Amy Beatrice: America

Week Five | Working For The Mouse (CEP/DCP)

Saturday 15th July - Universal and Animal Kingdom

I had the day off today so I went to Universal Studios with Esme and Courtney as I hadn't been since I got my annual pass in week one. We didn't get there until lunchtime so we headed over to the quick service in the Jurassic Park area where I had a bacon cheeseburger and fries. We then went to Hogsmeade and went on Forbidden Journey; I hated it and had my eyes closed for literally the entire thing! After that Esme and Courtney went on Jurassic Park but I stayed and sat in Hogsmeade and just did some people watching. Then we got the Hogwarts Express over to the other side of the park and went to the Simpsons area where we got giant doughnuts before going on the E.T. ride which was so weird but also great at the same time. We then got an Uber back to housing before Courtney and I got the bus to Animal Kingdom where we met her friend Luke. I went on Tough to be a Bug, Primeval Whirl and did a nighttime safari and then got to see Pandora at night which was so cool where it was all lit up. The other two went on Flight of Passage but the queue was three hours long and I had work in the morning so I watched Tree of Life Awakens before getting the bus home. When I got back the others were ordering Dominos so I got some too - it's so cheap in America compared to the UK!

Sunday 16th July - Work

Didn't do anything exciting today, my shift started a bit earlier than normal so I didn't have time to do anything before.

Monday 17th July - Magic Kingdom and Be Our Guest

This was such a magical day! I had the day off so I went to Magic Kingdom with Cat in the morning and we had funnel cake with strawberries and cream for brunch which was delicious although we definitely could have shared one between us! We then went over to Fantasyland and went on the teacups before going to one of the shops by the castle and getting pixie dusted! Esme joined us after that because she'd had a lie in after working late the night before and we went on Haunted Mansion, Philharmagic (one of Cat's work locations), Winnie the Pooh and Carousel of Progress. We then met Katie and went to our dinner reservation at Be Our Guest. I had made this reservation before we'd even gone out to Florida and that was the only date I could get and I could only get it for 4 people so it worked out so well that 4 of us had the day off on that day! None of us had ever been in there before and it was so amazing; the atmosphere and the food were both incredible! We were sat in the west wing and I had the shrimp and scallop pasta and then the grey stuff for dessert of course! We met The Beast in his library after dinner and then we stayed on theme and did Enchanted Tales with Belle before going on The Little Mermaid ride and watching Happily Ever After. After that we went and did Haunted Mansion again and got to see Kayleigh at work and then we went on Mine Train for the first time which was such a good ride.

Tuesday 18th July - Another lazy day

This morning I caught up with my laundry and then went to work. I did a 3:30-11:45 shift on greeter.

Wednesday 19th July - Shopping in Disney Springs

I went to Disney Springs by myself in the morning to do a bit of shopping a get some stuff that I'd had my eye on for a while but had never bought. I ended up getting the big storage box that looks like a storybook, some notebooks that said 2017 on them, and the Animal Kingdom Lodge pin. I went to Earl of Sandwich for lunch and had a Caesar salad and then got a cinnamon pretzel from Wetzels Pretzels. After that I went to work and did another 3:30-11:45 shift. Normally I would only do one thing for a whole shift but because of people calling in sick I ended up doing a bit of dining room, greeter and stocker and it was really nice to have a bit of variation.

Thursday 20th July - More work

The next few days were quite busy ones for me so I decided to take the day off today and just went to work in the evening after a day of sitting in bed and watching Youtube!

Friday 21st July - Epcot with Jenna

I went to Epcot in the morning with Jenna and we went on the Frozen ride for the first time which was actually quite good, although I don't think I'd go on it again without a fastpass; the queue time got longer after we had been in it for 5 minutes so we queued for a lot longer than we thought we were going to. We then spent some time going round the world showcase and we ate lunch in the France pavilion; I had a bacon and cheese pastry swirl and then a macaron which were both delicious. I then left Jenna and went back to the apartment to get changed and then went to work for the evening.

I really hope you're all enjoying reading these posts as much as I'm enjoying writing them and reminiscing about what I got up to! The next week is a really great week as my family arrived to visit me and I got to spend a lot of time with them.

Love Amy xx

(You can find my other posts about Walt Disney World and my CEP here)

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, by Amy Beatrice

In America, CEP

Week Four | Working For The Mouse (CEP/DCP)

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, by Amy Beatrice

In America, CEP

My Top Walt Disney World Dining Locations

Whilst of course I love the overall magic of the Disney parks, meeting characters and going on my favourite rides, I have to admit that one of my favourite parts of visiting a Disney park is the food. Even though some people seem to think that the food at Disney is just overpriced, generic theme park food, I personally think that some of the best food I've ever eaten has been eaten in Disney restaurants. I'm going to Walt Disney World this autumn and honestly two of the things I'm most looking forward to are having the Disney Dining Plan, and experiencing the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot (please let me know if you're the same and I'm not an incredibly sad individual!) Having spent two and a half months in Walt Disney World last summer, I was able to visit almost all of the restaurants that I wanted to go to and ate some incredible food, so I wanted to share some of my favourite restaurants, both in the parks and the resorts, to help any of you who might be planning a holiday of your own and want some inspiration for your dining reservations.

Quick Service Locations

Whilst people might not put that much thought into what quick service restaurants they go to as they don't require reservations, there are definitely some that I think shouldn't be missed, and that I always make an effort to go to. Even though these restaurants are the ones that sell the 'overpriced, generic theme park food' like hot dogs and chicken nuggets (although who doesn't love a Disney World chicken nugget?!) some of them provide great quality food unlike what you would normally expect from a theme park.

Yak and Yeti - Animal Kingdom (Asia)

I'm fairly certain that every single time I have gone to Animal Kingdom, I have eaten something from the Yak and Yeti quick service (this restaurant is also a table service but I've never been there). There are plenty of quick service options available in Animal Kingdom, but I just love the food here so much that I feel I would be disappointed if I went anywhere else! My favourite meals from this location are the honey chicken and the teriyaki beef bowl, which are both served with rice and vegetables. If you're wanting something a bit smaller, the chicken fried rice side is also absolutely delicious, and it's a really big portion for just one snack credit on the dining plan! The only downside to this location is that all of the seating is outside and with little coverage, meaning it can get pretty hot eating there at lunchtime in the summer!

Lotus Blossom Cafe - Epcot (China Pavilion)

This is potentially my holy grail quick service in the whole of Disney World; if I could only go to one quick service location for the rest of my life this would be it. Why? Two words: orange chicken. I first tried this orange chicken during my first visit in 2013 and then had it at least 5 times throughout my almost 3 month long program last year and it was one of the first things I put down on our dining plans for later this year. Honestly, I don't even know if it's good orange chicken in the grand scheme of things, but it's not something that we have at Chinese restaurants in the UK (or at least not in any near where I live) so going here is my only chance to have it. I have also tried the Mongolian beef which I did really enjoy, however it doesn't seem to be on the menu anymore. Unfortunately, this location has the same problem as Yak and Yeti; whilst this restaurant is covered, it is not fully inside and so it can get pretty hot during the day.

Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza - Disney Springs (Town Center)

Of course, how could I talk about Disney quick service locations without talking about Blaze? I'm sure if you know anything at all about Disney World you will know about Blaze Pizza. I went there a couple of times over the summer and thought the pizzas were absolutely delicious. There are quite a few places that you can get pizza in Disney World, from room service, to quick service and full service, so it's not the food offerings that makes this place stand out, but rather the quality of the food itself. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of pizza and believe that any pizza is good pizza, but Blaze is definitely a step above all of the other quick service pizza that I've had. Whilst they have a menu, you can also create your own and customise your pizza with any toppings and sauces that you want and the results are incredible.

Honourable mention: The Mara - Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House)

Whilst this location is pretty out of the way for guests who aren't staying at Animal Kingdom lodge, I of course had to give The Mara an honourable mention as this was my work location during my program! This location provides the standard chicken nuggets, flatbreads and burgers, but it also offers amazing and more unusual food for a quick service such as African stew and rice, ribs and mashed potato and hand carved sandwiches. Because of its location some of the food served here is the same as what is served in Boma, the buffet service restaurant just next door, as they share the same kitchen, meaning you can get full service quality food for a much cheaper price (including the famous zebra domes which I cannot recommend enough!)

Table Service Locations

Whilst you can get some amazing food at quick service restaurants, deciding which full service restaurants to go to is definitely a much bigger deal, with these restaurants needing to be booked in advance, and some of them being very hard to get reservations for at all! Being in Disney World for a whole summer meant that I was able to be pretty flexible with my dining so I was able to go to some of these very elusive restaurants, and I completely understand why they are so popular. Not only do they have incredible food, but the atmosphere and theming at them is second to none. Whilst I visited a lot more than just these 4 locations and would thoroughly recommend them all, these ones are my absolute favourites that I know I will go back to again and again.

Trattoria al Forno (Bon Voyage Breakfast) - Boardwalk Resort

It was announced earlier last year that Trattoria al Forno would be getting a new character breakfast, and this opened about a month before my program started. We were incredibly lucky and managed to get a reservation for our very first day in Florida and it was such an amazing start to the summer. Whilst it is not a buffet like most other character breakfasts, the food is such good value for money; before you even have your main dish you get a big frying pan full of different pastries for the table and a choice of either fruit salad or yoghurt and granola. There is also a great choice of food for the main dishes, from scrambled eggs and frittata to a tower of pancakes (which are delicious). Of course, though the food is amazing, the main event really is the characters. At this location you can meet Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, some of who you cannot meet anywhere else in the parks. They make a big announcement when the characters enter the restaurant and they interact with each other as well as with the guests, with Rapunzel and Flynn singing and dancing along to Under The Sea when Ariel was being announced! We had really good interactions with all four of them and it didn't feel at all rushed, with them all spending a good amount of time talking with us and taking pictures.

Be Our Guest - Magic Kingdom (Fantasyland)

Of course I had to mention what is potentially the most elusive restaurant in the whole of Disney World. Even though I'm not a massive Beauty and the Beast fan, the atmosphere and theming of this restaurant is absolutely incredible and I would recommend it for that alone. The restaurant is split into three different sections; the ballroom, the west wing and the castle gallery. We were sat in the West Wing which is quite dark but you soon adjust to it, and it's quite a small area so it feels a lot more intimate than the other rooms which I actually really liked. There's quite a lot of choice on the menu, with dishes such as steak, ratatouille and roasted lamb and all of our food was absolutely delicious (I still think about my shrimp and scallop pasta to this day). For dessert they have an assortment of cupcakes which do seem a little bit out of place in a table service restaurant, but it does mean that you can try the famous grey stuff! After your meal, you get to go to the library and meet The Beast which is a really nice addition and something you can only do at dinner. This location is a quick service for breakfast and lunch, and whilst it is easier to get a reservation for these times, I personally didn't think the food was anything special at lunchtime, and some of the atmosphere definitely got lost.

Trails End - Fort Wilderness Resort (The Settlement)

From the outset, this restaurant doesn't seem like it's anything special; it's not character dining or a signature restaurant, just a buffet and it is a bit out of the way. But oh my goodness, the breakfast buffet here was one of the best I had. Whilst they have the usual offerings like eggs, bacon and Mickey waffles, their non-standard dishes like the breakfast hash, French toast custard pudding and bananas foster sauce are to die for. I also tried American biscuits and gravy for the first time and whilst I had always thought they sounded disgusting they were actually really delicious. Even though it's a buffet, the servers here were all lovely, making sure we had plenty to drink and encouraging us to go up for more and it was definitely good value for money. After having breakfast here, I was so full that I didn't eat anything else until about 10pm!

'Ohana - Polynesian Resort

I can 100 percent say that I am saving the best until last with this restaurant. I don't think there are enough adjectives in the world to describe my love for dinner at 'Ohana. We went here for dinner on my birthday, and because of the time of our reservation we were sat right by the giant window and could see the Happily Ever After fireworks from our table whilst they played the music through the speakers (we all cried). Whilst this made it a truly unbelievable experience, the food alone makes this my favourite restaurant without any of the magical extras. Obviously, Ohana means family, and so all of the servers call you 'cousin' and the food is served family style, meaning they bring all the food to your table and they keep it coming until you tell them to stop. To start they bring out a green salad and pineapple coconut bread (which kind of tastes like you're eating Malibu but in a good way) and then for appetisers you have pork dumplings and chicken wings with dipping sauces. For the main they bring teriyaki noodles (which I would happily eat everyday for the rest of my life if I could) and stir fried vegetables to the table, and then the servers come round with giant skewers of chicken, steak and shrimp all of which were incredible. Even though by this point you're absolutely stuffed to the brim, you need to make some room for dessert; bread pudding with caramel sauce and bananas that is every bit as good as the rest of the meal. After we ate, we were taught how to hula dance, and were each given a lei which added even more magic to the experience. Can you tell how much I love this restaurant?! I honestly think I could write an entire blog post just on this alone!

We are planning on getting reservations for all of these restaurants for our trip in the autumn, but being on the dining plan we are also hoping to go to some signature restaurants like the Yachtsman Steakhouse, as well as some more buffets like Boma. Also I'll finally be 21 during this trip so I'll be able to drink and I'm so excited for all the cocktails I plan to have now alcoholic beverages are included in the dining plans!

I hope this gave you a bit of inspiration for your dining reservations and let me know in the comments what your favourite Disney World restaurants are!

Love Amy xx