First Night Dinner Recommendation

davisfamilyfive

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
35
We arrive at MCO at 4:26pm and we are staying at the Polynesian. Looking for recommendation on what is the earliest time you would make a reservation for and suggestions for a nice table service restaurant to start off the trip. Thanks!
 
There's lots of options for nice table service restaurants! Homecoming at Disney Springs, Trattoria al Forno on the Boardwalk. I've heard a lot of the restaurants at Disney Springs are really nice so maybe check out ones that may interest your family?
 

Ohana is completely booked the whole 11 days we will be there.

though his doesn't fit your table service request, you can order the Ohana feast from room service if you want to enjoy they tastiness while you are there!!!

Warning, they say each feast can feed 2 or more people easily, so you should do some research before going that route to see how much you would want to get.
 
Wow that's a tough one.:scratchin Getting in to MCO at 4:30ish I wouldn't make a ressie earlier than 6:30. If your plane gets delayed, and you miss your ressie you may get charged a no show fee. I would take the advice of an earlier poster and do the Ohana dinner room service. Nice and relaxing to start off the trip. If you want to eat out of the hotel, use OpenTable to reserve a table in Disney Springs. If your plane is delayed, you won't have a no show fee.

FWIW, we prefer to eat QS at the hotel on arrival day. We grab our refillable mugs, survey the current menus/offerings, eat dinner, then go back to our room to find our luggage has arrived. We unpack and organize our essentials and then head to MK for evening rides.pixiedust:
 
My favorite arrival day ADR so far has been Trail's End. I was staying at the Dolphin, so I took the MK bus, then a boat to Ft Wilderness. It was nice to enjoy the leisurely boat ride and just stroll around Ft Wilderness for a bit before and after my meal. It was a nice relaxing start to the vacation. I always plan my ADRs at least 2-3 hours from my arrival time. I always get a 'snack' as soon as I arrive on property to hold me over, and spend some time relaxing in the hotel room to recover from the stress of the airport. I feel it's the safest thing to do.
 
I wouldn't make a reservation before 7pm, just to make sure you have plenty of time if there are delays with the flight or the bus. If you are eating anywhere other than Poly, I'd give yourself a little more time. Kona has great food, and it's one of our favorite places to eat; but you could easily get to any of the monorail resorts once you arrive.
 
If you are going to stay at Poly, then I say not before 715-730p. Hopefully, that will allow timing for any delays. If you are looking at Disney Springs, I'd say 8p. We usually go to Raglan Road on our 1st night so we can also do a bit of shopping and ease ourselves into vacation mode. We've shown up to Raglan up to a half hour early and they still sat us pretty early (with a minimal wait ). We've been there in most months at one point or another except for June or July.
 
7pm at Kona Cafe. Gives you 2 1/2 hours between airport and hotel, and you won't have to catch another bus once you check in. Kona is really good in my opinion. You'll probably have enough time to rest between checking in and the dinner reservation.
 
We love the Wave. It's a quick trip on the monorail and has never disappointed. Lovely bar and good food. Have a great trip!
 
We love the Wave. It's a quick trip on the monorail and has never disappointed. Lovely bar and good food. Have a great trip!

Second this, AND it tends to be easy to get into. When are you going, how big is your party, and will you have park admission? I'm a believer in not making ADRs ahead of time on arrival day, but if you wait till you're at the resort, you can probably find some last minute ADRs on MDE (and I'd bet money The Wave would be one of them) unless you're there at a really crowded time or have a large party.
 





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