Kim LaPaglia | the disney food blog

HGTV Home Entertaining Seminars Announced for the 2012 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

HGTV will entertain guests at the 2012 Epcot Food and Wine Festival with fun, free seminars! HGTV seminars will be held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and if you’re a DIY designer, these are not-to-be-missed.

Some of your favorite Home and Garden Television personalities (along with the just-announced winner of “Design Star” and host of the new show “Shop This Room”, interior designer Danielle Colding) will be heading to the Festival. Returning from last year is Emily Henderson of “Secrets From a Stylist.”

Congratulations to Danielle Colding, 2012 Design Star Winner!

The focus of the seminars is home entertaining. Check out some of the tips you’ll be able to snag…

* Sept. 28-30 – Entertainment Passport – Your Ticket to Creating a Travel-inspired Dining Experience. Season 7 winner of “Design Star”, interior designer Danielle Colding and host of new show – “Shop This Room”.
* Oct. 5-7 – Gifts That Keep Giving: Holiday Favors That Double as Décor. Casey Noble, “Design on a Dime”.
* Oct. 12-14 – Crash Course for Holiday Décor. Alison Victoria, DIY [Read more…]

News! Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Restaurant Loyalty Program

By Kim LaPaglia 5 Comments

Select restaurants at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resort have begun a Dining Passport Loyalty Program to reward frequent visitors.

Participating restaurants include Shula’s Steak House, Kimonos, Todd English’s bluezoo, and Il Mulino New York Trattoria. Pick up your Passport next time you dine at one of these locations!

WDW Swan and Dolphin Loyalty Program

From your first purchase, points begin to accumulate towards gift certificates, dining experiences, and more.

Dining Passport Info - click image for larger version

With this frequent dining program, loyalty points can be tracked online at www.SwanDolphinRestaurants.com/loyalty. What are you going to save up your points towards?

Points and Rewards

Here’s a list of the point systems, and rewards you can [Read more…]

Tip from the DFB Guide: Are Disney Refillable Mugs Worth the Cost?

By Kim LaPaglia 37 Comments

We’ve packed tons of great Disney Dining info into our The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2013! Today, let’s check out another great tip from the Guide!

Disney Refillable Mugs: Worth the Cost?

With another price hike last year, Disney refillable resort mugs at Disney World resorts now cost $15.49 plus tax.

Those with the Disney Dining Plan get theirs for free, but the rest of us would need to pay out of pocket for the mugs, which are infinitely refillable at certain locations within your resort during your length of stay.

Worth it? Well… yes and no. We’ve got both arguments represented below, so take a look to see which camp you fit into!

Refillable Mugs And Park Commandos

If you spend the majority of your time at the parks, the refillable mug may not be worth the out-of-pocket cost for your family. Consider these circumstances before you buy:

Use Times

If your family is full of park commandos, you’re probably racing out to each theme park opening in the early morning and returning to your resort shortly before the food court closes. Your refillable mug will spend more time sitting in your resort room than actually in use, since you can’t refill in the theme parks.

Distance to refill station can be far

After traipsing with the kids in the parks all day, it may be a lot of extra steps from your room to the mug refill station.

And remember, many resorts don’t have an option for refills after the counter-service spots close around 11pm or midnight. That means no refills after evening Extra Magic Hours in most parks.

Current Refillable Mug Information (BoardWalk)

Could save cash by buying offsite

If you’ve driven to the Mouse’s House from your hometown, or rented a vehicle once you landed in Orlando, you may want to stop at a nearby offsite store to pick up [Read more…]

News! Orlando Magical Dining Month Details

By Kim LaPaglia 8 Comments

September is the month for savings for visitors and locals to Orlando!

Magical Dining Month presented by Visit Orlando invites everyone to enjoy this annual event now in its seventh year. Celebrate Central Florida’s culinary delights when over sixty restaurants offer three-course prix-fixe dinners for $30.

Expand your palate and help benefit Edgewood Children’s Ranch during this month-long event as $1 of every meal is donated to this wonderful organization.

Visit Orlando will offer this exceptional value from September 1 – 30, 2012 at top-rated Orlando restaurants, including:

Disney World Area Restaurants

La Luce by Donna Scala at Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek — read our review here!
Todd English’s bluezoo — read our review here!
Il Mulino New York Trattoria — read our review here!

Other Orlando-Area Restaurants

Emeril’s Orlando
Morton’s The [Read more…]

Guest Review: Landscape of Flavors at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

By Kim LaPaglia 22 Comments

Today, we’re welcoming back Bill Iadonisi with a guest review of the Art of Animation Resort’s new food court – Landscape of Flavors! You can see our previous review of Art of Animation here!

We love Disney for so many reasons; the attractions, shows, fireworks and one of my favorites, the food! For us, nothing beats a meal at Disney. But the ultimate magical experience is dining at a brand new eatery! Case in point is the new “Landscape of Flavors” counter-service restaurant in the newly opened Art of Animation resort.

This restaurant is the only eatery for the resort and is counter-service. It is very similar to one of my very favorite places to dine, the Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion at EPCOT. Here you will find healthier, more upscale offerings than the usual hot dogs, burgers and chicken fingers. The menu has something for everyone.

Atmosphere

I like to rate eateries on four criteria – Atmosphere, Service, Food, and Value. Let’s begin!

You enter the restaurant through the Animation Hall lobby, making a left through the “Ink and Paint Shop” gift store. The dining area seats 596 guests, but in no way will you feel crowded. The spacious dining room is bright and airy.

Dining Area

There are several smaller areas off of the main room, and like the main area, they are surrounded by pictures and lighting fixtures.

On the far wall by the pool area, the whole wall has floor to ceiling windows, offering a fantastic [Read more…]

Review: Tokyo Sunset at Japan’s Outdoor Sake Bar in Epcot

By Kim LaPaglia 12 Comments

Welcome our new DFB researcher, Steven Cline, with a mini-review of the Tokyo Sunset cocktail found in Epcot’s Japan pavilion at the outdoor sake bar!

Disney Food Blog has hinted at the Tokyo Sunset in previous posts about the outdoor sake bar in Japan, and guests could find it at the Japan Booth in the 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

We found the new drink (new to us anyway) right there at the kiosk across from the entrance to Teppan Edo.

Tokyo Sunshine – click image for larger version

The Tokyo Sunset sells for $8.00 plus tax (according to the sign, but rings up as $7.98 plus .52 cents tax for a total of $8.50).

Tokyo Sunset

It contains Coconut Rum, Peach Schnapps, Banana Liqueur, and [Read more…]

News! 2013 Disney Dining Plan Pricing and Updates

By Kim LaPaglia 93 Comments

Details for the 2013 Disney Dining Plans are being unveiled!

You can see updated pricing for the 2013 plans below (thanks to reader Pudge the Fish for this!). And there are price changes as well as clarifications that you need to know about if you’re planning a 2013 trip.

The major stand-out seems to be that Le Cellier in Epcot is listed as two table service credits for both LUNCH and dinner meals.

2013 Disney Dining Plan Pricing

As always, the price has gone up on many of the plans. See calculations below…

Quick-Service Dining Plan
(all year long)
$37.58 per night ages 10 and up
$14.32 per night age 3 to 9

2012 was $34.99 and $11.99.

See more info on the Quick Service Dining Plan page.

Be Our Guest Restaurant will be a new addition on the 2013 Disney Dining Plan

Standard Dining Plan
(Value and Regular Season)
$55.59 per night ages 10 and up
$17.16 per night age 3 to 9

2012 was $51.54 and $15.02.

(Peak Season)
$56.94 per night ages 10 and up
$18.16 per night ages 3 to 9

2012 was $53.54 and $16.02.

Read all about the Standard Dining Plan!

Deluxe Dining Plan
(Value and Regular Season)
$99.97 per night ages 10 and up
$26.84 per night ages 3 to 9

2012 was $85.52 and $23.79.

(Peak Season)
$102.27 per night ages 10 and up
$28.91 per night ages 3 to 9

2012 was $89.52 and $25.79.

We’ve got all the details on our Deluxe Dining Plan page.

Le Cellier Lunch

The 2013 brochure now shows Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot as a two table-service credit restaurant for lunch! Since March 2011, the restaurant has been a one-credit location for lunch and a two-credit location for dinner.

Other Clarifications

There have been a few changes made to the Disney Dining Plan brochures for 2013 as well.

Special Dining Events
The brochure this year spells out clearly that “special dining events with special menus offered at certain table-service locations” are not included in the [Read more…]

New! Pineapple Coconut Cupcake at Epcot’s Sunshine Seasons

By Kim LaPaglia 8 Comments

Learn About:Sunshine Seasons

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

Woo! You know we like to keep you updated on all of the snacks in Disney parks, and we love when readers send pics and updates to us when they’re in Disney World and Disneyland!

Thanks to Susan T. (who also found the fabulously popular King Cupcake at Pop Century), we’ve got a review of a brand new one!

Spotted inside Epcot’s Land pavilion at the Sunshine Seasons food court was a pineapple coconut cupcake. What a fun, summery treat! (We’ve also seen a pineapple coconut cupcake earlier this year in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.)

Pineapple Coconut Cupcake

Selling for $3.99 or a Disney Dining Plan snack credit, this concoction has a creamy pineapple frosting, is topped with toasted coconut, and is garnished with 2 small pieces of fresh pineapple.

Susan informs us that it tastes like pineapple upside down cake, but with [Read more…]

Guest Review: Italy Dessert & Wine Event at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival

By Kim LaPaglia 4 Comments

Join us in welcoming guest author Michelle Buchecker with a review of the Italy Dessert and Wine tasting event at last year’s Epcot Food and Wine Festival. While we’re not sure yet if this event will be repeated at the 2012 Festival, it’s likely that it will!

Tutto Italia and Gusto Wine Cellar

We attended the Italy Dessert and Wine event that was new to the 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival. First and foremost, do not make the mistake we did by booking this event on the same day as your Biergarten lunch!

We had lunch at noon, and the event was at 2 pm. Not nearly enough time to digest. (Editor’s Note: I can second that!)

Atmosphere

The event was held in the back room of Tutto Italia. The check-in process went very smoothly, and we were escorted to a table that the 2 of us shared with 6 other people. There were about 50 guests in total and all chairs were taken.

The main presenter, Gabriele, was charming and humorous. He was obviously native Italian, and he took the time to introduce each course. The wine rep from Batasiolo, Jerry, mentioned that he was told to keep his comments short so we could eat and drink more. But at the beginning of each course, he did introduce each wine and described it.

Jerry warned us that all wines at the tasting were frizzante, which means they are lightly bubbly and have low alcohol content to keep it sweet.

Eats

Now on to the courses!

Dessert and Wine Menu

The first course was a Tiramisu paired with the Batasiolo Asti. I found the contents of the Tiramisu pretty basic: repeat layers of soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone topped with a cocoa dusting and chocolate curl.

The presentation was nice as this was all in a Martini glass. The Asti was sweet and crisp.

Tiramisu

The second course was Cannoli. This was huge!! While we were served utensils with it, Gabriele commented that he had to give us the knife and fork but encouraged us to eat it with our [Read more…]

Disney Food Pics of the Week: Hot Dogs

By Kim LaPaglia Leave a Comment

Your photo contributions to the Disney Food Blog Photo Extravaganza on flickr are soooooo mouthwatering! We love looking through your food pics!

The Disney Food Pics of the Week this week feature Disney hot dogs (we would have added corn dogs, but I think those should get their own feature)! For a classic theme park snack or meal, the hot dog is always a delicious option.

Loaded or plain — these hot dogs from Casey’s Corner in the Magic Kingdom look fabulous!
Photographer: Lucy Bartholomew/DisneyRoobs

Hot Dogs at Casey's

Here’s the new Italian Hot Dog from [Read more…]

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HGTV Home Entertaining Seminars Announced for the 2012 Epcot Food and Wine Festival