Lunch and Bowling at Splitsville, There’s Still Nobody at Animal Kingdom, Pizzafari Vegetarian Pizza, Lunch at Via Napoli

We’ve spent some time at Splitsville in the past, particularly in this post and this post.

This time, we’ll actually bowl.

Larger menu: https://www.easywdw.com/reports7/splitsville.jpg. But lunch is first.  I’m about as far from being a germ-a-phobe as possible, but the idea of putting my fingers in one of those nasty bowling balls and then grabbing something to eat that isn’t on a stick gives me the heebie jeebies.  After lunch, our bowling food/drink server was less enthusiastic about our plan to eat lunch first.  They will bring you whatever you want from the menu at the lane so you don’t have to walk over to the bar or anything.

Kenny from KennyThePirate.com was nice enough to invite me out for lunch and bowling.  You are probably familiar with his website, which lists the actual character meet and greet times at the theme parks.  For example, instead of Disney telling you that Aladdin and Jasmine appear intermittently in Adventureland from 9:30am – 7pm, Kenny will tell you exactly where and when they appear.   I also got a preview of the new version of his character finding app and it was looking pretty sweet.

Kenny ordered the Turkey Club – Sliced turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo and cheese on thick, Texas toast.  He subbed the mayo for a side of honey mustard.  This was a ton of food for 12 bucks.  I tried a quarter and it was pretty good.

I would have liked some sort of interesting spread in lieu of the (missing) standard mayo.  With the extra slice of bread in the middle, it was a little dry and bread-y.

I opted for the Bacon Cheeseburger – Classic Burger (lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion) with cheese and crispy bacon.  This didn’t really stand out either, as much as I wanted it to.  The bacon and cheese didn’t seem to have a whole lot of flavor and there wasn’t much seasoning to the beef.  The bun, lettuce, onion, and tomato were all fresh and (with the exception of the fluffy bun) crunchy.

While we were dining around 1:30pm on Tuesday April 16th, there were maybe six other people in the entire place.  Other than those working, which seemed to number 30 just on the lower floor.  I mention this because it does seem like their fries have been sitting around somewhere for a while before they’re served.  They’ve never been particularly crispy/crunchy or hot.

I was a lot more enthusiastic about the pizza, sushi, and appetizers in previous visits.  The burger and sandwich seemed to be a lot more pedestrian.

They do have bendy straws though.

Splitsville seems to change their bowling pricing structure on a weekly basis.  This is what it looks like at the moment:

Monday through Friday:

$15/person from 10am to 4pm

$20/person from 4pm to close

Saturday/Sunday:

$20/person from 10am to close

Bowling time based on party size:

1 hour: 1 – 3 people

1 hour 15 minutes: 4 people

1 hour 30 minutes: 5 people

1 hour 45 minutes: 6 – 8 people

Compare that to what was originally offered.  Since we were bowling in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, bowling was 15 bucks a head and we had an hour.  With so few people around, there was no wait for a lane.  Fast forward six hours to 8pm or 9pm and you might be waiting 30 minutes to an hour or more, particularly on the weekends.  It would have been nice if they had added an extra half hour or something since there wasn’t a wait.  It would probably lead to more food/beverage sales.

I had not been bowling in 20 years and was not particularly excited about it.  But it was surprisingly fun.  I’m the second “josh” listed and started the first frame of the first game with two gutter balls followed by a “1” in the next frame.  And managed to bowl around a 160 the second game.  I’m just saying I’m some kind of athletic anomaly.  Or Kenny and one of the other Joshes are really bad at bowling.

Excellent form, Kenny.  Bowling includes the shoe rental.  Shoes seemed to run a bit big.  If you’re headed upstairs, you may want to try them on before committing.  It’s a trek back down the escalator.  I’ve read that the lanes aren’t regulation length or something.  I have no idea if that’s true as I forgot my tape measure in one of my other polos.  I thought it was neat that the computer could automatically raise and lower the bumpers for each individual bowler as needed.  That may be a standard feature these days, but wasn’t back in 1994 when I bowled last.  Off to the right, they have another contraption where you can simply let go of the ball and it will head toward the pins.  That can help kids who would otherwise bowl a zero hit some pins.  We made it through two games at a relaxed speed in about 50 minutes and tried to rush through a third.  We made it about half way.  I’m not sure I’d go bowling on a short Disney World vacation, but it was certainly a fun way to spend an hour.  And you could do a lot worse for 15 bucks.

At least outside, Splitsville has switched up their drink pricing.

You may remember these absurdly priced $14 “Bowl Drinks” that are mostly ice.  Outside, they’re $9 and called “Boat Drinks.”  I would expect a lawsuit from Jimmy Buffet incoming.  I did not investigate what sizing looked like on the Boats as I’m assuming you receive far less liquid if you order a Dragonberry Mojito instead of the Beach Bowl.  They also offer a more limited drink menu outside and offer a “Jumbo Squeeze Bottle.”  Anyway, I’ll investigate.

Changing gears, we now find ourselves at Animal Kingdom on the afternoon of April 16th at 3:37pm.

The Parade was rolling through as we arrived.

This is the Parade crowd following the Parade towards the exit.  Virtually everyone you see here will leave the Park in the next 30 minutes.  It’s also the reason I recommend being on Kilimanjaro Safaris right now.  You don’t really want to be caught in this crowd, but Kenny and I are really bad at Park touring.

Per usual, we walked right on the Safaris. 10 minute posted wait.

The zebras at the end are gone – apparently because they are mean.  These goats with horns have replaced them.  They are supposedly very rare.  Our safari driver told us there were only 500 left in the world.

Which is weird, because Disney seemed to have about 30 of them.  And I have two more in my freezer.  Sorry Wilson.  Without you, I don’t know poaching is bad!

Pocahontas continues greeting along the path that connects Africa and Asia closer to Africa.  As you’re walking to Asia, you’ll see her on the right shortly after passing Tamu Tamu Refreshments.

BREAKING NEWS: Sweet and Sour Chicken Nuggets are no longer available at Mr. Kamal’s.  Someone alert WDWMAGIC.  The cutbacks are escalating!

Although on the same front, the fountains outside Kali River Rapids work again.  Disney really seems to be getting a handle on water.

Very wet.

Straight out of the camera.

The same image Lightroom’d out. Photography is a scam.

The Anandapur Ice Cream truck is being refurbished.

The sign is cute, though I’m not sure anyone is going to take them up on the 20 minute walk over to Camp Minnie-Mickey.

Animal Kingdom was this website’s most recommended Park while our friends at TouringPlans had it as their only Park to avoid.  I’m still not sure why you wouldn’t recommend Animal Kingdom on a Tuesday.  Anyway, with two more hours until close, there were four people on Everest.

Which meant we got to sit in the very front and the very back in a span of about 15 minutes.  If you want to sit in the front row, simply ask at the front of the queue.  They will put you in a separate queue with the other people that want to sit in front.

SIGHT LINES COMPROMISED. MAGIC LESS MAGICAL.

This is the sort of cheese plate that will probably not win the girl. It seemed to impress Kenny.

You’ve probably heard about Optimus Prime this and Megayawn that over at some theme park called Loserversil Studios or something.  Yeah yeah.  Disney continues to innovate themselves with this sick puppet from the dollar store.  The puppet is so next level that the cast member has to wear food service gloves to even handle it.

Because Kenny is cruel and unusual, he made me ride DINOSAUR. The line was a little daunting, but we persevered.

Dinner is at Animal Kingdom’s gourmet pizzeria, Pizzafari.

Poor Kenny did not have a lot of luck with quick service.  They forgot to make his pepperoni pizza, but Disney went out of their way to hand deliver it when it was ready as well as offer these breadsticks that were made as recently as the day before.  They were still kind of warm.

I ordered the Vegetable Pizza – $9.49 with a Side Caesar Salad.  I did not have high expectations, but I deemed it pretty good.  The vegetables present were finely chopped and added a little crunch to the pizza.  I think I see green/red onions and tomatoes.  People hate on Disney pizza.  And this is basically DiGiorno quality.  But I like Digiorno, so whatevz.  One nice thing about heading here about an hour before close is that the pizzas are baked fresh, rather than sitting under a heat lamp until someone orders them.  It’ll add five minutes to the wait, but it’s worth it, assuming they remember to make your pizza of course.

The side salad is best skipped.  You’ll save $2.  This was drenched in bottled Caesar dressing, making the lettuce limp.

There is nothing going on construction-wise in Camp Minnie-Mickey.

In fact, they’ve added FASTPASS+ at Lion King.

And Character Landing.

And It’s Tough to be a Bug. Seriously. It’s Tough to be a Bug will have FASTPASS+.

Changing gears one more time if your brain can take it. It’s now Monday April 22nd at 1:36pm. Epcot is the most recommended Park, but it does feel crowded.  And more FASTPASS+.  Take a breath because I’m about to blow your mind.

That’s FASTPASS+ at Captain EO.

EO runs at about 15% capacity.

No sign of FASTPASS+ at Journey into Imagination with Figment, at least.  I asked him what he thought of his current attraction and this was his response.  Crestfallen and rather despondent.

Prices continue heading north at Le Cellier as the price of the Rib Eye has been jacked up another ten bucks.  Blame Tom Bricker.  Seriously.  Please send him hate mail.  They also have three different “Poutines.”  Their quotes, not mine.

Fountain View Cafe has added black tarps.

The Flower and Garden Festival Marketplaces are as popular as ever.

I’m not sure putting physical barriers in the way is the best plan of action.

Straight out of the camera.

Photography is a scam.

“The Doofenslurper.”  I would buy a 99 cent Slurpee from 7-11 and donate the other $8.50 to science.  Maybe we can live in a better world.

Lunch is at Via Napoli in the Italy Pavilion avec Derek Burgan, whom you may recognize from Orlando Informer’s Rumor Roundup and Park Newz.

Napoli is one of the most hyped restaurants on Disney property and one that I think actually deserves much of the praise.  Menu:

Those Italian Craft Beers are actually really good.  Despite being expensive, they’re actually not a bad value compared to the others.  The Baladin would run you $18 at the store., for example..if you could find it. But they serve one. I’m not sure why they put 2-3.

Because I’m a beautiful lady, I went with the Strawberry Limoncello – served frozen, strawberry garnish – $11.  It was strawberry-y and cold.  I’m not sure there was any alcohol in it, but it was otherwise delicious.

Derek went with the Birra Moretti, a serviceable 4.6% Euro Pale Lager.

This is a large Pepperoni and Spicy Italian Sausage pizza – $28 plus $3.50 per topping.

Pricing may look absurd at first glance.  This is a $35 pizza after all.  But if you consider your other options at Epcot, it’s really not that bad.  This is certainly enough pizza for two people, so we’re talking $17.50 per person, which is only a few more dollars than a lot of quick service options.

The pizza is really, really good with a thin, slightly crispy crust and plenty of toppings.  The sausage was divine – actually spicy.  I would eat here every day if I could and I wish there was a clone down the street.  Napoli may be my favorite restaurant at Epcot.

The restaurant is open and kind of loud.

There’s a large table in the middle of the restaurant, which may make this restaurant a good choice if you have a large party.  It seemed like they were seating smaller parties on either side.

Service was lousy.  We saw our server when she took our order and when she delivered the check.  We wanted to try an Aqua Fresca and never had an opportunity.  Nobody asked if we wanted another drink.

I’ll chalk it up to bad luck. Service is usually outstanding at the Italy restaurants. Maybe too good as they tend to stand off to the sides and stare at you throughout the meal.

There’s also patio seating that is usually glassed in.

That’s the news.