Food review: 8/6-8/11

[hereforthechurros]

Hello all! Wanted to share a rundown of our food experiences on our most recent trip. Truth be told I rarely have my phone out at WDW which means a lack of pictures, but I try to make up for it with detail! Like most of us I was very curious about what food & dining would be like at WDW in the current climate so I made sure to document what I could to come back and share. This board provides the best information on the current state of affairs for future planning so I always want to contribute where possible.

We booked this trip back in May thinking by August surely things would be back to normal We went back and forth for weeks about whether to go or not, but ultimately came up with a plan we felt comfortable with. So our usual crew of myself, my husband and my son (7) headed down 8/6-8/11 for a one night stay a BWV and four nights at Swan.

Quick flight, quick DME ride and we arrived at Boardwalk around 1 pm. Days of pre-flight and in-flights cocktails are in the rearview at the moment So flying has gone from tolerable to miserable in the time of COVID. An airport Kind bar and water would have to hold me over, but by the time arrived at WDW we needed real sustenance. My son and I went down to Leaping Libations pool bar to place an order for lunch. My husband had a work call but requested a Mickey pretzel, fake cheese and Jai Alai. Mmm Jai Alai.



I was about to order the same thing when I spotted a special being advertised called Carnival Nachos: Tortilla chips, cheese sauce, guacamole, sour cream, salsa. Hard to mess up nachos right? Wellllll, yeah, these were messed up. The cheese was flavorless, the sour cream was weirdly sweet, the guacamole was browned and full of onions but no freshness. No carnival whatsoever, do not be fooled.

My son got the pretzel dog which is a hot dog on a pretzel bun + chips. He didn’t love it as the hot dog was more of a white hot style with dijon mustard. Husband’s Mickey pretzel was the winner. If you order lunch from the pool bar here it takes about 10 minutes to come up which isn't bad. Food options are pretty weak at Boardwalk not gonna lie. Luckily a swim + Mad Sea’d and Kona Longboard beers made up for it.

Also can we talk about the clown? We LOVED our view from our room but I swear I could see him from the shower in our room if I was standing at the right angle. Nightmare fuel!



Anywho, after a weak lunch it was on to dinner at a new-to-us restaurant...​

 

[lovin'fl]

Following! ANd we love that clown pool

 

[lotsohugginbear]

Yes! More please!

 

[Samrsp93]

Following along!!

 

[CalSea12]

Following!

 

[CalSea12]

Can you tell me your experience at the airport/plane... did you feel safe enough?

 

[hereforthechurros]

My apologies for posting this is the wrong place! I’ve asked the mods to please move it to the dining review board. I have it all typed out and will complete soon.

 

[qv09vvp]

Following!

 

[jphilips]

Following!

 

[hereforthechurros]

For dinner we tried a new-to-us restaurant close by, Trattoria al Forno. We've dined in a restaurant exactly once in the past five months and we only did so because it was in a completely empty restaurant, so I had some trepidation about all the indoor meals we had lined up for this trip. Because let's be honest, between the heat and the less-than-ideal QS situation, you need reservations. I trusted Disney to keep things clean, spaced out, and safe and Trattoria was all of those things. We started with the calamari fritti with a Peroni for the Mr. and an aperol spritz for me. I’ve had many a mediocre aperol spritz so I was delighted that this one was large and legit. The calamari arrived within minutes and was hot and crispy. The Meyer lemon aioli and balsamic agrodolce come drizzled over the top and were very good; I wanted more of both. If you order this perhaps ask for the sauce on the side if you like sauce. The pepperoncini rings were also fried and I think it would have been better served to have them fresh on the side to cut through all the fried. Our son loved this dish too so picky eaters need not be afraid!

For entrees I went with the Parmesan chicken, husband ordered a margherita pizza, and little man stuck with pasta & meatballs. The chicken Parmesan came with fresh pasta which was a welcome surprise. The sauce was light and delicious as well. The chicken itself however was tough. I’m used to chicken Parmesan being completely pounded out into a large cutlet but this was a thick, normal breast that just wasn’t tender. This is a common problem in low quality chicken breasts called woody chicken. I was bummed but the pasta was good and the husband shared his pizza.

The pizza here should not be overlooked! Pic from TripAdvisor:



Not quite Via Napoli but a solid second best on property thanks to their wood burning oven and delicious dough. We took leftovers and tiramisu back to the room and thanks to the kitchen in our one bedroom, we were able to reheat them later for a snack. On our way back we popped in Abracadabar for a to-go night cap and wound up sharing the Black Manhattan. It was huge and strong and delicious. Not to be forgotten late that evening, the tiramisu was super light and very coffee forward, highly recommend. Plus desserts just tastes better in bed.​

 

[amytech]

Following!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Friday 8/7 - Homecomin' and Beaches & Cream

First full day and we were excited for our reservations ahead. We had planned to hit BW Bakery for breakfast but it wasn’t exactly close to our room so we skipped breakfast, had coffee in the room, and hit the pool instead. It's called intermittent fasting and it's hip

At 11 am we sadly checked out of Boardwalk and walked over to Swan to check in. We grabbed some goldfish and a super delicious chocolate chip cookie from Java to tide us us until lunch. But before lunch I promised my son a round of mini golf. I did so with the thought that it most likely wouldn't be open. But open it was so into the blistering heat we went. My husband had another work call so it was just the two of us. Mask selfie!



At least it gave us a chance to work up an appetite for a heavy lunch ahead. We met up with Rich (husband's name btw) and an Uber ride later we arrived at Homecomin’. Like many, this is one of our must-do dining stops and this may have been the best visit yet. Tables are very spaced out and service was top notch. We started with the deviled eggs which are just good old fashioned picnic style deviled eggs topped with bacon. Note that they used to do the whole egg, and now it's just the more traditional half egg. I found this picture online to show what they look like now.



I also had a Moonshine Mash which is a watermelon and lime drink that was a touch more Jolly Rancher-y than I like, but I still enjoyed it. Perfect drink for the surface of the sun which is Florida in August.

For entrees the little man had a burger & fries while Rich & I shared Art’s Famous fried chicken with mashed potatoes and a biscuit + a side of Mac & cheese. Omg it was better than ever. I had the breast and he had the leg and thigh. I also gifted him the biscuit because true love. The chicken was crispy and juicy and everything you want in fried chicken. The mashed potatoes & gravy and the Mac and cheese were just perfect. In the past the mashed potatoes have been a little runny but they were great this time around. And that gravy, to die for. Kid even ate his entire burger. No room for dessert, we waddled out of there to do some light shopping before the heat took over and we bussed back to the Swan.

Back at the resort the pools were closed for storms in the area so we chilled in the room, Not quite BW view but still decent!



Once it wasn’t actively raining we grabbed drinks from Splash and played their large toy chess set and some ping pong. The Mai Tai here was strong, no mixer, just rum, orange and lime. My style! Pools finally opened so we jumped in for a quick swim before dinner.​

 

[hereforthechurros]

We were excited for another new to us place for dinner, Beaches & Cream! In 12 prior visits we've never been here for one reason or another, but given all the online hype I was stoked to grab a reservation for this trip.

The space and menu are pretty basic, but everything here is solid so I totally get why it’s a fan favorite. The service here is spot on, and seeing family after family order the Kitchen Sink is just heartwarming. Seeking hot dog redemption my son went with their hot dog option and a root beer float. I ordered onion rings for all of us to share, and their chili, while husband went with the cheese and bacon tots. Rich put it best when he said everything tastes straight out of the Betty Crocker cookbook. The onion rings needed salt and the chili needed heat + more toppings, but they were still homey and satisfying the way grandma would make it.

For dessert we all shared the much lauded No Way Jose. Picture credit: DFB



We come from the land of ice cream (Jeni’s, Mitchell’s, Graeter's) and the ice cream itself didn’t necessarily wow, but the peanut butter sauce and hot fudge still made for a super yummy sundae. Our server said this is his favorite and everyone's favorite so if you love peanut butter you can't go wrong here.

By now it was late and we were ready to pass out. Long walk back to Swan (thanks NBA!) and we were ready to sleep ahead of our first park day mañana.​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I always forget about Trattoria. That pizza looks great! I will have to keep it in mind, particularly while so much in the Epcot resorts area is still closed. How did you feel about Disney Springs overall? I've heard some reports that the individual restaurants are fine but that it's crowded just generally walking around and that mask compliance and enforcement may not be as strong as in the parks. Love that fried chicken! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Saturday 8/8: When They Say a Taste of Food & Wine, They Mean It

Initially this trip was a four night, two park trip. We let our APs lapse earlier this year when it was clear things were getting weird, and since we were buying tickets we didn't see a reason to hit every park. Then they announced F&W so we finagled another park day to make it happen.

We had such a solid plan to hit 14 booths throughout the day and share roughly 16 items... but in true Disney planning fashion this all went to hell pretty quickly. First, it felt like 111 degrees which isn't great for overeating. Second, my husband who played college football and isn’t exactly small, doesn’t eat as much as he looks like he can. Third, lines were LONG. World Showcase felt like a normal day which was a shock and threw a wrench in planning.

Anywho we entered through IG and went straight to Canada for some Canadian cheddar and bacon soup + pretzel roll and a blackberry beer. Hot soup + sweltering temps aren’t the best combo but I’ve wanted to try this soup for year so it was happening. Loved the strong cheddar in this and the pretzel roll was perfect for dipping. The beer was a little too syrupy sweet, but it was cold and boozy so down the hatch it went. Next we cruised across the way to Citrus Blossom for the crispy chicken with orange aioli and coconut key lime ale. Are you ready for the one food picture I took all trip? Brace yourselves.



The arugula was the best part of this if that tells you anything. I was so looking forward to this but didn’t enjoy it. The gluten free crust was crisp and light but the chicken thigh was rubbery. And the aioli was just off. The orange tasted artificial and like it should read sweet but didn’t. The beer however was *chef’s kiss* Perfect summer beer with the coconut and lime shining through.

Ready to head to World Showplace for some Mac & cheese then Hawaii for pork and spam and spicy mayo whatnot, imagine my disappointment when husband and child said they were full and just wanted to hit rides. Two dishes in? Well surely there'd be more time to hit those booths later right? Narrator: there was not.

So we hit all the Future World rides like a bunch of non-F&W savages before heading back into Mexico. The line for the Mexico booth was crazy long and nothing there looked great anyway so we kept moving because I was ready for a margarita. Walking past Choza was a WhatTheEff moment when I saw the line was about 35 people deep. Odd, but it didn’t matter since I wanted one from La Cava anyway. Until I saw the line for La Cava was even longer! Out the door, up the ramp, across the lobby and almost out the front of the pyramid My five months of quarantine were spent dreaming of the avocado margarita so by now I was angsty, and still hungry.

We rode Gran Fiesta but the La Cava line was now closed and they were shutting down the pyramid for capacity so we got out of there. Into Norway at least I was able to get my beloved white ale from the beer cart. The line for Frozen was into China so figured we may as well grab some curry pockets from Joy of Tea while we waited. But the hits kept coming with no curry pockets available! We all shared egg rolls instead. Nothing more than your run of the mill mall food court egg rolls, but in a pinch they get the job done.

Luckily we had a late afternoon Via Napoli reservation waiting for us to save an otherwise disappointing food day thus far. If you go to WS on a Saturday now that all AP blackouts are lifted, be prepared for lines!​

 

[hereforthechurros]

I always forget about Trattoria. That pizza looks great! I will have to keep it in mind, particularly while so much in the Epcot resorts area is still closed. How did you feel about Disney Springs overall? I've heard some reports that the individual restaurants are fine but that it's crowded just generally walking around and that mask compliance and enforcement may not be as strong as in the parks. Love that fried chicken! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

Trattoria was solid! We wouldn't hesitate to eat there again. Cozy atmosphere too.

We'd read bad reviews about safety at DS too so we canceled any night time ADRs there and just did the one lunch. Even though it was a Friday afternoon it was fairly empty so I would say going during the day should be fine if you're looking for low crowds.

 

[lotsohugginbear]

I also had high hopes for Food and Wine! It was so hot, I just couldn't see eating cheddar Cheese soup and filet while standing in the sun. And no margs due to the overcrowding and not distanced lines. Inside Mexico pavilion was crazy. Sigh. Maybe next trip.

 

[hereforthechurros]

I also had high hopes for Food and Wine! It was so hot, I just couldn't see eating cheddar Cheese soup and filet while standing in the sun. And no margs due to the overcrowding and not distanced lines. Inside Mexico pavilion was crazy. Sigh. Maybe next trip.

Sounds like we had the same experience! Letdown for sure.

 

[lotsohugginbear]

If I can sneak in another trip, I will try Epcot food booths as late in the day as possible! Too much in mid day August sun.

 

[quietly]

Narrator: there was not

I proper belly laughed at that .This is such a great thread thanks so much for writing it. The changes to everything seem so daunting but hearing you and your family navigate through it all and still have fun brings me hope. Thanks for the report!