Restaurant and Snack Reviews Archives - Page 2 of 2

Restaurant Review: Trail’s End Breakfast

After the WDW 10k last month, some members of my running team met for breakfast at Trail’s End. I had never been, but I am always eager to try new restaurants while I’m at Disney. And I love getting together with my teammates, so it was a win-win for me.

Trail’s End is located at the Fort Wilderness campground. To get there, I took a bus from my resort to the Magic Kingdom and then took a boat from Magic Kingdom over to Fort Wilderness. It was simple, and since it was early, I had the entire boat to myself!

Fort Wilderness felt like a whole other world, leaving behind the bustling crowds at the parks and stepping into a peaceful, rustic area. Trail’s End is located in Pioneer Hall, just a short walk from the boat dock. It’s a buffet, and trust me – you’re going to want to arrive hungry! Luckily, I bought my post-race appetite and I was up for the task.

There’s a station with assorted muffins, danish, and delicious cinnamon rolls. There’s also the usual yogurt, oatmeal, and lots of toppings – dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips.

My favorite thing was the Bread Pudding with Walnut Praline Sauce. This sauce is pure magic! It would also be perfect to put on your Mickey Waffles or just about anything else.

Other favorites included the Country Benedict, the Vegetable Frittata, and the bacon (which was perfectly crispy). There were also more traditional offerings like scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, and sausage.

The decor was rustic – lots of wooden beams, hanging lanterns, and animals on the walls. The cast members were extremely friendly and helpful – the whole experience felt very homey and comfortable. The breakfast was reasonably priced and I was able to apply my AP discount, which was great.

Combining delicious food with team camaraderie made for a great morning. This was such a fun experience that I knew my family would love it. A few days later, I took them back to try it! We ended up with the same server that we had the first time, and the second time around was just as delicious as the first!

I definitely recommend breakfast at Trail’s End. Even the most picky eater would be able to find something here. And you have to try the “moonshine” – this is very similar to the juice served at Tusker House (I believe it’s called Jungle Juice there), and it is delicious! This will definitely become a tradition in my Disney dining plans!

Restaurant Review: Yak & Yeti

Before discovering the Yak & Yeti table service restaurant last year, my family had always eaten at the Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe (which is quick service). Both of these are located in the Asia section of the park (near the Flights of Wonder pavilion), and are beside one another. Once I experienced Yak & Yeti, it became my “must-eat” restaurant at Animal Kingdom. Three words: cream cheese wontons. But more on those later.

On our most recent trip, we ended up dining here twice. Once was a planned visit with an ADR, and the other was an evening when everyone except my husband and toddler decided to stay back at the resort. There is seating both upstairs and down, and some of the upstairs tables have a great window view. The restaurant really is beautiful, and I realized that I failed miserably in not getting pictures of the interior (looks like I found a reason to go back – I need a do-over!).

On the first visit, I had the Seared Miso Salmon, which comes with coconut-ginger rice, baby bok choy & shitake mushroom stir-fry. This is deeeee-licious! The glaze on the salmon had such a good flavor, and the salmon had a nice consistency, as well.

My more adventurous husband tried the Malaysian Seafood Curry, which includes Mahi Mahi, scallops, little neck clams, mussels, shrimp, as well as some veggies and rice. This was a new dish for him, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. He said it had a medium spice, and he would definitely eat it again.

The other members of our party had the Crispy Honey Chicken (more on this later, since I ordered it on the second trip) and the Lo Mein with Shrimp. Both were hits – everyone raved about this meal.

The service was also great – our server was extremely friendly and helpful. He was taking a trip to our home state the following weekend, so we were able to chat about the area a bit. Now, on to my favorite part of the meal: dessert! I had been dreaming about the Fried Wontons for months, so my choice was easy. What is this magical creation, you ask? It consists of skewers of cream cheese wontons and fresh pineaple, drizzled with a delicious honey vanilla sauce, and a side of ice cream. It is as amazing as it sounds.

Fried Wontons: this is the stuff dreams are made of…

Other desserts were ordered, as well – Pineapple Upside Down cake (served warm and covered in ice cream and caramel sauce), and the Chocolate Pudding Cake. The Pineapple Upside Down cake was very good, but the Chocolate Pudding cake was too much, even for our biggest chocolate lover (ahem, that’s me). Neither one stood a chance against my wontons, though!

Chocolate Pudding Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Our second dining experience here was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I made an ADR about 2 hours in advance, as we were on the bus to the park. We sat downstairs this time, and had a long, relaxing dinner. I started with a Kiwi Kimono, which was light and delicious.

This time I opted for the Crispy Honey Chicken, and it was great. Crispy on the outside with a sweet-but-not-TOO sweet flavor, it was perfect.

My husband opted for the Kalbi Steak & Coconut Shrimp, and he loved it. It came with a pineapple-mango salsa, chili plum sauce, wasabi mashed potatoes, and stir-fried veggies. I sampled the mashed potatoes and they were wonderful! We were both extremely happy with our meals, and the service was again great, as well.

For dessert, we both got…you guessed it, the cream cheese wontons! Have I mentioned how delicious these are? So, so good.

One more wonton picture, because I can’t get enough!

If you’re looking for a table service restaurant in Animal Kingdom, I would definitely recommend Yak & Yeti. And bonus tip: right across the street is a little kiosk called Drinkwallah. Inside, you will find my favorite drink in this park: Coconut Lychee Lemonade! It’s perfect for a hot day, and goes down way too easily.

Restaurant Review: Be Our Guest Lunch

I still remember how excited I was the first time I walked into Be Our Guest and got a glimpse of the ballroom. We managed to score a dinner reservation during a Christmas party when it was first opening, and it was (and still is) absolutely breathtaking. We have been back several times and have tried all three meals. Breakfast and lunch are quick service, but dinner transitions into a table service. It’s also worth mentioning that dinner at BoG is currently the only place in the Magic Kingdom where alcoholic drinks are available for purchase. Due to the overwhelming popularity, reservations can be made for all three meals, and these go FAST! I definitely recommend booking this one at 180 days if you plan to dine here. The food at lunch is my favorite, but during dinner, you are able to meet the Beast (I love that hairy guy!).

Another unique thing about this restaurant is that for breakfast and lunch, you are able to pre-order your food online before your trip, and then you can skip the line once you arrive. We didn’t pre-order this time, so when we arrived, we got in line to order. There is so much to look at while you’re waiting that the time passes quickly. When it’s time to order, you are directed to one of the kiosks in the library (this room transitions to where you meet the Beast at dinner). Once your order is placed, you can proceed to any of the rooms and your food will be brought out to you. The ballroom is my favorite, but the West Wing has a really cool ambiance, as well. We quickly grabbed a table in the ballroom, and our food arrived shortly.

Kiosk for ordering lunch in the library at Be Our Guest.

My favorite thing to eat at Be Our Guest is the French Onion Soup – it’s delicious! But since we had been outside in the heat all morning, I wasn’t ready for soup. I chose the Carved Turkey Sandwich. It is served warm on a baguette with Dijon Mayonnaise and Pommes Frites. I’ve had this sandwich several times, and I always enjoy it. There was lots of turkey (actually too much for me!), and the sauce was delicious, as well. Two of the others in our party also got the same thing, and everyone enjoyed it.

The Carved Turkey Sandwich with Pommes Frites.

My husband is a huge fan of the Croque Monsieur sandwich, but this time he decided to branch out and try the Tuna Nicoise Salad. It includes warm seared tuna steak with chilled green beans, potatoes, olives, roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, and a hard poached egg. He enjoyed it, but said that he would’ve preferred more spice to the tuna.

My son chose the Mickey Meatloaf, and wanted me to be sure that I quoted him when he said it was “super yummy”. This is a turkey meatloaf with broccoli and Pommes Frites, with Orange “stuff” for dipping.

Dessert is the same for lunch and dinner, and it’s delicious! We went with the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake (vanilla sponge cake, strawberry mousse filling, and cream cheese icing), the Triple Chocolate Cupcake (chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse filling, and chocolate ganache), and the Master’s Cupcake (chocolate sponge cake topped with Lumiere’s special “Grey Stuff”). The Strawberry Cream Cheese is usually my go-to, but this time I decided to try to Master’s Cupcake. The Grey Stuff is light and almost mousse-like, and it was very good. Tip: the easiest way to eat the cupcakes is with a spoon, since the wrapping is difficult to remove.

The staff was also very accommodating. Our 14-year-old initially ordered the Tuna Nicoise Salad, but was slightly disgusted when it arrived and wasn’t what she had expected. Our server quickly offered to bring her something different, for which we were very grateful.

I definitely recommend that any fan of Beauty and the Beast eat here at least once, to experience the beautiful surroundings. I already have an ADR for my next trip, and I’m hoping that the weather will be cool enough for soup!