Return to Walt Disney World, Part 4

You can save a lot of money and time at Walt Disney World by bringing in sandwiches and snacks, but in doing so you miss out on dining in the cool themed restaurants. We decided we would splurge in this area and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I need to go on a diet. Here's a run down of the table service restaurants where we ate.

SAN ANGEL INN, MEXICO, EPCOT. This is the one restaurant that was a repeat. Vicki and I enjoyed a romantic dinner here back in 1994 when we were down for Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda's 40th wedding anniversary and we wanted to revisit this with the  kids.

The majority of the Mexican pavilion is indoors and perpetually at twilight. You walk through the marketplace to get to the restaurant which overlooks the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride and a large scale diorama of a Aztec pyramid and volcano beyond.

YAK AND YETI, ASIA, ANIMAL KINGDOM. This restaurant serves a mixture of Asian and American cuisine. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was neat. It was here that Vicki coined a new phrase after watching the boys eat saying they were "un-etiqu-ated."

BE OUR GUEST, FANTASYLAND, MAGIC KINGDOM. We were here for lunch during its quick service (fast food) mode and reservations weren't necessary. There was a long line to get in, but it was worth the wait. This restaurant is themed from Beauty and the Beast and has three unique dining rooms. We ate in the largest room where you could look outside and see snow falling. One of the other dining room featured a storm outside while the third had Beauty and Beast dancing in the middle of the room.

50'S PRIME TIME CAFE, ECHO LAKE, HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS. This place was a hoot. As the name suggests you step back to the 1950s for this one. The food was great but the servers are what makes it so fun. Do not put your elbows on the table here, or talk with your mouth full, or leave you napkin on the table. If you fail to practice good manners your server will get on to you--loudly. I told one man who sat down as we were leaving that h was in for a very long meal.

Our server called Vicki and me Mom and Pops. Jenna was Princess and the boys were nicknamed Scooter and Sparky.

WHISPERING CANYON CAFE, WILDERNESS LODGE. This was probably the favorite of everyone except Ben. The resort and restaurant just struck us as one of the coolest places to eat and the food was really good. (I have no idea how we managed to stuff down our treats from Ghirardelli Soda Fountain after this.)

The serving staff are what makes this place extra special. You never know when they will break out into song making the guests sing with them among other things. Our server, Jenny, decided to flirt with Ben, calling him her boyfriend, asking if he wanted to meet up at the Magic Kingdom later, and even calling her "Pa" over for an introduction. Vicki and I loved it, but poor Ben could have crawled under the table.

CONCLUSION. As much as I hate to commit our trip to history it is time to wrap this up and move on. I will end with four quotes from the boys. Be warned, I am not going to provide any context for their words, I’m leaving all that to your imagination.

Ben: “That didn't happen.”

Nate: “I wouldn't do that, but I would slap his belly.”

Ben: “What is suey sauce?”

Nate: “Well, there it goes. Those people just don't know how to sneak up on a bird.”

Joe