Landscape of Flavors -- Lunch/Dinner -- Quick Service -- Art of Animation

*This dining experience took place in June 2014. Located in Disney's Art of Animation Resort, Landscape of Flavors is one of my favorite quick service locations in the resorts on property. Filled with tons of variety and unique options, it's well...a Landscape of Flavors (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun). Guests who visit Landscape of Flavors will appreciate the unique options and even real plates and silverware - no plastic or paper plates here!On this particular occasion, I stopped by Landscape of Flavors after Star Wars Weekends. It had been a really hot and humid day, typical for Florida in the summer, and I really wanted something light. I've been wanting to try some of the Indian dishes but for dinner after a day in the hot sun? Not so much. I decided to see what options they had for their create your own salad bar.It was a slow evening there, and I stopped by the salad station and asked the cast member if I could speak with a chef or manager. After a short wait the chef came out to see me. She did say there were several options in the Indian station, but we quickly turned to the salad bar. Their toppings aren't as large as I would have like but it wasn't bad either.I decided to go with a romaine lettuce as my salad base (you have an option of romaine, spinach or shredded lettuce). I then was able to add diced cucumbers (one of my favorites), diced onion, bacon, grilled chicken and grilled shrimp. The only challenge was the salad dressing. Every option had dairy except the Italian they had on hand. Italian's not my most favorite dressing option but I'm glad that they at least had something.The salad itself was refreshing, and I was glad to have it after being outside all day. Portion-wise, I felt it was fairly small for a $11 salad. The toppings were a bit skimpy. The salad dressing was on the side, as they got dressing from the back for me. With a salad bar that included a lot of mix and match, it was much safer getting the items from the back, especially the dressing.Next time, I'm not sure I'd get a salad from Landscape of Flavors, not because of the taste but more because of the cost to portion ratio. I think there are better values in terms of salads on property. If only Hollywood Brown Derby had been taking walk-ups that night. I totally would have gotten the Cobb salad there (one of my favorites).On a side note, if you are looking for a gluten free beer, Landscape of Flavors carries Redbridge and now Estrella Damm Daura which is a made from Barley Malt and has had gluten removed from it. As one who has tried these kind of beers and gotten sick from them, I stay away from them even if they test under 20ppm. Note that neither of these options are listed as "gluten free" on the labeling (except on the bottles).Overall, I still really enjoy visiting Landscape of Flavors for the food and atmosphere. Art of Animation is a neat resort, and I really think this restaurant puts it on the map as having one of the best resort quick service locations.I'd give this particular visit a 6.5 out of 10.Have you been to Landscape of Flavors? What is your favorite thing to order?

Landscape of Flavors -- Breakfast -- Quick Service -- Art of Animation

*This dining experience took place November 2012.

Disney's Art of Animation Resort at Christmas-time

It seems like I've been at Disney's Art of Animation Resort a lot since it opened. In fact, I've visited and dined there 4 times now. I can see why it's becoming such a popular resort. The decor is amazing and it offers a lot of value and service. One of the biggest draws is Landscape of Flavors, the quick service location. This restaurant offers a lot of traditional options (like burgers, fries, etc.) with a great variety of other offerings, like the Tandoor station and pasta station. I like that they focus on customizable dishes, and I've heard such great things from other guests about how they've handled special diets. It's been great to get some recommendations from other guests too so that I can go back and check things out (I've been wanting to head back for lunch or dinner soon!). This trip, we headed there for breakfast in between me meeting up with some folks.

Entrance to Landscape of Flavors

The last time I was here for breakfast, I had a GF/DF waffle that was regularly sized and some turkey bacon with some very sugary fruit. I hadn't been wowed by it, especially the waffles which tasted OK but not great in my opinion. Last time Chef Dan had told me they were a mix of Bob's Red Mill and Namaste. This time, I wanted something more protein based because I had one heck of a sugar crash the last time. Too much sugar in the morning makes me cranky! (Just ask my poor family members and friends. They can attest to that!)I was greeted by the manager who helped me the first time I came to Landscape of Flavors. She said the eggs aren't normally made with dairy, so I ordered eggs and bacon (regular not turkey) and the potatoes it appeared were smothered in dairy. Ah bummer! I'm sure they could have made regular potatoes, but I was fine without it. I asked for a side of GF/DF waffles--to give them a second chance. This time, I asked if I could have the mini Nemo waffles (what can I say, I'm a girl who loves character shaped waffles!!). She said she could do that. Yeah!

Scrambled eggs, bacon, and GF/DF Nemo waffles

I wasn't overly wowed by the breakfast, but I thought it was really solid. The eggs were rather good. The bacon is the usual "stringy" bacon that is served at WDW--I was hoping for a meatier bacon, but alas it was not to be. I will say the surprise of the breakfast was the Nemo waffle. I expected to not love these this time, but I thought they were much better than the batch I had the first go-around. Weird? Surely the shape can't make them taste better...can they?! :) They tasted more like the Bob's Red Mill but I could tell the batter was mixed.

Holiday cups!

Overall, I find Landscape of Flavors to be a really good quick service location. Even my fellow diners said the same. They tried a lot of the other adventurous meal options for breakfast. I wish I could enjoy the Indian inspired breakfast like the Naan bread, but I'm happy to know that there are at least a fair amount of safe offerings for me at the restaurant. It's a location that does a really excellent job catering to folks with food allergies! Make sure you ask for Chef Dan if he's there. Though I didn't get to see him this time, I found him to be really enthusiastic and helpful!A solid 8 out of 10!

Landscape of Flavors -- Breakfast -- Quick Service -- Art of Animation

*This dining experience took place in October 2012.I had the opportunity to head to Landscape of Flavor again for the Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW Blog meetup! It was great to meet with some other folks who also have special diets. We decided to meet for breakfast to check out the offerings.When we arrived in the food court, I found a manager who then brought out Chef Dan. I think Chef Dan might have been over at Pop Century before and has now moved over to AoA. He was very nice and quite peppy (me? not so much. I'd had only about 4 1/2 hours of sleep!). There were two of us ordering with a special diet. First up was a blog meetup guest who is a child. Chef Dan explained that he could make gluten free/dairy free Nemo waffles with fresh fruit and breakfast meats. For the children's meal, my companions ordered gluten free/dairy free waffles with fruit & turkey bacon. Thinking this sounded like a good idea, I ordered the same but added turkey bacon and chicken sausage.When Chef Dan brought them out, I noticed that mine was a regular shaped waffle and that the children's meal was Nemo waffles. I thought this was very interesting--usually there's no difference; they make everything on the same maker whether it's for a child or adult. In any event, it was definitely GF/DF. I'm glad I got to see the Nemo waffles too--they are adorable!First up was the children's breakfast meal of the waffle and turkey bacon with fruit. The blog meetup guest seemed to really enjoy it. She even let me take a picture of it for the blog, which was really nice of her :)

Children's breakfast meal--Check out those cute Nemo waffles

Adult allergy waffles with turkey bacon, chicken sausage and fruit

The chef told me before getting the waffle that he made it with Bob's Red Mill & Namaste mixes together. I will say, it was an OK waffle--not the worst I've ever had but not the best either. It was just OK. Mostly the taste was a bit bland and the texture was kind of chewy and dense. I'm not sure I'd get this again, personally, but mostly because I know of some other really good Mickey waffles on property. The fruit was good, though it was mixed with sugar or some type of simple syrup. Add that and maple syrup and I was flying on sugar for quite a while! The chicken sausage was not my favorite, but I'm pretty particular about sausage seasonings so that's more of a personal taste. I loved the turkey bacon, and I usually am not too keen on it. That was thanks to a recommendation from a blog reader--and I was so glad to hear that review! Thanks so much for that tip.Overall, I'm not sure I'd go for the waffle again, but I think I'd try something more egg/protein based like an omelet. I would definitely get the turkey bacon though again. That was a real winner for me. A blog reader also told me that she got the "steak and eggs" breakfast sandwich. She said they can make it on an Udi's hamburger bun with Tofutti cheese and they have both the American and mozzarella versions of the Tofutti to choose from. They served it with fries as the breakfast potatoes have dairy. That's really good to know because I think I might go that route next time! Overall, I found the chef to be very accommodating and friendly and the options to be fairly good. For me, I do better when I eat more protein based breakfasts and less sugary ones (or ones that have a better ratio of protein to sugar), but I enjoyed the meal overall. Also on a note about the prices. They were really reasonable. Mine was $5.99, which was a bargain in my opinion. I think it's a really affordable place to eat for breakfast and dinner.A 7 out of 10 for this trip. Here are some pictures of the menus before you get in the food court:

Landscape of Flavors -- Lunch/Dinner -- Quick Service -- Art of Animation

*This dining review took place August 2012

Landcape of Flavor -- Art of Animation

The Art of Animation just recently opened and with it comes a new food court experience called Landscape of Flavor. I had heard from many people prior to my visit that they had Babycakes cupcakes and were going to be pretty good at food accommodation. I also had seen the menu, which had a lot of variety and customized dishes. Very cool. So, we decided to pop by for lunch on while at WDW for a long weekend break. We had never been to the hotel at all, so there are going to be a lot of pictures here showing the resort, as well as my first experience descriptions. I have to apologize for not taking more pictures of the menus, etc. I have to say, I was 1) hungry and 2) a little shell-shocked at the new resort. It's pretty impressive!

 The entrance is very much like the other value resorts, especially Pop Century. Lots of great color and larger than life images of Disney characters. Though you can't see it in this picture, I noticed that the bus wait queue's were covered with awnings unlike some of the other value resort bus queue's. This is a very nice addition!

I loved the colorful entrance and the images of favorite Disney characters!

The first thing you notice is this mural of Disney animations and a huge chandelier! The lobby area is so bright and vibrant. The color was amazing. Through the Ink Paint Shop, you find Landscapes of Flavor.

Just directly ahead of the Ink Paint Shop is this lovely mural of Disney drawings in various stages. So cool! You get to look at these while waiting to checkin or visit Concierge.

RAWR! Adorable drawing of Simba from the Lion King!

Lobby checkin area. The picture doesn't do the colors justice. It was a gorgeous transition of colors of the rainbow.

Now onto the food!!! As I said before, Landscape of Flavors is located through the Ink Paint Shop. You'll see the big sign! First off, I have to say, this food court has striking interior design. It's really colorful and vibrant, and I loved the different areas that represented different sections of the hotel. We sat in the first area--the Lion King! The paintings here were magnificent--I wish I could have them in my own home--wow!!!

Lion King seating area in Landscape of Flavor! Beautiful colors and paintings.

Check out area at the Landscape of Flavor

Wow, look at all the Babycakes!

The first thing I did upon arrival was rush to find Babycakes! I had heard that they go quickly and since it was already around 12:30 pm, I wanted to see if they still had them. They did! I found them in the refrigerator section of the food court. There were a lot there, so I was glad to see that. Now the Babycakes in this package are the brownie bites with different flavors of frosting. They include: mint, mocha, vanilla (dyed with natural dyes in shades of purple, pink, and yellow), and chocolate. It was $3.99 for a 4 pack, which means you could use your snack credit to purchase these! That's great news. Here is the back of the package with the ingredients:

Close-up of the cupcakes! My favorite is chocolate mint!

So after I acquired the Babycakes (see I have priorities--dessert first!!!), I went to look for a chef. Now, if you know most of the food courts, you will know that they typically have different sections or areas for ordering. Landscape of Flavor works in mostly the same way. They have 4 areas that I remember--a custom burger station, a mongolian bbq section, Indian/tandoor section, and a sandwich/salad section. I thought about getting in line somewhere and asking for a chef, but I saw a chef standing in between the sandwich/salad and tandoor section, so I went over and asked her for some assistance. Boy, she was really helpful and friendly. She asked what I want, and when I asked for recommendations she said "whatever you are in the mood for" which is nice. I was in the mood for a chicken burger, which I saw on the menu. I also asked if they had the Udi's gluten free/dairy free buns because I had heard that they only had gluten free buns and maybe the Ener-G tapioca rolls. I was curious. She said that they had the Udi's buns, which I kept asking "are they dairy free?" "are you sure they are dairy free?" and she said yet. Normally, I wouldn't have questioned so much, but since I had heard they didn't have dairy free buns, I was a little more worried than normal. She said she would check on the chicken burger because she knew it had a binder in it. While she checked on it, I decided to browse a bit for allergy friendly items.First up is the alcoholic beverages. I found Angry Orchard which is a hard cider (and very good) and Red Bridge Gluten Free Beer.

I also saw that they had a variety of snacks like apples and grapes.

The chef came back and said that unfortunately, the chicken burgers were not safe. Sounded like it was a wheat binder. Rats! I don't eat beef, so I was a little bummed about the chicken burger--perhaps if I had been staying there or had some time, they could have made one that was safe. I know they made them in-house. Tandoor items were marinated in yogurt and I really didn't want to wait a long time, so that section was out. I did then notice that there was a BBQ pork sandwich on the sandwich side, so I asked if that was safe. Turns out it was. So, I got the BBQ pork on a Udi's bun with french fries...yep fries! Chef said that the fries are in a dedicated fryer (even without allergies) and that they only cook fries in it. Woohoo! I love fries!While I waited for her to prepare my food (yeah I did a lot of waiting here, which was ok) I looked around some more. I found Rice Chips (Lundberg) and Surf Sweets Candies (one of our sponsors for our Special Diets Dessert Party!!) Nice to see some more options there. I think the only GF/DF rice crisps that were safe were the sea salt ones.

 Then, my sandwich arrived! Yeah! I was so impressed because unlike many of the other food courts, the meal was on real china! Wow...very cool. They also have real silverware. I like it because it definitely has the fast casual vibe like Pei Wei or Panera Bread.

French fries and BBQ pork sandwich on a Udi's bun!

So onto the actual food eating...I had whipped up some serious hunger by this point. I admit, I ate a few fries in line...what can I say, a girl's gotta eat! The fries were very good. They were seasoned with a spice that looked like the same spice they used on their house-made potato chips. The BBQ sandwich was really good. Very saucy, if you like BBQ sauce on pulled pork. It was different from Flame Tree BBQ which is more smokey and a dry rub with no sauce. This was more sweet in its flavor and fairly generous in the saucing, which was good because the bun soaked up a lot of the sauce. The bun was good--seemed bigger to me than the other Udi's buns that I've had on property. But, I will say that I didn't get sick, so I think it must been OK with the dairy. Sorry, I realized later I should have taken off the bun and had a picture sans bun top, so you could see the BBQ pork better. Guess I was just too hungry.

Close-up--you can sort of see the BBQ pork and seasoning on the fries

I will say that the portions here are pretty generous--this was $8.99 and there did not seem to be an up-charge on the sandwich price with the dietary bun, so that was good. My mom had a smoked turkey sandwich which was huge and decently priced at $8.99 too.I will say that I wish I had looked a little more at the options, but this is just another reason to go back to visit. All three of us eating here found the food to be very high quality and reasonably priced. I also liked the variety--and I'd be curious to see if I could get Mongolian BBQ or some type of stir fry there. I also wonder if you could contact them ahead of time for something related to the tandoor area. Looked really good. I know that the chef who was at Sanaa (where I ate dinner that night) just came over there to work with the Tandoor side, so I would say you are getting Sanaa quality Indian food at a slightly more affordable price. It looked amazing!Overall, I was really pleased with my first experience at Landscape of Flavor! It was really nicely set up and there are a ton of choices. They focus on customizable, and I think that's important for those of us with special diets. I also love the products related to special diets there, especially Babycakes! One of the blog readers said that they also carry Babycakes cookies and they are housed in the kitchen, so you would need to ask. They also have the Enjoy Life crunchy cookies and OMG I can't believe it's GF products in the back too. I'm definitely planning on coming back to try out some other options when I have more time! Between the very accommodating chefs, selection, and variety--I will definitely be back. I'd say a solid 9 out of 10 for my first visit there! Folks with special diets are going to love this place!