First Time Trip - Restaurants Help!

[pamelaz]

Ok hey all,

I'm going to Disney World for my first time!!
I'm going with my other half and we'll be staying for a week in late August.

I've been researching like crazy, have my excel sheet full of tips - but just want suggestions of what restaurants you think are a memorable experience for the first time? I plan on only doing a couple of sit down dinners, but am hoping to hit the "must haves" during that time.

I want to start looking into reservations (if available).

Thanks in advance!

 

[MHSweb79]

Go over to www.allears.net and check out their "rate & review" section to see what hits your fancy.

There are so many choices and every restaurant is someone's favorite.

We like: Teppan Edo, Biergarten (Epcot), Tony's in MK, Chef Mickey's (Contemporary) and 'Ohana (Polynesian.) If you are going during Free Dining you should get your ADR's as soon as you can.

 

[coltsfanatic]

I'd be happy to help. When we took our first trip, we really wanted the restaurants to be about experience. (The food is also important, but so is atmosphere!!)

For breakfast, I recommend eating at your resort food court-it really isn't worth the time or cost to have a table service breakfast. So go ahead..order a Mickey waffe with some strawberries, fruit salad and FLA o.j. (my fave) and RELAX..you'll need it for the big day ahead.

However, if you have a few free days:
-Kouzzina (blueberry and orange pancakes and sweet potato hash)
-House of Blues

For lunch (depending on your location), I recommend:
-Eat at the park/area/resort in which you will spend the most time at that day. It will be much less of a hassle and save much-needed time. Also, try eating counter service for the majority of your lunches.

Animal Kingdom-Pizzafari
Epcot FW-Sunshine Seasons
Epcot WS-Tokyo Dining
HS-Backlot Express
MK-Crystal Palace
Resorts-Grand Floridian Cafe
DTD-Wolfgang Puck Cafe
Boardwalk-Kouzzina

For dinner:

Animal Kingdom-Tusker House
Epcot FW-Coral Reef
Epcot WS-San Angel Inn
HS-Sci Fi
MK-Tony's
Resorts-Boma
DTD-Bongo's
Boardwalk-ESPN Club

Hope I helped!!

 

[Missyrose]

Just remember that ADR's open 180 days before your dates, so while it's a good idea to look at allears.net to figure out where you'd like to eat, you will probably have to be flexible about which restaurants and your meal times based on what's available.

And be sure to check out these dining reviews.

Happy planning!

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

I've eaten at alot of different restaurants at Walt Disney World & have enjoyed most of them. And I look forward to trying more new ones on our upcoming trip. Still if I look back at the standouts for a disney feel I'd pick some of these:

Tusker House Safari breakfast at Animal Kingdom.
It is really good & the characters are lots of fun. I love eating here.

Ohana at the Poly. resort. Is just a fun place & different from the normal places you dine at back home.

San Angel Inn at Epcot. Was the first restaurant we ever ate at at Disney. I still think it is the prettiest. Dining under the stars is just neat.

Crystal Palace at Magic. This one is another winner because of the characters.

We love LeCellier & Coral Reef also. These have great food & are always on our list.

There are just so many places to pick from but the above are some of our favorites.

 

[OKW Lover]

You may want to read the dining reviews here when trying to decide.

 

[pamelaz]

Thanks all!
I definitely am looking at reviews, menus, pictures (sorta obsessively) but would love to get more opinions on restaurants that are experiences I shouldn't miss.

 

[pamelaz]

coltsfanatic and MagicalMawMaw - exactly what i wanted.. thank you!

 

[cbg1027]

If I was going with a first-timer, these are the places that I would take them, picking at least one restaurant from each park, and several from the resorts:

MK:
Crystal Palace (for breakfast preferably) - This is a really classic Disney character meal and has been around for quite a while now. I think the food is really good (don't missed the Cinnamon Puffed French Toast!) and who doesn't like visiting with Winnie the Pooh and Friends?

Cinderella's Royal Table - I haven't been here in soooo long, so I can't speak to the food. I don't think it's where you go for the food though - you're paying to eat IN the castle and meet the princesses. I don't normally recommend places that I don't know what the food is like, but I think it's just one of those essential Disney experiences that everyone should try once!

Epcot:
Any WS restaurant really - just depends on the tastes of the person. I think my favorite is Via Napoli.

DHS:
50's Prime Time Cafe - fun atmosphere and entertainment, good home style food and amazing milkshakes!

AK:
Yak n Yeti - Asian Fusion in a gorgeous setting, fits really well with the section of the park it's in.

Contemporary Resort:
California Grill - I think this is a Disney must do. It's a great introduction to Disney's finer dining side and the views can't be beat.

Chef Mickey's - again, haven't eaten here in a long time, so can't vouch for the food. It's another place I would consider to be an essential Disney experience since they have all the classic characters. You have to dine with Mickey at least once!

Polynesian Resort:
'Ohana Dinner - a fun meal in a tropical setting

Those are the places I would want to take a first-timer. My personal favorites are:

Citricos
Jiko
Flying Fish
Cali Grill
Sanaa
bluezoo
Yak n Yeti

 

[SnipsNSnails]

You'll need to make your ADRs ASAP! That's during FD time and the ressie window opened up quite a while ago. I'd be surprised if you find any times for the most popular places, although traveling without children will give you more flexibility.

We're going in Sept and our ADRs are as follows. Many of these are new to us as I've only stayed on property 3 other times but based on recommendations here on the Dis, these are the ressies we made for 6 adults and 2 children, all dinner except where noted:

Chef Mickey's
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Ohana
Le Cellier - lunch
Cape May Cafe
Boma
Crystal Palace

The only places we've been (that I remember since one trip was when I was much younger) are Chef Mickey's (this is always our first night) and WCC (which was great fun!). Last time we ate at Coral Reef - food was so-so but the atmosphere is really great, we decided not to repeat this one. Liberty Tree Tavern is also really good food but didn't make our list this time around because we wanted to try some other things.