Is there decent food in Disney World?
I know it's not a mecca for foodies, but if you've been recently, where would you recommend - or avoid? It's just my husband and me, no kids. We're staying in the park, and will not have access to a car.
Thanks in advance!
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21 Comments:
In Epcot there are a number of decent eating opportunities. The Countries all offer authentic cuisine. They won't win any awards, but they are pretty good. My husband and I used to go to Disney 2X per year. In fact we were married at the Wedding Pavilion. Our reception was at the California Grill (Contemporary Resort) We always go there when in Florida. You need to call pretty far in advance for reservations. In Downtown Disney, the Portobello Yacht Club is very good. If you end up with a transportation opportunity, Charlie's Steakhouse in Kissimmie (sp) is one of the best around. We always go there as well. For brunch, we never miss going to the Hyatt. Champagne flows and the food is divine! Entrees are offered as you tour the kitchen. Depending on your resort, the Hyatt is worth the cab ride!!
crazyspice at 5:29PM on 03/29/08
Definitely in Epcot. Le Cellier in the Canada pavillion was the best place. The beer-cheese soup and pretzel bread were fantastic. I had an open face steak sandwich on toasted challah bread with a homemade tomato jam--delicious! The UK Pub was pretty good too. I had their cottage pie and this starter of sauteed mushrooms, cream and herbs with a puff pastry topper. Very warm comfort food.
Erinay77 at 10:28PM on 03/29/08
Do not (repeat DO NOT) let the reservations agent book you for the Norweigan princess dining "experience." I say this since you mention no kids. My husband made the mistake of booking us for that restaurant at the agents recommendation (she assured him we would not feel out of place). The food was ok, but as a couple, you get put in this tiny table behind a pillar that divides the traffic path to the smorgasbord. It was like sitting in the fast lane of the Daytona 500. And (nothing against children) there were so many ill-behaved children with even moreill-behaved parents racing around, it was impossible to enjoy the meal.The Yachtsman's steak house (it's in one of the Vacation Club resorts) actually had the best steak anywhere. Downtown Disney has a number of good tabel service, but also has, by far the best counter service with the Wolfgang Puck that's tucked away in the far corner away from everything. Victoria and Albert's no longer accepts children under 10. If you have the year to book ahead, it's worth it. The Disney transportation service still needs work. We were very late for one of our reservations because of their issues, and the staff was not helpful at all (would not give us the phone number of the restaurant so we could notify them even though the directory was lying right next to her). Fortunately, the restaurant was understanding. If you absolutely must be to your reservation on time, drive. The Dole Float and Cappucino Float at the Magic Kingdom are both nice. The other Magic Kingdom food is just basic park food.
beth1 at 12:27AM on 03/30/08
It's been several years, but I recall the restaurant in the castle as having rather nice prime rib, and a good beef barley soup that they made with the leftover prime rib. Overpriced, of course, but it's Disney, all of it's overpriced.
And do pick up some churros in Frontierland.
Other than that, yeah, eat at Epcot.
thepictsie at 6:33AM on 03/30/08
To go one step further with beth1's comments, upstairs at Wolfgang Puck's is excellent for a fine meal. Foie Gras, seared tuna, immaculate desserts, seriously attentive service ... with tip it was $150 for the two of us, but as it was a "do it one time" experience we felt it was worth it.
LunaPierCook at 8:35AM on 03/30/08
My wife works for a travel agency that does only Disney vacations, and I am a Chef. She's by far the Disney freak and I tag along on her jaunts to DW with the kids. Here are my recomendations. By far my favorite restaurant in all of DW is Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge(hotel not theme park) It is an African inspired buffet (Yes, a chef is recomending a buffet!) It is the most flavorful and unique food in all of DW. Other places that we revisit everytime we go are: Flying Fish at the Boardwalk Hotel, Le Cellier as mentioned a few post before, The German Pavilion in Epcot for a quick sausage and mustard sammy, always devour at least 1 smoked Turkey leg, usually in front of the America building in epcot, I can go on and on but these are the basics, oh and don't forget the Dole Whips to cool you down on a hot and humid Orlando day.
ejebud at 8:56AM on 03/30/08
Did I mention that epcot has a food and wine festival every year? It is at EPCOT and the countries have kiosks with foods representative of their cuisines and beverages co-inciding with those foods. Great to do without kids. I think it's in October. Small plates are between $4 and $6. There are also cooking demos and wine seminars.
ejebud at 9:00AM on 03/30/08
These are great suggestions - keep 'em coming! Thank you all!
Martha
Throwing Spoons
macknitter at 11:03AM on 03/30/08
I was going to suggest Epcot too, but it had been so long since Ive been that I was afraid my memory could have deceived me. Glad to see its got solid endorsements. When I last went (I was 17 or 18), my parents took us to the Benihana-style place they have there, and I thought that was great. We also had some good eats at the Chinese restaurant. And dont forget to hit the little shops for snacks for your hotel room.
Downtown Disney may really save you in this case (ie., no kids). It was still very new when I last went, but definitely oriented towards the grown ups, and lots of different options.
Sadly, I dont remember ever feeling anything other than ripped-off in the Magic Kingdom or the other parks. We did the Rainforest Cafe in the Animal-themed park, and that was fun primarily because we had a 5-year old with us, who was thoroughly having her mind blown away. That African buffet sounds much more interesting.
renzata at 12:06PM on 03/30/08
I second ejebud's recommendation for Flying Fish- I think it was the best place I ate in DW!
karenita at 8:31PM on 03/30/08
I recall going to a very nice French restaurant when I was there but that was about 10 years ago so I can't remember the name. But visit the French section and you're bound to find something decent! Have fun!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 11:14AM on 04/01/08
Well, considering I live 3 minutes from the Magic Kingdom (literally), figured I should chime in on this.
@Hillary, I think you mean Chefs de France in Epcot!
If you really want fine dining try Victoria and Albert's in the Grand Floridian. It's amazing and actually a 4 star restaurant. I second Le Cellier, but it is very difficult to get into.
Another one of my favorite's is Artist Pointe in the Wilderness Lodge. You can get a fixed price 3 course menu for $50. I suggest the Smoky Portobello Soup with roasted Shiitakes and Chive Oil and the Grilled Buffalo Sirloin Steak - with sweet potato-hazelnut gratin and sweet onion jam.
@macknitter- Are you using the Disney Dining Plan and how long until you go? This will determine more or less what you can eat at Disney. Since the start of the Dining Plan it has made reservations very difficult unless you make sure you get an ADR (advanced dining reservation) at 180 days out. If you are going sooner than that without ADR's, expect to eat quite a bit of quick service meals. If that is the situation, let me know and I can suggest which quick services to dine at and which to avoid as well.
jcrisco at 1:48PM on 04/01/08
@jcrisco - I have been to Artist Pointe! Very Very nice. I should have mentioned that one as well. The last time we were there I had the Buffalo. LOVED it. My nephews are transferring to UCF this fall. I see more great visits in the very near future!
crazyspice at 10:01PM on 04/02/08
@jcrisco - We're going in a couple of weeks; no Dining Plan.
Our hope is to do several nice dinners over the five nights we are there, and on other days have a bigger lunch and something light for dinner.
Thanks for your help!
Martha
Throwing Spoons
macknitter at 10:25PM on 04/02/08
We've stayed at The Dolphin several times when at DW for a week long conference. At the Dolphin, Todd English's Blue Zoo is excellent and also Don Shula's Steakhouse. I agree with the other comments about Wolfgang Puck's at Pleasure Island. We had a very good meal there. We've eaten at most of the restaurants at the Island, and they were OK. We found absolutely exceptional restaurants around the area out of the park, but if you won't have a vehicle, it would be pretty costly to taxi to any of them.
By all means, go to Spoodles on the DW Boardwalk for breakfast or brunch. The food is really good and the service is great.
frederika at 10:53PM on 04/02/08
There is decent food! I was there over Thanksgiving and had a great time at Epcot. The French Pavilion is of course wildly popular, but we didn't eat at its main restaurant this time. Morocco has an excellent restaurant and is less of a draw perhaps because it seems exotic to the Disney customers. You can also do a wine tasting and get decent pastries and coffee at the French section if the restaurant is filled up. The German pavilion also had a good mulled wine tasting which was delicious on a cool November night.
Otabenga at 5:12PM on 04/03/08
Downtown Disney ROCKS. they have a ton of choices and wolfgang's place is so good. they have a kind of take and go but also a sit down upstairs.i think to eat upstairs you need a reservation but we got lucky midweek in the off season and got to eat upstairs. no kids anywhere and sssssooooooooooooo good we still talk about eating there.i also love the rainforest resturnt outside animal kingdom. you can enter from inside the park or not it has dual entrances. it is fun and neat place as it is like you are eating in a rainforest it rains in parts and has 3d type animals. i thought it was fun but it does have kids but they were ok. Have fun I use to live in Fl for a year for work and now i miss it:(
love2cook at 5:28PM on 04/03/08
@Martha,
Call 407-WDW-DINE !!!! Call it now! I would suggest visiting All Ears. They have the menus of all the Disney restaurants. Pick a few you want to try and make attempt to make ADR's. What most people don't understand is that in most of the Disney restaurants, you can't just walk up and expect to eat at a sit down establishment. Most of them will tell you, even if you're willing to wait, that they aren't taking any walk-ins. If you can't find much, I would suggest the restaurants that don't taking the dining plan (ie Landry's restaurants). Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom, Rainforest, House of Blues, etc. You might have better luck. Also don't forget that almost all of the resorts have some form of a sit down restaurant which are much easier to get into. I really like Olivia's at Old Key West where you can get a bowl of conch chowder and some crab cakes.
By all means, try the counter service in Morocco! My husband and I love it and eat there at least once a month. Also, for great quick service in Epcot, Seasons in the Land pavilion (where Soarin' is) has different stations with chinese, sandwiches, desserts, and homestyle food.
Magic Kingdom is pretty so/so for their quick service. Casey's has hot dogs and fries, which Disney "people" love and swear by. I think it's pretty much just your average hot dog. They also have Pecos Bills for burgers and pulled pork sandwiches. I would suggest though Cosmic Rays which has the station concept again and you can get anything from chicken strips and burgers to rotisserie chicken and ribs. Even if it is open, avoid the tomorrow land noodle station! It's horrible. I've tried to like it and it's just not good. If you can manage to get an ADR, try the Plaza for lunch. It's set in a old fashioned soda shop decor and has great ruebens and salads.
Hollywood Studios has some quite interesting places as well. First off the bad---do no, I repeat do not go the the ABC Commissary for quick service. I know that cuban sandwich looks good in the picture, but just trust me on this. For quick service go with the Backlot. Standard burger park fare but it beats ABC and since you don't have anyone under 10 with you---steer clear of Pizza Planet unless you really enjoy cardboard covered with sauce and rubbery cheese. HS more entertaining sit down places like '50's prime time cafe and the sci fi dine in theater have decent food, but it's really all about the schitck. Go to the Brown Derby and get a cobb salad and a slice of grapefruit cake!
I hope this helped some......I'm thinking I need to just write a book on Disney dining....
jcrisco at 12:03PM on 04/04/08
Link doesn't work. Try www.allearsnet.com
jcrisco at 2:20PM on 04/04/08
since you don't have kids in tow:
....drinking around the world at epcot/ chocolate around the world (I included a link to an article on this one in ...case you love chcolate!)
bisbee at 2:47PM on 04/04/08
Again, thank you all for your help! We now have reservations for dinner at Spoodles, Restaurant Marrakesh, Brown Derby and Boma.
macknitter at 8:29PM on 04/13/08