Category: Restaurants

The Top 7 Restaurants at Disneyland Paris

In addition to the extensive list of attractions, Disneyland Paris also has some amazing dining options. They have more than 25 dining outlets, including table service, counter service and buffet restaurants.

It’s so hard to narrow down the options, but if you want to have the true dining experience in Disneyland Paris, here are my picks for the Top 7 restaurants at the resort.

1. Disneyland Paris Hotel Inventions

Inventions restaurant is a buffet, located inside the Disneyland Hotel. Meet your favorite characters, in different outfit themes each week. If you want to eat here, remember to make a reservation, as this is a popular place to eat, and understandable, it’s so cute in its Victorian style and is all in all a great experience!

2. Bistrot Chéz Remy (Ratatouille)

Shrink down to rat size, right next to the Ratatouille ride and eat at Remy’s Bistrot. The decorations is worth the visit itself. Here you have table service, the food is typical French dining, so you can sit back and relax, while feeling as tiny as a rat in a lovely French atmosphere. Reservation is recommended here, as it’s very popular!

3. Plaza Gardens Restaurant

Located on Main Street U.S.A, where you can be lucky enough to get a view over the castle, and even see the fireworks from the large windows, or you can choose to start the day with breakfast at the morning buffet! Even if you’re not able to see the castle you will enjoy the view inside this Victorian old building! Hurry up and get the food on your plate from the big buffet, because your favorite characters are waiting to meet you at your table! Reservations can be made, the lines tend to get long in the evening.

4. Auberge de Cendrillion

Have your taste of French cuisine while surrounded by your favorite princesses and princes, at Cinderella’s majestic medieval banquet hall! You can sit back and enjoy the atmosphere, because here they have table service. Don’t worry about the mice, I promise Suzy and Perla is friendly! This is a very popular place to eat, so make your reservations to a romantic seating for all ages.

5. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show with Mickey and Friends Dinner Show

Holster and gallop to the heart of the old west for the biggest Disney dinner show in Europe. You’ll enjoy a Texan meal, while watching a show on how the West was won in a spectacular battle shown in the arena! Reservations can be made!

6. Walt’s an American Restaurant

Serving sophisticated and contemporary American cuisine with European influence, this is a Victorian-style tribute to the life and work by Walt Disney. While sitting at your table you’ll fell like you’re inside Walt’s home, each room is reflected by one of the 6 magical worlds in Disneyland Park Paris. Reservations can be made. Table service, and very elegant place, with great service!

7. Cafè Mickey in Disney Village

Enjoy your favorite characters while having table service at the evening in an Italian style, or breakfast buffet in the morning. Reservations can be made, and is a good idea, it’s a very popular place. It’s a great way to start the morning if you’re walking from one of the Disney Hotels, you can stop by Cafè Mickey and enjoy a breakfast with characters, before entering the parks. Very kid friendly.

April 4, 2018
Disney Toys Return To McDonald’s Happy Meals

Disney and McDonalds are planning to put a little magic back in your Happy Meal! Thats right! McDonald’s USA and the Walt Disney Co announced on Tuesday their first Happy Meal partnership in more than a decade.

The new multi-year, non-exclusive agreement will begin in June with promotions, including Disney movie-themed Happy Meal toys, for “Incredibles 2,” followed in the autumn by “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2.”

Though the companies did not announce how long the partnership will last, but they did say it is a multi-year deal. The last time the two companies teamed up—it was a ten year deal—spanning from 1996 to 2006.

The companies had to part ways for a while as Disney began self-regulating itself with voluntary guidelines that prohibited licensing Disney characters for foods that fail to meet minimum nutrition requirements.

Since that time McDonald’s has taken steps to make their food healthier as well as Happy Meals more nutritious and less fattening. some changes have included adding fruit side options, smaller french fry portions and encouraging consumers to order water rather than soda.

McDonald’s also plans to meet Disney’s nutrition guidelines, promising Happy Meals will meet the Disney standards by June 2018. McDonald’s has already recently announced it would make changes to ensure all Happy Meals by 2022 would have at most 600 calories with 10 percent of those calories coming from saturated fat and 10 percent from added sugar. Sodium also would be reduced.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said the new pact does not include any agreement on restaurants in parks but added: “We will continue to explore ways to bring this alliance to life.”

February 28, 2018
Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante Opens at Disney Springs

National Spaghetti Day was Thursday January 4 which made for the perfect day to welcome the newest Italian Dining Gem, Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante, to Disney Springs! The opening showcased the stunning new Italian restaurant located at the reimagined Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort — Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante.

The new dining destination brings to Disney Springs the warmth of Italy and the dreamiest Italian cuisine this side of the Atlantic, courtesy of Executive Chef Theo Schoenegger. The restaurant officially began serving dinner to the public on January 5. Lunch and brunch service will begin later this month.

Fittingly, the media sneak peek on January 4 coincided with National Spaghetti Day, providing the perfect Italian backdrop for the occasion. A dedication ceremony featured Italian ambassadors, chefs, executives from Patina Restaurant Group, Delaware North (Patina Restaurant Group’s parent company), Disney; and very special guests Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.

Disney restaurants often have a backstory, part of the company’s tradition of immersive storytelling. Mirroring that tradition, Patina Restaurant Group collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering to create the story for Maria & Enzo’s.

“The story behind Maria and Enzo is one of travel, food, love and friendship, all steeped in Italian tradition,” said Valenti, referring to the backstory of Maria and Enzo, an Italian couple that immigrated to Central Florida in the 1920s. “Their story is set in a long-forgotten sea-plane air terminal that became the setting for the restaurant.

“We couldn’t be happier to have a chef as talented as Theo Schoenegger,” Valenti continued. “A native Italian with an incredible repertoire, his cooking has a delicious authenticity that brings the story to life.”

Following the dedication, media and special guests enjoyed the food and hospitality at Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante, where Chef Schoenegger presented a variety of signature dishes including, of course, spaghetti in honor of National Spaghetti Day.

Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante

An intimate Italian trattoria set in the once-abandoned Disney Springs airline terminal from the 1930s, now transformed into a restaurant. The dining room is open and airy, featuring 50-foot ceilings with views of Lake Buena Vista. The restaurant interiors showcase artifacts that recall air travel of the time, with brightly illustrated pictographs, reimagined air terminal boarding gates and a First Class Lounge where randomly selected guests are upgraded upon arrival. The menu, created by Michelin star-rated Chef Theo Schoenegger, features a variety of handmade pastas including Busiate con Granchio (spiral pasta with crab), Rigatoni all Norma (eggplant, chile, tomato, ricotta salata) and ‘Ncasciata al Forno (Sicilian baked pasta) – served tableside. Other highlights include Braciola di Maiale (Berkshire pork chop, plum mostarda), Nodino di Vitello (grilled veal chop) and Tonno (grilled ahi tuna steak, pistachio pesto) all served with rosemary potatoes and tempura fried vegetables. The spectacular wine list of more than 100 bottles is – lovingly — primarily Italian. The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 12 midnight daily, with weekend brunch coming soon.

The backstory is that the restaurant was the dream of Maria and Enzo who met in Italy before moving to Florida and wanted to introduce Italian cuisine to the townfolk of the bustling Disney Springs. An airline pilot, Enzo was drawn to an abandoned airline terminal, which became the spacious setting for the restaurant.

Enzo’s Hideaway Tunnel Bar

A speakeasy inspired by Roman aperitivo bars, located in the storied rum-runner tunnels that adjoin Maria & Enzo’s. Inspired by Florida’s true history of rum running, Enzo’s Hideaway pours Prohibition-era cocktails and serves a casual menu of hearty Roman dishes, such as the city’s legendary Bucatini alla Carbonara (hollow spaghetti with creamy egg and pancetta sauce) and Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe (square-cut spaghetti with pecorino and black pepper). In honor of the weekly dinners Enzo hosted for family and friends, the tunnel bar hosts Sunday Supper, a family-style meal each week. Enzo’s Hideaway Tunnel Bar is open from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

The backstory tells the tale of Enzo and Maria discovering a long-hidden cavern below the terminal that connected to abandoned sections of the next-door power plant (which today is called The Edison). To Enzo’s astonishment, he came across a Prohibition-era hideaway where a team of flying rum-runners once gathered. Evidence of smuggler activity was everywhere, untouched for decades. Bottles and casks of rum were found along with a roster of flying operatives and their code names. It was a fascinating glimpse at an unknown chapter of the town’s past. Enzo shared his discovery with the local historical society and also decided that the space might make an irresistible spot for dining and socializing. Now it is a cozy gem of a hideaway for Enzo to highlight the family recipes he grew up on, featuring specialties from Rome and nearby regions.

Pizza Ponte

A fast-casual concept and the perfect place for a quick bite serving pastries, pizza, Italian sandwiches, and espresso. Pastry specialties include Bomboloni (Italian doughnuts) Sfoglia di Riso (pastry with rice cream) and Tiramisu. Savory items include signature Triangolo (stuffed pizza bread) sandwiches, Porchetta (roast pork) and Pizza al Taglio, Sicilian-style pizza by the slice. Pizza Ponte is open from 8 a.m. to 12 midnight daily.

The backstory reveals that Maria began a simple cafe inside the lobby of what was once the bustling Disney Springs air terminal. Pastries and pasta were the initial offerings, but eventually the family was able to install wood-fired pizza ovens that helped make them even more successful. Pizza Ponte is accessed from the entrance beneath the air terminal’s old Control Tower. Within this entrance, guests can view family photos from Maria and Enzo’s many cousins, uncles, aunts and others who began to arrive as their business began to thrive. An elegant wraparound window anchors the space and catches a lot of attention from pedestrians crossing the bridge from the Disney Springs West Side. Offerings reflect many of the most popular foods from both Maria’s roots in Southern Italy and Enzo’s favorites from the region around Rome.

January 9, 2018
The Edison at Disney Springs Opens to Grand Gala

So many new things 2018 has to bring us and at Disney Springs it’s no different. On New Years Eve with corks popped, performers dazzling and searchlights painting the skies, The Edison at Disney Springs, rang in 2018 with a grand opening party on New Years Eve.

The Edison, a lavish, “Industrial Gothic”- themed restaurant and entertainment venue, toasted the new year with an eye-filling spectacle of world-class entertainment, bountiful food stations, craft cocktails and an unforgettable fizzy Champagne toast for the countdown to midnight.

The showy soiree began with a Hollywood-style red carpet made from the train of a red ball gown. Hosts in flapper attire and inventors on stilts greeted special guests amid the dazzling step and repeat photo ops reminiscent of a Tinseltown premiere. Inside, a live band, cabaret dancers, aerialists, variety acts and a DJ created an otherworldly scene and grand celebration as guests welcomed in 2018.

The ticketed grand opening party was the glittery lift-off for The Edison. By day, the new venue will be a playful dining experience for families, while at night, the space transforms into a destination focused on craft cocktails, contemporary American fare and entertainment unique to Central Florida, all within an eye-popping, waterfront setting.

The Edison creates a completely unique combination of style, art and design with great food, cocktails and world-class entertainment. A fully immersive experience, The Edison features multiple themed areas to explore, such as the Lab performance space, The Ember Parlour, Telegraph Lounge, The Patent Office, The Tesla Lounge, The Radio Room, and the Waterfront Patio.

“The lights are officially on at The Edison and we’re delighted that guests can now experience the extraordinary entertainment, craft cocktails and cuisine unlike anything else in Central Florida,” said Nick Valenti, CEO of Patina Restaurant Group. “The reimagined power plant celebrates an era of invention and imagination in a new and distinct way.”

Open for lunch and dinner, The Edison treats guests to menu creations of Chef PJ Finneran that consist of contemporary American fare such as Pork Belly Pops (chile-brown sugar glaze), Crispy Fried Chicken (cast iron buttermilk biscuits), and a signature The Edison Burger, (a juicy combination of house-ground sirloin, short rib and brisket, topped with Cabot cloth-bound cheddar, onion rings, smoked bacon, house pickles, lettuce, tomato, special sauce and served with hand-cut fries). The Edison will soon introduce Bartender’s Midnight Breakfast, a late-night menu that will include traditional breakfast fare at night and offer guests a perfect way to keep the party going as the evening is winding down.

The Edison’s beverage lineup focuses on artfully crafted cocktails, interesting beers and wines, and house-made punches that serve from two to 10 guests. The Edison Signature Series includes cocktails such as The Wonderlust (Pernod Absinthe, Nolet’s Gin, Crème de Violette, pineapple syrup, lemon), Lady Marmalade (Corsair Absinthe, Hangar One, Noilly Prat vermouth, Giffard Ginger, verjus, pomegranate), The Crimson Vesper (Absolut Elyx, Lilet Rouge, Plymouth Sloe Gin, orange) and The Edison (Woodford Reserve, Belle de Brillet Pear Liqueur, lemon).

The center of the restaurant is stage for a dance floor and performance stage, where an eclectic lineup of live entertainers including musicians, aerialists and dancers fire up the night.

The Edison is now open Sunday-Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Thursday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Guests at The Edison must be 21 years or older starting at 10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday nights. There is a cover charge of $15 per guest beginning at 10 p.m. Additionally, The Edison has an enforced dress code Thursday-Saturday evenings beginning at 10 p.m. Men must wear slacks, jeans or dress shorts. No ball caps, sleeveless shirts or flip-flops are permitted. Jackets are optional.

January 8, 2018
Character Dining at Walt Disney World Complete List

Breakfast with Donald Duck, lunch with Mickey Mouse and dinner with the Disney princesses — that might comprise a perfect day for some young visitors to Walt Disney World Resort. Character Dining is one of the best ways to get to see some of your favorite characters.

The lovable Disney characters get up close for photos and autographs at special dining experiences in the theme parks and resorts. Meals generally are buffet style, and every character promises a stop at each table.

Here is a run down of the Character Dining Options you’ll find at

In the Theme Parks

Magic Kingdom

Fairytale Dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella Castle, with Cinderella and friends; breakfast: 8-10:20 a.m., lunch noon-3 p.m., dinner 4 p.m. (closing varies with park closing).

A Buffet With Character at The Crystal Palace, Winnie the Pooh and friends; breakfast 8-10:30 a.m., lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner from 4 p.m.-closing.

Epcot

Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast at The Garden Grill Restaurant in The Land, with Mickey and friends; breakfast and lunch, and dinner from 4:30 p.m.-closing.

Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway pavilion, with Belle, Snow White, Aurora, Ariel; breakfast from 8:30-10:10 a.m., lunch from 11:40 a.m.-2:50 p.m., dinner from 4:20-8:40 p.m.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Playhouse Junior Play ‘n Dine at Hollywood & Vine featuring Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, Jake and Handy Manny; breakfast from 8-11:20 a.m., lunch from 11:40 a.m.-2:25 p.m.

Minnie’s Seasonal Dine at Hollywood & Vine featuring Minnie Mouse and the gang dressed in each season’s best looks, dinner from 4 p.m. (closing varies with park closing)

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Donald’s Safari Breakfast and Lunch at Tusker House Restaurant in Harambe, buffet with Donald Duck and friends, breakfast from 8-10:30 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

In the Resort Hotels

Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort with Mickey Mouse and friends, breakfast and dinner buffet daily, breakfast from 7-11:30 a.m.; brunch from 11:30-2:30 p.m.; dinner from 5-9:30 p.m.

Beach Club Buffet at Disney’s Beach Club Resort with Beach Club Goofy and friends, daily at Cape May Café, from 7:30-11 a.m.

Chef Mickey’s Fun Time Buffet daily at Disney’s Contemporary Resort with Mickey and his gang; breakfast from 7-11:30 a.m., dinner from 5-9:30 p.m.

The Bon Voyage Breakfast is an all-new character dining experience at Trattoria al Forno at Disney’s BoardWalk, with appearances by adventurous royal couples from beloved Disney films. The celebration features popular characters from favorite Disney stories like “Tangled” or “The Little Mermaid.”

1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, with Mary Poppins and friends; breakfast from 8-11:50 a.m.; dinner from 4-9 p.m.

Wonderland Tea Party at 1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, “tea party” for children with Alice and the Mad Hatter from 1:30-2:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. Includes lunch.

Disney’s Perfectly Princess Tea at Garden View Tea Room at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, 10:30 a.m.-noon on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner at 1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, dinner buffet with Cinderella and friends from 4:30-8:20 p.m. daily.

`Ohana’s Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo and Stitch at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, family-style breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto, 7-11 a.m.

Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue stars The Big Cheese himself, Mickey Mouse and friends at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, seasonal.

If you need help booking your magical vacation and making sure you have all the best dining reservations, contact Travel Time with Vikki for help. My services are completely free and I will always find you the lowest rates. Let me do all the work so you don’t have to!

December 29, 2017