REVIEW: We Are Taking You to One of the CHEAPEST Disney World Hotel Restaurants

We are back with another restaurant review!

We are taking you along with us to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, which is located in the EPCOT Resort area. While Disney may not own this resort, guests staying here have access to many perks that guests of Disney World hotels have. Plus, this resort is home to an array of different restaurants, bars, and lounges, and we recently dined at The Fountain!

Background

The Fountain is located on the first floor of the Dolphin. This restaurant is themed as an old-fashioned ice cream fountain and snack shop. It is open daily from 11 AM to 11 PM for both lunch and dinner. This spot serves American classics like burgers and has an extensive ice cream menu.

This is a casual dining location, and theme park attire is totally acceptable to wear. You do not need to worry about making a reservation; you can just walk up.

Atmosphere

As mentioned, this location is themed to mimic an old-fashioned fountain shop that was popular between the 1920s and 1960s.  It is very casual and is a solid place to grab a bite to eat if you do not have or want to make a dining reservation.

This is a table service location, but they do have an ordering window off to the side where you can order sweet treats to go.

The Fountain has plenty of treats like cookies and cakes.

Plus, they have tons of ice cream!

Of course if you want to have a meal, you will be seated in the dining room where a server will come around and take your order.

There is seating at the bar, booths, and regular stand-alone tables.

Food & Drinks

The menu is full of American favorites like grilled cheese and tomato soup, as well as sandwiches.

You can also order milkshakes and they do have beer and wine.

Of course, we had to order a milkshake to try for ourselves! We went with the Banana Pudding Milkshake for $15. This shake had banana ice cream, vanilla pudding, whipped topping, Nilla Wafers, and fresh banana.

This was incredible. There was tons of whipped topping, and the shake had chunks of banana and Nilla Wafers. The actual shake itself did taste a bit artificial, but we did not mind it too much. The banana candies on top were fun, but it was too much, so we ended up taking them off. But kiddos will absolutely LOVE them.

For a starter, we ordered the Pretzel & Cheese Dip for $14. This was an oversized Bavarian pretzel with butter, salt, and warm cheese sauce.

The last time we ate here, this dish featured tiny bite-sized pretzels, but now it is an oversized pretzel. Not only did it come with cheese, but there was also mustard. The pretzel itself was salted just enough, and it was crispy on the edges and still soft on the inside. The cheese dip is similar to the plastic cheese that comes with Mickey pretzels in the park. And I mean, how can you resist a MASSIVE pretzel?! You just can’t — especially for that price with cheese in Disney World!

For our entree, we tried the Fountain Smash Burger for $21. For an additional $3, you can sub for a Beyond Burger patty. The burger was topped with griddled onions, crispy lettuce, farmers’ tomatoes, and American cheese.

The bun is nice and soft, and you could tell that it was coated with a bit of grease. The patty itself was not a pre-cut patty; instead, you could tell they actually made it a smash burger. The veggies were fresh, and the cheese melt was the star of the show.

The fries were just your average fries and were not really seasoned nor salted, but you can add salt yourself.

We also ordered the Burnt Ends and Pimento Melt for $20. It came with southern pimento cheese, hardwood-smoked turkey burnt ends, pickled red onions, jalapeño, and cheddar toast. This was also served with a side of fries.

It is a bit sweet from the red onions, but the meat inside is kind of wadded up. While this was delicious, and we liked the smokiness, if we had to choose between the Smash Burger and this sandwich, we would choose the Smash Burger.

Magic or Tragic

This meal was magic because…

• We liked that you could just walk up.
• This menu serves American favorites, which means that picky eaters should be able to find something that they like.
• It is a low-stress spot to eat at; you do not have to worry about a dress code, and you can stop here before or after a park day.

While we did like dining here, there were some cons…

• Although this is a table-service restaurant, if you are looking to dress up and have a fancy dinner, you may want to check out another restaurant. Trust us, there is no shortage of restaurants at the Dolphin, as Rosa Mexicano is right down the hall.
• If you are dining on the Disney Dining Plan, The Fountain does not accept it.

The Fountain is worth checking out if you are staying at The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, especially if you are looking for a casual and low-stress meal.

For more food reviews and to stay up to date on all the latest Disney news, make sure to continue to follow along with AllEars!

REVIEW: We Spent Almost $300 at This Underrated Disney Hotel Restaurant — Should You?

Have you ever dined at The Fountain? Let us know in the comments!

Comments (1)