More Disney food discussion please! Snacks/counter service

[StaceyinLA]

Finalizing my Dis plans for September. We have free QS dining. I have a good many picked, but I need fave counter meals in Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and also your favorite snacks in each park.

 

So far, these are my plans:

 

Arrive Monday, check in, either eat at POP food court then head to MK just to watch Main Street Electrical Parade, OR, if early enough, plan to eat a CS meal in the MK before parade.

 

Tuesday is a HS day. Lunch at Backlot Express. Dinner back at POP after leaving park (don't like much of their food). We will need a snack option here I think.

 

Wednesday is MK again. I'm planning lunch at Columbia Harbor House, and I need ideas for dinner. (I think we'll do a dole whip for a snack here)

 

Thursday is Epcot. I know we will do the Mexican QS for dinner so we can try to sit and watch Illuminations. We need a lunch idea, and a snack option.

 

Friday is AK. We will do Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. We will do dinner either at POP, or at DTD (Wolfgang Puck or Earl of Sandwich). I would like a snack option for AK.

 

Saturday we will have breakfast at POP before leaving, OR a character breakfast at one of the resorts if I decide to spend the extra money to book one.

 

We MAY use some of our snack options for things we can eat for breakfast at POP. What are the offerings there? Any good ones?

 

Thanks in advance for more good tips!! :D

[tabrizia]

We like Yorkshire County Fish Shop, Tangierine Cafe, and Sunshine Seasons at EPCOT.

 

Casey Corner, Columbia Harbor, and the Mainstreet Bakery (for breakfast) are our favorites in Magic Kingdom.

[mrs.m]

I love Dole Whips! I don't remember anything else being an absolute must. I think I might just go back for a Dole Whip. LOL!

[StaceyinLA]

the Tangierine Cafe was one of my options for Epcot. We DO like it. I was just trying to branch out and try something different. I haven't tried the fish house - that might be fun! I didn't know if France had anything good...

[Country Mouse]

We were not impressed with the Mexican QS in Epcot. We wished we had eaten at Tangierine Cafe again. We also love Sunshine Seasons! We had a really good lunch at Tortuga Tavern (MK) and we go to Columbia Harbour House without fail.

We are vegetarian so that may impact how much weight you give my advice :001_smile:

[Country Mouse]

Kringla Bakery and Boulangerie Patisserie in Epcot have great snack options, also.

 

We will be there in September also! :D

[StaceyinLA]

Actually we were eating Veg last time we went. This time some will be, and some won't. I actually enjoyed the Mexican pretty well, but mainly we thought we would do it so we could try and view Illuminations while eating/relaxing.

 

We may wind up doing Tangierine Cafe because we know we like it. I was just hoping to try something different, but it might be smart to stick with what we know we like!

[Dmmetler]

If you end up with extra snack credits (and you probably will) you can use them in many of the Epcot shops for food items-like good chocolate :)

[StaceyinLA]

We check in on the 24th! I'm so excited!!

 

I was wondering which of the places you could use snack credits to buy those types of items. Isn't there somewhere in MK you can buy goodies also?

[Dmmetler]

It's been a couple of years, but it really was almost any pre-packaged food item, anywhere.

[Lori D.]

We always rent a locker all day, and about lunchtime, start doing things back in the direction of the locker. That's also great because you can come back and open and close it as much as you need for storing sweatshirts as it warms up and then getting them back out for the evening. You can also take a cheap plastic poncho in case of rain, or if you want to stay dry on Splash Mountain, and when you're done riding, put the poncho in the locker.

 

At Disney in CA, there is a fabulous quiet little outdoor picnic area that no one seems to know about that is just steps away from the lockers by the front entrance (just outside the park) that we use, so we eat our lunch (packed back at the hotel before we left), and refill the little fanny packs with snacks. And get recharged by the LACK of crowd. LOL. Look at Google Maps, or an online map of Disney World, or even ask at the Mouse Planet website, for a good quiet place to eat your packed lunch.

 

For lunch, before we leave the hotel in the morning, we make-our-own sandwiches, put cut up veggies and fruit in ziplocks, cheese and crackers, chips, and cookies in sandwich ziplocks along with water bottles and the polar ice block, and we're good to go.

 

Snacks -- I go for protein to keep us on our feet:

- handful of nuts in a ziplock

- trail mix in a ziplock

- Cliff bar

- pre-packaged cheese and cracker packet

- half a peanutbutter sandwich

 

We also splurge and buy a treat each day; favorites here:

- Dole Pineapple Whip at the Tiki Room (go in mid-afternoon when everyone else is riding the big rides and you want a 20-minute sit-down; get your Dole Whip, and then enjoy it in the Tiki Room -- heaven!

- Mickey-shaped ice-cream bar coated with dark chocolate

- chocolate-coated frozen bananas

- soft serve ice cream (in the California Adventure Park at the CA Disney)

- big pretzel stuffed with jalapeno cheese

- popcorn

 

 

Have a wonderful time at the Magic Kingdom! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[sarahj]

our favorite snack at HS is a cupcake or other dessert from Starring Rolls

our favorite QS meals at Epcot are at Sunshine Seasons or Tangierine Cafe

our favorite snacks at Epcot are baked goods from Boulangerie Patisserie(France) or Kringla Bakeri (Norway) or Food and Wine Festival goodies if you happen to be there at that time of year

Our favorite snack at the Animal Kingdom is the Jalapeno Cheese Stuffed Pretzel

 

I've been thinking about this a lot lately since we are headed to Disney in October!! :)

[StaceyinLA]

Very good suggestions!!

[trinchick]

I'm going to second (third? fourth?) the recommendations for Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. Air conditioned, lots of seating, tons of food options and a great value overall. And the desserts here are real desserts, not those prepackaged little cups of fake chocolate cake.

 

I know some people love Columbia Harbor House, but we didn't care for it when we were there last fall. And the wait time was INSANE. A huge waste of park time, at least on the day we were there.

 

Have you looked at the menus on allears.net? This will give you some ideas for places that might seem appealing to you:

 

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

 

Also for snacks, on the disboards they keep a running list of things you can use your snack credits for; lots of great ideas here:

 

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2853528

 

Finally, it's a little-known fact that the counter service meals for kids/adults are interchangeable. This was good for us because DD would not be happy if I handed her a little plastic cup of slimy grapes and told her that was dessert while I ate something good.

 

Oh, and another tip. If you eat someplace with ice cream as an option for dessert you can ask them to stamp your receipt and then go back up for the ice cream after you eat your meal so it doesn't melt while you have dinner. Of course, you could also just eat the ice cream first, which would be my recommendation...

[Jeannie in NJ]

I completely agree with everything that Sarahj recommended.

[anotherbrother]

our favorite snacks at Epcot are baked goods from Boulangerie Patisserie(France)

 

:iagree::iagree:

[Jennifer in MI]

The last time we went, I googled for the largest snacks because my teen boys were SO worried they wouldn't get enough to eat. (!!)

 

These are the snacks we loved:

 

1. Cupcake at Starring Rolls (this can also be a dessert if you get lunch there, so you don't need to use up your snack credit for it!)

2. Cinnamon rolls at the bakery on Main Street in MK. My oldest had this and it really is HUGE!!!!

3. There is a ham and cheese croisant at Norway (I forget the name of the bakery) that is really good.

4. Dole Pineapple Whip, of course!!

 

The next time we go, we are going to try the CS at the place near It's a Small World - what is it called? I hear it's really good too.

 

We'll be there in September too! Early sept though - so we'll miss you. But I hope to meet nono!!!

[mumto2]

I love Dole Whips! I don't remember anything else being an absolute must. I think I might just go back for a Dole Whip. LOL!

 

My absolute favorites. I love Dole Whips.

 

Another restaurant to consider is Raglan Road on Pleasure Island/Downtown Disney the fish and chips are as close to our local chippy as you can get in the states. They have a counter service restaurant just can't remember the name. We always go -- we love love good fish and chips. They also have fried Mars/ Snickers which are interesting. We have never had them in the UK just Disney.:lol:

[StaceyinLA]

AWESOME!! I just pared it down to some non-sweet choices (since we get all the garbage desserts already and none of us really eat sweets). I'm sure we will splurge a bit while we are there though, but I know we won't want sweets for many of our snacks. The egg roll options, pretzels, chili-cheese fries, and those type items look like they'll make filling snack options (though not the healthiest picks I'm sure). It's vacation!

[StaceyinLA]

Is it better than Backlot Express? BE has a fantastic grilled veggie flatbread sandwich, but I'm now tempted to go to Starring Rolls for the cupcake. Shame on yall!

[Jennifer in MI]

My absolute favorites. I love Dole Whips.

 

Another restaurant to consider is Raglan Road on Pleasure Island/Downtown Disney the fish and chips are as close to our local chippy as you can get in the states. They have a counter service restaurant just can't remember the name. We always go -- we love love good fish and chips. They also have fried Mars/ Snickers which are interesting. We have never had them in the UK just Disney.:lol:

 

Thank you! I put this on my list of places to try in Sept! We are at Disney for five days, but only bought two park days. We wanted to try everything else there is to do at Disney this time. So, we need to find different places to eat!

[StaceyinLA]

Is it really superior enough to counter food inside the MK to warrant leaving the park? We certainly might be WANTING to escape the park, but I don't want to leave if we can find food that is just as tasty inside the park.

 

I'll admit I saw a brie and something sandwich (I blank out after I see brie on anything) that sounds amazing, but I don't want to waste a lot of time since we really only have one full day per park.

[DianeW88]

*rubs hands together* Seriously...I love these kinds of posts! :lol:

 

OK....recommendations by park for CS and snacks:

 

Magic Kingdom

 

Breakfast

 

Main St. Bakery (can use snack credits here)

Sleepy Hollow - waffle filled with nutella and fresh fruit. A must have.

 

Lunch

 

Pinocchio Village Haus - normally I wouldn't recommend this place, but they just got a new menu with flatbreads that I hear are really yummy.

 

Columbia Harbor House

 

Cosmic Ray's in Tomorrow Land

 

Snacks

 

Aloha Isle for the Dole Whip

 

Storybook Treats for decent sundaes (in Fantasyland)

 

Fudge from Frontierland

 

Sleepy Hollow for the "Liberty Swirl Slush" or a Funnel Cake

 

Main St. Bakery for the handmade chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich

 

Epcot Center

 

Breakfast

 

Sunshine Seasons in The Land serves a yummy CS breakfast. Other than that, there aren't many options, since World Showcase doesn't open until 11 AM.

 

Lunch

 

Sunshine Seasons in The Land

 

La Boulengerie Patisserie (although they may be doing construction) has an AMAZING CS lunch with fabulous desserts!

 

Tangierine Cafe

 

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe in Norway - One of my favorite CS spots in Epcot. HUGE sandwiches plus either schoolbread or a cloudberry horn for dessert!

 

Yorkshire County Fish Shop - if you like Fish and Chips

 

Tutto Gusto in Italy - the small plates are a CS credit...I think.

 

Snacks

 

All the best snacks are in World Showcase

 

La Boulengerie Patisserie - yummy desserts

 

Crepes des Chefs de France - how can you go wrong with a chocolate crepe?

 

The American Dream at the American Pavilion - blue slurpee, vanilla icecream, red slurpee. Great on a hot day.

 

Karamell-Kuche in Germany - absolutely ANYTHING in this store. But I strongly recommend the chocolate covered caramel with sea salt. *drool*

 

Japan - We like to get some of the prepackaged candy in their department store. My kids have fun eating it later in the hotel. In fact, that's what we do if we have extra snack credits. Buy candy from each "nation" and have a taste test later. They also sell popsicles for $1.00 in the cart by the Japan pavilion. Also their Kaki-Gori (snowcones) are really good.

 

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe - school bread, cloudberry horn

 

Hollywood Studios

 

Breakfast

 

Starring Rolls Cafe - Bagels, pasteries and other yummies.

 

Lunch

 

Starring Rolls Cafe again - HUGE sandwiches that you can split. Buy one sandwich, then buy a plain croissant. Voila...two sandwiches.

 

Fairfax Faire - not my favorite place in WDW, but you're limited in HS. The barbeque is pretty decent, and so are the portions.

 

Snacks

 

Writer's Stop - The carrot cake cookie. To. die. for.

 

Hollywood Scoops - The Apple Crisp a la Mode is good. Don't think they're on the DP though.

 

Starring Rolls Cafe - yummy cupcakes. If you didn't each lunch here (and have a cupcake for dessert), stop in for a snack. The Butterfinger and Red Velvet one are so good. They also sell slices of the Brown Derby's famous grapefruit cake.

 

Animal Kingdom

 

Breakfast

 

Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery - I like their turnovers. They also have fruit cups and yogurt.

 

Tamu-Tamu Refreshments - An egg, ham and cheese flatbread or french toast sticks. They're fairly decent.

 

Lunch:

 

Flame Tree Barbeque: The hands-down winner.

 

Yak & Yeti Counter Service: I prefer their sit-down. This is pretty much a Panda Express, but your options are limited in AK.

 

Restaurantosaurus: Not bad.

 

Pizzafari: The hot Italian sandwich is pretty good.

 

Snacks:

 

Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery: the cupcakes. I recommend the White Chocolate Elephant and the Cotton Top Tamarin cupcakes.

 

Hotels

 

If your staying at Pop, their food court is REALLY good. It's an easy walk to Art of Animation (just over the bridge at the back of the resort) and from what I've seen, their food court looks amazing. I would definitely wander over there and try it. I won't know firsthand until next spring. That's where we're going to be staying.

 

Hope that helps!! Have a magical trip! :D

Edited July 25, 2012 by DianeW88
Grammar error.

[trinchick]

AWESOME!! I just pared it down to some non-sweet choices (since we get all the garbage desserts already and none of us really eat sweets). I'm sure we will splurge a bit while we are there though, but I know we won't want sweets for many of our snacks. The egg roll options, pretzels, chili-cheese fries, and those type items look like they'll make filling snack options (though not the healthiest picks I'm sure). It's vacation!

 

I know. It's amazing what they'll count as a snack, isn't it? You can definitely make a meal out of some of the snacks on the list. There are so many choices beyond the popcorn that's listed in the brochure. I printed the list out and brought it with us, and it definitely came in handy.

[Jennifer in MI]

Is it better than Backlot Express? BE has a fantastic grilled veggie flatbread sandwich, but I'm now tempted to go to Starring Rolls for the cupcake. Shame on yall!

 

I liked it. But, I don't think of myself as that picky. Take a look at the list of offerings at AllEars.net and see if you'd like it as much. I remember it being a lot of meat sandwiches. We were able to get four sandwiches, an extra bun, and split the meat up to make five meals. We were saving on meals so we could eat at a restaurant that was 2 TS credits!

 

Those cupcakes . . . . wow. I couldn't come near eating it all!!! It was HUGE. Get the Butterfinger one.

[StaceyinLA]

Thank you SO much for that detailed info!! I am printing as I type this!

 

I'm definitely going to look at the menus. Yall just have me thinking about the darn cupcakes, and I don't eat sugar!

 

Another thing is that 1yo dgs is just gonna be a nibbler off our plates, so I do want to look at places that have larger portions.

[DianeW88]

Thank you SO much for that detailed info!! I am printing as I type this!

 

I'm definitely going to look at the menus. Yall just have me thinking about the darn cupcakes, and I don't eat sugar!

 

Another thing is that 1yo dgs is just gonna be a nibbler off our plates, so I do want to look at places that have larger portions.

 

You're welcome! :D

[StaceyinLA]

I have my itinerary with meal locations picked, and now I have a listing of several snack options in each area of each park, with the "must-do" items bolded and asterisked.

 

Yes, I am that anal retentive. :tongue_smilie:

[Jeannie in NJ]

the sandwiches at Starring Rolls are really good and huge. They also have a fruit and cheese plate that dd loves.

[kricau]

:iagree:We LOVE Sunshine Seasons

I'm going to second (third? fourth?) the recommendations for Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. Air conditioned, lots of seating, tons of food options and a great value overall. And the desserts here are real desserts, not those prepackaged little cups of fake chocolate cake.