TRIP RETROSPECTIVE
PART 2
Quick Service Restaurants
Our experience at Quick Service restaurants was largely good, though some were certainly better than others. My universal complaint is that they need more seating, especially covered tables for when it rains. Mobile Order works great, but I recommend placing your order by 9 or 10am so you can reserve a good return time. We generally ate at 11am to beat the lunch rush on tables and avoid longer MO lines. If possible, send a scout ahead of your party to secure a table.
They have GPS location restrictions on when you can say “I’m here,” and I wouldn’t recommend pushing it until you can physically walk up within a minute or two, but keep in mind that you may have to wait longer at more in-demand locations - they don’t prepare your order until you push “I’m here.”
Reviews are listed from least favorite to favorite. I included a link to the post in the thread above where I begin to discuss the meal in more detail.
Mel’s Diner (USF)
Comments: The food here was very mediocre - not gross, but not good. It did the job of filling us up, and we were able to get away from the heat for an hour, but there are so many better places to get food. The brisket burger was just too much for me. I had to take off the gouda and only ate about half the burger, it was so greasy. It tasted fine though. The “chocolate shakes” were basically Wendy’s frosties, but not as good. I really like a good shake, so I was disappointed. I thought they’d have good shakes at a diner, but nope. The best thing was the onion rings, which were exactly what you’d expect from a diner. The fries were good too, which, along with the frosties, kept my kids happy. But overall, I’d definitely say skip this one.
Contempo Cafe (Contemporary)
Comments: I was not a fan of the spicy chicken sandwich - it was fine, but I didn’t finish it. I think the rest of my family enjoyed what they ordered. The Mickey waffles that my DDs got for breakfast looked good, so maybe I’d lean toward recommending this one for breakfast only. It was a great location to sit and watch the monorail go by. A nice retreat from the heat of the park. But only go if it’s convenient (i.e., you’re staying in the Contemporary or want to visit on the monorail for fun).
The Mara (AKL-Jambo)
Comments: The food was serviceable, but not great. The best item was the falafel, pita, and hummus. I’m very much a meat-eater, so that is unusual for me to say. The location is nice, wasn’t too busy (since Jambo isn’t officially open), and was air conditioned. I recommend only if you are staying at Jambo and need a convenient option.
Flame Tree BBQ (AK)
Comments: It’s a testament to how good the other quick service locations were that this one is so far down on our list. For a theme park, you wouldn’t expect such good barbecue, but it was great. Not stellar, mind you, but great. As you can see in the linked post, we crowded all 8 of us around one small circular table, but later found there was more seating on the lower terrace. IIRC, this was one of the multiple locations where a DD spilled her chocolate milk all over the table.
Yak & Yeti (AK)
Comments: The food here is excellent - very similar to Pei Wei (quick service version of P.F. Chang’s - nice fast casual Asian fusion chain). The tempura shrimp was the best dish we tried. I got the honey chicken and it was good, but not as flavorful as the Pei Wei version. The only thing the kids would eat here was french fries. They are super picky though - they don’t even like chicken nuggets - so don’t use us as a benchmark.
Whakawaiwai Eats (VB)
Comments: We ordered through the app for delivery to our premium seating - this is only available to those who pay for premium seating or cabanas. The longboard pizzas were fantastic. We got one pepperoni, one cheese, and one Hawaiian. The cheese was a hit with the kids, the pepperoni was solid, and the Hawaiian was our favorite. It had diced jalapeno, so it was spicier than I was expecting, and not in a way that you could easily remove it, just FYI. The “chocolate shakes” were the same as Mel’s Diner - Wendy’s Frosty style. I take it all UOR shakes are that way.
Docking Bay 7 (HS)
Comments: We ate here twice, so obviously we loved it. The pot roast was delicious, but the serving was small. The ribs were good and you get a lot more meat, so I ordered it both times. I loved the mac and cheese, DBIL liked the blueberry muffin. The kids liked the mac & cheese, tip yip (basically a giant McDonald’s chicken nugget), and pasta with no sauce. You can bring in a Ronto Wrap from next door if you order separately - those are also good, though I think the pork is unnecessary - the sausage is the best part. Moof Juice was probably my second favorite beverage in the land, after blue milk. I definitely recommend trying DB7. Note that you have to make a mobile order (remember to order in advance that morning!), confirm you are there, and then they will let you into the restaurant and seat you when your food is ready - they will assign your table. This is a different procedure from most other QS restaurants, which are generally a free-for-all. I wish it was more common.
Sleepy Hollow (MK)
Comments: I was not impressed with the offerings at most QS in MK, so we opted to go here twice. The hand-dipped corn dogs are excellent. The spicy chicken waffle was divine. Seating is the only rub - try the picnic tables behind the Christmas Shop if you can’t find a spot. Also they are very stingy with their straws. That is common at WDW - I get the switch to paper straws, but can they actually give them to us, please?! One of the times they were fresh out so I had to go to another QS location nearby to get them. Often they’d give us only half as many straws as beverages because they assumed we didn’t need them for chocolate milks. Whoever came up with that obviously doesn’t have kids.
Pizza Window (Boardwalk)
Comments: Honestly, this was my favorite pizza of the trip. Solid, regular old pepperoni pizza. The crust was fluffy, lots of cheese, pepperoni was good. I even had a slice of the cheese pizza we got for the kids, which is a good sign that the cheese is high quality. Incidentally, also the cheapest meal of the trip, at $44 for 8 people, with leftovers. You have to wait at least 15-20 minutes for a pizza at non-busy times. Probably more during the evening rush. I saw a lot of dads there ordering a pizza to take back to their family swimming at Stormalong Bay, or back to their villa (like I did). There isn’t a lot of seating so don’t expect to eat there. If you’re not staying in the area, I recommend trying another option.
Chicken Guy (DS)
Comments: I love fried chicken so this one gets high marks from me. The breading is thin, and almost like panko or a baked style. The tenders are thin so you get the maximum amount of crispness. The star of the show is the sauces. My favorite was the Nashville Hot Honey. The sweet and sour was also great. It was fun just to try different ones, even if they weren’t my favorite. You get 2 sauce types with each order, plus you can add on more sauces for $0.50 each. I didn’t see the “Sauce Slinger” while I was there, so not sure that is still a thing. You can either mobile order to skip the line (you can google it or use the QR code at the entrance) or wait and order in person. The only downside is that you have to be in DS, which is purgatory right now. There is very limited indoor seating, and the outdoor seating is uncovered. We ended up eating on a bench in a covered area. Go on a weekday to minimize the crowds, or use Uber Eats or Postmates to deliver.
Three Broomsticks (IoA)
Comments: My big complaint about Three Broomsticks was the 45 minute wait to get in at 11am. But everything else about the experience was fantastic. In fact, even the wait made us appreciate it more (though I will never do that again). The wait is much shorter at dinner and seems to get shorter the later you go, even during the typical “dinner rush” hour (6pm). The frozen butterbeer was our favorite treat / beverage - we all ordered one both times we ate there. The roasted chicken was my go-to - the corn on the cob and potato sides were excellent. But it seems the real star is the fish and chips, which the other adults in my party ordered both times. The ambiance in the restaurant was fantastic. I loved noticing the details of the construction, and listening to the soundtrack from various Harry Potter movies as we dined. It was blessedly cool. Note that you can ask to be seated outside, but by the time they ask, you’ve already waited in the huge outdoor line so you of course will want to be inside. They need to ask that earlier to reduce the wait for everyone - almost no one was eating outside, but if they had asked us at the beginning of the 45 minute wait, we would have - the tables were shaded under fans.
Final thought: I told my family that my conception of what is “expensive” completely changed throughout the course of my vacation. I’ll just say I had to let go of my miserly inhibitions for these two weeks.