This was my first work + leisure combo trip to DW. Work by day, gluttony by night!
We stayed in a hotel by the Orange County Convention Center and Lyfted to our food destination every night. The drive was about 15-25 min each way. My organization offered discounted Disney tickets but they were still relatively pricey. (High enough so that our non-Disney crazed work friends declined to join us at the parks). To save some money, my one like-minded Disney fan friend and I opted to eat at DS and Citywalk 2 nights and only went to Epcot Saturday night and Sunday (before flying back home in the early evening).
I went into this trip extremely apprehensive about spring break crowds. We were in Orlando smack in the middle of Orange County’s spring break but by some stroke of luck, crowd levels uncharacteristically fell this one week. The previous week produced the predicted high crowds and crowds have surged back the week following my trip. But crowds were surprisingly manageable during our March 20-24th stay. I encountered much longer waits at the food festival booths during my January trip on a regular weekend that was unseasonably cold! I initially attributed the relatively low crowds to it being a weeknight (Thursday night at DS) and the iffy weather forecast (Friday night at Citywalk) but it seems like the week of March 18th inexplicably saw a dip in crowds despite spring break. Win for us!
Day 1: Conference + DS (Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar)
We arrived to a beautiful DS just as the sun was setting and grabbed a table at Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar right by the water. Chef’s kiss
I started the night off with a Shorty’s Singapore Sling (Plymouth Gin, Heering Cherry Liqueur, Bénédictine, Cointreau, fresh Lime Juice, Pineapple Juice, and Grenadine). This was quite tasty and had just the right amount of alcohol.
The 4 of us chose to split 5 appetizers:
Tacos Al Pastor
(Citrus-Chipotle Pork Belly, Pineapple Pico de Gallo, Red Cabbage, Grilled Corn Tortilla)
Club Obi Wan Chicken Wings (served with Lime Sour Cream and tossed in Birds Eye Chili),
Snakebite Sliders (Gourmet Beef Sliders with Tomato-Bacon Jam, House-made Pickles, Shredded Lettuce, and Cheese),
Berbere Flank Steak (Romesco Sauce, Manchego, Arugula and Peppadews)
Peruvian Potato Croquettes
Purple Peruvian Potato Croquette, Egyptian-braised Beef, Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce, and Pickled Onion
We were quite happy with most of our selections but the Peruvian Potato Croquettes were just plain odd. The texture was unexpected and not a hit with us. Everything else I’d get again in a heartbeat.
Hovito Mojito
Barson Quebranta Pisco, fresh Lime Juice, Mint, and Simple Syrup topped with Soda Water
And this above beauty was perhaps my downfall of the evening. Because after I drank this, I felt progressively more nauseous. I wasn’t inebriated (I was still aware enough to navigate my group of friends all around DS) but I felt steadily worse and worse. I don’t believe it was food poisoning though as someone else also ordered the same drink and felt fine. I was too nauseous to partake in my planned dessert of a bubble waffle from Marketplace Snacks or the new Banana Fosters Sundae from Swirls on the Water.
Not the best way to end a DS evening.
Day 2: Conference + Citywalk (Voodoo Doughnuts & Cowfish)
Friday was very rain filled but luckily, it was mostly done by the time we finished with our conference workshops for the day. We arrived about an hour and a half before our reservation at Cowfish so we had some Voodoo doughnuts as an appetizer.
Chuckles
Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, dipped in mocha powder, and topped with peanuts, caramel, and chocolate drizzle
ODB
Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreo cookies, and peanut butter
Cowfish definitely has some fun decor.
The 4 of us had these delicious drinks:
Dragon Fruit Spritz (dragon fruit, lemongrass syrup, San Pellegrino blood orange, lemon juice, Gosling’s ginger beer); The King Lives (Cruzan rum, 99 Banana liqueur, vanilla ice cream, banana, peanut butter cups); Ruby Panther (Deep Eddy Ruby vodka, simple syrup, agave syrup, fig and strawberry jam); and Butta Pecan (Ole Smoky butter-pecan moonshine cream liqueur, vanilla ice cream, salted caramel, house made praline crumble, topped with an Ole Smoky moonshine infused cherry)
Sesame Chicken Bites (panko crusted chicken bites tossed in sweet n’ sour glaze, served over a bed of pickled kale slaw, dusted with sesame seeds)
The All-American Bacon Double Cheeseburgooshi (seasoned premium black angus beef, yellow cheddar cheese, white cheddar cheese, and applewood smoked bacon wrapped in soy paper and potato strings then flash fried. Topped with dill pickles, red onion, and Roma tomato, served with signature Cowfish sauce topped with ketchup and mustard)
Crispy Brussels (flash fried Brussels sprouts, wasabi yuzu vinaigrette, rice noodles, bonito flakes, sesame seeds, with a jalapeno citrus aioli dipping sauce)
Spicy Togarashi Shrimp (flash fried shrimp tossed in a spicy Japanese chili sauce, served over Asian slaw with pounded ginger sauce)
Tropical Storm Roll (kani, avocado, and cucumber inside, topped with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, Japanese mayo, sweet eel sauce, sriracha, and tobiko, served with wasabi yuzu dipping sauce)
This night ended much more tranquilly and we meandered around Citywalk before calling it a night.
To be continued…
to store our luggage. After riding Soarin’, I gave my friend some Beverly to try at Club Cool 
before admiring the Groot topiary and Prehistoric Garden. We also shopped a bit in the mostly empty Creations Shop before visiting the Butterfly Garden.
