Tell me all about Picabu

[honeymo78]

This will be our third stay at BWV but I never knew about Picabu at the dolphin until now. I hear it is cs but is a buffeteria. I'm not sure what that really means. Can you get food to go to take back to BW? I know it's open 24 hours but when does the grill close or what can I get late night like after 10 or 11?

Thanks

 

[HelenParr]

I'd suggest you take a walk through when at WDW. They won't mind. It's a pay as you leave cafeteria line set-up.

In our many trips to YC&BC and Swan & Dolphin, we have many times found ourselves wanting "after hours" food -- and room service seems crazy expensive (and slow.) Picabu (formerly Tubbi's) is a great place to grab a sandwich, or bottled iced-teas, or chips, in a pinch. I do not think I'd choose it with everything else still open, but it is a great choice when it's your only choice. I've always been happy with my food from there.

It is only "to go." It's basically a small cafeteria line like you'd find in an office building commissary, with a chips and sundries area included. The menu varies but has a fair number of choices.

The grill is not open 24-7 (not sure of official hours, I want to say 11pm but I'm guessing) but we have been lucky many times to have had someone willing to make us a burger or grilled cheese at 3am.

Even when grill is not open, there are some pretty good choices of premade sandwiches and salads.

They will not take your WDW room card -- so remember to bring cash or credit card.

 

[bobbiwoz]

They charge a service charge if you eat there. They have great Mac and cheese according to my DGC! If you are DVC, bring your card, the give a discount which just about negates the service charge!

 

[pixarmom]

We were just at Picabu over Memorial Day weekend and loved it. The burgers and sandwiches were great. While the line is "cafeteria style," there is a huge indoor seating area at Picabu, so you can either take food to go or eat it there.

I didn't take photos of the seating area, but there are a few on these sites:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=465

http://www.swandolphinrestaurants.com/picabu/index.html

Here's a photo of the menu from May. Although it's open 24 hours, the menu lists hours for different meals. When we were there, the grill was open until 1am :

A few more:

The pre-made sandwiches were actually very good:

As for late night dining in the Epcot resort area, there are many other options. In addition to ESPN club, here's a list of alternatives posted at YC:

 

[rie'smom]

The nachos there are unbelievably delicious. We went there several times on our trips.

 

[disneyred]

They charge a service charge if you eat there. They have great Mac and cheese according to my DGC! If you are DVC, bring your card, the give a discount which just about negates the service charge!

how do they charge this ... how much ?? so you have to tell them you are taking out the food , otherwise they will add on an extra charge ??
thanks for all the info here ...

 

[NancyC1000]

I think Picabu's is just great. It is very convenient having a place open 24 hours. Two years ago when we stayed at the S&D we were so tired on our last night we actually canceled our ADR; ordered a pizza to go from Picabu's and ate it in our room. The pizza was very good. I love their coffee as well; their salads and sandwiches are pretty good. I have read that they now do have a service charge (around 12-13%; really not sure). Also, if you are a member of AAA they used to give a 20% discount; at least that is how it worked in 2009.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The grill was open until 1am on my recent trip as I had a drunk friend need pot roast at 12:45am in the morning.

 

[Robert P]

They charge a service charge if you eat there. They have great Mac and cheese according to my DGC! If you are DVC, bring your card, the give a discount which just about negates the service charge!

So true!

On a side note, the DVC discount cannot be used in conjunction with charging back to your room at the S&D. The discount works, but you have to settle up at the register when they take the DVC info. I wanted to use the discount, then charge back to the room for SPG points, but alas, it was not to be. I chose to still take the discount, as that was the better value than a 2X or 3X multiplier of SPG points on a $30 meal.

 

[Music City Mama]

how do they charge this ... how much ?? so you have to tell them you are taking out the food , otherwise they will add on an extra charge ??
thanks for all the info here ...

Evidently, this service charge is fairly recent (within the last few months), but the service charge is 13%! You do get a 20% discount with a AAA card (so basically, a 7% discount). The reason for the service charge is because they serve your food on real plates/bowls and have real silverware; therefore, you don't clear your own table (even though you seat yourself). I guess it's to pay for the people bussing your table, washing dishes, etc. -- and also if you have something that takes a few minutes to make, they bring it to you. I didn't notice that they charge whether you eat there or get it to-go, but I did notice that they only charge you the service charge on food from the cafeteria line, not any pre-packaged items in the store part (which is actually where you pay). By the same token, the 20% AAA discount only applies to the cafeteria food items, as well.

 

[ImprovGal]

So true!

On a side note, the DVC discount cannot be used in conjunction with charging back to your room at the S&D. The discount works, but you have to settle up at the register when they take the DVC info. I wanted to use the discount, then charge back to the room for SPG points, but alas, it was not to be. I chose to still take the discount, as that was the better value than a 2X or 3X multiplier of SPG points on a $30 meal.

Can you clarify this? I'm not DVC, but I'm not sure what you mean by "settle up at the register" or why that would affect a room charge. I find it confusing because I use the AAA discount all the time there and charge back to the room and haven't had any problems with the points posting. They do take my AAA card and have to write down the AAA number onto the receipt, but it's still a room chargeback. I can't understand why a DVC discount would be treated differently.

 

[honeymo78]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I can't wait to try it out in Sept. I'm so glad there is somewhere else to get some late night food.

 

[Robert P]

Can you clarify this? I'm not DVC, but I'm not sure what you mean by "settle up at the register" or why that would affect a room charge. I find it confusing because I use the AAA discount all the time there and charge back to the room and haven't had any problems with the points posting. They do take my AAA card and have to write down the AAA number onto the receipt, but it's still a room chargeback. I can't understand why a DVC discount would be treated differently.

No idea, unless the clerk was misinformed. Didn't make sense to me either, but there was a line forming behind me, and the points benefit on that meal were not worth wasting more time on it.

 

[ImprovGal]

No idea, unless the clerk was misinformed. Didn't make sense to me either, but there was a line forming behind me, and the points benefit on that meal were not worth wasting more time on it.

If you happen to still have the receipt, you can fax a copy in to SPG (I think it's Member Services) and they will post the points to your account if it's over $10.