Mouse Extra

The Orlando Sentinental is reporting the following

“E-Brands, the multi-concept Orlando based restaurant group, will launch its newest location and concept at Walt Disney World in 2009. The eatery will feature authentic Central and South American cuisine, specialty tequilas, premium wines and live music.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to build upon our portfolio of 15 successful restaurants across the country — including such brands as Timpano and Samba Room — and our 25-year relationship with Walt Disney World Resort,” said Rashid Choufani, CEO/Owner of E-Brands Restaurants and operator of Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion. “We look forward to sharing our unique dining experience with Walt Disney World guests from around the globe.

E-Brands Restaurants newest concept will come to life with a boldly colored hacienda-style interior featuring rustic beams that contrast against modern fixtures, stone floors and windows that open to create an open-air environment. The 5,000-square-foot, two-story facility will have a tequila bar and outdoor seating along Village Lake.”

Disney has not announced where this is going exactly other than to say it will be on Village Lake. I can guess that it may be part of the Pleasure Island overhaul. I can also assume it will much be like Raglan Road in that there is no cover charge. Frankly, Disney is going to the chain restaurant well a little too much recently with, in my opinion, mixed results. Having said that, South American cuisine is notably absent from Walt Disney World and this is a place I will definately try. We’ll see if it works out.

Today’s article is by Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

We do spend a lot of time and effort in preparing for our Disney vacations on where and when we are going to eat. What World Showcase restaurant are we going to do? Should we have our sit-down meal at lunchtime or dinner? How do we get to that resort for our 6 o’clock seating? Why is counter service at the Studios so bad? These are all questions we ponder as we book our vacation and get those ressies 180 days beforehand. While we spend so much time on our big meals, many of us leave some of the most important aspects of munching to chance. Hopefully, this article will help you get the most out of snacking around the parks.

First of all, no one should be permitted to attend the Magic Kingdom without getting a pineapple dole whip. It should come with the darn ticket. Citrus swirls (at the Sunshine Tree Terrace) and Strawberry swirls (at the Enchanted Grove) are nearly as good as alternatives. For those hot days, you can try root beer floats at Sleepy Hollow or fresh fruit at a couple of different locales. These are all good choices for a cool pick-me-up after a morning of running around the Mountains. And then there is the smoked, what appears to be dinosaur, legs. There are a couple of spots to get these massive sticks of turkey meat. People love them and you get good bang for your buck, too. Although I must warn you, it may be difficult to scarf one down while sprinting from Big Thunder to Space Mountain.

The snacking Mecca of Walt Disney World has to be the World Showcase at Epcot. Food is a very important part of your Epcot experience, whether its an ADR at one of the restaurants or strolling the promenade sampling food from around the world. The highlights of this journey start with churros in Mexico. These popular cinnamon fried dough sticks have made their way to the other parks in recent years. Nearby, you can head to the Kringle Bakeri og Kafe for Norwegian delights like the rice cream and vaffler or the kringle, a sweet pretzel. That boardwalk treat, the funnel cake, is the American contribution to this fattening trek. You also must try the Kaki-gori at the Japan pavilion. This concoction of shaved ice and sweet fruit flavoring is excellent. Finally, there is French pastries, those cholesterol busting desserts. At the Boulangerie Patisserie, you can sample croissants, éclairs, and mousse. Wine by the glass is available nearby to complete the experience.

At the Disney MGM Studios, snacking is even worse than its counter service establishments, which is saying quite a bit. Personally, when at these movie studios, I enjoy a big souvenir tub of popcorn, which is available under the big sorcerer’s hat. The Animal Kingdom has better prospects. The tea cart in Asia is a fine example of the eclectic choices that keeps things interesting here. There are pot stickers available nearby at the Chakrandi Chicken shop. The Kusafiri coffee shop in Harambe has pastries to go with good espresso and cappuccino.

There is nothing like a good snack and the choices at Walt Disney World are varied. At what other theme park can you enjoy Norwegian sweet pretzels, jumbo turkey legs, and Asian pot stickers? But don’t forget the typical fare either. There seems to be a counter, stand or cart everywhere you turn. At the numerous ice cream carts you can grab frozen chocolate covered bananas (which are good), Mickey shaped cookies & cream chipwiches (which are even better) and other similar delicacies. So when planning your Disney vacation keep all of this in mind. And don’t you dare forget that dole whip.

Today’s article is by Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra

Listening to the WDW Today podcast recently has all too often made me scream at my mp3 player.  And it’s all been about the same subject, free dining.  As I am sure you know, Disney World is offering the free dining promotion again this fall.  It’s one of the most popular promotions they do, yet the WDW Today crew seems remarkably negative about it.  The show’s host, Matt Hochberg, has written a column on this subject that he’s published on his MGMStudios.org website.  (It’s a great site, so check it out.  You’ll also find me on those forums quite often.)

The first thing to keep in mind is that, like me, most of these guys are annual pass holders, and Disney Dining Experience card holders.  (The Disney Dining Experience, DDE for short, is a 20% off program at mostly sit-down restaurants offered to Florida residents and pass holders.)  For us, the value of this promotion is somewhat limited.  But to argue the worth of it for others is without merit.  Let’s take the first point in the column…

You have to buy a Magic Your Way Package and that means you’re paying what’s known as “rack rates” for the rooms.  So if I was going to save $15-$20 per night at a value resort with my annual pass, I’m now $100 behind the 8-ball (assuming a 5 or 6 night stay) for my trip.

Fair enough, don’t you think?  So what we need to do is balance the savings of the food against the savings of the room.  But wait!  There’s more to this.  Is the food truly a value?  Matt continues…

Truth be told, the reasons I’ve mentioned before are not the main reason why I’m not a fan of the Disney Dining Plan.  Sure, they matter and when you add it all up, the sum of it all makes it worse, but what really gets me is the amount of food you get.  When you’re on the dining plan, you get a lot of food, especially at the counter service meals.  This might sound like a good thing, but the reason I don’t like it is first, I end up not eating everything I get, which is a waste.

Folks, if you are considering the free dining plan, please keep in mind you are not going to be forced into shoving down a dole whip every day or risk losing all that savings you acquired.  Let’s take these two reasons for not getting the plan, and put them together.  Matt suggests at a value hotel that you save somewhere $15-$20 per night through various room discounts that one can’t take advantage of during free dining.  But then says the plan gives you too much food.  Besides not understanding how “too much food” can be a bad thing, I’m not sure why it is even a factor here.  For example, what do you think you’ll eat in a day, plan or no plan?  For just my wife and me, I would say coffee and a muffin for breakfast equals about $8.  For lunch we do a counter service, which comes to around $15.  Now, let’s say for dinner we are like Matt and have just another counter service meal.  That’s another $15.  Put that together, and even on our most frugal of days, my wife and I have spent $38 on food, and now it’s free!  Already, we’ve nearly doubled the $20 Matt’s saved on his room.  Now apply these numbers to a family of four, and you’ll see what I mean.

Even the theory that the Disney Dining Experience card is better, is not always the case either.  First Matt says…

If I were going to Walt Disney World for 4 or 5 days, I might have 2 or 3 sit down meals and be satisfied with counter service at the rest.

But then in the next paragraph says…

Plus the DDE card gives me more flexibility in terms of where I can go.

Considering the only theme park with counter-service options available for the DDE is Animal Kingdom, WDW Today’s least favorite, I’m not sure how this can offer more flexibility.  The only real way to save money on the DDE is to have sit-down meals, which is no different from the dining plan.  But the dining plan also offers the deal at every counter service once a day.

Here’s the bottom line.  When doing this you need to determine what exactly it is you are savings and compare it to what you are paying for the rack room rate.  If you are making out in the end, which you almost always are, then it doesn’t matter if you stuff your face or not.  Keeping money in your wallet is the goal, and at Disney World that can be a tricky proposition.

Beaches and Cream is one of those few well publicized resort dining locations. Ever since the Travel Channel featured the “Kitchen Sink”, a sundae so enormous words can’t describe it, this ice cream parlor located at the Beach Club Resort is often recommended by guides and websites. If a place like this can actually have “hype” Beaches and Cream does, and it lives up to it.

Upon my first trip to Beaches and Cream, I was stunned by how small it was. After hearing about it so many times, I was expecting a larger facility, but this place is tiny. Only a handful of seats at the counter and just a few tables is all there is. It serves a very limited selection of “burger joint” type food, basically lunch stuff. You have burgers, roast beef, chicken sandwiches, and your deep-fryer fare, and it’s all good. But this is a 50’s-esque soda fountain, so the food is only a prelude to the sweets. There are terrific sundaes, floats, cakes, and everything else.

The theme here is very well done. The atmosphere is apparent, but not overbearing at all. It gives you a somewhat immersive experience, but keeps from pushing the theme down your throat. The counter has some wonderful 50’s details, plus there’s a nice jukebox in the corner and furniture is just right. My only complaint is that you can see the arcade next door. As far as I can remember, Fonzi never played video games.

Placed just steps from Stormalong Bay, one of Disney World’s best pools, Beaches and Cream makes for a great place to stop for lunch or an afternoon snack. If it’s hot enough, and your appetite is large enough, you can really stuff yourself with some wonderful food here.