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Over the last several years, only one thing gives me more enjoyment than actually eating the food at Disney Parks.
It’s sending pictures to my chef buddy back home.
Not a Foodie. Not an Instagramer.
It’s not part of my typical routine to take pictures of my food. I remember seeing a MEME years ago that had four individuals at a restaurant standing on chairs to take pictures of their food. This has been engrained in my brain for years – causing me much hesitation when thinking about taking a picture of my meal.
And you know what? I’m also not one that follows a bunch of food blogs or social accounts. I really don’t need any added influence to get my stomach growling. The last thing I need is an image of a juicy burger when I’m stuck in the scroll-hole at 11PM.
But, I found myself not just taking pictures of my plate – but everyone’s else on the table during every Disneyland and Walt Disney World meal.
Chef Adam from Chef N Company
I met Chef Adam several years ago and have become great friends with him since. He was the executive chef for some big names/chains in the Pittsburgh area. He relocated to the Wheeling area and opened up his own company. I’ve become a regular patron and big supporter.
During one of our conversations, I showed him my Disney Cookbook. You know, the one that shows you how to make all types of food from the Disney Parks. We ended up having a conversation about all of the food in the parks and some of my favorites.
Next thing you know, I told him I would start taking pictures of the food and one day we can recreate the dishes back home. And that’s how I started taking pictures of my food.
But instead of just keeping on my phone, I started sending him pictures as the food arrived. He soon knew every time the Herseys were on vacation – receiving anywhere from 10-15 pictures per day.
He never seemed annoyed and often thanked me. He said it gave him inspiration.
He might have been inspired, but I was amused. Soon, my kids would hold out their plate and say “get a picture for Chef Adam”. Everyone was in on it.
But, until right now, Chef Adam was the only one to get a glimpse of our meals. Why not share it with everyone?
For that reason, I introduce to you some the latest Food Pictures to Chef Adam.
The Diamond Horseshoe
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Magic Kingdom
- Land: Frontierland
- Date: 3/6/2023 – Dinner
This was our first time ever visiting The Diamond Horseshoe (with the exception of an after-hours party where we sat and ate a cupcake for 10-minutes). This Old West music hall offered all-you-care-to-enjoy meals…which means…you better come hungry. We’ve had Liberty Tree Tavern, which is just next door, several times and LOVED their food. We were happy to realize that The Diamond Horseshoe severed the same.
Now, if you wanted to get out of their without spending a lot of cash, this isn’t the place. Whether your child filled up on rolls or your husband ate as much meat as possible, you are paying the same. At the time we dined, it was $39 per adult (oh – and adults are anyone over 9) and $21 for children. Positive note: our Annual Pass gave us a 10% discount.
Satu’li Canteen at Pandora
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Animal Kingdom
- Land: Pandora
- Date: 3/7/2023 – Lunch
We are bad. We’ve not had a sit-down or quick service meal at Animal Kingdom that wasn’t Satu’li for quite some time. This might be one of our favorite places to eat in all of Walt Disney World.
Lauren comes for the Cheeseburger pods and I come for the Smoked Chimichurri-braised Beef and Wood-grilled Chicken. Yes, it’s a mouthful when you say it, write it, and even eat it.
You would think the kids would be picky – but that’s never the case. Okay, my teenager heads to 8 Spoons Cafe to get some Mac n’ Cheese while we wait for our mobile order – but the youngest two are always happy with what we order.
The most expensive item is less than $20 and the kid’s meals are less than $10. You can get out of here saving some money and eating some great food.
Raglan Road Irish Pub
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Disney Springs
- Date: 3/7/2023 – Dinner
We were going all-in with new places this trip. We’ve always knew about Raglan Road based on the “Must Do’s” that were always on replay at our Disney Resort. We came for the environment, but the food was actually quite good. Thankfully the food was tasty, because we were shoved away in a corner where we couldn’t see the stage anyways.
This meal consisted of children eating their typical Mac n’ Cheese and Chicken Fingers. Oh, and my “adult” 16-year-old had a large portion of Mac n’ Cheese. I tried a very strong Americano coffee and a Chicken Sandwich. Lauren had the Gluten Free Fish and Chips. Overall, with a 10% AP discount, we got out of there for just a little over $100 and full stomachs.
Trattoria al Forno Restaurant
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Disney’s Boardwalk Resort
- Date: 3/8/2023 – Dinner
It’s hard to remember if this was the first time we’ve dined at Trattoria al Forno. Over the last few trips, we’ve seemed to talk about it a bit but always decided somewhere else. It might be based on the fact that it’s kind of off the beaten path – on the Boardwalk. Well, this trip we decided to give it a shot and I would say it was a quite a good meal.
Good news for us – we asked if our 12-year-old could get a kids meal and they agreed. Since we were eating at nearly 8:00 PM, the adults (mom, dad, and 16-year-old) decided to just share a few meals. With an order of Chicken Parm, Gnocchi, and two kid’s pizza’s, we all left pretty full. The meal was just under $100 before a tip (with a 10% discount). It wasn’t my favorite place in the world to eat, but I wouldn’t shy away from it if we are in the area and hungry.
Steakhouse 71
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Hotel: Contemporary Resort
- Date: 3/10/2023 – Breakfast
We’ve visited The Wave many times for breakfast, but this was a new one for us. Steakhouse 71 was rethemed and no longer offered the buffet breakfast. We always try to get an early breakfast so we can head over to the Magic Kingdom before park opening.
Firstly, the theme of the restaurant is 100% what I love. As a huge fan of 1971 Grand Opening of the Magic Kingdom, the pictures surrounding the room was exactly what I needed to brighten my mood (knowing I would be paying way too much for pancakes and eggs shortly).
We managed to keep the entire meal under $70 and I could only think about how many breakfast sandwiches that would be at the local McDonald’s. All kidding (and being a grumpy miser aside), our table was filled with Mickey Waffles, Pancakes, Bacon, Potatoes, and all the scrambled eggs you would ever want.
I would (and have) gone back since.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Hollywood Studios
- Date: 3/10/2023 – Dinner
Two awesome dining locations in one-day – yes, please. You would have thought it was my birthday (it was actually my son’s who turned 4). Sci-Fi Dine-In has been one of my favorite places to eat over the last four or five years since we first visited. Lauren and I would often split a Buffalo Chicken Salad and some other new meal to try. But this trip, the menu had changed. Disappointed at first, I found a BBQ Burger to try. Lauren had a Chicken Salad Sandwich on a wrap and an order of fried pickles. I did not like the fried pickles, but found myself eating them because I was hungry.
We ordered the youngest plain burgers, but the birthday boy decided to fall asleep in the “car”. Our oldest found himself, once again, getting an adult Mac n’ Cheese – which wasn’t a bad value at $14. Little did he know, his refill of milk would cost him. Guys, milk refills are not free.
Anytime we can leave Sci-Fi paying less than $100 is a good day. Was the food better than the time before? Maybe not…but you don’t get a better dining venue. Although, taking quality pictures for Adam was tough with the lighting.
Nine Dragons
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Epcot
- Land: China – World Showcase
- Date: 3/11/2023 – Lunch
My wife love’s Nine Dragons. I prefer the quick service next door – but don’t complain. One reason I won’t argue is that Nine Dragons tends to give you a 20% discount if you are a DVC member. Yes, the quick service next door would still be less expensive, but at least you can sit down in air conditioning at Nine Dragons.
The meals here are pretty standard. We all tend to get some variation of Honey Chicken and rice. A kid’s meal for Sweet and Sour chicken is around $20, but it comes out on a Mickey plate – so worth the price, right?
I can never complain about this meal. It often comes out quickly and we’ve been lucky to always have very helpful and great servers.
…oh, and it’s easy to get a reservation day-of.
Refreshment Port
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Epcot
- Land: Canada – World Showcase
- Date: 3/11/2023 – Dinner
Normally I wouldn’t add a snack to a list or even send a picture to Chef Adam – but I’ve been waiting to try Canada’s Poutine for quite some time. As the day started to end, everyone started getting hungry again. Turn’s out we were near Canada AND they also had nuggets at the Refreshment Port.
Here was my shot.
Honestly, the poutine was great. I’m not a fan of booths and walking while eating, but I’ve found myself wanting to order the poutine every time I’m in Epcot. Problem is, we always find ourselves eating at a sit-down, so it just never makes sense.
For $7.50, I think it’s a great value…and the nuggets weren’t too bad either.
Sunshine Seasons
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Epcot
- Land: The Land
- Date: 3/12/2023 – Lunch
Sunshine Seasons is a nice little food court inside of The Land Pavilion. It’s nice that there are different areas and styles of food. It almost reminds you of the food court in one of the All-Star resorts. You grab what you want (or tell the attendant preparing the meals) and you take it to the cash register and pay.
This gives everyone the variety they need. In this situation, we had a ton of variety. We had a pepperoni roll (West Virginia favorite), some Asian chicken and rice, a grilled chicken salad, and some little tacos. Oh, we also loaded up on some treats – including a 50th cupcake, cinnamon roll, and chocolate mousse cake.
Overall, we had a lot of food and managed to get out of there only paying ~$50.
American Kitchen (B Resort)
- Resort: Walt Disney World
- Park: Disney Springs
- Hotel: B Resort
- Date: 3/12/2023 – Dinner
I’ve been hyping up the B Resort ever since I could remember. When I heard about Bob Hope and Michael Jackson’s suites, I would always quiz the kids when we drove by – “Who stayed on the top floor?”…and even though they probably couldn’t pick Bob Hope out of a lineup, they knew his name. We needed a hotel for one night and we ended up staying at the B Resort.
The restaurant attached to the B was called the American Kitchen and was empty when we went to dine. We had very little expectations. It was themed like a modern restaurant you would find in any shopping district – like a TGI Fridays or Applebees.
Portions were quality. In total, we ended up having a Caesar salad, fish tacos, hamburger, grilled cheese, and a quesadilla. All of the food was very good and plentiful.
The value wasn’t awful. The entire meal, with drinks, cost $86.
More Pics to Chef Adam to Come
And with that, we end our March trip to Walt Disney World and my pictures to Chef Adam.
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