Are Disney World influencers spreading lies about these foods?

Um…what happened? I did my research. I found all the lists of top Disney World foods you MUST eat and the lists of foods you should NEVER eat. I narrowed them down to the things I personally should love and things I should avoid. And still, this turned out differently than I expected. So it made me wonder, are Disney World influencers spreading lies about these foods?

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Disney World Pretzels

As a kid in Brooklyn, I wasn’t allowed to get street food. My mom saw enough of what goes down on the streets to know that some people handling food can be very unhygienic. And I got sick pretty often. So eating most public food was out of the question. But I was allowed to eat knishes, pickles from a barrel, and fresh pretzels. And so I ate a lot of pretzels. No matter how large no matter how dry, no matter how soggy, I always finished my pretzels. As long as it’s not rock hard, the worst of the pretzels are still edible. I don’t think I’ve ever not finished a pretzel.

Fast forward to Disney World in 2023. During extended evening hours, not many of the restaurants or kiosks are open. But not to fear, Lunching Pad was open with plenty of pretzels to choose from. Against my friend’s pleas, I got the sweet cream cheese pretzel. Against my pleas, she got the Mickey shaped one.

Sweet Cream Cheese Pretzel

“How bad could a pretzel get?” was the question on everyone’s mind before taking the first bite of each respective pretzel. We found out the answer. Pretty freaking bad.

I forced myself to eat half of the sweet cream cheese pretzel before I gave up and threw it in the trash.

Mickey Pretzel

My friend didn’t get even halfway through her Mickey pretzel and she definitely didn’t touch that fake cheese. I typically like fake cheese but something about this one did not look appealing to me either.

“You were right. This is terrible,” we told each other. “Do you want to try mine?” “No thank you, I believe you.” Into the trash can went the remainder of both pretzels.

We went home pretty dejected. 0/5, yes where’s my refund? These pretzels are too expensive to be this bad. Honestly, even for free, I would have wanted a refund.

Polite Pig

No one say a word to me. Please. I’m still upset.

I’ve been eating barbecue forever. I went to college in one of America’s bbq capital-areas and was excited to try all the barbecue it had to offer. During every break, I’d venture to a different BBQ spot far from campus.

So when I heard about this Michelin rated bbq spot on Disney property, I put it towards the top of my list.

My friend and I ordered it to go because we didn’t have the patience for hanging at Disney Springs on a Saturday night. It smelled so good on the bus ride back to our hotel.

I got cornbread, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, bbq cauliflower, and a brisket sandwich. I was ready for a delicious feast.

I think you know where this is going. Straight to disappointment.

Cornbread

The cornbread muffin wasn’t bad. It was fine. And honestly it was priced very well.

Macaroni and cheese

I come from a macaroni and cheese family. We each make our mac and cheese a bit differently and they’re all good. Do you want to know how I knew this mac and cheese was not going to be good? The breadcrumbs are tossed on top like an afterthought.

I don’t particularly like breadcrumbs on macaroni and cheese. The best mac and cheese doesn’t need breadcrumbs for an extra crunch if you cooked it correctly. I have encountered some with breadcrumbs that were good, but ONLY if the breadcrumbs were baked into the macaroni and cheese.

These were not. I could tell because they moved around loosely, easily gliding across the macaroni and cheese. Below, the shells were gooey and cheesy, which was fine. The mixture of cheese was good but forgettable.

Potato salad and Barbecue cauliflower

Now here is my dilemma. In this container you see one of the best things I’ve eaten at Disney World as well as the ultimate worst. I’m talking 5/5 would run to Polite Pig in a heartbeat vs -5/5 vomit city. Can you tell which is which?

Potato salad

I bet some of you could guess that the worst is the potato salad. I’ve never encountered a potato salad like this. I love all types of american potato salad. I have my preferences, like must contain mustard and eggs, but potato salad is a staple dish. I also love german potato salad, with the red potatoes and vinegary dressing. Actually I love potatoes as a whole. This was the worst potato dish I’ve ever had in my life. I wish I was exaggerating. It tasted like someone poured spoiled milk all over some barely cooked potatoes. I’ve never had spoiled milk, but it tasted like the smell of it. Yet it smelled good.

Barbecue cauliflower

Then came the bbq cauliflower. This was incredible. With and without the sauce. I don’t remember seeing it on any lists. I just needed a vegetable, so I opted for this. I could eat it every single day.

Brisket sandwich

I’m not going to talk much about this. I was so appalled by the potato salad that I couldn’t even care about the sandwich. But I tried it. And it was extremely salty and fatty. Maybe I’ll give it another shot the next time I go to Polite Pig for the bbq cauliflower.

Overall, this is not what I expected from a Michelin bbq spot. I had better food at Regal Eagle. I’ve had better in cafeterias.

Overall score

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe

“Magic Kingdom has the worst food.” “Cosmic Ray’s is the worst.” “Standard Disney fries are terrible.”

You’re wrong. You’re all wrong. Okay maybe it’s because the two times I went to Cosmic Rays were on party nights, but I enjoyed the food and would go back. I understand this review may reflect poorly on me and my taste buds, but really the food was not bad at all. Then again, expectations were low.

Halloween meatball sub

Something in this sandwich has an unexpectedly tart after taste, probably the bread. But aside from that, this was good. The fries were good. The drink was tasty too – kiwi lemonade with some glitter. Should be there year-round.

Christmas Brisket sandwich

What an unappetizing looking photo. I was in a hurry, someone was coughing uncontrollably near my table. Anyway, could have been a little more toasted, but the flavor was good. Different style of brisket, but much better than the brisket sandwich from Polite Pig. And the mystery sauce was delish.

So is Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe the best spot? I mean no. But you guys made me think it would be a mistake to entrust my taste buds to this restaurant. I’m glad I didn’t listen.

Breakfast Ronto Wraps

Let me get straight to the point. These aren’t bad but they’re constantly at the top of every Disney food list. And honestly, I’m confused. I’ll try again when I return, but…I don’t understand.

Why is this so long? I mean I’m not complaining about extra food but my excess sausage unintentionally smacked my friend’s sausage. And I realize how strange that sounds but what in the world is happening in this wrap?

Most of all, where’s the flavor? The peppercorn sauce was fine but it really is not that flavorful either. I feel like I am the only person in the world fully underwhelmed by this wrap

Schoolbread

If that Ronto wrap score didn’t upset the crowd, I know this one will. I don’t understand what happened here. I love cardamom, I love coconut, I love bread, I love cream.

I walked around Epcot for 12 hours. I ate a lot of food, rode all of the rides (Guardians twice), stood in the rain, listened to all the Santas, took the Skyliner during a storm. And one of the things I looked forward to the most was trying the schoolbread. On my last trip, I wanted something different – I wanted the best kake. And it was phenomenal – light and fluffy and simple.

So this time, I thought the schoolbread was going to be even better. On my way to an 8:30 Guardians virtual queue, I stopped over in Norway to take the treat to go. I waited until I returned to my hotel after the fireworks to eat this treat while watching a movie.

Sigh. I didn’t even make it halfway before giving up. Similarly to the pretzel, I thought this couldn’t be bad. It might not be the best thing ever, but it couldn’t be horrible. Boy was I wrong. However, I will try it again. Maybe there was something that went wrong that day.

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So, are the Disney World influencers spreading lies about these foods?

Okay, they probably aren’t spreading lies. Everyone has a right to like different things. I just can’t believe how popular and almost universally loved these items are.

For those of you out there wondering what’s truly lives up to the hype and what truly deserves a shot, I’d say take each top ten list with a grain of salt. I don’t regret trying any of the items I had at WDW and neither should you.

If I had one suggestion, if you have the money, try the foods that are exclusive to Disney World, even if they do turn out bad. The pretzel was horrible, but the memory I made with my friend wasn’t. We got soaked in the rain and ate horrible pretzels but we had the best time. It’s a memory I’ll cherish forever and I will tell my pretzel story for years to come.

And that’s what this is all about, making memories through the good and the bad culinary adventures.