Going for the first time!

[jerseyboy00]

Hello, we are going for the first time in February. Its me, my wife and 4 kids. 11 year old boy, 9,7,4 girls. We already have Chef Mickeys for breakfast scheduled. What other restaurants should i book early that would be good for the kids? About how many days would we need in each park? Thank you

 

[eventsdj]

Welcome!
You will get lots of info. on here, so take it all in and then evaluate what will work best for your family.
Go buy the "unofficial guide", it is wonderful!

I am not going to offer up any suggestions, because we are only going on our 2nd trip, so I'm still a newbie myself!

But we are eating a Crystal palace, Whipering canyon cafe, Ohana, 50's PT, Coral reef, and Chef Mickey!

I have heard good and bad about all, but that is what we've decided on.

Happy planning!

 

[heartofdisney]

Hello, we are going for the first time in February. Its me, my wife and 4 kids. 11 year old boy, 9,7,4 girls. We already have Chef Mickeys for breakfast scheduled. What other restaurants should i book early that would be good for the kids? About how many days would we need in each park? Thank you

How exciting for your family to be going your first time! I remember our first trip and it is one that will always stand out in our memories...the first time ever seeing the castle at Magic Kingdom.Your also going at a great time of the year as far as the crowds go.

Chef Mickey's is definetly a good place to book to get that Disney feeling....but if your kids like Winnie the Pooh and gang,make sure you book a meal at the Chrystal Palace too.Booking breakfast is cheaper,it's a great meal,and it also gets you into the park earlier,if you book it before the park opens.This gives you a chance to take pictures by the castle with no crowds.Book early enough and your family can eat and then head over to where you first want to go and wait for the rope drop.That gets you ahead of the crowds as well.

There are so many great places to eat at Disney.You could book the Breakfastsaurus at the Animal Kingdom to see different characters,you could try for the Cinderella Breakfast in the castle,or the Princess breakfast at Epcot.As far as lunches or dinners go,I would say Ohanas shouldnt be missed and the Whispering Canyon also offers a fun and tasty meal.At MGM,you could book Primetime and Sci Fi,for fun too.I am thinking of what the kids would like mostly,but for adult meals,there are also some great places at Epcot and in some of the resorts themselves.....my husband and I loved Le Celcier in Canada especially.

Ther biggest peice of advice I could give you is to continue checking out the Dis Boards as you can learn lots of tips and get some great advice! When you come back...write a trip report so we can read how the trip went. I especially love to read trip reports from first time visitors! Have fun!

 

[mytwinklestar]

First time... oh wow... no feeling like it! You and your family are going to have a phenomenal time!

I would highly suggest that you try for Cinderella's Royal Table ... we have been several times and only got ressies for CRT during our my most recent trip in June. My DH was a little skeptical that our 9 yr DS might not appreciate CRT as much as our 5 yr old DD. He was worried that he might not enjoy it, either. Well, my DH was the first one to prompt me to get a ressie for CRT in December when we return. My DS was tickled with our window seat,overlooking the carousel. My DD just knew she was THE princess during this experience. The food was very good, the service was great, and the experience ranks way up there on our family's list.

Have a great time... enjoy!!!

 

[Jrabbit910]

Hi, Welcome to the boards....
I think the "cant miss" kids restaurants are Chef Mickeys @ CR, Crystal Palace @MK , 1900 Park Fare @ GF, Ohana's @ poly; Beaches & Cream at the Beach Club, Princess Storybook Dining (breakfast) @ Restaurant Akershus in Epcot and Ghiradelli's @ DTD.... Oh & if your son is into sport, dont miss the ESPN Zone at the boardwalk!

 

[BigGreen73]

Congrats on you 1st WDW vacation and welcome to the Dis Boards. You will be able to find a lot of info on these boards to help you with your vacation.

If you are looking to do a lot of table service/ character meals, you may want to look into the Disney Dining Plan if you haven't already. On that note Crystal Palace is one in MK not to miss.

As for how much time in a park, it all comes down to how long your vacation is and what your family wants to do. With 4 kids, you should plan at least 2 days a park especially MK. MK can be overwhelming if you try to get in too much in one day. It has so much to take in. AK would be a 2 day if you want to take in everything. Epcot would be 2 days if the kids will be interested in the World, and MGM can be done in one day if needed.

Just be sure to read up on these boards, and others like waltdisneyworld.com and allears.net, these will help in your planning.

Have a great vacation!!!

 

[tchan03]

HI You could make reservation at Royal Table restaurant right inside Cinderella's castle in MK theme park.

Have fun planning

 

[LarryJ]

Hello, we are going for the first time in February. Its me, my wife and 4 kids. 11 year old boy, 9,7,4 girls. We already have Chef Mickeys for breakfast scheduled. What other restaurants should i book early that would be good for the kids? About how many days would we need in each park? Thank you

I imagine it's for only a few days at most a week to 10 days so best advice is to not think you're going to see it all since that will be impossible. Concentrate on the MK because of the age of the kids and do the fun things they think would be cute. I think I would mainly in addition to the MK look at AK for some of the shows and maybe the Safari ride for the animals and even the petting zoo. IMHO EPCOT and MGM have a lot less to offer kids in the range of yours. There are still plenty of "action" rides at MK to occupy them at least for the first go around.

First time we went our sons were 12 and 8 and if they can join us this upcoming Xmas visit they will be 34 (DINKS) and 29 (Single, but looking) and still are kids at heart except now after the ole farts go to bed they head to either the BW or PI. They all had a blast when they joined us in Jan 2006 during our last "MAGICAL EXPERIENCE"

Larry

 

[jerseyboy00]

Thanks for all of the advice. I am sorry, i should have added that we will down for 2 weeks, and we will be staying off property at Bonnett Creek.

 

[scotlass]

Sci-Fi diner at MGM is awesome...your kids will love it !!!

 

[jenseib]

Well if you are off site, then you won't be on the dining plan, which was what I was going to origionally ask....
I say Crystal Palace too. I have also heard great things about the hoop dee doo dinner show. I would say 2 days at MK for sure. And at least one day eac h at the others, but it depends on your families likes. I would suggest since you are donw the for so long to check out Universal or Sea world as well. I have not been to Sea world there, but used to go to the Ohio one all the time ,and loved it.
I'm not sure how far Bonnet Creek is, but be sure to allow ALOT of time to get to the parks. Traffic can back up in the mornings and a 10 mintue trip can take 45. Also be sure to make reservations for any resturant you want to go to at Disney.

 

[Super Ali]

Hi and a warm welcome

 

[kimis]

Hello, we are going for the first time in February. Its me, my wife and 4 kids. 11 year old boy, 9,7,4 girls. We already have Chef Mickeys for breakfast scheduled. What other restaurants should i book early that would be good for the kids? About how many days would we need in each park? Thank you

COngratulations! I am so excited for you! Your children are at great ages to really have a blast. Be prepared----you will make magical memories! Wow you get to stay a really long time. I sould suggest the following places to eat (some may be repeats)
*Whispering Canyon Cafe (great for lunch)
*Crystal Palace
*1900 Park Fair
*Beaches and Cream ( make sure to order the kitchen sink!)
Since you will be there for so long I hope you got the park hopper passes. You can go to each park a few times. Do a couple of parks in the same day. Don't do all MK and than go do all of AK never to return. It is fun to mix it up. Enjoy and have a great time.
Oh yeah make sure you do some planning and when you get to each park grab a couple (one always gets lost) of daily schedales.

 

[byoung]

Breakfast at Cape May the kids will love it there.

 

[tinkwdw47]

Hello, we are going for the first time in February. Its me, my wife and 4 kids. 11 year old boy, 9,7,4 girls. We already have Chef Mickeys for breakfast scheduled. What other restaurants should i book early that would be good for the kids? About how many days would we need in each park? Thank you

we liked the rain forest cafe at animal kingdom.... it is like a rain forest and it is set to start raining then there's animals in the trees and it starts every once in awhile with big monkeys,birds,tigers, giraffes...it's a different scene....we love it there....there's also one in downtown disney..... ....also crystal palace at magic kingdom has pooh, eyore, tigger, and piglet.......

 

[DeeDeeDis]

Your gonna have a great time.

two of our favorite places to eat when we go are

Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge - great place to eat with kids (BBQ), its alot of fun.

Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner at the MK . Its a character dinner, family style thanksgiving dinner (ham, turkey, roast, gravy, mash potatoes etc...). Foods very good and the character come to every table and spend plenty of time so you can get lots of picture and interact with them.

 

[PolynesianMedic]

Ok, from one Jersey boy to another, I can tell you that my favorite places to eat are all great places to eat with kids. I have taken my 3 y/o son to all of them. I Like:
Magic Kingdom Area
Chef Mickey's without a doubt! Great food and great character interaction.
Hoop De Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness - good times, great show, and the best fried chicken I have ever had.
The Luau at the Polynesian - I haven't been there recently but I hear they have made some changes to this, that if true, I might not like it any more.
Ohana - at the Polynesian, great family style meal.
The Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge - this is a GREAT time LOADS of fun and surprises. Ask for the Kethcup and a large drink.
Tony's Town Square - good Italtian foor in the Magic Kingdom
Liberty Tree Tavern - Great family style in the Magic Kingdom

Epcot Area
Japan - My personal favorite. They have the hibachi style cooking where they cook in front of you.
LeCellier - Canada pavilion. I have yet to get in here, but I hear it is absolutely wonderful. It is a steakhouse.
Electric Umbrella - nice counter service place to eat.
ESPN Zone at Boardwalk - You can walk here from Epcot. Cool place, your kids will enjoy the "interesting" placement of the TV's

Hollywood Studios area
50's Prime Time Cafe - in Hollywood studios. Keep your elbows off the table, and make sure to join the clean plate club. Although the repercussions are always fun too

Anmal Kingdom area
Rain Forest Cafe - just outside the park but easy to get to. Lots of fun, and great atmosphere.
Boma - at Animal Kingdom Lodge. If your kids are a little adventurous food wise, this is a neat place because there are some different types of food items in the buffet.

I think that this covers all of the places that we like to go that are good for families. There are a few others, if you want to get a babysitter while there, and you and your wife go to dinner one night, I would HIGHLY reccommend the California Grill on the rooftop of the Contemporary. Wonderful food and a gorgeous atmoshpere. I hope this helps, and if there are any other questions, post them up and I am sure you will continue to get great answers.

 

[ntsammy5]

I won't add any places to eat, but you're going at a good time. The first family trip is always the one you'll remember forever. I'd say a day each for the parks and 1 - 2 days to cover what you missed so 6 day would be good but 4 would be OK too. Have a great time!

 

[jerseyboy00]

Thank you for all of your help.

 

[Jenniww]

R U doing a dining plan?
How long is your stay?