First Night Dinner Recommendations???

[AuroraMeansDawn]

I have a dinner at Chef Mickey's scheduled for our arrival night but the reviews are making me nervous. We are going to F! at 6:30 and wanted to have a later dinner at someplace that makes us feel like we're HOME! It's a first trip for two members of our party though our "children" are 16 and 17 year old boys with big appetiites. We're staying at the WL if that helps.

The MK is closed for MVMCP that evening so MK is out.

Any reccomendations or anyone who wants to put my mind at ease about Chef Mickeys?

TIA

 

[Brook1099]

I have never in all my years of going to the World have we eaten @ Chef Mickeys. Dinner I would probably never do. do to reviews alone. Breakfast I would consider it just has never happened. We have alot of favorite breakfast spots.

Since you are going to Fantasmic @ 6:30 you could go to Sci Fi or Prime Time. have only eaten @ Scifi for lunch, it was pretty good.

Since you are staying @ WL, Whispering Canyon, It would probably be my choice. Good food, fun atmospere. Plenty to eat if you order the skillet, they will bring u as much as you want and yummy milkshakes.

 

[AuroraMeansDawn]

I have never in all my years of going to the World have we eaten @ Chef Mickeys. Dinner I would probably never do. do to reviews alone. Breakfast I would consider it just has never happened. We have alot of favorite breakfast spots.

Since you are going to Fantasmic @ 6:30 you could go to Sci Fi or Prime Time. have only eaten @ Scifi for lunch, it was pretty good.

Since you are staying @ WL, Whispering Canyon, It would probably be my choice. Good food, fun atmospere. Plenty to eat if you order the skillet, they will bring u as much as you want and yummy milkshakes.

Hmmmm....not sure that we can do Sci Fi or PTC. Our flight gets in around 11 and we counted on an hour on ME to get to the WL and an hour for travel time. Maybe if Sci Fi has the Fantasmic Package. That might work well. The park closes at 7. We have a WCC scheduled one night later in the week when I make them hit a ropedrop the morning after a midnight EMH. Thought we'd take the evening off and stay at the resort.

I was kinda thinking about maybe we could catch the boat from DHS to Epcot and get a late dinner at Garden Grill? It's getting nice reviews and would still give us the Mickey experience that night and we might be able to catch a few attractions in FW while the rest of the park is lining up for Illuminations. Or maybe I can just move the WCC to another night.

 

[pixarmom]

Hmmmm....not sure that we can do Sci Fi or PTC. Our flight gets in around 11 and we counted on an hour on ME to get to the WL and an hour for travel time. Maybe if Sci Fi has the Fantasmic Package. That might work well. The park closes at 7. We have a WCC scheduled one night later in the week when I make them hit a ropedrop the morning after a midnight EMH. Thought we'd take the evening off and stay at the resort.

I was kinda thinking about maybe we could catch the boat from DHS to Epcot and get a late dinner at Garden Grill? It's getting nice reviews and would still give us the Mickey experience that night and we might be able to catch a few attractions in FW while the rest of the park is lining up for Illuminations. Or maybe I can just move the WCC to another night.

If doing Fantasmic package, Mama Melrose and Brown Derby are our favorites for dinner at DHS - we have 2 pre-teen boys and one pre-schooler. Otherwise, Garden Grill is their favorite restaurant at WDW - they are a little younger than yours, but it's a fun place and there is most certainly plenty of food!!! It's our arrival night tradition.

 

[mommycrawford]

I am not a lover of Chef Mickey's, ...but that said, it is a great place to begin your vacation, especially if MK is not possible.

There are plenty of things on the line: always fresh fruit/salad/carved meat, and lots of stuff! five star good:no, but great for an amusement park venue!

It will get your group in the spirit! Minnie is the best!

After a long time travelling, sitting down anywhere, not moving, will be relaxing.

I have had dinner there 3-4 times, and vetoed this year, but never say never.
Had breakfast 1x...did not like at all!

Are there more delicious, beter quality meals to be had? Sure, but for a buffet, it is really better than many!

HAVE FUN, DON'T STRESS!

 

[pennyplanner]

I would not recommend Brown Derby for hearty appetites. While the quality of the food is good, the portions are rather small. I loved our meal there, but my husband and two boys were underwhelmed!

As for Mama Melrose, friends dined there and found the food just so-so. That said, we live in the northeast where really, really good Italian food is available in every town. If Italian is a treat for you and not too plentiful where you live, it might be just perfect.

We stay at the WL and our first night dinner is always at the Kona Cafe. We take a cab, (approx. $6.00) if we are running late from the afternoon flight. Whispering Canyons is also a good choice for big appetites.

We did Chef Mickey's for breakfast, and while the character interaction was fabulous, the food was mediocre.

--pennyplanner

 

[vitamingirl]

We ate at chefs mickeys in dec and although there is a lot of food and good character interaction, the food was awful and we even had a hard time finding something edible. it was the end of the night so I am not sure if that had anything to do with it but we ate there in 2005 and loved it.
I would probably try to get something at WCC or sci fi or prime time
but if you are going to epcot, what about biergarten at germany. Its fun and there is alot of food for growing boys!!! They will not go hungry there. we went to beaches and cream our first night ( but it was in our hotel too) but everyone loved good old greasy burgers and fries and a huge ice cream sundae. You can all share that kitchen sink thing which looked huge and the atmosphere is fun (especially if you say it is someones bday) but I dont know about transportation after.
or what about ohana in the poly?
but there is no mickey in any of those places.

 

[kmk1180]

I have a dinner at Chef Mickey's scheduled for our arrival night but the reviews are making me nervous. We are going to F! at 6:30 and wanted to have a later dinner at someplace that makes us feel like we're HOME! It's a first trip for two members of our party though our "children" are 16 and 17 year old boys with big appetiites. We're staying at the WL if that helps.

The MK is closed for MVMCP that evening so MK is out.

Any reccomendations or anyone who wants to put my mind at ease about Chef Mickeys?

TIA

We always do Boma as first night dinner.
Usually not worth going in the park anyhow.
AKL is kind of out of the way so going on a non park day gets a good meal in without taking alot of park time out to get there.
Great selection for everyone.
Plus after you can roam the resort and see the animals, taking your time without feeling your missing anything else.
And it's out of the parks so you don't use a day on tickets if you don't want to.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Since you're going to Fantasmic, I would do Mama Melrose. That's our plan for next month! We ate there in Dec 08 and the food and service were just outstanding. I recommended it to a friend in 09 and they had a similar experience. If you don't want to eat in DHS and are near DTD and in a hurry, then I would recommend Wolfgang Express. They have a Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potatoes that is to die for! Its our first nights meal upon our arrival in 37 days!!