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I’ve a love-hate relationship with Cellular Order at Walt Disney World. To be sincere, it’s principally love and solely somewhat little bit of hate. It’s nice for breezing previous lengthy order kiosks and I additionally love that it options meals images that offer you an thought (albeit romanticized) of how every dish seems. It’s saved us a variety of time and in addition steered us in the direction of dishes we in any other case could not have tried due to these inventory pictures.

Sadly, it has additionally steered us and different friends away from some nice delicacies. Though I can’t show something, I blame Cellular Order for the downfall of Sunshine Seasons (fortunately, it’s making a comeback). Then there are the “specialty dine-in choices” obtainable at quite a few resort meals courts throughout Walt Disney World. This virtually precipitated us to overlook two of my now-favorite entrees at Wilderness Lodge.

It as soon as once more virtually foiled our dinner plans once more at Riverside Mill, the fast service restaurant at Port Orleans Riverside. With the good thing about hindsight, maybe that might’ve been the higher consequence. Nevertheless it didn’t, and we’ve got this evaluation of the brand new menu at Riverside Mill Meals Court docket, which is lastly again to pre-closure regular. Arguably, it’s higher than that.

Let’s begin with a little bit of fast background. Like most meals courts at Walt Disney World, Riverside Mill has a number of ordering bays, so its menu has some selection. For the previous few years, that didn’t imply an entire lot–many Walt Disney World meals courts weren’t using all of their bays or had scaled again choices at every of them.

Even earlier than that, about the one Worth or Average Resort meals courtroom that actually wowed was Panorama of Flavors at Artwork of Animation. The All Stars and Pop Century had gotten higher and the entire Moderates had flashes of high quality, however there was a variety of stereotypical theme park fare and normally solely a few distinctive or attention-grabbing dishes.

When you’re going by the web menu or Cellular Order, that also seems to be the case at Riverside Mill–together with just about the entire Worth and Average Resort meals courts. I feel it really is all of them, it’s possible secure to extrapolate what we’ve seen at All Star Sports activities to the opposite All Stars, and Port Orleans Riverside with French Quarter, however I’m not 100% positive.

The road to search for is “Further Rotating Choice of Specialty Choices Obtainable For Dine-In.” That caught my consideration and precipitated us to pop on in throughout our latest keep earlier than heading off to Disney Springs. (The place we deliberate to as an alternative dine at EET by Maneet Chauhan.)

Up to now, I’ve seen this when a meals courtroom has had a few rotating dinner specials that change on totally different days of the week. Having had success with precisely that in a keep on the All Stars, we determined to take a look at all the things on the dine-in menu. At Riverside Mill, we discovered a dozen-plus gadgets that weren’t on Cellular Order (that is far more than I final noticed at All Star Sports activities).

Right here’s a have a look at all the things that’s at the moment obtainable for dinner as of 2024:

As you may see, it’s a reasonably stacked menu from prime to backside. We’ve completed the Gumbo and Jambalaya earlier than, and each are fairly good. Positively on the delicate facet, however hearty dishes which might be becoming of Port Orleans. My solely disappointment with this menu is that the Po’ Boy and Muffaletta Sandwich are not any extra. These have been tasty, and in addition on-theme for Port Orleans.

A couple of different dishes we’ve got not tried–and simply missed the lower for this meal–are the Bayou Amber Ale Burger, Pimento BLT, Mac & Cheese with Braised Beef, and Barbecued Braised Beef. I’m positive there are different good dishes on that mega-menu, however these are the standouts.

Earlier than we evaluation the meals, let’s have a look across the eating room at Riverside Mill. That is far and away my favourite meals courtroom at Walt Disney World for its setting. Nothing else actually holds a candle to this.

In evaluating my images of Riverside Mill during the last twenty years, not an entire lot has modified…and that’s for the very best. The one distinction I can discover is that the carpeting was changed with a hardwood flooring, which needed to have occurred over 5 years in the past at this level. Whereas all of us may quibble over whether or not wooden or carpet is healthier in visitor rooms, I feel it’s truthful to say wooden is healthier for cleanliness in meals courts. Above is the earlier than, beneath is after.

Riverside Mill’s enchantment is that the ambiance of the seating space is an extension of Port Orleans Resort as an entire. That is completed through a working mill wheel, which slowly turns and powers a working cotton press.

There’s a purpose mill cities are sometimes described as ‘sleepy’ quite than ‘bustling’ and that’s on show right here. The sluggish, methodical turning of the mechanisms inside is one other reminder of a bygone time and place, very like the remainder of Port Orleans Riverside.

As the children say, the vibes are immaculate.

It doesn’t damage that outdoors of the prime breakfast and dinner hours, Riverside Mill is usually a quiet place to sit back and revel in a peaceable meal. Even throughout busy hours, it’s not almost as chaotic as different meals courts.

It helps that the seating space is big, successfully diluting friends, and the lighting plus the serene setting in all probability rubs off on friends. Whatever the purpose, Riverside Mill appears to churn at a slower, extra nice tempo than different meals courts at Walt Disney World.

As with the opposite counter service eating places at Walt Disney World that may be categorised as meals courts, there are a number of ordering bays at Riverside Mill.

I like this strategy. It permits for a better number of choices, and members of your loved ones can cut up up earlier than regrouping to pay. Additionally as with different meals courts, the drink station is self-service and situated in the midst of the seating space, that means you could refill these cups to your coronary heart’s content material.

Turning to meals, we began with two entrees from the ‘construct your personal’ entree ordering bay. Protein choices listed below are Mojo-roasted Rooster, Panko Crusted Salmon, and Barbecued Braised Beef.

With this, you choose two sides from the next checklist:

• Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
• Garlic Inexperienced Beans
• Basmati Rice
• Roasted Rainbow Carrots
• Edamame Succotash
• Zesty Vegetable Slaw

First up, the Mojo-roasted Rooster with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and Basmati Rice.

This can be a good albeit acquainted favourite at Walt Disney World. It’s not a typical meals courtroom merchandise, however it’s virtually equivalent to the half-chicken at Sunshine Seasons, proper all the way down to the fantastic mashed potatoes.

Every thing concerning the hen is competently-done, with the pores and skin being crisp and the meat being juicy and tender. However actually, I really feel like this isn’t all that totally different than a take-home hen you might decide up from the new meals part at your native grocery retailer. This isn’t essentially a knock–it’s a predictable dish that usually seems effectively.

Facet-wise, the mashed potatoes are pure buttery goodness. As I’ve stated numerous instances, I’m a sucker for Walt Disney World mashed potatoes. There’s in all probability nothing particular about them in goal phrases, however I’ve a ton of sentimentality for them–they remind me of being “residence.”

Our different create your personal entree is the Panko Crusted Salmon with Roasted Rainbow Carrots and Edamame Succotash.

This was Sarah’s choice, as she wished to go for one thing more healthy with the edges–that are admittedly higher high quality than what I ordered with the hen. These greens tasted good, however they have been presumably ordered for his or her nutritiousness. They couldn’t maintain a candle to my buttery and creamy mashed potatoes…however Sarah will in all probability reside just a few years longer than me thanks to those. It’s all about tradeoffs.

Walt Disney World normally does salmon very well, even at counter service eating places or EPCOT pageant cubicles. So this appeared like a slam-dunk in consequence.

Not so. It turned out to be the worst salmon we’ve ever had at Walt Disney World (or in all probability anyplace). It was just like the kitchen was attempting to arrange a cross between a filet and salmon jerky, and cooked this a number of hours longer than needed. It was dry, robust, and simply nasty. It will’ve been higher in the event that they went all-in and simply correctly dehydrated and made jerky out of it.

I want we’d’ve regarded on the tray of salmon sitting there earlier than ordering this, as they have been all visibly unappetizing. We later went again and checked out the following tray stuffed with them to see if it was a one-off, and so they regarded marginally (however not a lot) higher. So when you’re contemplating this, undoubtedly give the entrees a look earlier than committing.

For our remaining entree, we ordered the Shrimp and Grits with smoked ham, greens and cream sauce.

This dish is freshly ready after you order it, which was very welcome after the salmon debacle. It was cool to look at the Solid Member prepare dinner the shrimp and add recent components to the pan. And there was a enjoyable bit of fireplace, which appeals to the primitive facet of my mind.

The Shrimp and Grits was, indubitably, the clear winner of our meal at Riverside Mill.

There was a ton of shrimp and diced ham, the grits have been thick with simply the correct amount of texture (not too gritty, but in addition not too easy), and the cream sauce made this a delightfully decadent dish.

The Shrimp & Grits can also be a really heavy and hearty dish–the sort that might be shared between two adults and supply the muse for a filling meal. Had the salmon not been terrible, it will’ve been excellent to separate that and this, offering a filling and well-rounded(ish) meal.

I used to be tasked with consuming the entire Shrimp & Grits as a result of richness (and I assume it’s someway unhealthy regardless of being seafood? I dunno–that doesn’t appear proper), and I couldn’t even come near ending all of it. I had the remaining for breakfast the following morning, and ended up leaving our room full.

In the end, even with our hit-or-miss meal, Riverside Mill stays our favourite meals courtroom at Walt Disney World. I do know the primary two entree evaluations don’t actually “promote” it effectively, however the entire level of this was showcasing how deep the menu is–regardless of what’s printed on-line and proven through Cellular Order. On the very least, this could accomplish that.

Actually, that’s in all probability the largest takeaway of this put up–that the Worth and Average Resort meals courts at Walt Disney World have a lot deeper menus than Cellular Order or the web menus counsel. It’s value dropping in and trying out the bodily menus for the specialty dine-in choices–as there might be an honest variety of extra formidable choices–earlier than putting a Cellular Order or dismissing a meals courtroom out-of-hand as a consequence of a supposedly weak menu.

With that stated, no meals courtroom is vacation spot eating at Walt Disney World. That’s particularly true of 1 that’s a bus experience away from…just about in every single place! However when you’re staying at one of many two Port Orleans Resorts, then Riverside Mill is unquestionably value trying out–and never simply disregarding as a result of the web menus appear restricted. Simply select a bit wiser than we did, and you must have a tasty and gratifying meal!

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Your Ideas

Have you ever discovered longer menus of specialty dine-in choices on the Worth and Average Resort meals courts within the final a number of months? Do you agree that Riverside Mill is likely one of the greatest meals courts at Walt Disney World relating to environment and themed design? What are your ideas on the entree choices at Riverside Mill? When you take pleasure in eating right here, what are your menu suggestions? When you don’t like Riverside Mill, why not? Agree or disagree with our evaluation? Share your ideas within the feedback!