First time to WDW... need dining help!

[Princess Kass]

Hi there!


I am a Disneyland regular who is in the process of planning my FIRST trip to Disney World!! The catch is, we will have 2 full days to do all 4 parks, and I need help picking out restaurants to go with our itinerary. Our trip is mid December, and I understand that I missed the ADR date… but I’m still hoping to pick up two ADRs. Also, we are planning to do breakfast in the room/ Starbucks each morning. Any suggestions you have for my plan/ dining is greatly appreciated!


Day 1: Red-eye flight from LAX → MCO

Day 2: Animal Kingdom (rope drop)

• Lunch at Sa’tuli Canteen OR Flame Tree BBQ
  
  
• Park hop to Epcot
  
  
• Festival of Holidays booths
  
  
• Late dinner at Via Napoli (or another World Showcase TS??)
  
  
• Illuminations
  

Day 3: Hollywood Studios (rope drop)

• Lunch at: ?? Need suggestions… CS don’t seem appealing
  
  
• Park hop to Magic Kingdom
  
  
• Late lunch/ early dinner at Be Our Guest OR TS dinner (need suggestions)
  
  
• Fireworks & Extra Magic Hours!
  

For reference, we will be a party of 3 to 4 adults and one 12-year-old. Also, we are not picky eaters!


Thank you! Have a magical rest of your day!

 

[ZebraDomeCrazy]

Hey there, sounds like a busy trip! At Animal Kingdom, both of your cs choices are fantastic! I would try to eat a little early, as they are pretty filling meals, especially if you plan on snacking at the booths in Epcot. I would suggest Chefs de France for your TS dinner. It’s always a nice meal, and they have a nice Pre-frix menu, that includes app and dessert.

For a TS lunch at Hollywood Studios, I would suggest 50’s Prime Time. It’s a lot of fun and the food is actually really great! For a dinner for your MK evening, you might want to take the monorail over to the Contemporary, and try The Wave. Or for a more upscale dinner, you could continue on the monorail over to the Grand Floridian, and try Narcoosees. You can watch the fireworks at MK from their deck. Honestly, we haven’t found any of the sit down meals at MK to be very good at all.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Princess Kass]

I will check out Chefs de France... sounds delicious!

Thank you for your HS/ MK suggestions. If we eat a late lunch at a HS table service, we may skip the sit down in MK and snack around the park instead.

Thanks again!

 

[glocon]

If your plan is breakfast in room or Starbucks, and you hop to MK for BoG lunch, I think you’re good to go.
I’m thinking of trying Skipper Canteen for supper perhaps... sounds interesting.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Welcome!!

Day 2- We love Satuli Canteen, our favorite QS in WDW. Wish I could get it at home
We have been skipping Via Napoli the last two years. Service was so, so bad last time. There are so many great places to eat at EPCOT we like to go to different areas. Agree with above poster. Love Chef's de France!! We did not get the pre-fix menu. I loved the pork shank with egg spatzel, it's so good. The lobster bisque is the best I have had anywhere.

Day 3- We really love Sci-Fi at DS. Stick to burgers, onion rings, simple items. Best milkshakes! The atmosphere is so fun, we love the clips.
Dinner at MK. We tried dinner at BOG for the 1st time this year and thought it was just ok. It was a one and done for us. Again agree with above poster, take the monorail to the Poly for Kona's or Contemporary for the Wave.

 

[PolyRob]

I like your AK plans as well!

Via Napoli is a favorite with my family. Solid options and it can be more affordable than other WS meals if you split a larger pie. Chefs de France is also good, but it can be louder IMO. Teppan Edo can also be fun, but it's just regular hibachi.

I love HS, but its dining options are... lacking. My hands down favorite is Sci-Fi. I like it better than the other options so much that I will repeat it during a trip. One day I will do two appetizers as my meal, and the next I will do a burger. 50's is not bad, but I really only like the fried chicken. Hollywood Brown Derby can be good, but it's pricey and slow. Mama Melrose was once and done for me, and Hollywood and Vine is still the worst meal I have ever had at Disney (characters were cute tho)!

Be Our Guest is transitioning to a new prix fixe dinner on 7/27. I am waiting to read reviews because it has been just ok in the past. If you wanted something more substantial, Liberty Tree Tavern is an all you care to enjoy family style meal that is decent and while not super fancy or exciting, I have never had a bad sandwich at the Plaza. The Plaza also has very yummy desserts!

 

[kastoney]

With such little park time I'd be looking to maximize the parks and minimize the time eating. Unless of course you are like me and food is the priority So that said I'd be sticking to QS. AK is great as others have said. For Epcot, Via Napoli is one our favorites, but could take an hour or more. I'd think about eating around the world and trying something from the QS and snack locations in the showcase. If you want to do a sit-down I'd look to schedule something where you could also see Illuminations to maximize views. Tokyo Dining or Rose and Crown would be good options, though of course they do not guarantee Illuminations seating.

For your MGM day, food there is notoriously bad. Again presuming you don't want a sit down (SciFi is great if you do) I'd wait to grab lunch at MK. At MK I'd do lunch at Be Our Guest since its quick service and then just do Columbia Harbor House for dinner.

 

[Princess Kass]

If your plan is breakfast in room or Starbucks, and you hop to MK for BoG lunch, I think you’re good to go.
I’m thinking of trying Skipper Canteen for supper perhaps... sounds interesting.

I also considered Skipper's Canteen, the menu looks unique and I love the theme! And I think I will skip out on eating anything in HS besides yummy treats... ha!

 

[Princess Kass]

Welcome!!

Day 2- We love Satuli Canteen, our favorite QS in WDW. Wish I could get it at home
We have been skipping Via Napoli the last two years. Service was so, so bad last time. There are so many great places to eat at EPCOT we like to go to different areas. Agree with above poster. Love Chef's de France!! We did not get the pre-fix menu. I loved the pork shank with egg spatzel, it's so good. The lobster bisque is the best I have had anywhere.

Day 3- We really love Sci-Fi at DS. Stick to burgers, onion rings, simple items. Best milkshakes! The atmosphere is so fun, we love the clips.
Dinner at MK. We tried dinner at BOG for the 1st time this year and thought it was just ok. It was a one and done for us. Again agree with above poster, take the monorail to the Poly for Kona's or Contemporary for the Wave.

Sc-fi seems like a good choice, looks yummy and fun theme. I don't think dinner at BOG will be an option for us because it is going Signature, so hoping for lunch. At the Poly, 'Ohana looks awesome but don't know if we have time/ can get an ADR. So maybe Kona!

 

[Princess Kass]

I like your AK plans as well!

Via Napoli is a favorite with my family. Solid options and it can be more affordable than other WS meals if you split a larger pie. Chefs de France is also good, but it can be louder IMO. Teppan Edo can also be fun, but it's just regular hibachi.

I love HS, but its dining options are... lacking. My hands down favorite is Sci-Fi. I like it better than the other options so much that I will repeat it during a trip. One day I will do two appetizers as my meal, and the next I will do a burger. 50's is not bad, but I really only like the fried chicken. Hollywood Brown Derby can be good, but it's pricey and slow. Mama Melrose was once and done for me, and Hollywood and Vine is still the worst meal I have ever had at Disney (characters were cute tho)!

Be Our Guest is transitioning to a new prix fixe dinner on 7/27. I am waiting to read reviews because it has been just ok in the past. If you wanted something more substantial, Liberty Tree Tavern is an all you care to enjoy family style meal that is decent and while not super fancy or exciting, I have never had a bad sandwich at the Plaza. The Plaza also has very yummy desserts!

I will have some tough dining choices for our time at Epcot... all sound so good! I'm leaning toward trying to avoid HS dining and hold off till we get to MK, Liberty Tree and the Plaza both sound great. Or hopefully a late BOG lunch... but only time will tell! Thank you.

 

[Princess Kass]

With such little park time I'd be looking to maximize the parks and minimize the time eating. Unless of course you are like me and food is the priority So that said I'd be sticking to QS. AK is great as others have said. For Epcot, Via Napoli is one our favorites, but could take an hour or more. I'd think about eating around the world and trying something from the QS and snack locations in the showcase. If you want to do a sit-down I'd look to schedule something where you could also see Illuminations to maximize views. Tokyo Dining or Rose and Crown would be good options, though of course they do not guarantee Illuminations seating.

For your MGM day, food there is notoriously bad. Again presuming you don't want a sit down (SciFi is great if you do) I'd wait to grab lunch at MK. At MK I'd do lunch at Be Our Guest since its quick service and then just do Columbia Harbor House for dinner.

First of all- I LOVE your dining reports! Your family is adorable and the reports are so entertaining. I am totally a "foodie" as well, and if I had more days for my trip there are so many restaurants I hope to try. Just a reason to plan another trip

I didn't factor in how long table service would take... I am so excited to try all of the food from around World Showcase. If only they had a QS option in Italy for pizza! I'm hoping to find a BOG lunch ADR, and Columbia Harbor House sounds great (I love seafood!).

Thanks again for all your advice!

 

[FCDub]

Agree with a PP: If you only have two days, nix table service. You're going to lose valuable time.