1900 Park Fare Rethemed and Reopened – Our Evening of Making Wishes. Four years ago, 1900 Park Fare as we know it closed its doors when the pandemic struck the world. We lost one of the most magical character meals at Walt Disney World. Yesterday, 1900 Park Fare at Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa reopened its doors to guests once again. This time with a brand new theme, some new characters, and a story that revolves around the Disney trope of “Wishes”.
“Wish Makers Enchanted Dining – Wishing for something delicious? Your wishes can come true at 1900 Park Fare, featuring an all-you-care-to-enjoy buffet at breakfast and dinner—with visits from some favorite Disney Characters.” is how it is described on the 1900 Park Fare website.
We will get into everything we can about the newly rethemed and reopened 1900 Park Fare, so bear with us as we try and encapsulate our experience into something palatable you can read. I want to talk about the retheming, the food, the character interaction, and our overall experience. Some were great, some were not so great, and one thing was a major disappointment for my Disney-loving heart.
Food –
“At dinner, get a taste of New Orleans when you try Tiana’s Gumbo. Some flavorful favorites await you at breakfast and dinner alike—including the Grand Floridian Strawberry Soup and a carving station full of savory selections.”
We had the dinner menu, which consisted of the carving station featuring prime rib and porchetta. Peel-n-Eat Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce, Tiana’s Gumbo with Spicy Andouille Sausage, Baked Salmon with Saffron-Lemon Butter, Curry-roasted Chicken, Roasted Garlic Sausage with Tomatoes, Herbs, and Braised Cabbage, Impossible Merguez Sausage with Zucchini Noodles, Grand Floridian Strawberry Soup with Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream, Mediterranean Kale Salad, Couscous Salad with Dried Fruits, Almonds, Mint, and Parsley, Focaccia with Sun-dried Tomato and Herbs, Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Carrots, Green Bean and more.
The food was decent. The selection is very minimal considering how much this whole evening was costing us. I did enjoy the gumbo, but where is the hot sauce? I am sure if you asked for some they would bring you out one of those small bottles of Tabasco, but seriously, this is a staple in Louisiana, and a good hot sauce is demanded to be served with it!
The major flaw of the food was that everything was lukewarm. Prime rib was good, and you can ask for it to be cut fresh, but by the time we got it into our mouths, it was colder than it should have been. This goes for almost every dish we had, minus the gumbo which was just a bit warmer.
Yes, it was flawed, but there were also some good points. The house-made steak sauce goes well with the mashed potatoes and the sausage. I enjoyed both and went back for more. Smoothering them each time with the sauce.
Desserts –
I honestly did not know if I should include the return of Strawberry Soup in the food or dessert category. People go nuts over this staple of 1900 Park Fare, eating it before and after the meal. So, let us just add it here and say it was a welcome return to the Disney menu.
Vanilla Cupcakes, Lemon-Blueberry Cheesecake, Toasted Coconut Cake with Passion Fruit Custard and Hibiscus Crème, Warm Chocolate Cake, and Grand Floridian Financier finish out the dessert menu. All were delicious and looked amazing. Disney always does a fantastic job creating flavors everyone can enjoy. For me, the Toasted Coconut Cake with Passion Fruit Custard was a stand-out and a truly great dessert. I would love to figure out how to make this at home, or just be able to buy this at a market around the Disney Resorts.
Characters –
This is the magical part of our review! The characters, Cinderella, Prince Aladdin, Mirabel, and Princess Tiana in her Tiana’s Bayou Adventure outfit, were all amazing to talk to and interact with. If you have ever been to Disney with me, you will know my love for meeting and greeting characters. Except for face characters! I am more of a Furry guy! (That joke is specifically for two ‘Main’ people). You give me a Country Bear, Tigger, or anything that is a huggable character and I go nuts. Just not face characters, I dunno what it is, I just dont want to gush over them and make them uncomfortable.
That did not stop our group from enjoying talking to them all. Each one was special, each one had great things to talk about and could answer any question we had about them. For example, Prince Aladdin went on and on about Genie with me. I do have blue hair, so his jokes were great. He also was able to quote lines from Disney’s Aladdin. Again, I asked him what he liked to be called “Do we call you Prince Ali, Prince Aladdin, how do we address you?” Prince Aladdin responded with the whole “You can call me Aladdin, Laddie, or you can call me Al (Yes, a Paul Simon quote).
What made this special was one simple thing for me, and truly this is why you should or should not decide to bring your family and spend this amount of money on a character meal, watching these four characters with kids! This is what Walt Disney World, and Disney in general does better than any other company, they know how to reach kids and make every one of them feel special or connected.
I saw a little girl dressed up like Cinderella, and her mom was bound’ing as Cinderella. When Cinderella came to their table she spent quality time with the little kid, even sitting on the floor with her dress splayed around her. Had the little kid sit just like her and made this kid feel like she was a Princess herself.
With that being said, this is not the character dining you or I may remember. This is not meeting Cinderella, her step-sisters, and her evil stepmother. This is not penguins, and Mary Poppins, with Alice and the Mad-Hatter. This is now the same meet and greet for breakfast and dinner. Same characters, same costumes, same ceremony.
This is now all about Wishes. Characters who have wishes, and want you to get the wish of your hearts desire. But, it is not right. If you are doing a Wishes ‘thing’ where was Asha from Disney’s Wish? I dont know how to put this in good words, it just felt disjointed.
There is a ‘Wish’ ceremony. When you enter you are given an autograph card, and on the back, you have space to write your wish, then during your meal, Pinocchio comes on to tell you how to wish for your wish.
Retheme –
1900 Park Fare has changed the whole decor and seating. Gone are the carousel horses that used to stand prominently in the central area, but that does not mean there are no nods to the history of the carousels. Images, wallpaper, paintings, and more pay homage to what was in years past. It is well done and beautiful.
The new paintings on the walls look and feel like you could jump right in and become part of the story of the characters.
Some amazing paintings are resembling the park scenes from Mary Poppins.
For adults and kids alike, the theming will draw you in.
Now, to be a little snarky for a second. The centerpiece of 1900 Park Fare is the “Big Bertha” Carousel Fair Organ. The history of this organ is amazing, and I will be doing a whole article on it. For now, though, this organ has not worked for some years. I believe the last time we heard of it working was in 2018 or 2019. Disney Imagineering and Cast Members had over 4 years to fix this! I was shocked that it was not mentioned on the website anymore, as it was a vital part of dining in that room for many years.
Big Bertha is a historical centerpiece that should be working. The wood carvings, how all the instruments work together, and the songs that used to come from the organ were all spectacular visions while dining.
Price and Final Thoughts –
The price for dinner is – $66 per adult, plus tax and gratuity, and $41 per child, plus tax and gratuity.
Breakfast is – $54 per adult, plus tax and gratuity, and $34 per child, plus tax and gratuity
We asked about using our Disney World Annual Passholders Discount, and our answer is something we have heard in the past. There is NO discount for the first year of operation. We should have thought of that prior, because we thought the price may be worth it if we could use our discounts.
Dinner was not worth the final bill plus tax of $184.00 for 2 people, which included 1 adult beverage. But that should not stop you from trying this yourself, especially if you have children. We are looking forward to trying the breakfast menu in the future, who doesn’t love a good Mickey Waffle?
While we loved the retheme, and the new paintings, furthermore we did enjoy the ‘Wish’ ceremony, the whole thing did not live up to our expectations. Again, this doesn’t mean we did not enjoy our company or disliked the characters. Those were both highlights. The food was lacking, and the presentation was disjointed.
Our WISH? We wish this lived up to our personal hype we had. We wish that Big Bertha worked. We Wish this will get better over time.
