Monthly Archives: October 2017

Disney Dining – Epcot’s Tangierine Café

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I’d heard for years about the great food in Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion.  Aside from that single, ill-fated attempt to eat at Spice Road Table, we’d never put dining in Morocco on our to-do list.  On the Quick Service Dining Plan for our June vacation, Megan and I decided to give Tangierine Café a try.  It was a good value on the plan and the food and service were both great!

Disney Dining – Epcot’s Tangierine Café

It’s not that we don’t like the Morocco Pavilion…We do!  It’s got a lot going for it.  The architectural details, tile work, shopping, and live music all work together to create an especially exotic oasis in World Showcase.  We’ve passed on the food simply because there are so many other choices in Epcot.  Also, a couple of us are picky-ish, so we tend to go places we know everyone will like.  Raymond loves the coffee served at the Morocco Pavilion and has stopped on many occasions to enjoy a cup while the rest of us look around in the gift shop.Tile Closeup / Morocco Pavilion / Epcot's World Showcase Morocco in Epcot's World Showcase

Hopping to Epcot from a busy morning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Megan and I were hungry!  The weather was gorgeous and we headed straight for Morocco and the Tangierine Café for lunch.  Everything on the menu sounded good to us, but we both decided on the gigantic Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter “served with a side of Hummus, Tabouleh, and Tangierine Couscous Salad with fresh Moroccan Bread“.

Everything on our plates was delicious.  (Pictures don’t do it justice!)  We loved the consistency of the bread and how fresh all the flavors were.  Perfectly seasoned, each generous portion was flavorful and satisfying without being heavy.  As I mentioned, lunch was also a good value on the dining plan (out-of-pocket price for just the Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter is currently $14.99).

Megan and I were so happy we tried Tangierine Café!  If you’re looking for a filling lunch in Epcot and haven’t yet tried this quick service restaurant in Morocco, we highly recommend it.

What are your favorite go-to dining spots in Epcot for lunch?

 

 

Our Next Disney Vacation? Coming Right Up!

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Is there anything better than a Disney sea-and-land vacation?  I think not!  In just a few more days, Raymond and I will sail away on the Dream for a little 4-night Bahamian getaway.  I’ve been daydreaming about Castaway Cay and how heavenly that little slice of paradise will be.  Usually I’d prefer to do the land portion of the trip first since the parks are so busy and Disney cruises are more relaxing.  This trip being our anniversary Disney vacation do-over, we’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got.Castaway Cay's Mt. Rustmore

Our Next Disney Vacation? Coming Right Up!

And what we’ve got are some pretty sweet plans!  When we were only going to have the three-night land portion of our trip, I dutifully attempted to book ADRs and FastPasses at the earliest possible moment with mixed results.  I booked dinners at Il Mulino and Yachtsman Steakhouse and left Friday open for Food & Wine since we originally weren’t going to arrive in Orlando until early afternoon.  I booked the only FastPass I could get in Pandora, which was Na’vi River Journey on Saturday morning and then chose some in Epcot for Friday afternoon and Magic Kingdom for Sunday starting mid-morning.

Here’s where having Disney friends all over social media helps – I got a hot tip a couple of weeks ago that some additional FastPasses had opened up for several hard-to-get attractions and SCORE!!!  Na’vi River Journey is out and Flight of Passage is IN!  I’m super excited to see Raymond’s reaction to his first ride on a Banshee.

I’m also very excited to be meeting up with some of those aforementioned fellow Disney fans.  We’re hoping to see Tim from Dad for Disney and his family, Scott from Enchanted Tiki Talk, and our friends Linda and Phillip (we met on the Disney Magic in Norway cruise).  There are even a few more tentative meet-up plans in the works.  It’s good to have Disney friends…they understand me.

Here’s a quick rundown of the Walt Disney World part of this trip…

Friday:  Catch the Disney Cruise Line bus from Port Canaveral to Bay Lake Tower as early as possible, drop off luggage and catch a bus to Disney Springs for lunch at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ – a place we’ve wanted to try since it opened in 2016.  Initially, I couldn’t find a dinner reservation (we were going to eat there instead of Yachtsman) then realized how early we could arrive straight from the ship and lunch was available.  Win-Win!

After lunch, we’ll make our way to Epcot where we can wander World Showcase between FastPasses for Soarin’ and Spaceship Earth.  When we get hungry for dinner, we can sample our way through some of the Food & Wine booths.  We’ll be in go-with-the-flow mode and can soak up the World at our leisure.

Saturday morning we’re headed to Animal Kingdom.  We’ve got FastPasses for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Flight of Passage, and Expedition Everest and I am loving this lineup!  We can hang around until after lunch then rest a while at Bay Lake Tower before meeting Linda and Phillip for drinks and dinner – AbracadaBar (Boardwalk) followed by Il Mulino (Swan).  AbracadaBar recently changed their menu and I’m excited to try a new offering or two.

Sunday we’re planning to rope-drop Hollywood Studios to ride Rock’n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror before hopping to Magic Kingdom where our FastPasses are for Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  We don’t have to rush and can tour at our own pace.  Dinner at Yachtsman will wrap up our plans and Monday morning we’ll head for home.The Red Rock of Big Thunder Mountain

It’s a very short visit, but we’ll be back in February for the Fairytale Challenge and again in May for a family vacation.  There’s a slight chance of a brief January visit as well, but that one’s not certain yet.  I was going for the perfect mix of action and no-pressure touring with lots of free time built in.

If you had only three days at Walt Disney World, what would your priorities be?  How would your plans differ from ours?

Disney Dining: How Many ADRs Does Your Disney Vacation Need?

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It’s 180 days from your Walt Disney World vacation and you’re ready to book some advance dining reservations (ADRs).  You’ve done your research and you’ve made a list of places you want to try.  Now comes the critical question…

Disney Dining: How Many ADRs Does Your Disney Vacation Need?

I say (as I almost always do) it depends.  How many days will you be there?  What’s your touring style going to be like?  How crowded will it be?  What’s your food budget?  There are so many variables, I could probably write a book on this one topic alone.  For the sake of simplicity, I’ll break this down into suggestions for four different scenarios and hopefully you’ll find one of them helpful.

Long stay with plenty of time to relax – I recommend one table service experience per day.  To save some money, make a few of those for lunch (often less expensive than dinner).  If you have the luxury of time, a nice mix of park time, pool time, and maybe a special tour or round of mini-golf will be on your agenda.  Maybe you have time for visiting water parks.  If you have little ones who will need a break or early bedtime, that’s all the more reason to consider a table service splurge for lunch.  This type of vacation allows you to enjoy some special dining experiences without feeling like you’re sacrificing too much time and missing out on other activities.  Too many reservations and you risk spending all your time getting to and from meals instead of relaxing and soaking up the magic.  Moderation is my recommendation.  Once you book your reservations, plan your park days around them.  Personally, anytime I can take a boat or monorail ride to and from Magic Kingdom for a relaxing break, I feel like I’m in heaven.  My favorite restaurants for this include ‘Ohana and Kona Café at the Polynesian Village Resort and the Whispering Canyon Café at Wilderness Lodge.

Medium stay with an emphasis on park touring – Go for an ADR in the parks for breakfast or lunch a time or two and add some special dining experiences on a couple of evenings.  Consider eating only quick service meals for a day or two – especially in Epcot and Animal Kingdom.  Again – you don’t want to waste a bunch of time getting to and from meals when you’d rather be riding rides and seeing shows.  In-park, we especially love Tusker House and Tiffins (Animal Kingdom) and 50’s Prime Time Café (Hollywood Studios).

Short stay with a packed schedule – Consider making no reservations at all.  Okay, maybe one if you have to.  Since Megan and I just did this and found the Quick Service Dining Plan a good value and super convenient, I’m speaking from experience.  We wanted to spend every moment we could in the parks seeing and doing as much as possible.  If we had a do-over, we would not have taken the time to try Paddlefish in Disney Springs.  It wasn’t bad, but took a chuck of time from our measly three-and-a-half days.  Our favorite in-park quick service places include Columbia Harbor House (Magic Kingdom), Flame Tree Barbecue and Harambe Market (Animal Kingdom), and La Cantina de San Angel and Sunshine Seasons (Epcot).  I must confess, we don’t think any of the quick service places in Disney’s Hollywood Studios are all that good and will either just eat snacks or try to snag a table at the Hollywood Brown Derby’s outdoor lounge.  Let’s hope Galaxy’s Edge (a.k.a. Star Wars Land) and Toy Story Land include some excellent alternatives when they open.

Any length of stay during an insanely busy season – Make as many as you can afford!  Based on our experience the last two years at Disney World during Christmas week, we found the park crowds to be nearly unbearable everywhere by mid-afternoon.  We were happy we had a nice dinner to look forward to at the end of every day.  We also booked breakfasts at Be Our Guest and Tusker House then made our FastPass plans around them when the time came.  We booked a Candlelight Processional dining package for breakfast at Trattoria al Forno then walked to Epcot in time for park opening afterwards.  Note: Trattoria al Forno now offers the Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast!  As a final thought, If you ever get the chance to enjoy Christmas dinner at the California Grill (Disney’s Contemporary Resort) do not pass it up!

Are you a big Disney dining planner?  What are your best ADR-booking tips?  How many table service meals to you usually plan during your vacation?  What did I leave out?

The Right Way to Tour Epcot’s World Showcase

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Hang around with enough fellow Disney fans and you’re bound to notice one hotly debated topic:  Which way is the right way to circle World Showcase?  One camp swears by the Mexico Pavilion route as the only acceptable way to go (Looking at YOU, Nick Maglio).  The other camp adamantly believes the only way to kick off a World Showcase visit is to begin in Canada (Hello, Dave Hodges!).  Of course, I have my own opinion (no big surprise, right?) and I’m certain my way is best.  (Want in-depth arguing on this topic?  Listen to The Disney Exchange!)

The Right Way to Tour Epcot’s World Showcase

The answer is simple.  Enter World Showcase wherever you like!  Our plan is always to go towards whatever is first on our agenda if we have one.  If we’re there simply to wander (a favorite family activity), we go to the side that appears to be less crowded at that particular moment.Gran Fiesta Tour / Mexico Pavilion / Epcot's World Showcase

If there for the rides, we enter on the Mexico side and hit the Gran Fiesta Tour on our way to Frozen Ever After in Norway.  When looking for a bite to eat, the direction we take is solely based on whatever we’re craving at the moment.  In search of a cold beverage, we’re headed to the Canada side to make our way to the UK Pavilion for an Innes & Gunn (Scotland’s finest beer, IMHO).  See how this works?

On of the very best and most charming aspects of World Showcase is that it can be completely different from one visit to the next.  Seasonal festivals, holiday decorations and special events, and slower times of the year – all game changers.

For example:  During Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival, the World Showcase can be packed!  Between guests and the extra food booths and kiosks, it has a certain party atmosphere unlike other time of the year.  If we’re there for attractions or visiting particular pavilions to shop, we go at park opening.  If we’re there for the food, we prefer to be in and out by late afternoon.

When there are no special events, World Showcase begs to be explored at a leisurely pace.  This is when we love to visit every pavilion and stop here and there to speak to Cast Members or watch a performance unique to a particular country.  Drummers in Japan, acrobats in China, Mariachi band in Mexico, performers in Italy and France – we’ll take in whatever happens to be going on at the moment.  Of course, there are always snacks and drinks to try!

Don’t fall for the arguments!  There is no one correct way to tour World Showcase – no matter where you start, there are amazing sights, sounds, and flavors to explore.

What’s your World Showcase touring strategy?