Disney’s Magic Kingdom Summer 2018 Snack Update

We’ll take a look at some new-ish food and drink items available around Magic Kingdom.

Hopefully, looking at a number of snacks in context will offer some insight into what’s actually worth trying.

Golden Oak Outpost has seen a lot of change over the last few years.

Here’s the menu from three years ago:

It was all about Waffle Fries back then along with the Sweet Potato Nuggets.

These didn’t last.

As recently as last month, below is what the kiosk served:

Considering most tourists don’t know whether they’re in California, Florida, or Ohio as they walk around Magic Kingdom, Disney changed the title of the “Barbecue Chicharrones” to “Pork Rinds” before they glowed away around the July 4th holiday to make way for what can only be described as very patriotic cauliflower.

The following menu illustrates what’s currently served:

The milkshakes, which were added at the end of July, offer some hope. We’ll work our way down from the top.

The $5.79 Chili Queso Fries are actually pretty good when the Waffle Fries underneath are crispy and fresh. Unfortunately, that seems to be the exception these days as you have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of 20 or 30 trays full of them sitting out at any given time. It’s unfortunate because the meaty chili has a nice little kick to it and the creamy, cheesy queso adds an appropriate amount of zip. They’re recommended when you can get a fresh batch and serve as a filling, tasty snack.

The $5 “Spicy Battered Cauliflower served with Creamy Garlic Ranch Sauce” is actually pretty good, fried to a beautiful golden brown and with just the right amount of crunchy batter surrounding the cruciferous vegetable that retains a nice bite. These are “Disney spicy,” which is to say, “not very,” but there’s just enough of a red pepper presence to make the zesty, herb-y Garlic Ranch Sauce taste all the more refreshing. For five bucks, the value isn’t overwhelming, but the portion is sizable and if you’re concerned about your calorie intake, you can always drink the ranch.

One note – Golden Oak’s Fried Cauliflower is very similar to or exactly the same as what Pecos Bill serves as part of its Taco Trio, which will set you back $11 for the three as described towards the end of this post. Once you finish loading up on sour cream, lettuce, cheese, and other goodies from the fixin’s bar, you’ll probably come away with about three times as much food for about twice as much money. But the Golden Oak version is a nice, easy, no-nonsense snack.

$5.49 buys you these “Breaded Jalapeño Poppers stuffed with Nacho Cheese and served with G.O.O. Sauce.” Poppers and Goo Sauce….there’s a joke in there that a much less mature website would make. As it stands, the Jalapeno Poppers are not as crispy as the Fried Cauliflower, but the breading does a nice job of keeping all of the oozing melted nacho cheese encased inside of the pepper together even after the initial bite. I’m not a big Poppers guy, but these are about 11.6% breading, 69.3% cheese, and 19.1% pepper, making for a rather cheesy affair. Jalapeno Poppers seem a bit random as an outdoor theme park snack, but they work overall. I’m not sure I would actively seek them out, but they’re worth attaching to a snack order if you’re making a stop.

“G.O.O.” ostensibly stands for Golden Oak Outpost and I’ll admit that I was more than a little surprised that it turned out to be a thick, bright red raspberry sauce. I think the fruity flavors would complement a cream-cheese-based popper a lot better than this nacho cheese variety. I’d suggest asking for a cup of the Garlic Ranch that comes with the Cauliflower for dipping.

Overall, both the Fried Cauliflower and Jalapeno Poppers are very good vegetarian snacks, both of which can be redeemed for a snack credit on the Disney Dining Plan. I enjoyed my first foray into the world of Chili Cheese Fries here, but the second visit went substantially worse given how long the fries sat out on the counter.

The Frontierland kiosk added two new milkshakes in late July.

First up is the $7 “Rocky Road Milkshake – Rocky Road Ice Cream topped with Whipped Cream, Cocoa Powder, and a toasted Marshmallow.”

I was surprised by how delicious these were – the Rocky Road Ice Cream is thick and nicely spun, making for a thick, barely-sippable concoction that’s just right in the Florida heat.

And while it might not be evident from these pictures, the milkshake was full of chopped nuts and little marshmallows with a really decadent chocolate flavor. The Marshmallow on top should be the same house-made variety that Westward Ho serves as part of its trail mix. Ours didn’t fare particularly well and ended up being more of a marsh-melt-ow. I was impressed and would recommend searching this out on a hot afternoon.

That’s the $7 “Dulce de Leche Milkshake – Dulce de Leche Ice Cream topped with Whipped Cream, Caramel Sauce, and Candied Bacon” in the back.

It’s all sorts of sweet with a very acute caramel flavor with a little bit of toasted butterscotch. Anyone that enjoys caramel will be into this. The Candied Bacon was good too – mostly sweet with a little bit of salt in each crispy bite.

I was impressed by how well the milkshakes held up – they stayed drinkable while still maintaining a nice thick texture long after our photoshoot. Very good stuff.

Nearby in Adventureland, the Egg Roll Cart is back.

You’ll find it here in between Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Spring rolls is what we’re calling them.

$7.50 buys you your choice of two, either Vegetable or Cheeseburger.

Or one of each. The Spring Rolls are probably smaller than they appear and somewhat surprisingly, the vegetable version is the thicker of the two.

There’s some crunch to the vegetables, but not a lot of flavor. It’s a bit cumbersome to empty the soy sauce packets and try to mop up some of the sodium with the greasy rolls, but that does elevate the flavor profile considerably. I don’t think I’d stick my nose up at these if they were larger and there were four of them served at a restaurant with a bowl of sauce, but they’re a horrendous value at nearly eight bucks for the two served outside in a theme park. We’re talking six meager bites, if that.

The flavor of the Cheeseburger version mimics that of a basic McDonald’s hamburger with the old beef and surprisingly-overwhelming flavors of onion and pickle followed up with mustard and ketchup – if the greasy cylinder doesn’t slip through your hands on the way to your mouth, anyway.

Back when I reviewed these in 2015, they were $4.50 a pair and I went on the record as saying I was “neutral” on their value. At $7.50, it’s an easy pass. There’s no snack credit opportunity here, either.

Look at all that grease that’s seeped through the cardboard. The rolls were so paltry that I couldn’t even stand them up in the tray for a proper cross-section. Very troubling.

Over to Fantasyland, Storybook Treats Ice Cream is located in between the entrance to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh to the left and Friar’s Nook to the right.

If Soft-serve is what you’re after, it’s always been a good stop for a cone, cup, or sundae.

Recently, a couple of interesting items were added to the menu, including this $6 “Twinkie Sundae – Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Fudge and Whipped Cream.” The Sundae itself is what you would expect with Disney’s luscious vanilla soft serve topped with chocolate syrup. The Fried Twinkie is on the dry and stale side of things on its own, but the cold ice cream makes it more palatable with the crispiness of the sponge cake adding a nice textural contrast to the soft-serve and whipped cream. For an extra buck, I think it’s worth adding the Twinkie, even if it’s not exactly transcendent in this capacity.

If you’ve gotten within three hundred thousand miles of Instagram over the last month, you’ve probably seen the Peter Pan Float in all of its leprechaun-esque glory.

It’ll set you back $5.49 and consists of Key Lime Ice Cream, Sprite, and a Chocolate Feather.

I found it to be particularly refreshing – the tart Dole Lime soft-serve, which pairs nicely with the crisp quality of the Sprite, isn’t too sweet, which makes it really satisfying in the summertime heat. The little chocolate feather tastes better than it has any right to and take it from me, you’ll look quite precious parading one around Fantasyland for your photoshoot. If the various trashcans are already occupied, just go up to the people and tell them that the waste receptacles are the property of easywdw.com and you’d like to see their image-capturing permit. Of course, taking a photo of a sundae on top of a trash can requires no permit, but I guarantee you that whoever is standing there will leave in short order. It works every time.

Rounding out your options, you’ll find the Cookie Sundae and some other Float options. You can also order the Peter Pan Float with another soda or get the Dole Lime soft serve on its own.

The $5.49 “Cookie Sundae – Vanilla Soft-serve, Hot Fudge, Seasonal Sprinkles, and a Chocolate-Chip Cookie.” Apparently, whipped cream is in season as this is again your standard Disney Sundae with the addition of a stale chocolate chip cookie.

While Storybook Treats isn’t historically popular, I was amused to see at least 15 people rope-dropping the 11am open as I passed by late last month as part of my own Seven Dwarfs Mine Train rope drop. Waits may climb to as many as ten minutes here in the afternoon, but it should be a pretty quick stop in most scenarios. I’d recommend the Peter Pan Float.

To the right of Storybook Treats and out of frame behind that wall is where you’ll find Friar’s Nook.

It’s not much more than a large hole in the wall with an inadequate number of tables off to the right, but there are quite a few lines available for when Magic Kingdom is busy.

Friar’s Nook has offered a number of items over the years.

For a while it was home to Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs, but unlike what’s served at Casey’s Corner, never combined.

Yeah…I don’t know.

The above, tot-heavy menu debuted back on February 1st.

And late last month, the menu was abridged to this, eliminating the Greek Tots in favor of Pub Tots and replacing the Hot Dogs with Brats.

Don’t worry. The Fried Twinkies are still available.

There’s no description available on the $8.49 Pub Tots, but they’re topped with crunchy green onions, salty bacon, and a beer cheese sauce, which is nice and creamy with just a little bit of a spicy kick. They might be closer to what I’m looking for at 11:45pm at Halloween Horror Nights after finishing my 8th Miller Lite than what sounds immediately palatable following a peaceful afternoon ride on Dumbo the Flying Elephant, but there’s something comforting about the crispy, deep-fried tater tots smothered in cheese and bacon. It’s a filling dish for the money and while we’re far from high class dining here, come recommended for what they are – a very shareable, very tasty snack and an experience that nobody else probably needs to know about.

Here’s the $10.29 Brat and Tots.

The juicy German sausage is sizable in the bun, thick and with a nice snap to each bite. It tasted a lot more like a chicken sausage to me with a blander flavor than I’m used to from a healthy pork brat, but it was still satisfying paired with the sauerkraut, which also seemed to carry a lot less of the sour brine flavor and none of the pungent aroma that is typical from the fermented cabbage. The pretzel roll that surrounds it held up well and provided a nice chew to each bite, though I don’t think it stood out on its own as being anything special. On the plus side, the tater tots are served hot and crispy.

As usual, my thoughts are on the nit-picky side and this is actually pretty good as far as Magic Kingdom quick service goes. It’s a filling, easy meal.

There’s also a Vegan Brat and Tots option for the same money that uses Beyond Sausage. You should now see the offering advertised underneath the Brats and Tots picture on the menu.

The look of it was a little off-putting at first, but as dismaying as it is, I actually preferred the flavor of the Vegan Sausage. It was well-seasoned and incredibly juicy with a similar snap to the bratwurst all with more protein, less sodium, and fewer calories. There’s also more of it in the bun and I can guarantee you that the retail price of the Beyond Sausage is far higher than the regular Brat, making it a better value.

Word is that Disney is having some trouble sourcing the Beyond Sausages due to their popularity, but this is worth seeking out for any vegans/vegetarians. Shockingly good.

Loaded Buffalo Tots are available for $9.49, topped with Buffalo Chicken, Green Onion, and Blue Cheese. It’s another satisfying combination that carries a little bit of a kick.

A $9.49 bowl of Fiesta Tots topped with sliced Jalapenos, Taco Meat, Pico de Gallo, and Queso is also available. These are pretty good too with the ground beef adding more heft than the bacon we saw in the Pub Nachos. All of these flavor combinations are tried and true. They should be exactly what you expect along with the golden, crispy tots underneath.

Friar’s Nook serves Fried Twinkies topped with one of four sauces, each for $4.99, and here topped with Strawberry Sauce.

And here with Chocolate Sauce. Caramel and Vanilla Sauces are also available and you can ask for more than one sauce if you’d like. Again, these weren’t working for me – dry and without much flavor. But you may have better luck. On the other hand, for just a dollar more you can order one as part of an ice cream sundae. That “feels” like the better buy.

Elsewhere in snacks, The Refillable Popcorn Bucket is still available for $10 with $1.75 refills for the length of your stay, which, in my case, has been eight years.

The Vanilla Ice Cream Churro Sandwich is available either for $6.49 or a snack credit at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments in Liberty Square. I’m not sure that it works nearly as well as you might hope given the fact that the churros are old and crusty. If they were served warm, they’d just melt the ice cream that much faster.

The Mickey Waffle for about the same money, cooked up fresh, is the smarter buy.

Here’s the rest of the current menu. I still miss the hand-dipped corn dogs.

Over at Sunshine Tree Terrace, you might remember that dueling orange snacks are available after the Citrus Swirl was briefly removed from the menu in the early spring.

The Orange Dole Soft-serve is sweeter and creamier than its Citrus cousin, which has more of a tart character.

One of my favorite recent additions, the Pineapple Upside Down Cake is still available at Aloha Isle in Adventureland.

The cake enjoys a surprisingly fresh fluffiness – light and tropical with a real fruity character, while the Dole Whip adds a cool refreshing tropical flavor to each springy bite.

The venerable Theme Park Pickle is still available from a number of outlets, including Liberty Square Market, along with the rest of these items.

The proliferation of sparkling water continues as well.

You might have noticed that we’re ignoring Tomorrowland until the Incredibles Expo leaves, but you’ll find these two drinks at the bottom of the menu available at Cool Ship.

The drinks are incredibly sweet and you’ll only come away with about six ounces of liquid, but the dry ice effect is kind of fun as it bubbles up over the rim. You’re paying for the entertainment factor, so you might try to zoom in on somebody else’s drink and then photoshop yourself in the picture.

I’ve never actually been to Disney World before, but I don’t think you’d ever pick up on that fact from all of these pictures.

That’s most of what’s going on at Magic Kingdom as far as snacks and meals at the minor quick services are concerned. We’ll get caught up on the big boys as well.