We (myself, DH and DS 3 3/4 years old at time of trip) are staying at POR for our trip in April. We are planning the first day to be a day to just hang out at the resort and then in the evening we were going to take the water taxit to DT Disney to do some shopping and eat. We LOVE downtown disney but haven eaten there much. We have eaten at Bongo's and House of Blues. We are wondering what all of your suggestions would be for a first night, relaxed, not high priced, but great food place to eat. We will be paying for our first night meal out of pocket and on a DDP for the rest of the time. We dont want to spend a ton of money but we do want a TS meal. Are there any places with outside seating besides Rainforest Cafe? Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks! :D

Raglan Road (http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_rag.htm)! MMMmmmm yummy!

Earl of Sandwich is not a TS but has got outside seating and has some excellent sandwiches. You won't be able to experience it on the DP so I'd save some money and eat here personally. However, we really loved the RFC also and that isn't on the plan either so your first night would be a good one to go there if you want to eat there. I was not hugely impressed with Raglan Road, particularly elements of the service when the place was nearly empty. Having faced huge portions all week we also thought the adult servings here were small by comparison.

Having faced huge portions all week we also thought the adult servings here were small by comparison.

Wow, the servings we had at Ragland Road were pretty large! My BIL and I had the pork stuffed pork, and I don't recall what my sister had. The boys all had enough to eat with their kids' meals, too. I wonder if some items are just bigger than others.

[QUOTE=scoobydooby;1185601]Earl of Sandwich is not a TS but has got outside seating and has some excellent sandwiches. You won't be able to experience it on the DP so I'd save some money and eat here personally.

We ate lunch here in Jan. and loved it! Yum. :D We used the dining plan here too. The lines are pretty long but sitting outside and people watching is relaxing. The Earl gets my vote. ;)

I LOVE RR. We've eaten there the last 2 trips, and it is the one "sit down" table service that we will forever (?) schedule for our DTD night.

I can't wait to try Raglan Road on our 1st night - in 6 days - yay!:)

I LOVE RR. We've eaten there the last 2 trips, and it is the one "sit down" table service that we will forever (?) schedule for our DTD night.


Completely agree with Tina! We loved it-it's on the "must do" list now.

Planet Hollywood was simply on the low average side of "ok". There are ways to save $ there-with your AAA card and I believe there's a coupon on their website as well-at least there was last spring.

I detest the RFC and won't go there again.

House of Blues is one I'd like to try-especially if the dining plan wasn't a consideration as they don't participate.

I thought the Earl of Sandwich was ok; but loved WPE-ate there twice(both locations). But crowds could be an issue depending on your time of day. Have someone in your party scout out a table while others wait in line to order.

Wow, the servings we had at Ragland Road were pretty large! My BIL and I had the pork stuffed pork, and I don't recall what my sister had. The boys all had enough to eat with their kids' meals, too. I wonder if some items are just bigger than others.

DH had sausage and mash - we would judge it a normal portion size but it was small compared to other places. It was also expensive for what it was; there's nothing high end about a sausage, even a good one, and mash! Another man in there had the same and made a really big fuss about his portion size for the price. We went early lunch on our last day, the place was nearly empty - we were a walk in- and the children waited 30 minutes for their pudding after their main course. This place is like 50 others within 10miles of my home and I've seen it done MUCH better. However, I did enjoy the bar here, set me up for the flight nicely :p

We've always enjoyed Ragland Road. Earl never impressed us much, and we have one here in Tampa (FL) and feel the same way about it. Wolfgang Puck still has some outdoor seating, although the cafe can get kind of pricey. We prefer the Wolfgang Puck Express, there are 2 locations-one on the Westside and one on the other side of the shopping village. They both have outdoor seating (nearly exclusively) and offer a good selection of the Wolfgang Puck standards at a slightly lower price than the cafe. Downside is that the seating is limited at peak times (esp at the Westside location) and each location has a different menu (so you may end up running back and forth to see which one appeals to you more). Its a good meal for a reasonable price though.

Earl of Sandwich is not a TS but has got outside seating and has some excellent sandwiches. You won't be able to experience it on the DP so I'd save some money and eat here personally.

I need to tell you that I think that the DDP locations have been updated which now makes this duff information and it appears that both EoS and RR are part of the plan. My apologies :eek: My DS is also saying he would like to go back to RR so his memory of the wait for pudding is obviously not as clear or bothersome as mine...

...which now makes this duff information ...

Does "duff information" mean unneeded or outdated info? I'm always trying to learn!

Does "duff information" mean unneeded or outdated info? I'm always trying to learn!
I believe it's Hillary Duff's fansite.

Does "duff information" mean unneeded or outdated info? I'm always trying to learn!

Yep that's about it- it means I was WRONG!! (I thought I was right based on the info I was reading when I originally posted though...) To help the transatlantic lingo lesson though - if someone refers to you as a "duffer"; that's not a good thing ;)

Good to know!

We ate at both Raglan Road and earl of Sandwich last week. We loved Raglan Road and didn't care for Earl of Sandwich at all! Raglan Road is worth a trip for Ger's Bread & Butter Pudding alone - the best dessert of our entire trip!! There was outside seating at RR but we preferred the inside. [just a side note: there was almost NO seating at EoS]

I need to make an ADR for the first night at WDW - we won't be going to a park that day, so I thought we would have dinner at Downtown Disney since we are staying at the Royal Plaza. Any suggestions? I can start making ADR's tomorrow.

Thanks!

We make it a tradition to eat at the Rainforest Cafe every time we visit. I'm sure others will have other suggestions as well but we only eat there!

Don't forget Earl of Sandwich, which doesn't require ADRs.

I did Ragland Road with my sister and her family on their arrival day and it hit the spot after all the traveling. (They flew out of Portland.) The beer was nice, too!

Another vote for Raglan Road- we ate there over Memorial Day weekend and really enjoyed it.

We love Fulton's Crab House too but they are a bit pricey.

I'd skip dessert wherever you decide and head right to Goofy's Candy Co and make your own treats- if we don't get to do it my kids protest!

Does Raglan Road allow little ones? Where is it located? (This is the Irish Pub/Eatery I'm thinking of, right?) If so, my in-laws would LOVE it!!

Does Raglan Road allow little ones? Where is it located? (This is the Irish Pub/Eatery I'm thinking of, right?) If so, my in-laws would LOVE it!!

Kids aren't a problem (youngest nephew was 3 at the time!) It's just barely on Pleasure Island (The World of Disney end of Pleasure Island). And yes, it's the Irish Pub/Eatery. We were too early for any of the entertainment, but that was fine since we didn't have ADRs, either! (It was arrival day, and they were taking a red-eye from Portland, so we didn't want to commit to any specific eating time - if we hadn't been able to get in, we were going to hit Earl of Sandwhich.)

And I'd be inclined to skip dessert there and hit Ghirardelli, but that can have a large line (and isn't as portable as the stuff from Goofy's!)

Another vote for Raglan Road! Very good food and if you are there late enough for entertainment even better. Children's menu. (http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_ragk.htm)

I just found their very fun website: http://www.raglanroadirishpub.com/

It looks like a fun place. I'll pass on the info to my in-laws since it's gotten so many votes! :) Thanks!!