REVIEW: This Might Be the Most Disappointing Disney Meal We Had All Year

When we say we’re trying every Disney restaurant, that doesn’t mean just the ones inside the United States…

We know all the ins and outs of Disney restaurants — including at the international parks! We recently flew out to Disneyland Paris and took in EVERYTHING — including some unique eats! We stopped by the famous Walt’s — an American restaurant at Disneyland Paris’ Main Street, U.S.A., and we’re bringing you our FULL review!

Background

This French restaurant ironically serves “sophisticated and contemporary American cuisine with European influences” in a Victorian-style setting that pays tribute to the life and work of Walt Disney himself.

The restaurant opened with Disneyland Paris on April 12th, 1992, and tells Walt Disney’s story — growing up in Marceline all the way to becoming an entertainment giant.

Rooms here are themed after the six lands of the park, and you’ll be able to spot tons of different framed images of Walt and his family, as well as several of the projects and characters he worked on.

Atmosphere

Walt’s is absolutely gorgeous. We felt like we were dining in a 1900s family home, and we really loved all the concept art and paintings from offerings around the parks. 

The themed rooms are:

• Fantasyland: A gothic-style room that presents an early vision of Fantasyland. It features paintings, concept art, and sculptures of European tales like Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland.
• Adventureland: Featuring a more exotic and adventurous flair, this room features sketches of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride by famous Disney Imagineer Marc Davis.
• Discoveryland: Influenced by Jules Verne, this room displays a collection of illustrations from his books, and also features a fireplace decorated with a golden model of the Nautilus.
• Disneyland Hotel: This small room features sketches that inspired the architecture of Disneyland Hotel.
• Grand Canyon: This space features drawings of the Grand Canyon as seen from the Disneyland Railroad.
• Frontierland: This room is themed after the haunted town of Thunder Mesa and features nods to Big Thunder Mountain, Phantom Manor, and the Thunder Mesa Riverboats.

These small rooms create an intimate dining setting with great window views and not a ton of tables in each.

It feels like a historical place to be, even though it’s still relatively new compared to the American theme parks. We found it to be a really gorgeous setting.

But looks only matter so much. Let’s talk about the eats!

Food & Drinks

We tried the prix fixe menu for €55. This comes with a starter, main Course, and dessert. There were a few reporters checking this restaurant out, so we got to try quite a bit, starting with the  Creamy Pea Soup, Whipped Isigny Cream, and Smoky Popcorn. This is made with peas  — one of the ingredients found on the shopping list on Walt Disney’s fridge — and served with smoky popcorn and Isigny cream — a nod to the Disney family’s French origins.

Unfortunately, we found this soup to be so flavorless. Texturally, it was nice and creamy (the cream was the best part), but the popcorn was stale, soggy, and just weird. We simply were not fans.

Next, we tried the Chicken Pot Pie. This dish was made back in the day by Bessie Postalwaite (a Disney family cook), and this version includes a French croissant pastry shell.

We thought the pastry style was a fun choice, and combined American and French dishes. The croissant pastry shell was so good and flaky, but once again, the filling was bland with not enough seasoning. There were some carrots and veggies, but not nearly enough. It was mostly square pieces of chicken with very little flavor. The croissant was good. Everything else? Not so much.

The last appetizer we tried was the Waldorf Salad. A favorite of Walt, this salad is made with Roquefort cheese and a lemon and thyme Vinaigrette.

You guessed it — we didn’t like this either. The apple was not crisp at all, and the whole dish lacked flavor…again. The grapes were not sweet, the apple didn’t taste like an apple, and, texturally, a lot of this was just mush. The blue cheese had a lot of flavor — it just wasn’t anything special, especially compared to the blue cheese we get back home. It was too overpowering and cheap in flavor. The dressing was light and flavorful, though, and we thought that was the best part.

For our mains, we first tried the Chilli con Carne. This is made with tortilla chips, cheddar, Isigny crème fraîche, red onion, coriander, white rice, and kidney beans. The chili was served in a can-shaped dish with a little nod to Mickey, which was cute. It was plated with the three toppings in little piles of onions, sour cream, and the cheddar cheese, and then rice with the steak and tomato on top — a confusing setup to be sure.

This was not the easiest thing to eat, as we had to scoop the chili onto a fork and then scoop the topping on each bite.  As for the flavor, the chili was actually pretty good! There was a touch of sweetness and not a ton of heat. We would’ve liked to have more beans, but overall it was hearty and meaty.

However, the steak and rice were not very good. Our steak was way too mushy and tasted foul, and our rice was undercooked. Unfortunately, this was the majority of the dish, so while we liked the chili, we were left totally unsatisfied.

Next up was the Fillet of Farmhouse Chicken with a Golden Honey and Cajun-Spiced Coating. This is made with cranberry sauce and baby vegetables.

We wanted to like this so bad, but our chicken was so dry. The skin had the most flavor, but it still was not moist and juicy. We ended up pouring the cranberry sauce all over it, as this was the only way we were able to eat it. It was so hard to cut the chicken, and we felt like we were sawing through it.

The veggies were fine, but a bit bland. When we salted the tomato, we noticed it was greatly improved. Still, this dish made us sad.

The last main we tried was the Mac and Cheddar Cheese, made with pasta, cheddar cheese sauce, pastrami, and shiitake mushrooms.

We’d call this good but not great. It’s probably something akin to something you’d find on a kid’s menu. It tasted like mac and cheese from the can, which is fine, but not for the price you’re paying.

Hopefully, the desserts would provide some redemption! We first tried the Flower Street Sundae, which is themed after 1401 Flower Street (Disneyland Paris’ address and Walt Disney Imagineering’s California address).

This came with three flavors — vanilla, strawberry, and one that tasted like cookie butter. We’re happy to say they were all amazing and tasted fresh and homemade. It also came with meringue on the side, which was delicious. It had just a few pieces of fruit on it, but it was really great overall.

Next, we tried the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake and Vanilla-Infused Isigny Crème Fraîche, served with mascarpone.

The desserts didn’t save the meal, but they were the highlight. This cake was a touch dry, but still pretty decent. It was dense with a good pineapple flavor and a raspberry on top. Texturally, this was more than satisfactory, and it was warm with delicious cream — we’re talking the perfect amount of sweetness while somehow still being light and fluffy with rich and indulgent flavors. The presentation wasn’t great, but it’s still tasty enough to get again.

The last dessert was The Steamboat Willie — a caramelised millefeuille with praline mascarpone cream.

The steamboat Willy was another winner, although it was a bit difficult to eat. We didn’t know if we were supposed to cut it, or if we were supposed to pick it up. It was really sticky and kind of hard to handle if you picked it up, but it was also not easy to cut through. Still, it was very delicious with plenty of crunch from the praline and pastry. Nicely sweet and creamy yet light, we were fans of this dessert.

To drink, we picked up the Edition Spéciate Disneyland Paris. This drink is made with Champagne Pierre Mignon Grande Réserve – brut in a souvenir glass for €20. 

This drink was bubbly, slightly sweet, and a bit dry on the back end. It had just the right amount of sweetness and dryness that many folks would drink this and like it, but if you’re looking for something sugary-sweet, this obviously isn’t it. We also think it’s really cool that this is a Disneyland Paris-unique drink.

Next, we tried the Floral Imagination for €18. This drink is made with Bleu de Limoges Gin, dry vermouth, violet liqueur, lavender syrup, apple juice, lime juice, and egg white. We weren’t huge fans of this. It was way too sweet and not floral or apple-y enough. It had a nice foam on the top, but it was like drinking perfume. There was just way too much going on.

Finally, we tried the Sweet Main Street for €13. This drink is exclusive to Walt’s and pays tribute to Main Street, U.S.A. It is made with cranberry juice, apple juice, candyfloss (cotton candy) syrup, and candyfloss.

This drink was just straight sugar, which is obviously very fun for kids. It looks interesting, but it’s hard to differentiate flavors when the sugar is so dominating. The cotton candy was shoved in and dissolved, so that’s probably why the sugar was so prominent. It’s a fun non-alcoholic drink and is very cute, but the drink was just so darn sugary.

Magic or Tragic?

Walt’s is a must-visit if…

• YOU’RE OBSSESSED WITH DISNEY LORE. This restaurant is packed with Disney history, making it a fun place to visit for any Disney historian.
• YOU MISS AMERICAN FOOD. It’s not exactly top-notch American cuisine, but the eats served here are definitely inspired by American classics.
• YOU WANT TO SIT FOR A BIT. As a table-service location, this restaurant offers you the opportunity to pause your day and get some much-needed rest.

You should skip this restaurant if…

• YOU’RE ON A BUDGET. We felt the quality did not match the price, and we were disappointed with how much we had to pay to get a subpar meal.
• YOU’RE EXPECTING THAT FAMOUS FRENCH QUALITY. Almost everything we tried disappointed us, which was totally shocking since French cuisine is some of the best in the world.
• YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A “WOW” DINING EXPERIENCE. The food was kind of bland, and nothing blew our socks off. If you’re traveling from out of the country, we recommend looking for restaurants that specialize in French cuisine to really take advantage of your vacation in France.

Unfortunately, it’s tough to recommend Walt’s. We didn’t really like any of our food, and we’re worried that it’s not a matter of inconsistency, as nearly everything consistently disappointed. It also offered rare poor service. The staff was not as attentive, sort of distracted, and maybe overworked. For example, we asked for English menus and got Spanish menus, and it took 6 minutes for this issue to get resolved. It was a strange, strange vibe.

Overall, it’s just really tough to recommend Walt’s, especially for the price of dining. It’s a beautiful space, but disappointing in other aspects that matter.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on all the latest Disney dining reviews and news, so keep it posted right here at AllEars to stay in the know!

As an American, I Felt Hilariously Burned By This Disneyland Paris Ride

 

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

Have you eaten at this Disneyland Paris Restaurant? Share your review in the comments below!

Comments (1)