>Disney World, Part 3: FOOD! DINING! YUM!

>So, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, one of the reasons I am so excited about returning to Disney World for our first anniversary is for the amazing dining experiences. Before our honeymoon last year, I had not experienced fine dining at Disney. But getting on the Deluxe Dining Plan last year truly opened my eyes to a world beyond burgers and hot dogs at Disney World. It was so much fun to pick out exactly what I wanted on every menu without worrying about price!

If you are a foodie traveling without children, I highly recommend the Deluxe Dining plan! It’s the highest tier available. It includes 3 sit-down meals per day (you can also opt for walk-up quick-serve, but we don’t do that — we prefer sit-down restaurants!) and 2 snack credits per day. Be warned, it is a LOT of food. Each lunch and dinner includes an appetizer, an entree and a dessert per person. Click here for more on the plan.

So without further ado, here is our Disney Food Plan 2010!

Restaurants in *BOLD WITH STARS* are those that we are returning to because we LOVED THEM so much last year. Restaurants in +BOLD WITH PLUS SIGNS+ are restaurants that we are trying for the first time. Links go to menus.

Day 1:

Check-in at Pop Century Resort
Lunch at *Kona Cafe* at Polynesian
Afternoon at Animal Kingdom
Dinner at +Boma+ at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Day 2 — Our First Anniversary!:

All Day at Magic Kingdom
Lunch at *Liberty Tree Tavern* at MK
Dinner at *California Grill* (premium 2-credit restaurant) at Contemporary with a view of Wishes fireworks.

Day 3:

All day at Epcot
Lunch at +Teppan Edo+ (Japan) in Epcot World Showcase
Dinner at *San Angel Inn* (Mexico) in Epcot World Showcase followed by IllumiNations.

Day 4:

All day at Hollywood Studios
Lunch at *Hollywood Brown Derby* (premium 2-credit restaurant) at HS
Dinner at +Ohana+ at Polynesian with a view of Wishes fireworks.

Day 5:
All day at Animal Kingdom
Lunch at *Yak & Yeti* in AK
Dinner at +Jiko+ (premium 2-credit restaurant) at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Day 6:
All day at Epcot
Breakfast at +Whispering Canyon Cafe+ at Wilderness Lodge
Lunch at +Chefs de France+ in Epcot World Showcase
Dinner at *Le Cellier Steakhouse* (Canada) in Epcot World Showcase followed by IllumiNations.

Day 7:
All day at Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at *Kona Cafe* at Polynesian
Lunch at +The Wave+ at Contemporary
Dinner at +Narcoossee’s+ (premium 2-credit restaurant) at Grand Floridian (Sadly, no Wishes that night, sad face.)

Day 8:
Check-out from Pop Century
Lunch at +Everything Pop Food Court+

So, all in all, we will return to 8 restaurants and are trying 9 more. All 8 of the ones we are returning to were absolutely OUTSTANDING last year. My absolute favorite experiences from last year that we are returning to again are California Grill (I had ostrich, but this menu changes all the time), Kona Cafe (for breakfast — Tonga Toast!), Le Cellier (Pretzel bread and steak. Nuff said.), San Angel Inn (filete moltuleno, amazing!), and Yak & Yeti (Shaoxing Steak & Shrimp).

Looking at our itinerary, you’ll see that we’re only scheduled for breakfast twice. We prefer to save some of our breakfast credits and use them toward 2-credit premium dining experiences at restaurants that would normally be at least $60/head. We’re visiting 4 of those restaurants on this trip — California Grill, Hollywood Brown Derby, Jiko and Narcoossee’s. After this trip, there are 4 remaining premium restaurants that I hope to eat at on subsequent visits.

Lastly, may I point out that all of our meals and days at the parks are planned out? If you don’t make reservations beforehand, it can be nearly impossible to walk up at a lot of these restaurants hoping for a table, especially during peak dining hours with a larger party. If you’re planning a trip to Disney World, you can book your reservations up to 180 days in advance.

I’m also looking forward to certain snacks at Disney World. Some of my favorites from last year were apples and caramel dip at carts and restaurants throughout WDW and the cream cheese-filled pretzel at Tomorrowland’s Lunching Pad in Magic Kingdom.

And for the first time this year, I will experience the magic that is the Dole Whip (thanks Wikipedia!).

These can be found only at Aloha Isle at Adventureland in Magic Kingdom and at Captain Cook’s at the Polynesian. They come in a cup or as a float with pineapple juice — YUM!

Planning resources:

Allears.net menus – comprehensive and amazing!
The Disney Food Blog – wonderful coverage of all things food at Disney! It’s hard to believe this is a one-woman show. You can also follow the Disney Food Blog on Twitter.

I plan on documenting all our wonderful dining experiences this year and putting them here.