Casey’s Corner

Location: Casey’s Corner is located at the end of Main Street USA on the left side as you walk toward Cinderella Castle or on the right as you head toward the entrance/exit.

Food Type: Hot Dogs, Nachos, Snacks.

Dining Plan: One quick service credit and a couple items count as snacks.

Menu:

Unique Items: Corn Dog Nuggets and the Chicago and Barbecue Slaw Hot Dogs are unique takes on the typical Disney Dog.

Advantages:

• Casey’s Corner is famous for their hot cheese sauce, which is an ooey gooey “plastic cheese” that tastes amazing on French Fries and Corn Dog Nuggets in particular.
• Service is usually fast.
• You can be reasonably sure that your Hot Dog is going to taste the same regardless of when you purchase it, assuming Disney hasn’t messed with the formula.
• The Ball Park Nachos are a large, easy to share snack.
• Hot Dog/French Fry combo should be filling.
• Look out for Jim playing the piano outside the restaurant from around noon to 7:15pm in 20 minute sets most weekdays.

Disadvantages:

• Seating is sparse and almost entirely outside.
• The menu is fairly limited with just Hot Dogs as entrees.  They are no longer kosher all-beef and the buns tend to break under the weight of the Dogs and condiments.

Value: Average.  Pricing is pretty standard for Disney.  The Hot Dogs aren’t great quality, but the toppings help quite a bit.

Reputation: Some people swear by Casey’s Corner.  I love the Corn Dog Nuggets, but the new Disney Hot Dogs don’t have much flavor at all and the buns tend to collapse.

Food Choices:

Chili Cheese Dog:

In my humble opinion, a chili-cheese dog needs to be three things:

1. When presented, it should look daunting.  You should think to yourself, “Am I going to be able to pick this thing up?”  It should make you want to pick it up.  It should convince you to pick it up.  And when you try to pick it up, you should fail.  It should require a fork and knife.

2. It should be a little spicy.  Not necessarily “five stars” hot, but there shouldn’t be any question that you ordered the chili-cheese dog and not the little-girl-dog.

3. It should hurt to finish it.  But it’s so good you finish it every time.

A Casey’s Corner dog is none of these things.  The chili is bland, the hot dog is no longer kosher all-beef, and the whole package is ultimately forgettable.  Casey’s does have a few things going for it, including a fun theme, Cracker Jacks, cotton candy, and a limited number of tables that overlook Cinderella Castle.  It wouldn’t be my choice though.

Barbecue Slaw Dog:

(With a small bite missing)

I was apprehensive about the whole hot barbecue pork/cold coleslaw combo, but I think it worked.  I say “think” because it’s virtually impossible to take a full bite and get your mouth around the entire hot dog.  You might have a jaw that unhinges or something, which would be convenient in instances like this one, but the rest of us are out of luck.  I sort of gnawed at the top and then took a bite out of the bottom.  It’s definitely not a good “first date” choice, though that’s never a concern for me personally.

Overall, this was very good.  The whole pork/dog/coleslaw combo wasn’t as off-putting as I was expecting and the bun didn’t disintegrate on me, which is usually what happens.  It was difficult to eat, but certainly not a bad choice.  I preferred it to the Chili Cheese Dog at Casey’s and the Taco Dog at The Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland.

Ball Park Nachos:

It’s a pretty simple concoction.  Chips.  Chili.  Cheese.

But the real attraction at Casey’s is the hot cheese sauce.  As is usually the case with nachos (that I don’t make myself), there aren’t going to be enough toppings to go around.  The hot cheese sauce is going to do a nice job filling the gap.  It’s basically like a better version of the “queso” type cheese that you might actually find on nachos at a baseball game or similar sporting event.  Overall, these were really good, but it’s mostly due to the cheese sauce.  The biggest disappointment was the lack of punch in the chili, but that’s par for the course.  It’s a ton of chips that would probably make a better heavy snack for two or more people to share.  You might also want to split these and one of the more substantial hot dogs.  I like nachos as much as any normal person, but a whole plate is going to be a lot of nachos.  Overall, they’re recommended if you like the hot cheese sauce.  You’re going to be eating a lot of naked chips otherwise.

Corn Dog Nuggets:

The Corn Dog Nuggets are the best hot dog item on the menu at Casey’s (in my opinion). You get ten of these suckers for $4.49 and you can guzzle hot cheese sauce until you’re sick.  I recommend dipping the Nuggets in hot cheese sauce first, taking a small bite, and then filling in the excess areas within the Nugget with hot cheese sauce.  Remember how Disney is always telling you to fill in all available space?  Apply the same principles here.  Add a Dole Whip Float for the ultimate snack.

Seating:

Casey’s Corner offers a limited number of tables directly outside and just about three tables indoors in front of the store next door.  It can be difficult to swing a table during peak meal times or when it’s busy.  Consider taking your food to Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant across the way in Tomorrowland if it doesn’t look like anything is going to open up.

Condiments

Casey’s offers a condiment bar that includes sauerkraut, salsa, jalapenos, diced, onions, and hot cheese sauce along with your usual ketchup and mustard.