Disney Food Blog Guidebook
Click here to plan your Disney Dining with ease.Tour the Parks
Buy from Garden Grocer
Get the scoop on Disney Food
Our web guys
Category Archives: Food
Fantasyland Model Goes on Display at One Man’s Dream May 16 at DHS
The model for the New Fantasyland expansion, which was last on display for media during the Summer to Remember press event and for Disney fans at the 2011 D23 Expo, is currently being placed into the One Man’s Dream exhibit at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Guests can view this model in all it’s detail beginning today, Wednesday, May 16th, at One Man’s Dream, an exhibit that highlights some of Walt Disney’s biggest dreams come to life. Could there be a better place for the model to be on display?
Related articles
Visiting Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort – Why It’s Worth The Trip
Port Orleans French Quarter is one of Disney’s Moderate Resorts, and it’s modeled after New Orlean’s historic French Quarter. It’s a great Resort to stay at, and it’s also a great Resort to visit, even if you aren’t staying there!
So why should you go out of your way to visit this quaint little resort?
Well, there are many reasons:
Atmosphere (and Romance!) – it is a quiet, laid back resort that really encompasses the New Orleans “big easy” style. When you walk in through the lobby, you enter a big open courtyard area where there are palm trees and cobblestone streets and smooth jazz music playing in the background (when we went, it was the holidays, so the jazz was Christmas themed!)
I recommend taking a leisurely, romantic walk around the resort and breathe in the smell of the magnolia blossoms and check out the landscaping – there are several beautiful courtyards with benches in them, where you can sit and relax (and it’s very peaceful!). There is a trail along the Sassagoula River that connects Port Orleans French Quarter to Port Orleans Riverside, and this scenic stroll really makes you feel like you’ve been transported to the Big Easy! This is an especially romantic thing to do at sunset, and if you decide to walk to Port Orleans Riverside, you can take an old fashioned horse and carriage ride through the beautiful woodlands of both Port Orleans Resorts (Here is some more information on the Carriage Rides)
Entertainment – The Resort offers live entertainment at it’s bar, Scat Cat’s Lounge every Wednesday through Sunday from 8:30pm-Midnight by Elliot Dyson, a New-Orleans style pianist who also plays the saxophone, sings, and has been known to play the guitar and steel drums on occasion too. And as if that weren’t enough, he is also hilarious (Here’s some more info on Elliot Dyson)
If you happen to miss Elliot, you can still stop in at Scat Cat’s for one of their specialty drinks, including the Southern Hurricane (Southern Comfort, orange juice, pineapple juice and grenadine), Sassagoula Swamp water (A blend of rum, gin, tequila and a secret touch!), or the Banana Cabana (Bacardi Spiced Rum and Creme de Banana liquor with coconut and pineapple juice served frozen). The Hurricane drink actually originated in New Orleans, which is why these are the house specialty here and are a definite must try!
If you have kids in your group, Port Orleans French Quarter has them covered too – they have a playground, as well as a video game arcade, and every night the Resort hosts an outdoor movie as well as a campfire (complete with s’mores!)
I also recommend that you stop in at Jackson Square Gifts and Desires for a little shopping and pick up a souvenir to commemorate your fun trip to Port Orleans French Quarter!
Specialty Food – Should you happen to get hungry after your walk, head on over to the Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory for some New Orleans style cuisine – gumbo, po’boys, and beignets are all on the menu here, and the dining area is decorated with huge festive Mardi Gras decor that is sure to put you in a party mood!
So now that you’re ready to visit Port Orleans French Quarter, you might be wondering, “How can I get there?”. You can travel by bus from any of the 4 Theme Parks, and if you happen to be at Downtown Disney, you can take a boat to Port Orleans French Quarter, its a nice scenic ride over to the Resort!
Personally, I love Port Orleans French Quarter, I stayed there last year and can’t say enough good things about it (check out some of my pics here, and check out this post for more info on what makes it such a great place to stay!), and if you can’t stay here, then I highly recommend you stop by for a visit. So take some time and escape the busy Parks for a leisurely afternoon full of New Orleans charm at Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort!
Related articles
- Cruising The Waters Of The World (chipandco.com)
- T.G.I.F Pic Of The Week – Missing Mardi Gras? Celebrate It Everyday at WDW’s Port Orleans Resort! (livinginagrownupworld.wordpress.com)
Drink Around the World Showcase – Classic American Beer at Fife & Drum Tavern
- Fife & Drum Tavern at American Adventure, Epcot
In many ways, the American Adventure in Epcot is located perfectly for a quick, palate-cleansing stop on a “Drink Around the World Showcase” (DAWS) day. Located halfway around World Showcase, the American Adventure focuses as much on comfort food and non-alcoholic beverages as it does on its beer selections.
All this may be a polite way of saying that there’s a limited selection of alcoholic drinks at the U.S. pavilion. The Fife & Drum Tavern, the drink and snack kiosk at the American Adventure, isn’t much of a tavern at all. It’s a snack shack that serves two draft beers: Bud Light and a Sam Adams seasonal beer that changes with the time of year.
Samuel Adams Beer. Bryan Rosengrant. Flickr.
So with those choices, I order up a Samuel Adams. After all, it is a classic and, for my taste buds, the better of the two selections. And the seasonal beer selection allows Disney to shift the to lighter beers during the hotter seasons and heavier, darker beers during cooler periods. But really, given the ubiquity of the two beers, just pick your favorite brand.
The limited selection of beer, representing two of the most familiar American breweries, might be cause for some mild complaints about the American Adventure on a DAWS day. The beer, however, does represent American brewing traditions. Budweiser have been brewing beer since the 1870s, roughly the same period that the family of Jim Koch, the founder of Sam Adams, had been brewing beer. (As a brand, Sam Adams debuted in 1985.)
If you look at DAWS as participating in Epcot’s cultural-entertainment mission, then –focusing on gastronomical tourism – the beer selections make sense.
There’s an added benefit or two from the menu. The Fife & Drum Tavern offers a number of hearty foods to complement the beer, and to encourage Disney guests to balance out their consumption of alcohol. At the tavern you can enjoy some cult foods favored by Disney regulars: the turkey leg, the bucket of popcorn and the funnel cake kiosk also located in the American Adventure area.
Also consider using the American Adventure for A DAWS non-alcoholic drink, where there’s a wider selection. Try the frozen lemonade or, better yet, the slushes at Fife & Drum Tavern that come in blue raspberry and strawberry; that’s right, patriotic colors.
Liberty Inn offers the same beer selections, if you’d prefer to enjoy your beer with a cheeseburger or chili-cheese dog, among its menu of American fast food classics. It somehow seems appropriate to do so, if you’re going for a DAWS beer-focused tour of Epcot World Showcase.
Photo credit: Samuel Adams Beer. Bryan Rosengrant. Flickr, Creative Commons License.
Related articles
- Drink Around the World Showcase – Germany Pavilion (chipandco.com)
- Drink Around the World Showcase – Japan Pavilion (chipandco.com)
Stay Healthy On Vacation With These Food Options At The WDW Value Resorts
For many people, the only way they can afford a Walt Disney World vacation is to stay at the Value Resorts, which is Disney’s least expensive group of hotels. I am part of this group, and I personally LOVE the Value Resorts, the decor is huge and tacky and right up my alley, the rooms are just enough for what I need, and there are a lot of food options to choose from!
The 4 (soon to be 5 with Art Of Animation opening later this year!) Value level Resorts are:
-All Star Music
-All Star Sports
-All Star Movies
-Pop Century
They are all fairly similar in most ways, including in their dining offerings, each of the 4 Resorts has a food court, which is setup with several different stations each serving different types of menu items. There are also areas of pre-packaged meals, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc.
In my experience, it can be hard to eat ‘healthy’ while on vacation, and at Walt Disney World there are so many restaurants and yummy dishes to choose from, that it makes it that much harder to stay on track, food-and-diet-wise! Luckily, there are actually a lot of available choices that can give you the healthy nutrients you need to stay energized for a full day of touring the Parks!
Healthy Meal Options:
-Packaged sandwiches – they come without any dressing/mayo on them (packets are available)
-Packaged and fresh made salads with low fat dressing options
-Packaged Sushi that is made fresh daily (I know because I asked!)
-Yogurt cups – both regular and greek varieties
-Parfaits – a great fast breakfast of yogurt/granola/fruit
Healthy Drink Options:
-Juice – including 100% Simply Orange Juice, and other options that aren’t 100% fruit juice, but hey it’s still a better choice than soda in my book!
-Bottled Water
-Vitamin Water (regular and no calorie varieties available) and Powerade
-Milk options – including 1%, skim, and low fat chocolate
-Soda Machine – Minute Maid Light Lemonade, Diet Coke, and Sprite Zero were all found here
-V8 – because hey, it can’t hurt to get some extra vegetables in your diet while on vacation!
Healthy Snack Options:
-Fruit – mixed fruit salad, bowls of grapes or pineapple, and individual pieces of fruit – which can be used as a dessert if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan
-Celery/Carrot sticks packaged with ranch dressing
-Apple Slices packaged with caramel
-Hummus
-Fat Free, No Sugar added sorbet – available next to the frozen ice cream treats, I have seen Mango but I am sure there are other flavors too
Eating with Kids? All of the Kid’s meals available in the food courts (and most available at the Counter Service restaurants in the Parks too!) include a choice of 2 sides: grapes, carrot sticks, applesauce, yogurt, gelatin, pudding, or a cookie. They also include a choice of beverage: bottled water, 1% milk, 100% apple juice, or a soft drink. Obviously there are some healthier choices in there, which is nice to see, and Disney has been making an effort to push the better-for-you choices (it’s good to have choices for young ones that aren’t just chicken nuggets and fries!)
I don’t know about you, but Dessert can be tricky for me, as I LOVE baked goods, and will take any chance to try something new, be it a cupcake or a cookie, and I am a sucker for the Mickey Rice Krispie Treats! Having the option of getting a piece of fruit or a fruit salad for dessert is great, and it is something I try to take advantage of as often as possible (as long as the cupcakes don’t lure me in, that is!)
One great thing about this is that most of the items I have listed above are pre-packaged, which means not only are they helping you stay healthy, but they are fast and easy to grab on your way to/from the Parks!
I took all of these photos when I was staying at POP Century last month, but I have recently been to the All Star Resorts as well, and the selection they have is pretty much exactly the same as at POP. The Moderate the Deluxe Resorts will also have some of these items, but I personally find that the selection at their Quick Service eateries is not as large (perhaps because at the Value Resorts, there is no other place to eat but the food courts, so Disney makes sure they are stocked with a better variety of items? Just my personal theory!).
I can’t say enough good things about the Value Resorts, and I especially love their food courts, the food is always freshly prepared, the Cast Members are always polite and efficient, and the healthy food options help me stay on track while on vacation, which to me is the biggest perk of all!
Related articles
- Gettin’ Your Sweat On – Where To Workout at WDW (chipandco.com)
- Top 3 Places To Get An “Adult Beverage” at WDW (livinginagrownupworld.wordpress.com)
International Tastes with Creative Flair At ‘Landscape of Flavors’ Food Court in Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
With tandoor ovens and a 3-foot-wide Mongolian grill for onstage cooking and made-to-order dishes, Landscape of Flavors at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is the next generation of food courts, keeping pace with the increasingly sophisticated palates of Walt Disney World guests.Guests can play it safe with a create-your-own burger or try something unusual, such as tandoori shrimp with naan bread, or a Mongolian grilled fish with basmati rice.
“When we thought about our talented animators, and the theme behind the resort, we wanted to let the guests know that our chefs are very creative, too,” says Michelle Clegg, food & beverage operations manager for Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. ”And our guests also are creative, so we’ve given them options to create their own salads, pastas, even yogurt parfaits.”
The restaurant’s décor is inspired by Disney’s animated films, with four seating areas themed to “The Lion King,” “Cars,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Finding Nemo.” Art on the walls is landscape paintings, many from the backgrounds of the blockbuster movies.
“Better-for-you” options at five mini shops serving breakfast, lunch and dinner is the overarching theme in the 606-seat food court just off the lobby. And special attention is paid to healthful options, from buckwheat pasta to vegetarian offerings such as tandoor-roasted acorn squash.
“The idea is that you customize your choice,” says Chef Ed Wronski, director, food & beverage concept development, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “From burgers to pasta, salads, ethnic flavors, omelets, even parfaits and gelatos, everything is made fresh as you order.”
There’s a big focus on beverages, too. Fresh fruit smoothies are made to order, also lemonade and pomegranate limeade. The restaurant stocks organic teas, beer (including gluten free), wine, coffee and juices. Guests can get a plain cup of coffee or a French vanilla or mocha iced. And half bottles of wine are paired with cuisine from the food shops.
Menu highlights:
- The Soup-Salad-Sandwich Shop lets you create your own salad (with chicken or shrimp), and offers a caprese sandwich with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes on focaccia, or a Buffalo-style turkey sandwich with arugula and a blue cheese-Buffalo sauce-mayo spread. Both served with house-made potato chips.
- The World Flavors Shop adds international flair to breakfast, too, with challah French toast or a veggie flatbread sandwich on naan with cauliflower, spinach and paneer. Lunch and dinner is a choice of tandoori chicken, shrimp, or sausage; and Mongolian beef or fish with basmati or multigrain rice.
The Pizza Shop features make-your-own pasta, cheese and pepperoni pizzas, and meatballs on ciabatta bread. Pizza delivery is an option, too.
- The Burger Shop lets guests customize beef, vegetarian, seafood or chicken burgers, and also offers the signature “pastrami cheeseburger.”
- The Market sweet offerings include smoothies such as wild berry, mango and strawberry-banana; coffees including iced mocha, cappuccino, espresso and iced French vanilla; dessert bites; and authentic gelato.
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will feature 1,120 highly themed family suites with a spotlight on the stories and playful characters from favorite Disney*Pixar films. The Finding Nemo wing will open May 31, Cars opens June 18 and Lion King will follow on August 10. The Little Mermaid buildings will feature 864 standard guestrooms in the “value” room category set to open September 15.
Related articles
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort Features Landscape of Flavors Food Court (chipandco.com)
- Time-Lapse Video of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (chipandco.com)
