Disney Restaurant Reviews - Week 2

Vicky Dyer on 02 July 2018
OLIVIA’S CAFÉ, Old Key West Hotel

We ate here at the hotel the evening my parents surprised the kids by arriving for our second week. Their flight landed into Orlando at around 5.30pm and I knew my mum and dad would be bursting to see the children and finally give up the surprise we’d been hiding for the past year or more so we booked a meal here, so we could see them the evening of arrival. It’s a really nice setting and a little quieter than the restaurants in the parks. The food was good too and it’s a good option for an easy evening.

Would we go back? Yes, probably but wouldn’t be high on the list and only if we were staying at the same hotel.

SCI FI DINE IN THEATRE, Hollywood Studios

This was a brilliant theme with all the tables being cars and a big movie screen to watch. With two small children though it wasn’t really ideal. We were a party of six and the table we were allocated was three rows of two facing forward so we essentially didn’t dine together as a party. It was very dark so seeing your meal was challenging! The screens showed black and white movie clips for most of the time with the odd Tom & Jerry show thrown in so had very little appeal to the kids. That said the food here was above average and we did still enjoy it.

Would we go back? Maybe as a couple without the kids yes, but definitely not with the children.

Matthew - “We got to eat our dinner in a car and there was a big TV screen which was really cool, but it was a bit dark!”

T-REX, Disney Springs

This had a really good theme. The restaurant was split into areas – an ice cave, under the sea and jungle area. Food here was very good. Every 15 minutes or so there was a rumble, the ice cave glowed bright red and the Octopus on the ceiling moved its tentacles – the kids loved this and though it was brilliant. We opted for the pudding for 4 people which was a volcano, it came out with dry ice spilling over a cocktail shaker – everyone looked to see what it was, definitely one to remember and I'd recommend ordering it for a bit of excitement for the kids!

Would we go again? Yes

Matthew - “T-REX was my favourite restaurant because the room kept turning different colours and the ice lit up”

BE OUR GUEST, Magic Kingdom

A few people had recommended this, and it gets booked up super quickly, so it was a no-brainer to try it. It’s an impressive hall with two smaller dining rooms off to each side. We were in the farthest room which was very dark and was a bit of a shame in our opinions. We were expecting to hear the song at some point, so I have to admit I was disappointed that we didn’t. There also appeared to be no reference to or sight of Chip, the Candlesticks etc. The Beast made a five second appearance every half an hour or so to welcome us to his castle. Chloe kept asking when we’d see Belle, so we asked the waiter and was told Belle didn’t live in the castle, so we wouldn’t be able to see her there. I had high expectations and so was a little disheartened with the whole experience. The food however was very good, one of the best meals we’d eaten and of course we tried the “Grey Stuff” for pudding! After your meal you could queue to meet the Beast which was an added bonus at the end too.

Would we go back? Probably not although it is being changed to a two-token from the summer so may be worth trying again in the future to see if they have made any changes.

Chloe - “They had pretend snow outside which I liked and I liked meeting the Beast too”

50’s PRIME TIME DINER, Hollywood Studios

We had been to this restaurant before and had fun so decided we’d go back. You are told the rules of the table at the beginning and if you don’t adhere to them, you will be told off! Nanny and I were told off for playing with our “walkie talkies” at the table (oops, we were trying to get last minute fast passes for Toy Story Mania!) Grandad and Dad got told off for having their elbows on the tables. The kids thought it was absolutely hilarious and regularly reference back to it!

Would we go back again? Yep, definitely.

YAK & YETI, Animal Kingdom

This was the second restaurant we chose to go back to that we had been to on our previous visit. Hubby had great memories of tender ribs cover in a delicious sauce. The food was once again very good but definitely wasn’t as good the second time round. Unfortunately, the kid’s meals came out and ours followed a good half an hour later, so by the time we got ours the kids had finished theirs and were ready to go! This did make it a bit more stressful than needed and was a bit of a shame!

Would we go back again? We try not to go back even a second time unless it’s very good but after this, we wouldn’t go back. I’d still recommend it for very good food though and hope that the service this time was a one off!

MARRAKECH, Epcot

This restaurant was well hidden at the back of Epcot (in Morocco on the World Showcase). We had trouble finding it and we knew it was there somewhere, but you’d never happen across it! As a result, this restaurant was by far the quietest we’d experienced, the majority of others were completely full whereas this was no more than 25% full when we arrived, it made such a nice change and made for a very enjoyable last evening meal. Grandad and Dad opted for the feast too, I don’t know how they managed it all, it was a huge meal even by American standards! It was the first time we paid a supplement (US$10 extra per person for the two of them) but it was good value for what they got.

Would we go back again? Yes

Chloe - “They had a lady dancing in this restaurant and I wanted to go up and dance with her!”