Laughing Lindsay

Travel Reviews, Giveaways, & More!

Fantasmic Dining Package Review at Sci-Fi Dine-In

By Leave a Comment

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

By Leave a Comment

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.

Caring for Giants Tour Review at Animal Kingdom

By Leave a Comment

Back in 2019 I was lucky enough to do the Caring for Giants Tour at Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It’s a short behind the scenes look at the elephants of the park. I thought it was a fun add-on activity that was worth doing a review of.

Caring for Giants Tour

Caring for Giants Tour

The Caring for Giants tour is a 60 minute experience providing a look at the elephants of the Animal Kingdom theme park. Your guide will take you backstage and tell you all kinds of facts about these glorious creatures. You will also get to admire them from a backstage area 80 to 100 feet away. At the end, there is time to take lots of photos of the elephants.

At $35 a person, this is one of the cheaper add-on experiences at Walt Disney World. In fact, I think it may be a good starting point for someone looking to add on a tour at Disney. At an hour long, it is also a shorter experience (versus a more intense 5 hour tour at Magic Kingdom or the several hours long Universal Holiday Tour).

Tips

  • Reserve your spot early. There are a few small tours offered each day, so it can book up early. Reservations open up 60 days out, just like dining. So, decide early on if you want to book this experience and book it as soon as you can.
  • Best for animal lovers. While it is super neat to see stuff backstage as a theme park fan, I think someone who doesn’t like elephants or animals might get bored here.
  • Ask questions. The guides will give you tons of information on elephants as well as how they care for them. Feel free to ask questions. There was plenty of time for our group to ask questions, so take advantage of that time.
  • Bring your camera/phone. The last little bit of the tour is spent just observing the elephants and taking photos. It’s a peaceful and memorable experience.
  • Be prepared. This is a one hour outdoor walking tour. Dress appropriately.
  • Have fun. While this is a learning experience, it’s also a very calm one. So, relax and enjoy!

Is the Caring for Giants Tour worth it?

While I don’t know if children would enjoy this tour, I think most adults would. If you like elephants, then you will like this. At $35, it’s not a huge gamble of money. However, if you have a packed theme park day, it may be best to skip this one.

Cape May Café Breakfast Character Meal Review

By Leave a Comment

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.

Walt Disney World Value Resorts Guide

By Leave a Comment

There are so many different places to stay at WDW that it can be difficult to decide which is best for you and your family. So, as part of my content on the hotels, I’m doing a breakdown guide for each tier of hotels to help people decide which one is best for them. Today, I’m starting with the Walt Disney World Value Resorts!

Disney World Value Resorts

Disney World Value Resorts

Technically, there are five different Disney World value resorts: All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, All-Star Sports, Pop Century and Art of Animation. The All-Stars are the cheapest rooms on property. Pop Century is typically a little more expensive than those three and Art of Animation is the most expensive in this category. I’ve stayed at all but All-Star Sports and I believe that each of them can be the right fit for certain people. To help people decide, I will be declaring which one is best for each circumstance.

Best for Couples

The best value for a couple is Pop Century. My husband and I have stayed here many times! We love that it’s on the Skyliner and the prices are more tolerable than some other places on property. Also, the theming tends to draw in fewer groups, so it’s a little calmer than the others. You can read my full Pop Century review to get a better idea of what you can expect at this hotel.

Best for Bigger Families

I know that some people have larger families and require a suite. For that, I’m going to recommend the suites at All-Star Music for the most budget friendly. However, the suites at Art of Animation look amazing as well! I think it really depends on your budget here. If you can’t spring for AoA, then Music is perfectly fine. However, the theming at Art is probably more attractive to families with small children. Full disclosure: I’ve never had the privilege of staying in either of these suites. However, if I ever do, I will post a separate review and may amend this post to reflect my new opinions.

Best for Teens

If you have teenagers traveling in your group who have outgrown over-the-top Disney character themes, then I would suggest looking at All-Star Music or All-Star Sports. Both of these have large statues themed to the resort that may appeal to teens with an interest in sports or music. I did an All-Stars Resorts Overview a while back that you can read to get a better sense of pros/cons of staying at an All-Stars.

Best for Disney/Pixar Movie Fans

If you have a “Little Mermaid”, “Cars”, “Lion King”, or “Finding Nemo” fan then you should consider Art of Animation. I stayed in a “Little Mermaid” room back in 2019 for my Art of Animation review. I was tickled with the theming and I imagine other fans of these films would be as well.

If you have a “Toy Story”, “101 Dalmatians”, “Love Bug”, “Mighty Ducks” or “Fantasia” fan, then you should stay at All-Star Movies.

Best Disney World Value Resorts Overall

I think the best Walt Disney World Value Resorts are Pop Century and Art of Animation. The Skyliner just can’t be beat! However, a stay at an All-Star is still a good time and is better in certain circumstances. Those are just the two I prefer. So, do you agree with me? If not, which one(s) do you prefer?