Poly Dining on our First Night

[Sweet Pea UK]

We were booked into Boma on our first night as we were staying at AKL. Now been moved to the Poly so need to change our ADR. I have never been to the Poly before so know nothing about any of the dining facilities there.

There are 8 people in our party including DD who is 6 and 7 yr old nephew. We will have travelled from the UK and arriving at the resort approx 5.30pm so reservations will be for 7.30pm.

I would welcome any advice on places to eat before I call Disney.

Many thanks

 

[Amyrlin]

'Ohana may be a good idea with the children, they have coconut races and hula dancing for the children to let off some steam, yu can also pick at what yu want if tired from the journey as food is brought to yur table in sihses, apart from the meat which is served off of skewers.

 

[ilovemyears]

'OHana is great for its atmosphere - food is ok. Kona's food is very good. Another idea might be to go to the Luau. You would have to check times to see if the show is available on that date. The Luau is fun and they do have tables of eight available.

 

[BCV23]

After a very long day, I would be concerned about waiting for a table at 'Ohana at that hour. But you could enjoy the lobby area while you wait.

We haven't done this version of the Luau but years ago it was a family tradition to do that on the first night.

These days on arrival night we choose either Kona or room service. Room service is excellent at the Polynesian and is a relaxing way to settle in.

But staying at the Polynesian there are also so many other dining options a quick and fun monorail ride away.

Happy planning.

 

[Eventer98]

Ohanas is our favorite TS!! With an ADR we have rarely waited more then 10 minutes for our table. Never been to Konas but we did do the Luau last trip. The food was very good, not as good as Ohanas though, and you also have the chance of getting rained out. I say go for Ohanas...you won't regret it!!!!

 

[jhryb]

I'm like you. I was booked at the AKL and I originally had ressies at Boma for the first night. When we were moved to the Poly I switched our ressies to Kona for the first night. I have never been to Kona but I have read several reviews and it sounds like a great choice. We already had 'Ohana booked for latter in our stay, but that does seem like a good choice too.

 

[sjlupin]

We stayed at the Poly 6 years ago and on our first night we had a ADR at Chef Mickeys. It is a little loud and crazy, but a REALLY fun way to kick off the vacation. Great food, and great classic Disney characters. It is a very quick monorail ride from the Poly.

In January we are staying at the Poly again and I think we may go over to Fort Wilderness and do Trails End. We are arriving earlier in the day that you guys are though.

We did do O'Hanas one night on our first trip and it was great. Food was pretty good and it was alot of fun. Plus, just a quick walk back to the room when you are full and tired!

 

[Bama_C]

Another thought might be Concourse Steakhouse located in the Contemporary resort. It's a quick monorail ride from Poly, and the food is fabulous. It's a little quieter than O'Hana or Chef Mickey's. You would likely be able to still get an ADR there, I would think. My daughter (who was 9 last year) loved it and still has her lighted "ice cube" from her blue lighted drink. And, for kid's dessert they have a Paint Your Own Cookie ... a cookie brought out on an artist's palette with 3 different colors of icing and sprinkles. This kept her occupied while the four adults finished their steaks! We also love the lobster bisque for appetizer!

We did Concourse our first night last year, and we can't wait to go back this Sept. We actually have it booked twice in our 11 day trip this year (once with the grandparents and once without.) CLICK HERE FOR MENU.

Pixie dust!

 

[Sweet Pea UK]

Talking of the Contemporary - would the California Grill be suitable for the children?

 

[Luigi's Girl]

It has become a tradition for us to eat at Ohana on our first night of our WDW vacation. We are vacation club members and decided to actually stay at the Poly our first night before checking into our villa the next day. We loved the California Grill when we ate there on our last visit although even with an ADR, we had to wait long for our table.

 

[tednvon]

Hi...would imagine folks will be pretty tired....Cal Grill is really high end and kids who have flown all day might be a bit of challenge. Also, it will be a high ticket item and it is nice, but not what I would call laid back...

If I had come all that way, I would opt for Kona Cafe...quiet, handy, excellent food and service. O'Hanna's is fun, but again after a long flight and being tired, it is a lot of food and a lot of noise.

One other laid back possibility would be to hop the monorail to the Grand Floridian to the Grand Floridian Cafe http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=31

What a beautiful, quiet and relaxing place...the kids will have crayons and stuff and also would be fun just to see the lobby and gardens at the GF.

Good Luck...Ted

 

[TigerKat]

We make a special trip to the Poly to have dinner at KONA - wonderful!!

 

[Sweet Pea UK]

Hi...would imagine folks will be pretty tired....Cal Grill is really high end and kids who have flown all day might be a bit of challenge. Also, it will be a high ticket item and it is nice, but not what I would call laid back...

If I had come all that way, I would opt for Kona Cafe...quiet, handy, excellent food and service. O'Hanna's is fun, but again after a long flight and being tired, it is a lot of food and a lot of noise.

One other laid back possibility would be to hop the monorail to the Grand Floridian to the Grand Floridian Cafe http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=31

What a beautiful, quiet and relaxing place...the kids will have crayons and stuff and also would be fun just to see the lobby and gardens at the GF.

Good Luck...Ted

Thanks Ted - that sounds like rally sound advice. I had looked at the Grand Floridian Cafe but had heard mixed reviews about it. I guess you are going to have that with any restaurant and it's always best to discover things for yourself. Thank you everybody for all the info.

 

[jenjersnap]

FYI, because of the 1900 PF rehab, the GF Cafe is currently hosting character meals with limited pre-plated options. Temporarily, it does not have the usual menu and has characters (except lunch? Are they serving lunch?). Just wanted to mention it.

You can't go wrong with Kona or Ohana, IMO. We love them both. Good luck landing an ADR!

 

[Sweet Pea UK]

FYI, because of the 1900 PF rehab, the GF Cafe is currently hosting character meals with limited pre-plated options. Temporarily, it does not have the usual menu and has characters (except lunch? Are they serving lunch?). Just wanted to mention it.

You can't go wrong with Kona or Ohana, IMO. We love them both. Good luck landing an ADR!

Thanks Jenjersnap. We are going in November and hopefully 1900 Park Fare shoud be back up and running by then. I am now trying to decide between Grand Floridian Cafe and Concourse Steakhouse. As much as I love the look of Kona and Ohanas - we are booked into the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show a couple of nights into the trip and I think the food may be quite similar so we are going to sace Kona or Ohana's for the end of the holiday. Also California Grill looks to nice for a first night when we are all going to be a bit tired from the travelling - it will be about midnight UK time for us. No doubt as usual we will be up at 5am on the first day - strange how your body clock works.

So now the choice is narrowed down to Concourse Steakhouse and GF Cafe???

 

[jenjersnap]

Ah, I thought you were going sooner since you mentioned being moved from AKL. FYI, we found the food at the Luau (yuck,we won't go again and we love all other things Poly) nothing at all like the food at Kona and not similar, other than the chicken wings, to Ohana. But I understand your reasoning. Have a great vacation!

Thanks Jenjersnap. We are going in November and hopefully 1900 Park Fare shoud be back up and running by then. I am now trying to decide between Grand Floridian Cafe and Concourse Steakhouse. As much as I love the look of Kona and Ohanas - we are booked into the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show a couple of nights into the trip and I think the food may be quite similar so we are going to sace Kona or Ohana's for the end of the holiday. Also California Grill looks to nice for a first night when we are all going to be a bit tired from the travelling - it will be about midnight UK time for us. No doubt as usual we will be up at 5am on the first day - strange how your body clock works.

So now the choice is narrowed down to Concourse Steakhouse and GF Cafe???

 

[Schucraig]

After a long flight, I would choose Kona! They have great food and it is more quiet!