Are you ready to blast off with a new Tomorrowland treat?

Good! Because we’re back at The Lunching Pad, a Quick Service spot in the heart of Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.

You may recall our last visit to the Lunching Pad, when we checked out their full array (at the time) of specialty hot dogs. Though you’ll notice with this visit that the overall menu is different, one staple snack that has remained is the good ol’ Mickey Pretzel. The Lunching Pad is also one of the spots in the Disney World parks where you can grab the harder-to-find Sweet Cream Cheese Pretzel.

But now, The Lunching Pad has its very own specialty pretzel that you can’t find anywhere else: the Ham and Cheese-Stuffed Pretzel, which is what brings us back here today.

Not familiar with The Lunching Pad? Well, then, let’s check it out!

Atmosphere

If you’re looking for a good spot to take in the retro-vision-of-the-future vibe of Tomorrowland, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better place than The Lunching Pad.

Situated right at the base of two Tomorrowland attractions — the Astro Orbiter and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover — this spot is always hoppin’, even though The Lunching Pad doesn’t have as high a profile as the big-name counter service restaurant in the area, Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café.

The open-but-covered seating area gives you a great view of all the futuristic goings-on, and the bit of atmosphere not provided by the rides themselves is in keeping with the rest of the galactic decor in the area.

Seating surrounds nearly the whole base (save for the escalator carrying guests up to the PeopleMover), so the elevator that takes folks to the Astro Orbiter is located around some of the seating for The Lunching Pad. People that are in the area solely for the rides may even take up a table or two enjoying a breather between attractions,  so you may need to keep an eye out for a seat!

Once that’s taken care of, it’s time to check out what’s for grabs for all you space travelers out there…

Eats

The Lunching Pad is a quick-service spot that offers a combo of grab-and-go snacks including frozen drinks, chips, and whole fruit alongside heartier fare like the aforementioned pretzels.

But those of you who were big fans of The Lunching Pad’s specialty hot dog selection might need to prepare yourself for some disappointment…

Previous menus held unique options like the Reuben Hot Dog, BLT Hot Dog, and even the downright impressive Philly Cheese Steak Dog. It seems as though they’ve all since gone into orbit, because even the last remaining specialty dog — the Coney Island Dog — has disappeared as well. (Note that the hot dogs have been removed from this location in the past and have returned…twice…so you never know what’s going to happen.)

But it’s not all sad news… though the only Hot Dog available is now just a plain one served with chips, they have added a new Ham and Cheese-Stuffed Pretzel to the menu.

By the way, if you go with one of these savory items, don’t forget that there is a small variety of condiments available for customization.

As for the new pretzel, it’s wrapped around the meat and cheese in a modified braid, as opposed to being a fully twisted pretzel.

It’s served nice and warm with the ham and Swiss cheese melted in between.

Despite first impressions, this somewhat flat pretzel holds a surprising amount of meat and cheese, and the classic combo of salty ham and creamy Swiss is well-suited with the pretzel (topped with poppy seeds instead of coarse salt to keep it from being overly-salty). As you might assume for the $7.49 price point, it’s definitely closer to a sandwich — though it’s not quite a full meal — than your typical pretzel.

So it’s tasty, yes, but not as earth (or space) shattering as the previous menu offerings here at The Lunching Pad.

Overall

As you may have surmised ;), I really do miss the specialty hot dog selection at The Lunching Pad. Even though options rotated with some frequency, it was always a bit of a hoot to check out what over-the-top hot dog creations they had come up with (most often with delicious results).

Still, taken on its own, the Ham and Cheese-Stuffed Pretzel is an enjoyable and filling almost-a-meal choice that tries to keep The Lunching Pad tradition of unique and unexpected offerings alive, even though it doesn’t carry quite the same “wow” factor. We’ll definitely be keeping an eye out to see if they bring back the Dogs, even if only on a seasonal basis. After all, The Lunching Pad has surprised us more than a few times before, and we’re hopeful it can do so again in… ahem, THE FUTURE (or Tomorrowland’s version of it, anyway!).

Will you be giving the Ham and Cheese-stuffed Pretzel a try? Let us know in the comments below!