One thing (of many) that Disney has which sets it apart from most theme parks is a collection of fine dining establishments. Believe it or not, some people travel to Disney on gastronomic vacations and not just to ride rides and talk to characters (usually during the annual fall Food and Wine Festival). In general, Disney offers three 'levels' of dining: table service (sit down), counter service (fast food) and snacks (kiosk treats). This distinction comes from the variety of options available under the Disney Dining Plan.
Now, I could go on for a whole post about the dining plan, but the technicalities of it really aren't that interesting. Safe to say that, for a price, and depending upon which version of the plan you buy into, you get a certain number of table service, counter service and snack credits to use prepaid throughout your stay. This prevents you from having to pay out of pocket and experiencing the resulting sticker shock.
Food at Disney is expensive. Like $9.59 for a grilled chicken sandwich. That's not a made up number, that's an actual price from one of the counter service restaurants at the Magic Kingdom. I looked it up. In case you're interested, every single menu item (including costs and descriptions) at every single food location on Disney property can be found here.
So, the Dining Plan is a good thing for families who are on a budget. Sure, you have to pay up front, but at least you don't worry about it while you're actually on the vacation. But regardless of whether or not you choose to go the Dining Plan route, you need to be aware that it exists because it has resulted in a lot of fundamental changes to the way people eat at Disney World. For starters, ADRs have become significantly more important.
ADRs are Disney's version of reservations. It used to be that you could make reservations at pretty much any table service restaurant the day of your visit, or even walk right up to the counter at dinner time and find a seat. That is no longer the case. With so many people now using the dining plan, and not afraid of the potential costs of a nice sit-down meal, everyone and their brother is now filling these restaurants to the gills.
Look, is your Disney vacation less than 7 months away? Do you have all your ADRs for the trip booked already? No?
WHY THE HELL NOT?!?!
I'm deadly serious! Get online or on your bloody cell thingy right away and make those reservations now! I already provided you a link to every table service restaurant on property; just pick one! Oh, and if you want one of the really popular eating attractions (yes, at Disney, even food is an attraction) like dining with princesses in Cinderalla's Castle or the ever popular dinner show at the Hoop De Do Musical Review (both signaute locations, more on that later), you need to book at 6am, 180 days out from the first day of your trip. No, I am totally not kidding about that.
I understand that a lot of people prefer spontanaeity in their Disney vacations, but if you dilly-dally on this your spontenaeity is gonna involve a whole heck of a lot of bugers and fries at counter service locations. Which brings us to the second effect of the dining plan: variety.
Because more people are eating at Disney restaurants, those locations have begun to adjust their menus to appeal to the everyman. This results in a lack of food diversity which displeases those persons who travel to Disney for new and inventive food experiences. It's not that pronounced a difference and most people who visit won't even notice it. Meanwhile, the counter service locations have had to begin diversifying their options in order to entice folks away from more attractive sit-down dining, and incidentally to change with progressive parents' views about healthy food. During this most recent trip the Handlers sampled everything from rotisserie chicken, to lobster rolls, to Mongolian beef stir fry at Disney counter service restaurants. They also had their share of burgers and chicken nuggets - you just have to know where to look (here again is that link to the menus).
This brings us to our last point, which involves feeding children at Disney. Children are, traditionally, more picky about food than their elders. You can get "kid approved" food at pretty much every dining location. Nicer Disney restaurants offer kids menus and, in the event there's nothing to tempt your little snowflake, a simple conversation with your server will usually result in the kitchen whipping up a PB&J special just for him or her. Dining staff are used to these situations. There is only one dining location on property where children under 10 are neither permitted nor expected, and it's not really a place you'd want to take them anyways.
Victoria & Albert's = Still Awesome.
All right, so enough with the lecture, you probably want some help choosing exactly where you want to spend your dining money (or credits, as the case may be). Well, Disney has a lot of "regular" type restaurant establishments, but you probably don't want to go to some place that you could easily visit while you aren't on vacation. As such, I'm going to focus on those places which offer something extra in entertainment and/or cutural exploration.
The cultural stuff comes from the Epcot World Showcase where each featured country (except America) has one or more sit-down restaurants featuring food from their part of the world. If you've ever wanted to try Norwegian cuisine; this is your chance. Some also offer entertainment. The "show" at the teppanyaki restaurant in Japan is pretty much the same you'll get at any Benihanas anywhere, but the one at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco involves belly-dancers. The draw of the Rose & Crown Pub and the Hacienda de San Angel (and the soon to be opened second restaurant in Morocco) are dining table alongside the lagoon. The trick is to time your reservations to coincide with Illuminations: Reflections of Earth (the kickass fireworks show) and then hope you are graced with one of these "front row seat" locations.
Elsewhere on property there are many dining options that will help you to preserve the magic even while scarfing down much needed sustenance. We've already talked about character dining a bit:
When making character dining reservations there's a few things you need to be aware of. First, most (though not all) character dining locations are buffet. Second, not all characters are available at all locations (do some research beforehand). The above pictured Chef Mickeys is one of the most popular restaurants on property because it features Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy - which allows parents to get the fab 5 out of the way nice and easy. However, there are more popular persons to meet and greet (read: princesses).
Oh? You want to eat with Cinderalla in her castle? Sure! You and 10,000 other rabid Disney vacationers.
There are several locations to eat with the princesses, but the most popular location is Cinderella's Royal Table. If you want to do this, ADRs are a must.
What about options that interest boys? Well, does your little mister like dinosaurs?
It's like Rainforest Cafe, but with dinosaurs, making it 20% cooler.
What about scary movies? The Sci-Fi Dine in Theatre at Hollywood Studios has you eat out of a "car" while trailers for old time sci-fi movies flicker over the big screen. Also at Hollywood Studios is the 50's Prime Time Cafe. There you'll get some Donna Reed type cooking served up by your overenthusiastic "cousins". Make sure you clear your plate; you don't want them to break out the airplane spoon, do you?
The newest dining location at the Magic Kingdom is the Be Our Guest restaurant in the Beast's castle in new Fantasyland. This spot made headlines when it opened because it is the only place in the Magic Kingdom to ever serve alcoholic beverages (beer and wine). The Handlers visited it during this most recent trip.
They were...unimpressed. The food was okay; the service dismissive. But the ambiance was great.
Animal Kingdom does not have much in the way of great dining experiences, but its associated hotel, the Animal Kingdom Lodge, has some very good options. Those include Boma (a buffet with African inspired foods) and Jiko (an excellent place for a good steak and South African red wine). Jiko, it should be mentioned, is a "signature" restaurant, meaning it's not cheap for the average person and it costs 2 table service credits if you're on the dining plan. Another point - some of the best restaurants on property are located at the various hotels. Look into it!
I already mentioned arranging meals to see Epcot's fireworks, but there are also locations where you can dine and watch Wishes (the Magic Kingdom's fireworks show). These would be Narcosse's (at the Grand Floridian hotel), Ohana (at the Polynesian), and the California Grill (at the top of the Contemporary Resort). Just a note, Narcosse's and California Grill are both signature restaurants, and CG is currently down for refurbishment.
With all these options, you may be wondering "What do you and the Handlers' suggest?" Well, there's a couple places that have proven consistently good. For one, the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. Good food, good entertainment (from the servers), and easily accesible by boat from the Magic Kingdom. Another which the Handlers did have one bad experience with (it could have been a bad night), but which had always impressed them previously, is the Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot. It's worth a visit for the giant aquarium that makes up one entire wall. The Handlers also have nothing bad to say about Jiko, Teppan Edo (the teppayaki place), Garden Grill (also at Epcot), Ohana, and the Kona cafe (at the Polynesian).
The stand out eatery for this most recent trip was Raglan Road, an Irish pub located in Downtown Disney. Good food, an acceptable beer list, and live Irish music and dancing.
Ask for a table in the main room. It's worth it.
Check out the link (I'm not giving it to you again, learn to scroll up morons) for everything you ever wanted to know about Disney dining. Make those ADRs. Then sit back and enjoy the culinary adventure that Disney has to offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment