food IS a theme park
The Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country is what I’d consider a hidden gem of Disneyland. The counter service restaurant is nestled way in the back of the park along the Rivers of America. The lines are never too terrible, there’s plenty of seating, and more importantly the food is quite wonderful!
Hungry Bear Restaurant
It’s the middle of September already! Do you know what that means? It means we’re THISCLOSE to the 2015 Epcot Food and Wine Festival!
Enjoy a new dessert party this year!
It’s been a week full of exciting news, including the addition of a new dessert cruise on the Magic Kingdom ferry and two new food events for the last season of The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!
We have a lot to share, so let’s jump right in…
Are you ready to mosey on up to the Stage Door Cafe in Disneyland’s Frontierland?
Stage Door Cafe
Located around the corner — at the Stage Door, of course — of the [Read more…]
Tucked back in the corner of Critter Country, The Hungry Bear Restaurant is often overlooked. This quiet counter service restaurant is rarely crowded, has plenty of shaded seating with a gorgeous view of the Rivers of America, AND the food here is great too! Another bonus? They’re currently serving up the most delicious item at the Disneyland Resort.
Hungry Bear Order Kiosks
The Caramel Apple Funnel Cake is making its grand debut this year for Halloween Time — and I need it to go away soon because otherwise I will be way too tempted to eat one on each and every visit to Disneyland.
Caramel Apple Funnel Cake from Hungry Bear
Made fresh to order, a Caramel Apple Funnel Cake will set you back [Read more…]
Oh my gosh, I LOVE this news!!!! Epcot has introduced yet another new funnel cake!!!
And it’s CHOCOLATE!!!
Double Chocolate Funnel Cake in Epcot's America Pavilion
Yup — the Funnel Cake Stand in Epcot’s America Pavilion is wowing us yet again with another new flavor for our favorite “elephant ear” treat in the Showcase… .
Funnel Cake Stand in Epcot's America Pavilion
I’m thinking this is another [Read more…]
I get lots of emails and questions about the food I personally love in Disney World, and today I’m sharing some of my favorite Disney Food Kiosks!
You know the ones — those cute little structures that are almost restaurants, but not quite? Here are a few of the BIGGEST TASTES you can get at the smallest places in Disney World! 🙂
I hope you’ll share some of your favorites in the comments, too!
There is no way I could have a list of favorite kiosks without putting Magic Kingdom’s Aloha Isle right up front! The welcoming little stand, located in Adventureland, is home to one of Disney’s most beloved treats, after all.
Aloha Isle
That’s right — we’re talking Dole Whips!
And whether you like yours in float form, swirled with vanilla, or are you’re a purist, most Disney fans don’t consider their trip complete until they’ve made at least one stop here.
Dole Whip Float! A Must-Eat snack for every Disney guest.
As for me, I prefer about one visit to Aloha Isle for each day I’m at Disney. 🙂 No kidding, even though I’m usually eating non-stop on every Disney trip, this is one snack I never skip.
At the midway point while you’re walking around Epcot’s World Showcase, you’ll encounter another of our favorite stops, Fife and Drum.
This unassuming little stand looks like just another drink stop, but be sure to swing by and check out the menu for some seriously fun eats. Fife and Drum is home to some items you won’t find anyplace else! But there are not-to-be missed classics here as well, like the cult favorite Smoked Turkey Legs.
Fife and Drum Tavern
If you’re a pretzel fan, you have three different varieties to choose from. The stuffed Jalapeno Cheese Pretzel has a great spicy kick! And you’ll also find the sweet Cream Cheese Pretzel (decadent!) and the Mickey Soft Pretzel (cute!) here, too. This is one of the few places in Disney World to find all of these kinds of pretzels sold in one spot.
UPDATE: Please note, you can still find all these pretzels in the American Adventure Pavilion; however, they are now located at the Block and Hans Craft Beer kiosk.
Jalapeno Cheese Pretzel!
There are also some amazingly tasty drinks here as well. We’ve told you about the Jim Beam Red Stag Lemonade, a wonderful little frozen drink with a punch, thanks to black cherry-flavored bourbon.
You can get your root beer float fix here, too, made with vanilla soft serve.
Root Beer Float
But the piece de resistance of slushies can also be found in this humble spot: I give you the American Dream! This incredible frozen drink combines [Read more…]
Um…how cool are these Darth Vader s’mores?! I know I just posted about the Darth candy mold (and other super fun Star Wars and Marvel gift ideas) on Friday, but I couldn’t help showing it off again!
Darth Vader S'mores
So, in Disney Food News this week we were pleasantly surprised to discover updates to Walt Disney World’s standard bar menu found at the watering holes and restaurants throughout the parks and resorts.
We’ve also got my personal review of the new Frozen Beer in Epcot’s Japan pavilion. But there’s more to Disney than drinks… check it out!
Disney World has new adult beverages, plus seasonal treats!
We’ve got additional food news (including a souvenir stein at Sleepy Hollow, new name for Fresh A-Peel in Downtown Disney, new Le Cellier dessert item, new menu item at Sci-Fi, restaurant closure updates, and LOTS more) on our Disney Food News Pin Board!
The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining 2012 is our comprehensive, 300-page e-book packed with Disney Dining tips for your next vacation. Wondering if the book will help with your upcoming trip? Check out our latest review!
We’d like to thank Richard Bernato at WDW Radio for the glowing review:
I bet that no one, in or out of Walt Disney World has researched and constructed such a study as her Guide to Walt Disney World Dining.
There is virtually no aspect about Disney Dining, planning for it, paying for it, and oh by the way enjoying it, that you will be unable to find in the guide. And having the book for its advice and information will certainly be a major contributor to you and your family’s very happy and satisfying vacation.
You can read the rest of the review here, and don’t miss the DISCOUNT with code WDW Radio!
Learn more about the DFB Guide here!
If you find a fun new food in or from Disney, share a photo with us so we can add it to our DFB Reader Finds!
This week, our colleagues at Disney Hipsters shared this spooky pic of a skeleton brownie at The Mara in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge! I haven’t seen this one anywhere else!
Skeleton Brownie at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
The 2012 Epcot Food and Wine Festival is still going strong, and we’re updating our coverage daily with World Showcase booth and special event reviews, new photos, and other Festival updates!
Rose Margarita, The Opening Cocktail at Tequila Lunch
Here’s some of the latest…
Find all of the latest Epcot Food and Wine Festival News and Reviews here,
and stay tuned for our take on several seminars and events around the festival.
David Lebovitz
shares his perspective on Disneyland Paris eats (including some long-awaited macarons)!
Daveland takes a look at vintage photos of coffee locations in Disneyland before there was Starbucks.
Disney History Institute visits backstage at the vintage Golden Horseshoe in Disneyland.
AKL Resort orders room service at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Main Street Gazette re-visits the 2012 Epcot Food & Wine Festival with an at-home recipe for Frozen Jim Beam Red Stag Lemonade.
Eating (and Drinking) Around the World visits the 2012 Food & Wine Classic at the WDW Swan and Dolphin.
Disney Parks Blog takes us on a behind the scenes look at the Haunted Mansion’s gingerbread house in Disneyland.
If you’re a fan of that classic carnival treat, the funnel cake, I’ve got something that should make your Disney eats list!
Disney specializes in funnel cakes of all kinds — plain; cinnamon sugar; topped with apples, chocolate, strawberries, whipped cream; etc.
But there’s one spot in the “World” that offers seasonal flavors of these fried up goodies…that I haven’t found anywhere else!
Funnel Cakes Sign in Epcot's American Adventure
Yep! Epcot’s American Adventure Funnel Cake kiosk features a couple of special flavors that you can only get at certain times of the year: Strawberry Funnel Cakes and Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cakes.
American Adventure Funnel Cake Kiosk Menu
While I haven’t seen both on the menu at the same time, it’s always fun to stop by the kiosk and see what’s available when you’re there! Usually it’s Pumpkin Spice for Fall and Winter…
Pumpkin spice funnel cake
And Strawberry for Spring and Summer! Each cake costs [Read more…]
It’s no secret that my daughter Louisa is more than a little produce averse. There was a period of about four years when NO fruit or vegetable crossed her lips, and even now at age 12 she still has to be cajoled into having more than a bite or two of something as innocuous as sweet potato or banana.
Frozen bananas, a gateway fruit.
So you can imagine my surprise when, on a recent trip to the Animal Kingdom’s Yak & Yeti restaurant, she consumed nearly the entire plate of wok-fried green beans we had ordered for the table. It was one of those parenting moments where you hold your breath and move slowly so as to avoid breaking the spell.
Yak & Yeti wok-fried green beans. My hero!
Those Yak & Yeti yummies didn’t turn Louisa into an inveterate bean eater, but she is now occasionally willing to nibble on a tempura string bean if we’re out for Japanese. Based on our prior track record with legumes, I’m going to count that solidly in the win column.
What was it about the Yak & Yeti beans that made Louisa such a fan? Yes, they were quite tasty, and yes, the green part was handily obfuscated by a crunchy, yumtastic fried breading coating; but we had tried similar ploys in the past to no avail. My theory is that the Yak & Yeti beans were flavored by the spice of (cue the orchestra) The Theme Park Food Effect.
Much like campers will say that meals eaten on the trail are the BEST, you know that their experience is colored by the fact that their senses are overwhelmed and they’re starving from an [Read more…]
We recently released our newest e-Book — The DFB Mini-Guide to Epcot Snacks, and now we get to show off a little of what’s in it! This portable tome will take care of all of your cravings: Salty? Yep. Savory? Of course. Sweet? …Are you kidding me. 😉
By now, you know that I just love food “crawls”, which are essentially little adventures to complete with your family and friends! Just eat each item to complete the crawl! And today I’d like to share the Epcot Classics Snack Crawl that we developed for our Epcot Snacks guidebook. But don’t worry — this doesn’t give too much away! We have five other snack crawls through Epcot in the book, along with 180 pages of snack reviews and other bonus items! Here we go…
Your first stop on the Epcot Classics Snack Crawl has quickly become an iconic spot in Epcot! Travel to Karamell-Küche, the luscious caramel candy store in Germany, and pick up some caramel popcorn. Deceptively simple, this stuff is addictive. Go ahead and get an extra bag — for midnight munchies, of course.
Caramel Popcorn
Prefer something not-so-sweet to start out? Grab a classic, hand-twisted German pretzel instead! 🙂 Believe me; there’s plenty of sweet to come!
It’s time to make your way to the Funnel Cake Kiosk in the American Adventure pavilion to pick up a true theme park classic — Funnel Cake! It’s your choice whether you select one that is plain or covered in extra [Read more…]
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