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Tag: disney restaurants

Review: House of Blues Orlando

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Learn About:House of Blues
Disney Springs
Disney World Restaurants

Update: As we reported earlier, House of Blues in Orlando is now serving the new Crossroads Menu.

At long last, I finally made it over to the West Side of Disney World’s Downtown Disney to have my FIRST EVER meal at House of Blues! I can’t wait to hear your comments about this place!

Atmosphere

The House of Blues is all about atmosphere. Eating there is like being plunged into the middle of a museum. According to the official House of Blues website, here’s the backstory:

The House of Blues grew out of founder Isaac Tigrett’s love for the unique American art form known as the “the Blues,” Weaned on this music during his early childhood in Tennessee, one of Isaac’s goals was to introduce the world to the music of the rural south, including the Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, Jazz and Roots-abed Rock & Roll.

The Blues is translated throughout the restaurant — inside and out — via fascinating, and sometimes extremely powerful, artwork.

The “grounds” of the restaurant surround a huge porch, and are peppered with found-object sculptures, mosaics, and [Read more…]

Disney Food Blog Restaurant Search Tool Now In Beta

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We’ve got great news to share! The Disney Food Blog Restaurant Search Tool is currently in Beta and available for use and feedback! We introduced this tool to our Disney Food Blog Newsletter subscribers a couple of months ago, and now it’s time to unveil it to everyone!

The DFB Restaurant Search gives readers the opportunity to search Walt Disney World restaurants for the perfect fit for their family! Simply click a section of the search that’s important to you and check the box that fits your needs. The tool does the rest!

Mix and match from dozens of options, then click on any resulting restaurant to see details, check menus, and read Disney Food Blog posts about those locations.

Your thoughts and suggestions about how to make it better are anticipated and welcome (we know there are a few bugs!). Head over to the DFB Restaurant Search Tool and start playing!

Top 5 Budget Friendly Table-Service Restaurants in Disney World: A Tip From the DFB Guide

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The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining

–is chock full of foodie info! Let’s take a look at another tip from the book — The Top 5 table-service restaurants in Walt Disney World for those dining on a tight budget…

Milky Way Sundae — Beaches and Cream

We chose these options because they are less expensive than other table-service locations, but also because we genuinely like to dine in these restaurants. A cheap price isn’t the only thing that makes dining in a restaurant worth it; good food and good atmosphere definitely have to be taken into account! So here are our favorite low-cost spots for taking a relaxing break from the hectic pace of the parks:

Top 5 Table-Service Restaurants on a Budget
» Beaches and Cream: This fun diner in Disney’s Beach Club Resort is tiny, but worth the wait! Order classic burgers and hot dogs, and the biggest ice cream sundaes you’ve ever seen!

» Trail’s End Restaurant: Tucked away at Fort Wilderness Resort, this country-style eatery is a buffet for breakfast and dinner and an a la carte spot for lunch. Be sure to try the sticky bun sundae!

» The Plaza: A small restaurant a stone’s throw from Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom, this spot specializes in comfort food! We love the price, the service, and the view!

» The Fountain: Another diner reminiscent of the 50’s, this Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin restaurant has more milkshake varieties than we could try in a month of Sundays!

» 50’s Prime Time Café: One of our favorites for food and atmosphere, this Hollywood Studios diner themed to Mom’s 1950’s kitchen serves up some great fried chicken and pot roast, and will likely make you laugh ’til you cry!

Top Five Budget Friendly Restaurants at Disney World

You’ll find this and 19 more Top 5 lists of favorites in the The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining!

What are some of your favorite budget-friendly restaurants in Walt Disney World? Let us know in the comments section below.

Disney Dining Photo Hunt

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Every once in a while we like to mix it up here on the DFB and see how closely everyone’s paying attention when they’re roaming the parks, resorts, and shops in Disney World.

The following collage includes six photos that all have to do with Disney World restaurants or other locations that primarily sell food. How many of the locations can you name?

Be warned — people might start guessing locations in the comments, so don’t peek unless you have your guesses firmly in place 🙂

Click the Collage to See The Larger Image

Good luck! Check in on tomorrow’s round-up to see the answers!

All photos copyright Disney Food Blog.

Disney Food for Families: A Holiday Without Dining Reservations

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The next installment in the Disney Food for Families Column by Erin Foster:

I had the good fortune to be able to spend the week leading up to and including Christmas Day at Walt Disney World. Because I knew this was a high-traffic time of year, I was diligent about making my Advance Dining Reservations the full 180+ days in advance of our trip.

I booked family favorites like the character breakfast at the Crystal Palace and special treats like a holiday dinner at the posh Victoria & Albert’s. Disney geek-and-a-half that I am, I even typed up all our confirmation numbers on a wallet-sized card and laminated it. I had planned for us to eat well. And we did.

Merry Christmas at the Magic Kingdom

We were scheduled to return home the day after Christmas, just as a blizzard was descending upon the East Coast. Needless to say, our flight was canceled. We were stuck at Walt Disney World. You’re feeling sorry for me, I know.

Once we got our accommodation situation settled, my kids started asking me, “Where should we eat?” Since this was now the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, notoriously the busiest week of the year, I assumed [Read more…]

Guest Review: Grand Floridian Cafe

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Thanks to Heather Montgomery from Running With Sass for this great review of lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe in Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort!

The Grand Floridian Café is located on the bottom floor toward the back of the lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. We arrived five minutes early for our 12:45 reservation and were immediately seated after being greeted by a friendly hostess. I was very happy to see we were being seated in the back along the windows looking out over the beautiful Grand Floridian gardens. Having just arrived in Disney World and checked into the Grand Floridian, we were very excited to have our first meal of the trip.

Atmosphere
This café fits in so well with the Victorian era décor. It uses a lot of light colors and florals in its palette, and it also gives off a relaxed vibe for those wanting to escape the busyness of the parks for a little while.

Cafe Atmosphere

All of the tables had a cute little vase on them with a beautiful [Read more…]

DFB Choice Awards Voting Now Open

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Thanks to all who submitted nominations for the 2010 DFB Choice Awards! After going through nearly 500 nomination forms, the front-runners in each category have earned a spot in the polls.

These nominees were chosen by the readers of the Disney Food Blog, and each one was nominated dozens — or, in some cases, hundreds — of times. If your favorite didn’t make it into the top three, don’t forget to nominate it again next year!

Voting has begun; make your views known below! Voting will remain open until December 22nd, and winners will be announced on December 31st! We’ll leave the results viewable for now, so you can root for your favorite! As we get closer to the final voting deadline, we’ll remove the results so the winners will be a surprise! 🙂

Thank you for voting! Polls are now closed. We will reveal the DFB Choice Award Winners on December 31st!

“I Can’t Believe I Hadn’t Tried This!” Disney Desserts Edition

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As you know, I am on a quest. I’d like to dine at every single Disney restaurant and try every single Disney “cult status” fan favorite still available today (sadly, that does not include beaver tails, RIP). I’d been doing a pretty good job at moving forward on my mission, but I had a few secrets I kept hidden — dishes I’d never, ever tried until this year, even though they were serious favorites of Disney guests the world over.

We like to be honest around here, so I’m going to start coming clean by giving you a list of a few Disney desserts I hadn’t really tried until my past few trips — along with what I thought of them. Ready? Here we go!

Yak and Yeti Fried Cream Cheese Won-tons
Once upon a time, a fun new restaurant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom called Yak and Yeti introduced a fun twist on the standard Asian won-ton. By stuffing won-ton skins with sweet cream cheese, frying them up, and pairing them with pineapples and sweet sauce, this is one non-chocolate dessert that will steal your heart and your taste buds.

Lots of folks claim that it’s not sweet enough, but I really enjoyed it. It’s a good, relatively light dessert to share, and the best part is: it suits hot days and cold days — perfect for all temps in WDW.

Yak and Yeti Fried Cream Cheese Wontons

Le Cellier Smores
Billed as a kids’ dessert, most Disney veterans have at least heard about the smores if they haven’t tried them. Presentation is key here — two gourmet “graham cracker” cookies are coated in [Read more…]

New Restaurants Coming to Pleasure Island…I Mean, “Hyperion Wharf”

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Concept art and details were released today about the new Hyperion Wharf, the name of the project formerly known as Pleasure Island in Disney World’s Downtown Disney, and they look pretty stunning.

While the plans are vague and don’t seem to include a central theme, yet, we do know that the 120-acre “waterfront complex” themed after an old-fashioned entertainment pier will include “diverse eateries, [which] will expand dining availability at Downtown Disney by more than 25 percent.”

A couple of the new dining options will take place somewhere you’d least expect them: the AMC Movie Theater! The Disney Parks Blog promises that the theater will add a “Concession Stand of the Future” along with “Florida’s first Fork & Screen Theater” (think Studio Movie Grill to get an idea of what [Read more…]

Disney Food Post Round-Up: November 14, 2010

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Holiday and Winter Cookies

In Disney Food news this week:

Plus, sadly, today is the final day to enjoy the Epcot Food & Wine Festival of 2010. It’s been a great ride; be sure to check out all of our coverage here and let us know how we can do better next year! Have a drink for me! I’ll see you September 30, 2011!!

And now, on to the Round-Up!

Outside the Berm has a blast from the past: a 1942 menu from Walt Disney’s Studio Restaurant. One Monte Cristo sandwich fried in butter, please! (Thanks to George Taylor for the heads up!)

DF ’82 shows us around some of the dining establishments in Disneyland Resort Paris’ Hotel Cheyenne!

Pasture Prime Family Farm shows what the Epcot Food and Wine Festival looks like from the perspective of the food — their Mangalitsa Pork was the star of a demo done by bluezoo Chef Chris Windus!

Samland’s Disney Adventures has pics of some of my favorite Disneyland treats, along with the Halloween “Oogie Boogie” Roastie-Toastie at the Haunted Mansion popcorn cart!

etckt showcases a few more incredible photographs from his lunch around the World at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

Main Street Gazette has an incredible (and thorough) collection of photographs of the Italy travel posters that hang in the back of the new Via Napoli. Definitely worth a look!

Disney Everyday has the details on the Wine & Dine Walk at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic this weekend.

Everything Walt Disney World looks at Annual Passholder dining discounts vs. Tables in Wonderland discounts.

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