FULL REVIEW: We Ate 35 (!!) New Eats at Jollywood Nights in Disney World

We’re at the brand new holiday event Jollywood Nights!

The parties take place on certain nights from November 11th to December 20th at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and there is SO much to see. We attended the very first night of the event to check out the entertainment, and rare characters, and now it’s time to talk about the food!

Holiday Fiesta en la Calle at ABC Commissary

Latin music fills Commissary Lane for Holiday Fiesta en la Calle! But you can also grab some snacks inspired by Latin holiday traditions. There’s a lot to try here, so let’s dig in!

We started with the Chicken Empanadas with Street Corn for $6.29. These are chicken empanadas served with a side of street corn salad topped with chili peppers, lime, and cotija cheese.

This was or favorite savory dish here! The pepper in the dish definitely gives it some heat, and it builds up as you eat. They ran out of corn though, so we got another empanada instead.

Another savory option is the Yuca con Chicharrón for $5.79, which is fried pork belly, yuca, red pickled onions, and chili pepper-lime seasoning with a yellow pepper aïoli.

This pork is super soft, and cuts very easily. It needs more seasoning but the way it’s cooked is perfect. The aoli is the best thing on the plate, and actually adds some heat to the dish. Overall, the entire dish needs some more flavor, and if it wasn’t for the aoli it would have been super bland and boring.

If cheesecake is more your thing, check out the Mexican Hot Cocoa Cheesecake for $5.29! This sweet treat is a spiced chocolate cheesecake on a chocolate cookie base topped with vanilla whipped cream and cocoa powder with a chocolate handle.

We LOVE this! It has great cocoa notes, and is very good despite the cheesecake flavor getting lost a bit. The whipped cream is delicious, and the dish has lots of cinnamon flavor.

To drink, we tried the non-alcoholic Mangonada for $5.99 — a frozen mango beverage with mango-chili pepper-lime sauce and chili pepper-lime seasoning on top.

This is yummy! It’s all mango, and no spice. However, it’s very good.

Lastly, we tried the Zero-Proof Piña Colada for $7.49! This is made with Lyre’s Spiced Cane Spirit, coconut, pineapple, and lime.

This is good! Here, there’s a whole lot of coconut flavor. We didn’t pick up on the spiced notes but it’s creamy and really delicious.

Overall, we’d definitely recommend this to those of you looking for great sweets or spicy foods.

Backlot Express

Over at Backlot Express, we tried out the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie for $5.29!

The cake used in this dish was fluffy and light, but honestly a bit dry. As far as flavor goes, it’s the typical rich, chocolatey flavor of red velvet. The buttercream, on the other hand, has a very strong peppermint flavor.

Since the frosting is whipped, it doesn’t have as rich of a flavor as we feel it should. It is very light and fluffy, though, so it gets bonus points for that! There are also little crispy pearls in the sprinkles that add a nice crunch.

Time for the first treat of the evening! This is the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie for $5.29. It’s Red Velvet Cake, Candy Cane Buttercream, and Holiday Sprinkles! pic.twitter.com/QLUD16yixi

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) November 11, 2023

One downside to the dish is that it’s covered in powdered sugar and kind of makes a mess.

Baseline Tap House

Baseline Tap House is home to some savory snacks including the Tuna Ceviche for $6.79. This dish is marinated ahi tuna, pico de gallo, and avocado cream topped with cilantro.

We loved this. The tuna was fresh and buttery, and the fishy taste was pretty mild. The avocado cream was smooth and creamy and really cooled off the spicy tag from he onions in the pico de Gallo. The outside of the cup was rimmed with a chili lime seasoning that was pretty salty, so between that ad the creamy avocado and the sharp onions, this dish is very flavorful.

There’s also a Charcuterie Cup for $5.79 with manchego, chorizo, serrano ham, pickled vegetables, olives, and toasted focaccia bread.

As a whole, this is pretty great value. The quality of everything was there, but it just wasn’t exciting. While there were meats, cheeses, and veggies that taste great all in a cup for under $6, that’s great. But at least make it festive!

We love BaseLine Tap House during regular park hours and it’s no different during the party. We’d recommend this to anyone looking for a quick bite to eat that ‘s also good quality.

Dockside Diner

Buckle up, because Dockside Diner has a LOT of party eats! We started with the Spicy Pimento-Kimchi Dip topped with chives and served with fresh house-made wonton chips.

This stuff is SO GOOD. It has moderate spice, and is very creamy. It’s very heavy on the pimento cheese flavor, and the topping is the only bit of kimchi we were able to find. It has a bit of acidity kind of like slaw. The wonton chips are super crispy and salty. We loved this.

Next up is the Roasted Eggplant Dip topped with chives and served with warm pita bread. This is a plant-based item.

We loved this. It weirdly reminds us of the texture of refried beans. It’s super salty, and so good. The pita bread was buttery and if it was hot, it would have been game over.

Then we tried the Poutine Tots made with potato barrels topped with gravy, brisket, mozzarella curds, and chives.

This dish was just meh. The gravy is good but on the thin side, however we did like how flavorful it is. The brisket is pretty good and has a nice and fatty texture which, of course, adds flavor. The curds are rubbery, the tots are just okay, and the elements combined are just not great.

Craving sweets? Check out the Christmas Tree Cookie Stack! This is a vanilla cookie stack filled with pistachio buttercream, cranberry, and raspberry jam topped with sprinkles and a yellow candy star.

These are interesting. The pistachio isn’t super apparent unless you eat the icing alone — it’s subtle The cookie is vanilla-flavored, but has hints of cinnamon to it. The cranberries are sweet and this treat is EASILY sharable.

And last but not least, there’s the Sandy Claws Hot Cocoa which is a “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas”-inspired dark chocolate hot cocoa topped with cherry whipped cream.

This is DELISH. It’s hot, comforting, and sweet. It’s heavy and creamy and reminds us of REAL hot chocolate — not that packaged stuff. The cherry whipped cream is thick, and tastes almost like grenadine rather than tart like a cherry. This is one of our favorite things we had all night.

This lesser-known spot is now a must-get for us at this party. We weren’t disappointed here!

Epic Eats 

We hope you like funnel cake, because Epic Eats has three different versions! First is the Spicy Korean Chicken Funnel Cake with spicy fried Korean chicken with pickled vegetables served on a mini funnel cake.

This is like chicken and waffles, basically! the chicken is nice and crispy on the outside but tender and juicy on the inside. The slaw is fresh and cool, and the slaw adds a sweet tanginess. There are lots of crunchy and crispy textures here that we love!

After that, we tried another savory funnel cake — the Brisket Reuben Funnel Cake. This has beef brisket and sauerkraut slaw topped with thousand island dressing served on a mini funnel cake.

This one wasn’t our favorite. The first bite we got was entirely fat. The meat that IS on there is nice and tender, but you have to get through a massive pile of onions just to get to it. Our funnel cake here was a bit overcooked and too crispy, too.

For a more traditional sweet funnel cake, they also offer the S’mores Funnel Cake. It has a giant roasted marshmallow with chocolate and marshmallow sauce, topped with chocolate curls and cinnamon cereal served on a mini funnel cake

This one is SWEET. There is a lot of marshmallow on top that kind of overwhelms the other flavors. There’s also some chocolate syrup underneath when you get a couple of bites into the dish. Overall, though, it’s mostly ‘mallow. The funnel cake itself is nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It would be a great option for someone who loves sugar or marshmallow!

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience here and would recommend it to anyone who loves a sweet and savory mix when it comes to dishes, and anyone who can’t get enough funnel cakes.

Fairfax Fare

Fairfax Fare is another spot we don’t find ourselves at too often, but there are quite a few snacks to try here — let’s dig in!

We tried the Holiday Turkey Popover for $6.29 with roasted turkey and creamy mashed potatoes topped with gravy, cranberry chutney, and chives in a house-made popover.

This is like your whole Thanksgiving dinner in one bite. The mashed potatoes make it mushy especially after things sit awhile, which is one thing that kind of threw us off from the get-go. The individual flavors and textures are fine on their own, but unless you plan to gulp this down in one go, the consistency is hard to get past. The turkey is nice an juicy, but mixing it with the cranberry sauce and so many savory items at the same time was a bit funky.

Is turkey not your favorite holiday food? Try the ‘Just the Sides’ Popover for $5.49! This one has macaroni & cheese and savory collard greens with ham topped with cornbread crumbs in a house-made popover.

This one tastes just like you shoveled all your Thanksgiving sides together and took a big bite. The mac and cheese is good, the same as you’d get at Dockside Dinner with the crumbs on top. The greens taste like cooked greens with meat, and there’s a bit of a smoky taste to them. They’re all nestled inside a bread crust that’s soft on the inside but flakey on the outside. This one was good!

The PB&J Doughnut for $4.99 is the dessert here which is a glazed doughnut with creamy peanut butter and grape jelly dipped in dark chocolate topped with crushed house-made salt and vinegar chips.

While the doughnut helps with presentation, it does not help with taste. It isn’t sweet enough and has nowhere near enough glaze. The peanut butter is sticky but smooth, and the jelly is pretty standard. The bread in the doughnut was nice and soft, but with some glaze and added sweetness it would be better,

Alert! There’s a Kermit themed drink at Fairfax Fare! It’s Kermit’s Frozen Banana Bliss for $6.49, which is frozen banana and white chocolate with caramel swirls topped with matcha whipped cream and sprinkle.

This one was weird. It has a slightly-off banana flavor that you have to uncover under all the green whipped cream. It almost tastes like a matcha shake with caramel sauce. It’s good, but definitely interesting.

Fairfax Fare has some tasty treats available!
Holiday Turkey Popover — $6.29

Just The Sides Popover — $5.49

PB&J Doughnut — $4.99

Kermit’s Frozen Banana Bliss — $6.49 pic.twitter.com/zgjsXVFKdJ

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) November 12, 2023

The alcoholic option here is the Mistletoe Martini made with Tito’s Handmade Vodka and St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur mixed with cranberry juice and topped with fresh cranberries and mint leaves.

This is basically a spruced-up cranberry martini. It’s sweet but dry. If you don’t like cranberry, you won’t like this drink, as that is the dominant flavor. The mint adds a bit of flavor, but you have to be searching for it to notice.

Overall, you should definitely make a stop here if you love typical Thanksgiving foods as well as interesting twists on classic dishes!

Gertie’s Ice Cream of Extinction

Gertie’s isn’t usually the first spot that people run to at Hollywood Studios, but we knew we had to go there ASAP. During Jollywood Nights, you can grab the Christmas Gertie Cookie for $4.29! This adorable treat is a sugar cookie with mint icing, but it’s also available with mint soft-serve for $6.29.

The soft serve is the perfect texture, but melts immediately. The flavor is very similar to mint chocolate chip, but without he chocolate to cut the mint, it treads into toothpaste territory dangerously fast. You’ll need to be a HUGE mint fan to enjoy it, as there’s a lot of it. As for the cookie, it’s soft, but also crunchy at the same time. It’s a perfectly sweet sugar cookie! The mint flavor isn’t overwhelming if you don’t like mint.

You should give it a try if you love sugar cookies and Hollywood Studios’ favorite dinosaur.

Market 

Market is a bit of a hidden gem and there are some party treats here as well! You can snag the Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls for $6, which are fried spring rolls served with a jalapeño-ranch dipping sauce and fried rice noodles.

These bad boys are SPICY. The chicken inside is in chunks and there is a significant amount of buffalo. The ranch is nice as a side but doesn’t cool them down as much because it’s jalepeno ranch. If you love spice, you’ll love these.

On theme with the Incredibles area surrounding it, Market also has Frozone’s Snowball Macaroons for $4.49! These are coconut macaroons drizzled with blue vanilla frosting and topped with white snowflake sprinkles.

Holy coconut! These have a stroooong coconutty flavor and they’re nice and chewy. The chocolate on the bottom is sweet, and tastes more like milk chocolate than dark chocolate. It’s pretty decent compared to other Disney World macaroons we’ve had, but not knock-your-socks-off good.

Should you go out of your way for these? Well, if you love spice and coconut, you won’t be disappointed. However, we might not go back.

PizzeRizzo

We aren’t typically fans of PizzeRizzo…but we had to check out the new eats for the party. We began with the savory option — the Olive and Goat Cheese Flatbread for $5.49. This is an olive oil-toasted flatbread, creamy goat cheese, rustic olive, and tomato spread, balsamic glaze, and lemon watercress.

This was so much better than Pizzerizzo’s typical pizza. The goat cheese was creamy and bold, a little nutty, and paired really well with the tangy tomatoes and briny olives. The crust was soft but held up well considering all the topics. We also loved the balsamic glaze on this one! For the price, this is a great option.

The dessert option here is a Tiramisù Puff for $4.79! It’s made with sweet-and-savory with flavors of espresso, chocolate, and a coffee-infused custard and mascarpone cream.

We loved this, but it had a lOT of amaretto flavor — which isn’t for everyone. The pastry was flaky, soft, and the custard and mascarpone cream were creamy and decadent, and light enough that it tasted almost delicate. The chocolate shavings on top add a fun texture and rich chocolate flavor, and they melt in your mouth. This definitely had coffee components, but they were subtle.

PizzeRizzo has some exclusive offerings for the event!

🫒 Olive and Goat Cheese Flatbread

🍰 Tiramisu Puff pic.twitter.com/wcechEwgCA

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) November 12, 2023

So is PizzeRizzo a must-visit during Jollywood Nights? We think so! We were definitely impressed with the eats we grabbed from here. If you love Italian food and creamy textures, you’ll definitely find that here.

Twilight Soirée at The Tip-Top Club

This next spot is right by Tower of Terror — it’s the Twilight Soiree at the Tip Top Club! We grabbed a couple of drinks here including The 5th Dimension Royale for $9.50, made with Teremana Blanco Tequila, Cointreau Liqueur, desert pear, agave nectar, and lime juice topped with Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut and garnished with a dehydrated blood orange wheel.

This is a great, well-rounded cocktail. It leans more toward the Domaine Ste. Michelle with the pear flavor, but the tequila flavor is definitely there and helps bring the drink full circle. It isn’t too sweet or too dry, but IS very refreshing!

 

Our second drink is the Sparkling Pomegranate-Apple Cider for $5.25. It’s a pomegranate-green tea topped with sparkling apple cider and pomegranate seeds.

This drink is SUPER refreshing, and has a great pomegranate flavor that stands out. The flavors each work great together. Our one complaint is that it isn’t carbonated enough.

The vibes of this area are worth visiting this part of the park alone, but the drinks are great! We’d recommend swinging by to try both of these and enjoying the music from the live band.

The Trolley Car Café

Trolley Car Cafe is the Starbucks location at Hollywood Studios, and during Jollywood Nights it serves a special treat! Here, you’ll find the Ornament Mousse for $5.29, which is a dark chocolate-cherry mousse.

We actually really liked this treat! It had more of a rich, creamy milk chocolate flavor that paired nicely with the cherry. The center is like a cherry gel that surrounds actual cherries, and it’s sweet and juicy once you bite into it.

Bring on some more treats! Over at Trolly Car Cafe, you can find the Ornament Mousse for $5.29! pic.twitter.com/0XZJRFNAv4

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) November 12, 2023

The cookie base is just graham crackers, which makes it very easy to split. If you love chocolate-covered cherries, definitely try this!

Bar Locations

There are several bar locations serving specialty drinks throughout the party. One of these is the non-alcoholic Zero-Proof Gingerbread Spritzer for $7.49! It has Lyre’s Spiced Cane Spirit, gingerbread syrup, and club soda garnished with a gingerbread bite.

The first thing you taste with this drink is club soda, and then BAM. Gingerbread! This drink has some great flavor and a good amount of added sweetness from the gingerbread syrup. We really loved this drink, and it’s a great festive option as it truly tastes like an explosion of Christmas in your mouth. It’s really great for a zero-proof cocktail.

For those of you who drink alcohol, you can grab the Sugar Cookie Martini for $11. This boozy beverage is made with Stoli Vanil Vodka, Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur, and DISARONNO Originale Liqueur mixed with milk and sugar in a sprinkle-rimmed glass with a sugar cookie garnish.

This drink s very milky and not too flavorful. It tastes pretty watered down. It’s a dessert drink for sure, but you would expect it to be super sweet and flavorful but it was not. It didn’t even have a boozy flavor. It did hit the mark on tasting like a sugar cookie, but a generic one.

If you’re choosing a drink, choose the gingerbread one!

Jazzy Holidays at The Hollywood Brown Derby

Jazzy Holidays is an experience at the event that requires you to join the walkup waitlist.

From Jazzy Holidays at the Brown Derby, we got the following:

🦪 Oysters Rockefeller

🍗 Crispy Duck Drumettes

🍖 Pork Belly Bao pic.twitter.com/UG6aT2lgtx

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) November 12, 2023

Once you’re in, you can grab items like Oyster Rockefeller for $12! These are served with spinach foam, shaved parmesan, rocoto pepper relish, and salmon caviar.

We loved these! They’re tender and spicy with just the right amount of that seafood flavor. If you don’t like seafood or for your fish to taste fishy, avoid these. They had a great crispy exterior and we loved the pop of texture that the salmon caviar provided. The pepper relish was fresh and brightened up the dish a lot as well as made the dish spicy. These are pricy for such a small portion, but so worth it.

 

Next, we tried the Crispy Duck Drumettes for $14 which have a spicy orange glaze, carrots, and kumquats.

These came with a sweet orange glaze, which one of our reporters loved while the others found it overpowering. It’s very sticky and was pretty tart, to be fair. They’re good but didn’t blow ups away, and they were also inconsistent as far as texture went. Some were fine, while others were way too dry. We probably wouldn’t get these again, even though $14 for duck at Disney World isn’t too shabby.

And finally, we tried the Pork Belly Bao. This dish includes Korean BBQ, cucumber slaw, and soy vinaigrette. But is it worth $12?

Overall, the pork was tender and fatty and had a good amount of flavor. They were savory with a freshness that was brought in by the crunchy veggies, which we loved. The bao brought in an extra bit of sweetness, too! The only thing we didn’t like was that the bao was a bit dry and not sticky like we’d hoped, and was a bit overpriced for $6 per piece.

Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company

If you need a caffeine boost to finish the party, check out the Round ‘Em Up Latte for $6.36! This drink is made of espresso, cookie butter syrup, dulce de leche sauce, and milk topped with fluffy whipped cream, playful animal crackers, and festive sprinkles. 

It’s the same as the normal version, but with green and red sprinkles. It’s great, though. We ordered it iced and it was smooth and creamy with a caramel and cookie flavor. The animal cracker cookies on top also make it adorable! This is available at the Joffrey’s location near Toy Story Land and is a great option if you’re looking for a sweet, caffeinated pick-me-up.

Stay tuned to AllEars for more from Jollywood Nights!

 Disney World Announces Over 50 NEW Treats — And They’re Some of the Best We’ve EVER Seen

Which of these would you try first? Let us know in the comments!

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