Suggestions for first night meal?

[PeggyPup]

We're still not sure if this is how the first night will end up. But we're thinking we'll arrive at our hotel(we'll be staying at all star movies) mid afternoon, and take a couple hours to settle in. We were hoping that later that evening we could get the vacation started at a really nice restaurant. Quality, with good food, and perhaps a spark of disney magic to get us in the mood. Do you have any suggestions for a good restaurant we can eat at that night? One that won't be a pain to get to from ASMo? Thanks!

 

[mfamma]

Flying Fish is a really good restaurant in the Boardwalk area. You could eat there and then walk around the Boardwalk. From your resort you would have to take a bus to MGM and then you could take the boat over to the Boardwalk area getting off at the Swan and Dolphin dock or Beach and Yacht Club dock which are on either side of the boardwalk. If you have kids and want to do a character meal or a meal with games for the kids you could go to 1900 Parkfare at the Grand Floridian for a Cinderella character dinner buffet or to Ohanas at the Polynesian for a family style dinner with coconut races. We have done both and the food is really good at both places. We then ride the monorail around and look at the other resorts. To get there from your resort you would need to take the bus to MK and get on the monorail from there. Good luck.

 

[beroh2253]

I you are not going in a park and are not on the DDP , you are close to the Animal Kingdom Park, you could take a bus over and go in the Rain Forest Cafe you can enter from the outside of the park and don't have to use a park admission. Quite the place inside. Or take the bus to DTD there is also a Rain Forest Cafe there. Attached is there menu.



http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_rfcak.htm

 

[crisi]

Plan on taking a cab to one of the resort restaurants - it will run about $15 or so each way (depending on where you go) and open up a lot of other options. (I'm assuming you won't have a car). Although we've discovered we like to eat at the hotel or somewhere very nearby (that means nice isn't an option at the All-Stars) we are just too tired after travel to make any great plans.

A lot of people like Chef Mickey's - not terribly upscale, but very Disney. For upscale the California Grill is magical - but we dropped $500 on a family of four when we were there. What is your budget for "nice" - some people think nice is $100 a person, another person thinks its Olive Garden.

 

[tmatthews]

We are staying at ASMo too in March. We always start our vacation w/ a dinner at Chef Mickey's! Last time we drove since we had our car so I am not sure how you would get there....We couldn't get reservations until 7:50 so we are probably going to DTD (DQ) for a bit before we venture over.

 

[tinkgurl]

Our first night tradition is to eat at Chef Mickey's. They have great food, it's a fun atmosphere, and what better way to start the vacation off than meeting Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald?! You could just take a bus to the MK and then you have 2 options to get to the Contemporary: riding the monorail or walking along the lighted walkway.

 

[61disneyfan]

I agree with mfamma about the Flying Fish. I've stayed at the Boardwalk and the FF has tremendous food. However I wouldn't say that the atmosphere is much on "Disney Magic."

Citrico's also has tremendous food. And when we went there with our daughter when she was 7, the waiter brought over an ice-cream sundae cart with more fixin's than you could count. Her eyes lit up at the sight of it.

And I think the San Angel Inn in Mexico at EPCOT has maybe the most romantic atmosphere of all.

The problem with the AS resorts is that you can't easily get anywhere from them. So a cab may well be your best option if all you want is to eat dinner and then go back to your room. If you want to spend some time in the parks afterwards, then after eating at the San Angel you could walk around the World Showcase and take in Illuminations.

Best of luck.

 

[PeggyPup]

Thanks for the help, guys! We're between Chef Mickey's and Flying Fish. It will all depend on when we get to the resort. We'll either go for a slightly later dinner at Chef Mickey's or we'll go for an early dinner at Flying Fish then have some fun at the Boardwalk afterward. Thanks everyone!

 

[tinkgurl]

We'll either go for a slightly later dinner at Chef Mickey's

Find out what time Wishes is that night. There's a patio outside on the Concourse level toward the MK. Beautiful view of the park and a great place to watch the fireworks. I took the pic that's in my sig. there!

 

[byoung]

Portabella's at DTD, food is good, sangria is great.

 

[septbaby]

We had a similar schedule:
-Checked in at 3pm
- Shared a late lunch for 3 at the resort
- Took the 5yo swimming (Grandma took a nap)
- Took bus over to MK, boat to Grand Floridian
- 8pm dinner at Narcoossee's

Could not have started the vacation with a better meal
- Had a birthday button and personalized menu for our 5 turning 6yo
- Seated effieciently
- Knowledgable, attentive server
- AWESOME food, FANTASTIC presentation
- Saw Electic Water Parade
- Saw and heard Wishes

Very Disney, excellent meal, no park ticket required
- We hopped the boat to return to MK, but got off at the next stop, the Poly for a look around
- Took monorail from Poly to MK and bus back to our resort

We were in MK at 8am the next morning for our 5yo's first day at Disney.

 

[Simba22]

You are definitely going to get a lot of mixed reviews because it always seems that a meal that was excellent to one person was terrible to another.

Depending on what you're planning to do that night (whether you want to go to a park or not) we really enjoyed San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavillion and Coral Reef at Epcot.

If you are not planning on a park, I would suggest one of the restaurants at DTD (there are several such as Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood which we LOVE, and Captain Jacks).

You could also go to another resort - Boatwrights at POR is fantastic, Jiko at AKL gets really good reviews (most of the time ) and we really like Boma which is also at the AKL.

I suggest going to wdwinfo.com and going to restaurants section. You can view the menus and approximate prices of just about every restuarant on Disney property.

Once you decide where you want to go, definitely call and make a reservation. If you plan on using Disney Transportation to take you, plan on leaving your resort about an hour ahead of time. We have NEVER once had an issue with busses but a lot of people complain about them, and it's always better to be early anyway.

 

[Harambe]

If you are not going to a park, take the bus to MK, and get on the monorail to 'Ohana or Kona Cafe at the Poly (if you really want that quality food you were asking for in your post, skip Chef Mickey's). After your meal, take the boat back to MK for something different, then grab a bus back to All Stars.

You could also do this for Narcoossee's which does have good food too.

 

[becca011906]

we are doing Chef Mickey's the first night... booked it at 6:45 which is late for us but i'll work well i hope enough time to get back the room baths and get to bed for a early start the next day.

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

Our first night tradition is always 'Ohanas. Bring the ol' Tiki Wear and embrace the Polynesian vibe!