Where to eat arrival night in the Boardwalk/Yacht Club area?

[maui2k5]

We will be arriving for our 9 night stay Aug 1st staying at the Yacht Club with the complimentary Dining Plan. The one day I am unsure where to get a reservation for (unless we do QS) is our first night.

My wife is not a huge seafood eater so not sure Cape May Cafe dinner will be a great option. I have read middling reviews of Ale & Compass also. My wife also has a gluten allergy, but for the most part that’s not an issue at WDW. We will not be going into a park on our 1st night.

Thoughts on where you would recommend the 4 of us to eat dinner in this area (2 kids ages 8 & 10)?

Thanks!

Jeff

 

[Nancyg56]

We like Tratorria al Forno. It is reasonable priced if you need to pay OOP, but also is a good value on the DDP if you have a credit. The food is good, the service is excellent. Our family makes it a plan to go every trip.

 

[L&Lfan]

Yachtsman Steakhouse is our vacation first night dinner. We loathe Cape May Cafe. Ale and Compass is ok if one if not real picky. We had fish and chips there for lunch on our departure day.

 

[Nancyg56]

Yachtsman Steakhouse is our vacation first night dinner. We loathe Cape May Cafe. Ale and Compass is ok if one if not real picky. We had fish and chips there for lunch on our departure day.

We were once and done with Cape May. We are from CT and can get awesome fresh seafood anywhere we want, so the buffet was a bit of a let down. It was okay, but with so many other places to choose from we decided it was just not making the cut again.

 

[epcotobsessed]

We are YC/BC regulars, kids just a bit older than yours, and I also can't eat gluten. We love Yachtsman, like Ale and Compass, DH loves Cape May (I think it's "ok," kids like it). We also like Flying Fish at the Boardwalk. Any of these places would make for a great first night meal.

 

[1SickPupe]

The Big River Grill by the Boardwalk could be a good option. No reservation needed and they have a decent menu.

 

[eva]

Are you planning to use a credit for the first night. If not, the restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin are good too. Bluezoo is one of our favorites.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I actually really enjoy Ale & Compass. It has one of my favorite burgers on property. Crew’s Cup is the lounge next to Yachtsman. Yes, it’s a lounge but there are a few booths and some tables for four and children are welcome. It’s small but you might find availability. The Fountain over at the Dolphin has great burgers and shakes as well - the atmosphere is pretty meh but the food is solid. ESPN might be another option- pretty varied menu of “pub food” and lots to look at between all the screens and memorabilia.

 

[NYCgrrl]

So many good choices in the Epcot area.
For first night we like to stay pretty close to the hotel but that's an expanded area on the Boardwalk since you are also w/i walking distance of HS and Epcot.

Flying Fish is a perennially favorite of ours yet keep in mind it's a 2 credit TS. Might be a good use of credits since on first night many arrive late and don't have use of all the days credits until later in the trip.

The Boardwalk Bakery makes some nice hot and cold sandwiches, and salads and I'd guess it's considered a QS.

Depending on your park entrance plans you might just take a walk/boat ride over to Epcot and eat at whatever restaurant strikes your fancy.

 

[Lacoccinelle]

Will you have park entrance? If yes, choose an Epcot restaurant. If not and you need a sit down credit for the last day, I would walk around the Boardwalk and get counter service options or use snacks to get Ample Hills Ice Cream.

Trattoria Al Forno is good if you want to use a credit.

 

[maui2k5]

Are you planning to use a credit for the first night. If not, the restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin are good too. Bluezoo is one of our favorites.

I am debating on whether or not to use a dining credit on the first night... might not be a bad idea to wing it and not worry about planning a meal on the first evening.

 

[maui2k5]

Will you have park entrance? If yes, choose an Epcot restaurant. If not and you need a sit down credit for the last day, I would walk around the Boardwalk and get counter service options or use snacks to get Ample Hills Ice Cream.

Trattoria Al Forno is good if you want to use a credit.

We could tack on 1 extra day for minimal cost and head into Epcot - have both thought about that too much, but may be an option.

 

[Lacoccinelle]

We could tack on 1 extra day for minimal cost and head into Epcot - have both thought about that too much, but may be an option.

I would always prefer to eat in Epcot in the countries! Even QS at Les Halles or Tangerine.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We could tack on 1 extra day for minimal cost and head into Epcot - have both thought about that too much, but may be an option.

I would consider adding the extra day to head into EP and not making an ADR. There are so many great QS restaurants in EP and you won't feel tied to a schedule on arrival day. EP also has so many restaurants that, if you decide you do want TS, you could, very likely, get an ADR day-of.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Cape May isn't good--even the seafood is bad, so don't go there. Yachtsman is solid but is 2 credits on the dining plan so maybe not an option. If it is that's your best choice. For past trips we'd go to Crew's Cup lounge on arrival day and pay out of pocket, but the selections are now significantly limited and overpriced so I wouldn't recommend it. Haven't been to Trattoria but that might be an option, and if not then I'd give Ale & Compass a shot.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I would consider adding the extra day to head into EP and not making an ADR. There are so many great QS restaurants in EP and you won't feel tied to a schedule on arrival day. EP also has so many restaurants that, if you decide you do want TS, you could, very likely, get an ADR day-of.

Agree with this. If you can add an extra day and go to Epcot that might be the best bet--the walk from Yacht Club to Epcot is about 5-10 minutes and Chefs de France, which we like, is right inside the Epcot entrance. Rose & Crown, which is a bit closer than Chefs, is also popular. Anyway, just walking into Epcot is really neat.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I would try to get an ADR for Beaches & Cream. So cute and fun. I’d set up an ADR search with the free Touring Plans ADR finder. I think it is closed for refurb starting 8/3. We went there on our first night of our short visit in January and it was a fun choice for our arrival day.

 

[Minniemoo15]

We ate at ESPN club on our arrival night this year and it was a great choice... casual and low key after a day of traveling. The food was really good and they were excellent with the food allergies some members of our group had.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Ale and Compass or Trattoria al Forno would both be good choices, and just 1 dining credit as well. We will have dinner at Ale and Compass tomorrow night after we arrive just after mid-day.

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

We don’t use a table service credit our first night as we are too tired from travelling to appreciate it! We just get a QS and bank her spare table service credit for a signature meal later in the trip