There is a lot to cover for food, so let`s get started!
Disney Dining Plan
When you stay at a Disney World resort, you can purchase a Disney Dining Plan with your package. We've never done this before, but have heard many great things about the dining plan. We looked at the math of purchasing the dining plan versus paying for every meal while on the resort. As a result, it worked out being cheaper to buy a dining plan and we didn't have to worry about tracking our purchases for food everyday. We paid one price and got everything we needed for one week!
Our Dining Plan included one quick service meal, one table service meal and one snack per person, per day. It may not sound like much at first, but it is A LOT of food! Let me break it down for you:
Quick Service Meal - Entree, Drink and Dessert.
Table Service Meal - Entree, Drink and Dessert.
Snack - Could be drinks, popcorn, sweet treat, fruit, etc.
Refillable Mug - Soft drinks, tea, coffee, hot chocolate etc, is available throughout the day at your resort.
In addition to the Dining Plan, we purchased some extra items such as water, trail mix, fruit and muffins from Garden Grocery in Orlando. We wanted to save our quick service meal for lunch, so we bought items that we could quickly eat for breakfast and took advantage of the refillable mugs to get our morning coffee fix. We packed extra snacks and bottled water since we did not want to waste our snack credit. We wanted the most bang for our buck!
The great thing about pretty much any restaurant that you go to (expect maybe a buffet) is that if you have leftover food from your entree, you can ask for a take out container and bring it back with you to the resort. In our room we had a mini fridge and it definitely came in handy for storing our extra leftovers! Plus, if we ever got hungry late into the night, we could whatever we brought back without having to go back out and purchase any extra food. In the cafeteria at the resort, there was a microwave and plastic utensils to use. I won't lie, but we sometimes even ate our leftovers for breakfast the next morning!
Overall, best decision to buy the dining plan! I like that we were able to pay one, upfront cost and not have to worry about paying for any of our meals. The only thing that's not included are tips, which you can put onto your credit card linked to your Magic Band. I also liked that we were able to choose from so many food options! We really to got to try a lot of yummy things!
Where We Ate and What We Ate
Downtown Disney
Wolfgang Puck (Quick Service) - A must try!!!!! I would go back there in a heartbeat! In fact, it was good that we went back twice! I had the mac n cheese with creme brulee twice. My husband had the pepperoni pomodoro and four cheese pizza (on two separate occasions). He had the vanilla bean cheesecake for dessert twice. The mac n cheese is to die for - I've never tasted anything better. As my husband said, it is heaven to the palette! Creme brulee, I wish I could make it just as good. The pizzas will not fail you. They are hand made and cooked in a stone oven. Cheesecake was also very good! Definitely worth using your quick service meal, as the meals are very gourmet (at least in my opinion)! You'll want to eat here more than once!
Mac and Cheese (left); Creme Brule (right)
Pepperoni Pomodoro
Four Cheese
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
Goofy Candy Company (Snack) - If you're going to Disney World, you HAVE to visit Goofy's Candy Company! Basically you get a choice of a rice crispy treat, a ginger cookie or marshmallows. You then pick a type of chocolate for coating, a topping and a chocolate drizzle. There's nothing better than that! Both of us ended up getting the rice crispy treat. My husband had dark chocolate, with Oreo topping and chocolate drizzle. I had milk chocolate, with pecans and dark chocolate. My treat tasted like a Turtles chocolate! And do not underestimate the size of the rice crispy treat - it is huge! I could not eat it all at once!
With pecans
With Oreo's
Disney's Polynesian Resort
Kona Cafe (Table Service) - We went to Kona Cafe for dinner (it was recommended to us) and it did not disappoint! I had the Sesame Seared Sea Scallops and it was delicious! Definitely something I would not try cooking at home! For my drink I had the Mega Berry Smoothie... words cannot explain how delicious and scrumptious this was! It was so good my husband ended up drinking it more than his drink! For dessert I had the Warm Apple Tart. I love anything apple pie related so it was good! Overall, I would definitely recommend coming to Kona Cafe. Very good use of a table service credit. Next time I would like to try the Lamb Chops!
Sea Scallops
Mega Berry Smoothie
O'Hana (Table Service) - After trying for almost three months to get a reservation, I finally got one about three days before leaving to go on vacation! I think this really goes to show you how good the food and the environment is! This was recommended for us to try as well and I wish we had space in our busy schedules to revisit this restaurant for a second time while on our trip. It's an all you can eat restaurant, but not in the style of a buffet. Instead, food is served to you in what they call "Family Style:" you are seated at your table and your server brings the food to you. If you like what you're eating, you can request for them to bring you more. A little tip: be prepared to eat and make sure you go on an empty stomach! It's a lot of food!
They you start off with a O'Hana pineapple coconut bread - it's a sweet bread. This is followed by a noodle salad lettuce wrap. It was really good and very different from anything I've eaten before!
Next are appetizers! We had pork dumplings and honey-coriander chicken wings. These were both really good! I can't really choose a favorite between these two. You have to try both!
Then they brought out some noodles with stir-fried vegetables.
Then they bring around different kinds of meat freshly grilled on a big grill they have in the middle of the dining area. They had pork, beef and shrimp. At this point I was so full, that I only had enough room to try the shrimp. It was really good! I wish I had more room in my stomach to eat more of it!
The best part of O'Hana was their dessert! It was a O'Hana bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and a caramel sauce. Best-dessert-ever! If bread pudding were ever a choice for dessert, it would not be my first choice, but this bread pudding is a whole different story! There aren't any words to even describe how good this dessert is! If you Google some top choices of what to eat while at Disney World, you'll see that the O'Hana bread pudding is usually one of those items and I wholeheartedly agree! My husband and I were planning to revisit the Tambu Lounge (right beside O'Hana) to specifically get another serving of the O'Hana bread pudding before we left. However, timing just didn't work out... but if you do like the bread pudding and want another taste of it before you leave, it's good to know that you can order it separately from the Tambu Lounge without having to get another reservation at O'Hana (since it's very hard to get one in the first place). Overall, if you are at Disney, you must come here and eat! No questions asked!
Magic Kingdom
Columbia's Harbour House (Quick Service) - Here we got fried shrimp with fries for our entree. It wasn't bad since we got about 7-8 shrimp with a decent amount of fries. For drinks we ended up getting iced coffees. These tend to cost a lot on there own so it was a good deal to have it as a part of the quick service dining plan. For the dessert we opted for the healthy choice - a yogurt! We were eating so many sweet treats that we decided to be at least a little good for once! Overall, it's definitely a good use of the quick service meal credit, since seafood can be expensive.
Sleepy Hollow (Purchased without the dining plan) - Definitely had to check out this spot as it was another recommendation and everyone says really good things about their famous waffle sandwiches! We ended up trying the chicken and waffle sandwich and it was so good! I would definitely go out of my way to return to this spot!
The Crystal Palace (Table Service) - We decided to go to The Crystal Palace for dinner as we wanted to try a buffet and also for the fact that it was a dine with characters experience. Here, you get to dine with Winnie The Pooh and all of his friends from The Hundred Acre Wood! The buffet with decent with a lot of choices (salads, pastas, veggies, meat, dessert etc...). The characters make their way around the restaurant while you dine. What's great about this is that you don't have to line up to meet an characters or take pictures. Instead they come to you! That's what I liked the best about this restaurant. Overall, the food was decent but I wasn't crazy over it. If I went back I probably won't go back to The Crystal Palace for their food. However, it's a great place to go if you have kids, since they they can meet with the characters.
Aloha Isle's Dole Whip Float (Snack Credit) - If you talk to any dedicated Disney World fan, they would, hands down, recommend getting a Dole Whip Float from Magic Kingdom. Before my trip, I was doing some research and literally everyone talked about this Dole Whip Float. Then I had one, and I realized why they were talking about it so much! The Dole Whip Float is basically chilled pineapple juice with soft serve ice cream on top. You can choose between vanilla, orange or pineapple swirl. The first time I tried it I got the pineapple swirl. The second time I tried it I got a pineapple and orange swirl together (That's right I went back a second time because I love it so much!). It's a really simple concept and nothing fancy, but I guess that's what makes it taste so good! By the way, when you get this you have to get a straw to drink the juice and spoon to eat the ice-cream. It just doesn't work with one or the other - you gotta have both. This was by far one of the best things I had while at Disney! I love it so much that I'm trying to look for a location near home that sells something similar or, if worse comes to worse, I will definitely try to make it at home. Overall, this is one of the best uses for your snack credit as the Dole Whip Float is about $4.99.
Dole Whip Float with Pineapple Soft Serve
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Dole Whip Float with Pineapple and Orange Soft Serve
Plaza Ice Cream Parlor (Snack Credit) - Another popular recommendation by almost every expert Disney website and fan. I entered and completely understood why! So many different ice cream sundaes, flavours and combinations to try! The smell of freshly baked waffle cones with warm caramel - there's nothing better! We ended up getting a big cookie sandwich with mint chocolate chip ice cream. The unique thing about this particular ice cream parlor is that you can have a choice of ice cream flavour for the ice cream sandwich. You can find these ice cream sandwiches at a variety of different spots throughout the parks but they will only have vanilla as a flavour. The other cool thing is that these cookies are all freshly baked. It was so good! This is a great place to spend your snack credit! The cookie sandwich is big enough to share for two.
Mickey Mouse Pretzel (Snack Credit) - Another popular treat at Disney World that you have to try! These sell at almost every corner of the parks - so really you have no excuses not to try one! You can even get it with a side of cheese dipping sauce, which is also very good! Love this snack! This is a really good use for the snack credit. The best part - it's shaped like Mickey Mouse!
Animal Kingdom
Flame Tree BBQ (Quick Service) - Another recommendation that we tried and it didn't disappoint! The best value for your quick service credit is definitely the chicken and ribs combo. So much food! I think my favourite part was the corn bread - really yummy! There was so much food we had to take our dessert to go. The chicken and rib combo comes with ribs, chicken, beans and a slice of corn bread. There are two different sauces that you can help yourself to at the condiment/utensil station. I would recommend this if you're hoping to spend the day at Animal Kingdom.
Jalapeno Cheesed Stuffed Pretzel at The African Fruit Market (Snack Service) - During my research of Disney World almost everyone and their mother could not stop talking about the jalapeno stuffed pretzel. So of course I had to try it! There are multiple locations where you can find them throughout the parks. Just don't be surprised if you go to any location and find that they're sold out! I went to two different locations and they were cleaned out, but I finally went to a third location at the African Fruit Market and got it! I love jalapeno and I love cheese, so this was definitely a good combo! I recommend it! Also, a really good use for your snack credit.
Hollywood Studios
Starring Roll Cafe (Quick Service) - I heard many great things about this cafe. They are especially known for their desserts and pastries! I had the turkey sandwich, with chips, coffee and a Butterfinger cupcake. My husband had the spicy tuna and salmon roll, a soft drink and the peanut butter chocolate cupcake. Sandwich was really good - it's huge portion size! You can get the sandwich with either chips or fruit. For a choice of dessert, there was so many options! We decided to go for a cupcake. I wasn't too impressed with the cupcakes as there was a mound of sweet frosting on top of the cupcake. I'm not one to fancy very sweet treats. So the cupcake wasn't a good idea for me but for my husband he really enjoyed it (but went into a sugar coma afterwards...). I should have opted for the fruit tart instead. If you love desserts and pastries, you definitely have to check this out! Go early to ensure you have selection and also to avoid any disappointment, since they close at 4:00 pm.
Turkey Sandwich Spicy Tuna Roll
Butterfinger Cupcake Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake
Mama Melrose (Table Service) - We love Italian food and decided we couldn't go wrong with this selection! We were completely right! I had the best creamy pasta I've ever had in my life! I've been dreaming of it since we got back since I've never tasted anything like it. It was the Chicken Campanelle! So good (as if I didn't say it enough!). For dessert I had the cannoli plate as I love cannoli and had to try it out at this place. It was really good! We ended up taking these to go and had them while watching the Fantasmic! show in Hollywood Studios. I would definitely recommend this place if you`re looking for good Italian cuisine.
Mickey Mouse Ice Cream (Snack) - Apparently this is one of Disney World's most popular treats and it seemed as if everyone was eating it! So I had to try one for the experience! There's nothing better than a simple chocolate covered ice cream Mickey Mouse bar. You can find these anywhere you go at the parks. I would say try it for the experience!
Epcot
Tangierine Cafe in Morocco (Quick Service) - Since Epcot is the world showcase at Disney World, we decided to take advantage of this to try something that we like from another country in the world. The first stop for lunch was Morocco! There are a lot of good reviews for the Tangierine Cafe. We got the Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter. Definitely the best value for the quick service meal. Its big enough for two. We also go baklava and a beverage. This was one of the best meals we had! We also really like Mediterranean cuisine. If you like this type of cuisine, you definitely have to try this!
Katsura Grill in Japan (Quick Service) - My husband is a fan of all things Japan (He's a huge Anime nerd). So, naturally, it was a given that we would have to try something from the Japan showcase. We ended up getting Chicken Teriyaki with an iced green tea and green tea ice cream. I wasn't a fan of the Chicken Teriyaki as I've had better. My husband loved it! He also really liked the iced green tea whereas I'm not a fan of green tea. However, the green tea ice cream was actually really good! We really liked it! Though, I'm not sure if I would decide to return to eat at this spot next time I come back.
Chefs De France (Table Service) - It was really hard to pick where we should eat for dinner while at Epcot. We just didn't know what to choose seeing that there are a lot of choices. We decided to go for something new by trying out Chefs De France and french cuisine. I got the mac and cheese entree, with lobster bisque, and fresh strawberry and cream cake. My husband got the seafood platter with chocolate mousse. Out of all the dishes we tried, the lobster bisque was the best. Everything else was mediocre. We weren't too impressed with the food but the service was great! I don't think I would return to this restaurant, or recommend it.
Lobster Bisque Mac and Cheese
Seafood Platter
Strawberry Mango Smoothie (Snack Credit) - Yup I needed one of these for the warm weather in Florida! I got this at Epcot but I'm sure you can find slushies/smoothies in all of the other parks. It was good and definitely cooled me down!
Popcorn (Snack Credit) - You all know that my greatest weakness is popcorn! Seeing that I was in Disney World I still couldn't resist and had to try it. My all time favourite place to get popcorn is still at the movie theater. While the Disney World popcorn is not the same, it did the trick while I was there!
All Stars Music Resort
Intermission Food Court (Quick Service) - We decided to use one of our quick service credits for breakfast at the food court in our resort. I had the bounty platter and my husband tried the grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Both were really good and filling! I would recommend either to start the day off! I'm sure if you stay at another resort, they would have something similar on their breakfast menu.
Disney's Yacht and Beach Club
Captain Grille (Table Service) - We had to use one more table service credit and decided to have a nice sit down breakfast on our last day. Captain Grille's had the most interesting menu. I ended up getting a custom omelette. My husband had the dark chocolate waffles. Both were really good and we literally eat every last bite on our plate! I would definitely recommend coming here for breakfast. We really liked the decor of the restaurant as it was all sea/harbour themed.
Custom Omlette
Dark Chocolate Waffles
And there you have it! As you can see, we may have ate a lot, but we ate a lot of good food! Food that we are still remembering and daydreaming about to this day! Don`t let Disney World fool you with thinking that it`s just going to be plain old boring theme park food. This is far from the truth! Hopefully my experiences will help when deciding where you should eat and what reservations to make when planning your next trip to Disney World.
If you have any questions about my trip or if there was a topic that you`re interested in but I didn't cover, please let me know below in the comments! Again, you can check out Part 1 of my Disney World adventures here.
~RANDOMiss
