Did we come for the rides or the food?!?! - 14 Days of Dining COMPLETE!

It was December 26th (Boxing Day for most Commonwealth Nations) and we found ourselves in the Magic Kingdom. The temperature was really low, probably mid to low 30s! And the wind wasn't helping much either! Anyways, DD had already said that he wanted to have a Turkey Leg for lunch at some stage so we decided that this was just about the last chance we would have to do it. DM didn't want a Turkey Leg and was more interested in having a hot dog, so we took her to Casey's Corner for a hot dog.

She ordered a hot dog combo with apple slices ($6.59), a 22oz lemonade to drink ($2.49) and for dessert, a chocolate brownie ($2.39). Casey's Corner is a fairly small place and they don't have too much seating, but we weren't planning on sitting there anyway so we just took the food and walked across to Liberty Square, where they had a turkey leg cart.

I think that currently this may be the only place stocking turkey legs at the MK, since the Lunching Pad has switched over to serving hot dogs instead. Either way, neither of them had any indoor seating so we would be braving the chilly cold! :eek:

There was a large sign at the cart saying that for 1 CS credit a guest could get a turkey leg, bag of chips, dessert and a drink. We all got a turkey leg ($7.59ea), a bag of chips (two potato chips and one nacho cheese, $3ea), a drink (two Dasani waters, one bottle of Diet Coke, $2.50ea) and for dessert, the only option was a cookie, which was fine with us. ($2.69)

It was a little strange, because this small cart seemed to be quite overstaffed! I think they had like three or four people just standing there, one running the counter and two or three just wrapping the turkey legs when they were ordered. By the time we had completed the transaction they were there holding the turkey legs and everything else out for us. Now if only some of the other places could offer that kind of service! :rotfl:

They have some seating right across from the turkey leg cart, I'm not sure if it's there for any restaurant in particular but no-one else was there so we just grabbed a table.

Below are some pics

A picture of everything but the turkey legs

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And a turkey leg (sorry about the blurriness!)

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The meal was as expected, it was fine. The turkey legs were warm and had a lot of meat on them. DM enjoyed her hot dog, although it wasn't a foot long or anything it was enough for her. The chips were good, as were the desserts. Mum's apples were alright, but they're just packaged stuff so I'm not sure how fresh it is. The good thing about having the pre-packaged stuff is that it is very easy to carry it around, so we took some of the cookies and bags of chips along with us to munch on during the day. We enjoyed the turkey legs so much that later on during the trip DD went back just to buy one as a snack.

The only problem I have with this meal is we had to sit out in the cold to eat it! My advice, nothing is worth sitting out in the cold to eat! :rotfl2:

The value of the turkey leg meal was pretty decent (almost $16ea pre-tax), while the hot dog meal wasn't so great (about $11.50 pre-tax). However, I think for those that aren't on the dining plan (who probably wouldn't need dessert, a drink for everyone etc) paying $6.59 for a hot dog and fries or apple slices at Casey's is a pretty cheap lunch for MK! And at $7.59 for the turkey leg, that's not too bad for an OOP purchase either. We would probably recommend both meals to anyone, regardless of whether they have the dining plan. However, if you are looking for a lot of value out of your DDP credit, Casey's is probably not the best place to find it ;)

Cost:

4 CS credits used - 12 remaining
Bill Total - $62.63 ($12.22 for the Casey's meal, avg. $16.81ea for the Turkey Leg cart)
Running Total - $1945.32

NEXT UP: Some snacks during the day then a Thanksgiving Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern
 
I am loving this entire review! Your honestly in discussing food, service, value & portion size is exactly what I was looking for. Now I'm just waiting for your total dining plan cost vs. the value of food you ate. I haven't gotten a dining plan yet but still have time to decide. Thanks!!!:thumbsup2
 
I've been reading your report over the last few days and I think you've done a great job writing it up! Your pictures are great too. I'm looking forward to the rest.
 


I am loving this entire review! Your honestly in discussing food, service, value & portion size is exactly what I was looking for. Now I'm just waiting for your total dining plan cost vs. the value of food you ate. I haven't gotten a dining plan yet but still have time to decide. Thanks!!!:thumbsup2

Glad to hear you're enjoying it. I hope my conclusion will help you decide whether or not to get the DDP.

I've been reading your report over the last few days and I think you've done a great job writing it up! Your pictures are great too. I'm looking forward to the rest.

Thanks for reading!
 
Did I mention before that this was a cold day? I love having ice-cream in the Winter, but this day was just far too cold for one! :lmao:

So we found ourselves at Casey's Corner again and used some snack credits on two 160z Hot Chocolates for Mum and Dad ($2.19ea) and a serving of French Fries for Rachel ($2.49)

Mum and Dad were happy with their choices. I think the hot chocolate was Nestle brand and it was sweet and good. It was also a decent serving size, which was nice considering the price. As for the fries, DS thinks that they were pretty tasteless and she had better fries at other CS places during the trip (eg. the fries at Columbia Harbor House). It was also a fairly small serving.

A little while later she picked up a churro from a churro cart in Fantasyland ($3.25). She didn't like that either :rotfl:. She thought that it didn't have much flavour to it, and that it tasted like cardboard. She was expecting something more fluffy in terms of texture. I suppose perhaps part of the problem is that these are being sold from a cart and are just being pre-prepared then heated for extended periods, although from our good experience at the Turkey Leg cart we weren't really expecting this. Another small point I should probably make here is that no sauce is provided with the churro. The chocolate dipper I think was like 50c or something, but that was an extra snack credit and what a waste of a credit that would be!

I didn't get any snacks today, I was planning on getting something at the Main St Bakery but the line was too long so we just left the place :(

Anyways, I think from this experience the only thing we can recommend is the hot chocolate. It is good and it is fairly cheap. Perhaps not the best value for someone trying to maximise their snack credits, but it's a pretty good OOP purchase. As for the churros and fries, we would probably avoid them ;)

I'm sorry, but we didn't get any pics of these.

Cost:

4 snack credits used - 12 remaining
Bill Total - $10.78
Running Total - $1956.10

NEXT UP: Thanksgiving Dinner at LTT
 
I'm really enjoying your dining report. Thanks for being so honest about the food. I think this will really help me plan our next trip. Also, you have me craving a turkey leg for lunch. :)
 


You just gotta love them turkey legs :thumbsup2 Have never been to Casey's Corner that I recall.
Can't wait to read about LTT, never been there either
Great job on the recent reviews

Almost forgot as of now we are planning on Mama Melroses Fantasmic Pkg, if I can book it
 
I'm really enjoying your dining report. Thanks for being so honest about the food. I think this will really help me plan our next trip. Also, you have me craving a turkey leg for lunch. :)

Thanks for reading, I'm glad you're enjoying the report!

You just gotta love them turkey legs :thumbsup2 Have never been to Casey's Corner that I recall.
Can't wait to read about LTT, never been there either
Great job on the recent reviews

Almost forgot as of now we are planning on Mama Melroses Fantasmic Pkg, if I can book it

We've been to Casey's at DL and WDW, although if I remember when we went to DL the hot dogs were footlong ones, not the case here.

I'll be writing about LTT tonight :)

And as for the Mama Melrose's package, I reckon it's good value if you're on the DDP. I'm actually surprised they're not asking for two credits, like they do for the Candlelight Processional! Even if you're not on the DDP, I think it's around mid-$30s so still pretty good!
 
Great updates. But even though we can't see you, you look so cold. Hope the weather warms up some for the rest of your trip.
 
This was our only TS meal inside the Magic Kingdom. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Australia so we chose the LTT on the basis that we would get to experience some American culture and continue the tradition of making reasonable value out of each credit :)

We went to the restaurant at about 7:30pm for our 8:00pm reservation, just as a way to get inside and escape the cold. Unfortunately they were very busy and couldn't seat us until our ressie time. In the meantime they had a large waiting area (one of the largest I had seen outside of the hotel restaurants) so we just sat around and waited. The LTT had a colouring in area with special LTT pictures to colour in. It's a good waiting area for the children. DS embraced her inner child and coloured in a picture too!

Eventually we were seated. Our server was Sebat from Turkey, although he went as Sebastian. He wasn't a terrible server, but he definitely wasn't a great server. Sebastian seemed to treat his other tables better than us. It's a small thing, but just one example of this was how he warmly greeted every other table with a "Happy Holidays!" while for us he just said hello and gave the usual spiel about what he would serve us. This was just one of the few little things that we missed out on. I wouldn't go as far as to say that he was rude to us and he did the basic duties of a server fairly well, it's just that by comparison our treatment was not as good as the tables around us.

Anyways, I suppose I should move onto the menu! The LTT is a family style restaurant, ie. all you can eat brought to you by the server. Below is a picture of the menu. I believe this one is newer than the one on DisneyWorld.com, because the price has changed. Now it is $35.99

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So as you can see a few things are included on the menu. DS and I had chocolate milk to drink, and I think DM and DD had sodas.

We were started off with a bowl of bread

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The bread was quite nice and the soft whipped butter served with it was good too. Plenty of rolls were provided, although we didn't eat too many because we didn't want to fill up before the Patriot's Platter!

Shortly afterwards the Declaration Salad was served

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The salad itself was just your average garden salad, but the strawberry vinaigrette dressing was quite nice.

After this was the Patriot's Platter.

The meat (turkey, beef and ham as well as some herb bread stuffing)

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The Mac and Cheese

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And the Mashed Potato and Seasonal Vegetables (sorry about the flash on the mashed potatoes!)

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A gravy boat accompanied this stuff.

I'll go through the dishes separately. On the meat platter the only thing that was pretty good was the turkey. The beef was a bit rare (that piece on top was one of the better cooked ones!) and it was clear that from the taste that the ham had been manufactured and frozen, rather than being fresh off-the-bone ham or something like that. I usually eat my meat medium-rare and the beef was probably a little rarer than what I am used to but it was alright for me, however DM, DD and DS usually eat their meat medium to well done so it was too rare for them. As for the Mac and Cheese this one seemed to have a lot of cheese sauce, more than we are used to. Also, it definitely needed some salt or something to pick it up because it just tasted a bit dull. The mashed potatoes were not too bad, they were nice and fluffy. And the beans, well, they were as good as beans can be :rotfl:. I think we asked for more turkey, beef, mash and macaroni. However, I think the chefs must just be plating sets with everything on it because Sebastian just brought out a plate with all the meats as well as the stuffing rather than just the specific items we asked for. On this second plate the meat was even rarer than before, to the point where only the rim of the meat appeared cooked.

Another slightly strange thing that happened. We had barely made a dent in our drinks (not even halfway!) when Sebastian decided to bring out another round of drinks. For those who haven't been before, they are served in large tavern-style mugs so the drinks aren't exactly small! I'm not sure if he was just trying to offer us good service or trying to fill us up on cheap drinks :confused3

Also concerning drinks, the LTT, or anywhere else in MK for that matter, does not serve alcohol. This is not a criticism of the LTT, and did in no way affect us, but some people may prefer to dine at a nearby resort in order to grab a alcoholic drink with their meal.

Anyway by this point we had sufficiently warmed up to the point where we were happy to have our dessert, apple crisp with ice-cream.

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Both parts were pretty good - the apple crisp here was better than the one at CHH. We ordered an extra serve of ice-cream, which was brought out without the apple crisp as requested :). I think that this was probably the highlight of the meal.

So that concluded our meal. This is perhaps the most difficult meal I have had to rate so far. The meal was alright, but it wasn't the type of meal that makes memories. When I look back on the trip so far I think of things like the strawberry soup at 1900PF, the Cape May dinner and our awesome Maya Grill experience. In fact, all of us agreed that so far this had been the biggest let down. Individual components were good, some components were bad, and when it all came together it was just a mediocre experience, alright but not very good. This is the first TS place so far that we wouldn't visit again.

Now time for the recommendations. Personally, I think that the only groups I would recommend this restaurant to are foreigners like us who are searching for a cultural experience in the form of a traditional thanksgiving meal (although the food is quite similar to our Christmas meal) or to people who are visiting at Thanksgiving or are just desperate to have a Thanksgiving meal for some reason. At $35.99 I think it is overpriced for those that aren't on a dining plan, although obviously cost is not such a big issue for those on the DDP. You could probably get a good meal for less elsewhere in the park, or even a better meal for just a few dollars more! Basically, if someone were to ask my honest opinion on this meal, I would say to go elsewhere. I'm not sure what the park offerings are like, but if you're looking for all you can eat, go to one of the resorts around the MK. I can vouch for 1900PF and Whispering Canyon Cafe (went to the WCC three times on our 2006 trip, when we stayed at the WL!) and from what I've read about Ohanas and Chef Mickey's they also sound pretty good. If you're just looking for a TS meal in the park, perhaps Crystal Palace, Tony's or the Plaza will be better options for you. Honestly, it can't be that much more mediocre than the LTT.

Cost:

4 TS credits used - 8 remaining
Bill Total - $153.32 (avg. $38.33ea)
Running Total - $2109.42

NEXT UP: Lunch at the Animal Kingdom!
 
Sorry to hear about the less than wonderful expierence at LTT. My DH would love the meal there regardless of how the beef was cooked or the taste of the ham, he is a big meat eater plus his mother is quite possibly the worst cook in the world. I do know what you speak of about the ham, my Dmil buys a large cut of ham has the butcher cut it in half and freezes it all the time, so I have tasted what you discribed. I have to say it is one meat that is not meant to be frozen(I think it is the water they add to it, I have noticed that this water/juice freezes and separates the fiber of the meat,when I have seen Dmil take it out of the freezer)
Sorry I ramble a lot.
I wonder if you had called the server over and explained about the beef if he would have brought out some that was more well done.
That price is a lot to pay pp if you are not on a DP and worse if the meal is not enjoyable.
Up in the air now about making an ADR, or just eating somewhere before we go to the MNSSHP.

Looking at the menu I just noticed what they charge for Pierre water which I sometimes will order:scared1:, I have to assume that is pretty standard at all WDW restaurants

The dessert looked good as did the salad and bread. All in all not a bad meal but a tad overpriced.
 
Sorry to hear about LTT. It is one of my family's favorties or I should say "My Favorite". Every year that we go, I make sure that there is a ressie for LTT. I guess it all depends on the day or when you go as with any other restaurant.

Still doing a great job on the reviews! :thumbsup2
 
Last time we went to LTT was when the characters were still there in 2007and we had a great meal.

Perrier water is chargable in all the restaurants in WDW as we found out last trip. As is still bottled water in many places too now (the ones that don't serve the dasani brand charged $$$ last trip including hddr and Kouzzina.)
 
Sorry to hear about the less than wonderful expierence at LTT. My DH would love the meal there regardless of how the beef was cooked or the taste of the ham, he is a big meat eater plus his mother is quite possibly the worst cook in the world. I do know what you speak of about the ham, my Dmil buys a large cut of ham has the butcher cut it in half and freezes it all the time, so I have tasted what you discribed. I have to say it is one meat that is not meant to be frozen(I think it is the water they add to it, I have noticed that this water/juice freezes and separates the fiber of the meat,when I have seen Dmil take it out of the freezer)
Sorry I ramble a lot.
I wonder if you had called the server over and explained about the beef if he would have brought out some that was more well done.
That price is a lot to pay pp if you are not on a DP and worse if the meal is not enjoyable.
Up in the air now about making an ADR, or just eating somewhere before we go to the MNSSHP.

Looking at the menu I just noticed what they charge for Pierre water which I sometimes will order:scared1:, I have to assume that is pretty standard at all WDW restaurants

The dessert looked good as did the salad and bread. All in all not a bad meal but a tad overpriced.

Yes I'm sure if we had asked the server for some better done beef he could have arranged it, but for us it was just one of those meals where you can't be bothered to make a complaint and you just want to get it over with. :)

As for the ham, it may well have been as you explained but I thought it was the processed variety, you know, the type where they get lots of different bits and pieces and mash them together into something that looks like a slice, but actually isn't. I'm not sure what the situation is in America but here in Australian supermarkets we often find that the cheaper ham slices are processed, while the more expensive ones are fresh meat straight off the bone. The texture of the ham just seemed a bit rubbery, which for us is a bit of a give-away.

However please by no means let our experience stop you from making an ADR if you like the sound of the LTT. Some parts of the meal were good and some of the not so good things could probably just be a result of the day we went. Before making this reservation (or any of our ADRs for that matter) we had read dozens of reviews and had to be confident before choosing each one. There are positive reviews of this place out there, so if you are interested in going, give it a try! :)

They also have a lunch menu too, which is a la carte. I think the dishes are a bit cheaper and they still have plenty of meat ;)

Sorry to hear about LTT. It is one of my family's favorties or I should say "My Favorite". Every year that we go, I make sure that there is a ressie for LTT. I guess it all depends on the day or when you go as with any other restaurant.

Still doing a great job on the reviews! :thumbsup2

I guess it does depend on the day. Perhaps also being there during the Christmas season is a factor, since I would assume that some of the top chefs would be given time off etc during this period.

Last time we went to LTT was when the characters were still there in 2007and we had a great meal.

Perrier water is chargable in all the restaurants in WDW as we found out last trip. As is still bottled water in many places too now (the ones that don't serve the dasani brand charged $$$ last trip including hddr and Kouzzina.)

Yes it does seem that the majority of people do have a good experience at the LTT, I suppose we were just quite unfortunate on this day. Our meal would have been good too if not for just a few small problems.

I think it's probably fair for Disney to charge for the imported waters, although at some places we went they were more than happy to give us Perrier on the DDP so it still is quite dependent on the server :confused3
 
It was another cold day, but at least this day we were better acclimatised and brought along plenty of extra clothes! We found ourselves at the Animal Kingdom and looked for a place to eat. I had originally planned on going to the Flame Tree Barbeque, but when we saw that the seating was outdoors we decided to go to Restaurantosaurus, which is the only CS restaurant at the AK with a true indoor seating area.

It turned out that many other people had the same idea and it was pretty crowded! However, the CM's were handling everything well and it wasn't too much of a problem.

The restaurant is definitely one of the largest CS places I had seen so far. In fact, I think the only place that came anywhere close to this in terms of size was Sunshine Seasons. The counters were there as you entered, and to the left and right were huge seating areas roughly equal in size. DD and I waited in the queue while DM and DS went to find a table.

One of the interesting things they did here was hand DDP guests a menu card as they entered. The menu had all the choices on it so people could figure out what they wanted. DD and I ended up ordering the 1/3 lb Angus Bacon Cheeseburger with fries ($8.79ea) and DM and DS both ordered the Shrimp Po' Boy with fries ($8.99ea). For dessert they had either chocolate mousse or cheesecake in a glass. DM got a cheesecake and the rest of us got the chocolate mousse ($3.59ea). To drink we got two Dasani waters ($2.50ea), one hot beverage ($2.19 I think?) and one large fountain beverage ($2.39 I think).

At this place, like many of the other CS places, you pay first and then proceed to a second desk to pick up your food. We could see the huge production line behind the counter through a little window and it was clear that they were going full speed to get everyone served! It probably took around 5-10mins to have our food prepared, but we didn't mind at all because it was prepared to order and we knew it would be fresh and good.

The beverages at this place are served at the self-serve fountains, so we just got the cups and could fill whatever we wanted with it. They had the regular selection of sodas, and they also had blue Powerade. I went with the blue Powerade. The hot drinks were also self-serve, I think DM and DD shared a coffee.

They also have a toppings bar! :banana: I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the toppings bar had an attendant on hand that made sure everything was filled and the area was clean and hygienic. The toppings included all the regular salad items as well as a few hot items such as onions and mushrooms. They also had all the sauce you could desire. It's probably a bit difficult to take your tray to the toppings bar straightaway, but we had no problems by leaving the desserts and drinks at the table and then just taking our entrees over to fill up. I filled up my burger quite a bit! :)

We got a really, really good table to eat at. Some of you who have walked past or eaten at this place may remember something like a trailer as part of the outside decoration. This trailer is actually fully connected to the restaurant and we sat in there! The decor of the trailer was really cool, it had a jukebox and the seats were ultra comfy! We got like a booth just for the four of us, although it could probably have seated five or six. The other good thing about the trailer part is that there are just two tables there, one on either side and you aren't as exposed to the noise and the drama that might go on in the main room.

So enough of my ramblings, time for some pictures!

The Shrimp Po' Boy (along with the fries served with it and a chocolate mousse)

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My burger (I told you I filled it! ;)) along with another mousse, the powerade, the hot beverage and the Dasani waters

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And DM's cheesecake in a glass

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I was just looking at that picture of the Shrimp Po' Boy and wishing I had ordered that instead, but I just asked DM and DS what they thought of it and they both told me that it was just alright! :eek: :confused3.

As for my Angus Bacon Cheeseburger, I really, really liked it. I hadn't really had a chance to eat a burger so far, so it was great that I was able to finally have one, and also great that it was a really good one! The Angus beef patty was good as was the bacon, and all the salad toppings were fresh and tasty. The fries were good too! Hot and crispy, as they should be. I would highly recommend this meal to anyone visiting Restaurantosaurus.

As for the desserts, they were very good. Sweet, tasty and a bit different to the usual CS desserts. I liked the way they were presented too. As for the drinks, well they were just regular fountain drinks. Refills are complimentary and we went to refill the hot drink, but the machine was broken and although the CM's offered to fix it, it just seemed like too much effort so we didn't bother. Also, make sure you get a lid with your cup when collecting your meal. They didn't give me a lid and I assumed the lids would be at the fountains, but alas they were not. Keep this in mind when ordering drinks! :thumbsup2

I liked the decor of the place. It is quite large but they have still managed to decorate it nicely and keep the DinoLand theme running. And of course if you're lucky, you'll be sitting in the trailer like we were! :) The CM's were also really nice, the lady that took our order saw DD's anniversary badge (DD and DM's 20th anniversary) and asked if we had done anything special to celebrate. The CM that prepared our trays was efficient and everyone in the dining area was busy cleaning and helping people out.

So all in all I would recommend this place. It is an excellent place if you are looking for a CS meal during unusually hot or cold weather, since it's air-conditioned. The food isn't too bad either, and you get the chance to experience the famous Disney toppings bars which seem to be going out of fashion these days... :(

Comparing the cost to other places, it wasn't the greatest value for a DDP credit but it was still pretty good, and the meals were of a decent size. The somewhat cheaper prices here compared to other places makes it a good spot for those that aren't on the DDP, you get a good, generous sized meal for under $10, and as many refills as you like!

Cost:

4 CS credits used - 8 remaining
Bill Total - $63.37 (avg. $15.84ea)
Running Total - $2172.78

NEXT UP: A snack at the Kusafiri Bakery before dinner at Boma!
 
Thanks for the great reviews. AK did not have drink lids and straws because they were a danger to animals but I think they have special paper straws now. We tried the new PO-boys at Port Orleans French Quarter and just like your family thought they were just ok. I think restaurantosaurus was a good choice for inside QS dining but pizzafari also offers indoor seating if you return. The pizza there is not so good though they have a nice Italian sandwich.
 
No lids in Animal Kingdom! I was confused my first trip, but its to prevent the plastic from ending up in the animal's bellies if litter got scattered around.
 
Loving your reviews! Can't wait for more! popcorn::

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for the great reviews. AK did not have drink lids and straws because they were a danger to animals but I think they have special paper straws now. We tried the new PO-boys at Port Orleans French Quarter and just like your family thought they were just ok. I think restaurantosaurus was a good choice for inside QS dining but pizzafari also offers indoor seating if you return. The pizza there is not so good though they have a nice Italian sandwich.

Ahh, so both the AK park and the AK lodge do it? I was under the impression it was just the lodge for some reason :rotfl:. It appears that they have made an exception for the hot drinks though :thumbsup2

Thanks for the suggestion about Pizzafari, I'll keep it in mind for the next trip :)

No lids in Animal Kingdom! I was confused my first trip, but its to prevent the plastic from ending up in the animal's bellies if litter got scattered around.

Yep, makes sense! :)
 

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