Megan Padilla
Last May, Disney unveiled the first phase of its refreshed and expanded shopping, dining and entertainment destination. Disney Springs is more than a dazzling replacement for the former Downtown Disney; it's a delicious one, too.
Celebrity chefs, James Beard Award-winning chefs and one-of-a-kind dining experiences have elevated Disney Springs to a dining destination worthy of notice by even the most discerning travelers. The food scene across Orlando's landscape has rapidly accelerated in the last five years, but with such a concentration in Disney Springs, visitors can truly shape their entire visit around its one-stop offerings.
I recently had the opportunity as a guest of Visit Orlando to dine around Disney Springs and taste the offerings myself.
On our agenda, a progressive meal at the restaurants of three celebrity chefs: Rick Bayless' Frontera Cocina, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's Morimoto Asia and Art Smith's Homecoming. Add to the mix Wolfgang Puck and Michelin-starred Tony Mantuano of Portobello and you have the highest density of James Beard award-winning chefs in the country. Even sweeter? All of their restaurants participate in the Disney Dining Plan, an optional add-on for flexible, prepaid dining to guests of select Walt Disney Resort hotels with Magic Your Way Vacation Packages.
Frontera Cocina is Rick Bayless's ninth restaurant and the first to open outside of Chicago. We tasted our way through the authentic Mexican flavors and ingredients for which Bayless is known. Variations of guacamole are one thing, but I was truly surprised by the spicy and tangy sikal pak dip made from Yucatecan pumpkin seeds and habanero peppers served with crispy spears of jicama and cucumber. Since happy hour started early with a flight of five distinctly different margaritas — the restaurant employs a bar-back whose daily job is to squeeze 200 pounds of limes — our group was fully in the spirit of enjoying the pleasure of good food shared with new friends.
Next for our group was the immense dining palace Morimoto Asia, for a smorgasbord of irresistible Pan Asian dishes, including Peking duck; delicate ramen topped with pork belly; and melt-in-your-mouth spare ribs. "Diners here [in Orlando] have fewer dietary restrictions and are willing to eat heavier, more indulgent foods," said executive chef Yuhi Fujinaga, comparing them to his former NYC stomping grounds. "They want to try dishes and ingredients they've seen on the Food Network. They'll even eat ramen on a hot day."
Morimoto Asia, Chef Masaharu Morimoto's first Pan Asian restaurant, is located in The Landing section of Disney Springs. Photo Credit: Kent Phillips
The high volume at Disney Springs means the kitchen can also carry a wider range of ingredients, many used for the multicourse, 2-hour omikase dining experience at the 14-seat sushi bar ($150 plus tax and gratuity; must be reserved 24 hours in advance). Note: Chef Morimoto will be in Orlando to cook the omikase on Feb. 7. When prepared by Morimoto, the experience is called Momikase, and it is priced at $250 (not including tax or gratuity).
Fujinaga pointed out another way Morimoto Asia caters to its Disney Springs audience. "People who come visit us are 80% from out of town. Their days are planned out, and they may fit Morimoto into an afternoon, so we offer steaks during the day, too, so people can have the experience they want, even if it's not during a typical dinner period."
We finished our tour at Art Smith's Homecoming, directly across the wide walkway from Morimoto Asia, where a flotilla of all five of the menu's desserts was immediately delivered to our table. We happily loosened our belts to taste our way through Hummingbird, a pineapple, banana and spice layer cake with cream cheese frosting; Shine, a dense butter-cake soaked with 100-proof moonshine; Aunt Evelyn's luscious chocolate layer cake; Hamilton County chocolate pecan pie made from a 100-year-old Smith family recipe; and finally a plate of miniature sugar doughnuts with a side of cane syrup for dipping. I eyed a couple of dishes to try on a future visit: the thigh-high chicken biscuits and the chicken-and-dumpling soup.
If you're feeling full just reading this, keep in mind that our afternoon feast had barely scratched the surface of options. I asked Maribeth Bisienere, senior vice president of Disney Springs, ESPN Wide World of Sports, Water Parks and Mini-Golf, if Disney planned for its new entertainment complex to be a dining destination or if the results were just a happy accident.
"Based on guest feedback, we knew early on that a big focus of the transformation to Disney Springs would be on the food-and-beverage experience," she said. "We wanted to add more capacity, more variety, more price points to choose from and more access to venues that guests can't easily find. It's come together beautifully exactly as we'd hoped. We've added seating, we've brought in new genres of food (Pan Asian, Florida-inspired southern fare, and authentic Mexican cuisine, to name a few), we've opened spots like D-Luxe Burger and Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza, which both offer high quality at an affordable price, and we've given guests locations that are unlike anything they'll find elsewhere."
Disney Springs' dining scene continues to expand with some big newcomers on the way this year. Master sommelier George Miliotes, the name behind the Contemporary Resort's California Grill as well as Darden's Seasons 52, is bringing Wine Bar George, where the food offerings will all be built around wine.
Paddlefish, the three-story paddlewheel boat formerly known as Fulton Crab House, is soon to open after having been closed for the better part of a year. The immense space will feature different experiences in multiple bars and restaurants.
Another highly anticipated opening is the Planet Hollywood Observatory, which a Disney insider said will be unlike any of the iconic chain's other restaurants. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is producing part of the menu, particularly the burgers and sandwiches.
"When fans come here [Orlando] for a three-day visit, that's nine meals. If we're lucky enough to get them for one of those, that means we're responsible for one-ninth of their experience," Fieri said. "They've spent all this money, made all this effort, and now they are going to put their trust in me to make them a great burger. Everyone understands burgers."
So what's he going to serve?
"One of the biggest wow burgers would be the Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese Burger," he said. "The mac-and-cheese sauce we make ourselves with smoked gouda, provolone, cheddar and parm; tender pasta, served on top of a dynamite burger that's cooked super-hot and fast on a hot griddle, seasoned liberally with salt, melt some cheddar over it, toast a nice brioche bun with garlic butter on both sides, add thin sliced onion, pickle, tomato, shredded lettuce and a big, stacked bun."
Perhaps Fieri best encapsulates the celebrity chef side of the relationship with diners at Disney Springs. "It's a big responsibility, they put their trust in me. I want to give them a burger that they'll talk about when they go home."