Life in the Lowcountry: Disney Dining

We have been to Disney as a family on three separate occasions. The first time was just a weekend trip. Cadence was 4 and we wanted to see how and if she liked it enough to book a week long trip. We enjoyed our time but waiting until she was a couple years older was the right decision for us.

Her first week long trip was a couple years later when she was 6 and it was amazing. It was mine and Tarls first week long trip to Disney as well. In years past we have always only ever went for a weekend stay. This was also our first time booking every single thing through Disney, including the dining plan, photo package, hotel and park tickets. I've always booked the hotel separately, paid for tickets upon arrival and we always would grab a quick snack in the park and eat dinner somewhere in Orlando that evening. Booking through Disney made everything SO much better. It was unforgettable!

Fast forward to another two years later when we went in 2016. We had enjoyed our trip prior so much that we booked very similar things. We had stayed at another Disney resort, but we had booked a lot of the same meals because we had enjoyed them so much the first time. As delicious as they were the second time around we knew that when we eventually went back we wanted to try all new things (well, mostly all new, there are some restaurants that are must-dos every time!).

When we book our Disney trips we each say two places we would like to try and I book them. This time, when we sat down, I said let's try and come up with new places we'd like to try, so that's just what we did, with the exception of three. Three places are simply must-eats for us. They are so delicious and their ambiance is so gorgeous we just have to see it when we go. I have said this several times before, but to us, the dining plan is so worth it!

You can read about some of our past dining experiences, as well as some helpful tips, here.

Our first dinner takes place at Animal Kingdom Lodge. AKL is well known for their artisanal dinners that are unique specifically to as if you were in Africa. I'm not going to lie, the thought of eating a traditional African meal scares me. I'm a southerner at heart. Give me all the fried chicken and mashed potatoes I can handle and I'll be good to go but review after review had shed light that Sanaa, a restaurant located in Animal Kingdom Lodge, was an incredible meal. After lots of review reading and scamming through pictures we decided to jump out of our comfort zone and try it as the start of our vacation.

Our second day in Disney provides us with lots of delicious familiarities starting with breakfast at Be Our Guest, located in Beast and Belles castle in Magic Kingdom. We've been fortunate enough to snag all three meals here before. Our most favorite taste wise is dinner, although breakfast is a close second. The reason we chose this for breakfast over dinner is to be able to enter Magic Kingdom before everyone else since we have an early reservation. Castle pics anyone?!

Dinner on our second day is held at mine and Tarls most favorite restaurant on all of Disney property, Ohana's, located in Disney's Polynesian resort, a quick monorail ride away from Magic Kingdom. Unlimited noodles, chicken wings, grilled steak, shrimp, chicken and caramel glazed bread pudding, all the while you have a spectacular view of Cinderella's castle. A must eat every single trip.

Day three is all new for us, starting with our Bon Voyage breakfast. This is a new character dining experience Disney just began last year. We've done all of the Disney character meals so it was exciting to hear they had a new one to offer. We will get the opportunity to meet Flynn Rider and Rapunzel along with Prince Eric and Ariel. The Bon Voyage breakfast is located at Trattoria Al Forno which is off Disney's Boardwalk. All of our trips to Disney and all of our resort hopping to see all the different architecture, we have yet to see the boardwalk, so we are all excited about this character breakfast.

Dinner on day three takes us to 50s Prime Time Cafe which is located in Hollywood Studios. Imagine walking in an old diner back in the 50s, that's what 50s Prime Time Cafe is all about. This was a must for Cadence because they offer gluten free fried chicken. How amazing is that?! Plus for dessert, ice cream, ice cream and more ice cream! Yum!

We also have reservations at two other places that we've done previously, Garden Grill and Kona Cafe. Kona Cafe is a favorite of Tarl and Cadence. It's located close to Ohanas, in the Polynesian resort. They offer magnificent breakfast items including huge pancakes, thick waffles, but they are most famously known for their Tonga Toast, banana stuffed french toast. Garden Grill is a spinning restaurant you can find in Epcot. It slowly spins and gives you a 360 degree view of Epcots, Living with the Land attraction, while also getting to interact with Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale. We had so much fun here on our last trip and the Thanksgiving inspired feast was an unforgettable one so we decided to book this again.

Our final four reservations are at Tony's Town Square in Magic Kingdom. Italian is my most favorite food and I've wanted to try Tony's for years. The ambiance takes you into the movie, The Lady and the Tramp. We've heard rave reviews for Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge. They are well known for their huge platters of BBQ with all the fixins', so we decided to give it a try. Living on the coast our entire life, seafood is a way of life. We knew we wanted to try Disney's seafood buffet, Cape May Cafe, located at our most favorite resort, The Beach Club. All you can eat crab legs, shrimp, and other shellfish…I mean, it doesn't get much better than that. Plus dessert at Beaches 'n Cream next door. How bad can that be? We also have reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom. This is another one of those restaurants I probably would have never booked but reviews had recommended this one so much we decided to give this one a try as well.

We are slowly counting down the days around here. Have you ever been to any of these restaurants, if so, which was your favorite? Likes? Dislikes?

Take a look back at some delicious looking photos from our last trip to Disney.

Breakfast of Caramel Banana Donut with Whipped Cream at Be Our Guest

Our favorite snack credit. Beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter, and yes, they have gluten free options!

Surf and Turf at Cinderella's Royal Table. This is stacked onto a serving of mashed potatoes and this meal is so amazing! We decided to skip CRT this time around because it takes up two dining credits and we really wanted to use those to try some new places.

Swedish Meatballs with a cranberry relish at Akershus Royal Dining Hall located in Epcot. Akershus is a favorite of mine for breakfast, in fact, I've contemplated booking a breakfast here for our upcoming trip (still undecided if I will or won't). This is served at dinner. We weren't huge fans of dinner because it is true authentic Norwegian food. That cranberry relish was so tangy and delicious though!

Second to the beignets, this is our favorite dessert. Soft, moist, pound cake topped with a berry reduction and homemade whipped cream. This is found at Garden Grill and one of the main reasons we chose to eat here again. And again, if you are gluten intolerant or have celiac, they offer this dessert gluten free as well.

The famous Tonga Toast found at Kona Cafe. Honestly, I hyped it up more in my head and I think that's why it was a let down. The cinnamon sugar crusted exterior was delicious, but it wasn't filled with banana enough for my liking. Too "bready". I would recommend trying it at least once however.