For spring break, we had a family reunion in Orlando, Florida. Hong’s parents made it a road trip from New Jersey, and Vic’s family flew down from New York. The objective was to take the children (Xuan 12, Ting 10, Alex 5, Livia 3) to Disney World, with a side of plenty of pool time.
Hotel: Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
Not to be confused with “Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista” across the street, this was a rather ideal hotel for our Disney vacation. It was directly adjacent to Disney Springs, the downtown area with plenty of food and shops for spending time outside the parks. It was on a network of shuttles connecting Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels to the theme parks so we didn’t need to drive. It also gave us early park entry, a privilege that we were excited to finally try out.
The pools at the hotel were fantastic. We spent two mornings there. There was a large pool with enough depth for the serious swimmers; a shallow beach-like area with spraying water for the little ones; and a nicely shaded lazy river filled with hotel-provided floats. I’m not a pool person but had a great time here. The children probably could have hung out here all day if we let them.
Disney Springs
Within five days, we ate five meals at Disney Springs. This artificial downtown was a pretty good place for a large group like us to gather and spend time, given its car-free zone and the generous space allocated to each store and restaurant. Possibly because we had young children this time, Disney Springs felt a lot bigger than during our last visit 18 years ago, and it was a chore to walk from one end to the other. Simultaneously, I didn’t find the various themed gift shops nearly as attractive as they once were.
On the map, Disney Springs was right next to our hotel. In practice, it still took 20 minutes to get from our rooms to the middle of this downtown. First we had to navigate our way out of the hotel through a bunch of paths on the grounds. Then there was a stretch of sidewalk along a high-speed stroad that was unpleasant to walk on, intersecting a parking lot entrance that made us nervous for the kids each time. After ascending and descending the pedestrian bridge over that stroad, we still had to clear a security check point before being allowed into the downtown area. While being rather different from the city hotel experience where “downtown” is right outside the lobby, this was already a best-case scenario in a car-centric place like Florida.
Dining
Dining at Disney can be incredibly fun because of all the themed restaurants and vacation-focused amenities. For the same reason, the food is prepared with the primary goal of not upsetting anyone. Despite the often incredible names and sometimes exotic looks, the dishes were quite homogeneous and bland. I don’t understand those vloggers who make a big deal “reviewing” Disney foods because the main variable from one item to another seemed to be the amount of salt and sugar. At the end of the week, we even got tired of fries.
T-Rex Cafe
The prehistoric cousin of Rainforest Cafe was the most unique dining establishment there. The theme was a bit messy with t-rex, woolly mammoth, and giant octopus all occupying the same area, but I appreciated the effort. The food was decent.
The Rainforest Cafe
Having this back-to-back with the T-Rex Cafe would have been too much, except that we were at Disney and going all out was kind of the point. The waiter told us that this one at the entrance of Animal Kingdom was the largest Rainforest Cafe out there.
Paddlefish
This was a seafood restaurant occupying the fake steam boat at Disney Springs. We ate here twice and really enjoyed everything.
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’
This southern fried chicken restaurant had vibes that reminded me of my college days in rural Virginia. The food was good, though I have yet to find a piece of high-end fried chicken tasting better than Popeye’s. Although Hong had made a reservation, this place made us wait 45 minutes in the mid-day sun.
The Edison
This American restaurant had a factory theme that really spoke to me. The food was subpar, with its namesake burger tasting bland. Look at all the uneaten fries at the end of the meal!
Theme Park Meals
Including here for completeness, I guess. Aside from the funnel cake, I didn’t think anything served in the parks was worth mentioning.
Outside Disney Foods (The Best)
On Monday, we took a Lyft to bring back burgers from Shake Shack and snacks from Target to eat in the hotel room. Never thought I’d call Shake Shack cheap but it was indeed the most affordable meal of the week.
On Friday, before leaving Orlando, we went to a nearby all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant called Boil Spot. It would’ve been a decent hot pot contender even in NY or SF, and was a heavenly savior to our Asian taste buds after a whole week of deep fried stuff.
Disney World 2025
- A Family Reunion in Orlando
- Walt Disney World Parks
- Financing A Disney Vacation
- Getting Around
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