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Breaking the Myths – Dining at Disney Parks

Dining at Disney Parks for some is just as much fun as a ride on Space Mountain®. With a wide variety of options, it’s no wonder that dining is a topic of confusion for our guests. Here is a look at 3 of our most common myths for dining:

  1. Myth: All of the Quick Service Dining locations offer the same foods
    Each Quick Service Dining location throughout the Walt Disney World® and Disneyland® Resorts carries its own theme and a menu offering select tastes supporting that theme. While certain items like a hamburger or hot dog may be seen on most menus, several additional items will be available that aren’t quite so common. In fact, some may be exclusive to only that location! And don’t forget to check out the Quick Service Dining locations at the Resort Hotels as they also provide some great options.
  2. Myth: At Be Our Guest Restaurant inside Magic Kingdom® Park, you can choose a Quick Service meal or a Table Service meal at either lunch or dinner
    Even years after its opening, Be Our Guest Restaurant is still a popular dining location located inside Beast’s Castle in the New Fantasyland® area. Be Our Guest Restaurant operates during the day at breakfast and lunch as a Quick Service Location and at night as a (2)-entitlement table service location for dinner. So, guests wanting to use a Quick Service credit on the Disney Dining Plan at Be Our Guest Restaurant can only do so at breakfast or lunch.
  3. Myth: There is no need to make Advance Dining Reservations for Disney Parks’ Restaurants
    This is a myth that we have touched on before, but it is so important that it is worth talking about again! Advance Dining Reservations are an important part of planning your Walt Disney World® and Disneyland® Resort vacations. The Walt Disney World® Resort starts accepting Advanced Dining Reservations 180-days in advance of your arrival date and at the Disneyland® Resort it is 60 days. Many of the popular locations, like Character Dining and Dinner Shows, fill up shortly after starting to accept reservations. Because of capacity, these popular restaurants are not always able to accept walk-ins. So, while Advance Dining Reservations are not required, they are definitely recommended!

Contact your Magic Maker® today and explore how FUN eating at Disney Parks can be!

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Plant-Based Dining Expanding at Disney Parks Restaurants

For years, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has been industry leaders when it comes to special diets. Whether a dietary restriction, food allergy or even a lifestyle diet, the chefs go above and beyond to ensure your needs are met. Click here for more information on dietary restrictions.

Now, Disney Parks has announced that hundreds of plant-based dishes will be added to the menus at both Walt Disney World® and Disneyland® Resorts! These fun and flavorful options will be coming first to the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida (Oct. 1 for quick service locations and Oct. 3 for table service locations) and later in spring 2020 at the Disneyland® Resort. All of the major Disney-owned quick service and table service restaurants will have at least one offering which will be easily identifiable by a new plant-based menu icon designation.

Not quite sure what a plant-based dish is? It’s a meal made with ingredients like vegetables, legumes, fruits, grains, nuts, and seeds – and made without animal meat, eggs, dairy, or honey! As just a taste of what’s to come, some of the upcoming dishes include Steamed Asian Dumplings, Shiriki Noodle Salad, Felucian Garden Spread, Chili-Spiced Crispy Fried Tofu Bowl and Plant-Based Cashew Cheesecake.

For more information on dietary needs or requests, contact your Magic Maker®

A Look Inside the New ‘California Grill’

The California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort as you know it now is about to become a part of Disney history! Closing on Feb. 1st for an extensive refurbishment, it will reopen in late Summer 2013 with a new decor and kitchen along with a new menu!

As one of Walt Disney World® Resort’s Signature Dining locations, the California Grill provides exquisite cuisine and a spectacular view of the Seven Seas Lagoon from the 15th floor of Disney’s Contemporary Resort. While the refurbishment will bring change to the menu and the appearance of the restaurant, guests will still delight in the tastes of their gourmet meal.

Enjoy this sneak peek of the “New” California Grill by browsing these recently released renderings and menu previews.

Once a reopening date has been announced, we will let you know!

All renderings and menu previews are subject to change

The Mickey Check – Balanced Dining for Kids

As a parent of two young children under the age of five, I know how difficult it is to make sure your children eat a healthy, well balanced meal at home. It can be mind numbing at times. You certainly have to be creative to find all of the major food groups on a four year old’s plate.

Now you may think a plate of bacon, sour cream dip, chips and a slice of bread may be pushing it. I say nay. Protein? Bacon! Vegetable? Uh, Potato Chips! Grain? Bread of course. Dairy? Sour cream dip! That plate was just another well balanced meal. Yes, there is truth to this little illustration, no, we do not let him eat like this every day!

Thankfully, our friends at Walt Disney World® Resort and Disneyland® Park have helped us to make nutritional dining for the boys on vacation a little easier with the Mickey Check. The Mickey Check is a new initiative that will help you identify nutritious choices for your children while you are on vacation!

In order for a meal to receive the Mickey Check, the meal has to live up to Disney Nutrition Guidelines, which align to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The meals encourage portion control (and calorie intake) while limiting sodium, sugar, saturated fat and trans fat.

Meals adorning the Mickey Check must include at least three of the four major food groups: fruits and vegetables; low-fat dairy; whole grains; or lean protein, beans, eggs and nuts. You can rest assured they aren’t pressing the limits and passing off potato chips as vegetables! To meet Disney Nutrition Guidelines, meals have to be ordered without any substitutions!

No longer will you have to worry about your child’s nutrition while visiting Walt Disney World® Resort or Disneyland® Park, because Disney is already worried about it for you! The Mickey Check debuted at Be Our Guest Restaurant earlier this month and is slated to appear on other table-service menus the first of the year!

Be sure to browse all of the dining options available at Walt Disney World® Resort on our website! When you plan your next vacation with Off to Neverland® Travel, our Magic Makers® will take you through the dining experience, and even eliminate the wait by making reservations for you…all at no additional cost!

The Adult Side of Walt Disney World® Resort

To some, when you think of adult vacation destinations, Walt Disney World® Resort is not near the top of your list. However the reality is that Walt Disney World® Resort has an extremely underrated side to it that beckons an untold number of couples and singles sans children to visit annually. From honeymoon and anniversary trips to vacations with friends and weekend getaways, Walt Disney World® Resort offers more for adult travel guests than one would imagine!

We are all accustomed to Walt Disney World® Resort’s larger than life characters and icons, amazing family entertainment, immense ‘kid appeal’ and  rides for all ages. What we often forget is that Walt Disney World® Resort doesn’t have to be ‘just a trip for the kids’. From fine dining and wine tastings to spas, golf and adventure seeking experiences, there are countless activities to tickle the fancy of any adult!

The great news is, if you have children you don’t have to leave them at home to enjoy the best in Walt Disney World® Resort’s adult offerings! Select Walt Disney World® Resort hotels offer Children’s Activity Centers for children ages 3 to 12, that will entertain your children with videogames, dinner, snacks, movies and more while you slip  away for a little grown-up time. If group childcare isn’t the best for your children, there are also in-room babysitting options for you too! There is no need to feel guilty experiencing a little alone time…in fact your children may ask you to go away more often after experiencing the Children’s Activity Centers.

For those who are looking to travel to Walt Disney World® Resort without children and are nervous about the younger set having the run of the theme parks, consider visiting Walt Disney World® Resort during the traditional school year. Avoiding planning your visit during the summer months and holidays to reduce the amount of crowds you run into on your trip. The late fall and early winter are both beautiful times to visit Walt Disney World® Resort!

While all of Walt Disney World® Resort’s hotels provide great accommodations with top-notch service, there are a few resorts that really stand out to travelers looking for a more elegant travel experience. Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter is absolutely beautiful, transporting you to the romantic and historic French Quarter in New Orleans. Then there is Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, a Southwest-themed resort placing you in Spanish-colonial Mexico. Disney’s Polynesian Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort are also fantastic options for a romantic getaway. Singles and friends may really enjoy Disney’s Yacht Club Resort and Disney’s Beach Club Resort…featuring the Stormalong Bay ‘water wonderland’.

When it comes to entertainment and relaxation, Walt Disney World® Resort has that too! As the home of two water parks, four golf courses and an entire area dedicated to entertainment, shopping and dining you are certain to find enough to keep you busy! From Cirque du Soliel to the Richard Petty Driving Experience, you can slow down and relax or pick up the speed with thrills designed for adults. Spas? Walt Disney World® Resort has those too! Hey, it is your vacation, it is okay to overindulge!

And then there is dining. Walt Disney World® Resort restaurants range from elegant to casual and are  certain to tickle your taste buds. Some of the wonderful options for adult dining experiences include California Grill, Restaurant Marrakesh, Bistro de Paris, Narcoossee’s, Artist Point and the grand dining experience of Victoria & Alberts. The list of fantastic dining options could go on, so just consider this a starting point!

This is just a GLIMPSE into the adult side of Walt Disney World® Resort! As you can see, it isn’t just for kids! Whether you are looking for a quiet evening on your next family vacation, or you are planning on traveling without kids to Walt Disney World® Resort…you are in for an incredible time!

By |2017-06-27T10:22:17-05:00October 18th, 2012|Categories: Disney News, Walt Disney World News|Tags: , |0 Comments

Allergies and Desserts at Walt Disney World® Resort

Disney Dining DessertBy Magic Maker® Megan Caceres

My daughters and I love trying new foods so dining is a big part of our vacations. My girls start choosing where they want to eat on our next trip while we are still on our current one. Now dining with food allergies (dairy, nuts, shellfish and several fruits) might take away from the pleasure of dining out, but not at Walt Disney World® Resort. From our first trip all the worry I had regarding my daughter’s allergies and mine vanished, due to the great service I received from the wonderful cast members when I called to make reservations, to the chefs and managers at all of the dining establishments. Even making reservations now online, it is easy to note all allergies and food intolerances.

But what about desserts? Allergies can be a bit tricky here. My daughter luckily is a fruit lover, and at the few establishments that we venture to at home, she is satisfied with a nice fruit platter, but we are on vacation…and as every parent knows, the kids are looking forward to desserts.

Well the folks at Walt Disney World® Resort won me over on our first trip with the care they took at making her feel like she was not going to lose out on some of the wonderful delights. At almost every table service restaurant we have ever been to they have always had dairy-free ice cream or allergy free cookies, but the chefs have gone beyond in ways I could never have dreamed of. Their service truly shows their dedication to their customers, and the great imagination that they have at designing fabulous desserts even with a ton of restrictions.

Counter Services should not be left out either, by contacting Special Dining at Walt Disney World® Resort, not only do they provide a form that you can submit back to them with all your advance dining reservations (which they then forward to the chefs at the restaurants) but they also send you a ton of information with great details of all the allergy free / food intolerance options throughout all the parks and resorts.

With the service that we get here, Walt Disney World® Resort had become our annual trip, we can all enjoy dining which is one of our favorite things, I can enjoy without worrying about an allergic reaction and my daughter…well to this day she says her desserts are better than ours, so I guess from her that is an A+ rating.

Contact your Magic Maker® to help make your dining arrangements and discuss with them any special dietary needs or concerns you may have.

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Walt Disney World with Severe Food Allergies

Walt Disney World Dietary Restrictions

From Magic Maker® Jeff Williams
If you’ve ever watched your child go into anaphylactic shock from a severe allergic  reaction to food, you get a little hesitant to eat out at restaurants and do a lot of traveling. When we booked our first Walt Disney World® vacation when my son was 4, I was very nervous about being able to find something for him to eat at the restaurants. Well, let me tell you, I need not have worried. When I called to make our advanced dining reservations, I was asked if anyone in our group had dietary concerns or food allergies. I explained that my son had life threatening allergies to Milk, Eggs and Peanuts. They made a note of his situation on all of our reservations. I was still sure that I would need to be very vigilant while at the Resort.

When we arrived and went to our first counter service eatery, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the places offered soy milk.  The Cast Members were very knowledgeable and helped determine what my son could safely eat. So far, so good. The next hurdle was going to be the table service restaurants and their endless buffet lines. They all have incredible food to be sure, but how would we know what he could and couldn’t eat?

To my surprise upon check in at our first table service restaurant, the chef came out and took us through the entire buffet line and explained exactly what ingredients were in each dish and which items to avoid. I was flabbergasted that a simple note on a table reservation made it all the way through the chain of communication to a chef that cared enough to spend that kind of time making sure that my family could enjoy our meal safely. THAT is just one of the many “Disney Touches” that keeps me coming back year after year.

Contact your Magic Maker™ to help make your dining arrangements and discuss with them any special dietary needs or concerns you may have.

Fairytale Dining at Cinderella Castle

Dining is a dream come true at Magic Kingdom® Park. Beginning Feb. 7, 2010, Fairytale Dining will be the new name for the character dining experience at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Once you enter the Castle foyer, they will have a photo opportunity with Cinderella as she welcomes you to the feast. Upstairs in the enchanted dining hall, Cinderella’s royal friends, the Disney Princesses, will mingle with you as you dine.

The current pricing structure will remain in effect. Reservations can be made by contacting your Personal Magic Maker®.