We've never gone to Disney w/o children
 

My husband has several meeting in Orlando next week. We have never gone to Disney w/o children---and it has been several years at that. We will be staying at the Floridian and 3 days at Boardwalk. What do you suggest for dinner, etc.
thank you for your help

At the risk of being laughed at, I have to say I have wanted to try the medeival or theme type restaurants there. Just never have had the time or energy after taking the kids through the parks. Here is a site with a list of some suggestions. After being in meetings all day I would suggest going to the Pirate Adventure & letting loose in the club after. Great way to help you make it through all the meeting brain drain.

Have fun!

http://www.destinationsinflorida.com/dinner_shows/

http://www.digitalcity.com/orlando/e...e.adp?aid=3655

benj,
I have to admit, my family took me to "Arabian Nights" show when they were visiting in Orlando last month...I had never been to one of those types of shows, but it was really cool. We are horse people and the horses are truly the stars of the show. It's worth it to pay a teeny bit extra and get VIP seats plus you get to tour the stables and pet 4 of the horses. The humor is a little cheesy to appeal to all ages, but the Arabian horses and their routines are so beautiful. Worth the whole price of the ticket is the end. They have alfalfa in the wood chip covered floor and they let all the horses out full speed by themselves and they frolic and play around with each other (acts like catnip for cats) we stayed for 20 min just watching them play. The rooms and entertainment were a little outdated but we found that humorous and part of the tourist experience. good times.

You'll probably want to eat at some high-end places; a late reservation at the Calif Grill in the contemp would allow you to see the evening fireworks from the dining room. More casual, but excellent, are the Flying Fish and/or Spoodles tapas on the boardwalk. I also like the restaurants at the Grand Cypress Hyatt, particularly Hemmingway's for the atmosphere. The new JW Marriott and Ritz have nice new restuarants and evening jazz, and the Gaylord Palms has an incredible breakfast buffet or Sunday brunch.
An evening at Pleasure Island is all adult, and a spa treat(ment) would be fun for you while hubby is working! The Grand Floridian spa has had some recent poor reviews, but there are plenty of others in the area. (Inc the JWM/Ritz and Canyon Ranch at Gaylord.) Afternoon tea at the GF is very elegant! I think the nice thing about going alone as adults is you can skip the rides, but enjoy the shows and exhibits, particularly in Epcot. Check the park schedule for the day as it will state where and when performances are scheduled. You'll also be free for leisurely shopping and strolling through the countries section!
Have a blast!

My husband and I have gone to WDW 4 times in 4 years and we have no kids. We love just eating at all the great restaurants (Dreamer has great suggestions), drinks at Jellyrolls on the Boardwalk (a dueling piano bar), the Adventurers Club at Pleasure Island and my husband's favorite-drinks around the world at Epcot (I know, not very mature but very fun). For more ideas, you may want to check out Birnbaums' Disney w/o Kids book.

Swalter:
"Drinks around the World"
That's so funny! I've never heard of someone doing that before, but of course, it makes sense. :) Sounds like a fun plan!

Dreamer, our problem is that I get stuck in France and my husband gets stuck at the beer garden in England (which is a great place to watch the fireworks show at night).

Next time, start Left!
Isn't that the traditional trick for Disney anyway?

Yes, and start at the back and work your way forward...

Another good site to check out is www.disneyfan.com
You'll get plenty of info on restaurants etc.... Check out there forums board.

Another vote for the Flying Fish restaurant on the Boardwalk.

We had an excellent meal at the French restaurant at Epcot a few years ago, and it was fairly elegant - a nice place for grownups!

I also vote for the Epcot dining. But make priority reservations NOW before you leave- if you can get them, as this is very high season w/spring breaks in full gear. We love Chef de France at Epcot. I know everyone likes California Grill, but it was so crowded and such a zoo when my husband and I went (alone- th ekdis were in the kids club at the htoel that night)that I don't even remember the meal. This time we are trying both Boma and the other rest. at Animal Kingdom, both are supposed to be excellent and have gotten very good reviews.

Jiko is the other place at Animal Kingdom. Lilmsfoodie's and other's reviews on this forum of Jiko (see the post "Food at Animal Kingdom Lodge", most recent entry on 2/2/04) is what prompted us decide to try it on our upcoming trip, but it has also gotten good reviews everywhere I've looked.

I did the drink around the world thing...

My recommendation would be to start to the right. When I did it we started left and it was awful hard to leave the Margarita's in Mexico! You can skip the USA by the way.

On a more serious note I have some friends who really enjoyed an evening dining experience at Emerills.

Don't miss the test track and the newer space mission!

Another vote for "drinks around the world" at Epcot.

Beer in England. Sake in Japan. Red wine in Italy. Champagne in France. Margaritas in Mexico. I think the shops must do a roaring business because everyone's walking around half crocked and buying with no inhibition!

You can also do a "monorail crawl". Have drinks at the bars at the hotels on the monorail. The California Grill has great views, the bar at the Polynesian has great drinks served in fresh pineapples, the Grand Floridian has uh well okay I know that they have something but it was the last stop so...;-)

If you are willing to venture out of Disney for good dining as placeu suggests above, then I would also second Emerils. I had the best meal I've had so far in Orlando there, and perhaps one of the top 20 meals I've ever had. I'm not a food snob, but I am somewhat of a foodie, as I have a history of traveling on expense accounts for work, and I like good food and atmosphere. Emerils was excellent- this was another night we left the kids in the kids club and went out alone and it was a great choice. On our upcoming trip, aside from Jiko and Boma at Animal Kingdom, we are trying Mythos at Islands of Adventure. Reviews are good, menu (available online) and decor looks very good. I am realizing after answering your post that I should probably do a trip report on the places we dine on this trip if people are interested. Oralndo sometimes gets no repsect on this forum, but there are alot of things to do besides the parks there, and alot of good food. The food is another area that gets no respect.

I forgot to mention earlier, when we were in Orlando a couple of weeks ago, we had a great meal at Wolfgang Puck's at Downtown Disney. We ate at the cafe, out on the terrace - there are three levels of of fanciness for the restaurant - Wolfgang Puck's Express, which looked like a glorified semi-fast food place, Wolfgang Puck's Cafe, where we ate, and were quite pleased with, and the Upstairs Dining restaurant, which I assume is the most elegant (and also the most expensive).

Another vote for the Flying Fish on the Boardwalk. Go to www.wdwig.com for a lot of information and menus.