Dis-Covering The Magic

Pilot - Top 5 Disney Dining Experiences

Megan and Matt Long

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Ever wondered which Disney dining spots truly deserve the hype? Matt and Megan are here to share their unforgettable Disney dining experiences, from the nostalgic charm of 50s Prime Time to the lively breakfast at Tusker House. Get ready for a spirited debate as they rank their top five dining experiences, revealing the stories and flavors that make each place special. Whether you’re planning your next Disney trip or simply love hearing about magical meals, you won’t want to miss their honest reviews and fun banter.

But that's not all—we also reflect on our journey as Disney Vacation Club members, recounting our adventures at the Polynesian, Riviera Resort, and beyond. Tune in to hear about our honeymoon at Caribbean Beach and our recent purchase at Old Key West. Discover which spots are worth sticking to and which ones left us craving something better. With future episodes promising even more rankings and reviews, “Dis-Covering the Magic” is your go-to podcast for everything Disney!

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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to the first episode of the Discovering the Magic podcast. My name is Matt and this is my lovely wife.

Speaker 2:

Hey everyone. It's Megan. Welcome to our first episode. We're so excited to do this. This is our first attempt at doing a podcast, so please bear with us. We've had a lot of growing pains over the last couple weeks. We are ready to chat about Disney with you guys.

Speaker 1:

Yes, we have had a lot of technical issues trying to get this up and running, but here we are, so hopefully this works out today. So a little bit about us. We have been married since September of 2020.

Speaker 2:

We have two boys and they love going to Disney just as much as we do. We are also from North Carolina, but Florida is definitely our second home, specifically the Riviera Resort, which is our favorite DVC resort. We have been members since what? The beginning of this year? Yeah, or December 2023?.

Speaker 1:

Well, originally we were at, we had started with resale, we were at Polynesian and then we wanted the direct benefit. So we sold our Polynesian contract, probably a little earlier than we should have, because now the Polytower opening.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but it just wasn't us. No, we thought it would be, but it's just too congested, being a monorail resort. Before we became members, we were Caribbean beach lovers.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we love that whole area.

Speaker 2:

We actually had our honeymoon at Caribbean beach.

Speaker 1:

Wonderful 2020 COVID wedding. We also own at Old Key West, which we purchased back in May. We have not had the pleasure of visiting Old Key West yet, but that is in our plans in December to finally check out the resort, but we couldn't pass up the deal they were running, so we are happily direct DVC owners now.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, our DVC guide Geo. He's awesome. He always contacts us about big promos going on.

Speaker 1:

The old Key.

Speaker 2:

West one we could not turn down.

Speaker 1:

He almost had me on an Animal Kingdom one about a month ago, but Not yet, not yet. Couldn't pull the trigger. Yet I want to get close to a thousand points animal kingdom would be fun to own that though yeah, that's all that's on our list, but before we start talking about hotels, let's save that for a different podcast. On this podcast, what you can expect is different rankings of different things. We'll play different games that my wife is going to create. She might not know it yet, but we're going to do that First.

Speaker 2:

I've heard of it.

Speaker 1:

We're going to talk about food reviews. You know what we recommend, what we like about Disney, what we dislike about Disney. Our plan is to release an episode every single week.

Speaker 2:

No promises, we have kids work all the things. Our oldest is playing soccer. So bear with us if we don't give you exactly one episode a week, but we're going to do our best.

Speaker 1:

That is, that's our goal. We're going to try but just to jump into it so you can kind of get a little, get to know us a little bit more. Today we're going to do a blind top five dining experience list. So I have not seen Megan's list, she has not seen mine. When I say dining experience, I mean Could be breakfast, lunch, dinner. Right.

Speaker 2:

Characters no characters.

Speaker 1:

Correct, because I don't want to say a full restaurant, because breakfast might be great but a dinner might be terrible. So we're going to do just the different experience, we're going to specify the restaurant, and then the. The meal.

Speaker 2:

The meal, the time of day, I guess Breakfast, lunch or dinner. We'll specifically say which one is our favorite at that particular restaurant. Yeah and I've, yeah, I've not seen his list, but I'm curious, I wonder if ours is similar.

Speaker 1:

I have ideas on yours. I think they will compare somewhat similar.

Speaker 2:

But are we going from the bottom to the top?

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, we're going to start at five.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

Five to one, one being the best.

Speaker 2:

All right, ladies first.

Speaker 1:

You go first, so you say what it is and then, yeah, we'll rotate. So you go first and I'll go.

Speaker 2:

All right. So my number five is 50s prime time for dinner. I've never had a bad meal there. Oddly enough, I get the Megan's Meatloaf. You know that is my name, but that's not why I get it. I get it because it's delicious. Their meatloaf is so good, it's just like Grandma made it. I love the atmosphere. Everything is just lovely there.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I remember when we we went our littlest we took he was on a, he was on a tv kind of break trying to, you know, get him acclimated to the real world and watching the tvs in there he was just sucked in because it was something he could watch. He loved it, just the black and white shows.

Speaker 2:

yeah, as long as he had a something he could watch, he loved it Just the black and white shows. Yeah, as long as he had a screen, he didn't care, he loved it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I will agree with you that I've had good meals there. All right, so with my number five I'm going to go with Tusker house breakfast, not dinner.

Speaker 2:

That's one of the things where we've gone for dinner and it has not been very good, but breakfast is top notch disney breakfast our best breakfast.

Speaker 1:

Character interactions. Great who?

Speaker 2:

I think it's mickey goofy, donald mini mini or maybe it's daisy uh, it is daisy, because I remember them fighting one time oh yeah, yeah, that's right daisy got mad at Donald.

Speaker 1:

For taking a picture with somebody. Yeah, I remember that, yeah, Okay. So yeah, it's a good character meal. The food is, it's a nice spread and you know they got pog juice. You can't go wrong with it. I think they call it jungle juice over there, but the pog juice, I can't go wrong with that.

Speaker 2:

It's a good breakfast. I love the bread that's like animal print.

Speaker 1:

It looks like cheetah yeah.

Speaker 2:

It's really good. All right, my number four. I have Topolino's breakfast. I know we've only formally had it one time, but it really stuck out. The painting artist theming is awesome. The pastry basket that they gave you at the beginning of the meal love it so good. And the breakfast itself. It's really good. Character interaction yeah, just the atmosphere, you know, I think it's a good one for sure. So I agree, I think tobolino's is.

Speaker 1:

It's a good one for sure, I agree. I think Topolino's is a good place.

Speaker 2:

We should go back.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, might sneak away in December and do that. So my number four is 50's Primetime Dinner. So we both have that on the same list. I always get the fried chicken the way they fry it's so golden and crunchy that and the corn and the mashed potatoes you just can't beat it. Since we've already covered it, we won't go deep into 50s, so take away your number three.

Speaker 2:

My number three is garden grill breakfast. Why are you laughing?

Speaker 1:

Not my number three, but it's on my list.

Speaker 2:

Okay, I figured. Well, it is delicious and the kids love it. They love the fresh watermelon at that restaurant that they serve for breakfast. It's unlimited.

Speaker 1:

It's a good breakfast. My number three, though, is Ohana breakfast.

Speaker 2:

I was going to have that on my list.

Speaker 1:

And now that the characters are back it's fun, our youngest loves it are back, it's fun, our youngest loves it. He is a big Stitch Hawaiian themed like fan. He loves, ever since he was a little baby, hawaiian music. You play that and he laughs.

Speaker 2:

Hawaiian rollercoaster ride.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that was his song. If he was having a meltdown trying to change his diaper, you play Hawaiian rollercoaster ride and he was happy as a clam. He was quiet. So that's a good breakfast. That's your, your basic disney breakfast. That, I think, is eggs, sausage, waffles. Is the bread, the breakfast or dinner, where they have the?

Speaker 2:

ohana, it's that sweet bread with the icing on it yeah is that breakfast breakfast?

Speaker 1:

yeah yeah, that's what I thought.

Speaker 2:

We've done dinner there once, but I couldn't remember where the bread was they had bread pudding for the day, and I remember that too yeah, and they drenched in that caramel sauce if they had that at breakfast, that would be my number one.

Speaker 1:

So I will just go ahead and say my number two, since we've already covered it. Garden Garden Grill is my number two. There's not much more to be said. Garden Grill is great. It's one of my favorites. It was almost my number one, but there's just something else that's just in my head. You still have to do your number two, right?

Speaker 2:

All right, yeah, all right.

Speaker 1:

So just to have a little fun here, I want to see if I can guess your two and one.

Speaker 2:

All right.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to say your number two is Wine Bar George and your number one is Boathouse.

Speaker 2:

I completely forgot about Wine Bar George. How did I forget about that? I just it's so hard to make a top five list because there's so many things I like. I'll just say that number two. I put Boathouse. Okay, do you want me to say my number one? No, go ahead and tell me what you like about boathouse.

Speaker 2:

I love boathouse, their andouille sausage mac and cheese pasta is amazing and just the atmosphere itself. Like we love eating outside looking at the water. I've never had a bad meal at the boathouse ever no, I would agree.

Speaker 1:

Didn't quite crack my top five, but I would agree.

Speaker 2:

But now I'm sad that I abandoned Wine Bar George from my list.

Speaker 1:

So your number one would be now, I'm curious.

Speaker 2:

My number one.

Speaker 1:

Is it in park or is it Disney Springs?

Speaker 2:

Neither.

Speaker 1:

So it's a resort and it has not been mentioned. We've been there a lot. What kind is it? Breakfast or dinner?

Speaker 2:

Dinner. Hmm, come on, are you serious been mentioned? We've been there a lot and what kind is it?

Speaker 1:

breakfast or dinner, dinner, hmm come on, are you serious? Is that a resort? Is it topolinos? Okay, so we're doing. Okay, got you topolinos dinner.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I have topolinos on my list twice for breakfast and dinner because I love it that much and it's in my home resort. Yeah, but, but I'm telling you Wine Bar George. It needs to be on here. You know what? I'll switch mine. Can I switch it? Can I do Wine Bar George as my number one? Topolino's Dinner number two? I don't know. Now you got me all messed.

Speaker 1:

Topolino's is great. I love Topolino's. A lot of people don't, though. Going through the different Disney blogs and social media pages, Topolinos gets a lot of hate, which I can't completely understand why.

Speaker 2:

I mean, what have you?

Speaker 1:

read Just that it's the same level as Olive Garden which I completely disagree.

Speaker 2:

No.

Speaker 1:

That you're getting cafeteria style food for a high high dollar. I completely disagree as well. I will say, the last time we went my steak was a little bit smaller than it was last time, but it was still good.

Speaker 2:

I was still happy with it we love to get the gnocchi at obelinos at dinner time, so if you've never had that, highly recommend all.

Speaker 1:

So do you have a guess on my number one? Don't you be peering over here at my paper?

Speaker 2:

No, where I mean like is it Resort no Park Disney Springs.

Speaker 1:

Disney.

Speaker 2:

Springs? Okay, has it been mentioned? Yes, I have no idea, just say it. I don't know.

Speaker 1:

My number one is Wine Bar George. No way.

Speaker 2:

Yes, all right, their food is so good.

Speaker 1:

The short rib is some of the best short rib I've ever had. I think about it.

Speaker 2:

It melts in your mouth.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think about it all the time. What was it? Was it there? We got the mac and cheese, the fried mac and cheese balls. Yep, that were really good.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we got a salad that we shared and we got.

Speaker 1:

The fried macaroni.

Speaker 2:

Fried. Is it fried macaroni or fried?

Speaker 1:

risotto.

Speaker 2:

It's fried risotto.

Speaker 1:

Was it risotto? It was one of the two.

Speaker 2:

It was risotto.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and then I got the short rib. I don't remember what you got.

Speaker 2:

Where did we share it at? I think we shared it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so traveling from North Carolina.

Speaker 2:

We got a little bit of everything there.

Speaker 1:

We call it. Every once in a while we'll do a culinary trip where we're annual pass holders but where we'll go into the parks or Disney Springs. The whole trip is just to eat. We ride minimal rides. We might not even ride a single ride.

Speaker 2:

And sometimes those are our favorite trips, yeah it's just the two of us.

Speaker 1:

We're foodies. We leave the kids here and we go and we eat, and there's still a lot of restaurants.

Speaker 2:

we haven't even been to that we need to go to I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface, this list is what we've had.

Speaker 1:

I think in the next couple of years we can revisit this and see how different our list is.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Because our plan is we are going to eat a lot more, because part of my problem is I'm a creature of habit.

Speaker 2:

Once I find something I like, continue to go back. Yeah, and back, like we say we're never going to be our guest again.

Speaker 1:

And almost every other time we return for a dinner and this isn't the bad restaurant list, but be our guest gets worse every time, in my opinion the atmosphere is top notch. I like the west wing food, though it just. Every time we go it takes a step down.

Speaker 2:

And more expensive we spent. Our bill was over $200 for just three of us.

Speaker 1:

It was, I think it was after tip. It was like $280, something crazy like that.

Speaker 2:

I don't know if it was that. Well, I mean close enough.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Definitely over $200.

Speaker 1:

Mm-hmm, so my five are Tusker House Breakfast, 50's Dinner, Ohana Breakfast, Garden Grill Breakfast and then Wine Bar George Dinner.

Speaker 2:

My list is all messed up, but I have 50's Primetime for my number five, my number four, topolino's Breakfast Three, garden Grill Breakfast. Two is the boathouse and number one I have tobelino's dinner, slash wine bar, george dinner. I think we need to make a top six and just sneak wbg in there somewhere I think in a future episode we will our can't really say top five worst restaurants.

Speaker 1:

Maybe your bottom five is what we'll call it Our least favorite dining experiences.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, like we will never, ever return.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's been a few where we've been disappointed. I think some of them is you kind of gave them a preview.

Speaker 2:

You said Tusker House Dinner.

Speaker 1:

That was definitely a one and done. That was one and done.

Speaker 2:

That's going to be on the list just to give you a sneak peek at that episode.

Speaker 1:

I think you'll notice a trend with the bad restaurants on our list. I think those will compare more than this list. That will do a negative dining list. We'll do a negative dining list. We'll plan on doing unpopular opinions. I've got ideas, Bruin.

Speaker 2:

We know some former cast members that we want to get in.

Speaker 1:

Talk to.

Speaker 2:

Talk about their experiences working at Disney World and.

Speaker 1:

Disneyland and Disneyland and.

Speaker 2:

Disneyland. Yes, we have a friend out in California. We've never been to Disneyland ever. Definitely honored to do.

Speaker 1:

We almost went spring break, but this past spring break but we decided since coming from North Carolina to California, I mean that's a pretty big trip so we're going to wait for our youngest to get a little bit older, where it's easier to travel with him and that's a little bit more memorable since it's not going to be every year or multiple times a year trip.

Speaker 2:

So it's a little bit more difficult to get out that way than it is just to go to Florida.

Speaker 1:

I know we're nervous about flying with him to. He hasn't even been on a plane yet. We're nervous about flying with him to Orlando, let alone LA. Yeah, but December, I think. Oh no, he's not going with us in December. No, okay, scratch that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So I don't know, I think probably the next time he's going to be going to Disney is.

Speaker 1:

December of 2025. And he'll fly then. That'll be his first flight.

Speaker 2:

Probably. Yeah, yeah, we'll see. You never know with us.

Speaker 1:

No.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes we're spur of the moment, people yeah.

Speaker 1:

We say, our next trip's in December, but who knows?

Speaker 2:

You could hear that we were there next week. Yes and no. Alright, well, I enjoyed this. That was fun doing that blind top five list with you. But thanks for listening guys. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We also have a website, wwwdiscoveringthemagiccom.

Speaker 1:

We have a food guide on there. We have blogs up right now. I went through all ratings of restaurants and we'll eventually post that up. I took the average of it was Yelp, google, tripadvisor and Foursquare and I averaged those out and typed up every restaurant, eatery, pool, bar you name it wherever you can get food. I put it on a list and did the top to bottom ratings.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you're pretty insane for doing that. Yeah, it took a lot of time, I wonder if anyone's ever done that before besides you.

Speaker 1:

But it probably could have been an easier way to do it, but I did it old fashioned. So thank you for listening and we look forward to hopefully being a part of you guys' Disney plans and lives moving forward. We will see you guys next week.