Restaurants for 1st time vist

[darlou57]

Going to Disney for 1st time at age 54 with my wife who has been there before years ago.We are looking for some recomendations on places to eat for dinner.
We have the Disney meal plan which was included in our package for free (Quick Service/Snack and Sit Down Dinner) Going March 4-9 , thanks for your help and Happy New Year.

 

[JoShan1719]

These are some of my favorites:

Magic Kingdom:
-Crystal Palace (Table Service): Try and get reservations for before park opening. You get to enter MK before it opens and get pictures in front of the castle with almost no one there.
-Liberty Tree Tavern (Table Service): Really yummy food
-Cosmic Rays (Counter Service): Lots of variety, and outside seating offers great views of the castle

Epcot:
-Sunshine Seasons (Counter Service): Again, lots of variety
-Teppan Edo (Table Service): Hibachi style, really entertaining and the food is yummy
-Chefs de France (Table Service): The food is so good, and you may get a visit from Remy (Ratatouille)

Hollywood Studios:
-50's Prime Time Cafe (Table Service): Entertaining atmosphere, great food

Animal Kingdom:
-Restaurantosaurus (Counter Service): It's inside, so there's a/c

Downtown Disney:
T-Rex (Table Service): Great food, neat atmosphere, and they just added it to the DDP

Earl of Sandwish (Counter Service): If you've never eaten here you need to. It's a must on every trip, the food is soooo good

You're going to get opinions from a lot of people, so I recommend checking out allears.net. They have menus for all the restaurants so you can decide for yourself if you'll enjoy a certain place. You can also check youtube, a lot of people upload videos of their experiences at the restaurants. Good luck!

 

[Hopefully]

Going to Disney for 1st time at age 54 with my wife who has been there before years ago.We are looking for some recomendations on places to eat for dinner.
We have the Disney meal plan which was included in our package for free (Quick Service/Snack and Sit Down Dinner) Going March 4-9 , thanks for your help and Happy New Year.

First of all, Welcome to the DIS. You have come to the right place for advice.
There are over 100 Table Service (TS) restaurants at WDW. A little more information will help us to help you.
What are you most looking for? The "Disney Experience", character interaction, a romantic dinner, great food? Are you interested in the dinner shows? Do you prefer your main meal at lunch or in the evening?
Many of the "best" restaurants are the Signature restaurants, and those cost 2 TS credits each. But you can combine your credits if they interest you.
Where are you staying? What type of food to you prefer? Are you basic eaters or more adventerous?
Try looking at the menus here on the DIS and also at allears.net to get a sense of what is available.
You need to make your ADRs as soon as possible. Reservation windows open 180 days in advance. Some of the most popular Park restauants may be booked solid already.
Good Luck

 

[OKW Lover]

As was suggested above, you may want to read the dining reviews here when trying to decide.

 

[umieesa]

There are tons of good (and bad) restaurants at Disney, but knowing your specific likes and dislikes will help with our recommendations. Also, will you have a car or be relying on Disney transportation?

For Table Service Restaurants:

In Magic Kingdom I personally don't think any of the restaurants are worth using a credit on. If I had to I would probably pick Crystal Palace (keep in mind it's a character meal though) or Tony's Town Square.

Epcot...so many to choose! I would pick Le Cellier for lunch (only on table service credit), Either of the Japanese restaurants for dinner (if you're not a big fan of sushi than Teppan Edo would be a better fit).

Hollywood Studios - again wouldn't waste a TS credit here.

AK-wouldn't use a TS credit here either.

I would recommend eating at some of the resort restaurants. You could always leave MK early and eat at Kona (in the Polynesian) or when leaving Animal Kingdom I would go over to the Animal Kingdom lodge and eat at either Boma or Sanaa.

For Downtown Disney I would probably suggest Wolfgang Puck for a TS credit. Starting in 2012 more DTD (downtown disney) restaurants have been added so you might want to also check out their menus.


For counter service restaurants here are my faves:

MK-Cosmic Ray's - great variety and best bang for your credit
EP-Sunshine Seasons -same as above
DHS-Backlot Express - best for what the park has to offer (which is not much)
AK-Flame Tree - same as DHS
DTD-Wolfgang Puck Express (I would eat here everyday if I could ), Earl of Sandwich (not as good use of a CS credit but definitely good sandwiches)

If you used some TS credits at lunch I would use some CS credits for Dinner (like Wolfgang Puck Express). If you do a google search or even a search here on the boards I'm sure you'll read all the rave reviews of WPE (plus all
the pics )

What resort are you staying at? This will help on recommendations too!

 

[no capes darling]

Check out the menus at allears- I find them to be the most current;

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm


A few of our favorite restaurants:

Counterservice-

Columbia Harbour House MK
Tangierine Cafe & Sunshine Seasons Epcot
Riverside Food Court- Port Orleans Riverside (I love the design your own pasta!)

Tableservice:
Boma- Animal Kingdom Lodge
Kona- Polynesian Resort
Whispering Canyon Cafe- Wilderness Lodge

 

[pepe of ohio]

Check out the menus at allears- I find them to be the most current;

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm


A few of our favorite restaurants:

Counterservice-

Columbia Harbour House MK
Tangierine Cafe & Sunshine Seasons Epcot
Riverside Food Court- Port Orleans Riverside (I love the design your own pasta!)

Tableservice:
Boma- Animal Kingdom Lodge
Kona- Polynesian Resort
Whispering Canyon Cafe- Wilderness Lodge

We're veterans of many trips and use allears.net menus to see what we want from where...

We're also not dining plan people and rather pay as we go...don't like advance ADR's.....but have to say, most of the TS restaurants don't interest us based on meals being just medicore.....but the one I do recommend, it Yachtsmans Steakhouse in the Y&B resort...others swear by Shula's and Le Cellier but for our money on meal, atmosphere, and ambiance.....Yachtsmans wins hands down.....only place we return to years after year...

All said and done....we prefer a good breakfast, we do pool picnic lunches (with groceries picked up in route) and most counter service suits us better than most TS meals anyway...good luck!

 

[darlou57]

We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarters and looking for just good reaturants with good atmosphere.We have dinner reservations for the following and could use some suggestions for breakfast.We are mostly breakfast and diiner people on vacation:

Sunday-Fulton's Crab House
Tuesday-Le Cellier Steakhouse
Thursday-Mama Melrose's Ristorante

Thanks for your help!!

 

[no capes darling]

We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarters and looking for just good reaturants with good atmosphere.We have dinner reservations for the following and could use some suggestions for breakfast.We are mostly breakfast and diiner people on vacation:

Sunday-Fulton's Crab House
Tuesday-Le Cellier Steakhouse
Thursday-Mama Melrose's Ristorante

Thanks for your help!!

Love the yogurt parfait for something quick and light at breakfast. (POFQ has a station for having these made) Enjoy some beignets while your're there too!

The 1900PF breakfast was one of the more memorable ones we've done. I wasn't crazy about the food (but I'm not a big breakfast person to begin with, so take that into account) but the character interaction was great. I'd recommend that- with or without kids.

 

[rndmr2]

For quick service the food court at your resort is good, also nearby Port Orleans Riverside has a great food court too. I haven't been there but I have heard great things about the breakfasts at Kona Cafe and Kouzzina (have done dinner here and it was good)

 

[recmouse]

We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarters and looking for just good reaturants with good atmosphere.We have dinner reservations for the following and could use some suggestions for breakfast.We are mostly breakfast and diiner people on vacation:

Sunday-Fulton's Crab House
Tuesday-Le Cellier Steakhouse
Thursday-Mama Melrose's Ristorante

Thanks for your help!!

I'm so excited for you! Welcome to the DIS boards!

I've had good experiences at Fulton's and Le Cellier so you will definitely enjoy those. I've never been to Mama Melrose's so I can't comment there. We love the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian, Cape May is a nice buffet in the Beach Club, 50's Prime Time in HS is good and fun, and if you want a dinner show - try the Hoop De Doo Revue.

The food court at POFQ is decent and yes, try the beignets! Yum! Our other favorite counter service meals are: Cosmic Rays and Columbia Harbor House in Magic Kingdom, Flame Tree BBQ in AK, and Tangerine Cafe in Morrocco in Epcot.

Have fun and enjoy!

 

[BlovesC]

Check out the menus at allears- I find them to be the most current;

OT, but your username and icon make me giggle every time I see you pop up in a thread

 

[DisneyRunnerChick]

The CS at POFQ has the most yummy beignets!

You've made some excellent choices. We love Le Cellier. Make sure and look at Mama Melrose's menu; it's different than what I expected, which surprised me the first time i ate there.

Since you say you're breakfast people, I would recommend O'hanas. I love their dinner, too, but breakfast can be easier to get into. Lilo and Stitch are there in the am, which may or may not be a plus for you.

I'd also agree with the posts that say food outside of the parks, at the various resorts is better than inside, with the exception of World Showcase in Epcot. We've ate at several of these and found everything to be yummy: family favorites include fish tacos in Mexico and fish and chips in England. While there are a number of great TS here, there are also some better CS choices as well. It's something different to try.

I think you'll end up finding delicious foods and unique culinary experiences. We always have more than we can eat on dining, so enjoy!

 

[no capes darling]

OT, but your username and icon make me giggle every time I see you pop up in a thread

My work here is done. Ok, not really, darling.

 

[Dee & Greg]

I recommend Jiko at AKL
California Grill
Chefs de France in Epcot
Flying Fish at Boardwalk

My favorites!