First Night Dining Reservation Suggestions

[Stitch577]

Hello!

I am staying at POR in August and have to make my dining reservations tomorrow. I was looking for suggestions on a great dining location to kick the trip off the first night for dinner. It is just me and another adult (but we are kids at heart). I was debating between staying close to the resort and taking the boat over to Disney Springs for dinner or doing a dinner at Contemporary even though we plan to resort hop at the MK resorts later in the trip. I know Ohana is a popular first night location but we plan to go there the resort hopping day so kindly leave that out of your suggestions please! We are on the Disney dining plan. Open to any suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Nancyg56]

I would head over to DS and think about Raglan Road. I love it there.

 

[Babsy]

I like taking the boat to DS for dining when staying at POR. Our first night go to is often Boma at AKL, however, so I have to put that in for your consideration.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I won’t book anything non refundable on arrival day

You can book many DS restaurants through open table. No penalty for no show.

 

[B-Ride]

We had the exact same post yesterday and I'll make the exact same recommendation.

Stay in your resort and experience Boatwright's. We ate there for the first time last year and thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

Split the Crawfish Mac n Cheese as an appetizer. Take it from a Mac n Cheese, this is one of the best.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Our 1st night tradition is always DS - typically because I don't want to waste a ticket day on a half day.

We tried something new our last trip to DS - we did Bongos and it was the BEST meal of our trip by far. The service was fantastic and we loved the live music and dancing. It was so upbeat for our 1st night.

Our times before we had always done Ragland Road which is also very good but we wanted to try something new.

DS now has so much live music all around that I also suggest sticking around after your meal and taking in some of the atmosphere.

 

[kastoney]

Presuming you are coming in that day and timing can be an issue, I'd suggest going to Disney Springs and eating at one of the great QS locations (D-Luxe burger is our favorite) or making a reservation via OpenTable so if you can't make it for some reason you won't lose money. Of those that currently take Open Table reservations the Boathouse and Raglan Road are our favorites.

 

[Shanazam]

I agree- Raglan Road at DS, great food and entertainment! Or if you prefer something more laid back, Boatwrights is a good option right at the resort. We have always enjoyed our meals there

 

[Belleandtinker]

Disney Springs is our first night location. TS - Bongos CS - Sandwich of Earl

 

[Dakota731]

WE always do Disney Springs our first night. It eases us into the Disney chaos and we hate to waste a park ticket for a few hours. Plus there are a lot of yummy places to eat!

 

[sullyfam]

We love Hoop Dee Doo on our first night! Not sure where you are traveling from and your time of arrival but I try and give us a 3-4 hour grace period between arrival time and ADR. In August I would presume you would not have the same travel headaches one might have in the winter time with winter storms etc. Good luck!

 

[Sara_H]

I agree with a few above. We love Raglan Road. It was our first night dinner in 2018 and will be again in 2020.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

We do Disney Springs our first night as well. Our tradition is The Boathouse.

 

[Amy11401]

When we stayed at POFQ we did Disney Springs on our first day there. We ate lunch did some shopping, went back to our resort, and then back to Disney Springs for dinner. I think Disney Springs is a great arrival destination especially when staying at the Port Orleans resorts.

 

[wdw&sonny]

DS, especially b/c you're staying at POR. Take the boat. Enjoy dinner. Listen to music. Get a Ghiradelli's sunday for dessert.
I recommend Morimotos (ribs), boathouse (sit outside by the water) or Raglan Road (bread pudding).