WDW Downtown Disney: Goodbye McDonald's, Hello Pollo Campero

WDW Downtown Disney: Goodbye McDonald’s, Hello Pollo Campero

pollocampero

According to the Orlando Sentinel, McDonald’s is pulling out of the Disney World entertainment district, Downtown Disney.

The McDonald’s restaurant at Walt Disney World’s shopping-and-dining district will close April 30, Disney said this afternoon.

This is the part of the fall-out from the end of the Disney/McDonald’s exclusive sponsorship agreement, which terminated in 2004.

“Our alliance partners are ever-changing and this shift in our relationship with McDonald’s reflects the dynamic nature of the sponsorship business,” Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said.

The replacement restaurant, Pollo Campero, is a Latin chicken fast-food chain. Business Wire is reporting that the chain is joining forces with franchisee Levy Campero to provide a new concept restaurant in Downtown Disney based on Pollo Campero’s standard family-style Latin dining coupled with new fresh, healthy menu additions, like chef-made salads, sandwiches, fruits, and healthy snacks as well as vegetarian, gluten-free, sugar-free, low-sodium or organic offerings.

Pollo Campero is scheduled to open in Fall 2010.

MK Renovations: Mrs. Potts’ Cupboard & Main Street Ice Cream Parlor

By AJ 2 Comments

Mrs. Potts’ Cupboard

In keeping with the upcoming Fantasyland revamp into a forest wonderland housing princesses, mermaids, and beasts, Mrs. Potts’ Cupboard has lost her clock tower and has received a renovated thatched roof.

Check out WDWMagic for before/after pics!

Main Street Ice Cream Parlor
WDWMagic is also reporting that the Main Street Ice Cream Parlor has disappeared behind a scrim due to extensive external renovations. The parlor is currently open to guests during construction.

French Crepe Flip Book

By AJ 7 Comments

First things first: Answers to yesterday’s food photo quiz are at the bottom of this post! But, now, on to today’s post!

Many of you know that across the path from Epcot’s Chefs de France Restaurant is a crepe and ice cream stand. It’s there year-round, always ready to cater to any sugary whim you may have. Personally, my addiction to chocolate crepes requires me to stop once in a while to relive my days of visiting France, where crepes were cheap and plentiful. So I was excited when my dad sent this file of pics from his recent WDW trip. He’d snapped photos from outside the kiosk as the CM went through the process of making both a chocolate crepe and a sugar crepe in Epcot’s France.

Epcot French Crepe Kiosk

When I opened the file, all of these photos were laid out right next to each other; I couldn’t help but think they looked like a very cool animation flip book! I wanted you to see them the same way. There’s a photo of the menu at the end, so you can see what other delectable goodies you can sample at the kiosk. Enjoy… [Read more…]

Disney Food Photo Quiz

By AJ 21 Comments

Welcome to the first ever Disney Food Blog food quiz! I’m a dork, as you know, and in addition to taking pictures of actual food in Disney parks, I also take pictures of food-related stuff.

While going through photos recently, I came across a bunch of Disney food-related signs/art that I’m pretty sure lots of people just pass right by — but NOT you and me! So, let’s have a little trivia quiz, shall we?

Do you know where to find all of these signs/art pieces in Walt Disney World?
Check out tomorrow’s blog post to see the correct answers! *Spoiler Alert:* Folks are making guesses in the comments 😉

Photo #1:

Hmm…where do they have really big carrots?
King Carrots

Photo #2: Gotta love a place where there’s poetry on the walls…
Pot Dish

Photo #3:
Drop Anchor

Photo #4: This one’s part of a [Read more…]

Restaurant Review: The Wave

By AJ 21 Comments

I posted a brief mention of the Contemporary Resort’s newest restaurant a few weeks ago, but I wanted to get a full review up of the The Wave as soon as possible. It’s one of Disney World’s most recent additions, and it’s getting pretty good marks from what I’ve seen.

Contemporary Resort's The Wave Restaurant

Atmosphere
The Wave is located on the Contemporary Resort‘s lobby level. (It’s tucked back into the space that used to house the Food and Fun center.) You’ll enter the restaurant through an archway and a tubular hallway — reminds me of the old Journey Into Imagination rainbow walkway after the ride — through blue and bubbles and other [Read more…]

Disney Food Round-Up: January 31, 2010

By AJ 1 Comment

As usual, when there’s a lot of Disney food news during the week, we recap our Disney Food Blog stories for those who might like to take a look. This week, we have:

And here we go — off into the wonderful world of Disney Food posts from this week!

AKLResort.com shares a two food related blog-posts this week: a sample menu for the Kilimanjaro Club Concierge Lounge and info on grocery items available at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

OC Register reports the closure of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland Terrace until this summer. The kitchen is being expanded and renovated.

The WDWToday Podcast aired a Healthy Eating in WDW show with special guest: me. 🙂

The Disney Chick makes what sounds like just about the best soup ever: Roasted Garlic and Gruyere Cream Soup from Victoria and Albert’s.

Heatherw25, an avid scrapbooker, posted a bunch of Disney Food Scrapbooking Lay-outs on her blog this week!

The Disney Parks Blog has some awesome grooms’ cakes from Disney Fairytale Weddings!

Touring Plans visits my favorite place and yours, La Cava del Tequila! Don’t forget that you can see the full La Cava del Tequila menu here on the Disney Food Blog 🙂

Main St. Gazette shares fantastic photos of one of my favorite areas of Disney World — the Sunset Ranch Farmer’s Market.

Passport to Dreams takes a retro peek at Columbia Harbour House. (Also, you don’t want to miss their detailed look at the Caribbean Plaza — not a food article, but wonderful nonetheless.)

Dis Unplugged takes us to Disneyland twice this week with posts on the Carnation Cafe and Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen.

And, finally, just because when I find things like this on ebay, it’s my job to let you know about them: a Disney Characters Spork Collection.

Tables in Wonderland February Dining Events

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Tables in Wonderland has sent information about some more incredible dining options for February 2010! I’ve posted images first, but printed info is right below the images! (You can click on the horizontal images for a larger version.)

Also, be sure to check out the other Valentine’s Day dining options in Disneyland and Disney World here. [Read more…]

Disney’s California Food and Wine Festival 2010

By AJ 2 Comments

Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival

takes place at Disney’s California Adventure Park from April 16 to May 31, 2010. The festival includes delicious culinary demonstrations, wine seminars, celebrity chefs and more — all highlighting the wonderful dishes California has to offer along with a look at international cuisine.

Like Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, some events are included with Park admission, others require separate tickets and reservations.

What Can I Do There?
Here’s just a sampling of the events available at the 2010 Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival. To see ALL of the events available, including dates, times, prices, and reservation information, visit our Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival page!:

“Taste of California” Marketplace: Sample unique foods created specifically for the festival, wine and beer pairings, and tapas-sized portions of gourmet items.
Chef Showcase Stage: See celebrity and noted chefs, including chefs from the Disneyland Resort, showcase their expertise!
NEW! Brewmaster Dinner: The Karl Strauss Brewing Company hosts this delicious and educational event, where gourmet dishes are expertly paired with, well, suds 😉
Date: Friday, May 7
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Steakhouse 55
Napa Rose Cooking School: Chef Andrew Sutton enlightens guests, leading them through the creation of a 4-course meal. (I hope it includes that hot cocoa he made on the Guy Fieri Disneyland Holidays show!)
Date: Saturdays, April 17, May 1, 8, 15 and 22
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Napa Rose, Disney’s Grand California Hotel®
Wine, Beer and Spirits Education and Tasting Seminars: Seminars will be led by noted winemakers, brewers, and distillers. Some will also include Disneyland sommeliers.
Junior Chef: A favorite from previous years, this is cooking class for chefs ages 11 and under.
Festival Wine Walks: This is a lot like the World Showcase Wine Walk in Epcot! Each walk allows you to purchase a tasting passport and select up to four tastes from around the world, or from a single region.
Festival Beer Walk: Sample beers, lagers, and ales from around the world.
Much More!!: Remember: these are just a few of the options available during the festival! Check out our Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival page for ALL of the details, including times, dates, prices, and reservation information!

I’ll see ya there! 😉

Valentine’s Day Dining Options in Disneyland and Disney World

By AJ 2 Comments

If the candies and cookies highlighted in our Disney World Valentine’s Day Treats post (yum!!) don’t satisfy your “savory tooth”, several Disney hotels and restaurants are featuring delicious Valentine’s Day prix fix meals or specials. Here are the details:

Tutto Italia Carnevale Celebration
Join in the party as Tutto Italia in Epcot’s World Showcase celebrates Carnevale! Bring your own mask or buy one there! You can see details and booking info by clicking on the image below:

Carnevale Menu and Info at Tutto Italia

Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort
Todd English’s bluezoo at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort is introducing a special romantic menu just for Valentine’s Day Weekend (Friday, Feb. 12th – Sunday, Feb. 14th). It includes:

wagyu ny strip and mero seabass for two: caramelize onion rosti, hammock hollows braised greens, béarnaise, lobster jus $90
halibut: parsley root, baby fennel, finger lime, lemon balm $36
cocktail: flaming heart: hangar one raspberry, godiva white chocolate liqueur, pama liqueur, rose petal-tea, fresh muddled raspberries, topped with flaming raspberries $13

For more information or reservations, call (407) 934-1609. Reservations recommended. Tables in Wonderland Valentine’s Day Chocolate Dinner

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with fellow tables in wonderland members with a Chocolate-focused dinner! You can see the full menu [Read more…]

Recipe: Spanakopita from Chef Cat Cora, Kouzzina

By AJ 4 Comments

Kouzzina Spanakopita

I haven’t seen any Kouzzina recipes floating around since its grand opening last fall, so I found this Cat Cora Spanakopita recipe on the Food Network site. I figure, since the restaurant is Cat’s first signature restaurant, the Disney version can’t be too far from this one, right? 😉

The main difference I see is that this recipe is in pie form, where Disney’s portions are clearly made individually. @gbastian suggested via twitter to swap out the pie crust for puff pastry, or you can go Greek and use phyllo.

We sampled Spanakopita when we visited Kouzzina last September, and, [Read more…]

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