New Years Eve dining suggestions

[Ryot]

Hello all!

It's been quite awhile since I posted, but it's once again that time for me -- time to plan the next trip to WDW! :mickey: But after five years of planning off-season trips for just DH and I, the planning is suddenly quite different. This upcoming trip will be a full family trip, with my parents and siblings and spouses! The last family trip was six years ago, which was before any of us were married -- I had only been dating DH for two months! So this will be a trip unlike any we've planned before. There are 11 of us total: 8 adults, 2 teenagers, and 1 8-month-old. It's my sister-in-law's first trip to Disney ever, so I'm helping my mom plan all the various details, with an eye to making sure it's an extra special trip for my brother and his wife and their new baby.

We're flying in on December 31st, and leaving the 5th (brother and sister-in-law and nephew)/6th (the rest of the family)/7th (DH and I, staying an extra day to celebrate 5th wedding anniversary). We'll be staying at OKW (my parents are DVC members) from the 2nd on, but will probably be staying at a different resort (Caribbean Beach is the current front runner) for the 31st and 1st.

The current plan is to avoid the parks on the 31st, have a small NYE celebration, get to bed early, and then be at MK when it opens on the morning of the 1st. My sister-in-law is only starting to get her mind around exactly what WDW is, and being that the first sight of the Castle down Main Street is an emotional moment for all the women in our family, we're thinking that MK would be the best introduction to WDW for my SIL. We'll probably leave around lunch, nap, and then hit a different park in the afternoon.

Ok, I'm babbling. I'm a bit excited, can you tell? :party:

So I'm looking for suggestions for dinner for the night of the 31st. The parks are out, and since we'll have the teenagers and the baby, we want to avoid any place that's 21+ that night (PI, ADH, etc). I've been reading through past posts here at Intercot, and one idea that someone else posted was to watch the early fireworks from MK at 8:30, while eating dinner at the Polynesian. Now, I have in my notes that it was at 'Ohana, but I realized today that 'Ohana and the Spirit of Aloha luau are not the same thing -- and now I can't find the post again to see which it actually said, 'Ohana or the luau.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? If we want to see the 8:30pm fireworks from MK, should we go with 'Ohana or the luau? Since the luau is a show all on its own, can we even see the fireworks, or hear the music (I'm quite sure that the post I read said that they piped in the music to accompany the fireworks)? And if we go with 'Ohana, what time should we try to make the reservations for?

I'm open to suggestions other than 'Ohana or the luau as well. I would like to have a Plan B and Plan C mapped out, so that if our first choice is booked when Mom calls to make the ADRs, she can move right on to the next plan.

So where would you go for a low-key family New Years Eve celebration outside the parks?

Thanks!
~Ryot

[JPL]

A Late Dinner at California Grill or Narcosse's might be good options so you can see the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom :thumbsup:

[LandFan]

O'hana's is the restaurant in the Polynesian (which has big picture windows) and is probably what was meant for watching the fireworks.

The Luau is in a luau building near the Polynesian and doesn't have big windows to see the fireworks but they will probably stop their show so you can walk outside on the beach and see them. That's what they did for us when we were there on July 4th.

I'd probably choose O'hana's as they pipe the music in from the fireworks show from what I've heard. I think the luau is to much $$ for what you get. You can have just as much fun at O'hana's and watch and hear the fireworks too!

[Ryot]

LandFan, thanks for the info on 'Ohana, it sounds like that's the one we want. :thumbsup:

JPL, I bet the view from California Grill is to die for on New Years Eve, but I've read that for NYE California Grill is $425 per person, and Narcoosee's is $90 or $135 depending on the seating, per person. For ten of us (not counting the baby), that definitely adds up, especially since we aren't planning on staying up until midnight anyway (gotta get up early to hit MK!).

I'm definitely open to suggestions, though. Maybe something on the Boardwalk? Could you see Illuminations if you were standing on the Boardwalk?

~Ryot

[wendy*darling]

We did New Year's Eve 2005-06 and I remember that all of the resorts plan their own special NYE celebration in some way.
So I would imagine that the Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club would have something going on outdoors that night. Check out what's happening at CBR that night.

We opted for Epcot- arriving at 9:30 am (and claiming almost the last available locker for the day!) and we stayed through until 1:00am. Long day, but we are 2 adults and 2 older teens- so that was perfect for us.

Both Epcot and MK have early fireworks and another round at midnight.

If you were on the Boardwalk or beach at the BC, you could probably see the very high fireworks from Illuminations. Of course, you would not be able to see anything on the water, including the globe.

I would go for 'Ohana. Get an ADR for about 1 hour prior to the fireworks. Or... eat several hours before and then sit out on the Poly beach and watch from there.

NYE was fantastic and has become one of our favorite memories. We hope to be able to go back for another New Year's sometime. :thumbsup:

[Ryot]

Just wanted to give you guys an update: My mom called and got an ADR for 'Ohana on New Years Eve at 7:40 pm! So we should be seated and eating by the time the fireworks start at 8:30. Thanks so much for all the advice, I think this will be just perfect for our family.

I'm so excited! Only 180 days left, lol. :mickey: