Minnie Moms: Favorite Off-Property Dining (& Not-So-Off)

For this month's Minnie Moms topic, I asked the ladies to share their favorite off-property restaurants. To my surprise, I got email after email stating that they never or rarely ate anywhere other than Disney restaurants. So this month will be a hodgepodge of our favorite off-the-beaten-path dining locations.

Natalie: When vacationing in Orlando, my family also enjoys visiting Universal Studios and the Islands of Adventures. These parks are only about 20 minutes from Downtown Disney. We have been annual passholders for Universal since the Harry Potter section was added to Islands of Adventures. The price of the passes is much less costly than those for Disney World with the cost of our entire family’s annual pass costing less than one annual pass for the Disney theme parks. 

One of our favorite things to do is to eat in Mythos Restaurant found in Islands of Adventure. The restaurant has great views of the theme park with windows by the lake overlooking The Incredible Hulk Coaster and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-man attractions. The restaurant has won the Best Theme Park Restaurant from 2003 – 2010. The food is wonderful and begins with a basket of rosemary bread. My family loved that bread so much, we now grow rosemary simply for making bread using that herb! The dishes include cedar planked Bay of Fundy salmon, gourmet hamburgers and imported pasta. My son always gets the filet which is no longer available on the kids menu. We simply ask if he can still get it and they have always accommodated. I love getting the spinach salad with blueberries and blue cheese, but also love the fish tacos there.

The restaurant is only open daily for lunch with dishes costing approximately $10 - $18. If you would like to make reservation, call 407 224 4012. If you are an annual passholder, you will get annual pass savings by presenting the pass to the server. If you have not been to Universal in a while, it is really a lot of fun for everyone in the family! Head on over there and experience all that is there and be sure to stop in at Mythos for a great meal!

Corby: OK, I will admit it. When my family goes to Disney World, we stay on property and rarely leave so I'm not the best person to offer my opinion on off property restaurants. I did have a great meal at TGI Friday's located off International Drive (the mecca of off property restaurants) once and would recommend it, especially to guests choosing to stay in a non-Disney hotel. However, I figured since this is about favorites I should probably mention a restaurant I've been to more than once in Orlando. I know this is a stretch as it's on Disney property but it's not Disney owned so I'm going with Rainforest Cafe. My family frequents the Downtown Disney location but there is a second location at Animal Kingdom as well.

My kids love the atmosphere, the food and service have always been good and c'mon, there are animal animatronics everywhere! How cool is that? We have found this is one of the few restaurants my daughter will actually sit at the table and be memorized the entire meal so definitely a win win for us! We're also usually on the dining plan so it's nice to be able to use a table service credit but not have to make a reservation 180 days in advance. We usually just walk up whatever day/time we please, put our name on the list and walk around enjoying Downtown Disney shops while we wait.

They have an extensive menu featuring seafood, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads, pizza and pasta. You'll definitely find something for everyone in your family, even the pickiest of eaters! 


Janine: My favourite off-property dining may be a little boring to those who live in the US as I'm afraid it is not a quaint family owned 'mom and pop' diner, or a trendy up-and-coming eatery, but a plain old chain restaurant.

My most favourite place to eat in the whole of the Orlando area is ... The Olive Garden.

I LOVE Italian food and pastas, pizzas and garlic bead are my idea of heaven. As a vegetarian, I often find a limited amount of choice available when we eat out, but Olive Garden not only has a good meat-free menu, the chef has always been really accommodating, tweaking my meal if needed.
I really enjoy the salad and garlic sticks, and have only ever managed dessert once due to the huge portions. In fact if I order pizza, I usually end up taking most of it to-go. 

I have eaten at this chain on International Drive, on the 192 and in Lake Buena Vista and found all 3 to be really nice and clean. The one I personally like the best is the one on I Drive, but only because we ate the the most. We always pay this place a visit whenever we visit WDW at least once. and I can't wait to go again.

Amy:  We don't always dine off-property but when we do, it's Chevy's.  (LOL!)  Chevy's is a Tex-Mex restaurant located at the Crossroads shopping center.  It's just off Disney property at the intersection of 535 and Hotel Plaza Boulevard.  I haven't been in a few years but my parents eat at Chevy's on most Disney trips.  The chips and salsa and housemade tortillas are really good.  As much as I love Disney dining, sometimes it is nice to take a break from ADRs and the ever-increasing prices.  Minnie got to have her first lunch at Chevy's back in May while Tink and I were having a day at Magic Kingdom.  My parents had alot of fun taking the little one out and she loved the ice cream that came with her kids meal!

We also like Steak and Shake for a simple dinner and sometimes we will send my dad to ChickFilA to bring dinner back to Old Key West.  On the same trip in May, one evening DisneyDad picked up dinner from CFA for my mom and the girls.  They relaxed in the villa and DisneyDad and I got to have a meal together at Olivia's.

It's not techinically off-property but ordering pizza has become a new regular thing for us. Again, we enjoy letting the girls relax/play in the evenings rather than keeping them out at the parks. A simple dinner in the villa gives us time to hit the pool and playground before bedtime.


Beth: When we head down to Walt Disney World, I will admit we do not spend a moment off of Disney property, unless it is quick trip to a grocery for necessities! Therefore I have not enjoyed any off property dining spots. So I am taking a slight twist on the topic. I am going to share one of our favorite places outside of the Disney parks and resorts at Downtown Disney Marketplace. There are two places that we are sure to dine at each trip. But since one is an ice cream shop (Ghirardelli's), I'll go with our favorite lunch spot to take a break while shopping for some fun Disney souvenirs. Earl of Sandwich is by far one of the best sandwich shops I have ever eaten at. The sandwiches are large, the cost is more than reasonable and even though every time we enter the front door the line is massive, the line moves very quickly. We have plenty of favorite sandwiches from the All American to the 1762, which on our last trip were only $5.99 each, but one of my absolute favorite options at Earl of Sandwich is that all their salads can be made in a wrap. I am not sure why I think this is so impressive, but I almost always get Earl's Cobb salad in a wrap. I recently saw they have added a chicken and berry salad that I cannot wait to try! For the kids, they at first were skeptical at the look of their grilled cheese due to the shape of the bread, but once they took a bite, they loved it! When on a Disney vacation, you can't beat an inexpensive, filling lunch that standing in line has minimal impact on enjoying your vacation. That's why Earl of Sandwich is one of our favorite dining spots outside of Disney parks and resorts.

Many thanks to Janine, Natalie, Corby and Beth for sharing their favorite off-property (or not-so-off) restaurants!   Please check out our Minnie Moms page for past articles and more information about this terrific team. 

Magical Blogorail: First-Timer Planning Tips

Welcome to the first stop aboard Magical Blogorail Red. Enjoy the ride as we share our tips for planning your first Disney vacation.

A good friend of mine is planning a very special Walt Disney World vacation for this fall and has asked me for help.  Technically she has visited WDW once but since it has been about 30 years, we're considering her as a first-timer.  On this vacation, Ann will be traveling with her husband, their daughter who will be almost 4, and Ann's retired parents. They are all looking forward to seeing the little one take in the magic and Grandpa really wants to spoil his grandbaby.

You have to admit the volume of information available about Disney World is daunting. The options are nearly endless and a first-timer could quickly get overwhelmed with the research project required for a Disney vacation. I've tried not to bombard my friend with tons of information as she begins the process but rather break it down into smaller tasks.  Here are the first few things to consider as a first time Walt Disney World guest-to-be.  I'll write additional posts on this topic as I help her plan for the big trip.

The first step is to select travel dates. They were originally considering September, wanting lower crowds with weather still warm enough to enjoy some pool time.  Ann and her husband had not heard about the Food and Wine Festival but of course, it peeked their interest.  They were at our house for dinner, asking tons of Disney questions, when F&W came up.  Looks now like they'll visit in late September or early October, depending on which works best with school.  I reviewed Touring Plan's crowd calendar for my friend and that time of year is fabulous.  I also suggest checking the calendar at All Ears to see if there are any special events, conventions, tournaments, etc that a guest would either like to see or avoid.

Step two is to choose a Disney resort hotel.  There are some really good off-property options but you just can't beat the magic 'bubble' that staying on Disney property provides.  Especially for infrequent guests, the special touches, theming, and terrific Cast Members of a Disney resort hotel are really worth spending a little more.  Ann and her family are really interested in being very close to the Magic Kingdom and will likely book a room at the Grand Floridian.  Ann first let me know they were starting to plan via a text message.  She asked if I had heard of the Grand Floridian.  I told her I loved to visit there but I wouldn't personally pay the "Grand" prices and suggested Port Orleans Riverside.  What I didn't know was her father had already made up his mind that they were staying at the Grand and it was pretty much a done deal.  My husband and I had a suite there for our wedding night and it was beautiful.

If you are deciding where to stay for your first Walt Disney World vacation, know that Disney offers a wide variety of accommodations.  The prices vary widely from the cheapest value resort to the most expensive deluxe suite.  Once you've decided your budget for the vacation, you still have options within a category.  Be sure to browse Disney's site and check out the theming and amenities of a resort. For instance, a larger family might consider the Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort or a Family Suite at the new Disney's Art of Animation Resort.  Both sleep 6 and are about the same price but the experiences would be very different, as Fort Wilderness is rustic and AoA is as colorful as it gets.  That's one thing I love about Disney...something for everyone!

For a value resort, I've stayed at All Star Music twice.  Once in a standard room and once in a family suite.  It's not exciting but ASM has all the perks of being on property.  Pop Century is a very popular value resort in the Disney online community.  The newest resort is Art of Animation and I'm surprising the girls with a few days in a Little Mermaid room at the end of our fall trip.  They will love the theming and the gigantic pool.

The favorite moderate resort of the Growing Up Disney family and a fair number of our team is Port Orleans with most of us leaning toward Riverside.  This resort is divided into two sections, French Quarter and Riverside.  French Quarter is themed exactly like it sounds.  It's smaller and has a good cajun/creole food court.  Riverside has a more bayou feel, a little more space to wander, and a table service restaurant as well as a food court.  I don't think you can go wrong staying anywhere in this resort.

My favorite Disney deluxe resort hotel is the Polynesian.  I've stayed at all three of the monorail resorts and the Polynesian would be my choice for my family.  However, we are a Disney Vacation Club family and almost always book at Old Key West.  It's a lovely relaxed resort with huge villas and many of the comforts of home with full kitchens and washers/dryers.

Step three is contact a Disney Authorized Vacation Planner to reserve a room and purchase park tickets.  We use Travel with the Magic and they don't pay me to say that.  Yes, you can book on your own online or by phone but when you can get the help of a Disney expert for free, why not?  Your travel agent can check the latest deals for you and advise on ways to maximize your travel dollar.  They'll also watch for future offers to see if you could save more.  The current ticket pricing structure offers a myriad of options (park hopping, no expiration, water parks, etc.) and sometimes it's a good deal to purchase an annual pass for one member of your party in order to get annual passholder room discounts.  Back to my previous advice, let your travel agent run the numbers for you.

Step four TAKE A DEEP BREATH.  Again, it's easy to get in over your head in research so if you've wandered off into exactly how rider swap works at this point, walk away from the computer for a few.  You'll have time later to learn those things.

Step five is to make dining reservations.  Popular Walt Disney World restaurants book up far in advance.  This is the biggest surprise for pretty much everyone who has ever asked me for advice on a first-time vacation.  People just can't believe that they need to book a table six months before they'd like to dine with Cinderella or in Beast's Castle.  So if you are planning around the six month mark or less and are interested in the quintessential Disney dining locations, you need to get on the dining reservations fairly quickly.  If you are at around the one year mark when you read this...see step four.

Keep in mind that there are many options with Disney dining, just like with resort hotels.  If you have your heart set on having dinner with your favorite princess and it's booked throughout your vacation, try another similar restaurant.  I have two little girls and they will love Cinderella's Royal Table someday.  We don't tend to book far in advance and I'd like to save their first meal in the castle until they are a bit older.  However, we had a FABULOUS time at the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus in Epcot's Norway Pavilion.  Hands down my favorite dining experience in ages and it's less expensive than Cindy's and a little easier to book.  You can always take a shot at last minute reservations for popular restaurants.  We managed to get a late breakfast a couple of hours in advance for Akershus.

We here at Growing Up Disney (and my blogorail pals) have shared many restaurant reviews and photos over the years.  When I am planning my own dining reservations, I always look at the menus at All Ears or the official Disney site.

Disney has a wide variety of dining options, from the character meals mentioned above to the exquisite five diamond/four star Victoria and Albert's to world cuisine to the casual cafe.  Check out our trip planning tab above for articles on the favorite restaurants of our family and guest contributors.  Our team of Minnie Moms has discussed our lists of best and worst restaurants for children.

Making reservations is simple.  Either send your list to your travel agent or book online with Disney or call 407-WDW-DINE.

Ok.  That's enough tasks to get you started on planning your first Walt Disney World vacation.  I'll be back later with more tips and you can always peruse our site for yourself in the meantime.  

Happy planning! 
~Amy

Be sure to check out our First Timer Class series.


Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is My Dreams of Disney.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ Growing Up Disney

2nd Stop ~ My Dreams of Disney

3rd Stop ~ Disney Donna Kay

4th Stop ~ Colorado Mountain Mom

Final Stop ~ A World View

Trip Planning with My Disney Experience

My Disney Experience - Web Version

Not every iPhone app or website is a winner.  But Disney has a winner in the making with its "My Disney Experience".

If you haven't seen it, My Disney Experience is a combination of a website and an app that allows you to plan your Walt Disney World vacation (as of today, My Disney Experience does not appear as a selection on the Disneyland web site and the app only shows WDW).  Planning is not limited to one person.  You can link others in your vacation party so all can plan and all plans show in the website and app for those you want to share with.  The website and app also stores the confirmation numbers for all your reservations.

My Disney Experience app on my iPhone

For the trip mom and I are sharing with Amy, Tink and Minnie, I made our reservations on the DVC Members site, www.dvcmembers.com.  As I have logins for the members site as well as www.disneyworld.com when I logged in to look at My Disney Experience my DVC reservation was there.  On the My Disney Experience website, I added all the members of the party and had it to send Amy an email to join in on the planning.

The My Disney Experience web and app work and look a little different, but both show you the same information.  The web version shows you every day of your stay and any reservations you have for each day on one screen.  On the iPhone app, it automatically shows you "today", and you use a calendar to find the dates of your stay and choose each one individually.  Both show you your reservations, notes and any "things to do" you have placed on your calendar.

I made reservations for lunch at Le Cellier Steakhouse at the Canadian pavilion at EPCOT.  Those reservations linked in.  The reservation shows not only the reservation but each person's name along with an  avitar of your choosing for each person.  You can also set reminders for events or attractions you want to see and they show on your day also.  So if you need a reminder of what time the "3 o'clock parade" is, you can add it.  For notes, I added Amy's flight numbers and arrival and departure times so I don't have to ask any more.   Amy has made some reservations and as soon as they are made, they are available on our shared My Disney Experience vacation planner, so we can see all reservations for our trip.

MDE park guides

MDE activities

Among other things, you can see park maps, resorts, attractions, restaurants along with menus as well as book your dining through the app or of course on the web.

I know My Disney Experience does more than just help you plan your trip.  Since we are only planning process for our trip, that is all I'm reviewing here.  Later Growing Up Disney will review the in-Park functions when we are in the park.

 If you are THE planner for your trips, I think it's worth downloading the app and logging into My Disney Experience on the web.  It seems to be a good dashboard view of your trip and all the planning you have done for you time at Walt Disney World.

--DisneyDad

A Walk Around The World With Ridge--Fulton's Crab House Review

My wonderful friend Shelley Caran, from www.onthegoinmco.com and several other well-known sites in the Disney community, joined me for dinner at Fulton’s Crab House on Sunday, May 20, 2012. I had not been there in many years and this was the first time for Shelley. I hate to say it but Fulton’s is one of those places I have just avoided for a long time because it always seemed like an overpriced version of a large chain restaurant that happens to serve “lobster”.  I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with the results of my dinner and I’ll share why. 

OBP

When Shelley and I met up Sunday we talked about what our expectations were.  We definitely wanted it to be good, that was a given, but honestly didn’t know what to truly expect. I’ll say that the experience started off with a bang.  My reservation was made by the PR representative for Fulton’s and it contained the fact I was a writer for Growing Up Disney. The Host, Reggie, quickly brought over manager Geoff who welcomed us to the restaurant and quickly disappeared to prepare the table. We were a few minutes early so we told them “no rush” and had a seat at the bar. They have OBP (Orange Blossom Pilsner) on tap so I really wasn’t in a hurry. The bartender greeted us and gave us a little something to snack on while we waited. Forgive me for not remembering the name, but Fulton’s makes a cream cheese and crab spread and serves that with whole-wheat crackers.  It’s pretty darn tasty.  (Editor's note: Here's a link to the recipe for Fulton's Crab Boursin.)

crab spread

crab spread

Once seated, we had a beautiful view of the sunset and less than a half an hour to wait for it.  Our wonderful waiter, Alex from Ontario Canada, made us feel immediately at home and began explaining the menu and making his recommendations. Once Alex had finished, we were honored to have the head chef, Marc Boor, come out to talk with us a little. Chef Boor is no stranger to Disney having worked at several of the resorts before moving north for other opportunities. That is until his wife saw Fulton’s was looking for a new executive chef and told him to apply. We talked for a few minutes about the menu and made a few decisions. Now for the good part. 

We made the choice to try a couple of appetizers: the calamari and the tuna tartare. I’ll start with the calamari. I’ve had lots of calamari in my time; I love some seafood. The calamari was fresh as I have ever tasted and was cut into thick strips, lightly breaded and fried.  The preparation and freshness were so good that it was still tender and moist even when cold.  For dipping, a fresh tomato basil sauce was served. The quantity on the plate was well worth the money but the tuna tartare was what Shelley and I would have fought over.

Tuna & Calamari

Ahi Tuna tartare is sushi grade tuna, finely chopped and serve raw. For me this is heaven because I’d eat sushi everyday if I had my choice and the money. Formed into a cylinder with fresh avocado-cucumber relish, sweet chili aioli, and a plantain chip on top for garnish, the ahi tuna tartare was on the money for freshness, texture and overall taste. 

Crab Cake

Grouper

For our main course Shelley ordered the fresh caught grouper, which was served with a variety of roasted vegetables, artichoke hearts, tomato and guacamole.  I went with the chef’s recommendation of the crab cake.  It was composed of jumbo lump crab meat with very little filler, plated on a roasted corn maque choux, and topped with a fried green tomato and a remoulade sauce. Just a little bit spicy as the chef had described it as a “Southern” style. No matter what you would like to call it; I called it delicious. I also ordered the cioppino, which is a fish stew that contains all types of seafood. Fish, crab, mussels, clams, shrimp and scallops in a slow roasted tomato sauce and served over a pasta, in this case linguine. 

Cioppino

For dessert, Shelley had the cheesecake which is just like the style I make, very creamy and dense, and you can really taste the cream cheese still because they haven't over-burdened it with sugar. I had Alex's suggestion of the sweet and sour cherry crumble with vanilla ice cream. Both were so simple and so perfect.

   

Everything was prepared with care and our waiter, Alex, made sure that we were well taken care of. I was impressed by the staff as well as the food. Shelley made the comment that the experience felt like “old” Disney… nothing was a problem, they would figure out a way to make you happy. For my money this is an experience I will have again. Fulton’s is not outrageous at lunch, and while dinner is expensive, keep in mind what you are getting for your money.  Only the premium Disney Dining Plan is accepted, so don’t expect to use the normal plan there.  It truly is a wonderful dining experience and if you sit in the bow of the crab house at dinner you may just get a wonderful sunset to boot.  Once again big thanks to Shelley for joining me on such a fun adventure. 

Enjoy the rest of the photos from the day!

Inside the lobby

stairway to dining room

Sunset 1

Sunset 2

Sunset 3

view to the bow