Christmas 2020: A masked review - broken down by location!

[hereforthechurros]

I am not just not good at traditional reviews. I have no interest in taking the time to color code things and break each meal down into it's own massive post. I too often go into trip report territory and take very few pictures since I make it a point to have my phone away during any vacation. But I still love to share food details and read other's reviews so trying a different approach here. During our nine day 12/20-12/28 2020 Christmas trip we ate a ton which I am going to breakdown by location (park, resort or DS) and list out food experiences with a pic here or there if I have one.

Hope this helps inspire your future eating or if nothing else, kills some time while you pretend to work. Here's us fresh off the DME and into Epcot our first day. So young and full of hope, not yet bloated from the salt and fat intake that is to come.
My husband, myself, and our son (7).



First up: Everything we ate at EPCOT.​

 

[hereforthechurros]

EPCOT*
*Please note this was over three days of eating in Epcot, not just one. We're good, but not that good.​

San Angel
Second visit to San Angel for us and we've found the food to be better than advertised. We shared the puerco con salsa verde with rice and crispy fried onions. The pork was well roasted and very tender, salsa was flavorful and the portion was HUGE. I shared it with my sister and husband and there was still some leftover. We also shared the queso fundido (do you like cholesterol? if so this is your dish!) and the chicken tostadas. All of it was well prepared. I also had to get the La Cava Margarita which tastes better at La Cava but still got the job done.

Sunshine Seasons
Mobile order here was a breeze, the amazingness of MO cannot be overstated. After a long morning of travel we were starving so I went with Oak Grilled Salmon served with Cheese Grits and Andouille Corn Succotash, kid had an Uncrustable meal, and husband had the Oak Grilled rotisserie chicken with black beans & yellow rice. My salmon was surprisingly decent. Well cooked, super creamy grits, and the andouille in the succotash gave it a ton of flavor. Would definitely order again. Husband's chicken was tender and the sides were excellent as well. We also shared the Melting snowman cake. So cute, so not delicious. Most of this baby wound up in the trash.

​

Holiday Sweets & Treat
M.I.A. Beer Company Coquito Beer, Doral, FL: Our first drink of vacation! Really good, flavors of eggnog and coconut. Would drink again.

Citrus blossom
81Bay Brewing Co. Cinnamon Cranberry Orange Wheat Ale, Tampa, FL: This was our fave last year when it was at the America booth with it's strong flavors of cinnamon and orange, but it wasn't quite the same this year. Hope it's around again for redemption later this year.

Yukon Holiday Kitchen
Beef Bourguignon with Crushed Potatoes: The cheap wine used to cook this overpowered everything and has a very unpleasant taste going on. Such a bummer. Potatoes were good but were more of a potato puree than crushed potatoes. Very little beef as well. You're better than this Canada!
81Bay Brewing Co. Maple Cinnamon Coffee Beer, Tampa, FL: They were out of this and had replaced it with a no name given maple and peach beer. It made no sense, and it tasted like it. Apricot and maple just aren't a thing. You're better than this Canada!

Le Marche De Noel Holiday Kitchen
Bûche de Noël au Caramel: Christmas Log with Chocolate Cake and Dark Chocolate Caramel Ganache: One of the better sweets at the booths which, to us anyway, aren't really ever reliable for good sweets. There was a touch of bitter from the dark chocolate with made the whole thing not as sweet, and the caramel had some texture which was nice.

L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen
Shmaltz Brewing Company Hanukkah Beer: Golden Jelly Doughnut Pastry Ale, Clifton Park, NY: This beer blew our minds! It had the yeast, the jelly, the fried donut flavors. Be on the lookout for this one near you and if you see it DM me for a beer swap please
Potato Latkes: These latkes on the other hand, major miss. Must skip. Don't do.

American Holiday Table
Slow-roasted Turkey with Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, and Cranberry Sauce: They nailed all the favors of Thanksgiving in this. I was weirdly impressed. Worth a try.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookie: fudgey and delicious. One of the better festival cookie offerings.
Bell’s Bright White Ale, Comstock, MI: Bell's is a fave of ours and this beer was great. Light and bright just like the same says. Perfect foil to the stout and porter options.
Playalinda Brewing Co. Peppermint Chocolate Stout, Titusville, FL: order this to drink alongside the crinkle cookie and drift into overweight holiday bliss.
Shipyard Eggnog White Porter, Clearwater, FL: Not our fave. Eggnog was just too overpowering and artificial.

Bavaria Holiday Kitchen
Cheese Fondue in a Bread Bowl with Steamed Baby Vegetables and Marble Potatoes: I was SO excited to finally try this! The fondue flavor itself is pretty spot on with bold cheese happening but the texture was a bit watery. Also the bread bowl was actually a ciabatta bun that was sliced in half as if for a sandwich, but had a square punched out of the top bun and the cheese poured into the square. Because of this the cheese ran everywhere and soaked into the bun vs. being dip-able in a bread bowl. I kind of couldn't believe they thought that was okay, but it was still tasty and the vegetables were cooked spot on.
Linzer cookie: best cookie of the bunch IMO. Jammy, sugary, classic.

Norway beer cart
White ale: A must do for us many times over. Think of it as a sophisticated Blue Moon where you don't need an orange wedge.

Karamell-Küche
Gingerbread Salted Caramel Buttercream Cookie Sandwich: The hype around this cookie is REAL. Still mad we only bought one, but that one lasted us two days thanks to it's size. It's so soft and balanced and every bite is perfect. Again, where sweets are typically a letdown at WDW, this one will restore your faith in humanity.

UK pub beer
Did you really even go to Epcot if you didn't have a beer from the Pub? We shared the Golden Imperial Pint which is Half Harp and Half Bass Ale.

Starbucks
While the other parks have lines around the corner that take an hour for Starbucks, our three days at Epcot we never saw more than a handful of people. I tried to order an iced coconutmilk latte but received an iced mocha instead. I tried to drink it but, gross. This joined the melted snowman somewhere in the trash depths of WDW.

Joy of Tea
Pork & Vegetable egg rolls: A must for our son. Typical food court quality.

Germany beer cart
Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen: I keep trying to like this and it just keeps on being too sweet. But for the low ABV it's a nice break from heavier beers.

Popcorn bucket
No explanation needed although the $2 maple popcorn refill in Canada has to be one of the best deals going.

Next up: Everything we ate at MAGIC KINGDOM​

 

[Aela]

i agree with you on the cookies. The crinkle was our #2, and the Linzer was #1.

 

[TexanMinnie]

Loving all of your beer reviews!

 

[hereforthechurros]

MAGIC KINGDOM
Two days worth eating around the Kingdom. Not at gluttonous as Epcot, but still delicious.​

Liberty Tree Tavern
We decided to eat here Christmas night as did everyone else in the World. And because of that reservations are hard to come by and waits are high. We waited 30 minutes to be seated and our poor server was running wild. If you aren't aware or haven't been lately, AYCTE is the only option for lunch or dinner at the moment so that made ordering easy. Salad was the usual slightly soggy serving we're used to, but I always welcome a salad while at WDW, feels like I'm tricking my body. For our table of four (my sister joined us halfway through our trip) the initial serving platters were very small. Like an ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes, a half filled gravy boat, a side dish of Mac & cheese. Knowing service here is slow we asked for more of these few things. And they took forever to come out. We also wanted a little more cranberry sauce and stuffing but our service was MIA at this point. We still filled up like crazy, and it was all decent. The toffee cake was the winner as always, even better than I remembered really. We then decided to ride BTMR right after which was not decent.

Pecos Bills
This place was a zoo. Dozens of people trying to go in, being told to mobile order, standing around while they mobile ordered then waiting 20-30 minutes for their order to be ready. The entrance was just a crush of people. And inside, oh Lordy... NO tables, trash everywhere, out of silverware and napkins. It took a long time to even find a table to clean off ourselves. Hot tip: put your mobile order in on the bus ride over (or boat or walk over or monorail over) then hit "I am here" when you want to eat. We placed the order around 9 am and hit "here" around 12:30 pm. I went with the beef nachos, husband had chicken bowl, and we shared the Christmas churros. Safe to assume my son ate a burger for every meal so I won't even mention it from here on out. Beef nachos were serviceable, but the toppings are pretty scant (lettuce, sliced tomato and sour cream) and they did away with the jalapeños which is lame. Churros were fresh and crispy, maybe a touch better than what you'll find at the carts.

Main Street Bakery
Skip Starbucks right now, especially during any holiday season or weekend. I had no idea how slow the line would move and it ate up almost an hour of our first MK morning. Once you order you have to stand at a register until a dot to wait for food/drinks opens up. This can take a good five minutes PER order which causes major back up. So when you see this line and it looks long, know it does NOT move fast. Anyway huge rookie mistake on my part, but once I had waited so long I felt like it was a sunk cost and I had to keep going. Don’t be me. I had a seasonal peppermint mocha and the husband has a Christmas Tree cupcake which he devoured in all of seven seconds right on the side of Main Street, much to my horror. He didn't even ask if anyone else wanted a bite so it must have been good?

Cosmic Ray's
There's only one entrance to this place and like 9 exits. CMs are very aggressive with checking not only that you have a mobile order, but that's it's ready. Luckily once inside there was plenty of seating. I know COVID has wreaked havoc, but one of my tiny gripes is that I miss actual condiments and toppings. It's all packets now, and it's kinda sad/gross. Anyway, my son wanted a burger and fries so I mobile ordered him one and sat with him while he ate. He had a couple bites left so I tried it and was impressed with the quality. It blew away the burger I had at Beaches & Cream later in the week. I’ll report on that soon.

Sleepy Hollow corn dog
One late night in MK my son was hungry (again!? We've been eating all day!) so we ducked in line to grab him one of the few things available later at night: a hand dipped corn dog and chips from Sleepy Hollow. These corn dogs are huge, super meaty. He ate most of it and I think my husband ate the rest. These corn dogs come and go see keep an eye out if the hand dipped style is important to you!

Sadly this is the first trip ever without a dole whip or citrus swirl. Nor did we get our beloved cheeseburger spring rolls. It just didn't line up. Not sure I'll ever forgive myself. Writing this up it becomes evident that MK is just the least fun park for eating at the moment. I know this changes depending on offerings but really, TS held little interest for us and even snacking was lackluster. Crowds were really bad one day which hindered our ability to mosey around, but manageable on Christmas, go figure.

NEXT: THE FOOD OF HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS ​

 

[hereforthechurros]

Loving all of your beer reviews!

Love the ability to share a 6 oz pour! Great way to try so many without keeling over.

 

[tweetylori]

Thanks for your reports, and I have to say that MK has always been the worst for food.

 

[hereforthechurros]

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Mostly a tale of two days worth of eating & drinking around Galaxy's Edge looking for any signs of Mando​

Ronto Roasters
So good we did it twice! Not a huge sausage fan but it was COLD and pickings for breakfast are slim around HS so each of our HS days we mobile ordered and split a Ronto morning wrap as well as a Spiced Surabat cider (I still regret not getting it spiked!). And both times it was excellent. Wish it was a bit hotter so the cheese had a chance to melt, but sharing it was the perfect few bites to power us through the chilly mornings.

Oga’s Cantina
We are firmly in the "love Oga's" camp. It's fun, you get to chug two cocktails even if it's 9 am, and we've always had a good time. Yes some of the cocktails are mediocre at best, and the tap style does not translate well if you're a booze snob, but for us it's about the fun aspect not the craft cocktail aspect. This time we were seated at the bar which was an upgrade from the table standing we usually do. The spacing in there makes things a little more quiet and it makes reservations harder to get but still worth it for us.
My order:
Bespin Fizz - Bacardí Superior Rum, Yuzu Purée, Pomegranate Juice, White Cranberry Juice, and a Cloud Swirl. This is my new fave drink at Oga's. Great flavor and fizzy fun.
Bad Motivator IPA - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Tropical India Pale Ale with Galaxy and Comet Hops. Love those hops!
Husband's order:
Dagobah Slug Slinger - Herradura Reposado Tequila, Bols Blue Curaçao, Citrus Juices, Ginger, Herbs, and Bitters. This is very herbal bordering on medicinal but we shared it and it went down no problem.
White Wampa Ale - Ballast Point Brewing Co. Classic Hefeweizen with a Banana and Citrus Character. Not a huge Hefe fan but this was really good. Definitely would order again.
The Child's order:
Carbon Freeze POWERADE® Lemon Lime, Wild Strawberry, Blueberry, and Green Apple Popping Pearls. He absolutely loved this and cannot wait to go back and have it again.

Buzzed and ready for food, off we went to...

Docking Bay 7
Another day, another mobile order. We again placed this earlier in the morning and hit here around 12:30 pm. The food was ready in minutes and they have a CM guiding you to a cleaned, open table which felt like four star service. We all shared the
Batuuan Beef Pot Roast Braised Beef Pot Roast, Cavatelli Pasta, Wilted Kale, Mushrooms and
Endorian Fried Chicken Tip Yip Crispy Chicken with Macaroni and Cheese and Roasted Vegetables
Definitely some of the best QS on property, What it's lacking in size it makes up with in flavor for sure. I just wish they'd add some extra pasta on the need dish, pasta costs nothing and it could really use a little more of a side. Otherwise, I could eat here every trip and be happy with it. Roasted vegetable is typically romanesco which we all love so we enjoyed that as well.

Baseline Taphouse
Hidden gem no longer, or maybe it just feels that way because half the tables are unavailable for distancing. Both visits here there was a line down the ramp and no seats to be had so we took beers to go. Each time we did the Hazy Little Thing from Sierra Nevada and each time it was delicious!

Hollywood & Vine lunch
First off I had never been in Hollywood & Wine but holy cow is the space outdated and honestly felt kinda dirty/unkempt. For what they're charging it's kind of sad that they shoehorned a new concept into a space not meant for it and it shows. Sometimes Disney does things that are so cheap it makes me cringe, this felt like one of those things. Every 15 minutes or so a character comes out and prances around for a minute or two. You can see the unused buffet still set up in the background of this picture. Hey Pluto!

​

The food itself was good. Salad, Mixed Greens, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Red Onion, Cornbread Croutons, Homemade Smokehouse Ranch Dressing and rolls are served family style and were fresh. We all enjoyed the salad especially after all of those Baseline beers. For entrees my sister and I both had the Seared Fresh Salmon with Grain Mustard Beurre Blanc, Olive Oil Crushed Fingerling Potatoes, Garlic Lemon Broccolini. Portions were fairly small and I'm sure it was just cheap farm salmon, but the sauce, potatoes and broccolini were all tasty and cooked well. We both cleaned our plates. Husband went with the Carved Herb Roasted Turkey Breast Garlic Redskin Mashed Potatoes, Cornbread Stuffing, Sautéed Green Beans, Turkey Gravy, and Cranberry Orange Relish which he also enjoyed but didn't rave about, while kid had chicken tenders. For dessert the creme Brûlée was awesome, HUGE portion, perfectly cooked with fresh blueberries on top. I loved it. Everyone else ordered the deconstructed pies which were, to be frank, a joke. It was canned pie filling on a plate topped with a rectangle of baked pie crust.

If you're desperate for characters and don't care much about value I could recommend this meal otherwise, skip it.

NEXT UP - THE LAST OF THE PARKS BUT MY FAVORITE OF STOPS, ANIMAL KINGDOM ​

 

[kastoney]

Nothing like staring the New Year with a new dining report. Just what I needed!

*Please note this was over three days of eating in Epcot, not just one. We're good, but not that good.

This is adorable!

Beef Bourguignon with Crushed Potatoes: The cheap wine used to cook this overpowered everything and has a very unpleasant taste going on. Such a bummer. Potatoes were good but were more of a potato puree than crushed potatoes. Very little beef as well. You're better than this Canada!

Yuck! This sounded so good but cheap wine and beef bourguignon is a definite fail.

Bell’s Bright White Ale, Comstock, MI: Bell's is a fave of ours and this beer was great. Light and bright just like the same says. Perfect foil to the stout and porter options.

Sounds delicious. We'll have to try this. We drink the Bell's Two Hearted pretty often but I don't think we've ever had any of their other beers.

Gingerbread Salted Caramel Buttercream Cookie Sandwich: The hype around this cookie is REAL. Still mad we only bought one, but that one lasted us two days thanks to it's size. It's so soft and balanced and every bite is perfect. Again, where sweets are typically a letdown at WDW, this one will restore your faith in humanity.

I hadn't even heard or read about any of the hype (been avoiding Disney lately) but that sounds amazing! I'm a sucker for anything gingerbread or salted caramel, so all in one! Sign me up. Hopefully we can get to Disney for some Xmas magic this year

One late night in MK my son was hungry (again!? We've been eating all day!) so we ducked in line to grab him one of the few things available later at night: a hand dipped corn dog and chips from Sleepy Hollow. These corn dogs are huge, super meaty. He ate most of it and I think my husband ate the rest. These corn dogs come and go see keep an eye out if the hand dipped style is important to you!

Wonder if this is new. I don't think I recall Sleepy Hollow having corn dogs before but now I must have one. Sounds delicous

Ronto Roasters
So good we did it twice!

I hear so many good things about this but we've sadly never had one. Definitely on our list of things to have on our next trip

Definitely some of the best QS on property, What it's lacking in size it makes up with in flavor for sure.

Totally agree. With Satuli and Docking Bay being so good I really wish Disney would go back and revamp the food and menus at all of their counter service restaurants. So much wasted potential.

First off I had never been in Hollywood & Wine but holy cow is the space outdated and honestly felt kinda dirty/unkempt.

We have only been in here once and that was like 7 or 8 years ago. It was dated then and I'm pretty sure they haven't refurbed it since. Clearly they are going for a retro vibe but all they are getting is a bad 90's idea of what retro was.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Nothing like staring the New Year with a new dining report. Just what I needed!





This is adorable!


Yuck! This sounded so good but cheap wine and beef bourguignon is a definite fail.


Sounds delicious. We'll have to try this. We drink the Bell's Two Hearted pretty often but I don't think we've ever had any of their other beers.


I hadn't even heard or read about any of the hype (been avoiding Disney lately) but that sounds amazing! I'm a sucker for anything gingerbread or salted caramel, so all in one! Sign me up. Hopefully we can get to Disney for some Xmas magic this year


Wonder if this is new. I don't think I recall Sleepy Hollow having corn dogs before but now I must have one. Sounds delicous


I hear so many good things about this but we've sadly never had one. Definitely on our list of things to have on our next trip


Totally agree. With Satuli and Docking Bay being so good I really wish Disney would go back and revamp the food and menus at all of their counter service restaurants. So much wasted potential.


We have only been in here once and that was like 7 or 8 years ago. It was dated then and I'm pretty sure they haven't refurbed it since. Clearly they are going for a retro vibe but all they are getting is a bad 90's idea of what retro was.

I always hope the review pros don’t read my reviews because I’m ashamed by my lack of pictures

Christmas time can’t be beat, hope you get to plan a holiday trip for the fam! Such a fun thing to look forward to.

(I *think* I saw you’re in the DC area, hope things aren’t too crazy still. Stay safe!)

 

[kastoney]

I always hope the review pros don’t read my reviews because I’m ashamed by my lack of pictures

Pic or not I can drool over Disney food descriptions all day long.

I *think* I saw you’re in the DC area, hope things aren’t too crazy still. Stay safe!)

Thanks. We live about 20 miles outside the city so thankfully all safe physically but definitely mentally rattled. I’ve lived here my whole life and visit Capital Hill for work often. Still in disbelief that it actually happened.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Loving your report! I really like how you've broken it up and it seems like you're "my" kinda vacationers with plenty of booze (the morning visit to Oga's is a pro move!) and it's not a successful trip if you don't leave bloated from salt intake! I agree with you on the San Angel food being underrated ... how did you feel about the table spacing? In normal times it's WAY too close for my comfort so not sure how I'd feel now. I'm hoping they did a good job with it. Also agree that MK dining is, in general, pretty lackluster. Such a shame because there's so much possibility. Looking forward to hearing about your AK eats!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Animal Kingdom
Definitely the Kingdom with the better food & drinks, sadly there was only one day of dining in AK​

Harangue Fruit market
Split a gingerbread muffin and a hot chocolate from this hidden-in-plain-sight spot. Neither were very memorable. If only Disney would splurge and use actual milk in their hot chocolate, or even a better quality chocolate mix.

Yak & Yeti lunch
A new to us restaurant! We'd been eyeing this place up for years but finally made it happen, and it did not disappoint. We waited perhaps 15 minutes to be seated and in that time like 30 different parties came in asking if they talk walk-ins. Every single one was turned away, and some people were not happy. Would be helpful for places like this to put a sign out front that no walk-ins are being taken today. These inquiring minds made for a packed lobby which was no bueno. But I digress. We were seated upstairs with two other tables in a very large space. For drinks we went with the Safari Amber Ale while the child had their souvenir Slushee panda thing which he loved. For food we all shared:
Firecracker Shrimp - Crispy fried shrimp tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce, Asian slaw. The shrimp was decent, definitely good for a lighter dish to share. Could have handled a little more heat. I think Boathouse gets the edge for firecrackers shrimp on property.
Chicken Tikka Masala - Boneless chicken breast marinated in yogurt and freshly ground herbs cooked in a traditional Masala sauce, jasmine rice, garlic naan. This was the winner of the bunch. Not totally authentic, but the chicken pieces were tender, the flavors were there, and the yogurt added some cool and creamy to the mix. Would order this again.
Garlic noodles - These noodles are heavy with garlic and MSG (or so it tasted). Savory to the hilt. Would be good with a protein, but pretty one note on their own. The kid's meal noodles are the garlic noodles on the adult menu - just a head's up if your kid doesn't love garlic like mine.
Fried Wontons - Skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons, vanilla ice cream, honey-vanilla drizzle. Hard to go wrong with this dessert! Crispy fried wontons filled with sweetened cream cheese, skewered alongside grilled pineapple with a sweet but not too sweet drizzle. You really don't even need the ice cream, but it's ice cream so we still finished it off no problem.

Restaurantosaurus
My disdain for DinoLand USA grows with every visit. The music, the weirdo carnival games, Primeval Whirl just sitting there empty... nothing about it adds up for me. We only stopped in because my son was hungry and it was the closest place to mobile order a burger while my husband and I shared a beer. Service here was slow, the interior of this restaurant is huge, and empty, and sad. Kid raved about the burger so take that info if you need a burger in AK!

Nomad Lounge
After the DinoLand experience we needed some redemption and fast. Nomad Lounge to the rescue! Happy place for so many on these boards and really, still somewhat of a hidden gem. You can now join a waitlist for Nomad which we did, and it was still only 5 minutes even during Christmas week. We requested outdoors and luckily there were tables available. They had a small menu available via QR as well as daily specials printed out on the table. For drinks I wanted to give the Annapurna Zing another try and it was fabulous! Perfectly balanced unlike last time where it was all ginger beer.

​

We also ordered the Tiffin's bread service with Red Pepper Hummus, Spiced Coriander Yogurt, Ginger-Pear Chutney to share. Husband stuck with beer and had the Kungaloosh which he's had before and enjoyed. It's a great wintry beer in that it's heavy and spiced. The child ordered the Tealeaves Passion Fruit Vanilla Flavored Iced Tea and drank maybe half of it but I stole some and it was super refreshing. The bread service was such a welcome break from the same old Disney food. So fun to mix and match the different breads and sauces to find the best combo. We were enjoying our down time do much we ordered another round, this time I went with a Pinot Noir and I *think* husband went with the Tusker Lager. We loved our time here and consider it a must do every time.

Creature Comforts
Remember when I said I learned my Starbucks lesson early on? Apparently not. It was so cold once the sun set, but we wanted to see the Tree of Life Awakening so we grabbed some coffee to warm up. There were only three people lined up outside so it didn't look bad. Well there are two lines that join into one inside, then each order takes forever. Another 40 minute Starbucks wait and we finally had our drinks. Seriously, don't be us.

NEXT UP: DISNEY SPRINGS! ​

 

[hereforthechurros]

Loving your report! I really like how you've broken it up and it seems like you're "my" kinda vacationers with plenty of booze (the morning visit to Oga's is a pro move!) and it's not a successful trip if you don't leave bloated from salt intake! I agree with you on the San Angel food being underrated ... how did you feel about the table spacing? In normal times it's WAY too close for my comfort so not sure how I'd feel now. I'm hoping they did a good job with it. Also agree that MK dining is, in general, pretty lackluster. Such a shame because there's so much possibility. Looking forward to hearing about your AK eats!

Thanks! We love all Disney has to offer but like many other adults our favorite part is the food & drinks. We have only eaten at San Angel in COVID times so don't know how to compare it to the before times however spacing appears to be 6' and probably not a millimeter more. So while it is following guidelines it still may not be the best idea, such a personal decision. We've only dined there to ensure we can get in since the pyramid has capacity limits right now.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Pic or not I can drool over Disney food descriptions all day long.


Thanks. We live about 20 miles outside the city so thankfully all safe physically but definitely mentally rattled. I’ve lived here my whole life and visit Capital Hill for work often. Still in disbelief that it actually happened.

Mentally rattled no doubt Still unpacking so much of it. We have family there and visit a few times a year and it's just so wild to think about. Next few weeks might still be weird, but glad you guys are hopefully far enough away.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Disney Springs
One afternoon and one evening of eating 'round the Springs​

Homecomin’
Always a must for us. We eat pretty healthy/boring at home so fried chicken and mac & cheese have come to taste like a Disney vacation for us. We're typically seated quickly and they're spacing out here even more generously than other spots, or so it feels. Plus they offer outdoor seating. Servers are wearing masks and shields and have seemed even friendlier lately. I was torn on a cocktail so the server recommended:
Cucumber Cooler - Tito's Handmade Vodka with lime juice, simple syrup, and crisp cucumber slices. This was smooth and crisp and so refreshing, I highly recommend trying it. I've had cucumber in drinks many times and this was done right.

Usually we share an app but this time we dove right into mains, and surprised each other with our choices. I was a jerk and ordered the Fried Chicken Salad - Crispy fried chicken over mixed greens, pecan-smoked bacon, egg, heirloom cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber tossed with icebox dressing, cheddar biscuit croutons, and fresh herbs. Mostly because I had nachos for lunch and this felt like a good way to get fried chicken, bacon and biscuits while still getting some greens. And it was great. This salad is huge so I focused mostly on the chicken. It was indulgent yet a touch lighter than say the three piece fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

Husband shocked me and skipped his usual thigh high chicken biscuits and went for the The Art Burger - Two beef patties topped with American cheese, Art's special sauce, tomato-bacon jam, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles on a brioche bun. Y'all this might be the best burger on property. Super thin smash burgers, special sauce, cheesey... totally my type of burger. The manager stopped by, just making his rounds, and was so excited to see we ordered the burger. He made the comment that most people stick with chicken but he thinks the rest of the menu is even better and not to sleep on it. We also shared a side of mac and cheese for good measure because that inch of melty sharp cheddar speaks to me in a way nothing else can. Child stuck with a burger as is tradition for every single meal now apparently, it's his fave one of property as well.

We have yet to make it to dessert here out of sheer bloat, but we skipped this time in lieu of another stop we wanted to make just across the way.

Jock Lindsay’s Holiday Bar
I am a sucker for an instagrammable Disney treat, even if I don't actually put it on Insta, and this seasonal offering from Jock Lindsay's got me good. It was a little bit of a wait to head into their Holiday Bar but once inside it was so fun... then we were walked outside to their undecorated, quiet, fairly boring outdoor seating area. Bummed, but happy to be safe outside. Per usual the service was slow and disorganized but we were only ordering one thing so it kept it easy: Milk and Cookies by the Fireside! This special holiday item is priced at $25 and comes with Coquito with Malibu Rum with Chocolate Peppermint Gingerbread Men, Spiced Sugar Christmas Tree Cookie, and Butter Pecan Signature Cookie

​

This was so great! Each cookie was of shockingly decent quality and the coquito was rich and creamy and delicious. Always fun when a cute seasonal treat actually delivers. Perfect nightcap and sweet to end the evening.

CityWorks
We sat here for a long time watching football, but since we had snacked around already we ordered just a couple small dishes to share as the game went on. We also had a few beers but I didn't take notes so not sure what they were now But if you like beer this place has about 100 taps so you'll find something. Wish they had more of a sour beer presence though.
For food we shared:
Kung pao cauliflower - Roasted Cauliflower, Sweet Peppers, Green Onions, Garlic, Ginger, Arbol Chiles, Fried Peanuts, Chili Oil, Sweet-and-Spicy Tamari. I loved this! Lot of heat and spice which is always a welcome change at Disney. Veggies were overcooked, but the flavor saved it.
The Clash Smash - Smashed Avocado on Toasted Challah, Roasted Corn, Pickled Red Onion, Shaved Radish, Sliced Hard-boiled Egg. I did not love this. The hardboiled eggs felt out of place and there was an odd flavor throughout the whole thing. Perhaps goat cheese in the avocado smash? Not sure but all the different elements just didn't work together. Every time I order avocado toast out I find they criminally under toast the bread and CityWorks was no different. Miss for me, but husband enjoyed it and finished it off for us. MVP confirmed.

Daily Poutine
Classic poutine - French Fries, Beef Poutine Gravy and Cheddar Curds. IYKYK. What used to be a cup of goodness is now a larger serving, but prices have gone up as well. Still the perfect mix of crispy yet fluffy fries, rich beef gravy, and squeaky, melty curds. Perfect to share as a snack.

Blaze Pizza
This place is a freaking madhouse, wow. The amount of people and pizza they churn through is unlike anything I have ever seen. Kid wanted pizza so we waited. And waited. And waited some more. And after what felt like an hour we finally had one small mushroom pizza for him to eat. He ate most of it, but husband and I eat snagged a piece and it was solid, good crust, but nothing to write home about. Perhaps if we each had our own and could go through the Chipotle-style system of adding different toppings we would have been more impressed. But I wouldn't wait in that line again for QS anything.

Morimoto Asia Street Food
My husband refuses to leave WDW until he's had these Pork Egg Rolls. He's obsessed. I'm not. He ate these while we watched in silence then we all moved along. Usually I will get the ribs (best ribs ever) but they didn't look great in the case so, not today.

Sidenote: Maybe it's just me but Disney Springs used to be manageable and easy to get around, but for the last year at least it's been a madhouse. Even during COVID, even during the week, especially on weekends. With so many things closed in FL and so many places demanding masks (DS doesn't really keep tabs on this), the outdoor space of DS seems to have drawn out every local at all times. All this to say, if you feel unsafe with crowds or people not following masked protocols, maybe avoid DS for now. We tried to go off hours, or only if we had a reservation and it worked out well, but even then it felt like it was at capacity.

Last but not least: Dining at the resorts! ​

 

[nco91590]

Well this is very fun!! I really like hearing all the reviews by location! Gives me lots of ideas for my next trip.

My son looks to be the same age and I swear he's hungry ALL THE TIME. I think he has a hollow leg lol. Looking forward to more snacks and drinks!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Well this is very fun!! I really like hearing all the reviews by location! Gives me lots of ideas for my next trip.

My son looks to be the same age and I swear he's hungry ALL THE TIME. I think he has a hollow leg lol. Looking forward to more snacks and drinks!

Thanks! Seriously my son has five meals and a billion snacks a day. Dreading the teenage days

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Totally agree on Disney Springs ... the crowds were way out of my comfort zone even during the week. I will be keeping the burger at Homecomin' in mind whenever I go back as I'm forever on the hunt for the best burger. It will be a challenge to skip those chicken thigh biscuits though.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Totally agree on Disney Springs ... the crowds were way out of my comfort zone even during the week. I will be keeping the burger at Homecomin' in mind whenever I go back as I'm forever on the hunt for the best burger. It will be a challenge to skip those chicken thigh biscuits though.

So hard to pass up those biscuits but if the mood for a burger strikes this won’t let you down!