All Things Travel Podcast

Walt Disney World's Hidden Foodie Gems: Secret Snacks & Drinks You Must Try

• Ryan Hedstrom & Julie Shaffer • Season 1 • Episode 232

Share episode

In this episode of All Things Travel, Ryan and Julie dive into one of their favorite topics—Disney food and drinks! From iconic treats like the Mickey Pretzel to hidden gems like the Ronto Wraps and the cult-favorite Tipsy Ducks in Love, this episode is packed with must-try items. Whether you're a Disney regular or planning your first trip, add these unique snacks, meals, and drinks to your list for a magical experience.

Highlights include:

  • Secret snacks from EPCOT’s Germany Pavilion to Hollywood Studios' Ronto Roasters
  • Insider tips on where to find the best Dole Whip floats and Mickey-shaped beignets
  • Top non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, including the fan-favorite Night Blossom and the classic Lapu Lapu
  • Bonus: Learn about the cult-classic buffalo chicken chips at Animal Kingdom’s Trilobites before they're gone!

Join us for this fun episode packed with Disney food hacks to make your next trip the most delicious yet!

Life and Business Podcast
Life and Business from Main Street and Middle America

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Want to cruise with Ryan and Julie in July 2025? Join our podcast cruise! Check out the details: https://forms.gle/Jpikq82XPQS63v5N8


~~~~~~~
Grab Ryan's free download for planning the ultimate family all-inclusive vacation: https://bit.ly/allinclusivevacationtoptips

Grab Julie's free download for a baby and toddler vacation packing list:
https://bit.ly/babytoddlerpackinglist


Ready to plan your vacation? Most families are confused and overwhelmed when planning a vacation. We work with you to plan a trip perfect for your family. Saving you time, money, and stress!

  • Contact Ryan at ryan@creatingmagicvacations.com
  • Contact Julie at julie@creatingmagicvacations.com

Join the travel conversations and the fun in our Facebook Page!

  • Please share the show with your travel buddies!! Click this link and share the show!
  • Never miss an episode and help us take you to the top with us by following and leaving a 5-Star review on your favorite podcasting app!
Ryan:

Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. If you've been listening to this podcast you know there are two things Julie and I love, Disney and food. today, we're going to discuss our secret menu of Disney food and drink. Put these items on your must try list for the next time you travel to the most magical place on Earth. Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts Ryan and Julie. I'm your travel professor, teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation. she's a Disney loving, Maryland mom of three, and a specialist in family travel. top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel. Julie, you know, this is a topic that I love, but why in general, I mean, we spend a lot of time with our clients and just in our own trips talking about Disney food. Why do we love Disney food so much? What is it about going to Disney specifically and trying things?

Julie:

I think they have, a lot of really unique options that I'm not gonna get at home.

Ryan:

I think There's such a perception of I'm going to a theme park and that's the type of food I'm going to have to eat there's the burgers, chicken fingers, hot dogs, but then there's also sushi Middle Eastern food Indian quick service and like all this unique stuff that is just amazing and barbecue. I mean, thinking about, places like polite pig or all the desserts. there's just such unique offerings,

Julie:

Right. And especially, with Disney nowadays, they put out, the Disney foodie guide. To every event, every holiday, big or small. Disney is also very in tune that people go there looking for these specialty food items or things that they can't get at

Ryan:

so when you think about that must have item, this can either be now as a mom or Julie as a girl going to Disney. What's that must have item that you think about every time you step into the parks

Julie:

Mickey pretzel.

Ryan:

pretzel the most Generic bland tasting pretzels in the world, but they're Mickey

Julie:

It's the cheese sauce

Ryan:

So I have two And they're both Magic Kingdom. One is a Dole Whip. You know I love a Dole Whip. And I'm gonna talk about Aloha Isle a little later today. And one is a Gaston's Cinnamon Roll. Cause it's just so yummy. it's a good cinnamon roll. a lot of times they're like, Here, this is a big food item and we're gonna make it big and that's what makes it good. It's very big, but it's also very tasty.

Julie:

Yeah, it is so good. It's like feeds like four

Ryan:

Yes, absolutely. before we get into my list, I want to remind folks that Julie put together a packing list of things that you often forget on vacations go back to last week's episode and check that out because she talked about all inclusive resorts. Theme park trips and cruising I guarantee there's one item on that list that you forget over and over So why not check out the episode?

Julie:

And if you haven't already go ahead and join our new Facebook page, all things travel podcast, like, and follow the page so that you can keep up to date with everything podcast.

Ryan:

So julia, i've got a list of food and drinks some of this is my experience because I do a lot of extensive research when it comes to food and drinks at disney I also looked at some lists that people had of kind of their favorite snacks or kind of under the radar snacks. These won't necessarily be a secret list, but they're definitely cult favorites that often fly under the radar, especially for folks going for their first time or two. So I want to make sure you know about this, even from your very first trip, when it comes to Disney, I focused on snacks. So I didn't focus on meals, but some of these can be meals and might lead to us talking about meals. and then I also focused on alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. So the first on my list is the Butter Bar from Carmel Kutsche in EPCOT, and that is in the Germany Pavilion. Carmel Kutsche is sponsored by Werther's Candies. And this butter bar is absolutely amazing. You walk into that place and it just smells like candy and caramel. I'm a blondie Absolutely. My second one, Julie, is the loaded hanger pretzel. this is that Jock Lindsay's hanger bar in Disney Springs. Have you ever had this?

Julie:

have.

Ryan:

is absolutely amazing. I love it so much.

Julie:

Fun fact. Jock Lindsay's Hangar Bar is themed after Indiana Jones.

Ryan:

yep,

Julie:

you might be thinking, who the heck is Jock Lindsay? in the first Indiana Jones, he is the guy that's supposed to be starting the plane.

Ryan:

so there's a lot of indiana jones memorabilia This is the air pirates loaded pretzel It is a giant yummy pretzel not just a regular pretzel On top of it, it has prosciutto, sliced brats, artisan salami, smoked cheese, black diamond cheddar, caraway pickles, spicy mustard, and beer cheese fondue. what a great appetizer, right?

Julie:

It's like a charcuterie

Ryan:

it is, and obviously you can, share this. I would say this is even a meal, between a couple of people with some drinks. Absolutely. My third on the list are the Ronto wraps. And this is over at Ronto Roasters at Batuu in Hollywood studios. Have you had these Julie?

Julie:

I really like them and I try to think about recreating it at home,

Ryan:

so it's basically a pita. With a really good sausage in it the breakfast version has cheese egg and a nice little sauce the lunch version has, some veggies and some pulled pork

Julie:

a cabbage

Ryan:

it has cabbage and pulled pork meat and then that sauce on top These are so good. This is my breakfast snack almost every time I go to hollywood studios All right, julie So I have aloha aisle And I told you I love Dole Whips, but I'm not going to talk about Dole Whips in this one. I'm going to talk about the floats at Aloha Isle. Because many people think of the Dole Whips, but they don't always look at the full menu. And there is some really, really good, different desserts that rotate throughout Aloha Isle. In fact, I got, a couple weeks ago when I was there, I had the Tropical Serenade, Pineapple orange guava juice Coconut soft serve and an upside down pineapple cake pop. Does that not sound really good?

Julie:

sounds

Ryan:

So obviously the dole whip but don't sleep on the rest of the menu. Alright, so we've talked about a sweet here, Julie Let's get back to a couple savories. I Love this spot. This is the Daily poutine over at disney springs. Have you eaten there julie?

Julie:

I haven't, but I wish

Ryan:

So this is right by the joy of disney store what I like about these poutines is they have different varieties they have the classic canadian poutine, right now on their menu. They have Italian poutine, which has mozzarella, pecorino, romano, and turkey bolognese sauce. They have a butter chicken poutine, which is an Indian version, a Korean barbecue poutine, buffalo chicken poutine. They have loaded frites, which is basically french fries with queso blanco. Iceberg lettuce, pico de gallo, bacon, and garlic ranch dressing, or they have a St. Augustine de teal barbecue poutine, which is crispy pork with de teal pepper sauce, swamp cabbage, hearts of palm, and chayote squash slaw. And sunshine stroll beer cheese sauce specifically because it's the taste of florida Right now at the daily poutine, but I love all the different versions they have there These are big portions. So this is definitely a meal if you want it to be

Julie:

There's a lot going on in that meal.

Ryan:

the next one is spring rolls at adventureland the cheeseburger spring rolls are amazing I have recreated them at home and i'm very happy with my

Julie:

Oh,

Ryan:

But they always have another kind too. So right now they have the pepperoni pizza egg roll you can get two of the same kind or one of each in the past, I had a Reuben egg roll with, corned beef and sauerkraut. Oh, so good.

Julie:

I think that was the one for the 50th,

Ryan:

yes. And they're good quality egg rolls. I really like them. Alright, so we've talked about a couple savories. let's talk about some sweet options, Julie. Jack Jack's Num Num Cookie. It is so good and I bet most people don't know where this is. This is in the market at Hollywood Studios, which is as you are outside of Toy Story Land headed back towards Animators Courtyard. It's a little stand right there. And this cookie is amazing.

Julie:

So good.

Ryan:

It's a soft, chewy Chocolate chip cookie that is Jack Jack's dum dum cookie. You have to get it.

Julie:

it's just so soft.

Ryan:

Another sweet one that I'll add to my list is at the scat cats club in Port Orleans French Quarter or the quick service you can get Mickey shaped beignets That I absolutely love. They are made fresh, which makes the line go a little too slow in my mind, but they make them fresh. They're amazing. And if you go to scat cats, you can also get boozy beignets

Julie:

Oh,

Ryan:

of liqueur in pipettes that you can shoot into the beignet.

Julie:

that sounds right up your

Ryan:

that sounds like something I need to do. Right.

Julie:

Yes.

Ryan:

I'm a little afraid that it's going to go away because we know the changes coming to Dino Land. But this is a cult classic when it comes to snacks Animal Kingdom. And that is at Trilobites. It's the buffalo chicken chips. house made chips served with buffalo chicken and blue cheese dressing, topped with tomato and Celery relish. Does that not sound amazing?

Julie:

Delicious.

Ryan:

there you go. Then you got to try these. You got to try them before they go away. All right, Julie. So now I'm going to move on to drinks, but first I'm going to talk about where in the world is all things travel.

Julie:

Okay.

Ryan:

this week we are headed to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Murfreesboro, Tennessee is. known for American Civil War history. Stones river national battlefield sits next to stones river cemetery, where 6, 000 Union soldiers are buried. The restored Oakland's mansion is a former plantation house with an Arboretum and gardens and Canonsburg village showcases regional history from the 1830s to the 1930s with buildings, including a school house and a general store. So I just want to go to Murfreesboro and soak up all this history. And I want to meet our, listener to learn all about Murphys burrow history reach out to Julie or myself via Facebook or email because I've got a thank you gift that I want to send down to you for being featured on the show today. All right, Julie. So let's talk about drinks.

Julie:

this is your alley,

Ryan:

I have turned more people onto this drink. Either on the podcast out of my friend group like more people have started to enjoy this drink Than any other and I take full credit for it because I love this drink so much. It's the tipsy ducks in love at Epcot. Have you had this drink yet?

Julie:

you've told me about it a couple times, but it just

Ryan:

All right. January you and me, we're headed over. we'll get our favorite lunch there. We'll get our fish and chips from Yorkshire fish and chips. And then we'll finish up with a boozy dessert because what's in the Dipsy ducks in love. It is coffee, tea, cream, chocolate, and bourbon.

Julie:

mean, who thought to put these things in one

Ryan:

And it just tastes so good. It's so good. Yeah, I love it. Tipsy Ducks in Love, this is located at the Joy of Tea Pavilion in China, and I absolutely love it. And I will throw in an honorable mention, the egg rolls here are not bad if you need a savory snack to go along with that drink.

Julie:

Yum.

Ryan:

All right, so this is a drink that I have not had but it is on my list If we take a few steps after we get our tipsy ducks in love and head to norway We can get a frozen viking coffee. it's made with bailey's irish cream and camorra coffee liqueur with cocoa chocolate sauce and garnished with coffee chocolate crunch

Julie:

That I have had

Ryan:

You have had does it deserve to be on this list?

Julie:

Yes, it's good.

Ryan:

don't sleep on the bakery There are a lot of good pastries and sandwiches in that bakery when you get your drink.

Julie:

Yes. The popular one is the school bread, but I don't love

Ryan:

it has a Less sweet taste than I think most people are expecting.

Julie:

Yes.

Ryan:

All right, so cult classics of the cult classics julie La Cava Del Tequila. I have on numerous occasions instead of rope dropping at EBCOT. I've rope dropped at La Cava Del Tequila. It opens at 11 a. m. And by 10 45, there's a line waiting. So seriously 10 30 get in line. This place has amazing margaritas great flavors Lots of different things. for instance the wild one has Blanco Tequila La Cava Alma Finca orange liqueur, ginger rum, corn passion fruit cordial, lime juice, dos hombres mezcal, grenadine, and a hibiscus salt rim.

Julie:

Wow.

Ryan:

I've had the corn old fashioned there that's made with a corn whiskey that's really good and has mole bitters in it. This place is amazing. And it's a cult classic for a reason. All the drinks are good. And sometime you and I are going to do the tequila tasting that they have there because I've heard nothing but great things about that.

Julie:

yeah, I don't know how we will have time, but we need to go

Ryan:

Well, it sounds like we have a day at Epcot

Julie:

I know,

Ryan:

So don't sleep on the beers when it comes to drinks Disney has some really good beers in Epcot They have the Schaffenhofer, which is the grapefruit Hefeweizen beer in Animal Kingdom they have two beers that I really like if you go to Pongoo Pongoo, which is right outside of Avatar's Flight of Passage, they have several beers that are made specifically For that stand, one of them being Hawks Grog Ale, which is a fruity hop with notes of apricot and peach, and it's green.

Julie:

Mm.

Ryan:

my all time favorite beer at Disney, Julie, is available at The Nomad's Lounge at Animal Kingdom and at Skipper Canteen's at Magic Kingdom, and this is Congaloosh. this is the Congaloosh Spiced Excursion Ale, which is made only for Disney, and it is an African inspired deep amber ale brewed, with sorghum and a special blend of spices including cinnamon and cardamom. It is so good.

Julie:

Now I wanna go to Skipper Canteen

Ryan:

we've done a couple alcoholic drinks. Let's do a couple of non alcoholic drinks at fifties primetime diner at Hollywood studios. You can either get this when you're dining at the restaurant, or you can pop into the bar and just pick one up without having to sit down. That's the peanut butter and jelly milkshake.

Julie:

I've heard really awesome things about it, and I think I was gonna get it last time we were there, but whoever I was with was not interested in it. I wanna say that was either Michelle or Steven So we

Ryan:

So I am a peanut butter, a holic. I've had this shake several times. It is so good. The next drink, go back to Pongu Pongu animal kingdom and Get the Night Blossom. This is layers of apple and dessert pear limeade topped with boba balls. It's a slushy drink, so it's great for those hot animal kingdom days. The boba balls are fun, the flavor's great, and if you want to make it alcoholic, you can add rum in there. And let me tell you, that's not bad at all.

Julie:

Yum.

Ryan:

All right. This next one, Julie, and you can get this several places, but the place I first got it, and I would suggest everybody who sees themselves as a Disney drinks connoisseur. You've got to go check out the gurgling suitcase at Key West. Have you been to the gurgling suitcase?

Julie:

Yes.

Ryan:

absolutely love it because it's so small. It's so tiny and but it's such a good bar and literally like five people can stand in it It's so much fun to go get a drink my favorite thing to get there is the smoked turkey, which is Wild turkey bourbon red stag black cherry bourbon grenadine minute made premium lemonade with a hint of hickory smoke and that's garnished with a Luxardo gourmet maraschino cherry, it is super yummy. it's a smoky bourbon drink. but it's got the Lemonade limeade kind of taste to it, too

Julie:

Right. And when you say it's a small bar, there's a counter and five chairs or

Ryan:

yes, absolutely, but you know what you get a smoked turkey and you go sit by the water or you walk back to your room It's a really good drink. I love it the next one is kind of along the same lines, This one kind of fell into my lap. we were meeting folks at Woody's lunchbox. I wanted something to drink and this caught my eye and it was so good. the grownups lemonade. Have you had this at Woody's lunchbox? Cherry vodka minute made lemonade and a black cherry puree. And man on a hot day. And we know it's always hot in toy story land. This just hits the spot. You ready for a couple others?

Julie:

Yes.

Ryan:

I've got a couple more, alcoholic drinks for you. I have not had these, but as I was looking around preparing for the show today, these really popped out. Have you been to Nomad Lounge in Animal Kingdom, Julie?

Julie:

No, it's on my list, but we never make it there with the kids.

Ryan:

it's probably not a great place for the kids But the next time you and steven go it is such a cool bar. It's just relaxing you get out of the heat. They've got some really good cocktails. They've got that kungaloosh beer but The cocktail that I want to highlight is the Night Monkey. Now, this list of ingredients may not sound like they work together, I think this would work well. it has plantation original dark rum, guava puree, coffee simple syrup, and lime juice with a hint of cilantro.

Julie:

Ooh,

Ryan:

Does that sound good to you?

Julie:

Yeah.

Ryan:

So, my last drink on this list I'm taking us over to Disney Springs and we're going to Wine Bar George obviously Wine Bar George is known for wine Rightfully, so they have a great wine list and different opportunities with that But they also have some really good cocktails and you know that I love an old fashioned something on their menu caught my eye Julie and that is a frozen old fashioned they have several frozen cocktails and they have a frozen old fashioned with George Dickel eight year old bourbon, and has orange dole whip in it.

Julie:

Ooh,

Ryan:

fun is that?

Julie:

orange dole whip.

Ryan:

right?

Julie:

Okay.

Ryan:

No, that doesn't sound good

Julie:

I didn't even know there was an orange dole whip, so I'm intrigued.

Ryan:

is this a pretty good list? I put together a variety

Julie:

Can I add one drink?

Ryan:

Absolutely.

Julie:

Okay. The Lapu Lapu at, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. Have you had a lapu lapu, Ryan?

Ryan:

several drinks at Trader Sam's, but I don't remember what they were.

Julie:

Right, okay, I'm not 100 percent sure you can get it at Trader Sam's. I've gotten it at the Pool Bar, Sambu Lounge, and Ohana. But this is kind of like an iconic thing I think you need to get if you stay there.

Ryan:

Okay.

Julie:

it's plantation original dark rum and tropical fruit juices, served in a fresh pineapple topped with 151 rum.

Ryan:

Perfect. I mean, it's in a pineapple with a rum floater. It can't be bad.

Julie:

I used to order them for my parents, at Ohana before they knew what it was. And I would just order them a lapu

Ryan:

I mean, with the juices in there, it sounds like something for breakfast.

Julie:

It's so good. It's just a lot. It's a big drink.

Ryan:

So I have an honorable mention to finish off the list. I have not had this, but this food item has been all over the place. When I've looked at Disney food, any kind of recent what's happening, what are people excited about? This is on there. And this is the creme brulee croissant at Gaston's Tavern in Magic Kingdom. It's a croissant that they've bruleed and the pictures of this look amazing. I'm going to have to try this the next time I go to magic kingdom.

Julie:

Yeah, I actually have a local. bakery that makes all these kind of specialized croissants. So I've had something like that here. oh yes, they're so good.

Ryan:

So Julie, the next time you and I see each other, it's going to be in January for our agent training. what's something that you haven't tried that you really want to try?

Julie:

Can I pick one food and

Ryan:

I'll do the same. I think that's an appropriate thing to do. So something you haven't had that's new to you, but you really want to try.

Julie:

Okay, this is gonna be surprising, but the Mickey shaped beignets. I've never had

Ryan:

Very cool.

Julie:

on our next Disney trip, we're staying at Puerto Leone's Riverside, so I think it'll be easy to get those.

Ryan:

what about a drink?

Julie:

I'm gonna have to say those margaritas at La Cava.

Ryan:

Boy, you can't beat that. Yeah. I mean, that's a must do for me almost every time now. So food for me is the Buffalo chicken chips at trial of bikes, even though I'm not sure if they'll stick around, but those sound really good to me. And then I'm really intrigued by that night monkey cocktail at the Nomad Lounge.

Julie:

like the name of it.

Ryan:

It sounds cool.

Julie:

you want to plan a trip to an amazing destination but don't know how to get started. As your travel advisors, we work with you to create a customized itinerary for your vacation and take the stress of planning away so you can focus on the fun and creating memories. You can reach me at julie at creatingmagicvacations.

Ryan:

you can reach me Ryan at Ryan at creating magic vacations. com. We look forward to talking to you next week on all things travel.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Julie Shaffer

Co-host
Head Shot

Ryan Hedstrom

Co-host