Mouse Extra

A new wine bar is coming to Epcot in the not so distant future. The Gusto wine bar will be open on April 28th after a several month rehab of the Tutto Italia restaurant. According to Disney, the place will have the look and feel of an old italian wine cellar. Gusto will have a large fireplace, wood furniture and wine barrels as well as other interesting decor.

Plus, there will be food. Speculation is the food will be similiar to the La Cava del Tequila. That is, appetizer type. It seems this place will be modeled after the very well received (especially by this author) Cave of Tequila. I like the idea and hope it gets expanded into other areas of Epcot’s World Showcase. A quaint sake bar sounds like fun.

Cinderella’s Happily Ever After dinner located at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian is a royal character buffet featuring Cinderella, the Prince, Lady Tremaine, Drucilla, and Anastasia. A definite dining experience for children of any age.

This is certainly an entertaining character meal for kids and adults. When the snobbish Lady Tremaine greets your table you can’t help but laugh; and while the always sincere Cinderella may be the most photogenic of the bunch, the evil step sisters steal the show.

The buffet line up includes culturally diverse choices from around the world. If one so desired they could make four trips up to this buffet without having the same thing twice. I know I did. The buffet is set up not in the typical manner with all salads, sides, pastas etc. grouped in one spot. Instead, the items are separated by cuisine style. For example, the Nicoise salad can be found near the beef bourguignon and the edamame salad is next to the stir fry selection. Highlights include the numerous salads and soups including their famous chilled strawberry soup.

My family felt that out of all of the character meals we have tried, this was one of the better ones. The food and the step sisters are worth the price ($40+ for adults, $20+ for children).

Today’s posting is from Brooke, contributing writer to Mouse Extra

One of my favorite types of coffee in the world is Kona coffee. I can drink that stuff all day (and often do). So, it should be no surprise that at Walt Disney World I am going to try to get the stuff at least once during a vacation. Lets be honest, the only thing rarer than a good cup of coffee at the Mouse is a good slice of pizza.

At the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian Resort, you can get a great pressed pot of Kona coffee. You can also get a terrific assortment of brekfast foods. I am a big fan of the macadamian pineapple pancakes and the tonga toast (think banana stuffed into french toast). To me, there is no better way to start a morning before traipsing around the Magic Kingdom. You can also try such dishes as the Big Kahuna (which is basically everything on the menu) and the Samoa (sort of like Eggs Benedict).

But, it does not stop at breakfast. Dinner is fantastic here. The rolls served before your meal are tremendous. The macadamian butter is to die for. I love the pan asian noodles. Other items that meet high praise are the steak with pineapple glaze, the cocunut almond chicken and the sticky wings appetizer. Even picky eaters who might not want to try exotic items will be ok here. When Disney des ethhic foods, they tend to tone it down for the american guest. It seems work well here. 

The Kona Cafe makes a fine choice for lunch, as well. Its a great way to escape the maddening crowds at the Magic Kingdom for a few hours. The resort is beautiful, once of the most enjoyable at the Mouse. Plus, the food is far better than anything in the park. Many of the exceptional dinner items are present for lunch.

Recently, the good folks at the Be Our Guest Podcast did a review of the Kona Cafe. Mike from that show said that the Kona Cafe is his personal favorite restaurant at WDW. And I tend to agree with him. Its right there in my top 5 with places like Boma and Teppan Edo.

Just remember to get the coffee.

Today’s posting is from Mike, contributing writer to 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.

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 »