The rumors were true! Fantasmic returns to Walt Disney World in Hollywood Studios on November 3, 2022!
As suspected, the Fantasmic Dining Package is here as well, for shows starting November 30. Packages will go on sale the morning of October 26.
Tag: food
We had a chance to visit one of Disney Springs’ newest restaurants, The Edison, this fall, and it’s worth a visit. The space itself is grand and fascinating. You enter on the top floor of the restaurant; we were escorted down a grand staircase and were seated on the lower level. Decor is consistent and on point, with early 20th-century Industrial and Steampunk flair. The Edison is a family-friendly restaurant during the day, but does turn into an over-21-only venue at 10 PM, with a cover charge on weekends.
Let’s get my one complaint — but a significant complaint — out of the way. The chairs.
You might not be able to tell but this is the singularly most uncomfortable chair I’ve ever sat on. And that’s saying something. The chair is fairly small. The back leans at too much of an angle, so there’s no back support. The cushion … is not a cushion. It’s a piece of wood. I may bring my own padding to the party, but I was no match for this rock-hard seat of agony. After a few minutes I was uncomfortable, and after an hour I was miserable. When I got up to powder my nose, and also to escape the Edison torture device I’d been sitting on, I had to crawl there at a snail’s pace. I mentioned it to a server nearby and he sympathetically said, “Believe me, you’re not the only one who thinks so.” I’m sure I’m not, friend.
There is perfectly comfy-looking seating elsewhere in The Edison, couches and plush leather chairs. These must be prime seating in the evenings, given how industrial and uncomfortable the bar stools were, as well (I tried them out), but aren’t conducive to dining. I saw some banquettes on the upper floor, and would have to request one if I were to return. And I might, given the rest of our experience.
With that said, on to, happily, the food. We started with drinks and appetizers. My husband ordered the DB “Clothesline Candied Bacon.” The bacon itself was excellent, though he thought slightly too peppery. Eating it with the pickles cut that and is highly recommended.
I ordered the Deviled Eggs, served on smoked prosciutto with crisp potatoes on top. I don’t care for prosciutto and didn’t love the pairing here, but the eggs were delicious. I loved the serving size; any more eggs would have been too many, and fewer would have left me wanting more.
I also ordered a mocktail, the Apple Propellant (pictured above). I’m baffled by this drink. The ingredients were listed as “fresh cider, lemon, honey & ginger, and ginger ale.” I loved every single one of those flavors, but what they brought me tasted like grapefruit juice and nothing else. It was very strange. They were great about bringing me a plain ginger ale in its place, though, so all was well that ends well.
Moving on to entrees, I ordered the Organic Tomato Soup and Gooey Grilled Cheese. The grilled cheese included Fontina, Muenster, Gruyère, and Alpine Swiss. The portion size on this was ENORMOUS. It was essentially two grilled cheese sandwiches piled up on top of each other. The sourdough bread had a great buttery crunch to it. The soup was terrific as well. I’d recommend this highly to anyone looking for a filling, yummy dinner.
The Edison has a “burger of the month” special, and when we were there in September, it was the Croque Burger, which my husband very much enjoyed. The Croque Burger featured a beef blend burger of sirloin, short rib, and brisket, and this was topped with honey mustard, maple cured ham and Swiss on sourdough bread that has been dipped in egg then grilled. This was not a burger you could pick up; he ate it with a knife and fork and said it was wonderful. The maple and the egg in the bread really stood out.
The portion size, again, was ginormous. I happened to peek at the 28-Day Aged Prime Rib King Cut, ordered at a table nearby, and it was so huge it was dropping over the side of the plate, and accompanied by the largest popover I’ve ever seen. Apparently, you need to come to The Edison hungry.
We didn’t come close to finishing our entrees, either of us. I wanted to leave a little room to try to Lollipop Tree of cheesecake pops.
This was a little disappointing. First, it came with this “bubblegum whipped cream,” not pictured here because the Pepto-Bismol color was unappetizing to the extent that I didn’t want to look at it while I enjoyed dessert. The cheesecake pops themselves were fine. Small, not especially flavorful, creamy, and fine, but not anything I would order again.
Our dinner was at 6 PM, and live entertainment does not start, I was told, until 9 PM. Music is live, varied, and from everything I’m hearing, well worth hearing. But even during the day, though, there’s an atmosphere. A young man dressed in Steampunk fashion was making the rounds of tables in the dining room, visiting with guests for quite some time. I didn’t catch much of what he was saying, but he introduced himself as an investor. This young lady came striding out of the back room of the restaurant (I still can’t figure out how she got through that small door!) and went outside to greet guests as they arrived.
The Edison has a unique theme and is a welcome addition to Disney Springs. It’s great to have something with such a definitive point of view to break up the sometime-monotony restaurants that seem all too similar to each other. The food is good and generously sized, and the service was good. I’d definitely go back for another visit, but I might just bring my own cushion.
Amorette’s Patisserie, a delightful bakery in Disney Springs, recently began offering an early-morning cake decorating class. While originally scheduled just for the summer, Disney and Amorette’s have extended this experience through the end of 2017, and recently my husband and I had a chance to attend.
The class is small — only 14 students at a time — and begins at 8:45 am, before most of the stores in Disney Springs are open. (If you’re driving, park in the Lime Garage, and Amorette’s is just a few steps away from the entrance.) You are greeted promptly and offered your choice of specialty coffee, water, juice, mimosas or bellinis, and refills are encouraged. You choose your station, fully stocked with the supplies you’ll need, and then the fun begins!
There are two instructors, both pastry chefs at Amorette’s, and they begin with a little bit of the history of Amorette’s and an overview of the cake making process, including descriptions of flavor profiles, ingredients, and their tools of the trade.
Here’s the best news: even though the gorgeous Mickey cake you’ll be decorating is a work of art, this isn’t an advanced class. Amorette’s does all the heavy lifting for you. When they started talking about frosting with the buttercream and the crumb coat and the second layer and showed us how to smooth out the knife strokes, I got pretty dubious we’d be able to pull this off. But they know that and aren’t expecting more than a novice can do, so the cake with its many layers has been crafted and baked and frozen and frosted in advance.
From here on out, Amorette’s walks you through the process step by step, bringing additional supplies (and even taking them away, to prevent mess and save space) as needed. The key to this instruction is learning how to pour glaçage and coat Mickey’s sculpted ears, tail, belt and buttons with edible paint.
There are actually three layers of glaçage on each cake! In between, your cake is whisked away to spend some time setting in the freezer. In the meantime, you paint Mickey’s ears, tail, and buttons. After the final layer is set, you add these elements to the cake, as well as Mickey’s belt. For the finishing touch, you step to the front to write your name, or anything else you like, on the back of the cake. I let my husband do this part — it looked really hard!
And voila! Your cake is finished, kept into the cooling case until you’re ready to leave. Amorette’s can hold the cake for you until the end of the day, if that suits your plans better. When you pick it up, either way, they pack it for you in a delightful hat box and send you on your way with a delicious treat to enjoy. The cakes do need to be refrigerated, so you do need to think about what you’re going to do with it ahead of time. If you’re dining at a Disney restaurant that evening (and can get to it easily), you might be able to call ahead and arrange for them to hold it in their fridge for you. Or, you can take it back to your resort. If you’re staying at a Disney resort, I can report that we were just able to fit it in our room fridge by taking it out of the box.
The 90-minute cake decorating class is currently offered Sunday through Thursday at 8:45 am. There are two different classes to choose from:
Classic Mickey Design: Featured in Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday classes
Artist’s Current Seasonal Mickey: Featured in Monday and Wednesday classes
The cost is $129 plus tax (there was no AP discount), which covers up to 2 guests (who must be age 10 and up) decorating one cake. The cost is really rather reasonable when you consider that the Mickey Cake itself retails for around $60. Once you consider the beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, that are included, the class fee itself, per person, is nominal.
We had a terrific time. The teachers are friendly and encouraging and ready to help in any way you need. We learned a lot without needing to do anything that required special skills. The small class size lent to a fun atmosphere and at the end of it all, you take home a really delicious cake. Was our cake perfect? No, but it looked pretty good considering we’re total amateurs. If you’re looking for a fun new experience to try at Disney, you’ll definitely enjoy the cake decorating class at Amorette’s Patisserie!
We had the opportunity to attend one of Walt Disney World’s Passholder Previews for Pandora, Animal Kingdom’s new land. Be warned: there are lots of photos ahead, showing off Pandora’s amazing visuals and delights., including new rides, food, and beautiful architecture.
Come in for a sneak peek into Pandora at Disney's Animal Kingdom, opening May 27, 2017. Click To Tweet
As soon as you walk into Pandora, the landscape changes. There’s the lush foliage and flora you’re used to at Animal Kingdom, but it’s … different somehow. Alien. You’re in another world. The floating mountains loom in the distance and the sounds of birds are everywhere around you. All the strange and exotic blooms of Pandora are there for you to enjoy. From what the cast members told us, the nighttime views are even more spectacular, when Pandora’s bioluminescent plants come to life.
Our first stop, after taking in all the sights, was Pongu Pongu, where we each ordered a Night Blossom. This non-alcoholic frozen beverage (seen here in the souvenir cup) is a mix of limeade combined with apple and pear flavors topped off with passion fruit boba balls. It was very sweet, but I thought incredibly refreshing.
We enjoyed our drink in the outside seating area for Satu’li Canteen and then stepped inside for lunch. The quick service setup will look familiar to any Disney visitor — you place your order at the register, then pick it up at the counter. This restaurant, though, will be the first to offer mobile ordering through the My Disney Experience app, beginning May 27th. Make sure you’ve installed the latest update before you go.
The food at Satu’li Canteen? Pretty darn good. I got the Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl with wild grains and rice and the creamy herb dressing (seen here). My husband got steak with potatoes and the onion sauce and enjoyed his just as much. Both were tasty and filling. In fact, we were too full for dessert but the offerings looked delightful.
Now … the new rides.
First up, Avatar Flight of Passage. For the Passholder Preview, we were taken through the standby queues, though there were no lines at all given the limited attendance allowed. It gave us a chance to enjoy the scenery, and to appreciate all the work that went into designing this world.
I have a feeling this queue will never look so empty again! It was a long, long walk to get to the ride, and it gives you pause to think how many parkgoers will fit in it. Rumor has it that the queue can accommodate a 6 hour wait, but I would hope for anyone’s sake that’s overestimating.
After you reach the end of that very long hallway, you wait until a “link room” is available. At that point, you and fifteen other riders are ushered into a room where the link process is explained to you, as well as a brief history of the Avatar program.
At this point, we were asked to turn off cell phones and cameras, so I can’t give you pictures of the room where the ride takes place itself. My experience, though, was this: as I expected, I wasn’t able to ride. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Flight of Passage does not accommodate all body types, and this is true. In addition to being somewhat Pooh-sized, I’m a tall girl (over 5′ 10″) with long legs. No amount of scootching up or pointing my toes or sitting up straight or any of the tips you’ve heard were going to make a difference when my knees were already right up against the seat, with no room to move. Some tall people and some people more “Pooh” than I am have ridden, but it all depends on each person’s individual body shape. If you’re all leg and not tiny, you may run into the same problem I did. The Cast Member was super nice and helped me, and sounded absolutely miserable that I wasn’t able to ride (she was more upset than I was, but more on that later).
So, I stepped outside through the exit door and waited there on a bench while my husband rode. While I waited, I had a great time talking to Cast Member William, who told me that this is a frequent occurrence and one the CMs feel terrible about. He said, and I hope he doesn’t mind me paraphrasing him here, that as Flight of Passage Cast Members it’s their sole purpose to give us an excellent ride experience, and that they’re truly disappointed when they can’t accommodate a particular rider.
We also talked a bit about why I wasn’t upset at missing the ride — I never had any intention of doing it, even if I had fit (but wanted to see if I did) because I have a lower back fusion and continuing disc problems, and this ride seemed like it would easily aggravate that. (A cast member I spoke to indicated his own mother won’t ride for the same reasons.) Disney gives its usual health disclaimer for this ride, warning those with high blood pressure, motion sickness, and “other conditions that could be aggravated”. For me, because of the back restraint on this ride, as well as the banking and leaning that would take place, this was too big of a risk for my too-easily-aggravated back condition. I’m sure it’s perfectly safe for anyone else, but if you’re in my shoes, be careful.
My husband, however, did ride, and enjoyed it very much. You wear 3D glasses and the visuals are perfect and seamless. You truly feel as if you’re flying, and part of that is because of the sounds, smells, and feel of your banshee beneath you, as well as the wind in your face as you soar and dive through Pandora’s skies. Everyone’s thrill level is different, but many are describing Flight of Passage as “Soarin’ meets Star Tours meets Mission Space” — three great rides rolled into one and set in the exotic world of Pandora.
For a complete change of pace, we then went on the Na’vi River Journey, a beautiful boat ride through Pandora’s nighttime world. The ride is serene and lovely — we rode it twice — and the technology is stunning. The boats have two seats and legroom is ample for a comfortable ride.
Both rides will offer FastPass+, but Park visitors can only choose one of the two Pandora: World of Avatar rides in their first three selections. In other words, you can FastPass Flight of Passage, Kali River Run, and Dinosaur, and then if you like, try to get a same-day 4th FP for Na’vi River Journey. This may or may not be easy to do at first, so choose wisely (and use MDE to your best advantage).
Pandora is an exciting addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, with a great deal to enjoy visually, two new rides, an excellent quick service dining option, and banshees of your own to buy at Windtraders gift shop. Face painting, a drum circle, and other activities can be found throughout the land. While some may have questioned adding Pandora to Animal Kingdom (due to the fact that, well, Pandora doesn’t exist, unlike DAK’s other inhabitants), its message of conservation and protection ties in closely with Disney’s commitment to environmentalism. I think visitors both young and old (and even those who’ve never seen “Avatar”) will enjoy this new land to explore.
