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Boatwright’s Dining Hall Review

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When my mom and I stayed in the princess rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside in December 2023, we had dinner at the table service restaurant, Boatwright’s Dining Hall, located at the resort. Here’s a review of that experience.

Boatwright's Dining Hall Review

Boatwright’s Dining Hall

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside is a moderate resort. It has a quick service food court as well as this table service, i.e. sit-down restaurant. It’s a southern cookery with a Louisiana bayou theme. In fact, there’s a hull of a boat suspended from the ceiling in the front of the restaurant! The dark lighting makes for a relaxing vibe. The fireplace adds to the calming atmosphere. Eating here after wandering around the large resort really makes it feel like you are in the southern US.

No Reservation

I recommend making an advanced dining reservation for 99% of the table service restaurants at Walt Disney World. However, I wasn’t sure if we would eat here or not. So, I didn’t make a reservation for this meal. Thankfully, they were able to accommodate us within 10 minutes of our arrival without any trouble. In fact, the restaurant didn’t look full. So, this may be one of the few restaurants that you can get into without a reservation pretty safely.

Dinner

My mom and I enjoyed the cornbread and Mickey-shaped butter we received upon sitting down. The cornbread is really sweet though. In fact, I saved some for the end of the meal as a makeshift dessert! It was good.

I wanted to embrace the whole vibe of this resort and restaurant. So, I selected the Taste of the Bayou entree. It’s technically an all you care to enjoy meal, but I was too full to ask for seconds of anything. First up, I tried the ribs. The BBQ was sweet and tasty. However, the meat was a little too fatty for my liking. Next, I tried the Cajun chicken. It had a nice breading (not overly crunchy, but a little crispy). It had a bit of a kick, but not too much. I enjoyed it. I also liked the smoked sausage. It was also a little spicy, but not overly so. Unfortunately, the barbecued beef brisket wasn’t for me. Again, the meat was fatty.

The sides were also plentiful here. The macaroni and cheese was good. Somewhat basic, but still good. The mashed potatoes were fine. I liked the green beans. They were a little salty without being too salty. The corn was fine but a little dry.

My mom got the prime rib. I was shocked with how big it was. It was easily a couple of serving sizes worth of meat! She enjoyed it thoroughly. The broccoli was basic and fine. She also liked the mashed potatoes.

Boatwright’s Dining Hall Overall

Basically, it was nice to have a relaxing dinner at our resort. The food was good, but not great. I wouldn’t recommend traveling over to the resort just to eat here. It’s good for someone already staying at the resort though if you don’t want the quick service or don’t have time to go over to Disney Springs.

Tony’s Town Square Restaurant Review

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Last December, when my mom and I attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, we had dinner at Tony’s Town Square. Today I thought I would provide a review of that experience.

Tony's Town Square

Tony’s Town Square

For those who don’t know, Tony’s Town Square is an Italian restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. In fact, the restaurant is one of the first things you encounter upon entering the park, after going under the train station! I had passed by this place countless times, but had never eaten here. So, I decided that it was time to change that. Plus, the location of it was super convenient for attending the party directly afterwards.

Lady and the Tramp Theme

This is not an ordinary Italian restaurant. No, it’s the restaurant from Lady and the Tramp where the dogs have their first kiss! So, this restaurant has pictures of the dogs on the walls. Plus, there’s an adorable water fountain featuring the dogs. They even play the classic movie in the waiting area!

My mom is a dog lover, so I knew she would appreciate the theme here. She enjoyed watching some of the movie while we waited to be seated. She also enjoyed seeing some of the pictures on the walls.

We were seated in the front of the restaurant, near the windows. That meant that we didn’t really get to enjoy the movie theme during the meal. However, we did get an excellent view of the park and its Christmas tree! I loved that more than seeing the pictures. It was nice to walk by and see the pictures and fountain. I loved being able to sit inside comfortably while gazing at the Magic Kingdom tree during our meal. I highly recommend doing that sometime.

The Food

I’ll be honest, I had read bad reviews of this place before eating here. So, I was nervous. We started the meal with Tony’s Garlic Bread for the Table. It had a great garlic flavor. Unfortunately, it was bit over toasted and was a little too hard for our liking. Next, came our entrees.

I selected the Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp. While it wasn’t a bad dish, it didn’t really wow me either. I’d say it was just ok. I could have used a little more flavor or spice. My mom got the Chicken Parmigiana. She seemed to enjoy this. She ate all of the chicken, but left behind a good amount of sauce. There again, I think it could have benefitted from some seasoning.

Is Tony’s Town Square worth it?

While I enjoyed the view of Main Street/the tree and it was a convenient meal, I don’t know that I will be returning. It’s not a bad restaurant. However, I think there’s much better food in the area (particularly at the Magic Kingdom resorts). This year, my mom and I are planning to eat some quick service prior to the party instead of eating here. I definitely wouldn’t recommend using a table service dining credit to eat here. Although, I could see it being a good sit-down meal for a family with picky eaters and people who like the movie/dogs. Have you ever eaten here?

Fantasmic Dining Package Review at Sci-Fi Dine-In

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I’ve just returned from a short trip to Walt Disney World with my husband. We decided to book a Fantasmic Dining Package on our Hollywood Studios night. I’m doing a review to help others determine if this is a good option for their trip.

Fantasmic Dining Package

Fantasmic Dining Package

For those who don’t know, Fantasmic is a night-time show at Hollywood Studios. It’s been very popular since its return following the pandemic. I hadn’t seen the show in years, but was afraid of crowds given that we were visiting on a Saturday night. So, I booked one of these packages to ensure us a good seat for the show as well as a good meal. As you might have noticed, I’m a bit of a sucker for reserved show seating with food as I’ve reviewed World of Color – One Dessert Party and Oogie Boogie Dessert Party. This package though is for a whole meal prior to the show.

There are 5 restaurants to choose from when you book this package. Initially, I selected The Hollywood Brown Derby. However, when I glanced over the menu, I realized that it was too fancy for my palate and too expensive. So, a few days out from our trip, I switched us to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. I had eaten here previously once before with my mom, but this was my husband’s first time.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater

As a part of our special, we were able to select an entree, either an appetizer or dessert, and a non-alcoholic beverage for our meals. We both elected to get appetizers since those seemed more appealing and worth more money. I got the onion rings, which were pretty good. Then again, I haven’t had many bad onion rings. Ha! My husband got the wings and they were tasty as well.

I had wanted to order the chicken salad sandwich for my entree, however they are unable to remove the cilantro from the mix. Sidenote to anyone from WDW reading: Please stop adding cilantro to everything. Some of us think it tastes like soap.

I ended up going with the plant based Impossible burger. While it tasted ok, it was dry as heck. My husband ordered the citrus chicken salad. His chicken was also dry, but he enjoyed the rest of the salad. Unfortunately, I can’t give the food here a glowing review. I wish it wasn’t just a bunch of burgers on the menu with 1 pasta dish. There needs to be more variety. Also, the foods we opted for that weren’t burgers weren’t amazing. So, I guess stick with the burgers or don’t eat here.

I have to say the theme is pretty cool here! My husband enjoyed seeing the sci-fi clips on the big screen. I like sitting in the cars and looking around the “drive-in”.

Fantasmic! Seating

After dinner, we headed over to the stadium to get in line for the show. Once we entered the stadium and saw the roped off area, I realized the benefit of booking this package. The prime view or middle of the stadium is reserved for these dining packages. So, if you want a great view of the show, this is how you get it.

We both really enjoyed the show and were pleased with our seats. Fantasmic is a must-do if you are visiting Hollywood Studios at night. The dining package allowed us to see the performers straight on instead of from the side.

Is it worth it?

The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is one of the cheapest restaurants available for this package. However, it’s still $51/adult and $23/children. So, it’s still a pretty expensive meal. Personally, I don’t think the food is worth the prices Disney is charging for the regular menu at Sci-Fi. The addition of the reserved seating area at Fantasmic though is worth a lot. My meal would normally cost $35 and my husband’s was $34. So, essentially we paid $17/18 for the seats. For the view, it’s worth it at least once. If I book the package again, it will be at a different restaurant. Have you ever eaten here or booked a Fantasmic dining package?

Garden Grill Dinner Epcot Character Meal Review

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Back in February, I booked the Garden Grill dinner at Epcot for me and my mom. This is a review of that experience.

Garden Grill Dinner

Garden Grill Dinner

There are a plethora of dining places to chose from at Epcot. In fact, it can be difficult to choose which restaurant to eat at. However, I know my mom prefers more classic or simple dishes. With that in mind, I booked the Garden Grill dinner on our Epcot day.

Technically, Disney calls this the Chip ‘n’ Dale Harvest Feast. It’s $55/adult and $36/child. The unique thing about this meal is that the restaurant rotates to give you views inside the Living with the Land ride! So, your view is constantly changing and giving you something new to look at.

The Characters

While dining here, you can expect to meet Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale! Mickey is adorable in his farmer outfit! The rest of the characters are in their normal attire. Each one comes to your table separately to take pictures and visit briefly. You are also given a card with their signatures on it (seen in my Instagram post below). They are all friendly, but move pretty quickly.

The Food

Most character meals, like in my Cape May Cafe Character Breakfast review, at Walt Disney World are a buffet. However, this one is a sit-down meal served family style. Due to that, I think the food is better. It’s not necessarily fancy food, but it’s consistently good. We also enjoy this variation because it’s less stressful than trying to grab a plate from the buffet while keeping an eye out for characters.

You begin the meal with a salad and rolls. The salad was ok, but I’m not a fan of dressing, so I wasn’t super into it. The rolls were good though.

Then, you are served a big pan of mains and sides. We received BBQ chicken, grilled beef with chimichurri, mashed potatoes, green beans, spoon bread, and a corn mixture. We also got a bowl of macaroni and cheese. We really enjoyed the chicken, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese.

You finish the meal with a serving of berry short cake with whipped cream for dessert. My mom is super picky about fruits, but she likes most berries. So, this was the perfect ending to this meal. It was sweet without being too sweet.

Everything here tasted fresh. The quality of food was certainly better than what you would find on a buffet. It’s not groundbreaking, but it is tasty.

Is Garden Grill dinner worth it?

As always it’s difficult to determine somethings value. If you are looking for a character meal with better food, this is a great choice! If you have a picky eater, then again this is perfect! On the other hand, there are loads of more unique and interesting places to eat at in Epcot. So, if you want to try some new foods, I’d recommend looking elsewhere. Also, if you are on a tight budget, you should probably consider a quick service at Epcot or perhaps eat at a festival booth. Overall, it’s a fun character meal with good yet simple food.

Cape May Café Breakfast Character Meal Review

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Fall may be beginning, but if you are looking for a character meal with summertime vibes at Disney World, then I’ve got the meal for you! The Cape May Café breakfast is a character buffet meal at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. I ate here last December with my mom and I am happy to finally share my review.

Cape May Café Breakfast

Cape May Café Breakfast

Dinner at this location is a character-free seafood buffet. However, the Cape May Café breakfast is a beach-themed character dining buffet experience. In fact, Disney calls it Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast! So, you know it’s going to be a good beachy time! Admittedly, that good time does come at a cost with it being $45/adult and $29/child, plus tax and gratuity.

Before I get into the review of this restaurant, I want to disclose that this character meal holds a special place in my heart. This was technically my first character meal! I booked it for my solo stay at Disney’s Beach Club Resort during the Disney Social Media Moms 2016 Celebration. It was during this meal that I learned what all of the hype was about for these character meals!

The Characters

I was happy to discover that the characters’ outfits had been updated since the last time I dined here. The last time I was here, the characters were wearing more general nautical themed or ocean setting outfits. You can see in the Instagram post above from 2016 that Donald was wearing a fun spin on his classic outfit back then. In the post below, also from 2016, Minnie is wearing a swimsuit and seahorses on her cover up.

Now, the characters are wearing the appropriate attire for a day at the beach! As you can see in the more recent photos below, Donald is sporting a striped undershirt and a beachy button up shirt over it. He also seems pretty happy with his hat! Daisy and Minnie are both wearing summery dresses. Goofy is wearing a shirt and swim trunks! Everyone looks perfect for a beach bash!

I have to commend all of the characters for being perfect each time I’ve eaten here. The interactions are fun and priceless! This was my first character meal ever as well as my first real character meal after the pandemic. There’s just something about the vibes here that make it special.

The Food

I have to admit, even the food is better here now! The meal started with some tasty salted caramel “beach buns” with a vanilla cream. My mom and I may have asked for seconds of these! I was tickled to discover that you can get pog juice here now too!

The buffet features a good variety of foods to choose from. It’s one of the few places you can get Mickey and Minnie waffles! My mom appreciated the omelet station, while I enjoyed an eggs benedict. I felt like this meal was a more elevated dining experience than some other basic breakfasts on property.

Is The Cape May Café Breakfast Worth It?

I always struggle to determine if something is worth the money or not. However, I will say that this was a good meal with characters. I will add one caveat to eating here: the location. The Skyliner has made it much easier to get here now, but it still might not be worth the hassle of coming/going for some folks. Due to the location, it seems to have availability when some other character meals may not. I think it’s worth it if you want a fun breakfast with characters. If you are on a tight budget, short on time, or not going to be staying or visiting the Skyliner/Epcot area, then it’s probably not worth it for you.