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Review and Guide Dining at Disney World Citricos - Grand Floridian Big River Grille and Brewing Works - Boardwalk The Wave - Contemporary Resort Cap’n Jack’s - Downtown Disney Bistro de Paris - World Showcase, Epcot Next time around At any amusement park around the globe, you’ve got a few different ways to help escape the real world. There are the rides of course, as well as the entertainment. And then there’s the food. Whether it’s garlic fries, cotton candy, or a corn dog, the cuisine holds an important place in the experience. It’s no surprise then, along with everything else, Disney takes this to the next level, too. That’s not to say your local county fair is the only place to get something greasy, fried, or sugary – Disney has plenty of options for fast food, snack carts, and candy shops. In fact, a lot of these in-park places may be surprisingly on par with your local Six Flags. Where Disney World really sets itself apart is its many venues for fine dining. The counter-service and buffet style restaurants may leave something to be desired (unless that desire is a character encounter), but if you manage to find yourself escaping the hustle and bustle to a place where you take a seat and are handed a menu, you are likely in for a treat, if not some peace and quiet. There are a few dozen such respites, some of them in parks, some of them in hotels, and some of them in the retail areas. The majority of the in-park fine dining experiences can be found at Epcot, specifically around the World Showcase. Not surprisingly, most of the countries offer some exciting local fare, often created and prepared by authentic chefs. The other parks certainly have a few options to chose from, usually family-friendly and fitting in the theme of the area, whether it’s Cinderella’s Royal Table in Fantasyland or The Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios. Heck, even the Seas pavilion has Coral Reef, though something about eating seafood in an aquarium might make you feel guilty. For more varied options, you’ve got Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk retail and entertainment areas. Both offer more than a few table service experiences. At Downtown Disney you can go from one end of the spectrum –the adolescent-boy-inspired T-Rex Café, to the upscale Fulton’s Crab House, set on a replica of a steamboat. Over at the Boardwalk, the themes are a bit more subdued, but your options still range from an ESPN Zone to Flying Fish, another premier seafood venue. But some of the most renowned choices are spread throughout the resort at the various hotels. Most of the “Moderate” resorts have an option for table service, and the “Deluxe” resorts usually have several, and often a 4+ star venue that will guarantee you a first class culinary experience. The California Grill at the Contemporary Resort, Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and of course the highly regarded Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian are just a few of these options. Immediately forget the notion that you need to stay at a resort to enjoy its restaurants. Not only is going out of your way to experience them completely worth the logistical effort, it’s a highly recommended excuse to see these amazing complexes first-hand. One might never have the good fortune of spending a night in the deluxe resorts, but for a fraction of the cost, you can immerse yourself in their luxurious trappings for an evening. To any couple or family that would savor such an outing, I recommend mapping out your options with as much investigation as you’d put into your park itineraries and hotel choice. The need for reservations varies according to the restaurant, the season, and the time, but they are highly encouraged even if they’re not required (which they certainly are at particular places, or may as well be.) You may also be smart to consider logistical options when making your plans. Obviously enjoying a table service meal in a park doesn’t require much planning, but schlepping to a hotel on the other side of the resort or to Downtown Disney isn’t always a pleasant prospect. It helps to be realistic about your time and your physical reserves. If it’s 8pm and your park is about to close, you may strongly prefer to grab a quick burger and call it a night than to head out for a five course meal. Obviously it’s impossible to know exactly what you’ll be in the mood for so far before your visit, so it’s no surprise many folks scoff at the notion of making specific dinner reservations up to six months in advance. As most guests probably figure, Disney is somewhat fastidious about their reservation policies, but don’t hesitate to make whatever special requests you may need. When you’ve got a real live person on the phone or in front of you, they can often be quite accommodating. What we would recommend is trying to plan a variety of restaurants across the resorts. Choosing one in a park is nice, especially around the World Showcase. Visiting either the Boardwalk or Downtown Disney is a nice way to spend an evening even beyond a meal, so a choice there is smart. There’s no question that you should visit a deluxe resort for a meal. If you’re worried about the cost, keep in mind they often have several options beyond their flagship. Now your tastes, budget and priorities will vary, so I offer the following as both an example of how to include some of the potentially intimidating options in a vacation, as well as a review of the places we happened to choose. Back to the top Citricos – The Grand Floridian If there is one thing I recommend when planning your vacation, it’s to start it off on a high note. Don’t run right for one of the parks. Don’t jump in your hotel pool. Put on something nice, make your way to a luxury resort, and treat yourself to a classy, relaxing meal. Not only will it help you forget the trials of your (potentially long) journey, but it will give you several peaceful moments of pre-vacation excitement. You can sit in your glorious surroundings and revel in the fact that all the planning is done, and that your only job for the next few days or weeks is to enjoy yourself. It will slowly hit you that you’ve made it, and that much fun lies ahead. That is exactly what we were going for, and that’s exactly what we got when we decided to start our vacation at Citricos, located in the mezzanine above the lobby of the stately Grand Floridian. With only vague memories of this flagship hotel, I figured it would be the perfect way to get things going in style. While not nearly as formal as the resort’s famed Victoria and Albert’s, it is still held in high regard and considered a satisfactory (if not cheaper) alternative for fine dining. After the rigors of the cross-country trip, we had all but a few moments to relax in our hotel room before it was time to head out for dinner. We departed the Pop Century around 7:00pm for our reservation an hour later, and found ourselves as the only two passengers for our first of many bus rides. In case the hyperactive video on the Magical Express or the over-the-top themeing at our hotel wasn’t enough, it finally started to hit us as we approached the Magic Kingdom. We would try to contain our excitement as we transferred to the Resort Monorail line. Four stops later, we hopped off and were overwhelmed by opulence as we entered the lobby. We were a good bit ahead of our reservation so we took our time meandering to the restaurant, found on the other end of the 2nd floor concourse. Not one to be late for an appointment, we checked in early and politely asked to be seated if there was an opening for us before our reservation. We were given a pager and continued to tour our surroundings and snapped a few photos. It was only a few minutes before the pager went off and we were shown to our table a good 15 minutes before our scheduled time. Our table was towards the rear of the restaurant, with a nice view of the courtyard pool to the right as well as the lagoon off to the left. While it took a little while before we were greeted by our server (apparently there was shift change going on), we were quick to order our some wine and began to peruse the menu. Our server was very friendly and attentive, though by no means overbearing. We ordered an appetizer, the seared tuna carpaccio, and it was an excellent choice. Our first of many pleasant surprises came in the form a partial view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks from across the lagoon. We just so happened to be pointed in that direction at the right time in the evening, and it was hard to hold back a smirk of satisfaction. These chance pyrotechnics would bode well, as it turned out we managed to see some of one kind or another almost every evening, whether we went out of our way to do so or not. And half the time, just like this, it was a matter of lucky timing For dinner I opted for the pork two-ways (rotisserie and braised) with polenta, swiss chard, and heirloom apples, and Megan had the roasted chicken, which came on pasta. We also ordered another round of wine, and enjoyed conversing with our server, who also happened to be the Sommelier, about suitable pairings. Our entrees were both terrific, absolutely top notch. We were easily talked into dessert, and settled on the warm chocolate banana tart, a house specialty. The timing of the service was terrific, allowing us a few peaceful moments between courses and to enjoy what was left of our wine. Before we received our desert, we were paid a visit by one of the restaurant’s sous chefs. Apparently he had been told of our appreciation for wine, and came to offer something special. He had been tinkering with his own concoction, a limoncello (Italian lemon liquor) made from what are called Buddha's Hand, a somewhat obscure but no less delightful citrus fruit. Not only was his creation remarkable, but the personal attention was unlike anything we’ve ever received at a fine dining establishment. It was a pleasure conversing both with him and our Sommelier throughout the meal. It almost felt like the staff knew it was our first night and was given explicit instructions to be inviting. Whether they were aware or not, we couldn’t have had a more pleasant experience, and it was the perfect way to start the vacation. Back to the top Big River Grille and Brewing Works – The Boardwalk After two full days of hitting the parks, it was time again to get out of the craziness and enjoy a dinner out like grownups. Not that the quickie dinner of brats and beer in Germany at Epcot the night before didn’t hit the spot, but sometimes it takes a something a little slower paced to really recharge. We headed out of the Magic Kingdom after Spectromagic and the Fireworks and caught a bus for the Boardwalk hotel. Down the steps and onto the boardwalk, we hunted down Big River. This is one of the few locations that doesn’t accept reservations, so we were happy to see a few tables available. We were seated inside, at a high top table right next to the fermentation vats on display. As you may have guessed, the highlight here is the beer that is made on-site. Some folks may scoff at the idea of not being able to order their favorite brand, but if you’ve got an open mind, they certainly offer something for every beer palate. In fact, we saw no alternative to each ordering the sampler, which gives six pours of around 6 ounces of each. It’s equivalent to just over two pints, so over the course of a meal it’s certainly doable. The variety was great – everything from a crisp, golden pilsner to a dark, smoky porter. While it’s a nice range, it certainly is key to follow the prescribed order. Our server was nice, knowledgeable enough about the beers and certainly happy to talk about them. He was attentive enough, though it certainly still had a bar/brewery feel to it, so everything was reasonably laid back. The food was upscale bar food, I had the sizeable hickory bacon burger, and Megan had the nachos, with the cheddar beef soup as an appetizer. The food was about what you’d expect, decent enough quality and big portions. We skipped dessert in favor of finishing our samplers. Overall the experience was pleasant enough, nothing especially remarkable, though definitely worth a stop if you appreciate a good microbrew. Our random pyrotechnics came during dinner again, across the lagoon on which the boardwalk sits. The previous evening, we caught the tail end of the Magic Kingdom fireworks as we returned to the park for an EMH session. Tonight, we got to see the full performance inside the park, as well as a peak of Illuminations within the nearby World Showcase from here. Back to the top The Wave – The Contemporary Resort Going to one of the newest dining options in the entire complex meant taking something of a leap of faith, but we figured we couldn’t go wrong at a deluxe resort. This outing marked the half-way point of the visit, and time for a little more fine dining. As usual, the commute was easy enough, just caught a bus from Animal Kingdom - going from a park to a hotel is always a direct shot. Unfortunately the return trip back to our place was never very easy, so make sure you save some energy for after the meal. Our chance fireworks came as we were approaching the hotel, and we paused just outside the lobby to watch what was going on above Cinderlla’s Castle. We never get tired of fireworks. While lacking the views of the flagship California Grille, The Wave was a stylish enough venue even if surprisingly relegated to the tower’s ground floor. The place had a chic, modern night club feel to it, and seemed to be popular among the conventioneer crowd (i.e., those without young kids in tow). Again we arrived a good bit before our reservation but were seated shortly anyway. Our enthusiastic and friendly server took our wine orders and we perused the menu. I ended up going with the braised lamb shank, and Megan had the braised chicken pot pie. Both were quite good, though I know lamb isn’t for everyone. Some more wine (thanks to another terrific wine list), and some more pleasant conversation with our server – we were delighted to find such friendly but urbane wait staff. We tend not to care for the over-attentive “I’m your buddy” server you’ll find at your average TGI Friday’s, but the folks here, and at most of the restaurants, found a great balance between engaging and giving us some privacy. We were once again talked into dessert, this time of the liquid variety as we shared a Godiva dark chocolate martini, complete with edible chocolate straw. Not quite as magical as our experience at Citricos, but definitely worth the visit, and recommended. It’s worth noting that there is also a separate lunch menu, which likely offers lighter (i.e., cheaper) fare – so a quick mid-day break from the Magic Kingdom is certainly a possibility. Then again, the atmosphere really does lend itself to a more formal evening meal, so you may want to spend your lunch somewhere a little more parochial, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Back to the top Cap’n Jack’s – Downtown Disney With our vacation winding down, we still needed to hit another hotspot, the retail heart of the entire resort, known as Downtown Disney. If you think Main Street in Magic Kingdom is all about rampant consumerism taken to the extreme, you will be blown away (or disturbed) by what Downtown Disney has to offer. This mixed-use retail, dining and entertainment area has taken a hit with the (supposedly temporary) closure of Pleasure Island, but it was still hopping for our visit. The dining options here are somewhat extreme, ranging from the upscale Fulton’s Crab House all the way down to a McDonalds. The mid-range options are somewhat lacking, especially if you’re not into the (overtly) themed Rainforest or T-Rex Cafés. Somewhere in the middle is Cap’n Jacks. I’m not sure if this place had a different name before the stream of Pirates movies, but luckily the buccaneer theme is non-existent, save for the pleasant proximity to the water. On this our penultimate eve, we came from Hollywood Studios – and completely forgot that there are no direct buses between parks and Downtown Disney. We scrambled for directions, hoping to find a resort in the general direction at which we could transfer. We ended up going for the Key West Resort, which may not have been the most efficient route, but considering we were exiting the park with the rest of the Fantasmic! audience and made it to the restaurant a good 30 minutes before our reservation, there were no complaints. Again we were promptly seated despite being early. (I have no idea if this trick would work during peak season, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.) We were cheerfully greeted by another inviting server, and began, as usual, with some wine. I was pleased to see something of a variety across the wine lists throughout the resort, yet they were all still of a high quality. Definitely not the most daunting I’ve seen, but a great selection with options for most budgets. In fact, considering all the wine we tried, we were not disappointed once. During the day, we more than made up for not seeing a single pyrotechnic the day before when you add up both the stunt shows at Hollywood Studios and Fantasmic. On top of that, we were again treated to a random viewing of Illuminations with quite a nice view from our water’s edge table. I couldn’t have planned these chance encounters throughout the week if I had tried. And it may come as a surprise, but I didn’t even think to plan something like that. To start out we went with the peel-and-eat shrimp, which really hit the spot. For dinner I went with the crab cakes, and Megan had shrimp and penne pasta. I wasn’t especially impressed, though Megan seemed satisfied with her choice. In the spirit of full disclosure, this didn’t come a huge surprise. Of all the eateries we looked at, this was the only one with less-than-stellar reviews. We stuck with it mostly because it was really the only option at Downtown Disney that fit what we were looking for, but it’s also nice to give a place a chance to impress you. The entrée did not, though the friendliness of the staff along with the nice wine, great appetizer and peaceful setting helped us enjoy our evening, but if you’re picky about food, I can’t really recommend it. Following the meal we took some time to explore the complex. Realizing how huge it was, we really only explored half of it, and ended up spending some time browsing in the enormous World of Disney. If we were visiting Downtown Disney earlier in the vacation, we would have been more enthusiastic about checking it out. Instead, we ended the evening with a quick and direct ride home. It was getting hard to hide how exhausted we were. With our sixth and final day still ahead of us there wasn’t much left in the tank. Back to the top Bistro de Paris – World Showcase, Epcot Realizing we wouldn’t be able to enjoy Illuminations during our meal at Bistro, I did some last second rescheduling, oddly from the shores of Rivers of America after a spin on Thunder Mountain. The plan for our last day was another early morning at the Magic Kingdom (including the timelessly depressing final walk down Main Street), followed by the afternoon and evening at Epcot. We had yet to see Illuminations (from inside the park anyway), so when I learned that it wasn’t really something you could enjoy from within the dining room, I pushed our reservations back until just after the show. That ended up being a smart move. After finishing up at Magic Kingdom, we caught a late lunch at Sunshine Season Food Fair (sans Soarin’ Fastpasses) and enjoyed the sunny but stunningly cool day at Epcot. The sun went down and we took one final loop around the World Showcase before settling in for Illuminations just past the International Gateway. Considering the chilly weather and trials we had been putting our bodies through, it wasn’t exactly the most ideal viewing ever. I was even somewhat glad when it finished, and we were able to make a beeline for the warmth of the restaurant’s lobby. Here was our farewell meal, going out in style, I like to think. Having made a visit to Paris the summer before, this was something of a homecoming, but being on a traveler’s budget for the real trip across the Atlantic, this place was considerably nicer than anywhere we ate in France. Not more authentic mind you, but nicer. It felt just like Paris, a beautiful dinning area but still a little stuffy. A pleasant but difficult to read server who was happy to take your order and leave you alone. Of course we started with wine, and went for the somewhat stereotypical “Prelude”, escargot and mushrooms, and you can be sure that also included a frog leg. Unfortunately the wear on my body had resulted in something of a mild cold, so it was a little hard to both savor the flavors as well as interact with our server, but both were more than satisfactory despite this. For our entrees, I selected the Venison and Megan had the skewered seared scallops. Both were absolutely terrific. I had never had venison so tender, and Megan loved her scallops. Well done, Epcot. Anyone who doubts the authenticity hasn’t made the comparison for themselves. I can see the issues with the condensing of an entire culture into a pavilion, but shortcuts were not taken with the cuisine. In fact, the entire dining experience was spot on, and if anything, reflected highly of the talents of the native people who were gracious enough to come here. Desert was an authentic chocolate soufflé, again delightful. To be honest, however, it was a slight challenge for me to relax and linger once the meal was finished. This was our only sit-down meal of the week that took place within a park while it was still open. Never mind that we had spent almost all of the Extra Magic Hours session dining, I wasn’t going to leave without one last ride. It was a tough call between the beloved Soarin’ and the unique Mission Space, but the latter was our choice, though only because we have Soarin’ in California (where it makes a little more sense). We filed out of Epcot a few minutes after it closed, and were too tired by far to lament our departure. Don’t worry, that would come the next day during the long trip back to the west coast. Back to the top Next time around It’s never too early to think about your next Disney World trip, is it? Sure, we’ll end up hitting Disneyland at least two or three or times before then. And while the dining options there are certainly exciting, they’re nowhere near as diverse as what the Orlando resort has to offer, nor do they warrant any great foresight or planning to coordinate. I know all about the Blue Bayou. We’ll eat there again, just like we do every visit. See? Planned. But seriously, our dining experiences were so terrific for this visit we were already scouting out our stops for the next time around. Granted, we’re likely talking 2011 at the earliest, but these places had our attention, and make a desirable (not to mention ambitious) restaurant itinerary. Arrival – California Grill, Contemporary Resort I only have vague memories of eating here as a kid. Actually, most of the nostalgia is really for going up on the roof to watch the fireworks, though my interest in fine dining certainly has grown over the years. We’ll have to plan something along those lines as we start the visit off in style once again. The stately California Grill is considered one of the top venues in all of the resort, and it would surely be a great way to get things going. Boardwalk – Kouzzina This entertainment area seems to have more charm than Downtown Disney and less of the frenzy. That’s enough to entice us to return, this time going for something a little more upscale. Kouzzina is rumored to be replacing Spoodles, and will offer Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare. It’ll be nice to get some diversity in there, though I mean no disrespect to cheeseburgers and beer. Downtown Disney – Fulton Crab House Another of the highly acclaimed restaurants will have us returning to Downtown Disney. This seafood venue offers the nice theme of a riverboat dining experience, though we’re hoping it’s more classy than cheesy. Judging by the prices, I think that’s a reasonable expectation. This comes highly recommended, and is certainly on our list. Resort Dining – Jiko, Animal Kingdom Lodge Another of the resort options is the beloved and eclectic Jiko, offering an African flair, both in the food and in the wine. We’ve yet to set foot in this intricate resort, so enjoying an up-close look at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is another treat that will come along with a highly anticipated meal. World Showcase – Le Cellier, Canada Pavilion No dining tour of Walt Disney World would be complete without a stop in the World Showcase. The options are plentiful, and eventually we’ll get to them all, but considering the out-of-park options, it’s not exactly feasible to spend a week eating here. Instead we’ll have to settle for a couple quick meals, and savor our one extended visit at Le Cellier. Considering that this place is a steakhouse in a wine cellar, I’m somehow stunned we didn’t end up here this time around.
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