Olivia's Cafe | the disney food blog

Review: Olivia’s Cafe at Disney World’s Old Key West Resort

On my last weekend trip to Walt Disney World, I decided on the out-of-the-way Olivia’s Cafe at Disney’s Old Key West Resort as our dinner destination prior to attending Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in the Magic Kingdom.

Learn About:Olivia’s Cafe

Disney World Restaurants

My family was looking for a place to relax and fill up on a good meal, and somewhere that we could get a last minute Advance Dining Reservation.

While this resort exudes comfort and a family-friendly atmosphere for Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members, we found the service equally welcoming for non-guests of the hotel. Since we had our own vehicle, transportation to the restaurant was simple. (And our teen son, who traveled from a theme park, had no trouble taking a bus there. He even got there early!) We used our MagicBand to show our reservation at the entrance gate and then proceeded to a parking area very close to the restaurant.

Entrance to the resort

Parking was very near the porte-cochère

Covered walkway

Nautical elements evoke a seaside atmosphere at the entrance to Olivia’s.

[Read more…]

What’s New Around Walt Disney World: June 24, 2014

By Wendy 5 Comments

For this round of “What’s New,” we’re heading to three Disney World parks and five Resorts to check out candy apples, menu changes, comfort foods, and oodles of cold drinks to help you cool down in hot temperatures! Welcome back to “What’s New!”

MAGIC KINGDOM

Character-inspired Treats

Magic Kingdom rang in the summer with the 24-Hour Rock Your Disney Side event. Several treats debuted that day, which were originally intended to be around just for those 24 hours; but a few made the cut to stick around a little longer, including these eye-catching Maleficent Krispy Treats and cake pops found in the Main Street Confectionery and Big Top Treats.

Maleficent Cake Pops and Krispy Treats

If you followed our coverage that day, you may have seen the Sunshine Tree Terrace’s Orange Bird join the candy apple ranks as well, but just in case you missed it, here he is!

Orange Bird Candy Apples

He’s too cute to not show twice 😉 !

Orange Bird Caramel Apple

And at Main Street Bakery, the Olaf the Snowman Carrot Cake Cupcake remains, alongside a Frozen-themed one as well.

Olaf Cupcake

Frozen Cupcake

Columbia Harbour House

In Liberty Square, Columbia Harbour House is offering two new dinner-only comfort foods: Seafood Macaroni & Cheese and Chicken Pot Pie. You can read our review here!

Columbia Harbour House

Seafood Macaroni and Cheese

Full entree

The Plaza Restaurant

added a great-sounding choice to their list of entrees: a Beef Brisket Onion Burger.

Plaza sign

Plaza Entrees

Tony’s Town Square

At Tony’s Town Square, guests can now choose a Seasonal and Sustainable Fresh Catch Salad. And at lunch, a Meatball Trio has replaced the Meatball Sliders.

Tony’s Sign

Tony’s Town Square Lunch Menu

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe

is serving up a new Cherry Slush topped with Lemon-Lime Fomz.

Cherry Slush at Cosmic Ray’s

Cherry Slush topped with Lemon Lime Fomz

Read more about it (and the mystery that is “Fomz”) by clicking here!

EPCOT

The Refreshment Cool Post (found in the Africa Outpost as you stroll around World Showcase) is offering a few summer treats: Pineapple and Coconut Frozen Yogurt (served solo or swirled together) and a Mango Rum Smoothie featuring African Starr Rum. Check out our review of the new Frozen Yogurt flavors here!

Refreshment Cool Post

Pineapple Coconut Swirl Frozen Yogurt

ANIMAL KINGDOM

A couple of really fun new adult beverages have arrived in Animal Kingdom!

Drinkwallah

Head over to Asia’s Drinkwallah for a Coconut-Lychee Lemonade with Parrot Bay Coconut Rum. We’ll have a review on the blog soon!

Drinkwallah

Drinkwallah Menu

Corn-Ivores

Or if you’ve really got to tame your sweet tooth, try [Read more…]

Guest Review: Breakfast at Olivia’s Cafe in Disney’s Old Key West Resort

By AJ 13 Comments

Welcome back Julie B. with a review of an insider-favorite restaurant tucked away in the Old Key West Resort — Olivia’s Cafe!

Learn About:Olivia’s Cafe

Disney World Restaurants

Tucked away in the Downtown Disney Resort area sits Old Key West, a Disney Vacation Club resort. A hidden treasure and tropical oasis lies within — Olivia’s Café.

Atmosphere

From the moment we drove through the gate, I could feel myself relax into the Key West atmosphere. Even the security guard letting us into the resort said “Oh Olivia’s, the best kept secret in Disney World!”

Everything about Old Key West just makes you want to take a deep breath and imagine you’re along the coast with a cool ocean breeze.

Olivia's Cafe Entrance.

When you enter the restaurant, you’ll see walls adorned with tackle and boating items, but also covered with family photos of Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members.

Olivia's Dining Room.

This really sets up the restaurant with the vibe of a local, “towny” place that’s perfect for families. Even though we weren’t regulars, I still felt so welcomed and at home at Olivia’s.

Family Album at Olivia's Cafe.

Decor at Olivia's.

We dined on a flawless weather day, so we opted for a table on the patio. Our table had a perfect view of the flag pole, water, and lobby walkway area.

Patio at Olivia's.

View from the patio.

With a warm breeze and abundant sunshine, I can’t imagine [Read more…]

DIY Disney Recipe: Key Lime Pie from Olivia’s Café at Disney’s Old Key West Resort

By AJ 21 Comments

DFB guest chef Carol E. returns today with a traditional recipe for the Key Lime Pie from Olivia’s Café at Disney’s Old Key West Resort. Get your baking supplies ready!

Being a Florida native (Yes, native!! I was one of about 7 people actually born here…everyone else is a transplant. Ha!), I was excited to dive into this recipe!

Key Lime pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts! Did you know that Key lime pie is the official pie of the state of Florida? That’s right, not only are we awesome because we have Walt Disney World in our state, but we also have our own official pie! Florida rocks! 🙂

Even better, you can get our official state pie at Walt Disney World — and this is one of the best versions of it on property! This Florida tradition is served perfectly chilled every day at Olivia’s Café!

Olivia's Cafe.

Olivia Cafe's Dining Room.

Key Lime Pie Recipe

While there are a lot of different recipes for Key lime pie, the traditional one is the best! It only takes three ingredients to make the pie filling. If you make it right, it will be pale yellow in color and it will have the perfect balance of creamy sweet and tart goodness.

Key Lime Pie at Olivia's Cafe.

I was excited to find the traditional Key lime pie recipe from Olivia’s Café in the Cooking with Mickey and the Disney Chefs cookbook to share with you!

While Olivia’s Café has taken the pie to the gourmet side now by making it in an individual “tart” style and adding a meringue topping with dollops of raspberry and mango purees, we’ll be sticking to their original recipe from the cookbook — topped off with whipped cream.

Key Lime Pie Cross-Section.

So let’s get baking! But before we get started, I do want to warn you that this is a plan ahead recipe. You need at least 3-4 hours in the fridge, but better if left in overnight before serving!

It’s actually a super quick and easy recipe to make. It will take you more time to cool and chill the pie than it will to actually make it!

Ingredients.

Ingredients

-5 large egg yolks-1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk-2/3 cup Key lime [Read more…]

Christmas Meal Options at Walt Disney World

By Kim LaPaglia 5 Comments

Dining at Walt Disney World during the holiday season

offers the chance to sample special entrees, desserts, and entire menus geared to Christmas travelers.

Disney restaurants often open up extra options — from counter-service to table-service to buffets — during the holiday season, and especially on Christmas Day.

We’ve got three ways that Disney dining changes during the holidays, and a few specific suggestions for you!

Disney Specialty Holiday Meals

Many Disney restaurants announce specialty Christmas Day menus! There are three different types of “options” offered during the season…

Extra Counter Service Options Open Up

A few of Disney’s oft-shuttered restaurants like Tomorrowland Terrace in Tomorrowland, Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland, and the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon in Frontierland open their doors for counter-service eats during [Read more…]

What’s Your Favorite Disney Pie?

By AJ 24 Comments

Nobody ever talks enough about pie, right? Raise your hand if you’re with me. So recently, we asked for your favorite pies at Disney World and Disneyland, and we received some awesome recommendations!

DFB readers and Facebook Friends shared their suggestions for this yummy dessert via the Disney Food Blog Facebook page. Now let’s get into those pies!

Yummo Pecan Pie at Boatwright's in Disney World -- review coming soon!

The kinds of pie with the greatest shout-outs from our facebook fans were Key Lime, Mango, and Blueberry. Let’s grab a slice…

Key Lime Pie

Our readers suggest stopping by Sunshine Seasons or Olivia’s Cafe at the Old Key West resort for their Key Lime desserts.

At Olivia’s, the Key Lime Tart is very popular due to the thick graham cracker crust (that goes all the way up the sides of the dessert!), sweet and tart key lime filling, and a sweet and light meringue topping. Facebook fan Crystal N. highly recommends this tart (and so do I!!!)!

Key Lime Tart

Key Lime Tart on the Inside

Allan T., Chris D., and Susan H. are among our readers praising the Key Lime Pie at [Read more…]

Reader Poll: Rather Eat Thanksgiving Dinner at Home or at a Disney Restaurant?

By AJ 9 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving!

My family is considering having Thanksgiving in Disney World next year, and I wanted to hear some opinions about that! So we asked our Facebook Page Fans:

Would you rather have Thanksgiving Dinner at home, or at a Disney restaurant?.

Our readers chimed in with their holiday preferences! While dining at home was a strong contender due to family traditions, leftovers, cost-savings, aversion to holiday crowds, and a palate for a real home-cooked meal, ordering Thanksgiving dinner at a Disney restaurant was the clear winner!

And these voters didn’t care where they ate at Disney — they just wanted to be in the middle of the magic for the holiday. In fact, we think some of you might be happy with one of these!:

Disney Turkey Leg

Here are some of the other suggestions we received!: [Read more…]

Review: Olivia’s Cafe at Disney’s Old Key West Resort

By AJ 18 Comments

Learn About:Olivia’s Cafe

Disney World Restaurants

Olivia’s Cafe over at Old Key West in Walt Disney World is just about the most homey restaurant in Walt Disney World. Its only rival would be Trail’s End, and I see them both as a great place to meet up with old friends year after year.

These are the types of restaurants that inspire memories of heading off on summer vacation, reuniting with friends you haven’t seen in a while, and enjoying some good food together in an atmosphere that’s as familiar to you as your own kitchen. I guess that’s what Disney was going for with the Disney Vacation Club, and they’ve achieved it at Olivia’s.

Atmosphere

In fact, when I walked into Olivia’s, it almost felt as though the needle scratched off of the record in the jukebox and everyone turned to stare at the newcomer. Because I’m not a regular at Old Key West, it really did feel like I was a bit out of place at this restaurant that’s frequented by Disney Vacation Club members who are owners at Old Key West.

Olivia's Sign

Olivia's Open Sign

Of course, that was only my perception. After checking in, we were [Read more…]

Disney Food Post Round-Up: October 17, 2010

By AJ 6 Comments

Woo hoo! Just wanted to remind everyone before we start the round-up: We were finally able to announce the winners of the WDW Foodie Fest Scavenger Hunt! (And thank the volunteers and sponsors as well!)

Thanks to all 300+ (!!) folks who came to celebrate with us at the 2010 WDW Foodie Fest! Stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog Newsletter, and Disney Food Blog on twitter and facebook for details about the 2011 WDW Foodie Fest. It will be held in the beginning of October 2011, and there may be some surprises in store… 😉

Now, on to the Round-Up!

StitchKingdom reports on Day 1 of D23’s Sip and Stroll event in Epcot, including Dave Smith’s retirement dinner!

DisZine has a great review of Olivia’s Cafe at Disney’s Old Key West Resort! Check out that Key Lime Tart!

Epcot Crowd at Wine and Dine Half Marathon After-Party

Touring Plans‘ blogger Caroline Baggerly recaps and shares her opinion on her experience running the brand new Wine and Dine Half-Marathon, which took place in Walt Disney World on October 2nd as part of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival opening weekend.

Disney Every Day has some great photos from a trip around the Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

BritMick has a fun review of Kouzzina by Cat Cora!

Eating (And Drinking) Around the World has an awesome review of the Beer and Sake seminars at the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic from last weekend. Check it out!

Wine-Oh Of The Year offers a trip report of their visit to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival — with special attention paid to the wine, of course.

Everything WDW has a great review of Epcot’s Via Napoli.

Main Street Gazette reviews the Singapore Booth at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

Eating Around WDW shares a review of Sci-Fi Dine-in at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

HeatherW.com is back with some more great Disney Food scrapbooking layouts! Here’s Main Street Bakery and Birthday at Chef Mickey’s!

Mousekefoodie discusses Kimonos at the Swan.

Armchair Imagineers have a very cool review of their visit to the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic as well!

Finally, thanks again to StitchKingdom for sharing the links to the third and fourth parts of the Disneyland Paris Mickey Cookie Decorating Competition!

No Park Tickets? No Reservation? No Problem!

By AJ 19 Comments

The main complaint I hear regarding the re-instated 180-day window for Disney World Advanced Dining Reservations is that it’s impossible to get a seat in a restaurant “on a whim.” I wanted to address that concern and add another challenge: what if you don’t have park tickets, either?

I thought it’d be fun to tackle this situation and suggest a few spots in both Disney World and Disneyland for those who find themselves in this “pickle!”

Beaches and Cream Beef Sandwich Au Jus

Walt Disney World

Nope! I’m not kidding. It doesn’t have to be a hassle to find a good, table-service meal in Disney World — even when you don’t have a reservation or a park ticket! Here are four of my favorite go-to locations at all different price points:

Beaches and Cream $
Welcome back to the 1950’s soda shoppe! Beaches and Cream is located at Disney’s Beach Club Resort and doesn’t even take reservations, so you won’t ever run into the no ADR problem! This spot serves simple, but delicious, [Read more…]

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Review: Olivia’s Cafe at Disney World’s Old Key West Resort

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