First night dining suggestions

[Marc]

Hey all. Myself, DW and two DD (10 & 5) looking for dining suggestions for night one. We arrive at MCO around 10:00am and will have a rental car. We are staying at our Timeshare Villa at Marriott Cypress Harbour so we will be off site. We are not hitting the park that day but rather stocking up on groceries and hitting the pool then Downtown Disney. We will be in WDW for a week and these are our ADR's:

Cali Grill dinner
Le Cellier lunch
Hoop De Due
Brown Derby dinner
Yak n Yeti dinner
Cindy's Table character breakfast
Tusker House character breakfast

I was originally thnking of eating in DTD at either Wolfgang's or Earl of Sandwich. The other thought was to keep it simple and have the first night dinner be a relaxing one in our Timeshare kitchen and cook a nice meal we could eat on the balcony! Then I got to thinking perhaps it would be fun for the kids to start the week off with a Dinsey "themed" dinner: Ohana, Whispering Canyon or Cape May in Beach Club. Then after dinner we could walk through one of those Disney hotels. Remember we have a rental car so it will be easy to go wherever we want.

Any suggestions on these or any others for the first night?

Thanks.

[cal5755]

All of those options sound wonderful!! Eating on the balcony sounds so nice, but I wouldn't want to cook on vacation so I would not choose that lol.

I think a nice diner at one of the resorts sounds like a great idea to start off with. Walking through the resort and getting into the Disney mood :mickey: I have actually never eaten at any of those restaurants (YET) and the only restort dining we have done is Chef Mickey's. I would still opt for one of the resorts for the first dinner.

Of course if we chose downtown disney we would probably do dinner at Capatain Jacks.

Whatever you decide have a great Trip!!

[Seasonscraps]

Cape May is nice - then you could walk around the Boardwalk.

If you are arriving on Wed through Saturday, Port Orleans Riverside has a nice table service place - Boatrights and then Bob Jackson performs in the lobby lounge. He plays the piaon puts on a sing along show that is THE MOST FUN!!!

[Natazu]

You have wonderful choices so far. I think 'Ohana would complement them well. It's also hard to beat Boma, Kona, or Chef Mickey's for a little opening night taste of Disney.

[wendy*darling]

If you are looking for characters- I'd go with Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary or 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian for dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming and her Step Mother and Step Sisters.

'Ohana is always fun. Whispering Canyon is a blast and the Wilderness Lodge is breath taking! Cape May is good too, and a walk around the Yacht & Beach Club, and maybe a surrey bike ride around Crescent Lake would be a fun first night.

Always hard to choose... but lots of fun too. :mickey:

[wdwfansince75]

Consider 1900 Park Fair...a character meal with style, great food, and DD's will love the Prince. Suggest you make an ADR, so they will let you park up to 3 hours at the hotel.

Gives you an excuse (and time) to tour the GF, and perhaps, to ride the Monorail. Caution....you will have an almost uncontrolable urge to get off the monorail at the MK. If you can't resist the urge, go ahead and get off, and take the launch back to the GF to get your car.....Sounds like a personal recollection, doesn't it? Actually, we took the launch back to the Poly, and walked back to the SoG. Same tune, different dancers.

[elmjimmlm]

1900 Park Fare is a great character dinner with Cinderella...Being in the GF is a great resort to go thru...Chef Mickeys is fantastic...The character interaction was great and the Contempory had alot to look at...Maybe after dinner you can go out to the beach and watch the water parade...:thumbsup:

[Belle_0717]

I would definately try Boma at AKL. There are tons of things for everyine to do and see. The kids would love seeing the animals. If you go to the gift shop ask one of the cast members for the hidden mickey safari. There are several hidden mickeys in the hotel. It is so much fun looking for them.

[Marc]

I like the Boma and 1900 Park Fair ideas although we are already doing two character breakfasts. We have never eaten at either restaurant either. We have also never visited the AKL. I know the GF is an easy hotel to get to by car, is AKL just as easy to drive to?

Hmm....decisions decisions.....

[HndrdPrcnt]

I would recommend Chef Mickey's. This is what we are doing on our first night so that we can see the Fab 5 characters and get the autographs done for the DDs and then not have to worry about standing in those lines to see the characters in the parks!!

I know that you said you already have some character meals planned, but what characters will be there?? You need to check to see what characters will be at your meal.

On the other hand, I am also a HUGE fan of Earl of Sandwich (the Cannonball ROCKS)!!

No matter what, you will be at WDW....Enjoy!!

[FromKnoxvilleto Disney]

We have run into this on a couple of our trips but with staying on property. If you choose DTD the Ear and Wolfgang's are excellent choices. If you stay in and cook my kids would love that. As soon as we pull into our resort they are hollering to swim. We swim like everyday in the summer and yet thet are begging. I would probably let them swim a while then go to DTD and grab a quick bite. Then hit the bed early and get up early to open a park up.

[LudwigVonDrake]

'Ohana or Kona Cafe. I'm not sure when you are you going but make your ADR as soon as you can. Have a great trip :wave:

[Kairi_7378]

Disney Dining is wonderful... but I love the idea of starting off your vacation with a simple meal on the balcony. Will you have to bring extra pots and pans to be able to cook? I've never stayed at a time share. Maybe you can spend some time in DTD to get a little preview of the Disney magic.

If you think you'll be too beat to cook that night I think a nice dinner at Kona, Boma, or WCC would be a good way to start the trip.

[Cinderelley]

If you don't think you'll be too tired, I would consider Whispering Canyon Cafe and then heading to Chip & Dale's Campfire & Movie for some tasty s'mores. I'm sure the kids would love to see some of the animals around Ft. Wilderness.

[Marc]

OK so I just made an ADR for Boma at 5:45. This will give us time to grocery shop after landing. Then we can check in and hit the pool for a few hours then off to DTD then AKL. We have yet to visit the AKL so that will be a bonus as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions. BTW for those who have not seen the Marriott timeshares near WDW here is a link to where we are staying:

http://www.vacationclub.com/resorts/photoGallery/loadPopup.jsp?resort=cy&contact=DEFAULT&picture=5