Where is your 'First Night Dinner' and why?

[kylovebug]

We are coming down for 6 nights in late July. This will be our first time on DDP. We have brought our girls once before, in 2014 but stayed offsite. We only ate at Ohana for breakfast and at Starlite Cafe in the MK.

So my question is, where do you like to go for dinner for the first night there to welcome yourself back to the Happiest Place on Earth?

Our girls are 13 and will be 11 when we go.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[Marshypooh]

For my family it is Boma at AKL. The food, dining experience, and atmosphere are so unique. The resort is beautiful and the animals are fascinating to see and watch either before or after dinner. Plus a visit to the gift shop. There is absolutely no place here at home that can compare. Everything combined just gets our vacation off to an exciting beginning.

 

[NYCgrrl]

The nearest eatery we've an interest in that's close to the hotel we are staying at.
Monorail hotels it's either CA Grill, room service version of 'Ohana's dinner or a place at Disney Springs. Our first trip we stayed at at Poly and ate at HDDR first night.
For the Boardwalk hotels it's generally FF.

 

[bigeyedfish]

Well this is our first trip, but our first meal (breakfast) will be Garden Grill. Dinner our first night will be at Akershus and I am looking forward to it. The princesses for DD and I am largely Norwegian in heritage!

 

[MomOTwins]

You don't say if you have a park ticket for arrival day, which makes a big difference to where we eat. If no park ticket, I highly recommend 1900 Park Fare for a character meal, Jiko if you are foodies, or Beaches & Cream for casual diner food with elaborate ice cream sundaes. Out of those, I definitely love 1900 Park Fare the best--the characters are so great and the resort is gorgeous.

 

[kcp6763]

California Grill! Yes it is pricey but it is amazing. My dad started this tradition a several years ago when he took me there for my birthday. Getting to experience a really nice dinner and then watch the MK fireworks really kicks off vacation the right way. It's also a good location to ride the monorail around and look at resorts if you want to. The monorail, fireworks, and dinner combo really says Disney to me. It's exciting to experience all that the first night and then get excited for hitting the parks the next day.

 

[riddlemethis]

I second Boma or Sanaa if your family enjoys nontraditional cuisine. Such a beautiful space and you can see the animals while you eat. We LOVED it!! If you want something more comfortable, go for 1900 Park Fare. I am assuming you're american.

 

[Shughart]

Our first trip, I didn't have too much control over, but we went to Trex. It was a neat place, all the kids liked it (us adults too) and the food was good. When we go back in December we're going to Hoop-Dee-Doo our first night.

 

[DisneyHardin]

For several years in a row we did Crystal Palace on arrival night because we always started with the MK. Now, we have switched up our touring and generally go to Epcot on arrival day and like to do Biergarten.

 

[hereforthechurros]

We aren’t big fans of doing a park on the first day so we head to Disney Springs. Feels good to walk around after the flight, grab a beer or cocktail, hit a few spots for food and check out whatever is going down. For TS I would recommend Boathouse or Homecomin.

 

[kiramay]

Arrival day we usually eat at the resort but this year we’re going straight to MK for fastpasses and dinner at Crystal Palace.

 

[agavegirl1]

Epcot, because Food and Wine is going on and we can eat what we feel like eating in whatever quantity appeals to us after a travel day.

 

[Kingdome8]

Askerus castle in Epcot this trip. We always go to Epcot first day. Kids like it but their least fav park. We do love the dinner there though. Mmmmm

 

[thelegacy27]

It's our first trip as well and since we're not doing a park, I chose 1900 park faire for dinner. I'm excited !

 

[nightshaderose]

Boma for me. I'm usually staying at AKL (and love everything about it), and by the time I get there after a cross country flight and very early morning I just want to relax into the AKL atmosphere and not have to worry about having to be anywhere else.

 

[Minniemoo15]

Somewhere casual close to our resort. We always have an early morning flight, and my kids are young, so it’s a gamble what their moods will be like by the time dinner rolls around. Last year we did Boma, this year we are doing Ale&Compass.

 

[Nancyg56]

We used to kick off our trip with an arrival dinner at Chef Mickey's. My DD started this when my DGD was 4, and we continued this for years. I know CM gets a bad rap but we like it, and think there is nothing more fun than a ride on our favorite attraction the monorail, and then dinner with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy.

You could also go to 1900 PArk Fare at the Grand Floridian. The Tremaine Family is hysterical, and I think your girls would have a blast. My DGD was about 14 when she had the choice to come with me and the little ones to 1900 PF or go to Sanaa with her Mom and Dad and the others in our group. SHe chose 1900 PF without even blinking.

Funny story, a few years ago we took our friend and her girls, so back to tradition: Arrival dinner at CM. WE dined like royalty that trip, hit every character meal there was, along with several signatures, some really nice TS meals. My friend, who detested every second in the parks and who never wants to step foot back in them has stated that if she ever has to go again ( I need her if I want to take the girls on a plane) she wants to go back to CM!!! Really??? That restauant was your favorite???? LOL!!!!

 

[Lisa F]

For several years in a row we did Crystal Palace on arrival night because we always started with the MK. Now, we have switched up our touring and generally go to Epcot on arrival day and like to do Biergarten.

We are doing CP for arrival night dinner for the first time. I LOVE CP and my child likes it well enough too (though he is more into pooh since seeing Christopher Robin a few times!) but we have always done breakfast since 2014. This time it was hard fitting in the breakfast with other stuff we wanted to do and we are doing a split stay with DDP first half so I decided this was good to do under the DDP portion of the trip and it landed on arrival day. It is one I always do and always look forward to, I have to get my hug from pooh and selfie with tigger!

Reviews on food are "meh" but I have my expectations in check for a buffet. I hope I don't miss breakfast too much!

 

[Flagondry]

We either go Disney springs the first night or stay at our resort. If we go to DD we love Raglan Road, but are open to whatever has a spot. If we are getting in later we usually just eat quick service at the hotel and then hit the pool.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We are doing CP for arrival night dinner for the first time. I LOVE CP and my child likes it well enough too (though he is more into pooh since seeing Christopher Robin a few times!) but we have always done breakfast since 2014. This time it was hard fitting in the breakfast with other stuff we wanted to do and we are doing a split stay with DDP first half so I decided this was good to do under the DDP portion of the trip and it landed on arrival day. It is one I always do and always look forward to, I have to get my hug from pooh and selfie with tigger!

Reviews on food are "meh" but I have my expectations in check for a buffet. I hope I don't miss breakfast too much!

We've done breakfast and dinner and thought both were pretty good. It's been a few years since we did dinner, but I remember the food being pretty good. I don't really remember any specifics of it other than the mashed potatoes were delicious and my DH LOVED the salmon (I don't like salmon, so I didn't try it).