Where to eat first?

[AshtonsMom99]

We are going to Disney in July and this will be my DHs first time going to Disney. Where do you think I should make reservations for first...Any suggestions?

 

[bluejasmine]

Wow that depends on so many things. Most importantly what park you will be in. I use to have a tradition of having our first nights dinner at Ohanas at the Poly b/c my OCD will not let me start our trips anywhere but the MK! This trip tho we are starting with something we havent tried yet..

 

[mmtska]

I think it first depends on what you want to eat! I looked over all the menus to decide what we would really want to eat (I'm a really picky eater) and we decided on Narcoosee's for our anniversary dinner. Then we'll probably head to MK or DTD. Depends where you want to be close to or what you want to eat.

 

[Lynn5700]

Wow that depends on so many things. Most importantly what park you will be in. I use to have a tradition of having our first nights dinner at Ohanas at the Poly b/c my OCD will not let me start our trips anywhere but the MK! This trip tho we are starting with something we havent tried yet..

That is our tradition too!

You can't go wrong starting with Ohana!

 

[AshtonsMom99]

Well since we are going to be in Orlando the day before we actually check into the resort, and check in is at 3 I think....we are probably going to Dinner in one of the smaller parks...DHS, but it does make sense to use our first dining experience at another resort. Instead of the parks......Hmmmm what to do....Ohana does sound likea great option. I don't know do people usually spend their first day in the park or at the resort. I know that when I went before a few years back we never had dinner ressiess anyway and was never told to make them them till we got there by our travel agent. That was frustrating. We spent our first night dinig at the ABC Commisary.....
Not horrible mind you but not ideal either. My son was 6 at the time and its hard to make a 6 year old wait till 8pm to eat dinner.

 

[paintnolish]

Boma is nice,not too expensive, and near a smaller (AK, and yes, Dis experts, I know it is technically the largest park). If you are lloking for something fancy, Citrico's is very nice. I like to strat my first dayat Epcot, though. It is more of a leisurely pace and offers tons of dining options.

 

[Coconuts]

I think a great way to immerse yourself in WDW(if that's what you want) is a character meal, like CM's, or the HDDR. HDDR is such a fun show and they usually go through the crowd and find out who is celebrating honeymoons, anniversaries, etc.

 

[abc999]

Well since we are going to be in Orlando the day before we actually check into the resort, and check in is at 3 I think....we are probably going to Dinner in one of the smaller parks...DHS, but it does make sense to use our first dining experience at another resort. Instead of the parks......Hmmmm what to do....Ohana does sound likea great option. I don't know do people usually spend their first day in the park or at the resort. I know that when I went before a few years back we never had dinner ressiess anyway and was never told to make them them till we got there by our travel agent. That was frustrating. We spent our first night dinig at the ABC Commisary.....
Not horrible mind you but not ideal either. My son was 6 at the time and its hard to make a 6 year old wait till 8pm to eat dinner.

You can check into the resort earlier, you just can't get into your room if it is not ready.

 

[AshtonsMom99]

Well my son is going with us, so it won't be all that romantic of trip. Yes we did a civil ceremony 3.28.09 and did a stay overnight at a hotel for our honeymoon. We are doing a big shindig and ceremony on 7.11.09 and taking my son with us on the trip! So we are making it a Familymoon. Corny huh? We are celebrating our unity as a family...we are goofy what can I say.
At any rate I really don't know where to go the first night, Although the Spirit of Aloha might be a great thing for the hubby as a first timer! Or Chef Mickeys...my head is spinning with excitement! This is all so exciting...

PS sorry for the brief history of my life....lol~

 

[Disneymom2266]

Well since we are going to be in Orlando the day before we actually check into the resort, and check in is at 3 I think....we are probably going to Dinner in one of the smaller parks...DHS, but it does make sense to use our first dining experience at another resort. Instead of the parks......Hmmmm what to do....Ohana does sound likea great option. I don't know do people usually spend their first day in the park or at the resort. I know that when I went before a few years back we never had dinner ressiess anyway and was never told to make them them till we got there by our travel agent. That was frustrating. We spent our first night dinig at the ABC Commisary.....
Not horrible mind you but not ideal either. My son was 6 at the time and its hard to make a 6 year old wait till 8pm to eat dinner.

Depends on what time you arrive. We never waste a park ticket the first day if we get in later in the day. Traveling usually leaves us tired and hungry, so depending how long you are staying, I would suggest a non park dinner like Ohana, then maybe stroll at DTD and have ice cream at Ghirardelli`s. It`s our family`s first night traditon. We eat at Cape May at Beach Club then head to DTD for ice cream and shopping. Ohana is definitely on our list while we`re there too. Then you can watch the fireworks from the beach at Poly. Just a thought.

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

Well my son is going with us, so it won't be all that romantic of trip. Yes we did a civil ceremony 3.28.09 and did a stay overnight at a hotel for our honeymoon. We are doing a big shindig and ceremony on 7.11.09 and taking my son with us on the trip! So we are making it a Familymoon. Corny huh? We are celebrating our unity as a family...we are goofy what can I say.
At any rate I really don't know where to go the first night, Although the Spirit of Aloha might be a great thing for the hubby as a first timer! Or Chef Mickeys...my head is spinning with excitement! This is all so exciting...

PS sorry for the brief history of my life....lol~

Since it's DH's first trip to Disney, I would want to go to the Magic Kingdom the first night. What types of food do DH and DS like? Are they into the characters? Are they more into Mickey or Pooh? Chef Mickey's would be a great first night dinner. The Contemporary Resort is definitely a show-place with that monorail gliding through it.

If you want to splurge, the California Grill at the top of the Contemporary Resort offers an amazing view. You can step outside and watch the Wishes Fireworks from the top of the hotel. It would be something special. They even pipe in the music.

Another option would be dinner at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. All of the Pooh characters are there.

I would save Ohanas for a breakfast ADR with Lilo, Stitch, and Mickey. No characters attend the Ohanas dinner, but they do have meat on skewers with dipping sauces and a view of Cinderella's Castle. So that might be a neat tradition to start, too.

One other option might be to go to Epcot on the first night. Illuminations is a stunning fireworks extravaganza. You could have a character meal with Mickey in the Garden Grill at The Land. Or do a fancy dinner in World Showcase and then step outside to watch the fireworks.

 

[macmom3]

How about Cal Grill and watch the fireworks from there?

 

[lovinwdw]

our first meal at WDW is ALWAYS lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern in MK!

 

[MScott1851]

Another 'first meal at Ohana' family here! It has just been a tradition for the past few trips... We usually arrive at MCO around noon, check in our hotel, head to MK, then try to eat at Ohana around 7 or so, then head back to MK for the fireworks.

A couple of years ago, we got in to Orlando pretty late and didn't want to waste a day of tickets, so we just chilled at the Poly, ate at Ohana late, and watched the fireworks from there. My brother and I are going to WDW in May, and our first ADR is at....wait for it....OHANA!!!

Of course, DH would eat at Ohana EVERY night if he had his way!