Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
145
Tips
Studios Dining Alternative
If you forgot to make Advance Reservations or couldn't get a table at your cho-
sen restaurant, try the
Sci-Fi
Dine-In Theater Restaurant's
next-door neighbor,
the
ABC Commissary.
While not a themed restaurant per se, it offers one of the
most diverse menus in the park, featuring items such as Cuban sandwiches, veg-
etable noodle stir-fry, tabbouleh wraps, fish and chips, curry chicken, burgers,
and more. They offer rather good desserts as well. Most items cost $7 to $9.
Plainer than most Disney eateries, it really does resemble a commissary, and TVs
lining the walls play commercials for the latest and greatest shows running on
Disney-owned ABC.
and amber lighting set the mood, and potted palms all add to the upscale atmosphere.
More than 1,500 caricatures of its most famous patrons through the years line the walls,
including those of Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, and Clark Gable. Owner Bob Cobb created
the original restaurant's signature Cobb salad in the 1930s. (It's so popular that this
Derby serves more than 31,000 of them a year.) Dinner entrees at Disney's version
include pan-fried grouper with balsamic roasted asparagus; sesame-seared ahi tuna with
honey-gingered spaghetti squash, shiitake broth, and wasabi oil; and roasted pork rib
chop with smoked cheese tomato fondue. The Derby's signature dessert, grapefruit cake
with cream-cheese icing, is the perfect way to end your meal. The Derby features a full
bar and a modest selection of California wines.
Hollywood Blvd.
&
407/939-3463.
www.disneyworld.com. Advance Reservations recommended. Main
courses $15-$32 lunch and dinner; Fantasmic! package adult $47, child $12. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Daily
11:30am-park closing. Parking $12.
5
Moderate
50's Prime Time Café
Kids
AMERICAN Did you ever want to go back to when life
was simpler—well you can here, even if it's just for a meal. Several homey dining rooms,
separated by knickknack-lined shelves and curtained windows, each look just like Mom's
kitchen did back in the 1950s, complete with Formica countertops, a stove, fridge, and
black-and-white TVs showing clips from classics such as
My Little Margie.
The servers
add to the fun, greeting diners with such lines as, “Hi Sis, I'll go tell Mom you're home,”
and they may threaten to withhold dessert if you don't eat all your food or catch you with
your elbows on the table. Kids love it. The entrees—fried chicken, meatloaf (ask for extra
catsup), pot roast, and open-faced sandwiches, among others—aren't quite as good as
Mom used to make, but are decent nonetheless. The desserts, viewed via a View-Master,
include s'mores, sundaes, and cakes; they're all definitely worth the wait. Beer and a
varied list of specialty drinks (they make a mean margarita) are served. Kids will get a
kick out of the glowing
electric
ice cubes in their drinks.
Near the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.
&
407/939-3463.
www.disneyworld.com. Advance Reserva-
tions recommended. Main courses $12-$17 lunch, $13-$21 dinner. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Daily 11am-park
closing. Parking $12.
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
ITALIAN Found along the “movie” set of a
New York street, this large, casual neighborhood eatery welcomes diners with red-
checkered table cloths, wood floors, and red vinyl booths. The best bets here are the
wood-fired flatbreads (grilled pepperoni, four-cheese, vine-ripened tomato, and others)
