First night

[addiln]

We will be heading down to WDW later this year and on our first day we do not go to the parks. We just relax by the pool and enjoy the resort. With that being said what do you think is the best restaurant for our first night that really says welcome to Disney? We are staying at BLT and have tried Chef Mickey's once already and have no desire to go back there.

 

[KT0191]

Our usual first night restaurants are Ohana, Raglan Road, T Rex or Chef Mickey's (although I know you're not interested in that).

 

[Disneypapa]

We usually go over to Disney Springs which has tons of choices. Favorites are House of Blues (shrimp & grits are awesome), T-Rex and Raglan amoung others.

 

[blueeyesrnc]

We love to start our trip with Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review. It's so much fun and really gets us into the "Disney" state of mind. Best part for you is it's not that far, just a boat ride away. Have fun!!!

 

[Tigger's ally]

We too always do DS the first night there as we don't "waste" a day of tickets for a few hours. With all the new food offerings at DS, I am sure you can find one that suits you for price, menu and ambiance. I would recommend both the Boathouse (new) and Raglan (old) myself. If the weather is nice, the boathouse offers great ambiance on the outdoor decks and has a great dockside bar. If the weather is not so nice you can sit indoors, or you can go to Raglan. We love the Irish music there and I love the bar! Both are beautiful restaurants. If you want to stay close to your hotel, I have been hearing good reviews on The Wave, and Whispering Canyon is another restaurant that is just a boatride away!

 

[Parker Clan]

For us we always do Disney Springs. Last year we had dinner at 1900, it was great
I agree with HDDR though -- it definitely screams Disney! It's a must do on every single one of our trips

 

[addiln]

HDDR or Ohana is they way I am leaning now. We did DS last year and it was really good food but this time with the kids I need something that really gets them in the mood for the next morning.

 

[LindsayMouse]

Ohana timed with the Wishes fireworks can't be beat - especially for the first night!

 

[Lisa F]

'Ohana for sure. it is just a monorail ride away and it is something pretty unique to Disney. Or CA Grill... which is pricey but it is my son's favorite meal, lol. Book it early (I like 5pm when they first open) and request a window table (you are likely to get it) and then look out over the whole kingdom. Then show your receipt at fireworks time to see the fireworks from the observation deck. Unless you have fireworks view in your room, then stay there

 

[DeanDoug]

Wow. Lots of choices. Have you considered Citricos in GF? On the monorail, pricey ($$), but special and convenient to you. The Wave is also good. Good food with reasonable prices. If you want to venture, Jiko in AKL is great. Great atmosphere, food, and you can hang out with the African animals after. So many choices. Enjoy... if you need more considerations, let us know!

 

[VACamm]

I would definitely go to Disney Springs. Favorites of ours are Raglan Road, Wolfgang Pucks, Boathouse, and Jock Lindsay's.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) A different slant.
2) Take the boat from Contemporary to Fort Wilderness.
3) Have dinner at Trails End.
4) For more excitement, Hoop-Dee-Do.
5) Afterward, take in the Campfire.
6) We did this, and now recommend it highly top others.
7) A nice relaxing way to kick off the vacation - adult or family.
******************************************************************************
FORT WILDERNESS CAMPFIRE "411": (open to all, even non-resort guests)
1) Location:
. . . within the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds
. . . near Meadows Trading Post, behind swimming pool area
2) Transportation to Fort Wilderness
. . . car to Fort Wilderness parking lot
. . . bus to Fort Wilderness from almost anywhere inside WDW
. . . boat to FW from Magic Kingdom or Wilderness Lodge Resort
. . . monorail to Contemporary Resort, then boat to FW
. . . most resorts have a separate bus to Fort Wilderness after 5:00pm
. . . if you stay late, and boats have stopped, you can take a bus back to your resort
4) Transportation to Campfire
. . . take internal bus and ask for Campfire bus stop
5) Time
November-1 thru February-28
. . . Fire lighting with Chip-n-Dale at 6:30pm nightly
. . . Sing-a-long starts at 7:00pm nightly
. . . Movie starts at 7:40pm
March-1 thru October-31
. . . Fire lighting with Chip-n-Dale at 7:30pm nightly
. . . Sing-a-long starts at 8:00pm nightly
. . . Movie starts at 8:40pm
All movies & characters are outside.
. . . campfire show is held nightly if weather permits.
. . . if rain, sing-along is on trading post porch
6) Activities
. . . two fire pits to the right of movie screen for roasting marshmallows (thru the movie)
. . . marshmallows/smores available for EXPENSIVE purchase at Chuck Wagon
. . . Chip-n-Dale at fire pit for photos and autographs (approx 40-min)
. . . sing-along in front of screen, usually with a solo guitarist (appox 40-min)
. . . animated or live action outdoor Disney film (approx 1½-hrs)
. . . short walk to a play area
7) Things to Know
. . . free to any WDW resort guest (yes, actually free ! )
. . . one of few places for autographs not requiring a meal or admission
. . . bring a light jacket, as it can get cool after sunset
. . . seating is on benches and bleachers, so a pad is nice comfort
. . . there are grassy areas to bring a blanket and sit on the ground
. . . better yet, bring folding chairs
. . . fortunately, they do not grade you on your voice during the sing-along
. . . there is no dress code
. . . plenty of CM's around for child safety
. . . excellent bus transportation before and after Campfire
. . . good activity after the early show at Hoop-Dee-Do-Review
. . . you many bring you own marshmallows-food-drinks-beer-coolers
. . . pizza, hot dogs, candy, nachos, popcorn for purchase at Chuck Wagon
. . . coffee, beer, soda, juices available for purchase at the Chuck Wagon
. . . for rain, they move the sing-along, but you will still get wet

NOTE1: We find this to be a really great activity for either the first night at
WDW, or the last night before going home. Good time for family bonding, and
nice to veg-out. Do a Trails End dinner or Hoop-Dee-Do prior to Campfire.

NOTE2: For an option, you could view the Electrical Water Pageant from the beach.
. . . Wilderness Lodge at approx 9:35pm
. . . Fort Wilderness at approx 9:45pm
. . . the parade goes dark if Wishes is at the same time and it is still near MK
. . . then the parade resumes

NOTE3: The Chuck Wagon Menu
. . . Hot Dog$5.49
. . . Nachos with Cheese $4.29
. . . S'mores Kit $9.99
. . . Marshmallow Roasting Stick $0.59
. . . Marshmallow Bag $4.99
. . . Pretzel $3.99
. . . Popcorn $3.79
. . . Cotton Candy $3.99
. . . Nestlé® Mickey's Ice Cream Bar $3.99
. . . Nestlé® Orange & Cream Bar $3.79
. . . Strawberry Fruit Bar $3.79
. . . Nestlé® Mickey's Ice Cream Sandwich $3.99
. . . Frozen Lemonade Cup $3.79
. . . Assorted Candy (M&M's Plain and Peanut, Snickers, Skittles, Twizzlers or Hershey Chocolate Bar) $1.99

 

[Soccer Fan]

We too stayed at BLT and had plans for an early dinner at 'Ohana and then were going to head over to Fort Wilderness for the Campfire for our first night. We scheduled a 4:30 dinner at 'Ohana to give us plenty of time to get to the Campfire and not feel rushed traveling. Unfortunately at the end of dinner it started to downpour so we decided against the campfire and headed back to our hotel and ended up watching Wishes from the BLT walkway and that was pretty cool! If you can do 'Ohana and the Campfire I think that might be fun!

 

[jsbowl16]

Since you are staying at BLT and will likely have the opportunity to see Wishes multiple times, you might want to head over to the Boardwalk area. There are a lot of great places to eat there and a lot of people end up not having the time to make it over there. Plus if you time it right, you can take a walk around Crescent lake and see parts of Illuminations and the Star Wars fireworks without entering either park. We love to eat at Flying Fish and Shula's among other choices there. They also have Ample Hills creamery which in my opinion is the best ice cream on Disney property.

 

[RhodyChief]

We usually alternate between starting our vacation at Ohana or Raglan Road.This trip will be Ohana as it's been a couple years since we've eaten there (we eat at RR almost every trip) and we love kicking things off with a Lapu Lapu and a ton of food!

 

[LilyWDW]

Is this arrival day? Are you flying? What is your flight time?

Just asking all of this because I rarely make ADRs if I am flying as there is too much risk in missing them. If you DO want to make a reservation, I would do something at Disney Springs as many of those locations can be made on Open Table and thus without a no show fee.

 

[addiln]

Is this arrival day? Are you flying? What is your flight time?

Just asking all of this because I rarely make ADRs if I am flying as there is too much risk in missing them. If you DO want to make a reservation, I would do something at Disney Springs as many of those locations can be made on Open Table and thus without a no show fee.

We will be flying in but we always take the first flight out in the morning and end up at MCO before 11:00 am.

 

[Praying Colonel]

If I were staying at BLT and not going to the parks on the 1st day, I'd be looking for a restaurant either in the CR (like The Wave) or on the monorail line.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think O'hana is a good choice! Poly is beautiful and O'hana is so unique. HDDR is fun, too, but if you are thinking of heading to Ft. W, have you considered Mickey's Backyard BBQ? Dancing with Mickey might be a fun way to start the trip!

 

[TJA]

We are always tired our first night there, so we tend to stick close to our resort. In your case being at BLT, not wanting a park, and wanting a welcome to Disney type meal, my first recommendation would be Chef M, but I see you don't want that. So my next choice would be a monorail ride over to Poly for dinner at Ohana. Not sure what your family make-up is, but there is always 1900 PF which is fun. Or else more elegant meals at places like California Grill or Narcoosees where you could kick off your trip by watching Wishes with/after your meal.