food IS a theme park
There’s no shortage of great new eats coming to Disneyland Resort for the holiday season, and but if you want to get your paws on something new today, you’ll want to bumble your way over to Hungry Bear Restaurant! The official DisneylandToday Twitter page reveals that this charming quick service spot has a brand new menu!
Hungry Bear Restaurant
Epcot’s World Showcase at Walt Disney World
is home to so many interesting restaurants serving high-quality food from around the (actual) world that it can be hard to decide which to choose.
And frankly, Nine Dragons in the China Pavilion has been one that we’ve decided to skip much of the time. The setting is lovely and worth exploring, but in the past, the food has been lackluster, no better than most of the Americanized Chinese restaurants found in strip malls around the country.
But we give second chances (and third and fourth and fifth) here at the DFB, so I made a reservation and hoped for something to love in this table service spot. And while I won’t say Nine Dragons has clawed its way up too far in the rankings of table service restaurants at Epcot, I will say that my most recent visit was the best I’ve had here.
While I encourage you to take that with a grain of salt, I also want to acknowledge that plenty of you do enjoy eating here, and I will always cling to optimism that even the least palatable of Walt Disney World dining locations will be in a constant state of flux, striving for better.
But let’s start with what we already love about Nine Dragons: its magical decor and warm atmosphere.
Welcome to Nine Dragons!
Walt Disney World’s Disney Springs
is packed wall-to-wall with terrific places to grab a meal, but sometimes, even with all the new choices, you might want to enjoy an old favorite. For us, Earl of Sandwich has been a consistently tasty spot to pick up a quick service sandwich and sides. And at a recent media event, we were excited to revisit two holiday favorites and a brand new holiday offering!
Earl of Sandwich in Disney Springs
You know the holiday eats are a big deal with the Earl is in the house — holding his beloved Holiday Turkey Sandwich.
Earl with Sandwich
Since this was a holiday event, you’ll want to know how to treat yourself even while buying a little somethin’ for someone else. At Earl of Sandwich this holiday season, if you purchase a $25 gift card, you’ll get a $5 holiday reward card, too! [Read more…]
Walt Disney World’s Art of Animation Resort
is a truly larger-than-life hotel with a food court that’s big on color and unique dishes.
Walt Disney World’s Art of Animation Resort
Fish and Chips is a staple dish at Disney Springs’ Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant and Cookes of Dublin (the counter service spot that’s Raglan-adjacent!). But what if you’re visiting the shopping district with food allergies? There’s a fish and chips for you!
Cookes of Dublin
Disney California Adventure Park’s Paradise Garden Grill
is always game for a food celebration, and Halloween Time is no exception! As was the case for Pixar Fest and last year’s Dia de los Muertos, the menu here is an ode to Coco and features flavors from south of the border!
Paradise Garden Grill
In the pantheon of character meals at Walt Disney World, there’s only one where you can dine with big, fluffy friends straight out of the Hundred Acre Wood — and in a classic Magic Kingdom location: Crystal Palace!
Truth be told, we’ve had a bit of a roller coaster relationship with Crystal Palace over the years. Some visits have been good (like this lunch four years ago and like breakfast here back when you could get into the nearly-empty park!), and one was particularly awful (dinner at the end of the night = icky buffet remnants…I didn’t even do a post about it).
But the opportunity to dine with Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger is pretty much a Disney World rite of passage and something that every Disney fan should do at least once. And dining in the Crystal Palace — a gorgeous building that’s been a mainstay since Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 — is a lovely experience.
But what about the food — arguably the most important aspect of any restaurant? It’s standard, but acceptable on most visits, with breakfast having, perhaps, the most interesting options with Pooh’s Breakfast Lasagna and Puffed French Toast being crowd favorites. And so I returned recently, for lunch this time, to see how things are going.
Welcome to Crystal Palace!
Halloween might be all about the sweets, but Halloween Time at Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park mixes things up with savory treats as well! And one such savory bite can be found at Refreshment Corner right on Main Street, U.S.A.! Queue up for the Halloween Hot Dog!
Refreshment Corner Menu
Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort
includes plenty of sweet treats like the ones our intrepid Disneyland correspondent Heather (hiya, @DiningInDisney!) found at Jolly Holiday Bakery and Cafe, but for those looking for savory eats, you’ll find plenty of those, too!
We already gave you the heads up about yummy eats at Pacific Wharf Cafe, and now we’re at Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta in Disney California Adventure Park for some pizza that’s sure to keep the vampires away!
Anti-Vampire Pizza at Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta!
We love a good Disney food hack — especially when it combines a duo of our favorite things. And today we’ve got a combo brought to us by Disney Food Blog reader Michael over at @DisneyNumNums! Join us at the Grand Floridian Cafe — and bring your stretchy pants!
Grand Floridian Cafe sign at entrance
Why? Because Michael tells us that if you start with the Grand Floridian Cafe’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken…
Buttermilk Fried Chicken at Grand Floridian Cafe
…you can end up with some killer Chicken and Waffles — with a Mickey Waffle, no less!
Chicken and Waffles
What, what?! In order to make this happen, all you have to do is request a waffle instead of the Crispy Potatoes, Kale, and Bacon that the chicken usually comes with!
You’ll get a choice between a Belgian Waffle and the Mickey Waffle — and you get to keep that Sriracha-Honey Drizzle (and get more on the side, if you want!)!
Chicken and Waffles!
The server also brought hot maple syrup, butter, and ketchup — just in case you want to change things up a little! How fun is this?! Many thanks to Michael for sharing with us!
What’s your favorite Disney food hack? Share with us in the comments!
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