A couple other post-trip thoughts after our visit - Arcades and Food

[Kevin_W]

I know this has been mentioned before, but the arcades flanking Main Street in DLP are really nice. They are pretty/thematic (the gas lights are awesome) and extremely functional. it's a great way to bypass Main Street during crowded times. I really wish WDW had taken the time to put in something this nice when they implemented the bypass in the MK.

Food is also something that gets discussed a lot for DLP. We had some pretty good experiences. I'm not a big buffet fan, but wanted to eat at Agrabah for the theming. The restaurant is as nice as any Disney restaurant we've eaten at anywhere and the food was quite good. We booked Pym's Test Kitchen as well, thinking it was QS like in California and not realizing it was a buffet. But that was a happy mistake - they food here was great and the presentations were quite fun. QS wasn't as good as TS, but was serviceable.

The one thing that baffles me is the way the restaurants and kiosks close. We saw the Lion King show and it ended about 5:30PM, a pretty typical dinner time. But everything on that side of the park was closed. And the smaller places close early as well. At 9:15 PM, it's 35 minutes before the 30th anniversary castle show and we thought we would have some ice cream to eat and wait for the show. But as far as we could find, there is not a place in the park open after 9PM that sells ice cream. It's a weird comparison to the US parks where you can often buy food after park close and it feels like they are leaving money on the table.

 

[marni1971]

I know this has been mentioned before, but the arcades flanking Main Street in DLP are really nice. They are pretty/thematic (the gas lights are awesome) and extremely functional. it's a great way to bypass Main Street during crowded times. I really wish WDW had taken the time to put in something this nice when they implemented the bypass in the MK.

Food is also something that gets discussed a lot for DLP. We had some pretty good experiences. I'm not a big buffet fan, but wanted to eat at Agrabah for the theming. The restaurant is as nice as any Disney restaurant we've eaten at anywhere and the food was quite good. We booked Pym's Test Kitchen as well, thinking it was QS like in California and not realizing it was a buffet. But that was a happy mistake - they food here was great and the presentations were quite fun. QS wasn't as good as TS, but was serviceable.

The one thing that baffles me is the way the restaurants and kiosks close. We saw the Lion King show and it ended about 5:30PM, a pretty typical dinner time. But everything on that side of the park was closed. And the smaller places close early as well. At 9:15 PM, it's 35 minutes before the 30th anniversary castle show and we thought we would have some ice cream to eat and wait for the show. But as far as we could find, there is not a place in the park open after 9PM that sells ice cream. It's a weird comparison to the US parks where you can often buy food after park close and it feels like they are leaving money on the table.

The great DLP food schedule is one of life’s little mysteries.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I know this has been mentioned before, but the arcades flanking Main Street in DLP are really nice. They are pretty/thematic (the gas lights are awesome) and extremely functional. it's a great way to bypass Main Street during crowded times. I really wish WDW had taken the time to put in something this nice when they implemented the bypass in the MK.

Food is also something that gets discussed a lot for DLP. We had some pretty good experiences. I'm not a big buffet fan, but wanted to eat at Agrabah for the theming. The restaurant is as nice as any Disney restaurant we've eaten at anywhere and the food was quite good. We booked Pym's Test Kitchen as well, thinking it was QS like in California and not realizing it was a buffet. But that was a happy mistake - they food here was great and the presentations were quite fun. QS wasn't as good as TS, but was serviceable.

The one thing that baffles me is the way the restaurants and kiosks close. We saw the Lion King show and it ended about 5:30PM, a pretty typical dinner time. But everything on that side of the park was closed. And the smaller places close early as well. At 9:15 PM, it's 35 minutes before the 30th anniversary castle show and we thought we would have some ice cream to eat and wait for the show. But as far as we could find, there is not a place in the park open after 9PM that sells ice cream. It's a weird comparison to the US parks where you can often buy food after park close and it feels like they are leaving money on the table.

You can count me as someone who absolutely loves the arcades. One of the best almost-hidden features of DLP.

And I agree about the restaurant times. When we were there in September 2018, we were baffled why not much seemed to be open after 5-6pm in the parks as far as food offerings went. We'd often need to stop somewhere in DT Disney to get a bite to eat.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I know this has been mentioned before, but the arcades flanking Main Street in DLP are really nice. They are pretty/thematic (the gas lights are awesome) and extremely functional. it's a great way to bypass Main Street during crowded times. I really wish WDW had taken the time to put in something this nice when they implemented the bypass in the MK.

Food is also something that gets discussed a lot for DLP. We had some pretty good experiences. I'm not a big buffet fan, but wanted to eat at Agrabah for the theming. The restaurant is as nice as any Disney restaurant we've eaten at anywhere and the food was quite good. We booked Pym's Test Kitchen as well, thinking it was QS like in California and not realizing it was a buffet. But that was a happy mistake - they food here was great and the presentations were quite fun. QS wasn't as good as TS, but was serviceable.

The one thing that baffles me is the way the restaurants and kiosks close. We saw the Lion King show and it ended about 5:30PM, a pretty typical dinner time. But everything on that side of the park was closed. And the smaller places close early as well. At 9:15 PM, it's 35 minutes before the 30th anniversary castle show and we thought we would have some ice cream to eat and wait for the show. But as far as we could find, there is not a place in the park open after 9PM that sells ice cream. It's a weird comparison to the US parks where you can often buy food after park close and it feels like they are leaving money on the table.

Yes to all observations. The arcades are one of DLP's great improvements on the castle parks.
Also the way you can all but walk shielded from the rain all the way from the entrance to Pirates.

The restaurant closing times are bewildering. Europeans do eat after 17:00. Pity, as DLP has several greatly themed restaurants, beyond that Coco banner place.