I spent 5 days and 4 nights nomming my way around Disney World. We spent 3 days in the parks themselves, and the most enjoyable nomming experience, by far, was eating and drinking our way “around the world” in Epcot. Overall, however, we had great dining experiences just about everywhere we went.
Even on Friday, when we took a side trip to Outback Steakhouse, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. I can’t help but love that place, even if it is a national chain. The sweet potato is always a highlight of any Outback meal.
Earlier in the day, we landed and went to Downtown Disney, where we decided to stick to our foodie-ish enjoyments and went to Wolfgang Puck Express. We had two of the pockets and the parmesan chips were definitely the best part of the meal.
That night we barely caught the fireworks at Magic Kingdom from outside the gate, and then took a walk to the Contemporary Hotel for a drink, dessert, and to take in the view of the entire park all lit up. Our waitress didn’t want to be bothered, and the dessert looked a whole lot better than it tasted, but the drinks hit the spot.
On Saturday, we went to Epcot for the entire day. Spending 13 hours in the park made for a great day. For lunch, we went to England and had some fish and chips while sitting on a bench overlooking the water. We then completed the front part of Epcot and began our tour around the world. We enjoyed some child acrobats in China before picking up some Margaritas in Mexico. They were good, but not nearly as good as the beer in Germany. Unfortunately, it was just called “German Beer,” so we may never know what exactly it was. We enjoyed a few other entertaining countries and had a tough time deciding where to go for dinner. The Japanese restaurants smelled amazing, but living in NYC gives us a lot of exposure to Japanese, so we decided to go with the Restaurant Marrakash, especially due to the live music and belly dancing. We were absolutely not dissapointed. We both went with the Taste of Morocco: Royal Feast which featured Harira Soup, Beef Brewat Rolls, Roast Lamb Meshoui, Lemon Chicken, Couscous with seven veggies and assorted Moroccan pastries. Every single morsel on the plate was rich in flavor and tasted unique. You could tell someone put a lot of effort into the recipes and preparation. And it was certainly not wasted on us! I ate so much that I felt sick, but it was absolutely worth it. We also had a great bottle of Moroccan wine called Amazigh.
On Sunday, we spent the day in the Magic Kingdom. We left at lunch to go to the Polynesian Hotel for The Kona Cafe. Some people at the table had the sticky wings, which we heard were great (but I avoided due to the peppers). I had the Beef Teriyaki Bowl which was VERY good. Overall I think everyone really enjoyed their meal. We were still pretty full for dinner time, so instead of a real meal, we went with a good dessert as the park was closing. Mike had a cherry cheesecake and I went with the cinnamon buns that smells amazing (a la mode).
The next day we went to Animal Kingdom in the morning. We had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, which came highly recommended. It was easy to see why! While the prices were a little high, there was a LOT of food. We had the BBQ Ribs and a pulled pork sandwich. It was REALLY tasty. You can also eat on the water with some friendly ducks, which added to the ambience.
That evening, we went to Hollywood Studios and managed to snag last minute reservations to one of the places I remembered loving when I first went to Disney World (about 13 years ago). The Primetime Cafe is a restaurant set up to look like a family kitchen in the 1950s. Even the waitresses call themselves “mom” or “aunt” and yell at you to keep your elbows off the table. We had great (glowing) drinks and then sat down for some good old fashion food: Steak and potatoes/spinah au gratic as well as (my favorite) meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. While I enjoyed it very much, I had some green beans left on my plate when we were ordering dessert (which you decide on by using a Viewmaster). Turns out, my waitress/mom didn’t like that I didn’t finish my beans, so she fed them to me. It was quite a laugh. I also got the dessert I remember loving all those years ago, smores. They were delish! Mike also managed to spike his coke float with rum and then ate an old fashioned ice cream sundae. The whole meal was absolutely delish!
Our last day in Disney we decided to take advantage of the rule that there are no calories while on vacation and went to the Ghiradelli Cafe in Downtown Disney for a desserty lunch. I had a brownie butter pecan sundae and Mike had a banana split. It was probably one of the best sundaes I have ever had. Totally worth it.
Overall, I give Disney World 8 out of 10 Nom Points
