 180 in advance).

Are you looking for character dining? How many people? How many days? Have you planned which park you'll be going to on which days?

As far as times of day to eat: You may not have a lot of option on when for the more popular places. You may just have to take what you can get.

oh wow! i really thought a month+ beforehand was early! lol but i guess now we know. basically we're looking to get the most experience out of every part of our trip, i mean we can eat at a restaurant at home so we're looking for something exciting and magical. i dont really know what to expect for character dining so if you think that would be a good thing to try, let me know! there will be 4 people going and we're going for 5 days. we haven't really figured out what park we will go to on each day yet but we will go to each park at least once so we will probably eat dinner in each park at least once as well.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

oh wow! i really thought a month+ beforehand was early! lol but i guess now we know. basically we're looking to get the most experience out of every part of our trip, i mean we can eat at a restaurant at home so we're looking for something exciting and magical. i dont really know what to expect for character dining so if you think that would be a good thing to try, let me know! there will be 4 people going and we're going for 5 days. we haven't really figured out what park we will go to on each day yet but we will go to each park at least once so we will probably eat dinner in each park at least once as well.

I am still planning our first trip for this September so I can't give personal recommendations, but I've been researching disney dining since September. But a few more questions to help with some suggestions....

Kids? Ages? Into a particular character (princesses, mickey, etc)?

Do you like more exotic food or steak & potatoes?

Lots of places to choose from both in the parks and at the resorts. Where are you staying?

 

[disneygirl95]

I am still planning our first trip for this September so I can't give personal recommendations, but I've been researching disney dining since September. But a few more questions to help with some suggestions....

Kids? Ages? Into a particular character (princesses, mickey, etc)?

Do you like more exotic food or steak & potatoes?

Lots of places to choose from both in the parks and at the resorts. Where are you staying?

How exciting! yeah i have been beside myself with excitment and have been looking up all things disney since we booked it(and before!lol) but there is just sooo many choices...its a little overwhelming! and yes there will be a 15 year old and a 13 year old going and the characters they are tinkerbell and toy story characters. we like pretty much anything but sushi lol and we're staying at All Stars Movies.

 

[MrsWaltDisney86]

Cinderella's Royal Table- Magic Kingdom, get to eat in castle...all the princesses visit the table-LOVE

Chief Mickeys-Contemporary Hotel (off Monorail at MK) Mikey Goofy Pluto Minnie..buffett American Food they sing and dance-LOVE

1900 Park Fare-We do dinner that has al the cinderlla group but breakfeast has alice in wonderland @Grand Flordian (which is beautiful in iteself), (also off monorail at MK)

Crystal Palace-Magic Kingdom Buffett with Winnie the Pooh, Beautiful place

50's Pime Time Cafe-No Characters but very old fashion and the servers make it extremely fun!!!

As far as Toy Story...Not sure theres a dining event with them but the above are some of our favorites.

Goodluck. I would definitly go online and start making your Ressie's...you can always cancel when you figure out your final plans

 

[DHar]

i don't think you can go wrong with these

liberty tree tavern
teppan edo
coral reef
hoop dee doo

good luck!!!!!

 

[Rylee]

Hi,

Some things to consider...

Did you purchase Park Hoppers? If not, (and I don't feel they are necessary) you will need to make a reservation at a restaurant inside, or near the park you are visiting on each day.

If you have hoppers, remember it takes time to travel from one park to another.

Take a look at the Park Hours for each day of your trip and try to come up with a schedule of which park you'll visit each day. Since you are staying on-site... do you plan to take advantage of any Extra Magic Hours, (EMH)?

At this point, you might need to take whatever time slots are open, but also keep in mind, if you want to watch any of the nightly shows, Illuminations, Fantasmic or daily parades, etc., try not to make dining reservations during those times.

Here are some of our favorite restaurants, for various reason... some for the food, some for the atmosphere, characters, fun experience, etc., and I would probably do at least one character meal... where else do you get to eat with Mickey or Winnie the Pooh

Crystal Palace in MK. Winnie the Pooh & Friends character buffet. (We schedule a breakfast, since it's a buffet and I usually don't care for buffets for dinner.)
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. Mickey & the Gang character buffet, (again, we book breakfast.)
Coral Reef in Epcot.
Teppan Edo in Epcot.
Si-Fi Dine-In in DHS. (Sit in cars at drive in movie.)

We have others we like strictly for the food, but the above are some we like for the dining experience.

Don't forget to consider the resort restaurants, a great way to check out other resorts, and Downtown Disney has lots of restaurants, (make sure they accept the dining plan if you will using it.) *We visit DTD on Animal Kingdom night since AK closes early.

Have a great trip.

 

[sassy2000]

If you are trying to maximize your park time then I would suggest meals at spots in the park you are visiting. That cuts a lot of travel time out. I don't really think your ADR time matters much. We seem to spend the same amount of time at a restaurant regardless of how busy they are. We usually spend an hour for each table service meal.
Here are our favorites:
Magic Kingdom- Crystal Palace for breakfast. If you can get a time prior to park opening, then you can get some great pictures with your family in front of the castle with nobody around.
Epcot- lots of good choices here. We like Coral Reef. The environment is nice and the food is pretty good. Chefs de France is one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the food here but it can get a little crowded. Restaurant Marrakesh has good food and has live music and bellydancers. If you are looking for a character meal, Garden Grill is good.
Hollywood Studios- The only place I would pick here is 50's Prime Time Cafe. The food is good. (love the pot roast) and it is a fun environment for the kids.
Animal Kingdom- Tusker House. If you want to try different food, this is the place. We love the food here and always try to eat here on our visits.
If you want to try outside the parks, Ohana is our absolute favorite place. It is easy and quick to get to from Magic Kingdom. (on the monorail loop at Polynesian resort) The food is delicious. Just save room for the dessert.