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Top Ten Disney Dining Tips Straight From Disney Fans

I put out the call on Twitter and Facebook for everyone’s best Disney Dining advice (because you guys are the experts!!). A lot of the responses could be combined, conveniently, into what I think is one awesome Top Ten list:

TOP TEN: DINING TIPS FROM THE DISNEY EXPERTS

1. Make Reservations
This piece of advice was mentioned dozens of times: Make Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) no matter what…and make them early! We suggest you plan ahead and make dining reservations for your high priority meals 180 days ahead of your visit to Disney World and 60 days ahead of your visit to Disneyland. (To us, they’re all high priority, so we just make all of our reservations as soon as we can.)

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For those wondering if going to the parks during a traditionally slow season negates the need for ADRs, it doesn’t. The popular restaurants are always popular, and Disney’s “slow seasons” are getting shorter and shorter. Making reservations usually costs nothing, and can save you lots of time during your trip. Here’s a primer on how to make reservations for Disney Restaurants.

Of course, if you’re dead set against making advanced reservations, here are a few of our suggested restaurants you can still get into without an ADR.

Fluffy Omelet Brunch at Be Our Guest

2. Do Your Research
Lots of folks suggested that an important part of planning your Disney dining is doing research about the restaurants and dining options available. I couldn’t agree more. Check out restaurant reviews, learn from other Disney fans how they handled Dining planning for their vacations, read trip reports, and sift through the posts here on the Disney Food Blog. The more you know, the better prepared you’ll be to create a seamless Dining strategy that will be enjoyable for your whole family.

One great tip: take stock of the types of eaters you’re bringing with you; make sure you know if you need to plan for fussy eaters, specific eating schedules, food allergies or intolerance, or just plan likes and dislikes, then translate that into your research.

We have plenty of dining reviews right here on the Disney Food Blog, of course, but we also have some great reference information on choosing restaurants when you have special diets to consider. Check out our Disney Dining Reference Page or the “food allergies” section below for more.

3. Coordinate Dining with Park Hours, Early Theme Park Entry, and Extended Theme Park Hours
This is another research tip, and a great way to make your time at the Disney theme parks go much more smoothly. Disney World posts their park hours on their website six months in advance, and Disneyland posts park hours in advance as well. [Read more…]

Guest Review: Casey’s Corner

By AJ 22 Comments

A special thanks to Chef BigFatPanda for taking us into the Magic Kingdom with him for a meal at Casey’s Corner, a restaurant inspired by Ernest L. Thayer poem and Disney animated short, “Casey at the Bat!” Take it away, Chef!

Hello again, Chef BigFatPanda here with a review of Casey’s Corner in the Magic Kingdom! Facing Cinderella’s castle, Casey’s occupies the end left corner of Main Street. It’s fast food that can be summed up in one word “Hot Dogs”. Well, maybe that’s two words.

Atmosphere
Casey’s is reminiscent of a bygone era full of that “take me out to ballgame” feeling, which goes hand in hand with our American obsession with Hot Dogs (the word Frankfurter seems to be used less and less). The inside is decorated with baseball memorabilia on shelves, and a statue of [Read more…]

Disney Food Post Round-Up: March 21, 2010

By AJ 6 Comments

Lots happening on the Disney news front this week as we mourn Fess Parker, a man known for deeply affecting both the Disney and Food communities with his careers. In case you haven’t seen it, Scott Joseph’s Orlando Restaurant Guide features a wonderful write-up of Mr. Joseph’s dinner with the late Fess Parker during the 1992 Walt Disney World Village Wine Festival.

Before we start the round-up, here’s a reminder of a couple of Disney food-related news items:

The Wine and Dine Half Marathon and Mickey Halloween Family Fun Run 5K details and registration information have been announced.
Napa Rose is holding a Wine Pairing Dinner this Wednesday, hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners. Click on the link for reservation information.

And now, on to the Round-Up:

Main Street Gazette allows me to breathe a sigh of relief that Artist Point seems to be regaining some of the culinary expertise I’ve found lacking in my recent trips. Absolutely gorgeous food here!

Magical Kingdoms Disney Blog has a review of Walt’s — An American Restaurant in Disneyland Resort Paris. Food pics here from the adult menu, teenagers menu, and kids menu, so go take a look!

Inside John’s Locker (John, of course, being Mr. Owner’s Locker himself) shares the story of Olivia Farnsworth, the namesake of Olivia’s in Disney’s Old Key West Resort.

Dining With the Mouse has posted some mouth-watering food photos from her several Disneyland trips over the past few months. Definitely getting me excited for my DL trip in a month!

MousePlanet reports that Disneyland Chefs will be participating in demo events at area Bloomingdales Department Stores the weekend of March 24-26.

Chip and Co has a lovely article reviewing Disney World’s Biergarten…with a pretty funny icebreaker story to boot!

Watch Me Eat takes us back to Tangierine Cafe this week! We just can’t get enough!

Tasty Chomps visits the Fife and Drum Tavern in Epcot’s World Showcase. (Note/Warning: very close-up photo of a Turkey Leg if you’ve never seen one…)

The Daily Disney has one of my favorite recipes this week: Pop Century’s Fried Chicken! (Also love this Mickey’s Premium Bar antenna topper that theme park ranger DeWayne Bevil found…)

“You Won’t Believe This!” Snack: Marble Cupcake

By AJ 29 Comments

Marble Cupcake from Starring Rolls

You’ve seen the Butterfinger Cupcake and the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake, and the third in our “You Won’t Believe This!” Snack Series is the [Read more…]

Disney Food Post Round-Up: March 14th, 2010

By AJ 6 Comments

Epcot Morocco Baklava

I’m trying out something new this week, guys. Every once in a while, I’m going to use a relevant pic other than my standard “Eat Here” photo into the Weekly Round-Up. Hopefully this’ll be fun. 🙂 Now, on to the round-up!

To start out, here’s some cool NEWS!!: Have you heard about Chef Cat Cora’s book-signing and cooking demo in Orlando next weekend? Check out the specs here!

Touring Plans has a guest blog by yours truly all about the Monorail Crawl — a fun way to experience the lounges at the Monorail Resorts.

StudiosCentral analyzes prices at Disney’s Hollywood Studios restaurants to determine whether or not the restaurants are a good value cost-wise.

DisneyGeek shares his incredible pics, including several food photos, from Disneyland’s D23 Anniversary Event! Keep scrolling through after the linked page to see more.

The Plain Chicken has developed her very own recipe for the Butterfinger Cupcake from Disney’s Hollywood Studios Starring Rolls Cafe. We’re thrilled that she first heard about the delicious confection right here on our blog!

Imaginerding takes a look at Minnie Mouse’s bookshelves — with a special look at her cookbooks!

Babes in Disneyland has a pic of some Cheshire Cat-tail Candy in Disneyland! I totally missed this post last week, but I’m hoping they’re still there!

EverythingWDW does a Q&A about the newest Disney World dining plan — the Quick Service Dining Plan.

Tasty Chomps is tempting me with photos of the baklava…and other good stuff…from Tangierine Cafe in Epcot’s Morocco.

Watch Me Eat visits Epcot’s Club Cool.

The Disney Parks Blog shares the news that Disney World chefs were in the White House this week cooking for the Greek Prime Minister!

Deb Wills from AllEarsNet tweeted the following pic of Flame Tree Barbecue’s new queue line.

Chip and Co shares a review of breakfast at Epcot’s Akershus Restaurant. This one’s especially good for those of you who have little princesses.

Disney Every Day visits the Main Street Bakery for breakfast. Yum-o cinnamon rolls!

DisUnplugged‘s Culinary Quest family compares and contrasts Disneyland Resort’s Rancho del Zocalo and Cocina Cucamonga. I love the venn diagram at the end!

In The Daily Disney from the Orlando Sentinel, food writer Heather McPherson highlights the recipe for the oh-so-tempting Chocolate Crusted Key-Lime Pie from the Grand Floridian Cafe. If anyone wants to make this and send it to me, feel free.

Guest Review: Cape May Cafe Clambake

By AJ 19 Comments

Big, huge thanks to Cody, who writes the fantastic Global Disney Pinvestigation Blog, for this guest review of the Cape May Cafe Clambake in Disney World’s Beach Club Resort. (Psst: I won’t blame you for scrolling down to the pic of the Oreo bon-bons first.) Take it away, Cody! Cape May Cafe Sign

The Cape May Café is hard to miss in its central location in the lobby of Disney’s Beach Club Resort. I went to the character breakfast at Cape May Cafe several years ago, but have never been to the Clambake, which I have always been told was great. So, this year, for my Dad’s Birthday, he decided he wanted to try it out (all of my reviews seem to be of birthday meals :)).

Cape May Cafe Clam Bake elevator Sign

We had a “big party” of seven people, and when [Read more…]

Apple-licious

By AJ 25 Comments

I grew up in western New York State where they grow a lot of apples, so my life has been full of apple farms, apple festivals, and apple crisp (oh, man, do I love my apple crisps/crumbles/compotes/cobblers!). So, of course, one of my favorite sweet treats at Disney parks is the good old candied or caramel apple. After all, it’s FRUIT, so it’s HEALTHY! What’s not to like about that? 🙂 Here’s a little info about the varied candied and caramel apples you can find at Disney World; including the ones you can design yourself!

Disney Halloween Decor...Featuring Caramel Apples

Disney-Made
Many of the candied and caramel apples sold on Disney property are made on Disney property. If you head to the candy shops in the parks and in Downtown Disney at the right time, you can even watch your apple go from green to…sheen!

Dipping Apples in Disney's Hollywood Studios

Usually green granny smith apples are used for the candied and caramel apples, because their tart flavor offers a nice contrast with the sweet coatings. The apples are dressed in anything from the typical red candy shells, to chocolate, to plain caramel, and they’re accessorized with fudge, colored sugar, nuts, mini M&M’s, sprinkles, chocolate chips, “rocky road,” marshmallows, and [Read more…]

“I’m Going to Disneyland!”

By AJ 17 Comments

Yep, the Disney Food Blog train is headed to California next month to cover Disney’s fifth annual California Food and Wine Festival at Disney’s California Adventure Theme Park!

We’re pretty excited around here and wanted to share a little pre-trip “Dining Line-Up” for those of you who might be interested. Feel free to shout out your suggestions for dishes to try, counter service to sample, and your favorite snacks we shouldn’t miss. Here’s where we currently have reservations:

disneylandrestaurants

We’re excited to take you all with us to the Festival! In the meantime, be sure to check out our Disney’s California Food and Wine Festival Guide. If you’re headed to the festival, click on our nifty “Reserve Now!” links to go straight to the Disneyland Website and reserve spots at your chosen events.

The S’mores The Better!

By AJ 17 Comments

In honor of those Disney fans heading to Tent Fest in Walt Disney World this weekend, I got the great suggestion to chat a bit about Disney s’mores!

S’mores on Demand
There are two restaurants that currently have fun s’mores desserts on the menu; the first is more of a kid-friendly version, while the second will satisfy any of our many grown-up marshmallow cravings:

Le Cellier’s colorful s’mores-on-a-stick has been a go-to kids’ dessert for years, and it never fails to impress. “Built” with a graham cracker, chocolate, and ice cream base, the “wow” factor comes with a sprinkle-y marshmallow topping it all off.

Le Cellier Smores Dessert

The 50’s Prime Time Cafe s’mores dessert is a more “gourmet” offering — mostly because they can use a blow torch to make it — but the fun of having those ooey gooey marshmallows arrive on your table [Read more…]

Grapefruit Cake Recipe From the Hollywood Brown Derby

By AJ 43 Comments

Every Disney restaurant has some great menu items that keep guests coming back over and over again, but there are some dishes that are actually legendary.

Hollywood Brown Derby

The heyday of the original Brown Derby restaurants was the golden age of Hollywood, when Mary Pickford, Clarke Gable, Spencer Tracy, and the young starlet, Lucille Ball, among others, frequented the lush booths in the hat-shaped buildings. Disney World’s Hollywood Brown Derby is fashioned after the Hollywood Brown Derby on Vine Street (there were three other Brown Derby restaurants as well), and bears an incredible resemblance inside and out. But what I find truly fascinating about the restaurant are the stories it’s keeping alive.

[Read more…]

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