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Dining ideas for Arrival Day

riogirl

riogirl

Active Member
Original Poster
I will be arriving at the Wilderness Lodge on Aug 20 at around 3:30....not sure of our plans for the first day, but I was thinking that maybe we would stay on grounds for a while, hop on the boat and go around the MK area.
I would like some suggestions on where to do our first dinner (FREE DINING)!!! How about OHana's or Kona or the Contemporary? Thanks
 
unkadug

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
riogirl said:
I will be arriving at the Wilderness Lodge on Aug 20 at around 3:30....not sure of our plans for the first day, but I was thinking that maybe we would stay on grounds for a while, hop on the boat and go around the MK area.
I would like some suggestions on where to do our first dinner (FREE DINING)!!! How about OHana's or Kona or the Contemporary? Thanks
Click to expand...

If you haven't already made reservations then may I suggest McDonalds as you will not be able to eat at those places as they have been booked for months.
 
unkadug

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
I just realized what date you are talking about. Sorry.

Make your reservations as SOON AS POSSIBLE so as not to get blocked out completely.
 
Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
Personally, I'd book Artist Point. It's right there in your resort and has the best steak I've ever had on property... The Beef Tenderloin is absolutely perfect!
 
Computer Magic

Computer Magic

Well-Known Member
That's a hard question to answer without more detail. You need to figure out how you will be using your credits. Artist Point as someone suggested requires 2 credits for the standard DP. Deluxe DP works differently but you would have had to upgrade the free dining plan.

Map out how you will use the DP. Based on arrival time and departure time, you may have to pay for a meal out of pocket. For out of pocket, I would suggest Fort Wilderness Trail End Buffett or Earl Sandwich (which I always use for my arrival day). A meal for two was under $20.

There are many ways to plan out the credit plan. I enter my credits on paper and then write down places I want to dine. I eat at least 1 2-credit place, which some people find a waste of credit. I would say it's more of a preference then waste as you will still save money.

Plan ahead and do the ADR, it will save you aggravation whild in Disney. I saw so many people turned away from France on my last trip because they didn't have ADR. People begging to get in. BTW: France has one of the best TS with a special that includes a appetizers.
 
Victoria

Victoria

Not old, just vintage.
If not Artist Point, then consider The Wave over at the Contemporary. Incredible food at a highly underrated restaurant. They don't get particularly busy either so you should have no trouble getting a time that you want. No matter what you do book at precisely 180 days out since you will be there during free dining.
 
zurgandfriend

zurgandfriend

Well-Known Member
Our first night dining is always at either the Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom or the Biergarten in the German pavilion of the World Showcase in Epcot.
If however you don’t want to visit a park the first night I would recommend Whispering Canyon as IMHO it is more relaxed than Artist Point. We don’t like to “mess” with business casual the first night after traveling most of the day. If you are willing to venture out and into the Magic Kingdom resort area I would recommend a buffet to help you get into the full "Disney mode." Chef Mickey’s (Contemporary) or 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian), or as others recommend the Kona café.
 
AJScooch

AJScooch

Member
As a PP stated, it will depend on how you plan on using your meal credits. First off, I would highly recommend looking into upgrading to the deluxe dining plan. We went for 12 nights in August during free dining and upgraded to the deluxe. It cost us (2 adults) a little more that $800 but after looking at what we had already booked (character meals, signature dining, etc.) we figured that at worst we'd break even. We wound up eating almost $500 worth of food more than what it cost us. Plus it was really nice to be able to sit down for lunch without having to search for a seat.

Back to the original question, we really enjoyed Artist's Point. We also love Kona at the Polynesian. We also discovered the Wave at the Contemporary for the first time this year and really enjoyed it. Good luck. We are planning on being down there starting on the 19th for 10 nights. Maybe we'll run into each other.
 

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