Disney Restaurants Archives

Review: Animal Kingdom’s Nomad Lounge

If you are a weary traveler to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and are in need of a respite from the hustle and bustle of theme park trekking, look no further than Nomad Lounge. Sitting right next to Tiffins on the road from Discovery Island to Pandora: The Land of Avatar, you will find this traveler’s favorite watering hole in all of Walt Disney World. The lounge welcomes you with comfy over-sized chairs and sofas. You even have the option of outdoor or indoor seating (the first being my favorite) overlooking the bridge crossing to Pandora.

The food menu is small but diverse, including favorites like Tiffins’ bread service. This includes pita bread, a sweet loaf and fried wontons, as well as three delectable sauces. (If you get the chance, ask for an extra sauce – Molasses/Pomegranate, it was once offered with the breads and then changed.) All of this is served inside of a tiffin! A personal favorite is the Selection of Artisanal Cheeses. This menu item includes a soft cheese made with lavender, blue cheese with local raw honey, a fig bar and other tasty cheeses served with crunchy bread slices.

No lounge can be complete without a unique libations menu and Nomad does not disappoint. For beer drinkers, I would suggest the Kungaloosh Spiced Excursion Ale – a beer that gives a nod to the former Adventure’s Club over at Pleasure Island. While it is a dark ale, it is very smooth with a little bit of a sweet finish. Mixed drinks include Annapurna Zing, made with Bombay Sapphire gin and ginger beer, or the exotic Night Monkey with guava, coffee, rum and lime juice.

If coffee is more your style, Nomad offers press pots with Indonesian and Ethiopian brews as well as Mustang Coffee, a mix of Crown Royal, butter and coffee. The lounge also has an assortment of non-alcoholic drinks such as the Lilly Gorillie, a refreshing combination of strawberry and Sprite, or the Hibiscus Henna, with flavors of watermelon, lime juice and soda water.

One of my absolute favorite things about Nomad is the menu itself, which offers a glimpse into the trips that Imagineers had taken in order to build Animal Kingdom. It is fascinating and woven into the pictures and descriptions of the various drinks.

So if you would like a quiet spot to relax, check out Nomad Lounge on your next trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

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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.