Fave first night dinner with kids?

[irene_dsc]

My dilemma -

I had a plan. Then, the ADR's didn't quite work out. So, I'm trying to re-strategize...

Original plan:
Arrive mid-day (ME to CBR)
lunch at CBR food court
hang out at resort
dinner at CP to get the kids into the Disney spirit (ds6, dd3) with characters both like.

2nd day: MK day, with dinner at 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella & family

basically - get the character dinners done first before they lose their novelty.

BUT - no 1900 Park Fare ADR's for day 2. I did get an ADR for Day 4.

Soo...
New strategy - work up to MK, by starting with Epcot.
BUT - how to do CP at MK the first night, then not go back for 2 more days???

Possible ideas:

- Stick with original days, but go back for 1900 Park Fare

- 1st night - Chef Mickeys (but - bus plus monorail on a travel day)

- 1st night - Akershus (but, ds isn't into princesses, and they aren't dd's favorite princesses)

- 1st night - Shutters at CBR - convenient but mundane

Oh, yeah - we are (for now) on the 2008 DDP, and I have an ADR for Ohana for our last night, as the fun send-off.

Thoughts???

 

[gk90]

Our kids loved Coral Reef in Epcot--I was a little leery because the reviews aren't that great but the food and service were both excellent and the view of the tank really kept the kids interested.

 

[irene_dsc]

Lol - I'd been considering Coral Reef for our Epcot day, but wasn't impressed by the menu - most of what I wanted was on the appetizer list (not incl in 2008 DDP, natch).

 

[Camster0307]

Since we're DVCers at the BW, we always spend our first night in Epcot - and always have our first dinner at the San Angel Inn in Mexico. This restaurant has not been treated kindly on these boards, but we've never had a problem and just love it. Going on 7 straight years now!

 

[Tam1067]

I say Chef Mickey's. The kids will have a blast riding the Monorail and seeing Mickey and his pals. The atmosphere is exciting and gets everyone in the Disney mood. If one or both are unhappy, it won't matter because the place is so noisy no one will notice.

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

We had our first meal at CRT when we arrived at Disney - it was wonderful to eat in the Castle, and so magical to eat there on the first night. On our first full Disney day, we ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe which was a blast, and we'll be making an ADR for our first night next trip also.

But, we don't have children. If I had kids as young as yours I'd probably go with Chef Mickey's. We tried this on our last morning for breakfast and it was a lot of fun - we'll be trying it for dinner next trip

 

[goofy4tink]

We always have eaten our first big meal at Chef Mickey's. If you don't plan on entering a park that first day, you could eat at CM's, or 1900 Park Fare if available, then head to DtD for the remainder of the evening.

 

[Princessbaby]

We usually do O'Hana's for our first meal. I would do Chef Mickey- that would be really fun because you get to see some characters right off and a good way to start off your trip!!

 

[fumipappa]

I am not sure how long you are going to stay around Orlando area, so it depends on how you want to spend your vacation time.

If you think you don't want to waste any time, yes Chef Mickey is good choice because it is character dinner, and good for young kids.

We usually spend a week at Orlando and I don't want my kids to get tired from day 1 because they have 6 days to go.. So we usually go to Downtown Disney then eat at Wolfgang Puck express. We once went to CM on the day we arrived and kids were very tired after the flight from NYC in early morning.

 

[irene_dsc]

I am not sure how long you are going to stay around Orlando area, so it depends on how you want to spend your vacation time.

If you think you don't want to waste any time, yes Chef Mickey is good choice because it is character dinner, and good for young kids.

We usually spend a week at Orlando and I don't want my kids to get tired from day 1 because they have 6 days to go.. So we usually go to Downtown Disney then eat at Wolfgang Puck express. We once went to CM on the day we arrived and kids were very tired after the flight from NYC in early morning.

Good points. With my kids, its a tossup - either they will be completely exhausted and grumpy, or energized and raring to go. We have 6 nights at WDW, so either plenty of time or not enough!

The only thing I wanted to do at DTD was the Lego place - what do you tend to do there? (And I'd been planning to save it for later - btu that could change)

Another thought I had last night - what about Marrakesh? Would a 6 yo boy enjoy it? (I'm pretty sure dd would like watching belly dancing - not so sure on ds) ETA: I checked out their menu and some reviews - the lamb sounds yummy! And the kids will normally eat chicken tenders - I just need to try and get them soemthing different at lunch that day, since they tend not to repeat well, lol. So, now I think it is between CM and Marrakesh - and if not 1st night, maybe later in the trip for Marrakesh.

 

[irene_dsc]

Well, made my ADR's! Chef Mickey's was full for our first night (except for a really late time), but the reservationist (?) suggested Garden Grill at Epcot as an alternative, so I ended up going for that, since at least they will get to meet Mickey and I stay out of the Magic Kingdom. Plus, it will introduce them to Epcot. And I scheduled Marrakesh for our 2nd night, which will be our full Epcot day.