First Trip Sans Kids...Dining Advice?

[Jenlyn75]

Hey y'all. The hubs and I are taking our first Disney trip without our kids to celebrate our 15 wedding anniversary. Are we crazy for deciding to go to Disney over Jamaica?!

When we visit Disney as a family we have several must eat at places, which are typically chosen based on what the kids love. BUT since we are going sans kids this time I would love to hear dining recommendations that are geared more towards adults...such as some of the fine/signature dining. Any places that are must do's? Any places you guys think are overrated or we should steer clear of? We want to take advantage of trying some new spots that we normally wouldn't try with the kids.

If there is anything else in addition to dining you guys recommend for an adults only trip we would love to hear from ya. Thanks!

*And I just realized I posted this in the wrong forum. Sorry!

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

You are not crazy. We are spending our 25th at Disney. And we have been talking about it for years.

Our two must do's for this trip are Narcoossee's for our special night dinner. And 1900 Park Fare because it has our favorite characters.

Our son is an adult now and isn't into the characters and I don't see us standing in line for me to get a picture with Pooh or my husband to get one with Alice. So breakfast it is.

We are also planning a lot of down time. Half days at the park. And we are going with the attitude that we will do what we feel like doing.

 

[Jenlyn75]

You are not crazy. We are spending our 25th at Disney. And we have been talking about it for years.

Our two must do's for this trip are Narcoossee's for our special night dinner. And 1900 Park Fare because it has our favorite characters.

Our son is an adult now and isn't into the characters and I don't see us standing in line for me to get a picture with Pooh or my husband to get one with Alice. So breakfast it is.

We are also planning a lot of down time. Half days at the park. And we are going with the attitude that we will do what we feel like doing.

1900 Park Fare is one of our favorites as well! It's on the list for our breakfast before we leave to come back home. I'm going to do some reading up on Narcoossee's now. Thank you!

 

[ELSA711]

We are headed in 3 days to do the same for our anniversary. We only made 1 dining res and the rest we are going to 'wing it' since we can't do that with the kids!

 

[kylnne]

Definitely not crazy! The DFi and I are getting married next year and you can bet that our honeymoon talks have included Disney since day one!

Let me preface this by saying that we don't have any kids (hopefully one day!) and that we are typically late owls as opposed to early risers. Not sure what you and your husband lean towards (early vs late dining) but many of our dining experiences have been later at night (usually less crowds and kids with a more laid back atmosphere). That being said, we have dined at the first two restaurants at normal dinner hours as well with little change to the enjoyability.

A few of our favorites include:

1. Jiko: We've always had excellent service here and the food is some of my personal favorite on property. Highly recommend the Wild Boar!

2. Il Mulino: This is my DFi's favorite place to eat as he is big into Italian food. I am not as fond of Italian (I really have to be in the mood for it) but I found that I too enjoyed it (much more than Tutto Italia). Also, side note, when we first ate there, we were offered complementary shots of limoncello after our meal. I had never heard of it and to the knowing smirk on my DFi's face, threw it down and proceeded to spit it promptly back out across the table at him!

3. Boathouse: Since it opened we've always ended up coming here for a late meal at the end of the day when we hadn't planned anything in advanced. Since we frequent it later in the evening (post 9PM) we've always had very personalized service with only a few other couples each time. What has really makes this place great for us (aside from the fact that I am a Seafood fanatic) was being able to slow down the pace of the day, talk to the bartenders and our waiters and really get to know them.

However, there are also a whole number of new additions to Disney Spring's were dying to try. We're heading back in September and looking forward to Morimoto!

 

[Jenlyn75]

We are headed in 3 days to do the same for our anniversary. We only made 1 dining res and the rest we are going to 'wing it' since we can't do that with the kids!

Oh I am so impressed that you are winging it! It never even crossed my mind to "wing" Disney, but without kids it sounds like it could be a fun adventure. I would love to hear about where you guys end up eating. Enjoy your celebration!

 

[renea]

My DH and I will be there 5/14-20 staying at CSR. Our first adult only trip. We have made reservations for the luau, the Illuminations Dessert Party and the Ferrytale Wishes Dessert Boat . That's it. We are winging it also with the rest. The Cast Members I have talked with said we should be ok since it is just the 2 of us. So excited!

 

[ShinyRedGloss]

I would recommend grabbing dessert at California grill around 9 or so depending on when Wishes will be. Kinda a dessert party without too much extra cost.

Unrelated to food....

If you haven't purchased it yet, I would get memory maker. My boyfriend and I don't have children so all of our trips are sans kids. Last trip we decided to purchase memory maker so that we could both be in the picture and to save us from constantly pull out our phones to take pictures. While photopass photographers get a lot of hate, we really enjoyed stopping and posing for pictures around the park. For something like an anniversary, I would say you should definitely consider it.

 

[Jenlyn75]

My DH and I will be there 5/14-20 staying at CSR. Our first adult only trip. We have made reservations for the luau, the Illuminations Dessert Party and the Ferrytale Wishes Dessert Boat . That's it. We are winging it also with the rest. The Cast Members I have talked with said we should be ok since it is just the 2 of us. So excited!

I am warming up to this idea of winging it! I'm looking at the Illuminations dessert party as well. I would love to hear your thoughts if you remember to check back in. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Jenlyn75]

I would recommend grabbing dessert at California grill around 9 or so depending on when Wishes will be. Kinda a dessert party without too much extra cost.

Unrelated to food....

If you haven't purchased it yet, I would get memory maker. My boyfriend and I don't have children so all of our trips are sans kids. Last trip we decided to purchase memory maker so that we could both be in the picture and to save us from constantly pull out our phones to take pictures. While photopass photographers get a lot of hate, we really enjoyed stopping and posing for pictures around the park. For something like an anniversary, I would say you should definitely consider it.

We are die hard Memory Maker fans! We've gotten it the past 3 or 4 trips and we swear by it. To us it's definitely worth the money. We don't even bother lugging my "fancy" camera with us anymore since it's heavy and takes up a good bit of room in the backpack. We have gotten some really great photos through MM and for the most part the photographers are good about doing fun poses or adding "magic" to the shots.

Great idea about California Grill dessert. I'll look into that. Thank you!

 

[Pkltm]

I loved the illuminations dessert party! DH and I did it and found it was fun and a good value!

 

[renea]

I am warming up to this idea of winging it! I'm looking at the Illuminations dessert party as well. I would love to hear your thoughts if you remember to check back in. Enjoy your trip!

Thank you! I will post my review of both dessert parties. We are excited to try them. 11 more days...

 

[cmph]

That's awesome, and you will have a GREAT time!! And this is coming from someone who did exactly that - 15th anniversary last year, just me and the DH. It is a completely different experience, actually getting to pick what YOU want and sitting next to each other on rides!, and one we will always always cherish. We had the best time with each other. You are most definitely not crazy for choosing Disney. We left and said that's how we'd love spending every anniversary from here on out.

We approached it by looking at it exactly like you: what do WE want to do that the kids wouldn't want to do, or would never choose on their own? So we only did one day in MK, b/c we knew we could stick out the entire day without a break and get everything in that we wanted (second parade, etc, that would never happen with the kids). Consequently, we could spend more time at Epcot - actually really exploring every country in the World Showcase - stopping for wine in Italy and Germany, hitting up the tequila cave in Mexico, seeing ALL the little informational shows. And we could eat at resort restaurants that took time away from the parks. We enjoyed Jiko, which isn't particularly child-friendly, so that's a great suggestion. We ate at Sanaa twice b/c we loved it so much, and it's doubtful the kids would have wanted a return trip in the same week. Spice Road was nice and relaxing, along the water, and a lovely way to close out our trip. The one thing I probably wouldn't repeat was CRT, but that's going to be dependent upon your personalities. I was insistent that we go b/c it seemed like a romantic place to celebrate an anniversary. We felt a little dorky with the princesses visiting us, and we noticed some just skipping our table, which we were actually cool with after a couple awkward interactions. The special dessert plate was neat, but there is NO romance there, ha! We stayed at CSR for a more adult atmosphere, and actually quite liked the Maya Grill, too. We made a point to use the resort hot tub, too. The one thing I wished we had done was stay for the kiss good-night at MK, which I will make a point of doing next time, for sure.

My other generic piece of advice, assuming you don't have a car, is to take a cab/Uber/Lyft to resort restaurants. We wasted time with bus transfers with the kids b/c that was the only feasible (and free) option, but with just 2 of us - if you want to go from your resort to another to eat, or go from a park to another resort for dinner and need to get back to your own... it's much quicker, and really not that pricey. Bus transfers are not worth the hassle and wasted time if you can avoid them.

 

[makodad]

Cape Mae cafe for seafood buffet or Chevys for Mexican just outside the resort.

 

[Pooh2]

We for our 25th anniversary and had a blast!
One of our favorites is Raglan Road. Always have great service and love the entertainment.
Happy Anniversary and have a great trip!

 

[Jenlyn75]

That's awesome, and you will have a GREAT time!! And this is coming from someone who did exactly that - 15th anniversary last year, just me and the DH. It is a completely different experience, actually getting to pick what YOU want and sitting next to each other on rides!, and one we will always always cherish. We had the best time with each other. You are most definitely not crazy for choosing Disney. We left and said that's how we'd love spending every anniversary from here on out.

We approached it by looking at it exactly like you: what do WE want to do that the kids wouldn't want to do, or would never choose on their own? So we only did one day in MK, b/c we knew we could stick out the entire day without a break and get everything in that we wanted (second parade, etc, that would never happen with the kids). Consequently, we could spend more time at Epcot - actually really exploring every country in the World Showcase - stopping for wine in Italy and Germany, hitting up the tequila cave in Mexico, seeing ALL the little informational shows. And we could eat at resort restaurants that took time away from the parks. We enjoyed Jiko, which isn't particularly child-friendly, so that's a great suggestion. We ate at Sanaa twice b/c we loved it so much, and it's doubtful the kids would have wanted a return trip in the same week. Spice Road was nice and relaxing, along the water, and a lovely way to close out our trip. The one thing I probably wouldn't repeat was CRT, but that's going to be dependent upon your personalities. I was insistent that we go b/c it seemed like a romantic place to celebrate an anniversary. We felt a little dorky with the princesses visiting us, and we noticed some just skipping our table, which we were actually cool with after a couple awkward interactions. The special dessert plate was neat, but there is NO romance there, ha! We stayed at CSR for a more adult atmosphere, and actually quite liked the Maya Grill, too. We made a point to use the resort hot tub, too. The one thing I wished we had done was stay for the kiss good-night at MK, which I will make a point of doing next time, for sure.

My other generic piece of advice, assuming you don't have a car, is to take a cab/Uber/Lyft to resort restaurants. We wasted time with bus transfers with the kids b/c that was the only feasible (and free) option, but with just 2 of us - if you want to go from your resort to another to eat, or go from a park to another resort for dinner and need to get back to your own... it's much quicker, and really not that pricey. Bus transfers are not worth the hassle and wasted time if you can avoid them.

Thank you for taking the time to write all of this!! I am pumped to hear you guys enjoyed the trip so much and the more I start thinking and looking at stuff for us to do the more excited I am getting. I was looking into CRT, but might pass that one up for something else. We have never tried Uber so maybe this trip will be a good time to try it. I am sure it is much faster than the buses and we love not having to drive ourselves. Thanks again!

 

[Jenlyn75]

Cape Mae cafe for seafood buffet or Chevys for Mexican just outside the resort.

We have done the sea food buffet at Cape May...love it!!

 

[Jenlyn75]

We for our 25th anniversary and had a blast!
One of our favorites is Raglan Road. Always have great service and love the entertainment.
Happy Anniversary and have a great trip!

Thank you!

 

[rof]

How likely are we to just be able to walk up and dine at Sci Fi Dine-In Theater?

Thanks for the help.

 

[cmph]

How likely are we to just be able to walk up and dine at Sci Fi Dine-In Theater?

Thanks for the help.

I haven't personally tried this, so I have no idea. But you might want to start your own thread on the restaurants forum to catch a larger audience's attention, b/c I'm sure someone knows.