Epcot Dining Extended One Hour For Limited Time

Headed to Disney World March 28th-April 10th and still haven’t gotten your Le Cellier reservation? You’ve just won the lottery today!!

Disney Parks Blog has announced it’s testing the idea of an extra hour of dining for three Epcot restaurants for a limited time:

Give it a try from March 28 through April 10, and let us know what you think — you can book your “extra hour” table at Coral Reef Restaurant, Garden Grill or Le Cellier.

Are you interested in taking advantage of this latest test? Let us know where you’re booking, and send a review when you get home! Can’t wait to hear the stories! Fingers crossed this becomes “Disney law!”

For more breaking news, visit our Disney Food News bulletin list.

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…]

News: Italy Pizzeria, Cantina de San Angel Updates, & More

By AJ 9 Comments

Just wanted to share some news I heard recently from fellow blogger, Theme Park Mom. This is third-party info from someone “close to the source,” but I think it’s pretty exciting!

Cantina de San Angel Info
Mexico’s Cantina de San Angel, currently under demo and expansion in Epcot’s World Showcase, will re-emerge as a counter-service and table-service restaurant. But a bit of info that I didn’t know about is that the restaurant will be counter-service for lunch and half table-service, half counter-service, for dinner. (This will be helpful for those of you who, like me, are making up your Disney dining spreadsheets for your Food & Wine Festival trips!)

News on the Mysterious Imported Water
Also, word is that that mysterious “imported water” that will be used in the new Italy Pizzeria in Epcot will be trucked in from a location in the midwest where chemical analysis on the water has shown it to be extremely similar to the H2O found in Naples, Italy. I wonder where…

Diamond Horseshoe in WDW Open Temporarily
In Magic Kingdom food news, the Diamond Horseshoe will be open 3/27/10-4/7/10 from 5:00-9:00PM daily for an all-you-can-eat meal, including family-style platters of Saloon Salad (tossed mixed greens with strawberry vinaigrette dressing) and fare from the Ranchhand’s Feast (roasted turkey breast, carved beef and smoked pork loin with sides of seasonal vegetables, herb bread stuffing and macaroni and cheese). Sound familiar? Yep, this is basically an extension of Liberty Tree Tavern while the parks are mobbed for Spring Break. 🙂

Merchandise Coupons Available
Finally, through April 17th, 2010, when you dine at WDW quick service locations you’ll receive a coupon for 20% off merchandise at participating WDW locations*. (You must use your coupon between 9:00 AM to 12 PM to receive the discount.)

Participating locations:
* The Emporium or Mickey’s Star Traders at Magic Kingdom
* Mouse Gear at Epcot
* Mickey’s of Hollywood and Keystone Clothiers at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
* Island Mercantile at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
* World of Disney Store at Downtown Disney

Hat tip to WDWInfo.

Studio Catering Company Re-Opens With New Menu

By AJ 3 Comments

Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Studio Catering Company is open again and touting a completely new menu!

The quick-service restaurant opened today after a period of refurbishment and currently offers a menu of wraps and sandwiches, including: Pressed Tuscan Deli Sandiwich, Chicken Caesar Wrap, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (YUM!), Turkey Club, Grilled Vegetable Sandwich, and Greek Salad.

Disney’s posted menus, which you can see over on StudiosCentral.com.

Tony’s Town Square & the “Boo to You” Parade

By AJ 14 Comments

I’m so excited to talk about this experience. While Tony’s Town Square Restaurant‘s Italian fare is far from 5-star cuisine, the memories you can make there — if you’re savvy and just a little bit lucky — are second to none.

Atmosphere
The restaurant is located in the Exposition Hall right next to Disney World’s Train Station. You’ll remember from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp the restaurant upon which Tony’s is styled — in the alley behind it was where Lady and the Tramp shared their famous spaghetti dinner! And you’ll find several Lady and the Tramp references throughout the restaurant. (Check out this post from SamLand’s Disney Adventures for one very special tie-in!)

Lady and the Tramp Appear on Windows...

...And in Statues

They Even Appear on TV in the Lobby

The restaurant includes a plush lobby and three main dining areas: an indoor room with booths and tables, a “sunroom” that floods with light during the day, and [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…)

Napa Rose Restaurant Special Event: March 24th, 2010

By AJ Leave a Comment

The Napa Valley Vintners are hosting a consumer appreciation night at the Napa Rose Private Dining Room in Disneyland’s Grand Californian Resort this Wednesday, March 24th. As far as I know, this event is open to anyone interested — see cost and RSVP info below. The Vintners will provide a unique selection of wines from dozens of Napa Valley wineries, while Napa Rose chefs will create perfect culinary accompaniments.

Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Location: Napa Rose Private Dining Room
To book: Please contact a Napa Rose Manager at 714-300-7170

Image: DL FB Fan Page

A Collection of Awesome Stuff

By AJ 10 Comments

Two of my favorite people sent me some very cool things recently, and I wanted to share them with you on this “freeform Saturday” post.

First of all, a beautiful food pic from James Chapman. This is Le Cellier‘s sausage and corn polenta appetizer, which is out of this world delicious. It’s just too pretty not to give it the spotlight. Thanks for Mickey-fying the plates, James — how did you know that Le Cellier’s butter balls are my favorite part of the meal?

Le Cellier Sausage and Corn Polenta Appetizer

And secondly, I wanted to share with you some “random observations” from Jeff Kocan‘s recent trip. They’re too witty not to print as-is:

Just random observations that I meant to bring up: [Read more…]

A Trio of “Traditional Desserts”

By AJ 8 Comments

One of my never-ending quests as a food blogger is to make sure everyone saves room for dessert! So, to forward that goal, I’d like to tempt you with three World Showcase desserts that are often considered to be, in a way, “food ambassadors” from their respective countries.

When you’re dining at Chefs de France, the Rose and Crown Restaurant, or Marrakesh, these are some of the desserts that are on the menu to represent their national cuisine:

Chefs de France: Creme Brulee
Creme brulee is a dessert made of a baked and cooled vanilla custard topped with sugar, which is rapidly melted (usually with a blow torch or broiler) to form a caramel-y, candied top crust. One of the most fantastic things about eating creme brulee is that first “crack” of the sugar crust crunching when you dive in with your spoon! The earliest known reference to Creme Brulee — which means “burnt cream” — is in a 17th century French cookbook.

The Chefs de France Creme Brulee is BIG and beautiful! It’s authentic, and it’s served without the flavor-y flair (pistachio, maple, milk chocolate, etc…) you’ll in creme brulee versions at other Disney restaurants. This is simple, straightforward, rich, and — honestly — luxurious.

Chefs de France Creme Brulee

Rose and Crown Restaurant: Sticky Toffee Pudding
Compared to creme brulee, Sticky Toffee Pudding is a relatively new dessert in the culinary world! Said to have been developed in 1907 and refined by a Lake District pub owner in the 1960’s, Sticky Toffee Pudding is a warm sponge cake, often flavored with dates, covered with…well…a sticky, toffee-flavored sauce! Many restaurants serve sticky toffee pudding with ice cream or a [Read more…]

2010 Wine and Dine Half Marathon Details Announced

By AJ 15 Comments

Finally — here’s the info we’ve all been waiting for regarding this BRAND NEW Disney endurance event!! The Wine and Dine Half Marathon is replacing the Race for the Taste 10K race, offering everyone — including foodies — the chance to run a half marathon at night through Disney parks and property! Cool!

The best part is, if you’re like me and can’t quite do a half marathon, you can split it up into a relay with a partner! (And if you want an even shorter race, here’s a great one: The Mickey Halloween Family Fun Run 5K!)

Here’s the deets from Disney:

DISNEY WINE & DINE HALF MARATHON
Saturday, October 2, 2010
10:00 p.m.

Start: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Finish: Epcot® World Showcase
The Inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon will be run on a brand new half marathon course at the Walt Disney World Resort, and it will be run at night! Where else can you [Read more…]

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