suggest a good first night dinner, going to be in MK that night

[disney_girl125]

Can someone help me choose a good first night dinner. We are going to be arriving late in the day but want to get as much done in the Magic Kingdom as we can. But we would like to have a nice fun for the kids first night dinner. Any suggestions on what would be close by or easily gotten to using disney transportation? MK is open until 11pm that night. I'd like to go eat then return to MK.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Cinderella's Royal Table !

(Call ASAP for ADR's)

Everyone should eat in the Castle at least ONCE..for us...it is a Family Tradition so we go every time... and we always go for dinner....as early as 4p....

What a great celebration of your First Night at WDW !!!

Have a Magical Visit!

Mary

 

[Phillygrl23]

Ohana (the Polynasian) or Crystal Palace (in MK). My family LOVES both and they are must do's on our trips. Crystal Palace has Winnie The Pooh Characters.

 

[barrbr]

Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. In my opinion the food is barely OK but you can't go wrong on the first day with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy!

 

[catheren]

If you want to stay inside the MK, the CRT, CP, or the LLT.
If you wish to leave the MK and return, do a Monorail resort hotel restaurant. I recommend, GFC at the GF.

 

[KatMark]

I would suggest the Plaza. A nice simple meal that you can enjoy and still have time to do the things you want to do at the MK (I wouldn't leave the MK as that will take you time going to the Poly or CR or whatever and then coming back to the MK).

 

[we3are1]

If your kids like Lady and the Tramp and good pasta I would recommend Tony's. It's just to the right as you enter into MK. Reviews of this restaurant have really improved in the last few months. We were there in September and it was GREAT! We didn't even have ADRs and walked in at 5pm no wait.

 

[kamikazecat]

I vote for Ohana. We had a great meal and a great time!

 

[fliterflymama]

We dined at Chef Mickey's on our first night, and will be doing the same this next trip too.
This lets us visit with Mickey and friends right at the beginning of the trip....
Have fun!!

 

[Hopefully]

First of all WELCOME to the DIS
I have a few questions for you.
How old are your children? Have you been to WDW before? When is your trip? Do you know that you can make your ADR's 180 days in advance now.
Eating at a sit down restaurant in, and even near the MK, takes advance planning and calling for ADR's early.
I think the best plan is to try to eat right in the MK. I would not want to get to the MK later in the day, then leave for dinner and then go back to the MK. We find on our travel day that we are pretty tired from our flight etc. We usually plan a relaxing meal and an early night so we can start bright and early the first morning.
If you are not in the MK Chef Mickey's might be a great start to your vacation. It is a fun way to meet the "Fab Four" without long lines.
Have a Great Trip

 

[Must C Mickey]

Whispering Canyon Cafe @ Wilderness Lodge would be a fun thing to do on the 1st night. It's loud, funny and includes some fun antics to kick your trip off. The all u can eat skillets are hard to beat too. Plus it's only a boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom.

 

[beroh2253]

I vote for Ohana. We had a great meal and a great time!

Another vote here for O'hanna

 

[iloveeeyore]

On our arrival day, we usually have dinner at a monorail resort, then go into the MK just to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy Spectro and Wishes. If we should happen to catch an attraction or two, great, but it is not our GOAL. Because we are not trying to get stuff done, we can enjoy a leisurely dinner outside the park. We used to do Chef Mickey when the kids were younger, but this trip we are looking forward to either 'Ohana or Kona (if we can't get 'Ohana).

In your case, since you are arriving late in the day, AND it is your goal to get lots done in the MK, I agree with the others who have suggested that you stay IN the MK for dinner. Even if you go to a restaurant on the monorail, you will spend AT LEAST an hour in travel time (walking to the monorail or boat, waiting for the monorail or boat, riding the monorail or boat, and then the same thing returning, and this is a busy time of day for the transportation system). Even walking to the Contemporary will cost you valuable time.

I would also avoid a place which requires a credit card guarantee (CRT), just incase you run into travel delays and cannot make it to your ADR. With these considerations, I would recommend either Crystal Palace (a buffet with pooh characters), or Tony's Town Square (sit-down Italian a la carte meal).

Hope this helps!

 

[EeyoreEma]

Our favorites are Crystal Palace, Tony's Town Square and The Plaza. It depends on what you want, but in my opinion you can't go wrong with any of those!

 

[mlittig]

Our traditional first meal is Tony's Town Square We love it! We also enjoy the Crystal Palace buffet. CRT is great but takes a lot more time and money

 

[kpgriswold]

We usually do the same thing: arrive, take a little rest, then head to MK for dinner, Spectro and Wishes. Our favorites are WCC at WL, Chef Mickey at CR, 'Ohana at the Poly, or the Crystal Palace.

The rest is all about your preferences and needs. If you want to try to fit in attractions, stay at MK and dine at CP. If your kids need to burn off energy, head for 'Ohana. In the summer we like to dine at WCC, stroll the resort, then catch Wishes and the water pagent from the dock.

 

[jenniferyawn]

I would do Crystal Palace if the kids love Pooh or even if they don't Crystal Palace is awesome! My 2nd vote would be for Chef Mickey's! It's a monorail resort from MK and the food is awesome and of course the characters are great! Have a magical trip!!!

 

[wheredreamsbegin]

My vote would be for Crystal Palace or Chef Mickey's.

We ate at Chef Mickey's on the first night of our last trip. Our girls had a wonderful time. It was a memorable introduction to Disneyworld. What a way to kick off a trip!

We also had a wonderful time at Crystal Palace. After hearing so many great things about the breakfast at CP, I was a little worried about dinner. I wasn't so sure about the menu. We LOVED it. We loved the atmosphere, the characters, and the food. We have booked Crystal Palace for dinner during our upcoming trip and we cannot wait! (I hope they don't get rid of the adobo pork )

Have a magical trip!