First Trip EVER arrival dinner!

[GeorgiaHoo]

I honestly have no idea what or where that is! haha

Thank you for all your suggestions! We might stay in the resort, too. I don't know anymore!
So we arrive on the 24th around noon. No meals booked that day yet.
On the 25th, it's AK. We have lunch reservations at Yak & Yeti. No dinner booked yet...
On the 26th, BIRTHDAY! we have breakfast at BOG, at 12h40 we head to BBB, around 7pm is CT.
On the 27th, we have breakfast at Bon Voyage. No dinner booked yet. We plan on going to the Camp Fire and movie night at POFQ (if it stays on a thursday!).
On the 28th we leave around 4pm for our flight at 9pm. No meals booked yet.

That's all I have so far! I know I have to hurry, but it's tough to decide and I do want us to pace ourselves and enjoy.

Anyone know if the food at POR is good?

POR food court isn't bad but nothing to write home about.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I'm going to say Chef Mickey's! That was our first dinner on our first trip when my son was 6. He's now 22 and still insists for that to be our first meal every trip. It's a perfect way to start a trip, riding the Monorail to the Contemporary, seeing MK and the Castle from a distance is a teaser of the fun to come. Getting to hug Mickey and the gang is a great start to a trip. It's not 5 star food, but it's decent and so much fun!

 

[Hopefully]

Flying! (First time for my daughter, too!) I land at 11am, so I should be at POR around noon?

If you land at MCO at 11 you will not be at POR until 12:30 or after via ME. You will need to check in and your room may not be ready until near 3.
Travel day is full of uncontrollable delays and it is extremely tiring. What time will you all be up to make an early morning flight? I would not over plan arrival night. We never book an ADR sooner than 5 hours after scheduled arrival. We usually stay close by and eat an early dinner and get to bed early ready to start our amazing adventure bright and early the next morning.
Good Luck

 

[Annick]

Say I don't book anything and decide once we're there to have early dinner at Raglan or Planet Hollywood in Disney Springs (take the boat from POR) and then go to bed early... Would we absolutely need a reservation there? I know the end of July is SUPER busy...

 

[Shannon G]

I honestly have no idea what or where that is! haha

Hoop Dee Doo is a dinner show at Ft. Wilderness Campground. It is a corny western variety show type thing. The humor is very corny and really appeals to kids. Dinner is all you can eat fried chicken, ribs, cornbread, salad, and sides (I think mashed potatoes, corn & bakes beans) with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Includes soda, beer, or sangria as well. My kids have always loved it. We are actually having dinner there in June on my youngest daughter's 13th birthday (although she doesn't know it - I told her that it was too expensive for us to do this trip & that she had to pick something else for her birthday dinner).

 

[Hopefully]

Say I don't book anything and decide once we're there to have early dinner at Raglan or Planet Hollywood in Disney Springs (take the boat from POR) and then go to bed early... Would we absolutely need a reservation there? I know the end of July is SUPER busy...

Even with an ADR we have always had to wait to be seated at Raglan Road. It is booked solid. I don't know if that would be different early - about 5. We have never been to Planet Hollywood, it does not appeal to us. There are lots of new QS places that sound great to eat in at DS as well. There is Blaze Pizza for fast fired pizza that is getting great reviews, and there is D Luxe Burger, also with great reviews, just to name 2.
There are lots more
Good Luck

 

[SeeDisney]

Ohhhhh.....how I love reading and hearing about people's very first trip to WDW. You will indeed have a wonderful amazing trip. I too would recommend 1900 Park faire for dinner, it's Cinderella's theme and the actors are a hoot! so interactive. But still, get a dinner reservation for one of the monorail loops, Grand Floridian, Polynesian or Contemporary. Another secret tip, that is offered for free is the Grand Floridian Cinderella down the stair case, with Cinderella and Prince Charming and the kiddies and adults will do a waltz dance with the wonderful Cinderella musical score. It's only 10 minutes long. It's held everyday around 4:00 p.m.-ish. Double check and look for it on youtube. It's really nice and perfect for your daughter. Another great incredible experience is to watch the Fastasmic evening show at Hollywood studios....it screams DISNEY! DO NOT MISS THIS!!! You can get a dinner package and get a guarantee best seating section for the show. Also, I believe the resort you are staying at has rooms that are princess themed with the headboards that glitter up.

Be warned!!! as a first time newbie....you may actually sooooooo fall in love with WDW and want to head back within a few years! It's just soooo magical there! Have fun!

 

[DJFan88]

I agree Park Fare is great, but with the upcoming Cinderella meet, it seems to make sense to wait, or does it? Just a thought, but if your daughter likes it so much and meeting Cinderella, won't it be great to see Cinderella again? When kids that age are into something, they can never get enough, until that phase ends.
If you are looking for something fun and Disney to usher in the trip, this is a great idea.

Although Hoop de doo is great, on arrival night it may be a bit much esp. since 5 years old, while its super fun, sitting that long for those courses may be a bit much on arrival night. And while very fun, some of the humor and such may be more appreciated by the 7 to 11 crowd.

Sorry, none of us liked Chef Mickeys, we had to wait a lot, busier and less roomy than some of the other character dinners. IMO there are much better character dinners in terms of atmosphere. Id say food too, but that was just my opinion, the kids liked the food.

You have the great boat ride at your disposal, so a peaceful cruise down to Disney Springs does sound nice. If you cant get in to one of your other restaurants, Wolfgang Puck Express on the Marketplace side has great food. Its a step up from regular counter and nice variety of good food.
Another option if you transfer boats at DS is to go to OKW to Olivias where an ADR is usually not necessary.
One great tip too is to use the App on your phone for MDE. I made ADRs on the fly and we chose from what was available. Ive actually made ADRs while we were on a bus to a resort and it was for when we got off the bus. But we are teens now and can easily get to wherever, split up, etc.,

 

[amberpi]

How about considering California Grill? With its view of the castle and the fireworks, its pretty special.

 

[Shannon G]

If you decide you want to go to Disney Springs and have a hard time finding an ADR, check Open Table - since they aren't Disney owned restaurants, at least some of the restaurants at DS can be booked through Open Table, and I have heard that sometimes Open Table will have availability when the Disney reservation system does not.

 

[AngiTN]

Our first meal when we took DGD, 3 at the time, was at 1900PF. It was just magical for her to see Cinderella in person that first day. I still remember how magical it was.

 

[AngiTN]

Thank you so much for your suggestion!
I'm torn because I did get a BBB appointment on her bday, right before a table at Cinderella's Royal Table. If we do go at 1900 Park Fare and see Cinderella before her birthday two days later, I fear the day's going to be way less magical then... Won't it?

It was not for DGD. Each thing got to be more magical than the next.
Plus, Cinderella doesn't come to the table at CRT, just photos out front.
I know they toyed with changing that at 1900PF but I think she's in the restaurant again.

 

[MichaelWill&Megan'sMom]

Hi everyone! July 24 to July 28th, I'm treating my mom and my 5 year old to a Disney World vacation. None of us has ever been and so I'm as nervous as I am excited! My daughter will be turning 5 on the 26th, at Magic Kingdom.
I scored a ton of great reservations for us, but I'm still unsure about where to eat on our very, very first dinner at Disney! It has to be a non-park restaurant, but we'll be staying on property (POR), so anything that's reachable by the transportation would be good.

Would you suggest Chef Mickey's or the Irish pub in Disney Springs? Or Ohana? Or anything else?
We LOVE good food!

Chef Mickey is awesome for young kids. It's a favorite of my kids (when they were 5 and now that they are older)!

 

[AngiTN]

I would mention don't book something that is MUST have. Since delays can happen. Before they added a Change feature on MDE I wouldn't even book arrival day ADR. Now I do, and if something happens and we can't get there I use the Change feature to either move it to a time we can make or move it far out and then go back in to cancel. This works as long as you don't let it get too close to ADR time

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Personally, I would do a monorail tour and eat at one of those resorts (Poly, GF or Contemporary). IMHO, there is nothing more magical than riding the monorail and I see that is not on your itinerary! I would take a bus from POR to MK, then hop on the monorail. My DS9 and I did a monorail tour in December - we started at 4 pm at Trader Sam's at Poly to see the antics (they have good "mocktails" for the kids), we then visited GF and then went to Cali Grill at CR for dinner. Cali Grill is delicious and you can see the EP, DHS and MK fireworks from there. Even if you don't stay for the fireworks, the view is amazing. If you would rather have something more casual, I would do Chef Mickey's. Another option - O'hana (but still start at Trader Sam's!). If you are hesitant to meet Cinderella on your first night, this is a great option. It's really fun and they play limbo and coconut games with the kids.

 

[amberpi]

Personally, I would do a monorail tour and eat at one of those resorts (Poly, GF or Contemporary). IMHO, there is nothing more magical than riding the monorail and I see that is not on your itinerary!

The monorail is one of the reasons CG is my favorite first meal for first timers, or adults who haven't been since childhood. Its part of the WDW magic.

 

[MrsIncredible1974]

Our first night is always, but always 1900 Park Fare.
Actually, in whole truth our arrival night is always drop and sleep but that's because we've crossed the Atlantic and are -5 hours! But our first TS meal is always 1900.
Our girls are 11 and 13 but still love Cinderella

 

[momof2gr8kids]

It was not for DGD. Each thing got to be more magical than the next.
Plus, Cinderella doesn't come to the table at CRT, just photos out front.
I know they toyed with changing that at 1900PF but I think she's in the restaurant again.

Really? Cinderella doesn't come to your table at CRT? Wow..Considering the price that's disappointing. We did 1900 PF and enjoyed that! Great interaction.

 

[AngiTN]

Really? Cinderella doesn't come to your table at CRT? Wow..Considering the price that's disappointing. We did 1900 PF and enjoyed that! Great interaction.

She greets you in the lobby of the castle for a photo and autograph. She does not come to the tables. Same as Belle at Akershus

 

[Laurieannc]

If you can do Hoop Dee Doo, I would go for it. We all loved it, including my DD who had just turned 7. If you can get to Fort Wilderness early, your DD can play on the playground very close to Hoop Dee Doo. You can also walk around and explore the grounds. To get there you can hop on a bus from POR to MK and then take the boat right to Fort Wilderness. If not Hoop Dee Doo, try 1900 Park Fare or Ohana. Enjoy your trip!