Animal Kingdom Lodge and Park - our FAVORITE eats!

We both LOVE the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Park. We have been lucky enough to stay at the lodge two times, and the park has turned into one of our favorites. We haven't scratched the surface on eating our way through either, but we thought we'd share some of our favorites from both! Join us on the wild side as we walk through some scrumptious food!

Hands down - our favorite restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is Sanaa. Is it only because of the bread service!?! Maybeeeee -- but man, you can't beat it! The restaurant is beautiful and you have a front row seat to seeing animals at the lodge! Even if you didn't go to a park or stay at the property, you could come here, have some great food and see wild animals!

It's located in the villas section of the lodge, in Kidani Village. If you are staying at the main lodge, you can walk or a shuttle will take you back and forth. Always, ALWAYS - we start with the bread service. You can get the bread service with three of the accompanying sauces, or choose the option where you receive all of them.  DUH. You receive 5 types of Naan ranging from traditional to a variety of flavors, and then the 9 sauces. Some of our favorites are the coriander chutney and the red-pepper hummus! Mouth. Is. Watering.

The rest of the menu is Indian inspired, and everything we've tried has been amazing. The curries, butter chicken, braised beef - you can't go wrong. Definitely put this one on your list!

Another restaurant at the Lodge that we've tried a few times is Boma. We have only eaten there for breakfast, but man is it a feast for your eyes! You definitely will not need much for lunch if you eat here. We refer to it as the "BOMA COMA". Everything is served buffet-style, and the buffet is filled with American classics and African inspired cuisine. If you go - the MUST EAT - is the bread pudding. Y'ALL. It is a Praline French toast bread pudding served with warm caramel praline sauce. Did that get your attention? It's not the most photogenic, but it's down there by the Mickey waffle. YUM!

 

Moving on to Animal Kingdom Park. The last time we visited was our first visit into the land of Pandora! It is such a neat world - and yes, the Flight of Passage ride is one of the most amazing rides ever! We decided to have lunch at the Satu'li Canteen, and it was AMAZING. It is very casual, but all inside, so the perfect way to cool off and sit for a bit. Below is where you order. The lined moved very fast.

We each got something different, so we could taste a little bit of everything. We picked the slow-roasted sliced-beef bowl, the chopped wood-grilled chicken bowl, and the cheeseburger steamed pods - bao buns! Doesn't it all look delicious?! This was our breakfast/lunch that day and filled us up! This may end up being one of our top picks at AK.  So flavorful and soooo yummy!

 

Before we leave Pandora, you may have heard of the Night Blossom Drink located at the Pongu Pongu lounge. They serve a variety of mixed drinks, but most famous for the Night Blossom. It's a colorful, Instagram worthy drink that you can get it with or without alcohol. We chose without. It is SUPER sweet. We split it between three of us, and had enough sugar to last all day! 

Leaving Pandora, we head toward Africa! It's home of one of our favorite snack stands - Harambe Fruit Market!  Here you can get a variety of fruits, an infamous Mickey pretzel, AND a grilled corn-on-the-cob with curry spices. YES, please! The perfect little break between rides and fun!

 

 

Off to Asia -- we find our favorite sit-down restaurant, Yak & Yeti. If you can make reservations, I'd highly recommend. It is the perfect place to cool off...and we've also eaten there after the River of Lights show to not be in the mass exit as the same time as everyone else! It has Asian/Indian flavors as well.

We've started a couple of times with the Ahi Tuna Nachos. This is under the "shareables" section which says meant for two. It definitely could feed four if you are truly eating this as an appetizer. It could make a meal for two of you! We've also tried the chicken tikka masala, the lo-mein shrimp, and the Korean beef. Everything has always been so fresh and delicious! 

We can't end without our favorite sweet-treat. It's located in Dino-World at Dino-Bite Snacks. They service ice cream, pretzels, chips and adult beverages, but our go-to is the ice cream sandwich! Two scoops of your choice of ice cream (you can mix and match) between two warm and delicious chocolate chip cookies! They are HUGE. Definitely shareable, but the perfect way to cool-off on a hot day! There are a few tables located around the corner where you can rest and enjoy!

Hungry, yet? We still have so much to try but hope you have enjoyed a few of our favorites. What should be next on our list at Animal Kingdom?

XO,

Victoria & Albert's - a magical once-in-a-lifetime Disney dining experience

Last year we went to Disney to celebrate @aushellbell's FORTIETH birthday (eeeek)! Since it was such a special occasion, we wanted to go all-out. We had heard so many good things about Victoria and Albert's and that it was at a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience.

It is extremely hard to get reservations as they have very limited seating each night. You can start reserving six months in advance. Perhaps it was the time of year we went (February), or we just had the right timing, as we got reservations on her actual birthday (and it was a Friday night!). It is one of only a few AAA Five Diamond restaurants in our country; and last year was ranked the number TWO restaurant in the United States (Travel's Choice Awards on tripadvisor). Who would have thought it would be located at the happiest place on earth - Disney!?! They do have a policy where guests must be above 10 years, so do keep that in mind. It was perfect for us. :-)

We had the perfect day. We spent the morning at the park, the afternoon at the pool, then just relaxed before getting all dolled up for our night. (There is a dress code, so also keep that in mind as you can't wear your favorite Mickey tee! :-))

Victoria and Albert's is located in Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The resort in itself is beautiful. Fresh flowers, live music...it's a real treat.

They were waiting for us when we arrived. When you enter the doors, it's like you are transported to a different world. There are only a handful of tables (why it's so hard to get in), so it's like you have your own little private dinner -- with fancy harp music in the background!

They think of everything. For the ladies, they even give you a stool to put your purse on. GUYS. 

We were given two "waiters/waitresses" for the night. Even though it was super duper fancy, they made us feel right at home. It was quiet, but not uncomfortable, and we settled in for our feast. Of course, what comes first, is the menu. We definitely can say this is the only time we've received a personalized menu! Each one of them had our names and the date at the top. @aushellbell's even had a birthday greeting on it! So very nice. 

You do have a few options as far as the menu is concerned. They serve a 10 Course, a 7 course, with wine pairings, without wine... We opted for the 7 course without the wine pairing. We just ordered a bottle for the table to share. Cheers!

The menu changes almost daily as they serve what is most fresh and received for the season. Most all courses have at least two or three options to choose from, and we tried to have a good mix so that we could taste a little of everything. Below are a few of the courses and selections we chose. Enjoy these culinary masterpieces!

 

 

Isn't everything so beautiful?! You could tell every ingredient and combination was thought through to the nth degree. It was an explosion of flavor in each and every bite!

One thing that needs a shout-out of its own is the bread service. THE BREAD SERVICE. Between certain courses, they would bring a variety of bread each with their own paired butter. Maybe one day they will offer a menu that's just bread and butter. SIGN US UP!

Happy, full, and content -- we still had our dessert course to go. We each selected something different and talk about melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Light, airy, fluffy, scrumptious! Aren't these works of art!?

One other thing we had read was a must-have was the coffee service. It comes in a vacuum press coffee pot. We had never seen anything like it. After later research, we read that some say it's one of, if not the best method to brew your coffee.  

 

Enjoying our freshly brewed coffee, we enjoyed a cheese plate and THEN, they brought around a wooden box filled with the most delightful and beautiful chocolate bites. A little bitty perfect ending to the night

I'm not sure we can properly put into words this experience. I would definitely say it's truly a once-in-a-lifetime treat if you are foodies (and Disney) fans like us. The tastes and service cannot be rivaled. 

As we were preparing to leave, they gave us each a rose and a LOAF of breakfast bread to enjoy the next morning. Say what?! Every. Detail.

It was a magical magical night. Thank you Disney and Victoria & Albert's for making this a birthday we'll never forget! 

XO (see ya real soon!),