Tag Archive: Disney Food

1. Eating EPCOT: International Festival of the Arts

   February 11, 2022 5:23 pm

   

   Everyone loves a good EPCOT festival. What’s a good festival without the food? We stopped at three quick service locations during a short visit to the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts. PopEats! was by far our favorite. Here’s a review of our tastings.

   Pop Eats!

   

   Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese: A simple grilled cheese sandwich made with buttery Texas toast with a side of creamy, cheese-topped tomato soup. Yum! $5.25

   

   Tomato Soup with Bacon, Apple, and Brie Grilled Cheese: The soup was creamy and topped with cheese. The grilled cheese brie, bacon, and apple was a surprisingly delicious combination. $6.25

   

   Pop’t Art: A “modern-designed sugar cookie with chocolate-hazelnut filling”.  This is your basic iced sugar cookie with a tasty chocolate-hazelnut filling. This cookie is similar to the Lunch Box Tart found at Woody’s Lunch Box in Hollywood Studios. $4.50

   

   Refreshment Port

   Gnocchi Poutine with Red Wine-braised Beef, Cheese Curds, Basil, and Burrata: The flavor of the beef was delicious. The burrata was a nice light cheese and also a nice addition. The gnocchi was an interesting substitute for the french fries found in the traditional poutine. $9.00

   

   Deco Delights

   Orange Mousse with Lemon Cake and Raspberry Meringues: The orange mousse and the cookie it sits on was good. The lemon cake was generic, but not bad. The raspberry meringues were hard and crunchy and while the raspberry flavor was distinct, the taste and texture was not something to be desired. $4.50

   

   Decadent Valrhona Chocolate with Dark Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Brownie, and Cassis Mousse: It’s a little hard to tell what all is going on here. First off, I’ll start with the chocolate ice cream which came on the side and melted very quickly. The ice cream was of course yummy and the crunchy, cookie crumb-like pieces under it was a nice texture combination. The brownie was good, as was the chocolate mouse on top, yet it was very rich. Cassis mousse is made with blackcurrant, therefore giving it a purple tint. The purple is visible, but the taste was not quite there, unless the blackcurrant was in the smear on the bottom which I was unable to taste due to the thin layer being dried to the plate. This was by far the best dish from Deco Delights. $5.00

    

   Dulce Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Crémeux and Dark Chocolate Truffle: The chocolate crémeux  was rich and tasty as was the dark chocolate truffle. The dulce chocolate mousse was a big a disappointment. The flavor, or the lack there of, was not what I hoped for. The cookie the cake and mousse sat upon was good. The ornamental chocolate side piece tasted like it was covered in paper. $5.25

   

2. Sweet Treats for Disney’s Most Magical Anniversary Celebration

   January 24, 2022 4:23 pm

   Aside from the new golden statues and the fancy light displays on each theme parks’ featured attraction, my excitement lies mostly with the new dessert items offered through Walt Disney World during this “Magical Celebration.” Here are my reviews of the sweet treats I’ve sampled so far for Disney’s 50th Anniversary. Some are a hit, some are a miss.

   Glimmer and Shimmer Blondie

   

   The Glimmer and Shimmer Blondie featuring toffee, toasted coconut and salted caramel buttercream topped with a 50th chocolate medallion and festive gold nuggets can be found at Backlot Express and Fairfax Fare at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Soooo good! This treat also keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of days if you’ve reached your sugar max. The buttercream frosting has a light, buttery taste that is yummy enough to eat by itself or on top of the blondie.

   Rating: 4.5 out of 5

   Cost:$4.49

   Caramel Apple Tart

    

   This Caramel Apple Tart found at the ABC Commissary in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a spiced caramel-cheesecake mousse apple served atop a cinnamon-apple tart accented with a chocolate 50th medallion.  This is basically apple pie with  cheesecake on top with a chocolate stem and it is delicious! It is also equally just as amazing as a refrigerated leftover the next day. Perhaps, even better! Bringing it home and eating it cold allowed me to savor each bite and flavor. Maybe because I am a pie lover or maybe not, this treat is a must!  I give this a delicious 5 out of 5 plus 2 extra  bonus points for yumminess for a total of 7 out of 5. Is that even a thing.  Am I allowed to lick the plate when no one is looking? 

   Cost $5.49 

   Chocolate Mousse

   

     

   The Chocolate Mousse also found at the ABC Commissary in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is raspberry-dark chocolate mousse topped with a gold Mickey and gold flakes, chocolate-almond cake, a layer of hazelnut crunch, and whipped chocolate-hazelnut cheesecake all accented with a chocolate 50th medallion.   Let me start by saying, raspberry and dark chocolate together are kind of my thing. This mouse does not disappoint! The hazelnut crunch adds a pleasant crunchy texture to the dessert which I found quite nice. I’m having to up the rating scale on this one to 10 so I can rate it a 10 out of 10. This is a beyond decadent masterpiece! I chose to enjoy most of this scrumptious treat by savoring the flavor of each layer. This also eats well refrigerated the next day. If you like chocolate and raspberry, the Chocolate Mousse is something you don’t want to pass on. I can’t wait to go back and get another.

   Cost $5.49

   Glimmer and Shimmer Pineapple Mousse

        

   The Glimmer and Shimmer Pineapple Mousse is found at The Trolley Car Café located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This dessert is a Golden Pineapple Mousse on a Toasted Coconut Crisp with Caramel Cream and Matcha Sponge Cake garnished with a 50th Anniversary chocolate medallion. This is so good I’m not sure where to begin. The caramel cream is amazing in itself with a distinctive caramel flavor. The pineapple mousse it also full of flavor and completes the crispy coconut cookie well. The coconut crisp is probably my favor part of this treat. The sponge cake is ok, it neither makes nor breaks the overall dessert. I think this Pineapple Mousse may tie with the Caramel Apple Tart as my second favorite 50th sweet treat.

   Rating: 7 out of 5

   Cost: $5.49

   Birthday Blueberry Muffin

   

   Birthday Blueberry Muffin found at various locations in Animal Kingdom Theme Park. This particular one was found at a food cart in Pandora but it is advertised at Isle of Java and Tamu Tamu Refreshments. Described as a “house-made blueberry muffin with a surprise addition of colorful sprinkles to celebrate 50 years of Magic.” Although this may not be the most attractive celebration snack, it makes up for its lack of luster with flavor. For a blueberry muffin it’s good. I rate it a 4.5 out of 5 on the muffin scale. Can I get another please?

   Cost: $4.25

   KiteTails Sundae

    

   KiteTails Sundae found at the Anandapur Ice Cream Truck in Asia at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a  “strawberry and lemon-flavored soft-serve swirled together and topped with a white chocolate medallion.” This cool, tasty treat tastes a lot like rainbow sherbet. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 on the rating scale.

   Cost $5.49

   Fifi, Gigi, Mimi

      

   Fifi, Gigi, Mimi found at Aloha Isle in Magic Kingdom‘s Adventureland. Pineapple, orange, and vanilla Bundt cake stack and filled with DOLE Whip Pineapple. What can I say? The DOLE Whip was good…save your money! Publix makes a better cake and for a surprisingly lesser price. This one is “for the birds”.

   Rating: 1 out of 5

   Cost $11.99

   Lemon Chiffon

      

   

   The Lemon Chiffon found at EPCOT’s Sunshine Seasons is a lemon chiffon cake with blueberry mousse. The menu is very to the point on the description of this dessert. This cake is moist and tasty. Inside, you will find a surprising blueberry filling. The display is beautifully done but beware, the blue icing will stain your teeth, lips, and hands.

   This chiffon gets a 4.75 out of 5 due to the stain factor.

   Cost $5.49

    

   Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake

        

   Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake is also found at Sunshine Seasons in EPCOT. This is a mini chocolate bundt cake with chocolate ganache, sprinkles, and icing dusted with EARidescent Shimmer and a chocolate 50th anniversary garnish. This chocolate cake is amazing! Cake, yum! Ganache, yum!  Be warned though, it does not fare well as a “to go” item. It melts!

   Rating: 5 out of 5

   Cost $5.49

   Polynesian 50th Celebration Cupcake

   

   50th Celebration Cupcake found at Captain Cook’s inside Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.  DOLE Whip Pineapple center, tropical fruit salsa, and pineapple macaron. This cupcake sits in a cute 50th celebratory holder. Pretty much another generic cake with fancy stuff on top. The tropical fruit salsa is placed atop what may be a sugared hibiscus flower. I guess I should have read the ingredients better to find out. The cupcake is best eaten all together and not layer by layer as the layers are meant to compliment each other. The macaron is the tastiest part of this dessert although it fell apart as soon as I touched it so I wasn’t able to really savor the flavor. Rating 2 out of 5, but I’ll add an extra .5 for creativity giving it a 2.5 total.

   Cost: $5.99

        

   Here are two other treats found at the Polynesian Village Resort, that we did not try. These were at the Kona Island.

   The first is a Lemon Tart: lemon curd in a Sablé tart shell with toasted meringue and fresh berries. Cost: $5.00

   The second photo shows the Chocolate Dome: white and dark chocolate mousse dome with graham cracker crust and blue Mickey spirals. Cost $5.99