CLOSED: The best place to eat when you arrive at Disney World is _______.

[princess jackie]

When we go with the kids we usually take the arrival day very slowly. We either go to DTD and eat something there or just stay at the resort and unpack and get ready for the rest of the trip.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We'll be staying at Old Key West on points but our flight (the one that I hope SWA is still flying next January) arrives at 4:10 pm so we're probably not going to try to get into a park that night. But all the suggestions sound great. Are there always characters at Chef Mickey's? That sounds like a good choice for us.

Yep, there are always characters.

Mickey
Minnie
Goofy
Pluto
Donald,,,,Chip and Dale aren't there anymore.

You won't regret it, its a great place.

 

[nluvwithmickey]

Well, before the arrival of the DDP, we started off our vacation at DTD's RFC. Now, we love to start at Chef Mickey's. So festive and gets you in the celebrating mood everytime! Gotta love the napkin swinging

 

[mla973]

I second the Chef Mickey's idea if you have small children or if you're not planning to go to the parks that day.

We always go to MK first (DH insists), so we're going to Kona Cafe our first night.

 

[lwilliam]

at our favorite CS (and one of the few restaurants we ALL agree upon - we have teenage boys, you know) - YAKATORI HOUSE, CS in Japan.

 

[Inkmahm]

We don't have kids so when we arrive on a Saturday afternoon, our normal day, we always do DDD for a quick shopping trip and then either Jikos or California Grill for dinner.

 

[flamom]

we just had dinner for the first time at the crystal palace,it was wonderful,the food was great and the characters pooh,eyeore,piglet,and tigger,all come around to the tables and pose for pictures and sign autographs,we really enjoyed it.you do need an ADR,people that didn't have one couldn't get in,they were all booked.so if you are going to MK when you arrive i recommend CP.

 

[afcgirl]

We always go to MK on our first day, so we always eat at either Crystal Palace (the food is great and so are the characters (winnie the pooh)) or at Chef Mickeys (food is okay, characters are great).

I would still recommend Chef Mickeys even if you are going to MK because the monorail takes you right there and my kids LOVE the monorail!

 

[luv2crash]

Our 1st night tradition is Chef Mickey! We love the atmosphere-you have arrived!

After dinner we ride the monorail around a time or 2 and then go to the resort and crash!

 

[AmandaCagle]

I'm assuming that we do, but I thought I'd ask because you never know for sure when your plane will arrive.

 

[LISAMWDW]

Yes, you need a ADR for any table service restaurants. For some reason, Beaches and Cream doesn't take ADR's though.

We alway have a resort dinner. Where, depends on what we are doing beforehand or if the kids are with us. Yep, we sometimes go w/out the kids!

 

[GoofyTraci]

well this will only be our second trip but we started out of first trip with Ohana, and we are doing the same this aug. OHANA IS GREAT!

 

[jpolak]

Another Vote for WCC. Loud, active, and bar-b-que. How could you go wrong?

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Rainforest Cafe at AK. You don't have to pay for park admission and it has such a great Disney feel (with the animatronic animals and themeing).

Also, 'Ohanas at the Poly is great especially if you watch the fireworks or Electrical Light Parade.

 

[Disney Ron]

Our first night tradition is Hoop Dee Doo Review!

Mrs. Disney Ron

 

[KingdomHearts]

Our new tradition is to eat at the Crystal Palace at MK our first day there. It works out well since we always go to MK first. Plus, they have great food, it is a buffett ( which is great because we are all starving by the time we get there since being up at 3:30 am to catch our flight), and the scenery is beautiful.

 

[klineyqueen]

A few trips ago our flight was delayed about 3 hours due to thunderstorms in Orlando. I was SO glad I did not schedule a favorite restaurant for that night. We were so hungry when we finally go to the hotel we ate at the food court. If there is a place that your REALLY want to go....I would not do it the first night. That is just my opinion. If you have a long travel day you and the kids will probably be tired and maybe a little cranky. I would save those special dinners for a time when you might not be tired....or "literally in the air." Good luck and have a fun trip.

 

[tigrrgrr]

We always head over to WS at Epcot and have lunch at Le Cellier in Canada before we do anything else on our trip. It's definitely our favorite place, and the WS is so nice and relaxing to walk around after our meal. It gets us completely motivated for the chaos of the other parks.

 

[shellbel]

Mitsukoshi is our traditional arrival day dinner. We too love walking around the WS after dinner and actually getting to shop and do the kidcot things.

 

[persephone742]

We will be traveling with 3 small boys and 6 adults and arriving in the late afternoon. What's the best place to eat dinner to start our visit? I would like our first meal at Disney to be really wonderful, especially for the boys.

I like to go to CRT first this way my son and I see the castle and we know we are at disney and then we get to go in it!

I think he likes it because he feels special getting to go inside there after always looking at the picture of the castle for months before we leave.