Mouse Extra

I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but Character Breakfasts at Walt Disney World are simply not my thing.  I don’t have kids and I find trying to eat alongside someone in a big fuzzy mouse suit to be a bit…uncomfortable.  But I do, on occasion, travel with my niece and nephew to Disney World.  They are 4 and 7 years old and, as you can imagine, LOVE the whole Character Breakfast concept.

So despite my lukewarm attitude, I have been to nearly all of the various options around the Mouse.  But I had never been to ‘Ohana’s breakfast at the Polynesian Resort until our last trip.  Needless to say, I was stunned at how much I enjoyed it.  From the food to the fun, this is a truly great experience.

The food is served family style, and it is very, very good.  The juice is out of this world and the sausage is some of the best you will have on property.  They also serve island-style potatoes that my wife absolutely loved as well as some standard breakfast fare.  Everything we had was fresh, hot, and hit the spot before a long day of hiking the Magic Kingdom.

But what surprised, me the most was the fun everyone was having with the characters.  In attendance was Lilo, Stitch, Mickey Mouse, and a very hungry Pluto.  In many other Character Breakfasts you get a character that comes over, waves, and poses for a picture and then moves along.  But here, our little ones were excited with a long visit from Mickey and surprised by a tickling Stitch.  That little blue whatever-you-call-it also had a little fun with the adults. 

So if you like a delicious breakfast and you enjoy characters and people having a good time, try ‘Ohana’s character breakfast at Disney’s Polynesian Resort.  Even old curmudgeons like me will enjoy it.  I never thought I would be excited about returning to have a Character Breakfast, but this will be one I will attend as much as possible.

It appears that Spoodles is not long for the Disney’s Boardwalk. In order to grab some celeb chef vibes, Disney will be replacing the Boardwalk mainstay with an eatery designed by the Celebrity Iron Chef, Cat Cora, who has in the past been a part of Disney culinary events including those at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. According to allearsnet.com, the restaurant will be open sometime this Fall.

Spoodles at Disney

Ms Cora has long been a mainstay on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America program as well as a cooking author. The food will be Greek in nature. The place will be called Kouzzina, which is Greek for “kitchen.” The restaurant will apparently be operated and owned by Disney.

This will come as bad news to many a Disney fan.  Spoodles has been a popular mainstay for some time now, though apparently not popular enough.  The loss of their breakfast will most likely be the biggest complaint.

It wasn’t long ago that I raved about the value for your dollar that can found while dining at Trail’s End.  The buffet at the Fort Wilderness Campground received more praise from me than just about any other dining destination at Walt Disney World.  But things have changed a bit, and my view isn’t quite what it once was. Read the rest of this entry »

According to the Disney Gossip blog, there is a rumor that some good news and some bad news about a certain sponsor at Walt Disney World may be coming soon.  The bad news is Nestle may no longer be a providing sponsor.  The good news is that Nestle may no longer be a providing sponsor.

Now we’re hearing that Nestle, with its headquarters in Switzerland, may be on the way out in favor of competing products from that second most famous of American brands, Coca-Cola.

So what is the bad part about this news?  Well, Nestle makes the ice cream found at the parks.  And I think we can all agree that there is more than one terrifically delicious item found at the ice cream carts in Walt Disney World.  They will surely be missed and I would expect nothing short of gastronomical outrage should this come to pass.

The good news is that Nestle is also the provider of the coffee found in the parks and resorts.  I am not exaggerating when I say it is the worst coffee I have ever had that hasn’t been sitting in the cup holder of a car for three days.  I can’t possibly imagine that there is a potential major sponsor out there that makes worse coffee than that.

In the end, I think this is a net plus for my enjoyment at Walt Disney World.  While I do recognize that Mickey Bars are terrific, there are many places throughout the resort to get equally delicious sweets.  However, the same can not be said about coffee, which many adults simply can’t live without.  Searching for good coffee at the Mouse makes one feel like Ponce de Leon.

In a move that may delight some and offend others, Disney announced this week that children under the age of ten years are banned from dining at Victoria and Albert’s in the Grand Floridian resort.  The Orlando Sentinel has the story this morning.

The company that reinvented the family vacation has drawn the line against potentially loud, ill-mannered or whiny kids in its only restaurant with a five-diamond rating from AAA travel service. Children younger than 10 are no longer welcome.

“We want to be the restaurant that’s available for that adult experience,” said Victoria & Albert’s general manager, Israel Perez.

Though a first for a restaurant at Walt Disney World, this is not a first for the Disney Company.  Palo, an adult-only restaurant on top of each of the Disney Cruise Line ships, immediately comes to mind as a comparison.  Victoria and Albert’s is simply looking for the same type of atmosphere.  But it is rare, even outside of Disney, to see a published ban like this. 

Victoria and Albert’s is not a particularly kid friendly place to begin with.  According to the article, they only get a few per month anyway.  So then one must wonder why make the ban to begin with?  The answer is plain and simple, marketing.

Perhaps it is that Americans are perceived as not having their own cuisine.  I mean we are guilty of it ourselves.  We flock to the Chinese place down the street for take-out, the Italian joint in the city for dinner, the Mexican place for lunch, or even the Irish pub for a drink.  But the United States does have a rich history of great food, and that is why it stuns me that among the gastronomical delight called the World Showcase Imagineers never bothered to create a headliner American restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »