Staying at Windsor Palms Resort? Take advantage of dinner and a movie made simple!
A New In-Theatre Dining Experience with a Menu of Choices
Opens May 16 at Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World Resort
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 6, 2011) – AMC Theatres® (AMC), a leading theatrical exhibition and entertainment company, announced today that guests will be able to watch the latest movies while enjoying their favorite food and beverages at AMC Downtown Disney 24 located in Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World Resort. AMC Dine-In Theatres, the only theatre of its kind in the Orlando area, debuts at this location May 16 and combines restaurant cuisine and cocktails with AMC’s noted immersive movie theatre experience and hit movies.
- Casual, in-theatre dining
- Upgraded, comfortable reserved seating
- Table-top dining
- Seat-side service and a personal call button that discreetly alerts a server
- An extensive menu including a wide array of entrees such as an enticing selection of quesadillas, burgers, flatbread pizzas, grilled sandwiches, house specialties, as well as appetizers and deserts
- A wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic specialty drinks, beer and wine
- Fork & Screen guests must be at least 18 years old unless accompanied by a parent or guardian
- A full-service bar and lounge area inside AMC Downtown Disney 24
- The perfect place to hang out with friends before the show or discuss the movie after it ends
- Named after a term coined by famed filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock
- Features a variety of beer, wine, cocktails and the full Dine-In Theatre menu, including appetizers and desserts
- MacGuffins Bar & Lounge guests must be at least 18 years old; minors accompanied by a parent or guardian (at least 21) are welcome
- Ticket prices range from $6-13, depending on day of week and showtime, for the Dine-in Theatre experience.
- Menu items start at $6.59-8.99 for appetizers and adult entrees range from $8.59-11.99.
- Specific pricing information, including value pricing and senior/student pricing, for the Dine-In Theatres at AMC Downtown Disney 24 can be found at www.amctheatres.com/dinein (click on the Downtown Disney 24 link).
Orlando Ale House being built close to Avalon at Windsor Palms
A new Orlando Ale House restaurant is being built in the area. This is great news for guests at our vacation rental home, Avalon located on the Windsor Palms Resort in Kissimmee/Orlando as it provides another local dining option. The Orlando Ale House will be located next to the Publix at Orange Lake (across the street from Rolling Oaks Commons where the SuperTarget and Olive Garden is located). I don’t know the date it is due to open yet, but as soon as I find out, I will share.
Click here to visit the Ale House Website.
–Kay
- Providing special vacation home rentals and advice for over 5 years to families and friends wanting to make the most of their time and money while visiting Walt Disney World.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com
Eat to the Beat! Concert Series Welcomes Seven New Acts During 15th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
- Sugar Ray (Oct. 6-8) “Fly”
- Air Supply (Oct. 11-12) “Lost in Love”
- Howard Jones (Oct. 16-17) “No One Is to Blame”
- 38 Special (Oct. 20-21) “Hold on Loosely”
- Roger Hodgson formerly of Supertramp (Nov. 4-5) “Give a Little Bit”
- Hanson (Nov. 8-9) “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’”
- Rick Springfield (Nov. 10-11) “Jessie’s Girl”
Additional information about the Eat to the Beat! concert series will be available at www.disneyworld.com/foodandwine.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Disney’s Turf Club
In honor of Valentines Day, the chefs at Disney’s Turf Club at the Saratoga Springs Resort shared the recipe for their Chocolate Espresso Torte on the Disney blog.
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Disney’s Turf Club Chocolate Espresso Torte
Makes one 9-inch torte
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened, plus additional softened butter for greasing pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus additional sugar for dusting pan
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
5 eggs at room temperature, beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup prepared espresso
Chocolate Ganache:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 stick softened butter
Vanilla ice cream, optional
For Torte:
Preheat oven to 300º with oven rack in middle position. Wrap a 9-inch springform pan in plastic wrap, then wrap tightly with a layer of heavy-duty foil. Generously butter pan. Dust pan with sugar, tapping out excess. Place prepared pan in a roasting pan; set aside.
Combine 3/4 cup sugar and prepared espresso in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Place chocolate in a large bowl set over a large saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water). Stir occasionally until just melted. Add butter by the tablespoonful, stirring until combined. Stir in espresso syrup and vanilla extract. Set aside to cool slightly, 4 to 5 minutes. Gently stir in eggs until combined.
Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Pour boiling-hot water into roasting pan until it reaches three-quarters of the way up the of springform pan. Bake until center of torte is almost set, but still wobbles just slightly, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Transfer torte to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate, covered, for 8 hours or overnight.
For Ganache:
Place chocolate in a medium bowl set over a medium saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water). Stir occasionally until melted. Set aside to cool slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter by the tablespoonful, stirring until combined and glossy. Use immediately.
To Serve:
Run a thin knife along edge of chilled torte, and remove springform pan ring. Set torte on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Pour ganache over torte, a bit at a time, spreading with a rubber or offset spatula to cover top. Allow excess to drip down sides, if desired. Place torte on a platter or sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until set, approximately 2 hours. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
For Miniature Heart-Shaped Tortes:
Cut individual tortes from large torte using a heart-shaped cutter. Carefully dip each heart into ganache using two forks, letting excess drip off. Set hearts on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until set, approximately 2 hours. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
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Looks yummy!
–Kay
- Providing special vacation home rentals and advice for over 5 years to families and friends wanting to make the most of their time and money while visiting Walt Disney World.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com
Pollo Campero
A new Downtown Disney eatery will be opening in late 2010. Pollo Campero is a Guatemalan fried chicken restaurant chain - think a latin version of KFC - featuring fried and grilled chicken, salads and specialty drinks.
Pollo Campero will open in the space currently occupied by McDonald’s which is closing shortly.
–Kay
- Providing special vacation home rentals and advice for over 5 years to families and friends wanting to make the most of their time and money while visiting Walt Disney World.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com
Downtown Disney McDonald’s restaurant to close
As part of a 2004 decision to end a 10 year exclusive sponsorship agreement with Disney, the McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Disney will close at the end of April. McDonald’s will still continue to operate the restaurant near to the entrance to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
In its place will be a Pollo Campero, a Latin chicken fast-food restaurant.
–Kay
- Providing special vacation home rentals and advice for over 5 years to families and friends wanting to make the most of their time and money while visiting Walt Disney World.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com
EPCOT: New Authentic Italian Pizza Restaurant, Cantina de San Angel expansion
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Two exciting additions are coming to Epcot World Showcase, with culinary expansions under way at the Italy pavilion and Mexico pavilion.
In Italy, an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria is under construction with opening planned for fall 2010 in time for the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Operated by Patina Restaurant Group, the same restaurateurs who run the pavilion’s Tutto Italia Ristorante, the 300-seat pizzeria is inspired by Naples 45, another Patina Restaurant Group pizzeria on East 45th Street in New York City.
The casual pizzeria will feature wood-burning ovens – and will import water from a source that most resembles the water in Naples, Italy, home of some of the world’s best pizza dough. The menu also will feature pastas, salads, sandwiches and Italian wines.
The 14,000-square-foot space will include indoor and outdoor dining.
At Mexico, the popular Cantina de San Angel restaurant is expanding, and will feature 400 seats with al fresco seating for lunch and a perfect place for viewing “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth,” the nightly Epcot fireworks spectacular.
The restaurant will feature south-of-the border creations from the culinary team at San Angel Inn LLC, who have run both the outside eatery and the pavilion’s San Angel Inn for more than 25 years. Opening also is set for fall 2010.
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Looks like great new additions to EPCOT.
–Kay
- Providing special vacation home rentals and advice for over 5 years to families and friends wanting to make the most of their time and money while visiting Walt Disney World.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com
Dining Reservations at Walt Disney World
Character dining reservations can be made in advance
As of the 27th October 2009, advance dining reservations (ADRs) for Walt Disney World restaurants can be now made 180 days in advance. Some popular dining options can sell out in minutes, Cinderella’s Royal Table, located in Cinderella’s Castle in The Magic Kingdom is one such option.
Dining reservations can now be made online here or by calling (407) WDW-DINE. Online reservations can be made as early as 6am Eastern time – earlier than the telephone reservation department opens, bear this in mind when searching for those popular reservations!. Both options are available to you when staying at Emerald Island.
Sometimes it may be better to call for a reservation rather than book online. If you are looking for a dinner reservation at the Contemporary’s California Grill at the same time as the fireworks, only the live operator will be able to tell you what time the fireworks are that night.
Even at slower times of the year, advance dining reservations are a must. If you are a compulsive planner or want specific reservations (for example character dining), you will want to get your Walt Disney World dining reservations in place early. It is feasible to get reservations the day prior, even for large family groups. You have to be flexible on restaurant and time, but it is not an impossible mission.
We tend to be flexible guests at Walt Disney World, preferring not to plan our every day down to the last second. A tactic that has worked for us is to book a couple of key dining reservations for specific events that we definitely wanted to experience during our trip. These might be character dinners or reserved seating at Fantasmic. These days are booked for that event and park, but the other days we leave flexible. Then as our plans firm up during the week (which park we want to go to on which day), we phone up and get perhaps a dinner or lunch reservation for the next day or two. (This has worked, even with a group of 15 of us!) Usually we book lunch in a nice restaurant which gives us a welcome mid day break from the hustle and bustle. Dinner is usually off site at one of the many restaurants in Kissimmee / Orlando or a take out eaten at the vacation home.
Don’t forget about dining options in the resort hotels themselves or at The Boardwalk or Downtown Disney. Windsor Palms Resort guests can still dine at Boma, The Wave and any of the other resort restaurants. Great for those quiet non-park days.
