Where to eat dinner the 1st night?

[chipper10]

We are staying at Pop Sept.12-19th. Where is a good place to eat dinner the first night?

Our flight gets into MCO at 11:20am.

I've tried to get into Chef Mickey's but I haven't had any luck.

Where would you pick?

 

[KatMark]

How about Ohana's at Polynesian? We've never dined there but everyone raves about it. Or Whispering Canyon at Wildnerness Lodge or Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge? I take it you are not going to a park your first night since you indicated you tried Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. If you are going to a park, I would do the Plaza Restaurant for a simple meal on your first day at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[chipper10]

We are planning on going to a park the 1st day. Not sure which one it will be though.

 

[a82allison]

I just booked Trails End Buffet for our 1st night. We can get there early and the kids can play on the playground and go on pony rides. Then after dinner we are going to the campfire to roast marshmellows and see Chip and Dale!

My first choice was Chef Mickeys, but like you, I have been unable to get it.

Allison

 

[BoomNLeon]

Well, POP may not be the best counter service to start your trip. What park will you be at your first day? With a 1 year old, a counter service in the park might be a good option. You could also try Garden Grille at Epcot. That is a neat farmer themed place.

We will be there in September and have Cali Grill booked our first night. A great way to ease in and start the party!

Hope you have a great time.

 

[TinkerKel]

Counter Service in MK - our favorite is Pecos Bill's...when we get to WDW we like to go straight to MK and spend the time in the park, we don't usually go to a table service until the 2nd or 3rd night. Have a great trip!

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Boma! Amazing food, lots of flavors, beautiful resort...

Though it might be inconvienent to get there depending on the park you choose that day and if you are using the buses for transportation. It will take a lot longer to get there from MK than from AK!

 

[Disney Ron]

Our tradition is kicking off our first night at HDDR !!!!!

 

[DjdBrit]

We ate at Chef Mickeys 2 weeks ago. It was great. It was our first night. We had a 5pm ADR and when we got there other familys had already checked in. While I was checking in they asked if our kids would like to open the restaurant with Mickey Mouse himself. How cool!!! My kids got to walk the red carpet holding Mickey's hand. They took a family shot of us all and then the kids got to sign Mickeys Autograph book!!! This was just a fabulous start to our vacation.

 

[princess_disneymom]

Our tradition is going to dinner at 1900 Park Fare (Cinderella, Prince Charming) how could you go wrong.. After our first experience there my D78 says it's a must. After dinner we rode the ferry back and was able to see the fireworks at MK. It was very magical.

At 1900 Park Fare

Our boat ride back from dinner. My DH and DD5 watching the fireworks

 

[Kimberly Hill]

We ran over to DTD and grabbed FABULOUS sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich (thanks to recommendations from the DIS) our first night at Pop. Have fun! We've only been home 2 days and I wish I was back... September's so far away.

 

[KarenB]

I voted other-how about a table outside at Raglan Road for appetizers! DH and I did this last week and enjoyed it!

 

[GinCar]

I love to see all of the "traditions" that everyone has for the first night. For us, though I voted counter service. We are always way too excited for a sit-down meal.
I've kept this as a rule because one year our flight was delayed by weather....we got to our room well after midnight. No more reservations for me on the first day.
The years that have gone better, we still decided to get as many rides in the first night as possible.

 

[MomofKatie]

We do something different each trip- we have done:

'Ohana at the Poly
Spoodles at the Boardwalk
Earl of Sandwich at DTD
Big River Grill at the Boardwalk
various restaurants at the WS in Epcot

For our next trip (arriving this Thursday night!!) we are doing Hoop De Doo for the first time.

 

[anne930]

We also gave up on making a table service reservation on the 1st night due to possible flight delays, being too tired, etc. Our plan is to go to Beaches & Cream for hamburgers, fries & onion rings & our favorite dessert, a No Way Jose. To us there is no better way to start our trip.

 

[FigmentFinder]

If you don't plan on going to a park, you can go to Downtown Disney. I love Wolfgang Puck Express. Their choices are almost as good as a table service. If you're tired from traveling, it could be a better choice than a sit down dinner.