Disney World’s Best Signature Dining

Posted on December 16, 2016 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

There are so many Walt Disney World restaurants to choose from! Frequent visitors, like our family, develop a passion for certain snacks, an emotional attachment to a few quick-service places, and we’re downright territorial about our table service favorites!

Let’s talk about Disney’s Signature Dining. If you’re going to splurge on a meal either out-of-pocket or by burning two table service dining credits on the Disney Dining Plan, it’s important to choose wisely! While we haven’t quite made it to all the finest dining Disney has to offer (I’m looking at you, Victoria and Albert’s), we’ve tried a good many and have indeed developed enough of a fondness for a few to do what we can to squeeze them into our budgets for both time and money as often as we can.

For those of you with little ones, fully enjoying a Signature Dining experience can be challenging. You know you kids best and whether or not they’d like to sit in a fancy restaurant for a lengthy meal. This is Disney World so signature restaurants are kid-friendly, but they are not as fun as character dining (like at Tusker House or Chef Mickey) or some places with funny servers (think Whispering Canyon Café or 50’s Prime Time Café) and cool themes (Sci-Fi Dine In Theater). These places also tend to have more “adult” foods on the kids’ menu. The list I’ve put together here is mainly geared towards families with older children and groups of adults. If you’ve got something to celebrate, like an anniversary or graduation, signature dining is the way to go!

Disney World’s Best Signature Dining

In The Resorts

Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge) – Hands down this is our favorite Signature Dining Experience, but it’s not for everyone! Jiko is best enjoyed by diners with adventurous palates. That’s not to say that picky eaters won’t find something to love, but it may take a little creative work with the cooperative servers and chefs. We’re game (see what I did there?) for trying exotic dishes made with wild boar or buffalo. We welcome new flavors from African-spiced dishes of all kinds. Options like pork and lamb shanks, beef short ribs, scallops, halibut, lobster, and vegetarian dishes make up the creative menu. We have never been disappointed. The wine list is as fantastic as the food.

California Grill (Disney’s Contemporary Resort) – The food’s good, but the setting is great! The view from the top of the Contemporary Resort is fantastic and at sunset it’s downright awesome! The California-inspired menu is broad and boasts a great selection of sushi along with other, many very complex, dishes. Service is excellent and compared to Citricos and Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian (also signature), California Grill manages to seem extra special. No matter what time you have dinner, you’ll be welcome to stay (or return) and enjoy Wishes (Magic Kingdom’s fireworks spectacular) from the restaurant’s outdoor viewing area. We celebrated our 25th anniversary at California Grill and our experience was wonderful.

Flying Fish (Disney’s Boardwalk) – Recently renovated and with a new chef, Flying Fish has an awesome location (a short walk from Epcot) and has been very popular in the past. One of our best vacation meal memories is of dinner at the Flying Fish. I don’t know firsthand how the restaurant’s new version compares to the old, but our next Flying Fish dinner is just days away. The new menu looks fantastic (albeit expensive!) and it may well be worth two dining credits. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Yachtsman Steakhouse (Yacht Club) – A solid choice for steak-lovers, Yachtsman’s proximity to Epcot makes it a stellar alternative to Le Cellier in World Showcase’s Canada Pavilion. Good service, solid menu, and the butcher/meat viewing area is cool! We thought the atmosphere a bit more laid back than some of the other signature restaurants and that complimented, rather than detracted from, the overall experience to us. If you’re not a steak fan, there are better places to eat. If you love a good steak, I found even the smallest one on the menu (6-ounce Black Angus Filet) to be perfectly cooked, tender, and delicious.

In The Parks

Tiffins (Animal Kingdom) – As I mentioned in the review I did recently, this place is probably not for picky, non-adventurous eaters. If you love Animal Kingdom for the incredible theming and you want to feel like you’re eating in an exotic far away place with amazing service, consider Tiffins. It can be a bit expensive, but is very special, so worth it in my opinion (at least once). The menu is extraordinary and the beer and wine lists are carefully cultivated and unique. While all signature dining restaurants try to offer exceptional service in a special atmosphere, Tiffins succeeds in a way few others manage.

Hollywood Brown Derby (Disney’s Hollywood Studios) – While this may be our least favorite of the group I’ve listed here today, it’s worth mentioning. The Derby has many devoted fans and it offers a wonderful respite from park noise and crowds. The atmosphere is very cool and the menu offers a good variety. The Cobb Salad is famous as is the Grapefruit Cake dessert. If you’re on the dining plan, don’t waste two table service credits here. If you want a nice meal at a low-ish price for signature dining and/or want the best meal in the Studios, give the Hollywood Brown Derby a try.

What did I miss? Do you have a favorite signature restaurant that didn’t make our list?

Tiffins – Disney Park Signature Dining Perfection

Posted on November 25, 2016 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is immersive, exquisitely themed, and carries guest away on exotic adventures. For visitors looking for a signature dining experience that perfectly reflects the park’s theming, Tiffin’s is the place!

Tiffins – Disney Park Signature Dining Perfection

My favorite attraction in Animal Kingdom may be in Asia (Expedition Everest), but my favorite section of the park is Africa. From the Dawa Bar and Burudika Band to the Harambe Market, Festival of the Lion King, and the Gorilla Falls trail…Every square inch of Africa is amazing! I have yet to visit when I didn’t see several things I’d never noticed before. On the last visit, we were serenaded by a wandering musician…what a unique and unforgettable experience!

When the opening of Tiffins was announced, we knew we had to try it. We love adventure in both vacation activities and dining. By all accounts from the early Tiffins reviews, the experience sounded both exotic and delicious. (This is probably not the best restaurant for picky eaters.)

We booked an early dinner for seven to cap off a full day of Animal Kingdom touring. The exterior of Tiffins blends well into its surroundings. When we walked in, it was obvious that the carefully crafted details outside the building were magnified on the inside. The most meticulous care went into making the restaurant’s interior feel uniquely special and perfect for its location.

What we liked – Everything! The service (ask for Kile!), the ambiance, the food, the wine…every detail was fantastic. Kile, our server, was passionate about Tiffins and was happy to share details with us about everything from the artwork on each wall to the flavors in the menu’s dishes. Notice the colorful fabric behind the lighted animal figures (just like the floats in Rivers of Light!)? Those fabric pieces were once Animal Kingdom Cast Member costumes. See the wooden poles? They are covered in carvings of a multitude of different animals – these very same poles were once painted bright blue and stood in Camp Minnie-Mickey.

What we didn’t like – Nothing. We loved everything about Tiffins…it was us we didn’t like. This restaurant is special and we felt a little soggy and grimy after being in the park all day and maneuvering through an afternoon downpour. We were a ragtag bunch eating in a very nice place. Luckily, that’s to be expected with any in-park dining, so while we wished we’d been a bit more presentable, we enjoyed an excellent meal just the same.

What would get us back – Time and budget. Signature dining = expensive meal, so we’d need to plan accordingly. Also, we’d want to book a meal at Tiffins during a day we were already planning to be in Animal Kingdom. Unlike signature restaurants on the monorail loop or at resorts in or near Epcot, the Animal Kingdom park is pretty far away from where we usually stay. It’s not someplace we would visit just for a meal. All that being said, we do already have anther reservation at Tiffins in about a month. Our first impression was great and there are many things on the menu we’d still like to try.

If you’re an adventurous eater and you love Disney signature dining, Tiffins is a solid choice for a unique and special experience. Have you tried Tiffins? How was your meal there?

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – 12 Hours of Fun!

Posted on October 19, 2016 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

I’m well aware there are certain people who do not appreciate Disney’s Animal Kingdom as a full-day park. My family and I are not among them. We were thrilled recently by the opportunity to spend 12+ hours in the amazingly themed, action-packed, fun-filled Animal Kingdom. From rope-drop to park closing, we had an amazing day and still did not see and do it all.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – 12 Hours of Fun!

Pre-planning: We booked two ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) at 180 days pre-vacation at Tusker House for breakfast and Tiffins for an early dinner. If, by some miracle, Rivers of Light would have come online for our trip, we were ready to turn one of these meals into a dining package. As it turned out, Rivers of Light was still a no-show. No matter, we enjoyed both of these restaurants and were very pleased with the choices. We had also booked three FastPasses: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Primeval Whirl (Dinosaur was under refurbishment).

What we did for 12+ Hours

Morning: We arrived early for breakfast and enjoyed Tusker House’s buffet which had both unique and traditional breakfast offerings. We met Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy – all were awesome and spent plenty of time with us for pictures. As much as I love Donald, Goofy was extra entertaining. After breakfast, we waddled over to Kilimanjaro Safaris and visited with the friendly Cast Members there while we waited for the attraction to open. Our group of seven and a family of three were the only ones on our safari and it was, hands down, the best experience we’d ever had on this attraction…even though the giraffes (except for one) and elephants seemed to be sleeping in that morning. We were very excited to have an excellent view of the new African Painted Dogs! Gorgeous!Post-safari, we explored the Gorilla Falls trail, used our Expedition Everest FastPass, strolled the Maharajah Jungle Trek, caught It’s Tough to Be a Bug, and took another safari (with FastPass) to see the previously missed close-up giraffes and elephants.

Afternoon: We stopped by the Harambe Market in case anyone was hungry, but we only got drinks. I guess we were still full from Tusker House. While we were enjoying our beverages of choice, we were serenaded by a musician and it was wonderful! He was very talented and made us feel special. Then we explored Zuri’s Sweet Shop where we all bought souvenirs. Hats, toy Komodo Dragons, and stuffed African Painted Dogs were popular items with our group. After that we hopped the train for Rafiki’s Planet Watch. While there was not a lot going on in the animal care area, the Cast Members were chatty and informative, the animals in the petting area were cute, and Rafiki himself made an appearance and was very charming!We could have seen Festival of the Lion King instead, but Rafiki won out in the group vote and we were happy with our excursion to this seldom-visited section of the park.

As we took the train back, we noticed the sky was darkening. By the time we exited the train and donned our ponchos, a torrential downpour was upon us and all areas of shelter nearby were packed. I decided we should take a chance on Nomad Lounge (by Tiffins), hoping nobody else would realize it would be open. YES! The place was virtually empty. We found a table on the patio and ordered drinks and snacks which we made short work of as the rain let up and we headed back out for more fun. We wrapped up the afternoon with a series of rides on Primeval Whirl since there was no wait. Before long, it was time to return to Tiffins for our early dinner reservation.

Evening: Tiffins, which I will give a full review for soon, was delightful and delicious (truthfully, it was incredible)! Once the sun began to set, we began what was the completely-new-to-us time of the day – we’d never been able to stay at Animal Kingdom so late before. The park wouldn’t close until 8:30 and we were going to take advantage of every minute. First, everyone (except Raymond and I) took multiple trips down Kali River Rapids (no wait). Then we enjoyed Expedition Everest at night…amazing!We took our third Kilimanjaro Safari of the day to see the hyenas and all the nighttime effects before wrapping up this epic day by watching the Tree of Life awaken.

More than 12 hours after we arrived, we caught the bus back to Bay Lake Tower. Sure, we skipped things like Finding Nemo The Musical, Festival of the Lion King and Flights of Wonder, but we rode awesome thrill rides multiple times (no wait), had all the safari experiences possible, enjoyed some fantastic food and soaked up all the incredible theming and ambiance Animal Kingdom has to offer. When the World of Pandora opens and Rivers of Light finally launches, we’ll have to make multi-day plans here on every visit!

What are your favorite things to do at Animal Kingdom? Are you looking forward to the parks upcoming additions?

Disney World! Always New Things to Try

Posted on October 14, 2016 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Walt Disney World – Trying new things and revisiting old favorites is what makes every visit different from the one before. I’m committed to adding something new to every trip…our most recent Disney vacation was no exception.

Disney World! Always New Things to Try

Most of the items on this list rate their very own review in the future (please stand by). Today I’m going for a quick rundown of what was new (to us) and what our initial impressions were. Please feel free to weigh in on what you’re looking forward to trying for the first time on your next Walt Disney World visit.

Mad Tea Party. Yes, that’s right, Raymond and I have never, not once, taken a spin on this most iconic of Magic Kingdom attractions. Now we can say we’ve done it. Aaaaaaand that’s pretty much all I have to say about that…for now.
Disney Springs’ new offerings. We didn’t have a great deal of time to spare, but we did manage to grab lunch at Morimoto Street Food (new walk-up counter service at Morimoto Asia) and check out a few of the new stores in the new retail shopping section. Lunch was great, the stores were okay. In spite of all the fancy, new high-end offerings, I found myself pulled back to my old favorites like the Marketplace Co-Op and Disney’s Days of Christmas. That’s where I spent my money. I was inordinately happy with my Schweitzer Falls t-shirt buy…can you blame me?
Animal Kingdom’s Nomad Lounge and Tiffins – Guys! We give these new places a resounding, unanimous vote of approval! I promise more details later, but if you’re on the fence about trying one or both…get off the fence on the side of definitely going.
Epcot’s Via Napoli – Raymond and I enjoyed a special dining experience here during the 2014 Food & Wine festival, but had never made a regular ADR for a meal here until this visit. I’d been skeptical of reviews that said the pizza was fantastic (Disney pizza is typically anything but fantastic) and the food excellent overall, but I’m a believer now and cannot wait to go back! We were very happy!
Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater – All I can say in my own defense was that I thought it would be unique and fun. Yeahhhhh….not so much. Didn’t hate it, but now that we’ve given it a try, there’s no need to go back. For the price, service level, and menu, there are too many superior choices…we’ll put this in the “once and done” category. I’ll go ahead and add that for us, the service was subpar and the seating less than ideal for a party of more than four.
Frozen Ever After – Raymond and I managed to score a FastPass for this and ride it on the first day of our vacation. I hate that we couldn’t get FastPasses for the rest of our party! This attraction is outstanding. Let’s not debate its suitability for the Norway Pavilion in Epcot and just focus on the experience alone…wonderful!
Soarin’ – This was THE one thing I was most looking forward to. I’ve always been a fan and could not wait to check out the new version. I was both delighted and disappointed in equal measure. Have you ridden it yet? What did you think?