The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World, 2012 Edition

by Doug Ingersoll

  Chapter 13

  Dining in the Resorts

  In This Chapter

  • Uncover the dining surprises that await you at your resort

  • Learn about entertaining and delicious meals at other resorts

  • Find that perfect meal for you and your party

  The Disney resorts are designed to make your stay more comfortable, and we all know the way to most people’s hearts is through their stomachs. The restaurants that you find in the resorts cover the spectrum from quick-service food courts to ultra-elegant, white-tablecloth gourmet experiences. And unlike the typical restaurant selection in Hometown, U.S.A., there are numerous dining destinations that feel that entertainment is a necessary side dish to your entrées. In this chapter, I walk you through the table-service restaurants at the Disney resorts, reviewing their food, their fun, and the finances you need to afford them.

  Restaurants reviews are listed with others from the same resort so that you can see all your choices together.

  Dining at Deluxe Resorts and Deluxe Villas Resorts

  The Deluxe resorts have some of the most innovative and entertaining dining I have ever experienced. There are also some fine-dining choices that rank as some of the best in the Orlando area, and can make a great vacation experience even better. When you are planning your vacation, look to these restaurants for some of your special group experiences. Remember, all the Deluxe resorts have counter-service restaurants, providing both quick service and complete meals, as well as grab-and-go convenience groceries.

  Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Villas

  Boma—Flavors of Africa

  Cuisine Type: American/African

  Serving Style: Buffet

  Breakfast: $ $ Prix fixe

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $ Prix fixe

  : Yes

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

  Located off the main lobby of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, this buffet restaurant is one of the reasons why the resort is so popular. The noisy setting is surrounded by richly colored woods that carry the hotel theme but make for a slightly more serene dinner experience. Open for both breakfast and dinner, the biggest problem with this restaurant is that it is so popular that there is always a crowd waiting for a table—be sure you make reservations.

  MICKEY-SPEAK

  With prix fixe, you pay a flat price per person for the meal, not including alcoholic beverages. Buffets usually charge a flat price (different for children and adults), regardless of what you eat or how often you go back.

  Breakfast is largely made up of American breakfast standards, including an omelet bar. There are also a few African items, including the bobotie, a South African dish that includes minced meats (corned beef, in this case), eggs, and a baked topping. This is a nice way to try something new without having to venture too far out of your comfort zone.

  The buffet is an ideal dinner place for families, offering a wide selection of American items as well as several African-influenced foods. The adventurous in your family can try African-inspired soups and meats, as well as a nice array of other touches here and there, like the couscous. But for those not ready for a walk on the wild side, there are several standards, like mac and cheese, spaghetti, and chicken nuggets.

  As meals go, you won’t necessarily want to make a trip here if you aren’t already staying at the resort. But if you’re going out for dinner already, this could be the perfect combination of a good buffet meal with a visit to the scenic hotel. Many find the animal-viewing areas on the adjacent savanna a great place to wait for your table to become available.

  Jiko—The Cooking Place

  Cuisine Type: African fusion

  Serving Style: À la carte

  Breakfast: Not open

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $ $ $

  Yes—2

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  A personal favorite, this expensive dining option is worth the cost. The Cooking Place, a display kitchen for some appetizers and salads, is an ideal place to sit if you are traveling alone because you can get recommendations from the knowledgeable staff. The rest of the ambiance is a bit too cool for my taste, especially after moving from the warm colors of the lodge, but it is comfortable and adequately upscale.

  The cuisine is more heavily inspired by African flavors than at Boma. The wide array of appetizers can serve as a tapas-style dinner selection, with favorites including the light but flavorful flatbreads, the lentil pastilla, and the maize-and-sweet potato tamales. There’s also a Taste of Africa sampler that’s great for sharing. Not as easy to share, but exceptional, are the roasted butternut squash soup; the tikkamarinated tuna; and the cucumber, tomato, and red onion salad.

  The entrées continue to amaze, with rich, well-balanced flavors. A popular selection is the tamarind-braised beef short rib, but there are several good choices.

  Wine lovers will be interested in knowing that one of, if not the largest selection of South African wines outside of that country can be found here, with most available by the glass!

  Sanaa

  Cuisine Type: Indian

  Serving Style: À la carte

  Breakfast: Not open

  Lunch: À la carte

  Dinner: À la carte

  : No

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

  The newest dining option at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, it’s actually located in the new Deluxe Villa Resort Kidani Village. The cuisine is inspired by the nations along the old spice route, reflecting mostly Indian cuisine, but also has some African, Chinese, and even European influences.

  Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and Villas

  Dining at the Yacht and Beach Clubs is not limited due to the nearby options at the BoardWalk and Epcot World Showcase. Instead, there are a great number of choices that should make your stay delicious.

  Cape May Café

  Cuisine Type: American (B), seafood (D)

  Serving Style: Buffet

  Breakfast: $

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $

  : Yes

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

  The buffet breakfast is a character meal with Goofy, Minnie Mouse, and Chip and Dale. The standard American breakfast selections are well prepared, if uninspired. This can be a far more convenient option than Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary if you are staying in one of the Epcot-area resorts.

  The dinner buffet is all about seafood, as befitting the restaurant’s name. Clams are the most popular item, but the mussels are good as well, and the barbecue ribs are good for those meat eaters in the crowd. It may not be the best seafood you can get, but it is comparatively affordable and plentiful.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Under the Disney Dining Plan , you are spending the same amount, regardless of where you eat (to an extent). So if you have to choose between one restaurant where you will pay for your meal and another where you use your Disney Dining Pass vouchers, which do you choose? At these restaurants, you get more bang for your Disney Dining Plan voucher. If these appeal to you, they are great and valuable selections:

  • Maya Grill

  • 1900 Park Fare

  • Chef Mickey’s

  • Boma

  • Cape May Café

  • ‘Ohana

  Yachtsman Steakhouse

  Cuisine Type: Steakhouse

  Serving Style: À la carte

  Breakfast: Not open

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $ $ $

  : Yes—2

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

  This high-end steakhouse is a great place to get a great cut of beef. The ambiance is a bit airier than the recent spate of dark mahoganylined men’s club decors that you find elsewhere.

  Obviously, you’ll want to stick to the steak selections here, and the appetizers are all the usual suspects that you can count on. It’s really a good steakhouse; though the nearby Shula’s (Dolphin) has more cachet and Le Cell
ier (Epcot—Canada Pavilion) has a larger following.

  Beaches & Cream Soda Shop

  Cuisine Type: American

  Serving Style: À la carte, counter service

  Breakfast: Not open

  Lunch: $

  Dinner: $

  : Yes

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆

  This extremely relaxed table-service restaurant is a popular choice for resort guests. It serves basic burger and sandwich fare well and affordably. But it is really known more for its soda-shop atmosphere that makes it a popular dessert destination, as ice cream flows out of here like water from a tap. The Kitchen Sink as well as the No Way Jose are both popular favorites, with the first requiring a whole can of whipped cream to finish off its gluttonous decadence.

  Beaches is bumped from a 3 to 3.5 rating largely due to being the best dessert venue in all of Walt Disney World.

  Captain’s Grille

  Cuisine Type: American

  Serving Style: À la carte

  Breakfast: $

  Lunch: $

  Dinner: $ $

  : Yes

  Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

  Formerly known as the Yacht Club Galley, the Captain’s Grille is a slightly less chaotic alternative to the Beaches & Cream Soda Shop. This casual table-service restaurant sticks to burgers and sandwiches, with a tilt toward seafood, as the resort’s theme implies. It’s nothing special, but is a convenient choice if you’re staying here.

  Disney’s BoardWalk Inn Resort and Villas

  The restaurants at the Disney BoardWalk are reviewed in Chapter 15.

  Disney’s Contemporary Resort

  California Grill

  Cuisine Type: American

  Serving Style: À la carte

  Breakfast: Not open

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $ $ $

  : Yes—2

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  Arguably the finest restaurant in all of Walt Disney World, it combines excellent cuisine, casually elegant decor, an exceptional wine list, an educated wait staff, and a scenic penthouse view of the surrounding area, including the Magic Kingdom.

  The food is California inspired, bringing a great variety of fresh flavors to the table. The grilled pork tenderloin with polenta is a signature dish, but with constant changes and additions to the menu, you should just let your taste buds make the selection. Sushi here is an exceptional shared appetizer and the bisque is excellent.

  The atmosphere adds a final touch of elegance. Watching the sun set and the Magic Kingdom come to life adds a great backdrop to your dinner. But the best part is when the fireworks at the park start. The lights in the restaurant are dimmed, the soundtrack from the park is piped in, and you get a free show without having to be in the oftencrowded park. If you’re done with dinner, just grab a cocktail and head out to the outdoor walkway to watch under the night sky.

  Resort casual attire is required (collared shirts and slacks).

  Chef Mickey’s

  Cuisine Type: American

  Serving Style: Buffet

  Breakfast: $ Prix fixe

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $ Prix fixe

  : Yes

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

  This certainly appears to be just another buffet serving as a backdrop to a character experience. Wrong again. The food at Chef Mickey’s, while wholly American, doesn’t play second fiddle to Mickey and friends; it is fairly well executed, especially when considering the volume of diners served. Breakfast includes a variety of the classics, as well as some good regional American breakfast favorites.

  Dinner has meat-carving stations, seafood and pasta selections, and numerous sides. Children’s options are naturally offered and are of superior taste and quality.

  The character experience is wonderful. Mickey and his core friends are regularly available but not too overbearing. Older kids who are beyond all that will still find it cool that a monorail regularly runs overhead. However, if you’re not looking for characters, you might find this meal difficult to get through, so search out another locale.

  The Wave

  Cuisine Type: American

  Serving Style: À la carte

  Breakfast: $

  Lunch: $ $

  Dinner: $ $ $

  : Yes

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

  This posh new restaurant scores high in the ambiance factor at first, but the barren dining space can make it seem as if you made a wrong turn. The wine list is fairly good, and the trendy dessert samplers, which offer trios of smaller bites together, is refreshing. Overall this restaurant is an underwhelming locale with decent food but little reason to visit.

  DISNEY DON’T

  Are you stuck in the Magic Kingdom and not thrilled with your dinner options? Don’t put up with that—leave!

  That’s right, leave! Leave the park, hop on a monorail, and visit any of the great resort restaurants at the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, or the Contemporary resorts. Or hop on a boat and visit the Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness. All of these have great choices, and even though most really require reservations, some do not—and others might have an opening. When you’re done, take that quick trip back, reenter the park, and continue to have a good time. Give it a try, and don’t settle for less!

  Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

  Prepare for the widest range of dining choices of any resort in the Walt Disney World universe. From high-end cuisine all the way to take-it-and-go food, you have it all here!

  Victoria & Albert’s

  Cuisine Type: American

  Serving Style: Prix fixe

  Breakfast: Not open

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $ $ $ (actually a whole lot more!)

  : No

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  Be prepared to spend a minimum of $120 per person in this most exclusive and elegant of all dining at Walt Disney World. The food is different every day, motivated by the produce available. The menu is also affected by your particular needs. If you’re diabetic or have other special dietary needs, they’ll accommodate you in delicious fashion, as long as you tell them in advance. The food is truly exquisite, and the ambiance is the height of formal elegance. Coat and tie for men is required, the only restaurant at Walt Disney World with that stipulation. Reservations are required, and it isn’t part of the Disney Dining Plan, as you might have guessed. Also note that only guests age 10 and older are allowed in. No little ones, I’m afraid.

  It’s impossible to suggest what you should eat because the menu is constantly changing and everything is excellent. However, for extraspecial occasions, you might try to request the Chef’s Table, nestled in the kitchen area. You get special one-on-one treatment, with the chef serving you personally and providing commentary on the meal along the way.

  Citricos

  Cuisine Type: Mediterranean

  Serving Style: À la carte

  Breakfast: Not open

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $ $ $

  : Yes—2

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  Well-executed Mediterranean cuisine and a contemporary setting make for one of the higher-end restaurant offerings at the Grand Floridian Resort. Several fish and select meats accent the menu with entrées that rarely go below the $30 mark. I can’t say that any one Mediterranean nation’s cuisine style is more prevalent here, although it seems to approach a modernized coastal Italian that is in no way reminiscent of big bowls of pasta with a heavy red sauce. Certainly, you’re safe with any of the selections, although the seafood seems like the best choice.

  The setting is beautiful, and this restaurant is one of the more overlooked fine dining destinations.

  1900 Park Fare

  Cuisine Type: American

  Serving Style: Buffet

  Breakfast: $ $

  Lunch: Not open

  Dinner: $ $

  : Yes

  R
ating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  This restaurant is the place for character meals in the Grand Floridian Resort. It has a beautifully detailed Victorian charm to it, and the characters appearing here match that setting. Your breakfast host is Mary Poppins, who is just perfect for this restaurant. Many other characters frequent this meal as well, including Alice in Wonderland, and often Winnie the Pooh. The American buffet breakfast offers no surprises, but the quality is excellent. At dinner you are visited by Cinderella and her wicked step-sisters, and the room is swamped with Princess-dressed little girls who are in heaven! The buffet, again, is predictable but very good.

  Garden View Lounge

  Cuisine Type: Afternoon tea

  Serving Style: Prix fixe

  Breakfast: Not open

  Lunch: Not open

  High Tea: $ $

  Dinner: Not open

  : No

  Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

  Open only for afternoon tea, here you’ll find a variety of tea services and light food options as you celebrate the true art of high tea. Sure, tea in the afternoon is simply not an American standard, but it’s a wonderfully elegant and refined way to relax and enjoy one another’s company. This is certainly not a place for younger, more excitable children, but it can be a wonderful retreat for some adults, as well as children who are prepared for a touch of genteel refinement.

  To those who have experienced a true afternoon tea in London, this is far more like that kind of affair than the character experience one listed in the Hidden Magic note here.

  But if you’re not looking for something like this already, you should probably pass it up. This is just not everyone’s cup of tea (sorry, but you can’t blame me for that pun—it’s just too easy!).

  HIDDEN MAGIC!

  A very special, and very expensive, character experience is also available at the Grand Floridian’s Garden View Lounge. Several days a week they hold the My Disney Girl’s Perfectly Princess Tea. At a cost of $250 for a parent and a child (an added adult guest will run you another $100, another child adds $150 to the bill), your princess can have a tea party with Sleeping Beauty.