Dining Favorites - March 2018
/Each time we visit Walt Disney World, food is a high priority! We always want to visit our favorite places but also try some new restaurants as well. There are tons of great dining options including snack, quick service, and table service options. Typically we save table service experiences for dinner. That's just our preference; I think we like it because after walking around in the parks all day, it's nice to sit down, relax and eat good food in the evening. Table service is a typical sit-down restaurant experience and we recommend you have reservations! Quick service options we often do for breakfast or lunch because we're on the move and don't want to have too much down time. Quick service means you walk up to a counter, order, pay, get your food from a window and then take it to a table close by to enjoy. Finally snacks can be found all over the park at carts or other small walk-up buildings.
Table Service
Our favorite new table service experience from our recent trip was Tiffins, located in the Animal Kingdom. We had excellent service at Tiffins and also ate a lot of great food. We used the Disney dining plan during this trip and when we arrived at Tiffins the waiter sprinkled a little pixie dust on our experience and upgraded our experience to include two appetizers and reserved tickets to the Rivers of Light show that night. We enjoyed -
Appetizers:
Charred Octopus: Romesco Sauce, Olive Tapenade, Chorizo, Squid Ink Aïoli
Apple-Walnut Salad: Artisan Lettuces, Heirloom Apples, Candied Walnuts, Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Entrees:
Snake River Farms Wagyu Eye of Rib-Eye: Marble Potato Confit, Bacon-Sherry Vinaigrette, Cauliflower Variations, Amarula Crème
South American Chocolate Ganache
Pan-seared Duck Breast: Leg Confit, Forest Mushrooms, Parsnip Purée, Truffle Reduction, Huckleberry Compote
Dessert:
Guava Mousse: Lemon Curd, Pomegranate Sauce
South American Chocolate Ganache: Caramelized Banana, Cocoa Nib Tuile
Don't worry, I'm not going to list every menu item we enjoyed throughout the post! The food we enjoyed at Tiffins was just good enough that everything was worth listing! Unfortunately, we didn't think to capture any photographs until dessert! (You'll see that was a trend this trip!)
Another favorite is California Grill, located in the Contemporary Resort. This restaurant is a favorite for many reasons including excellent food and a great atmosphere. What makes this restaurant truly unique is that the Magic Kingdom is visible from this 15th floor restaurant. If you dine during the time the nightly fireworks show occurs at the Magic Kingdom, you’re in for a treat! The entire restaurant’s lights are dimmed, the audio from the show is piped into the restaurant and you can view the fireworks show from your table or walk out to the balcony to get a great view. They also include little touches like notes and confetti on your table that make the experience a little more special!
We rarely do a table service for lunch but Yak & Yeti in the Animal Kingdom is one of our favorites! They are very efficient at Yak & Yeti, so we never feel like we miss out on too much in the park when we dine there during lunch and it's nice to sit down and rest your feet a little while! The Wok Fried Green Beans are a must; we get them every time! Then we usually try something else on the menu we haven’t had before. We’re never disappointed! Yak & Yeti is pictured below. It is actually the blue building on the left. On the right is a quick service restaurant; Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe. This is another good option, if you don't have time for a sit down meal or if you don't have a reservation at Yak & Yeti.
On our final night of our most recent trip, we dined at Skipper's Canteen. If you're looking for a table service in the Magic Kingdom, we think Skipper's Canteen is a good option. It is themed after the Jungle Cruise attraction, and the servers are skippers from the boats. An added bonus, this is one of the few places in the Magic Kingdom where you can enjoy a glass of wine or a beer.
Quick Service
We explored a number of quick service options in Animal Kingdom most recently. Our most impressionable were Pizzafari, Satu'li Canteen, and Flame Tree BBQ.
At Pizzafari we enjoyed the Shrimp Flatbread and the Mandarin Orange Vodka Lemonade. We thought both were solid menu items and a great deal for a Quick Service Meal, if you're doing the Disney dining plan. As a meal, it also included a small caesar salad.
Satu'li Canteen is located in Animal Kingdom's most recently opened area, Pandora - The World of Avatar. The area is beautiful and much of the seating at Satu'li Canteen is located outside, which was perfect during our March visit.
If you're hungry, check out Flame Tree Barbecue. We had the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Pulled Pork and it was quite a large portion of food and quite yummy. The other thing we really enjoyed about this spot was the amount of seating. As an added bonus, if you walk back a little way, you can get a nice view of Discovery River with Expedition Everest in the background. Seating is outdoors and if you're lucky, you'll spot some wildlife like we did (the beautiful bird to the right)!
Snacks
While we enjoy our meals at Disney greatly, there is always room for snacks! We seemed to do most of our snacking at Magic Kingdom on our most recent visit.
Greg loves ANYTHING with Dole Whip involved. There are usually multiple stops per trip made at Aloha Isle where all things Dole Whip are located. There's the option for a Pineapple Dole Whip Cup (soft serve only), Pineapple Float (soft serve in pineapple juice), Pineapple Upside Down Cake (served with Dole Whip soft serve).
We also enjoy a good Churro. If you're looking for one, just use your nose and follow that delicious smell to the closest snack cart.
A new snack we found this trip was the Chili Queso Fries at the Golden Oak Outpost. We were pleasantly surprised when we happened upon these late one morning when we were both hungry but not yet ready for lunch. The waffle fries were just crispy enough to hold the chili and queso without becoming limp or allowing all of that yummy topping to fall off.
Eating is definitely one of our favorite things to do at Disney (and obviously we spend a lot of time doing it! We love to offer our opinions and recommending places we enjoy. So if you're wondering, please ask!
Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake - California Grill