DINING
The Menus!
Restaurant Info
- Character Dining
-- Character Meals
-- Character Meal
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WDW Recipes
Restaurants
At-a-Glance
- All-You-Can-Eat
Meals - Animal Kingdom
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Special Dietary Needs
- Celiac Sprue
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- --Parks Counter
Service - --Parks Table Service
- --Resorts Table Service
- --Strategies
- --Meet the Authors
of Vegetarian WDW - --A Vegetarian at
Mickey's Table - I - --A Vegetarian at
Mickey's Table - II
Special Dining Events
- Afternoon Tea
- Dine with a Disney
Imagineer - Fireworks Dessert Party
- My Disney Girl's
Perfectly
Princess Tea Party
Dining Discounts
Summer
Refreshers
The Czarina's Royal Table
EXPLANATION OF SORTS: The Czarina is a Real Person who eats -- a lot - at Disney World. She takes sole responsibility for all opinions stated below, de gustibus non disputandum and chacun a son gout. Do let us know what you think about this column at eureka@eurekajim.org.
Beloved Public, we must confess that your Czarina went mad this August and spent a whole week in the World in the 95 degree heat and sopping humidity.
The upside was....wait a minute, we know there was an upside....ah yes, we discovered some Reviving Drinks and Eats to help us through the day. We pass them on to you in the hopes that they may keep you, too, from passing out on that Devil's Frying Pan between the Epcot fountain and the entrance to World Showcase.
Old Reliable -- Citrus Swirl at the Sunshine Tree Pavilion, Adventureland. Just a reminder. There is nothing like the feeling of frozen orange juice and vanilla yogurt sliding down your parched throat.
Are your neurons shrieking for caffeine, but you can't stand the thought of a steaming hot cup of java? Friends Deb 'n' Deb (they know who they are) recommend regular frozen coffee ($2.25) at the stand outside the American Adventure, Epcot. Also to be found outside Ellen's Energy Adventure. You may get an ice-cream headache, but it will pass; soon, your brain will no longer feel like a fried egg.
Should you find yourself on the far side of World Showcase, miles away from either entrance, and about to melt in the heat, drag your wretched body to the dead center of Japan and go up to the Matsu No Ma lounge on the second floor. There in the serene coolness, a pretty server in a kimono will ask you what you want.
Tell her "Iced green tea, please" and peruse the sushi menu. When she comes back with the tall glass of electric green, unsweetened nectar, order something from the menu of little appetizers. Your Czarina can vouch for the Edamame (cold cooked soybeans, salted, in the pod -- as addictive as popcorn) and the Tuna Sashimi (six thick slices of beautifully fresh fish -- yes, it is raw). Or just have the tea. Your server will refill your glass at no additional charge. And don't forget, the Kaka Gori stand is right outside.
You've trudged around the Animal Kingdom all day and sundown is here. You need a pick-me-up before the evening's festivities. Find one of WDW's many lounges (the Bellevue Lounge on the second floor of the Boardwalk and the bar at the California Grill spring to mind) and order, as the Czarina does, an Absolut Citron vodka and tonic, easy on the vodka, with extra lemon slices and lots of ice. Think of it as lemonade for grownups.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The Orlando sun is deadly. If you feel hot, light-headed, prickly, faint, don't just stand there in the line for Test Track, do something! Take a break, have a drink -- water, if you must, -- head for Ellen's Energy Adventure for 40 minutes of air-conditioned bliss!
