Easier to Get at 180 Days Out?
Don’t forget that you can now book online! Also, you can find maps and menus on the Disney website.
Happy planning!
Starting Oct. 27th: Make Your Disney Dining Reservations 180 Days in Advance
‘Ohana Character Breakfast: Mickey and Friends
Pinvestigator Cody, of the Global Disney Pinvestigator Blog, is back with another round of comments and photos about a recent meal. This one, breakfast with Mickey and Friends at ‘Ohana, is one of his favorites; you’ll see why when you see these amazing photos! Thanks, Cody!
‘Ohana means “family,” and the restaurant stretches that feeling throughout the meal! Opening at 7:30am, we arrived at 7:20 for a 7:40 Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR). There were about 20 families in front of us waiting to check in, but we were the second family to be seated (they really do pay attention to those ADR times!)
'Ohana Breakfast Open Kitchen
The hostess took us to our table, giving us a short tour of the restaurant along the way. We briefly stopped by the open kitchen where the hostess took our appetizer plate from the rows and rows of Pineapple and Cinnamon Raisin Bread (both are delicious, by the way), explaining that giving bread to family is one of the ‘Ohana customs celebrated at the restaurant.
Pineapple Bread and Cinnamon Raisin Bread
We sat at our table, which included a great view of Cinderella Castle.
Right away, a server came out with our “POG Juice” — Orange, Pineapple, Guava! It was delicious.
POG Juice
Not less than 5 minutes later, we got our food. It’s served family-style at ‘Ohana, with all-you-can-eat bacon, eggs, sausage, and potatoes.
Another server also came around regularly with a bowl of Mickey Waffles, hot out of the “iron.”
Mickey Waffle
Additionally, we received a small fruit platter, with pineapple, cantaloupe, grapes, and more.
'Ohana Fruit Platter
Finally, the characters made their appearances! They were great and spent an equal amount of time at each table. Every 30-45 minutes is the ‘Ohana Family Parade, where the characters invite everyone to dance and sing and “shake!”, all to the song “Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride.”
Mickey Mouse
Stitch
Pluto
Lilo
Overall the meal was really enjoyable, and definitely delicious. This has to be my FAVORITE
Disney resort character breakfast.
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Tables in Wonderland: yes
Characters: 5 of 5
Food: 4.5 of 5
Disney Cookbooks
In addition to eating Disney food, a lot of us like to try our hand at it at home! For those of you who want to bring Disney into your kitchen, I’ve compiled a few Disney-themed cookbooks for consideration.
Some of these I’ve used, and some simply come highly recommended. There are cookbooks that have recipes for dishes you can get in Disney parks and cookbooks that have “Disney-inspired” recipes — many of them will be fun to use with kiddos in the kitchen, too!
As always, I’d love to hear your favorite Disney recipes. Are there any you’ve tried?
COOKBOOKS FOR EVERYONE TO TRY
Disney Recipes: From Animation to Inspiration by Ira L. Meyer and Marcello Garofalo: This is a great option for adults cooking with kids (or adults who feel like kids!). The colorful book contains recipes connected to Disney movies and Disney entertainment (think: “Lady and the Tramp’s Spaghetti Bella Notte” and “Pocahantas’ Savory Indian Corn Pudding”).
DisneyFoodBlog Notes:
- Written in 2003, you miss out on recipes referencing Disney movies in recent history, but the classics are here.
- With margin notes of “things kids can do” while in the kitchen, everyone can participate.
Delicious Disney by Pam Brandon
Written in 2006, this will likely be one of the most “true to life” cookbooks for those of you hoping to duplicate dishes you’ve had in Disney Parks, Resorts, and Cruise Ships. With modern recipes from today (including your favorite dishes from the likes of California Grill and Jiko) and classics from yesterday (some date back to the 60’s!), there’re lots to try.
DisneyFoodBlog Notes:
Pam Brandon is a guru of Florida travel and Disney cookbooks. An author and foodie extraordinaire, Pam is working on another cookbook for Disney and writes a Divas of Dish column.
Cooking With Mickey and the Chefs of Walt Disney World Resort by Pam Brandon: 224 pages of Mickey’s finest! This is another book that contains recipes from Disney World restaurants and chefs. This was one of the original Disney Resort cookbooks!
DisneyFoodBlog Notes:
- Published in 1998, this may not have your most recent favorites, but it will most definitely have the classics.
- This is a more straightforward cookbook and doesn’t have as many glossy photos as the others do. Those of you who find it distracting to flip through endless pages of photos to get to your recipe will love this one!
- Note — there’s a new version of this cookbook published in 2004
Cooking with Mickey (Gourmet Mickey Cookbook) Volume II: The Most Requested Recipes from Walt Disney World and Disneyland by The Walt Disney Company:
This 298-page tome contains recipes from the chefs of Walt Disney World as well as Walt Disney’s personal recipes! You can also find recipes from the parks and resorts, including Disney World’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and Polynesian Resort, and the Disneyland Hotel. Published in 2000.
DisneyFoodBlog Notes:
Word has it that this is the same book, word for word, as “Mickey’s Gourmet Cookbook” (not mentioned in this blog post). Probably no need to buy both!
The Disney Bakery: 30 Magical Recipes by Adrienne Berofsky: If your sweet tooth has been clamoring lately, this little book contains recipes inspired by Disney movies. Within its colorful pages, you’ll find Cinderella’s Cream Puff Coaches, Canine Crunchies, and Peanut Butter Dumbo Dunkers, among many others. The table of contents is arranged by movie, so be sure to decide what you want to watch before you head for the kitchen!
DisneyFoodBlog Notes:
If you couldn’t tell, this is another great one for adults and kids to enjoy together. The book won’t serve as a challenge for my professional baker friends, but it’s fun for a rainy afternoon!
COOKBOOKS TO USE WITH KIDS
Tiana’s Cookbook (The Princess and the Frog), Recipes for Kids by Disney Press: Here’s what Disney says, “This kid-friendly cookbook features recipes inspired by Tiana’s restaurant in The Princess and the Frog. With simple instructions, large photographs, and charming character art, the book features everything from Tiana’s famous beignets to a bayou smoothie. A star-rating system lets kids know how difficult the recipes are and the characters offer cooking tip. This charming cookbook is sure to please!”
The Disney Magic Kitchen Cookbook by Stephanie Karpinske: This is basically 128 pages chock full of your kids’ favorite Disney characters, end-to-end pictures, fun activities, and healthy eating ideas. Dory and Nemo’s Breakfast Cookies and Buzz’s Blast Off Burritos are just a couple of the interesting dishes you’ll be making together.
DisneyFoodBlog Notes:
With a “School Lunch” section, fruits and veggies guide, and fitness log included, this can be a helpful learning guide for your kids when it comes to making healthy decisions in their everyday food and activity choices.
Food Blog Weekly Round-Up: August 9th
I can’t believe it’s August 8th already! And lots of good foodstuffs ’round the web this week my friends! Let’s dive in…
Main Street Gazette reminds us of the Beastly Bazaar in the Animal Kingdom: Few guests (myself included, I think!) know about or make use of this little spot, where you can get sandwiches and snacks to go. Thanks for the info, Ryan!
Only WDWorld reports on the 2010 Disney Dining Plan price increases: You’ll be paying a bit more for the convenience and savings of the dining plan next year…especially if you’re headed to Orlando during “peak” seasons!
SoloFriendly reviews Liberty Tree Tavern: As you know, this is a Food Blog Favorite, so I couldn’t wait to see what SoloFriendly had to say. Verdict was pretty positive!
Yet Another Disney Blog gave some insight into DCL’s Palo and Animator’s Palate: I’ve been craving some DCL food finds lately, and these photos and descriptions fit the bill!
Scott Joseph’s Orlando Restaurant Blog discusses the added costs to this year’s Epcot Food and Wine Festival: We’ve had some strong opinions expressed by comments here on the Disney Food Blog about the higher costs of this year’s events; be sure to check out Scott’s thoughts on the matter.
Walt Disney Family Museum Cafe
By now you’ve seen countless harbingers of the Walt Disney Family Museum’s historic October 2009 opening. Tickets are on sale, and sneak peeks of gallery items have been floating around the web for a while now. (Here’s an interesting introductory article by WDWforGrownups.com.)
And while I can’t wait to see Walt’s father’s fiddle, the first Dopey model figure from Snow White, Walt and Lillian’s marriage certificate, and everything else in those galleries, you KNOW what I’m most excited about in this brand new Disney establishment… .
All we know right now is that the Museum Cafe will be run exclusively by Wolfgang Puck, which you know is nothing to sneeze at if you’ve ever experienced his incredible restaurants. We’re hoping for more info about potential dishes soon, but in the meantime, the website lets us know that the cafe, “offers a menu inspired by fresh, local ingredients including healthy, organic items and many child friendly selections.” Sounds very San Francisco-y and yummy, don’t you think?
I probably won’t be able to get there for the museum’s opening, so should any of you D23ers or San Francisco-ans be willing to take photos or share a review of the cafe, let me know!
What CAN’T You Get in Disney Parks?
What food items do you wish you could find at Disney Parks, but just aren’t there?
Does Epcot Need More Spanish Food...Permanently?
In other words,
What CAN’T you get to eat or drink in Disney parks?
I posed this question on facebook and twitter last week and got some really interesting answers.
Some folks wanted old-school items to return, like the cheese omelet from Electric Umbrella and those yummy character-shaped filled chocolate truffles (remember those? I liked the peanut butter ones.). But the rest of the answers were clamoring for things folks have been missing (or haven’t yet found) in Disney parks, like:
- Good Maryland-style crab
- Spanish food
- Sweet Tea
- Fondue
- Philly Cheesesteak
- A good gyro
- A make-your-own salad bar
- Good Italian food
- “Decent ribs”
- Mr. Pibb (only available at McDonald’s on property)
- Chic-fil-a 🙂
- Toblerone bars
- And…everyone’s most emphatic answer…GOOD PIZZA!
Now THAT'S a Cheesesteak
Personally, I’ve got my sights set on some good Buffalo Chicken Wings, though I’ve been told I can find those at the ESPN Club on WDW’s Boardwalk.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear:
Sometimes Hershey's Just Ain't Enough...
1. What favorite items do YOU wish you could find in the parks?
2. If you’ve got an idea where folks can find any of the items listed above, please chime in! I figure, between all of us, we’ve been to every restaurant and food stop in the Disney parks. If those items are available, someone who reads this blog will know about it!
Photo credits: Spain: Joe Shlabotnik, Toblerone: Ultra, Cheesesteak: Sauce Supreme
Spotlight: Yachtsman Steakhouse
Yachtsman Steakhouse is one of those Disney Resort restaurants that I didn’t even know was there for several years. Then one day I caught Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel eating steak at some hoity-toity restaurant during the Yacht and Beach Club “Great Hotels” special, and I knew I had to try it!
Restaurant Forum Plaque
I was lucky enough to do so during Disney’s first free dining stint several years ago. It’s now become a standard in our Disney restaurant rotation whenever we need a special treat or celebration.
Located in the Yacht Club Resort, Yachtsman Steakhouse is a high-end dinner spot with a view of Stormalong Bay. Specializing in delicious grain-fed beef steaks, the restaurant has a glass-walled butchering room where guests can actually see their steaks being prepared!
Butchering Room
Led into the restaurant past the open kitchen, guests can catch a glimpse of the dessert offerings before being seated in a dining room furnished in sturdy knotty pine, leather, and brass. If you’re lucky enough to be seated in my favorite section – the semi-circular room with plenty of window tables – be sure to take a glance upward at the simple, elegant chandelier above.
Open Kitchen
Dining Room
The View From Our Favorite Table
Chandelier
As I said, this restaurant is a permanent fixture on our “fancy places” rotation; and I will say that spots only get on that list when we know we can expect excellent service, fabulous food, and a comfortable atmosphere. We’re picky, and this place fits every one of our guidelines.
That said, there are always little changes and updates being made to the menu. Desserts are tweaked, the cheese plate is rotated, and even steak offerings can be different from time to time (we were sorely missing the boneless rib eye), but we always walk out happy. It’s like a miracle.
This evening, we ordered our dinners and were faced with the first change: weird butter. Usually, Yachtsman brings a basket of gorgeous onion and sourdough rolls along with a HUGE pat of butter topped with sea salt. Today, the butter was in a dish with oil and balsamic vinegar. Butter’s my favorite, so I was a bit concerned; but this stuff was amazing. Yes! Please add weird oil and balsamic vinegar to my butter!
Yachtsman Steakhouse Onion Rolls and Roasted Garlic
Sourdough Rolls
Butter with Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, and Salt
We moved on to salad and my cheese plate. The salad was simple and elegant; the cheese plate was delicious as always. I know I owe you guys a cheese plate blog, which I’ll do soon, but for now, here’s the pic and description of the plate.
Cheese Plate
Cheese Plate Descriptions
Caesar Salad
From there, we enjoyed our entrees (…steak) and extra order of fries (what can I say? We were in the mood for fries!). My steak — the Cowboy Steak — was a bone-in rib-eye. I substituted gratin potatoes for the fried onion strips on the menu.
Cowboy Steak and Potato Gratin with White Diamond Cheddar
Yachtsman Filet with Mashed Potatoes
French Fries
At this point, you can imagine we were stuffed, so we skipped dessert. But no worries; I took a shot of the dessert tray for you!
Desserts
Here’re the specs! Enjoy!
Dinner menu here. All other menus (including wine and dessert) can be found here.
Sneak Peek at Kouzzina Menu
Cat Cora and Mickey
*Update August 17, 2009*: Disney World has posted menus for Kouzzina!
Kouzzina Menu: Dinner
Kouzzina Menu: Breakfast
Kouzzina Menu: Dessert
You can see some photos of some new Kouzzina menu items here!
The restaurant had a “soft” opening on August 15th. Grand opening is still scheduled for September 17th.
________________________________________
Also, thanks to DisBoards poster, StepDisney, here’s another sneak peek at what might be on Kouzzina’s menu!
Appetizer:
Saganaki
Spinach Salad
Spanakopita
Goat Cheese Stuffed Grape Leafs
Vongole (clams, Sausage, Wine Broth & Garlic Croutons
Calamari & Lemons
Brick Oven Bread
Kouzzina Spread
Kouzzina Sampler
Dinner Entree:
Oak Fired Pork T-Bone
Wood Grilled Flank Steak
Fisherman’s stew
Cinnamon Stewed Chicken
Char grilled Lamb Burgers
Traditional Whole Fish
Spiced Briami (Oven roasted Veggies, Oregano & Mazithra Cheese with Orzo)
Greek Spinach Pie
Tastitsio ( Greek Lasagna)
Slow cooked lamb shank
Dessert:
Baklava
Chocolate Budino Cake
Galaktoboureko – Custard in Baked Phyllo Dough & Vanilla Praline Ice Cream
Loukamathes – Freshly made greek donut dipped in warm honey
Yogurt Sorbet with fruit & mint syrup
Greek Cookies
Thanks to @jlovely for the tip!
Campfires and S’mores? Who knew?
That’s right. What started with an innocent campfire sing-a-long at Fort Wilderness has turned into one of the most-loved (and most unknown) activities for Disney World Resort Hotel guests — campfires, movies on the beach, and…s’mores!
Yacht and Beach Club Resorts Campfire and Smores
In addition to the original Chip & Dale campfire sing-a-long and movie at Fort Wilderness, free (yep — I said it) “movies on the beach” can be found at several resorts, including the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, the Contemporary Resort, the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Saratoga Springs Resort, and All Star Music.
Movie on the Beach at Yacht and Beach Club Resorts
The best part, in my humble opinion, is that some of these include campfires! And where there are campfires, there are s’mores! You can either bring your own s’mores fixin’s or purchase a s’mores kit (around $5) at nearby refreshment stands.
Movies are shown at varying times (usually beginning between 7-9pm EST); check with the front desk of each hotel for an activities sheet, which will give dates and times of movie nights, and a listing of which movies will be showing.
Top Drink Suggestions From Readers
Grey Goose Citron Slush and Pomegranate Kir — Photo (c) Kelly Tressler
A giant THANK YOU to everyone who made a suggestion for my next favorite drink at Disney World!
As you know, my beloved Leisure Suit has been retired, and I’ve long needed a replacement so that I can stop bugging bartenders to flip through their rolodexes.
Here are the suggestions I received, and, seeing as that Grey Goose Citron Slush was suggested 3 times, I think that’s the most serious contender!
Thank you again, and be sure to check out what everyone else recommended below (If anyone has any photos of these drinks, please let me know — I’d love to post them on the blog!):
Suggestions from Blog Comments:
Cotton-tini, T-Rex in Downtown Disney: A fruity martini poured into a glass filled with cotton candy
Octopus Juice, Coral Reef in Epcot: A Pina Colada fusion with Chambord
Grand Marnier Orange Slush, France Kiosk, World Showcase: Grand Marnier and Orange Fruit Smoothie frozen Drink Mix (Florida Natural Flavours)
Grey Goose Citron Slush, France Kiosk, World Showcase: Grey Goose Citron Vodka and Polynesian Pleasure Lemon Frozen Drink Mix (Florida Natural Flavours)
Backscratcher, Polynesian Resort: Meyer’s Rum, Light Rum, POG (passion fruit, orange, guava) Juice, Jack Daniels
Mai Tai, Polynesian Resort: Myers Dark Rum, Orange juice, Pineapple juice, Sour Mix, Lime juice, Orgeat syrup
Ultimate Long Island Iced Tea, 50’s Prime Time Cafe: Grey Goose Vodka, Hendrick’s Gin, Bacardi Rum, Patrón Citrónge Liqueur, Sweet-and-Sour, Coke
Dad’s Electric Lemonade, 50’s Prime Time Cafe: Bacardi rum, Skyy vodka, Blue Curacao, sweet and sour mix, Sprite
Strawberry Margarita, Mexico Kiosk, World Showcase
Orange Creamsicle, Contemporary Resort: Couldn’t find the actual DISNEY recipe, but others I found online included Vodka/Orange Vodka, Triple Sec, Orange Juice, and Cream or Ice Cream
Territory-tini, Territory Lounge, Wilderness Lodge: Captain Morgan, Grand Mariner, Sour mix, Splash of OJ, shake with ice
Polynesian Signature Drinks
Suggestions from Twitter:
Antioxidant Cocktail, various locations serve this, including The Wave: Finlandia Wild Berries Vodka, Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur, Bossa Nova Açai Juice with Agave, Aloe Juice, Lychee, Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
PeachTree Punch, Hollywood Brown Derby: Skyy Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Orange Juice, Sprite, splash of Grenadine
Sunken Treasure, various locations–mostly Polynesian Resort and pool bars: Malibu Coconut Rum, Midori, Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice, Sprite, Blue Curacao
Backscratcher, Polynesian Resort: Meyer’s Rum, Light Rum, POG (passion fruit, orange, guava) Juice, Jack Daniels
St. Germain Cocktail, Les Chefs de France, World Showcase: champagne or dry white wine, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, sparkling water or club soda
Suggestions from Facebook:
Takara Plum Wine, Japan Pavilion, World Showcase
Pomegranate Kir, France Kiosk, World Showcase: sparkling wine with a shot of pomegranate liqueur
Grey Goose Citron Slush (x2), France Kiosk, World Showcase: Grey Goose Citron Vodka and Polynesian Pleasure Lemon Frozen Drink Mix (Florida Natural Flavours)
Grand Marnier Orange Slush, France Kiosk, World Showcase: Grand Marnier and Orange Fruit Smoothie frozen Drink Mix (Florida Natural Flavours)
Chocolate Mintini, Rix Lounge, Coronado Springs Resort: No recipe found
Thanks again, everyone! I’m looking forward to stumbling around Disney World for most of my trip thanks to you folks! 😉
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