Hello Nick! So nice to hear from Connecticut! :) I can hear the excitement in your question!
First, if you are vacationing on or around President's Day/Week, you may want to make your reservations as soon as possible. Character dining is very popular and guests can book as far as 180 days in advance.
One very popular restaurant I'd like to recommend is
Chef Mickey's which is located in the Contemporary resort . Here you'll be able to meet Mickey and his friends - a great way to kick off a vacation! If you're interested in seeing Prince Charming and Cinderella, 1900 Park Fare may be another restaurant to consider.
To be honest, I have never had a bad experience at a character meal. To view all character dining locations, you can visit the
restaurants page on disneyworld.com. You'll notice there are filters on the left side of the page. If you filter on "Dining Experience" and then "Character Dining" you will see a list of all the available character meals. You can book online (by using the link above) or by calling 407-WDW-DINE.
A couple of fun restaurants your kids may enjoy without characters are Whispering Canyon (Wilderness Lodge), 'Ohana (Polynesian Resort), 50's Prime Time Cafe and Sci Fi Diner (both at Hollywood Studios).
I hope this helps...please let us know if you have further questions. I hope your first vacation to Disney is everything you've dreamed of! Diane :)