Lunch: $ $
Dinner: $ $ $ $
: No
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
It doesn’t matter that over the last several decades this restaurant, on a steamboat, has never budged an inch; kids will love dining here. Crab is obviously the main choice, and although it’s plentiful and well prepared, something is missing. For the cost, it seems as if you should get a more upscale dining experience. Instead, I have always felt like I was in a fast-food crab cafeteria where they were just trying to turn the tables over as quickly as possible. Again, the food was perfectly good; I just didn’t like the experience. So if crab is what you want, come here and be prepared to leave quickly; otherwise, you might want to seek out other choices.
House of Blues
Cuisine Type: American/Southern
Serving Style: Buffet (B), à la carte (L, D)
Breakfast: $ $ $ Prix fixe
Lunch: $ $ $
Dinner: $ $ $
: No
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
This national chain offers live music and food in a fashion that is both unique and filled with life like no other place I can imagine. The menu is the same for lunch and dinner, accented with genuine Southern cuisine. Creole, Cajun, and just down-home cooking influences serve up spicy and flavor-rich entrées and remarkable appetizers. Jambalaya, shrimp, grits—they’re all good. So if you’re okay with a little spice to your meal, try something here.
The Sunday Gospel Brunch is also a special and fun show. While you enjoy the live gospel singing, you can stuff yourself on the excellent buffet. It combines breakfast standards prepared in Southern fashion with lunch items that showcase the cuisine of the restaurant. That meal alone is what bumps this to a 4-star choice. Can you say “cheesy grits”?
Paradiso 37
Cuisine Type: South and Central American
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: $ $
Dinner: $ $
: No
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆
Located in the center of the Downtown Disney area, this often overlooked restaurant brings a nice array of Central and South American flavors to their menu.
They do a good job in all phases of the menu of including authentic regional choices, Tex-Mex and Americanized versions of Latin foods, and then some straightforward American classics.
The warm ambiance is often peppered with live musical entertainment, and of course there are select seats that offer good water views for more romantic encounters.
As the Hyperion Wharf expansions grows, more will discover this hidden gem of Downtown Disney.
Planet Hollywood
Cuisine Type: American
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: Not open
Dinner: $ $
: Yes
Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
This place used to rely on the movie-themed decor to keep you from noticing that the food was boring and overpriced. Now it’s there just to keep you from noticing that the food is just boring. Although the prices have not risen at the same rate as at the joints that surround it, the bill is more about the view than the food.
The food is fine, but it’s nothing you can’t get back home, and with so many other interesting choices in the area, you should come here only if you have a group that doesn’t want anything but standard U.S.-chain restaurant fare.
Portobello
Cuisine Type: Italian
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: $ $
Dinner: $ $ $
: No
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
This Pleasure Island eatery has its menu focused squarely on the Italian peninsula, and it does so very well. Recently updated menus and redesigned dining areas have made it a more interesting venue, both for what you put in your mouth and what you have as scenery. The meatball bar is an oddly conceived menu addition, so only try it out if you are looking for bar food, not a full meal. If you want a romantic dinner setting and Italian, it’s preferable to the Italian Pavilion restaurant in the Epcot World Showcase, for both food and the lovely water views.
Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant
Cuisine Type: Irish
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: $
Dinner: $ $ $
: Yes
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
This exceptional addition to the Downtown Disney restaurant scene brings both traditional Irish cuisine and more modern takes on the national standards. The food is good, the drinks are fantastic, and the entertainment and ambiance should win awards. From the incomparable house band to the Irish dancer (who used to perform with Michael Flatley), you will find a lively time here. If you can get a seat in the main room, you’ll find conversation hard, as the energetic entertainment keeps the room humming into the wee hours. This is truly a destination for parties looking for a good time at night.
Many of the entrées are exceptional, and the sides are good, too. The colcannon is a wonderful vinegary potato dish that you will probably not find in your local pub, and you won’t go wrong with the lamb, the pork, or the bangers (sausages).
The Cookes of Dublin storefront is located around the corner and is a walk-up stand for some evening sweets. Perhaps more fun is the nearby Raglan Road outdoor bar courtyard, if you’re old enough to enjoy.
HIDDEN MAGIC!
What are the dining choices at Downtown Disney and the BoardWalk that shouldn’t be missed? That’s easy!
• Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant: Whether for dinner or drinks, this pub oozes ambiance and fun
• Seashore Sweets: Stop by for an evening dessert as you stroll along the BoardWalk
Rainforest Café
Cuisine Type: American
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: $
Dinner: $ $
: No
Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆
The busier of the two Rainforest Cafés in Walt Disney World, this one has the same decor and food offered at all stops of the national chain. It’s a good choice for families because of the kid-friendly menu and because so many Downtown Disney eateries have prominent bars that may turn some families off. But if you like this experience, you would probably prefer the newer T-REX that is run by the same company.
T-REX Café
Cuisine Type: American
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: $
Dinner: $ $
: No
Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆
One of the newest additions to the Downtown Disney area, this Landry’s-managed table-service restaurant combines a well-varied menu with an entertaining prehistoric setting. Think of it as a Rainforest Café set in the Jurassic period. Burgers, sandwiches, build-it pizzas, and even seafood provide a lot of choices, all named cutely after our extinct brethren. The food isn’t great, but the attraction is the entertainment and decor, not the cuisine.
Their kid’s menu is more varied than most Disney-run restaurants, making it a good choice for families, as long as the dino-hosts won’t scare the tykes. The ice age room is visually stunning as you are bathed in a blue glow. Fun, but it can be annoying by the end of a long dinner, so only request the room if you are in for lunch or quick dinner.
There is also a dino version of the Build-A-Bear concept in the lobby, if your kids like that.
Wolfgang Puck Café
Cuisine Type: Italian
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: $ $
Dinner: $ $ $
: Yes (but not upstairs)
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆
The restaurant is described as having California cuisine, but the pastaand pizza-heavy menu will make you think Italia
n. While the modern and colorful dining space can get loud, I think it’s a great place. The food has always been superb, the busy service has always been adequately attentive, and the overall experience always has been good. You can get out of here for under $20 a person, but without an appetizer.
There’s also an upstairs room for special (and expensive) occasions. You can order à la carte, but the prix fixe menu runs about $75 per person, giving you an idea of what you might be getting yourself into.
This restaurant proves that Wolfgang is a notch above most other gourmet restaurateurs, executing good food not just in the lands of the well-heeled, but in a setting fit for the masses as well. Kudos.
HIDDEN MAGIC!
If you have a fun group and want to go somewhere a bit bohemian where you can really interact over good food, Café Tu Tu Tango is the place for you. Located nearby on International Drive, the lobby has local artists at work, and the walls are covered with an eclectic mix of art and curios. The dining is tapas style (sharing appetizer-style dishes around the table), which really sparks the conversation. The food is excellent, and the variety of tapas selections can suit just about anyone. For more information, visit www.cafetututango.com/orlando.
Earl of Sandwich
Serving Style: Counter service
: Yes
This fast-food sandwich shop brings roast beef and horseradish to several of the selections of hot and cold sandwiches. The best counter service choice in Downtown Disney, and better than some of the table service choices, too! VERY BUSY!
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop
Serving Style: Counter service
: No
I gained 10 pounds just walking by this decadent shrine to chocolate and ice cream. They even put it into coffee; you’ll enjoy every last drop. This San Francisco–based confectioner has a broad selection of ice-cream-sundae concoctions, and it can be a great place to take kids for a special dessert.
Wetzel’s Pretzels
Serving Style: Counter service
: No
Hot dogs, pretzels, and lemonade. Blah.
Wolfgang Puck Express
Serving Style: Counter service
: Yes
This recently upgraded venue is a huge improvement over its embarrassing past. Swing by here for trendy sandwiches and salads to go, as well as some fun culinary shopping.
Dining at the BoardWalk
The second and smaller of the two nightlife areas, the BoardWalk has a decidedly toned-down atmosphere compared to Downtown Disney. The dining, though limited in the number of venues, does offer a surprising amount of variety. In addition to being an entertainment destination unto itself, the restaurants here serve as the food choices for guests of the BoardWalk Inn and Villas, so they always seem to have a buzz. Let’s look at what is here.
Big River Grille & Brewing Works
Cuisine Type: American
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: $ $
Dinner: $ $
: Yes
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
This brewpub elicits none of the typical beer-making smells of a hometown microbrewery. It’s up to you whether that’s a good thing. The cool tones in the hip, modern interior are far less appealing than the tables located outside on the deck. This is where you should take your sandwich, burger, or entrée dinner. Lunch and dinner menus are typically identical, and the prices seem a bit high, making it an expensive Disney lunch but a moderately priced dinner.
ESPN Club
Cuisine Type: American
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: $
Dinner: $
: Yes
Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆
You can keep a meal to under $20 per person here, and although it’s not haute cuisine, it’s decent pub food. The atmosphere is like that of a sports bar that has been cleaned up and had the lights turned on. TVs are everywhere the eye can see, and the typical BoardWalk crowd ensures that it’s an okay place to take the kids without them picking up some new vocabulary. Sandwiches are the fare; don’t go too far from that if you want to be happy.
If you have kids who are video game enthusiasts, there are some tables where they can provide you with gaming systems while you dine, and of course there is the adjacent ESPN Yard, an arcade with many sports-themed video games.
Flying Fish Café
Cuisine Type: Seafood
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: Not open
Lunch: Not open
Dinner: $ $ $ $
: Yes—2
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
The cool ambiance, excellent service, and exceptional food make Flying Fish—with by far the best seafood in all of Walt Disney World—a top pick. With entrées in the $30 range, meals rarely fall under $50 per person. The seafood selections are diverse and all well prepared, and there are a few well made nonseafood alternatives for the land-lubbers among you. If you really crave quality seafood or have an expense account that you can drop this bill on, I highly recommend a stop here.
Kouzzina
Cuisine Type: Mediterranean
Serving Style: À la carte
Breakfast: $
Lunch: Not open
Dinner: $ $ $
: Yes
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Formerly known as Spoodles, Kouzzina was created by Iron Chef favorite Cat Cora. The cuisine is inspired by the many storied cultures of the Mediterranean, with a particular leaning on Cat’s Greek background.
Breakfast has many American standards, as well as some Greekinspired entrées as well. It is at dinner when Cat really turns on the Mediterranean influences. I would consider this a good choice for most groups. This change has replaced an otherwise unreliable restaurant with one that is both safe for families in the morning but also provides a much-needed zing of variety and flavor at dinner to this area.
Seashore Sweets
Serving Style: Counter service
: No
This small storefront is a great dessert place in the evening. Watch your kids’ eyes come to life in this temple dedicated to their sweet tooth. Although there’s a nice range of candies and other goodies, the big draw is the ice-cream counter.
BoardWalk Bakery
Serving Style: Counter service
: Yes
Coffee and pastries, particularly of value to area resort guests needing a jolt before they get on their way to their day’s activities.
BoardWalk Pizza Window
Serving Style: Counter service
: Yes
A full pizza runs $18. They are decent and, while expensive, can be a great carry-out to your area resort room for a quieter night “at home” with your party.
Summary
Of course, there are a great deal more dining options throughout the Orlando area, but these nearby choices should keep most of your taste buds happy! After you’ve selected the BoardWalk and Downtown Disney dining options, you should be pretty full!
Part 4
Bring on the Entertainment: The Theme Parks
It’s time to get to the reason why we are all here—the theme parks! In Part 4, I review the four major theme parks. I tell you what different attractions you’ll find in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. You get to walk through the rides, the shows, and the attractions, reviewing ratings for each based on different age groups. Now you can get an idea of where you’ll want to go and what you’ll want to avoid. Bon voyage!
Chapter 16
The Disney Theme Park Primer
In This Chapter
• Learn about what you can expect at a Disney theme park
• Understand the special services that make your visit even more fun
• Discover the facilities that you can rely on for your visit
Walt Disney World theme parks are the best. Any question to the t
ruth in this statement? Well, these four theme parks regularly rank in the top 10 most-visited theme parks in North America and, for that matter, in the world. Usually, they have three of the top four every year, with the Magic Kingdom always at the top of the heap. So you could say that if guests vote with their wallets, these are the parks that win every year.
While the parks are all about being transported to magical places and out-of-this-world entertainment, Disney works to make sure that your real-world needs are easily met so that you can keep your imagination focused on those fantasies. In this chapter, I give you some basics to keep in mind that apply to all the parks, and to help plan your trip before we get into the actual park chapters.
General Park Information
The parks may seem like fantastical dream worlds, but behind each well-orchestrated facade is an extremely efficient and intricately detailed workplace. Disney and its cast-member employees have their work down to a science. They also try to extend this efficiency to you so that you can make the most of your trip. Here’s some information on the general park operation system, as well as some specific programs that will make your visit even better.
Park Operating Hours
The hours of operation for each park change throughout the year; the parks remain open longer during the busier seasons and shorter during the slow times. Always check ahead on the Walt Disney World website, where they post times for the current month and the next six months. Here’s how to do so:
• Highlight the “Parks” section at the top of the Walt Disney World website.
• When the drop down menu appears, simply select the park for which you want to check for operating times (“Magic Kingdom” for instance).
• Once you are on that park’s main page, just select “Calendar” from the left column choices.
• Once the calendar shows, you can adjust to whatever month you are planning to visit by clicking on the menu to the upper right of the calendar.
• You will now see the park hours, by day, for the whole month. If you click on an actual date, it will even show you the schedule for major show and event times for that day.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World, 2012 Edition Page 19