Laughing Lindsay

Travel Reviews, Giveaways, & More!

Epcot Biergarten Restaurant Review

By Leave a Comment

October is quickly approaching and that means many people will celebrate Oktoberfest soon! Did you know that there is a buffet in Epcot where you can celebrate it all year long? I’m talking about Biergarten Restaurant! If you like lively entertainment and unique food, then keep reading for my review of this experience!

Biergarten Restaurant

Biergarten Restaurant

For a long time, my husband and I talked about trying this place out. However, it never worked out. Last October, we finally decided to make it happen! Biergarten Restaurant is the table service restaurant in the Germany pavilion at Epcot at Walt Disney World. It would be one table service credit to eat here. It’s currently $49/adult and $27/child to eat here. However, that price includes an all you care to enjoy buffet and some entertainment!

The Food

This was a completely new experience for us both since neither of us had tried German cuisine. So, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. The buffet featured a selection of sausages and other meats, making it a great option for meat lovers. There was also sauerkraut, as is mandatory for a German place. There was also a tasty beer cheese soup that paired well with pretzel rolls. I really liked the Nudel Gratin or macaroni and cheese! I also enjoyed the apple strudel! I tried the Black Forest Cake and discovered it wasn’t for me. My husband was thrilled to discover the fresh pineapple!

We aren’t big drinkers, but there appeared to be a good selection of alcoholic beverages to choose from. I thought it was a nice touch that our water was served in glass steins too.

The Entertainment

As I mentioned above, this place is always celebrating Oktoberfest! I really enjoyed the theme since it’s meant to look like you are eating in the middle of a Bavarian village! It was like being outside while enjoying the cool air conditioning (something that is vital in Orlando).

The tables surround a stage where a group of men come out periodically to perform! It was nice to have some live entertainment during our meal. We enjoyed seeing other people get up to dance. This is truly a lively meal. It’s not a quiet experience.

Is Biergarten Restaurant worth it?

Personally, this may have been a one and done for me. It wasn’t bad by any means. However, if I’m trying to get the most bang for my buck on the dining plan, I’m probably going to Garden Grill. Also, seeing as how we aren’t big drinkers, I think a quieter sit down meal would be more appropriate for me and my husband going forward. However, I think this place is perfect for lots of other folks.

Have you eaten here? Do you like it?

Liberty Tree Tavern at Magic Kingdom Review

By Leave a Comment

Seeing as how tomorrow is July 4th, I thought I would finally post a Liberty Tree Tavern review!

Liberty Tree Tavern

Liberty Tree Tavern

I have had the pleasure of eating at this restaurant twice. The first time I went was a solo trip pre-pandemic. Then, I went again last year with my mom. I’ve enjoyed it both times. So, here’s a look at what you can expect at this table service (1 table service credit on the dining plan) restaurant in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World!

The Theme

For those who don’t know or can’t tell by the name, Liberty Tree Tavern is a colonial themed restaurant. It is located in the Liberty Square area of Magic Kingdom and fits right in with the theme of the area. It feels very similar to Colonial Williamsburg. In fact, each of the six dining rooms are themed after a founding father! This includes: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Paul Jones, Paul Revere, Betsy Ross, and George Washington. It’s fun to look around the room for little nods to each person.

The Food

The menu has been simplified post-pandemic. Now, when you dine here, the only option is the all you care to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner that is served family style. Although, they do have a plant-based version of this meal as well as allergy-friendly versions as well. Thankfully, everything here is good. Granted, it is not anything groundbreaking or fancy. However, it will please lots of different folks.

First, you are served the Declaration Salad along with rolls. The rolls are very basic. I’m not big on salad dressings, but this one is pretty good. I also like the addition of the apples and cranberries in the salad. Next up is the Patriot’s Platter or the main meal. It consists of roasted turkey (it’s Thanksgiving, after all), pot roast, and oven-roasted pork. I really liked the turkey and pork.

The sides include mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, herbed stuffing, and macaroni and cheese. Honestly, I really liked all of the sides. We received green beans as the seasonal vegetable and they were ok. The other three sides were delicious though.

Lastly, we have the real star of this meal, the dessert! The Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake is amazing! It’s served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. While the whole meal is all you care to enjoy, you have to save room for this dessert! In fact, it’s so good that I used my picture of it as the image for this blog post seen above!

Should you eat at Liberty Tree Tavern?

While the food here is consistently good (which is saying something for theme parks), it’s not anything truly unique. Also, the price is $42/person. While that is expensive, it’s still not a good use of a table service dining credit. However, the food is good and there’s probably something for everyone to enjoy. It’s also a good place for history buffs to check out. If you are on a tight budget or don’t want much to eat, then you are better off skipping this one.

Have you ever dined at Liberty Tree? What did you think?

Rainforest Cafe Breakfast at Animal Kingdom Review

By Leave a Comment

Back in December, my mom and I visited Walt Disney World to celebrate the holidays. On our Animal Kingdom day we decided to try the Rainforest Cafe breakfast for the first time! Here’s a review of that experience.

Rainforest Cafe Breakfast

Rainforest Cafe Breakfast

Walt Disney World has two Rainforest Cafe locations on property. There’s the one at Disney Springs with the erupting volcano outside. However, it’s only open for lunch and dinner. Then, there’s this one at Animal Kingdom. It’s technically situated just outside the park but can be accessed from either outside or inside the park. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

The Theme

For those who don’t know, this is a chain restaurant that is highly themed to a rainforest. It has lots of animatronic animals around every corner. Since we ate here during the holiday season, I thought it was cute that they had put Santa Claus hats on some of the animals. It made it feel more jolly.

The real draw here is the thunderstorm that darkens the entire restaurant and has lots of loud storm/animal noises every 20-30 minutes! Personally, I think it fits right in at Animal Kingdom. It’s a fun theme that is perfect for any animal lover. Plus, it’s significantly cheaper than eating the character breakfast at Tusker House in the park. However, it’s still not exactly cheap or quiet. So, just know that going in.

The Food

My mom ordered the Tonga Toast meal. I was expecting something more akin to the Tonga Toast at Kona Cafe or Captain Cook’s at the Polynesian Resort. However, this was a basic cinnamon French toast. It is served with fruit and your choice of breakfast meat. Considering it costs $6 more than the quick service Captain Cook’s, I was personally disappointed in this dish. They really should call it something else to lower expectations. Overall, it was a fine breakfast dish but not what we expected.

I chose the Banana Fosters Pancakes. The pancakes come with caramelized bananas and pecans. It was delicious! You don’t need any syrup here! It also came with some potatoes and eggs. Unfortunately, the potatoes were overdone and hard. The eggs were fine. I definitely left this meal with a sugar rush.

Is Rainforest Cafe worth it?

I think my mom really enjoyed the animals and the theme was neat. The thunderstorm was added entertainment. However, the food was just ok and overpriced. It gave us a nice place to sit in the dark, out of the hot sun. I think for the price, I’d rather eat quick service breakfast at a resort. This might be a one and done for us. It was a cool experience, but not necessarily worth repeating.

Have you ever eaten Rainforest Cafe breakfast?

Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria at Epcot Review

By Leave a Comment

On my most recent visit (February 2024) to Walt Disney World, my mom and I ate at Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria at Epcot one night. So, here’s my review of that experience.

Via Napoli Ristorante Review

Via Napoli Ristorante

Pizza is a very common meal that most people enjoy. As such, I’ve seen lots of lists featuring the best pizza at Walt Disney World. Nearly every single one lists Via Napoli Ristorante at or near the top of the list. I’ve been meaning to try it for several years. In fact, I had a history of booking this restaurant 60 days out and then cancelling it for various reasons. However, this time I finally ate here to see if it’s the best pizza!

Technically, Via Napoli is an Italian restaurant with lots of food choices. However, everyone goes here for the pizza. At the front of the restaurant are wood-burning ovens that cook the pizzas. So, it gives the pizza a crispy crust that you don’t get at many other places. The ovens are the centerpiece of the restaurant and it’s fun to watch the pizzas being made.

Dining Plan

If you want Disney Dining Plan tips, you can check out my post on it. That being said, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this restaurant when on the dining plan as it wasn’t the best use of credit. However, it’s a place we’ve been wanting to try for a long time and we made better use of our other credits. For one table service credit, we were able to select an individual pizza, a drink, and a dessert.

The Pizza

I went with the Margherita Pizza as I wanted to try the traditional pizza here. It’s in the image above. It had a really crispy bottom, a tasty tomato sauce, perfect mozzarella, and a little bit of basil on top. It was a pretty good pizza. Personally, I don’t care for smokey or burnt things. So, the crust was a bit of a miss for me personally. The rest of it was good. I’m very fortunate to have a couple of independent Italians restaurants where I live. As such, this pizza wasn’t as good as the pizza I can get locally. If you only have chain pizza locations, then you are in for a treat!

My mom went with the Meat Lover Pizza. It featured a generous amount of pepperoni, ham, and sausage! Her pizza is the first image in my Instagram post below. My mom seemed to like her pizza. The crust was a little too hard for her and she didn’t eat the end pieces. However, she demolished the toppings.

Drinks and Desserts

Since we were on the dining plan, we also got drinks and desserts. We aren’t big alcohol drinkers, so we were tired of the alcohol by this point in the trip. I got a Shirley Temple, which was sweet and delicious! My mom got a Strawberry Acqua Fresca. It was a light yet sweet drink.

For dessert, I again went with a classic. I chose the tiramisu. It was a very light dessert with lots of mascarpone cream. The lady fingers were pretty dry though. Also, there was way too much cocoa powder on top for me. I actually blew some of it off. After that, it was a nice dessert.

My mom went with the gelato. She couldn’t decide on which flavor, so the amazing cast member was nice enough to bring her a small scoop of all three options: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry! That was a nice touch. She enjoyed it a lot.

Is Via Napoli Ristorante worth it?

I found Via Napoli Ristorante to be a unique place where most people can find something to eat. I think the quality of the ingredients used makes its pizza some of the best on property. However, to me it’s still expensive pizza. It’s not a great use of dining credit though. Your best bang for your buck here is to order one of the bigger pizzas to split and pay cash. I think this may be a one and done experience for me, but I don’t regret it. It was a good meal that I enjoyed with my mom.

Have you ever eaten here? Is this your go-to restaurant at Epcot?

Disney Dining Plan Tips ~ Walt Disney World

By Leave a Comment

At the beginning of 2024, Walt Disney World brought back the very popular Disney Dining Plan. My mom and I had the dining plan on our most recent trip (February 2024). So, I thought I would provide some easy tips for getting the most bang for your buck.

Disney Dining Plan

Disney Dining Plan

As of this writing, there are currently two dining plan options: Quick-Service and the regular Dining Plan. Both options include a Resort Refillable Mug and 1 snack per person per night of stay. The Quick-Service plan comes with 2 quick meals or credits per person per night of stay. The original one comes with 1 quick service and 1 table service meal per person per night of stay. FYI: “quick service” is typically a place similar to fast food or fast casual restaurants. If you want a seated meal with a waitress, that’s considered a table service.

I want to point out something important here: Disney counts the credits per night of stay. That means the nights you are staying in the Disney resort, not the days you are there. So, don’t make that mistake when planning your meals.

As of this writing the quick service plan is $57.01 per adult per night of stay and $23.83 per child (ages 3 to 9) per night of stay. The regular plan is $94.28 per adult per night of stay and $29.69 per child per night of stay. That’s a pricey thing to add on to your trip. So, here are my general tips to help you maximize your credits.

Tips for Maximizing the Disney Dining Plan

  • Make a plan – You will have to do some math to break even or maybe come out slightly ahead with the dining plan. You will have to plan out your meals along with specific foods you plan to eat to maximize your credits.
  • Order a special beverage – For both a quick service and table service meal, you can order a specialty beverage. These will really help you get the most bang for your buck. In fact, adults can even order alcohol on the dining plan. Drinks at Disney World tend to be really strong, in my opinion though. So, pace yourself there.
  • Book a character dining meal – With a few exceptions (Cinderella’s Royal Table, Lunch/Dinner at Akershus, and Storybook Dining at Artist Point are all 2 credits) character meals are an excellent use of dining credits. For instance, we did Chef Mickey’s character dinner using the plan. It’s $66 per adult and then we both got an alcoholic beverage, which put it over $70! So, that was a great use of credit!
  • Book lunch or dinner over breakfast – Lunch and dinner are more expensive than breakfast. Unless you are talking about Akershus Princess Breakfast or Topolino’s Terrace Character Breakfast in which case those are your only options for a 1 table service credit way to enjoy those meals. Otherwise, opt for lunch or dinner.
  • Use snack credits at Epcot festivals – We used ours at the Festival of the Arts. Some of the foods there were over $10 and were a single snack credit! Just look for the “DDP” logo on the boards to indicate if it’s eligible or ask a cast member!
  • Know credit values – Generally speaking, table service credits need to be $59-63 to be a “good use” of credit. Quick service needs to be $23-25. Snacks are $6+. I think the quick service credit is the hardest to maximize. The Polite Pig in Disney Springs is an excellent use of quick service credits though.
  • Pay for lesser value items out of pocket – You don’t have to use your dining plan for everything you eat. I’ve been known to grab a kid’s quick service meal (like at Woody’s Lunch Box) and pay out of pocket. Then, I use my credits for the other two meals of the day.
  • Order the most expensive items – Go ahead! Get the steak!

Is it worth it?

Truly, you will have to calculate your meals to decide if the dining plan is worth it or not. Although, some people will find value in the fact that the meals are pre-paid (minus gratuity). Plus, you don’t have to worry about keeping up with receipts. I think trying to maximize the credits can be fun but it can also add some stress to things. So, it comes down to how you want to spend your time and money.