We had mobile ordered our lunch from ABC Commissary, and our pick up time was 11:50-12:20. This is what you see once you place your order:
Once your arrival window opens, you can click a button that says Prepare My Order.
Once you arrive to pick up your food, you are greeted at the entrance by a cast member with an iPad. They check to make sure you are on the list to receive your food, and then you may enter. We were able to find a table easily, and it was definitely more quiet than we were used to in here!
My mom ordered the Mediterranean Salad with Chicken. $11.99–Chicken breast served over mixed greens with tomatoes, cucumber, pepperoncini, kalamata olives, and feta, tossed in a Mediterranean vinaigrette with hummus and grilled flatbread.
This was a nice, light, refreshing dish and a fairly large portion.
My sister-in-law ordered the Curry Rice Bowl with Shrimp. $13.99–sauteed shrimp and vegetables with red curry sauce, served with jasmine coconut rice.
I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich. $10.99–grilled sourdough toasted with buffalo chicken, Monterey, provolone, cheddar and cream cheese, served with a side of buffalo sauce and fries (you get a choice of sides.)
This was SO GOOD! My daughter split this with me and she also loved it. Think buffalo chicken dip inside a grilled cheese. Why haven’t I thought of this sooner??!! Here’s a close up of the inside:
My daughter ordered the Chicken Club $12.49. Marinated chicken breast served on a toasted brioche bun, topped with bacon, provolone, guacamole, ranch dressing, lettuce and tomato, served with choice of side.
This was also very good! Everyone loved their food and we will definitely come back here.
I like that the options are different than the normal quick service options. There’s also a lot of indoor seating to get out of the heat.
This post is going to cover some dining around Universal.
We had dining reservations for lunch at Finnegan’s Bar & Grill. I am not super familiar with Universal restaurants, so I spent a lot of time checking out menus and pricing, etc. This is one reservation I was very excited about! I made the reservation online. I received text alerts reminding me of the reservation. We showed up at our time and were seated immediately. There was live music that was just ending at the bar. As we were finding throughout this vacation, the menus were not printed, rather we had to scan a QR code to view it. These cards were placed at each table. My observations while we were sitting…it felt really busy, there were many large parties, and the wait staff was running all over the place. It was slightly chaotic and loud!
We placed our order and were brought some complimentary bread. It was some kind of soda bread with apple butter (I think) and regular butter. I did not enjoy this at all. I love bread! But this was not it…
Because it was so hot, I really wanted something light. I went with the Celtic Chicken Club Salad with the dressing on the side. It looked great, but it was really just okay. I was so disappointed at both this place and the food! I was bummed. But, we had a dinner coming up at Margaritaville that would hopefully make up for it.
For dinner on this same day, we had reservations at Margaritaville, which we also made online. Since the parks were closing on the early side, dinner reservations at City Walk made sense so we could hit it on the way out. It’s a very short walk between them. It was daylight while we were walking over. (This is also the area where you can find boat transportation to select resorts.)
There was a long line of people waiting to check in. However, I had read that if you have reservations, you should just go to the front of the line, which is what we did, and we were seated immediately. Yes we got dirty looks, but if you have a reservation, you don’t have to stand in the line!
Besides the digital menus, we were also finding that the menus were very limited in choices, which was fine with us because we aren’t that picky, but they were slimmed down very noticeably. We weren’t super starving, so we went with a few appetizers. Alex ordered the Volcano Nachos. This portion size was humungous! These were very good! I opted for the Key West Chicken Quesadilla and this was also good.
By the time we were finished with dinner, it was dark, and everything was lit up.
I could not visit City Walk and NOT try a Voo Doo Doughnut! I had heard so much about them, and I love donuts soooo…
I couldn’t pick just one, so I went with one of the specials and the Dirt doughnut. The special snowman one did not have any filling. THESE WERE SO GOOD! I spent the next two days eating them for breakfast/snacks!
There are so many options at Universal and in the City Walk area!
Posted at 4:21 pm by taryngirl, on January 26, 2021
11/15/2021
Liberty Tree Tavern is my favorite table service restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. The setting is a colonial style inn, featuring traditional New England inspired cuisine. Lunch used to be ala carte ordering off of a menu, (pre-Covid times), but currently they are offering the same style dining as they do for dinner. It’s brought out family style for everyone to share. You can see the current menu HERE.
Our reservation was for 12:05 p.m. We checked in through the My Disney Experience app at 11:45 a.m., and were called 5 minutes later. Inside there used to be places to sit and even places for kids to color while you waited. Now there are spaces on the floor for you to stand socially distanced.
We started with some salad and warm rolls.
Declaration Salad, tossed mixed greens with homemade dressing
This salad is always very refreshing! The dressing is super light, but full of flavor. It’s one of my faves!
These rolls are always served warm, and are so soft! Also one of my faves!
The Patriot’s Platter includes Roasted Turkey Breast, Pot Roast (my favorite of the meats!), Oven Roasted Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Herb Stuffing, and House-Made Macaroni and Cheese.
The meats and the stuffingThe vegetables, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese
One thing I want to note is the change in the macaroni and cheese since the last time I ate here! I think it used to be a Stouffer’s type, but now it’s listed as homemade. It definitely looked and tasted different. I much preferred this version!
Our lunch was amazing! It’s so much food! My personal favorites are the pot roast, mashed potatoes, and salad. You can order individual refills on any of the dishes you would like. We got a little bit more pot roast and mashed potatoes since we didn’t eat much of the pork.
Our waitress was very attentive. She brought refills for our drinks before we were even finished with the first one. It was kind of ridiculous the amount of glasses we had on our table at one time!
This restaurant has my favorite dessert out of any restaurant in all of Disney. OOEY GOOEY TOFFEE CAKE!
We were finished eating and out the door by 12:45 p.m. I for sure would eat here again and definitely recommend it if you haven’t tried it yet!
Posted at 12:36 pm by taryngirl, on December 8, 2020
Continuing on with our day at Epcot, we finished up our Germany snacks and headed toward Mouse Gears to do some shopping. The entire center where the fountain used to be, is all blocked off and under construction at the moment. They are redoing things in there. That means that Mouse Gears is now moved to a different location. It’s still in Future World East, just a different building. The selection is still really good!
From there we headed to Spaceship Earth. Wait time posted was 20 minutes. We waited 25 minutes. Once exiting there are no games anymore. It’s completely silent! I’m assuming this is because of Covid, and the fact that they don’t want people touching the games and crowding. We went over to Journey Into Imagination with Figment, which had a 20 minute wait time posted. We waited 5 minutes. Also, at the end of this attraction there are no games or anything interactive!
Here you can see they are only seating every other row on this attraction for now.It’s empty and quiet!
Of course at the end of this, we went and enjoyed the DVC Lounge which is upstairs in this building. We sat for about an hour and enjoyed some drinks and snacks while recharging our phones and resting our feet.
While there are no character meet and greets available at the moment, there are characters out and about. We were able to see Joy and Pooh right outside of the Figment attraction.
We headed into The Land and went directly to Living With the Land. Wait time posted was 10 minutes, but we walked right on.
Plexiglass barriers up in between the queue rows.Only sitting every other row on this attraction. But you can also see the dividers up between seats.
After this, Alex went to ride Soarin’. The wait time posted was 35 minutes. She was on and off in 35 minutes.
Barriers up between the rows.
Here’s a picture of Garden Grill. The characters are there, but walking in the row of tables behind the patrons.
From there, we went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, where there was no wait. We also stayed to explore the SeaBase since we had some time to kill before our dinner reservation at Coral Reef.
It was finally time for our dining reservation at Coral Reef! I hadn’t eaten here since my husband and I went for our anniversary many, many years ago…pre kids I think.
The entrance may be hard to find. If you are standing facing the entrance to the Nemo ride, go right around to the side of the building.
You can see the one way enter/exit, as well as markers on the ground.
There are (for the most part) no paper menus anymore. You have to scan the QR code at the table or outside of the restaurant to see the menu. The menus have all been paired down for sure! Offering less selections than normal.
Note…I don’t eat any seafood! At all!
Warm rolls with butter. SO GOOD!Side Caesar SaladSeared Mahi Mahi (Alex’s meal). She has a shellfish allergy, that’s why there’s an allergy pick.My meal! I ordered the Caesar Salad with Chicken as my meal. It was delicious!Of course we had to get the Chocolate Wave for dessert to share!View of the restaurantView from our table! We were right next to the gigantic tank.
Our reservation was for 7:15 p.m. We were in and out and at the bus stop to the resort by 8:25 p.m.
I would definitely eat here again, and would recommend anyone who needs a break from the countries to give it a whirl! When I travel with our big family, we always eat in the countries. This was a nice break from that since we had all of the food booths in the afternoon. The staff here was very friendly and accommodating.
Posted at 9:46 am by taryngirl, on December 1, 2020
11/14/2020
Recapping a little bit from my previous post, Disney After Covid (which focused mostly on safety and Covid procedures)…
I was presented an amazing opportunity to visit both Disney World and Universal Orlando. I am a Disney Vacation Club member and had several points available to use thanks to a canceled trip back in May, I’m an Annual Passholder, and had a free flight thanks to Southwest Airlines points. That covered the Disney portion of my trip. Universal Orlando invited me to stay on property and experience the parks for a few days, so I could see how they are keeping guests safe while still having loads of fun!
My travel day started off with a 2:50 a.m. alarm to wake up. (I am NOT a morning person unless I’m traveling!). My cousin Alex was my travel partner. We left around 3:40 a.m., and drove to the Philadelphia Airport, arriving around 5:10 a.m. at our parking lot. We went with Smart Park on this trip. I really just look around to see who is cheapest! Upon arriving at the parking lot, we were picked up in a shuttle with two other travel parties. We felt very safe. Everyone was wearing masks and the driver was wearing gloves.
Once at the airport, security was a breeze. Everything is still normal…shoes and coats off, everything on the belt and through the scanner. Everyone in the seating area was social distancing. Our flight was scheduled for 7:05 a.m. and we landed and had our luggage by 9:45 a.m. A note about Disney’s Magical Express…it is not the same! They no longer send you yellow tags in the mail or get your luggage and deliver it to the resort. YOU must get your own luggage from Baggage Claim and take it to the Magical Express with you. We flew Southwest, so our terminal was the A Terminal. We had to get our luggage from there and head over to the B Terminal to get on the Magical Express.
A fun thing I overheard at the Magical Express desk while we were heading to check in…they were expecting 6,458 passengers on the Magical Express on this particular day. The supervisor I guess?? was filling in the workers behind the desk so they knew what to expect. We got in line at 9:57 a.m. Be aware that they are using assigned seating from back to front, and using only every other row. The person checking us in told us where to sit. We were on the bus by 10:08 a.m. and departed at 10:20 a.m.
We arrived at Bay Lake Tower at 10:48 a.m. and were the first stop. We may have actually been the only stop as it seems everyone got off here… We headed into the lobby. We wanted to check our luggage with Bell Services and head to Epcot. We also wanted to change into our shorts because it was hot!
This is one thing I did comment on the survey they gave me. Because there is no luggage delivery anymore, Bell Services is CRAZY! Be prepared for longer than usual waits to actually check the luggage with them.
Bell Services line
We finished changing and got organized, checked our luggage, and then were at the bus stop at 11:35 a.m. There is no monorail to Epcot at the moment. The bus arrived at 11:45 a.m., and we made it to Epcot at 11:55 a.m. We were hungry for lunch and decided to start with some food booths! We decided to go counter-clockwise starting in Canada because we knew we wanted to eat something from there!
One of my favorite restaurants is Le Cellier (in Canada), but it’s on the pricey side. The items at this food booth are some of my favorites!
These did not disappoint and were tasty as usual. I absolutely LOVE the soup with the pretzel bread dipper! We continued on and our next stop was the World Showplace Events Pavilion, located between Canada and the UK. I have never seen this open for this particular event, but they do have other events there. I was interested to check it out, and it housed several food booths!
The Liquid Nitro Cake Pops came highly recommended to me from friends who had already been there, so of course I had to try one! I went with the Twix version.
This was really good and different! By this point I was already full, but I still had some items on my list that I wanted to try. Here are some pics from along our way.
FranceView from between France and MoroccoMorocco
Our next stop was in Germany at the little caramel store, Karamell-Kuche. This is a must do for me every trip! It has some of the best snacks. There were some new offerings this trip, possibly just seasonal? I had to have the Gingerbread Salted Caramel Buttercream Cookie Sandwich!
IT WAS AMAZING! My favorite snack from anywhere in the world. And possibly the single best thing I have ever tasted! The cookie was soft, but had a crispyish layer outside. It was perfect. The buttercream and caramel was so good together! I wished I would have bought more to bring home. We found a table next to Mexico in the area where the band usually performs so we could stand and eat our snacks.
What you can see in this picture is the line just to get inside the Mexico pavilion. The man holding the sign actually had to cut off the line because it was too long. The wait from here was about a half hour. I think they cut it off because they didn’t want too big of a crowd blocking the sidewalk.
While we were standing there, some cast members came rushing by telling everyone to get to the side, and that a horse and carriage were coming. We had no idea what was going on! All of a sudden, this went by:
It was brief, but exciting to see! We decided that they do not announce times for these little cavalcades because they don’t want people gathering and lining up. We were just out of Mexico when this one came by:
Short and sweet! It was nice to see the characters out and about since there are no real meet and greet experiences at the moment.
Next up will be the rest of our day at Epcot with dinner at Coral Reef!
Posted at 10:31 am by taryngirl, on October 21, 2020
January 2020
I took this quick trip with my cousin Alex. One of the doctors where she works was also going to be in Disney at the same time, and he wanted to meet up for breakfast. We found ourselves at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort at Kona Cafe with a reservation.
I’ve written about this resort a few times, and I always take this picture! I absolutely love this resort and all it has to offer.
The theming is my favorite, as I love tropical places. And the restaurants are some of my favorites! The location is also amazing. It’s a quick monorail ride away from Magic Kingdom, and walking distance to TTC to catch a monorail to Epcot.
The menu in January 2020The menu in January 2020The ceiling!
We started off sharing the Tropical Fruit Plate $10. This had fresh fruit, boba balls, and some really good kind of honey type drizzle.
One of us had the French Toast $13. It came with a really good caramel banana sauce and your choice of bacon, sausage or ham. It was standard French toast, but the caramel banana sauce made the dish!
We also had the Polynesian Egg Platter $16. Also delicious!
Overall we enjoyed our meal and time together. The prices compared to a quick service location are more. The food quality is a little bit better than counter service. If you want a relaxing atmosphere and have time to sit, try this table service breakfast! If you are in a rush to get to the parks or on more of a budget, skip the table service and go quick service.
Posted at 11:07 am by taryngirl, on October 2, 2020
1/30/2020
I am writing this post Covid closure. This is from my trip in January! In looking at the current menu, it seems they have taken several things off of the menu for now. Boo! Hopefully they will be back!
After briefly checking out the Club Level area at the Contemporary Resort, we hopped on the monorail, which is conveniently located right inside the resort, and headed to the Grand Floridian. Our breakfast reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe was at 9:00 a.m.
This is the glorious site when you are dropped off from the monorail and head inside the doors to the resort. It’s amazing!
Looking down into the lobby area
I wanted to get a glimpse of the new Enchanted Rose Lounge that opened just a few months prior.
The entrance was roped off, so I couldn’t get inside to take any pictures, but here are a few from outside the rope.
You can click my link above to check out the details and menu. It’s definitely on the pricier side, with just a few food items available, but lots of beverages.
From there, we just walked down the steps to the Grand Floridian Cafe. Neither of us had ever eaten here, so it was on our list to check out. The menu was a brunch menu and looked really good!
I started with a cup of hot tea, and Alex started with coffee.
They brought her a whole pot, so that was nice!
A view of some of the dining room
Complimentary biscuits with an orange butter were served. They were warm and good.
Alex ordered the Brioche French Toast–Madagascar vanilla bean scented brioche French toast with bacon–$17
Fun fact…if you ordered pancakes, waffles, or French toast, you could also order an “add-on.” We chose: Fresh blueberries, granola, lemon curd and blueberry sauce $3.50
This was a fabulous addition and we were really happy we got it!
A side of French toast
I ordered the Steak and Eggs–sirloin steak, cheesy hash brown casserole, 2 eggs, housemade steak sauce $20
This was so good! I would definitely order this again. All of it was wonderful.
Overall, I give this breakfast/brunch a 10/10! I had a reservation set for May, but that trip was canceled due to Covid…and then I made a reservation for August, and that trip was also canceled. I will return! There was too much on the menu I wanted to try.
Posted at 4:55 pm by taryngirl, on September 10, 2020
1/29/20
Upon leaving Animal Kingdom, we hopped on a bus to Old Key West so we could get to Disney Springs for our highly anticipated lunch at Enzo’s Hideaway. Usually when I go to Disney Springs, I like to eat at the same places because I have my favorites! Before the huge expansion, my favorite place was Wolfgang Puck Express. Then I tried Raglan Road and that was yummy and entertaining. And then I tried Morimoto and that was super delicious and just beautiful inside. And finally Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’, which has become my #1 favorite restaurant at Disney Springs. The appetizers, main courses, and desserts are SO GOOD!
For this trip, I was traveling with my cousin. We decided to try something brand new! Enzo’s Hideaway was available, so we grabbed a reservation for it. But first…transportation! There is no direct transportation from a Disney park to Disney Springs before 4:00 p.m. You have to take a bus to a resort for a transfer. We decided to take the bus to Old Key West and then enjoy a boat ride over.
Our boat awaiting us!The boat dock, which was empty at this time of day!
Some views on our ride:
This is an Amphicar on a tour from The Boathouse. You can rent them and take a spin!There is also a ballon ride called Aerophile that you can do!
We made our way towards Enzo’s. Now, it was slightly confusing because there are actually two different Enzo restaurants. There’s Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante, which features authentic Italian cuisine set in a transformed airline terminal. And then there’s Enzo’s Hideaway, which is set underground in a tunnel bar, with a speakeasy vibe! This one was down the steps, and almost hidden. Here are some pictures of the inside:
This area is outside the doors.And this is the entrance! Kind of tucked in a corner. Luckily I had read reviews so I knew where to find the door.This is the check in area. There was no one there, so we just wandered into the restaurant!I also read about this. Feel free to sign it!We still couldn’t find anyone…It was EMPTY! (We probably didn’t need a reservation.)This is the room where we were seated, and this was my view. I think there were maybe three other tables with patrons!I think you could also sign this wall if you wanted.I found this table on my way to the bathroom!
The atmosphere was AMAZING! Really, really AMAZING! I would love to come back on a busy night just to see the difference. There were so many details that were perfect for the speakeasy vibe.
As usual, I checked out the menu before we arrived. Of course I couldn’t decide exactly what I wanted, so made a decision on the fly! One word about the wait staff…very good and attentive. Almost too attentive, I think because there were so few tables. They had nothing else to do but check on us repeatedly!
Complimentary bread with oil.
Of course the bread was warm and perfect.
I knew I had to have some wine, because…how could you not in this setting?! I went with my favorite, which is Moscato.
I ordered the Bucatini Bolognese. This was absolutely delicious! The meat sauce was so tasty. The portion size was normal. The pasta was actually not just your average spaghetti. It was like a thick spaghetti with a big hole running through the center. It is pricey at $25, but alas, we are in Disney at a table service meal. I would definitely order this again!
Classic Lasagna–thin layered egg pasta, braised short rib rag, béchamel, for di latte mozzarella, $26
My cousin ordered the Classic Lasagna. This was also delicious. Super rich and a big portion! I don’t think she finished it.
Needless to say, we were way too stuffed for dessert. Overall, we really liked it here. It was a nice change from what we are used to at Disney Springs. I would definitely return in the future!
After our jaunt on the Skyliner, we rode it back to the Epcot Station and entered through the International Gateway. We had dinner reservations in Mexico at La Hacienda de San Angel, but before that, we made our way through the countries a little bit.
It’s always a joy to listen to Mariachi Cobre located just outside the Mexico Pavilion! They sound really good and are super talented!
There are two table service restaurants in Mexico. San Angel Inn is located INSIDE the pavilion.
(By the way, I love my iPhone 11 Pro! This pic was taken with it. No flash!)
We took a quick ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour before our dinner.
From there, we headed outside of the pavilion and across the walk to the second table service restaurant…La Hacienda de San Angel.
The view from our table (Yes we are inside! We just had a window seat.):
The menu:
(A side note…I have only eaten at this restaurant one other time in my life, and it was several years ago. I absolutely did not find the menu appealing at all, but my cousin wanted to try it. It ended up being my favorite meal of the trip! So I couldn’t wait to get back here.)
Chips and Salsa come complimentary. The salsa was really good!
I ordered the Pollo al Pastor, which was adobe marinated chicken breast with vegetables. It was spicy but delicious!
My cousin ordered the Enchiladas de Vegetales.
All entrees come with family style rice and beans.
Overall thoughts…our server was a little crazy, but efficient. One example, when filling my water, he basically dumped the pitcher onto me and my plate of rice. The meal was so good, and I love the setting right on the lake. If you have dined inside at San Angel Inn, give this a try! I prefer the food here! They only serve during dinner.
After the craziness of riding Rise of the Resistance, we headed out the gates and to the boat. We took the boat to the Beach Club for our reservation at Beaches and Cream.
Beaches and Cream had a makeover! The seating area was expanded and the menu received a small makeover. We couldn’t wait to check it out!
The check in podium is located outside the restaurant. Generally to dine here, you must have a reservation. There is some counter seating that may be open for walk ins, but it’s tough to get in here!
The menu:
I can never decide what I want here, because I love this kind of food. It’s usually a toss up between the burger or the chili cheese dog (which by the way is not on the regular menu anymore), and then a dessert decision is also a struggle!
Here you can see he expanded seating area inside the restaurant:
I ordered the chili cheese dog, even though it wasn’t listed on the menu!
Alex ordered the Reuben.
Both were delicious!
And for dessert, we went with the no fail No Way Jose to share.
This is probably my favorite ice cream sundae in Disney! I love peanut butter and chocolate together.
If you are staying in the area of Beach Club, Yacht Club or Boardwalk, this is a great lunch spot. Or even if you are going between Hollywood Studios and Epcot as we were. It’s reasonably priced for a table service, and the desserts available are fabulous!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures 