Best place to eat first night? Arriving on Sat

[Mamacelt]

Hello all,

I haven't been here in a while, but my dh surprised me with an impromptu trip to the World. I have very little time to plan, and my Disney knowledge is a bit rusty. We're travelling with our 3 kids (7, 4 and 4) and we're staying at Port Orleans Riverside. We'll be there from Feb. 12 - 18 and will be using the new dining plan.

What restaurant will be best for our first night? Chef Mickey's would be great, but probably too crowded for us after travelling all day. Are there any restaurants in the World that aren't an utter zoo on Saturday nights?

thanks,

Lyanne (need to change my sig now )

 

[MickeyMouth]

You could take the monorail or boat over to the Poly and eat at the Kona Cafe or Ohana. Both have great food and Ohana has a great view of the MK.

 

[westjones]

If you aren't going to be in the parks, the one place I would recommend with the kids would be the Cinderella Dinner at Park Fare at the GF. I think Chef Mickey's would be fun too.

I like the idea of getting in an offsite character meal the first night there if you aren't in the parks that day. Sort of gets you into the 'Disney' spirit.

The other place that we think is a lot of fun is Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge. BUT if you want peace and quiet don't go there. The kids ride around on 'stick' horses, the Dad's got up and did a little dance (all the dance lined up around the place and did it all together). The servers might throw straws at you. It is wild! My kids had a great time!

BUT since you will be at Port Orleans, another place to consider is the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney. It is really cute (animated jungle animals), but not loud and crazy. You can take the boat from Port Orleans to Downtown Disney and back. Then you could walk around and do a little shopping afterwards. OH! But this wouldn't be on the Disney meal plan, so that probably wouldn't work for you.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is a great resort to explore and you could eat at either Boma or Jiko.

There are many choices, it really gets down to what kind of experience you want to have.

All of the ones I have mentioned above have been big hits with my kids. I have to admit, the Whispering Canyon one was the most 'unique' of them all.

DJ

 

[marcyinPA]

We always arrive on a Saturday and eat at Chef Mickey's for dinner. It's become a tradition for us. Afterwards, we ride the monorail loop and last trip, since we had the ultimate parkhoppers, we went into the MK for Wishes.

There is just something about Chef Mickey's that puts us in the Disney spirit and it's a great way to start a trip!!

Have fun!