Tag Archives: Disney Quick Service

Sleepy Hollow Review

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Sleepy Hollow is a quick service restaurant located in Liberty Square within the Magic Kingdom.  This is a prime location off the hub heading into Liberty Square across the bridge.  This cute walk-up has limited seating outdoors both covered and uncovered.  The only downside to this location is that it is a very busy walkway so seating can be at a premium and you may find yourself jostled a bit if you are in the uncovered seating area.

The menu is limited but what they do have is pretty great!  This is where you can get the famous waffle sandwiches!  You can choose the sweet option with Nutella and fruit, or there is the spicy chicken waffle.  There is also a breakfast version served until noon!

If you aren’t here for a waffle there is also sausage and cheese stuff pretzel, baked potatoes and funnel cakes!  There is also an ice cream cookie sandwich and plenty of drink choices such as water, lemonade, coffee, milk, soy milk, and orange juice.

On my last trip I tried the spicy chicken waffle it was very good and the portion is huge!  So if you do get this my suggestion is to ask for the coleslaw on the side this will prevent the waffle from getting soggy while you eat it.   Or you could always split it and it makes a pretty filling snack for a good price.

I also tried a bit of the Nutella and fruit waffle and found this to be so delicious!  This would make a great and quick breakfast and again very easy to share!


This quick service gets a big two thumbs up from me. It should be on your list of places to check out for a quick snack or a full lunch!

P&J’s Southern Takeout Review

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So on our girls trip back in November, the first restaurant we tried was Trail’s End/P&J’s Southern Takeout.  As we’ve mentioned before, we found Fort Wilderness a bit lacking in available food options.  It was about 1 or 2 in the afternoon by the time we stumbled upon Trail’s End, and at that time they were at the tail end of their brunch buffet.  None of us were in the mood for brunch, however, we found out that P&J’s inside Trail’s End does a few takeout lunch options.

Now, the keyword here is “takeout”.  I don’t believe you are meant to eat your food at the restaurant there.  There are a few picnic tables outside, however, when we were there all the tables under cover were occupied, and it had started raining.  Since the brunch buffet was over, there was no one eating inside Trail’s End, so we asked one of the cast members there if we could sit inside and eat.  They very nicely allowed us to do so.

The menu at P&J’s is quite limited.  You can choose from a large cheese or pepperoni pizza, a BBQ pork sandwich, a turkey wrap, a salami/ham/turkey sandwich on focaccia bread, a caesar salad with chicken, and fried chicken.

Shannon:  Tara and I had the pepperoni pizza.  It was made to order and served hot.  While it’s not Via Napoli, it was actually pretty good, I thought.  I’d eat it again.

Tara: The pizza was good. It was not the room service cardboard type pizza (thankfully!) and it was a decent pizza. I would definitely order it again and enjoyed it.

Jillian: I chose the Chuckwagon Wrap, which was smoked turkey, provolone cheese, lettuce, and basil aioli on a sundried tomato wrap for my first Disney meal.  It was filling without being so heavy.  The portion size was great and the chips were so delicious!  I love a homemade chip and these were perfectly cooked and salted.  Plus it came in a cute to go box!  I would definitely order this again!

Jamie: I had the “Lone Rider” which was 2 pieces of fried chicken with cornbread, plus a choice of 2 sides: macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and mashed potatoes. I chose the first two. The chicken was very good! Pretty typical fried chicken, but it hit the spot since I was so hungry. Neither the mac and cheese or coleslaw were very good in my opinion.

Overall, I feel like the food we had was fine, but Fort Wilderness is maybe not the best place to be if you’re looking for a lot of quick food options.

 

Columbia Harbor House Lunch Review

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One of the must try restaurants for me this trip was Columbia Harbor House!  I am a huge fan of seafood and this is the go to place in the Magic Kingdom for that.  This quick service location is in Liberty Square, just look for the cast member ringing a bell.

I mentioned seafood but that is not the only thing on the menu, there are salads, chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese, and soups.

dscn3881For lunch I was torn between two options, luckily Jamie felt the same way and we agreed to split the two.  The first one was the Lobster Roll with potato chips this was a hearty serving with lots of lobster and not a lot of filler.  The roll it came on was so soft and delicious as well.  I give this one thumbs up!  The other choice was the Anchors Aweigh Sandwich with chips.  This was a tuna sandwich with lettuce and tomato on a toasted multigrain bread.  This was even better than the lobster roll.  I really really loved this.  The tuna was very plentiful and the bread made the sandwich even better.  I give this one 2 thumbs up and I would get it again! 

Jamie: I was so happy Jillian wanted to split our options for lunch, too! I couldn’t decide and really wanted both, but obviously didn’t want to eat both. I’d previously had the lobster roll so I knew it was good, but I really enjoyed the tuna sandwich, maybe even more so than the lobster. Plus the house chips are really delicious! Both of these options are miles above the “typical” counter service restaurants most people think of. While I enjoy a good burger and fries at Disney, having options like these at Columbia Harbor House really make even quick dining at Disney really enjoyable.


Tara: I had the chicken pot pie with steamed broccoli and since I thought that was super healthy I splurged and had the blackberry cobbler for dessert. The chicken pot pie and broccoli were really good and filling. I could not even finish the pot pie because I needed to save room for the cobbler which was a huge hit. The cobbler was topped with a vanilla cream that was perfect and made it worth the broccoli side at lunch. I definitely recommend visiting Columbia Harbor House!

Shannon: I had the chicken and fish plate.  The fish was very good and cooked perfectly.  The outside is crispy and light and the fish inside was very tender.  The chicken nuggets are the same chicken nuggets you find in other areas of the parks and they are very good for what they are.  The fries are basically the same as what you’d find anywhere else in the parks and that’s fine with me because I love them.  I was not very crazy about the cole slaw that was included, but it wasn’t bad.  I’m just picky about my slaw.  Overall, I really enjoyed this meal.

This is a popular place so go early or a little later in order to avoid a long wait time or lack of seating.  The food is very fresh and filling and you can find something for even the pickiest eaters.  Put Columbia Harbor House on your short list of quick service locations to try!

Best Use of Dining Plan Quick Service Credits

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When you get the Dining plan or Quick Service dining plan you want to make sure you are getting a good value for your money.  But cost can’t be the only factor.  You will want to make sure you are checking out the menus to verify that you are choosing a restaurant menu that will appeal to your party.  This isn’t a comprehensive list but some suggestions for great eats!

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Be Our Guest for lunch is a fantastic choice based on the location, amazing atmosphere and the food.  The food is similar to the dinner offerings but all at one quick service dining credit. Located in Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland you will be immersed in the Beast’s castle and can choose from three different rooms to sit in.  This restaurant is like no other.  First of all it does require reservations for the quick service.  Next you order solely from a kiosk and then get your “rose” and find a spot to sit.  Your food will be delivered to your table.  You can check out my lunch review here.

Wolfgang Puck Express located in Disney Springs is another amazing choice for a quick service meal, lunch or dinner. Similar to Be Our Guest, you will have your food delivered to your table.  This food is pretty amazing, we recommend the mac and cheese and the bacon wrapped meatloaf.  Check out this review for more information!

Sunshine Seasons food court with high ceiling and a massive glass roof

Photo via Disney

Sunshine Season in the Land pavilion in Epcot is a delicious option with seasonal foods grown right there in the Land Pavilion! Plus the amazing strawberry shortcake is always worth getting.  This location is also ideal if you need to fuel up before waiting in line for Soarin’ Around the World.  They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner so any time the mood strikes you can check out this quick service restaurant.  This restaurant has some amazing choices like Oak grilled salmon, slow roasted pork chops and Mongolian beef.

Columbia Harbour House located in Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom is a fantastic option for a healthier lunch or dinner with many options.  Some of the most popular options are the Lobster Roll, chicken pot pie, Lighthouse sandwich, clam chowder, and broccoli peppercorn salad.  You cannot beat the location and people watching if you head up to the second floor seating.

 

Flame Tree Barbecue in the Discovery Island area of Animal Kingdom is probably one of the best quick services values.  You can get more than just barbeque here though, some choices are ½ a chicken, ribs & chicken combo, smoked turkey sandwich, full slab of ribs, and roasted chicken salad.

Dining area of Landscape of Flavors restaurant at Disney's Art of Animation Resort

photo via Disney

Landscape of Flavors is located at the Art of Animation resort is an awesome choice with unique and adventurous flavors.  You can get things like curry chicken, beef stirfry, create your own pasta or pizza, burgers, soup, and salad. Yep, that is a lot of choices in one restaurant!

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café in Frontierland in Magic Kingdom is another fantastic choice.  If you love tex-mex food this is the place for you.  It is similar to Qdoba or Chipotle where you can get a rice bowl, fajitas, or burritos and then step up to the fixins bar to doctor up your dinner.

Capt. Cook’s in the Polynesian Village Resort is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  You can get the famous Tonga Toast for breakfast or the pulled pork nachos for lunch and dinner.  This location is great whether you are staying at the Polynesian or just visiting from the other monorail resorts or want a break for the parks.  The menu has variety and is a pretty good value.

Tangerine Café located in the Morocco pavilion in Epcot is a cool choice for lunch or dinner.  They have many unique offerings such as Mediterranean chicken wrap, shawarma chicken or lamb platter, lamb wrap, and kefta sandwich.  Plenty to choose from for the adventurous palate.

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If you have a suggestion to add let us know!  We are always looking for great values and interesting menus!

Gaston’s Tavern Review

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I had the opportunity to try Gaston’s Tavern on my recent Disney visit and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

Gaston's Tavern Review

This little quick service nook is hidden away in the back of Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom.  You have to walk past Be Our Guest and it’s tucked away there on the left.  It’s a small place with only a few tables and chairs, but if you can find your way in there, it’s worth the walk.

The menu includes chocolate croissants, warm cinnamon rolls, and fresh fruit.  The day I visited was a nice sunny day, not too warm, so I decided to have the Tavern Beef Stew ($9.99).  It’s served piping hot with a generous portion of baguette for dipping.  I have to say, as someone who loves beef stew, my expectations were low.  I was pleasantly surprised by how good the stew actually was!  The beef was nice and tender and the broth was seasoned well.  The potatoes could have used a bit more cooking time as they were not quite as soft as I would have liked, but that didn’t really bother me.  The baguette was crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy inside.

I washed my stew and bread down with a Le Fou’s brew which I will review in a future blog post so stay tuned for that!

Overall, I highly recommend trying the Tavern Beef Stew at Gaston’s Tavern.  You won’t be disappointed!

Be Our Guest Lunch Review

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DSCN3586We were lucky enough to snag a reservation for this lunch. We arrived just a few minutes before our reservation to check in at the stand before the bridge. We went right in and waited in a short line before we went in to place our orders on the kiosk. Since we were given menus before we got to the kiosk we have plenty of time to consider our options.

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After our orders were placed we were given our rose and made a stop to get drinks and silverware. With those settled we opted to have lunch in the main room, the ball room. While we waited, we took turns checking out the other rooms.

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I ordered the Quinoa Salad, my husband had the Roast Beef Sandwich, my Mother-in-law got the Braised Pork and my daughter ordered Chip’s Delight (tomato soup and grilled cheese).

 

Chip’s Delight was hit and miss with my daughter, she loved the grilled cheese fingers and cookie. The tomato soup she didn’t care for but I tried it and it was delicious. It does taste like fresh tomatoes rather than Campbell’s Soup if that is what your children are used to.

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The Quinoa Salad I had was very tasty and I enjoyed it because it was fresh and light. If you are wanting something that isn’t heavy this is a great choice.

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The Roast Beef Sandwich that my husband ordered was hearty and filling. It is a good sized sandwich that came with fries on the side. It was another great option if you are looking to fill up.

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The favorite of the group was the Braised Pork. This came with mashed potatoes and vegetables and was so delicious. I would definitely choose this entrée the next time I was there if I were looking for a very filling meal.

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The atmosphere of the restaurant is amazing. It is straight out of the movie and if you have a Beauty and the Beast fan, they will love it! Bottom line, we would eat there again in a heartbeat!

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Difficult to Get Walt Disney World Reservations

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Planning a Walt Disney World vacation can be tricky and time-consuming. You really have to know the ins and outs of planning a vacation before you even get started. Dining at Disney is a very important aspect of that vacation. Let’s start with the basics. If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort you can make dining reservations at 180 days plus 10. What that means is that when you are 180 days from arrival you can make all the reservations from that day through 10 days of your vacation. Say you are arriving on January 1 until Jan 10 you can make all your dining reservations in a single day. The difference in staying offsite is that you would have to make these reservations each day as that 180 days arrives.

Having these bonus 10 days means that you can make all your reservations at once and reach into the tail end of your vacation to get the restaurants and times you want.

But knowing which restaurants are most popular can help you prioritize which reservations to get.

Magic Kingdom
Be Our Guest This is Disney newest restaurant which is Quick Service for breakfast and lunch and Table Service for dinner.

Cinderella’s Royal Table- Still so popular with little ones and adults alike, everyone wants to eat in Cinderella Castle!

Epcot
Le Cellier- While not nearly as popular as it once was this restaurant is probably the hardest to get reservation in Epcot but no need to worry there are plenty of choices in this park!

Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Brown Derby- This is Disney nicest restaurant in Hollywood Studios if you are looking for a nice night out this is the place to go!

Hollywood & Vine Play and Dine- Very popular with the Disney Junior crowd this is a character meal for breakfast and lunch featuring: Doc McStuffins, Jake, Handy Manny and Sofia the First.

Animal Kingdom
Tusker House- Another popular character meal featuring Mickey and friends in safari gear.

Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Chef Mickey’s- Character meals are so popular and this one with Mickey and friends in chef outfits that so many people are clamoring to get this reservation.

California Grill- A popular one with adults, this one has delicious food and a fantastic view of the Wishes Fireworks!

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
‘Ohana-Breakfast is a fantastic character breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. Lunch and dinner are also a great meal served family style. It is not to be missed.

The Grand Floridian Resort
1900 Park Fare- If you are interested in breakfast with Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh. Then there is the Wonderland Tea Party in the lunch time. For dinner the Happily Ever after Dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the step mother and step sisters and you won’t want to miss their antics!

Of course if you have further questions you can always talk to your travel agent for suggestions and help!

Guest Blogger: Chris Gardiner’s Review of Tables in Wonderland

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It surprises me how many Disney travelers that I meet that have never heard of Disney’s “Tables in Wonderland” program.  I truly find this to be one of WDW’s hidden discount perks and one that could save you a lot of money and convenience if it’s right for you.

For those who do not know, the “Tables in Wonderland” is a card you can purchase if you are a Florida Resident, Annual and/or Seasonal Passholder, or a DVC member.  The cost of the annual card is $125 for Florida Residents and $100 for Annual or Seasonal Passholders and DVC members.  There are some great benefits to having this card that I wanted to go over as well as some of my own experiences from using the card.

The main perk is that the card offers a 20% discount on food and beverages (including alcohol!) at over 100 participating restaurant at WDW.  This includes the parks, resort hotels and Downtown Disney locations.  Considering how much you spend on dining at WDW this can be a great savings!  I find that the majority of the restaurants accepting the card are table service restaurants, while there are a handful of quick-service restaurants are sprinkled in (however I am not complaining because the table service restaurants are the more costly).  Another great advantage of this is that the 20% discount applies to parties of up to 10 people (including yourself). I personally have had the chance to be able to use my card on several trips where I had gone with multiple parties and we all had the chance to dine together.  One time was for the Princess Breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in EPCOT for a party of 7 and the other time was at Be Our Guest at the Magic Kingdom for a party of 9.  Trust me, when I was able to save everyone 20% on their meal it was a ‘magical moment’!  Now you do have to keep in mind a couple of things.  According to their policy when you using the discount “everyone has to be on the same check” and “the Tables In Wonderland member has to pay the bill”.  Honestly I have seen the “member having to pay the bill” enforced sometimes and not at other times.  But my suggestions is just to have a quick conversation with everyone prior to the meal to figure out that if you do have to pay for the meal who gives you money, etc..  Another thing to keep in mind is that by using the card an 18% gratuity is automatically added to the bill.  I have never had an issue with this and actually find it convenient as there is not going back and forth on paying the bill.

Another perk that Tables In Wonderland offers is free valet and theme parking for dining purposes.  If you are renting or have your own car I find this to be a great perk as valet parking at the Disney resorts is $20!  On my last trip we used Tables in Wonderland and dined at 3 Disney Resorts (so in addition to saving 20% on the meal we saved $60 in valet parking fees!).

There are a couple of items that you want to make sure you are aware of with Tables in Wonderland.  The first is that there are blackout dates!  The card cannot be used on:  Mother’s Day, Easter Sunday, 4th of July, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve & Day, New Year’s Eve & Day.  In addition to these dates several of the very popular table service restaurants have some additional blackout dates so make sure you check out www.tablesinwonderland.com for these specifics.

The other very important thing I have learned is do not LOSE or FORGET your Tables In Wonderland card!  You have to have your card with you to use the discount (they will not look it up for you) and if you lose your card you have to pay $50 fee to get a replacement one.  I know this for a fact because prior to one of my last Disney trips I had put my Tables In Wonderland card in a very safe location in my house and then proceeded to leave it at my house while I was at WDW.  So $50 later I learned a valuable lesson (but it was still worth it to have the card!).

As long as I have my annual pass I will continue to get Tables in Wonderland – it’s a great hidden perk that if used the right way can save you big time on your dining at WDW.  Enjoy!