Disney 1st Timer feeling overwhelmed, need recommendations!!!

[Kellyingle7]

Holy cow Disney has a lot of restaurants to choose from!!!

My wife and I will will be staying at WDW December 17th thru the 24th.

We are looking for some great Disney restaurant recommendations. We are looking to book at least 3 table service meals and 1 "signature" dining experience and 1 breakfast. The rest of our meals will mostly be quick service. We are not doing the Disney dining plan.

We are adults traveling alone as well, so the character meals don't really matter to us. Also my wife has a funny stomach so she probably won't eat any very unusual food such as morraccan or sushi...

Any recommendations! I need to get my adr's in before it all books up!!!

 

[kirrrby]

We'll be there the same time as you! Since you are not on the DDP there are several options for you. We have a few personal favorites.

1. Narcoosees (Grand Floridian) (Signature) - Great seafood, somewhat small portions, still has a family atmosphere more than an elegant one.

2. Brown Derby (Hollywood Studios) (Signature) - We usually eat here during Lunch. Prices are a bit better. The Cobb salad is big enough to split between two. And they give you good hard rolls with meals.

3. Kona Cafe (Poly)- Hawaiian type food. Does have traditional things. Potstickers are amazing, the pan asian noodles too. The Teriyaki steak is good too, but the sauce can be a bit sweet. They also have a breakfast meal with Tonga Toast (Stuffed French Toast) it's great.

4. Liberty Tree Tavern (Magic Kingdom) - Good family type meals. If you happen to get there on a day that they serve their Navy Bean soup it's amazing.

5. House of Blues (Downtown Disney) - It's okay food, somewhat southern style. Good ribs w/ Jack Daniels sauce.

A few of the QS places I would recommend;

1.Electric Umbrella (Epcot)
2. Sunshine Seasons (Epcot)
3. Cosmic Rays (Magic Kingdom)
4. Flame Tree BBQ (Animal Kingdom)

If you are not large eaters, I must warn you the Portions can be HUGE at Disney. Everything in the list above except Narcoosees and the QS's are all large portions for most of the dishes. When we go my boyfriend and I split meals. Perfect enough to not overstuff ourselves and empty out the wallet.

 

[GeorgeG]

I have found what works for one person doesn't always work for others. I suggest taking some time and going through the dining section on these boards and looking at the menus (always subject to change) to see what appeals to you. They are listed by parks, resorts, meal, etc.. They also indicate which are on the dining plans. You should do this soon since restaurants are booking up fast for your time period.

 

[River Country]

I agree with the PP

check the menu's here and even on WDW.com

I can tell you that my favorites may not be yours but i will give you some suggestions

1. California Grill-Signature
2. LeCellier-Signature
3. Hollywood Brown Derby

TS
1. The Wave
2. Whispering Canyon
3. Liberty Tree Tavern

QS
1. Columbia Harbour House
2. Casey's
3. Starring Rolls
Good Luck but check the menu's beforehand

 

[gigi1313]

some other things to keep in mind... where will you be staying? will your trip be relaxed, a few hours of parks, and some resort touring, dining, shopping or will you be hitting the parks commando style only stopping to keep from fainting? if it's the former, there are some great resort restaurants you might want to visit, as much for the dining as for the resort touring... if the latter, then you'd probably be better served eating in the parks so as not to lose valuable touring time...

a few suggestions for in the park: The Plaza at MK, TS restaurant w/CS-like prices; Liberty Tree Tavern at MK for lunch; Brown Derby at DHS for lunch as prices are more reasonable... a nice escape from the park w/out having to leave; Yak & Yeti at AK, we had a window table and overlooked the parade! Teppan Edo at Epcot (japanese hibachi style); 9 Dragons at Epcot (Chinese, great meals, easily shared)

for outside the parks: Kona Cafe in the Polynesian (b'fast lunch or dinner!); Grand Floridian Cafe at the GF (b/l/d); Beaches & Cream at Beach/Yacht Club (great burgers, soups, easy walk from Epcot); any of the B'walk restaurants, esp Flying Fish (signature); Roaring Forks Counter Service at Wilderness Lodge just to check out the Lodge w/Christmas decor! DTD also has some great places and a personal fave is Wolfgang Puck Express which is a hybrid of CS and TS (order at a counter, have your meal served to you) and reasonably priced...

Hope that Helps!

 

[pumba]

Because of the late time ...I would suggest you go to the dining on line and just put in like the first night you want to eat a sit down and just say no preference ...and see what pops up ..then do that for each night.....Hope you get some that you will enjoy..
I did go and put in like December 18th and they had a good amount of places but earlier times...
Try it and see what happens..

GOOD LUCK

 

[Kellyingle7]

We'll be there the same time as you! Since you are not on the DDP there are several options for you. We have a few personal favorites.


3. Kona Cafe (Poly)- Hawaiian type food. Does have traditional things. Potstickers are amazing, the pan asian noodles too. The Teriyaki steak is good too, but the sauce can be a bit sweet. They also have a breakfast meal with Tonga Toast (Stuffed French Toast) it's great.

I'm pretty sure this is going to be our nice breakfast meal.

I agree with the PP

check the menu's here and even on WDW.com

I can tell you that my favorites may not be yours but i will give you some suggestions

1. California Grill-Signature
2. LeCellier-Signature
3. Hollywood Brown Derby

The California Grill was our first choice for a Signature Meal, but it seems to be pretty much all booked up!

TS
1. The Wave
2. Whispering Canyon
3. Liberty Tree Tavern

I booked an ADR for Whispering Canyon today, sounds like a fun place!

some other things to keep in mind... where will you be staying? will your trip be relaxed, a few hours of parks, and some resort touring, dining, shopping or will you be hitting the parks commando style only stopping to keep from fainting? if it's the former, there are some great resort restaurants you might want to visit, as much for the dining as for the resort touring... if the latter, then you'd probably be better served eating in the parks so as not to lose valuable touring time...

We will be taking our time to enjoy many of the parks, as well as the resorts. My wife would kill me I went Commando style. I did that on our honeymoon, (we stayed offsite and ate offsite, hit 9 parks in 7 days...)

I am thinking we might make most of our ADR's outside of the parks at resorts to have a nice little "break" from the crowds, plus we've never seen any resort and we both love christmas decorations. The exception being a HS or Epcot restaurant, HS because it's our favorite park and Epcot because it has so many choices.

for outside the parks: Kona Cafe in the Polynesian (b'fast lunch or dinner!); Grand Floridian Cafe at the GF (b/l/d); Beaches & Cream at Beach/Yacht Club (great burgers, soups, easy walk from Epcot); any of the B'walk restaurants, esp Flying Fish (signature)

Which is better, the Grand Floridian Cafe, or The Wave?

Hope that Helps!

Because of the late time ...I would suggest you go to the dining on line and just put in like the first night you want to eat a sit down and just say no preference ...and see what pops up ..then do that for each night.....Hope you get some that you will enjoy..
I did go and put in like December 18th and they had a good amount of places but earlier times...
Try it and see what happens..

GOOD LUCK

Thanks for the advice!

Would I also need to make ADR's for resturants in Down-Town Disney or can I generally walk in and get a table?

 

[skier_pete]

I'm a bit confused..you said you were a first timer, but then mention later going there on your honeymoon and that HS is your favorite park.

In the end, it doesn't matter. My recommendation would be to check out the menus before taking anyone's recommendation.

If you want something in the parks yet off the beaten path - Bistro De Paris in Epcot (France). Expensive but usually not full of screaming kids. 2nd floor above Chefs De France, so really nice.

We also love, love, loved Sanaa and the Animal Kingdom Lodge / Kidani. Looks out on the savannah so you can see animals while your eating. Beautiful restaurant and fantastic food, though it is a bit ethnic (African) flavor, though they do have steak and chicken dishes...again check out the menu.

If you can get in, a nice, inexpensive meal at Magic Kingdom is The Plaza. It's right at the end of main street on the Tomorrowland side. Nothing spectacular but food is good and ice cream sundaes rock (Edy's).

We also love the Sci-Fi Dine In Drive In at DHS. Fun atmosphere, though odds are if there are two of you, they'll put you in the back "seat" of the "cars" with another family, though this can be kind of fun too.

 

[gigi1313]

"which is better" is soooo subjective... i have been to restaurants that were spectacular once and crummy later... was it me? the server? the chef on duty? etc... so hard to judge... check out the menus and try to decide which would suit you better... if you like Christmas decor, then i would say go w/GF just because the gingerbread house is breathtaking and a true work of art (as are the rest of the decorations)...

 

[kirrrby]

Would I also need to make ADR's for resturants in Down-Town Disney or can I generally walk in and get a table?

I would highly suggest reservations for most of the dtd restaurants. Such as house of blues, rainforest cafe and raglan road. Also ghiradelli in dtd is amazing. There can be long lines though.

 

[Kellyingle7]

I'm a bit confused..you said you were a first timer, but then mention later going there on your honeymoon and that HS is your favorite park.

My wife and I went to Orlando on our Honeymoon but we stayed off-site and ate every meal off-site. We went to all 4 parks, Blizzard Beach, Sea-World, both universal parks and Busch Gardens Tampa in a 7 day period. All we really had time to do at each Disney park was ride the main 3-4 attractions, nothing else. We did no planning or anything, we just showed up in the morning, hit the park for a few hours and left. Hence why I feel a little overwhelmed when looking through all the resorts and menus and packages etc.

This will be our first time staying onsite, eating on-site/making ADR's and really seeing the parks. We never even saw 1 parade or night-time show when we went before! i guess it's technically our second visit to the parks, but for us it will be our first time having the "disney experience."

 

[skier_pete]

My wife and I went to Orlando on our Honeymoon but we stayed off-site and ate every meal off-site. We went to all 4 parks, Blizzard Beach, Sea-World, both universal parks and Busch Gardens Tampa in a 7 day period. All we really had time to do at each Disney park was ride the main 3-4 attractions, nothing else. We did no planning or anything, we just showed up in the morning, hit the park for a few hours and left. Hence why I feel a little overwhelmed when looking through all the resorts and menus and packages etc.

This will be our first time staying onsite, eating on-site/making ADR's and really seeing the parks. We never even saw 1 parade or night-time show when we went before! i guess it's technically our second visit to the parks, but for us it will be our first time having the "disney experience."

Awesome, thanks for the explanation!

The restaurant system is hard, because its hard to know which park your going to be in, and what restaurants really are good. When you read reviews you will see just about every restaurant gets some bad reviews. The best is really to try what sounds interesting to you. Overall, Disney food quality is better than average but not great, except most signature restaurants are very good. All of them are well overpriced, but that's part of the gig.

BTW - best quick service: Flame Tree BBQ (AK) Sunshine Seasons (Epcot) and Columbia Harbor House (MK).