Who’s up for a little kitchen reno? My brain’s clearly going a little haywire today, and I was thinking: if I could choose one Disney restaurant to remodel my kitchen after, which spot would it be?
So my fun question to you today is: Which Disney restaurant would inspire your dream kitchen makeover? I’m always happy to kick off the discussion, so I’ll share a few of mine, too!
50s Prime Time Cafe: Mom’s Kitchen!
Nostalgia abounds in what would be my “modern kitchen with a nod to the past!”
One of the 50s Prime Time Cafe Dining Rooms
While I might not go full-on formica, I’d definitely have some fun, retro elements in there like a 50s style fridge (with all the bells and whistles of today!).
Add in a couple of awesome garage sale finds as decor, and some killer wallpaper, and you’re all set!
Cinderella’s Royal Table: Medieval Castle with a View, Please
Looking to get your prince or princess on? For sheer grandeur, Disney-style, how about a kitchen based upon our favorite fortress, Cinderella Castle?
The dining room at Cinderella’s Royal Table offers plenty of inspiration: suits of armor, intricate tapestries, and family crests adorn the space.
Dining Room Windows at Cinderella's Royal Table
Fancy a kitchen with a gothic arch or two? How about mullioned windows? Check out this awesomeness!
Gothic-y Castle Kitchen!
Book a table during your next visit to get lots of ideas.
‘Ohana: Unlimited Meat, Bread Pudding, and a Killer Fire Pit
Why not build a Polynesian hideaway in your house? ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort is a perfect inspiration, and this kitchen would involve tradewinds, lava rock, and a fire pit!
'Ohana Fire Pit
How else are my cousins and I going to prepare vast quantities of skewered meats and all-you-can-eat bananas foster bread pudding every. single. day?
Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Add some relaxing music from the islands and a Lapu Lapu and we’re good to go!
Jiko: Giant Ovens and an Ever-Changing Sunset
One of my favorite spots for delicious food and a relaxing evening is Jiko at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The signature restaurant brings all of the warmth and hospitality of Africa a little closer to home.
The cool and classy stylized Jiko decor is a great fit for a kitchen
My Jiko kitchen would definitely feature an ever-changing “Sunset Wall,” dark wood and tile, and maybe even a giant oven for all of those tandoori goodies!
And, of course, birds.
A Jiko Sunset!
And take note throughout the evening that the lights and colors deepen throughout the restaurant, mimicking the African sunset.
Mood lighting in my kitchen? Yes, please.
And now it’s your turn! Ever sit in a Disney restaurant and dream of taking it home with you? What Disney dining experience would inspire your extreme kitchen makeover? Would you build a soda fountain like Beaches and Cream so you can create your very own Kitchen Sink? Or would your kitchen have a Dole Whip machine, a la Captain Cook’s?
UPDATE: Dole Whip is no longer being served at Captain Cook’s, is no longer self-serve, and is no longer available 24 hours a day. You’ll now find Dole Whip at the Pineapple Lanai in Disney’s Polynesian Village in addition to Aloha Isle at the Magic Kingdom. You can also find Dole Whip available intermittently at Animal Kingdom’s Tamu Tamu Refreshments, and at Epcot during some special events. On the upside, you can also get a Dole Whip Float at Pineapple Lanai!
What Disney restaurant do you wish you could bring home to your kitchen? Let us know in the comments below!
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What has always amused me is that my grandmother’s kitchen (she died six years ago) was a virtual replica of mom’s kitchen at the Prime Time Cafe. It had not changed one iota since the time my grandparents bought the house circa 1950. I often thought, if we had taken my grandmother to the Prime Time Cafe, she wouldn’t have actually noticed anything interesting or noteworthy, and probably would have wondered why her kitchen was in Disney World! (Added note: the cookie jar pictured is exactly the cookie jar from my own childhood kitchen in the 1960s, which I would move heaven and earth to possess now, but which my mother sold for 50 cents at a yard sale.)
I love the decor of cape may’s so I think having a cape may cafe kitchen with unlimited clams, mussels, crab, and OREO BON BONS would be great!!! Also, I think kouzzina would be a cool looking kitchen, plus, unlimited sweet potato hash!
What a wonderful question. So many choices to think about. I would love to have my very own Dole whip machine. I love the gothic-y kitchen picture so that would be a possibility or something woodsy and warm like at Artists point at the Wilderness lodge. I like Katie’s Cape May Kitchen too. Once again, a great question.
The castle kitchen looks the best, but to have a fire pit in the house to cooked skewered meat wins!
Our first house was completely original with a kitchen with metal cabinets and the exact boomerang counter tops from 50’s prime time. Not only were they the counter top but also the back splash. Having lived with them for 7 years I can say with certainty that there is no way I would like to copy the 50’s feel in my new home.
We have stainless Mickey pulls on on 2 of our large kitchen drawers which we think of as our hidden Mickeys. It takes people a while, if they ever see them, to realize they are different from the other drawers but everyone loves it once they realize.
While this isn’t kitchen decor, I’ve thought it might be fun to make our (one day) dining room into a mini Brown Derby, with groups of black & white caricatures of our favorite old movie stars: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland… I’m not a very talented decorator, but it seems that it wouldn’t be *too* terribly difficult to pull off, since the rest of the decor is nice and simple with rather low lighting. Maybe someday :)!
If I could get my bedroom (forget the kitchen!) to look like the Blue Bayou restaurant in Disneyland Park, I would be forever happy.
Trails End. I’m a rustic country kind of gal. 🙂
Flying Fish. I love the open communal feel and being able to watch and interact with the chefs is so fun.
Well, this is a hard one. I love the seaside so Cape May is an easy choice, but the lovely look of both CRT and BOG also knocked me off of my feet. Any one of these would be a real winner for me. Great article idea BTW!
i was thinking le cellier… but then that photo of ohanas.. made me change my vote to ohanas…
I’m with Joshua on this one (although it would be my kitchen, not my bedroom) Blue Bayou from Disneyland would be my first choice of themeing! After that, it’s a tie between San Angel Inn or Sci-fi Drive-in theatre.
No question – Etna, Vesuvius and Stromboli (the ovens from Via Napoli not the volcanos) would make my kitchen a hot place to be.
Via Napoli complete with Stomboli, Vesuvio and Etna.
I’ll reserve judgment until the California Grill re-opens.
But Definitely a back yard fire pit and Via Napoli pizza oven.
Prof. Brainard – I have the cookie jar pictured in my kitchen right now. It was my grandmother’s before it was mine. It’s one of my cherished possessions.
Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater, complete with a car and the biggest flat-screen TV I can find to replicate the movie screen. I’m just fantasizing, so why not go nuts?
My in laws still have the metal cabinets and PINK boomerang Formica counter. It’s so old it’s now retro! I would pick Boma. I love the thatched roofs over the dining area and the warmth of that restaurant.
The adventurer club ? I miss it every room.