Foodie T-Shirts Take Over Disney!

If you’ve got a love of food and want to wear your heart on your sleeve, or rather your stomach on your chest, then Disney has a way to make that happen.

We saw the launch of food-themed clothing a while back with these fun cupcake patterns and, of course, the Turkey Leg T-shirt:

But the trend continues! The recently retooled merchandise shop at Epcot’s America pavilion now stocks a selection of non-Disney food-themed tee shirts and baseball caps. These items evoke Americana nostalgia, much like the shop’s new candy selection. Take a look:

Buckeye Donuts.

Joe's Cable Car Restaurant.

Otto's Sausage Kitchen and Meat Market.

Fuggedaboutit Pizzaria.

Gino's Deep Dish.

Loveless Cafe.

Capone's Root Beer.

Chicago Style Hot Dog.

Superdawg Drive In.

Manny's Cafeteria and Deli.

Over in the Germany pavilion, they’ve also got a collection of German food-themed [Read more…]

Review: Ariel’s Grotto in Disney California Adventure

By AJ 16 Comments

Disneyland’s Princess meal takes place in Disney California Adventure at Ariel’s Grotto, a lovely little restaurant full of windows and under-the-sea themeing perfectly fitting for the princess from The Little Mermaid.

Ariel’s Grotto lunch at Disney’s California Adventure in Disneyland Resort begins with an impressive-looking first course followed by your choice of entrees. Go ahead and skip ahead to the dessert platter. It’s worth a quick peek now, but be sure to return here to finish our full review!

Restaurant Entrance

Atmosphere

The princess vibe hits you before you even walk into the restaurant. Well, at least it did for us! We were required to walk past a merchandise kiosk selling princess dresses in order to get to the front door. Can you imagine walking by all of those dresses with your little girl on your way to a princess character meal? You’ll have to keep your wits about you, because I’m guessing she won’t! 😉

Princess Dress Kiosk

Passing the princess dresses, we walked under a sign welcoming us (and the Merfolk), and headed into the reception area for Ariel’s.

Ariel's Entrance

Here, we checked in at the podium and checked out a display of celebration cakes. These were prominent throughout Disneyland during our last visit. They’re available for order when [Read more…]

Treats From the Mini-Guide: Casey’s Cup of Chili

By AJ 3 Comments

The new Disney Food Blog Mini-Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks lets you know what snacks are available for a Disney Dining Plan snack credit — including snacks that aren’t found on the menu!

Let me share this little tidbit with you — while it’s not listed on every menu, you can use your snack credit for a bowl of chili at Casey’s Corner. Oh, yes you can!

Casey's Corner Chili

Take your chili to the indoor bleachers where you can watch classic Disney film shorts, or sit under an umbrella-shaded table outside. Either way, you’ll know you’ve hit a snack-credit home run!

Don’t miss other delicious snack items in the Magic Kingdom! We’ve included over 70 photos and reviews of our favorite snacks throughout the Magic Kingdom theme park in the new DFB Mini-Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks!

As bonus items, we’ve also included custom snack crawls, an index of snacks by location and snack credit, and even a list of great snack pairings! The colorful photos will show you just what you’ll get for your vacation dollars or snack credits!

Discover it all here in The Disney Food Blog Mini-Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks!

Don’t forget to use code “MAGIC” for 20% off your Mini-Guide!

Do you know of other unpublicized snack credit options? Let us know in the comments below!

Epcot Food and Wine Festival Official Website Taking Shape

By AJ 6 Comments

The 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival official website is finally starting to take shape!

Click to see larger image

You’ll see all of the colors and textures mentioned in our Food and Wine Festival Preview review. But it seems as though the content on the site is still from the 2010 Festival. We’ve been told that the site will be updated fully by [Read more…]

The Battle of the Apple Pie Caramel Apples

By AJ 14 Comments

So, while my eyes were bugging out at Pooh Corner in Disneyland last year over all of the incredible sweets, I happened upon this interesting caramel apple: The Apple Pie Apple. This is a granny smith apple covered in caramel, doused in white chocolate, then sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar and dipped in pie crust crumbs. Perfectly lovely!

Disneyland Apple Pie Apple

I didn’t buy one that day, but I couldn’t forget it! So on a recent trip to Walt Disney World, I bought two Apple Pie Apples — one at a standard Disney candy store, and one at the Werther’s Karamell Küche shop in Epcot’s World Showcase. I thought it might be fun to see which version was better…

Karamell Küche Apple Pie Apple

The apple pie apples at Karamell Küche in Epcot are slightly different than the one I found in Disneyland and the others in Disney World. These are granny smith apples covered in Werther’s caramel, encased in white chocolate, then dipped in brown sugar and pie crust crumbs. They are truly glorious to look at:

Werther's Apple Pie Apple

The kind cast members at the store [Read more…]

2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Brews

By Kim LaPaglia 26 Comments

Can you have a festival without beer? I think not. At the 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival, brews will be available in many locations. Get your thirst quenched at the Craft Beer Booth, Brewer’s Collection, and the Hops and Barley Marketplace. Many individual countries will also be serving up their own beer, and there will likely be beer seminars on the docket in the Festival Center.

That said, many beer enthusiasts are less than thrilled with the offerings at this year’s Festival, mentioning the lack of more obscure and unique craft beers. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!

Craft Beers will have their own booth at the 2011 Food and Wine Festival

Craft Beer Booth Bar Menu

Full Sail IPA
Sierra Nevada
Abita — Purple Haze
Red Hook Pilsner
Blue Moon
Leinenkugal
Key West Sunset Ale
Widmer Hefeweizen

Brewer’s Collection Bar Menu

[Read more…]

Disney World Free Dining Packages in 2011-2012 Now Booking!

By AJ 25 Comments

UPDATE:

Book-by date has been changed to December 17, 2011.

UPDATE: Dates for this promotion have changed as of 8-25-11. See details below. All guests who have already booked under the previous dates will have their bookings honored. All new bookings will adhere to the new dates.

Disney World’s Free Dining Promotion is back for the rest of 2011 and early 2012! The promotion is available on select dates from ~~10/2/2011 to 3/31/2012~~ October 1, 2011 to March 29, 2012. Guests MUST book by December 17, 2011!

The Free Dining promotion offers guests booking a vacation package the opportunity to add a Disney Dining Plan on to their package for free as long as they’re booking their room and tickets at standard rack rates.

Disney World Free Dining is already available through September, but guests can now also book for the following dates in late 2011 and early 2012: [Read more…]

The Great “Duffy Head Cup” Poll

By Erin 28 Comments

Our fearless Disney Food for Families columnist, Erin Foster, has uncovered an entirely new way to eat ice cream in Epcot. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below…

Slowly but surely, Duffy the Disney bear is creeping into every corner of Epcot.

Duffy, ready to welcome you to Epcot.

On a recent trip, I found Duffy-shaped souvenir mugs available with the purchase of an ice cream at the two kiosks nearest the entrance to World Showcase. Not coincidentally, these are also the food service locations closest to the Duffy meet-and-greet area.

Refreshment Port, where cups are available. Near the entrance to World Showcase from Future World.

Ordering window

The offer is [Read more…]

Treats From The Mini-Guide: Banana Bread Pudding

By AJ 6 Comments

The brand new Disney Food Blog Mini-Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks has so many tempting goodies to share, including over 70 snacks available in the Magic Kingdom.

I recommend putting this dose of southern sweetness at the top of your list. It’s Banana Bread Pudding from the Main Street Bakery, and it’s definitely worth a try. 😉

The muffin-like top has the consistency of coffee-cake or strudel, and is encrusted with sugar crystals. Inside, the fresh taste of banana sweetens each bite. When it’s fresh out of the oven, the [Read more…]

Dining in Disneyland: Snacks and More in Disneyland Paris

By Heather 14 Comments

Heather Sievers, our Dining in Disneyland columnist, shares her recent adventure to Disneyland Paris with a whole slew-o-pics of food in the park!

This summer has been absolutely amazing. I’ve been on the go for 3 weeks all over Europe, which included an 11-day Disney Mediterranean Cruise followed by 3 days in London and 3 days in Paris. I begged and pleaded for a trip to Disneyland Paris and guess what? I got my way!

My cruise dining photos are amazing, over 1,000 of them if you can believe it, but I just couldn’t wait to share some super fun pics of the snacks and special treats that we found in Disneyland Paris.

Disneyland Paris Entrance

Only there for one short day, we really made the most of it. We spent half of the day at Walt Disney Studios and the latter half at Disneyland. Both parks were beautiful as well as FULL of amazingly yummy snacks. Unfortunately, while I did not try most of them, I did drool over the sights and smells. Enjoy!

Disneyland Paris Walt Disney Studios Park Eats

The first thing I noticed when we entered the Toy Story Playland at the Studios was an adorable [Read more…]

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Foodie T-Shirts Take Over Disney!