Not every Disney snack is a winner…and we learned that the hard way this month.
We try a lot of food at Disney World, and while most of it is solid to amazing, every once in a while we run into a few total misses. This month had some especially hyped new snacks and returning favorites that just didn’t live up to expectations.
We try a lot of food at Disney World, and while most of it ranges from solid to straight-up delicious, every now and then we run into a few misses. This month had some especially hyped new snacks and returning favorites that just didn’t hit the way we hoped they would. Whether it was weird textures, flavors that didn’t quite work together, or dishes that sounded amazing on paper but disappointed in real life, these are the treats we tried this month that we wouldn’t rush to order again. Consider this your friendly heads-up before you spend your snack budget on something that might leave you feeling underwhelmed.
Polenta Pasticciata — L’Arte di Mangiare in Italy (Festival of the Arts in EPCOT)
Unfortunately, the new Polenta Pasticciata just didn’t do it for us. It’s made with polenta, Bolognese, Parmesan, mozzarella, and tomato sauce and comes in at $8, which honestly feels fair…if the texture had been better. The problem is the polenta itself. Instead of being creamy and comforting, it was more like a dense, gelatinous block, and that’s just not the vibe we want from a dish like this.
Flavor-wise, it wasn’t offensive (the Bolognese and cheeses were fine), but the texture totally killed it for us. We kept trying to give it another bite, thinking, “Maybe it’ll grow on me,” and…nope. We just couldn’t get past how oddly firm and jiggly it was, which made the whole dish feel way less appetizing than it should’ve been. It’s a hard pass for us, and definitely not something we’d order again.
Raspberry Spuma — — L’Arte di Mangiare in Italy (Festival of the Arts in EPCOT)
The Raspberry Spuma is a sweet treat made with vanilla sauce, mint whipped cream, and puffed rice for $5.50 and offered at the same Italy food studio this year. Sadly, this one was a letdown, too! We’ve actually loved this dessert in the past, which made this year’s version even more disappointing. Instead of feeling light and refreshing, it came across as kind of chaotic, like all the flavors were competing for attention instead of working together.
The vanilla, raspberry, and mint just never really blended into one cohesive bite, and every spoonful tasted a little…confused. That said, the puffed rice does add a really nice texture and was honestly our favorite part of the whole thing. We wanted to love this again so badly, but this time around it just didn’t hit — and we probably wouldn’t rush to order it again.
Mickey Strawberry Cookie Sandwich — Main Street Confectionery (Magic Kingdom)
One of the new treats we tried this month was the Mickey Strawberry Cookie Sandwich with SKITTLES POP’d freeze-dried candy for $7.99, and honestly…wow, this one was a hard pass for us! The concept sounds fun (soft sugar cookies sandwiching strawberry filling with crunchy candy bits on the outside), but the execution just didn’t work. Instead of a bright, fruity strawberry flavor, the filling tasted more like artificial bubblegum, and even the trendy Skittles topping couldn’t save it from feeling overwhelmingly sweet and oddly flavored.
The texture also didn’t help things: the cookies were firm and not particularly crumbly, which made the whole sandwich a bit frustrating to eat. While we get that kids might enjoy the candy-covered whimsy and bold sweetness, this treat just didn’t hit for us — and if we’re being honest, it left us questioning why anyone thought these specific flavors would play nicely together. Definitely one we’d skip on your next Magic Kingdom snack run!
Banana Cream Pie Churro — Sunshine Churros (Disney Springs)
Another Disney snack that just missed the mark for us this month was the Banana Cream Pie Churro we picked up for $7.99. On paper, it sounds fun — a classic churro split and rolled in graham cracker crumbs, drizzled with banana cream and caramel, then topped with whipped cream, but in practice, it fell a bit flat.
The biggest issue was the banana cream flavor, which tasted overwhelmingly artificial and reminded us more of banana candy than a real banana dessert, and that odd sweetness just dominated every bite. The churro itself was surprisingly dry and seemed like it might have been sitting out too long, so instead of a warm, cinnamon-sugar treat, we got something oddly firm and lacking the crisp exterior we love. Flavor combinations could have worked in theory, but here they never quite came together, and we wouldn’t choose this one again on a future Disney snack run
The Butcher Board — Polite Pig (Disney Springs)
Another dish that didn’t quite live up to the hype this month was the Butcher Board for Two at The Polite Pig in Disney Springs, and yes, this one should have been great on paper. For $46, you get a spread of pork shoulder, smoked chicken, brisket, and BBQ cheddar sausage, plus slaw, pickles, cornbread, and two sides. While we appreciated the variety and the chance to try everything with sauces, the execution just fell short of expectations.
The pork was decent and smoky enough, and the sausage had a nice snap, but the brisket was dry and fatty, and the chicken, while juicy, was awkward to eat thanks to being bone-in. Even the cornbread — which should have been a comforting highlight — was so dry that it made every bite feel like a chore rather than a treat. The sides were fine (sweet potato tots were one of the better parts), but overall, the whole platter felt less than the sum of its parts. For the price and the buzz around this meal, we expected something much more consistently delicious, and this one ended up on our list of misses rather than must-tries this month.
Caramel Protein Latte — Starbucks
Another new item that left us kind of underwhelmed this month was the Caramel Protein Latte from Starbucks — and we were so ready to love it. On paper, it sounds like exactly the kind of park-friendly specialty drink you want: a sweeter twist on your usual Starbucks order with some added protein for stamina between rides and lines. But in practice, it just didn’t deliver the balanced flavor we were hoping for.
Instead of a rich, creamy caramel experience, the drink came off oddly thin and more like a watered-down latte with a faint protein-powder aftertaste that didn’t play nicely with the sweetness. The caramel notes were muted and didn’t do enough to elevate the overall flavor, leaving each sip feeling a little confusing rather than delicious. For something that’s supposed to feel like a treat (and give you a bit of a protein boost), this one missed the mark for us, and it’s not something we’d order again on our next Starbucks stop at Disney World.
With as much as we eat at Disney World, the fact that this list is as small as it is says that most of the things you’ll try on your next visit, you won’t have to worry about at all! But if you’re on the weary side, this is the short list we would caution you against while you’re weighing your options.
Don’t go anywhere — there’s more food reviews where these came from! Be sure you’re following along with us at AllEars so you don’t miss a thing.
The Disney World Essentials We Always Skip and Why
What’s the worst thing you’ve eaten at Disney World that you swore you’d never attempt again? Tell us in the comments below!
After eating the grilled cheese sandwiches and soup we gave up they were rushed cold and greasy. We went to 9 dragons and had a great meal.
Burger and fries at Sunset Market, Hollywood Studios. Not awful but definitely bland. Not even the fries were good