Face-off: Quick Service vs Table Service

In this edition of Disney My Way Face-Offs, Lane settles one of the biggest debates in Walt Disney World dining: Quick Service or Table Service? From food quality and atmosphere to value, convenience, and vacation vibes, they go head-to-head across ten different categories to determine which dining style comes out on top. Whether you're a meticulous planner with dining reservations booked months in advance or someone who prefers to mobile order on the fly, this episode will help you decide which option truly deserves the crown!

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What's up, Wayfunders, and welcome into Disney My Way, episode number 216. My name is Lightning Lane Kut Chow. And on today's episode, we are returning to our face-off series, to face off quick service restaurants versus table service restaurants. It's going to be a good one, so let's go ahead and dive on in. I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing that was all started by a mouse. So we returned to our face-off series for the first time in quite a while, and we are facing off quick service versus table service today. Now, we're not necessarily taking individual restaurants and putting them up against each other on this one. But what we're doing is we are taking the collective group of quick service restaurants at Walt Disney World, and we're facing them off against the collective of table service restaurants that are at Walt Disney World. And we're going to compare and contrast and see which group of restaurants is truly better. Is it the quick service ones or the table service ones? And our criteria for this one is going to be the following categories. We've got price, food quality, atmosphere, convenience, time commitment, variety, vacation experience, family friendliness, value for the money, and flexibility. Now we're going to start with the price category. And look, I know this one probably seems a little unfair because when you're looking at the table service restaurants, yes, those are going to be your more expensive restaurants. These are the ones that you are going to, you're always going to pay a pretty good price tag to eat at. Some of them can be way more than that. It just depends on the restaurant, the, you know, whatever the price point they have it set for. But, you know, you're talking about you're spending a lot more per person at a table service restaurant on average. And as we'll talk about later, there's a reason probably for that. But overall, you are paying more money at the table service restaurants. However, I will say this there are some table service restaurants that, while yes, they may be slightly pricier than most quick service restaurants, they're not necessarily going to, you know, take all of the money out of your wallet. Uh Tratoria Al Forno from the Boardwalk comes to mind for me. Spice Road Table over at Epcot comes to mind for me, as well as the Grand Floridian Cafe, which is, spoiler, at the Grand Floridian. And those are all meals that I felt like I had a good meal experience at, but I didn't necessarily pay like out the wazoo for those meals as compared to some other meals that I've had on property, which are very, very expensive. So with that being said, you know, overall, I actually feel like there are still some, you know, nicer places to eat at Walt Disney World that don't cost you a whole lot. But for the most part, though, as we're talking about these things as a collective, Quick Service is obviously going to win this category every single time, because the average cost per person is significantly lower. Now you're still talking about a price point of maybe $18 to $20 a person, depending on what you get to eat, if you get a soft drink with the meal, all this kind of stuff. So it's not that it's necessarily quote unquote cheaper, you know, than a table service meal. It's not like you're paying, you know, $10 a person as compared to $50. You're still paying a pretty good price point. It's just there are ways where you don't have to spend as much at quick service meals as you do with table service meals on average. So that's gonna be an early one-nothing lead for our quick service category of restaurants with the price, because just that's what they're built for, is to be faster and cheaper meal options for people at the parks. So they take that category pretty easily. But now we move on to food quality, and surprisingly, I will say this. As compared to a lot of theme parks around the world, and I've been to a lot of them, you know, in the United States particularly, Walt Disney World on average, even its plainest of plain quick service restaurants that are serving you burgers and chicken tenders and fries and all that, the food quality at a Walt Disney World quick service restaurant is much better than most theme parks across the country. I mean, you really are going to find a really good meal, even if you are going very, very basic with your selections. But with that being said, there's also a lot of quick service restaurants on property at Walt Disney World that I would argue give you table service quality meals with the quick service price tag attached to it. Satouly Canteen, Flame Tree Barbecue over at Animal Kingdom come to mind for that. Connections Eatery at Epcot comes to mind for me with that. Used to be Regal Eagle at Epcot also fit in that category. Although the last time I went there, I wasn't as impressed by the food. But still, my point being, there are still a lot of really good quick service restaurants that give you very good quality food with a good price tag to it. However, the difference is when you are paying the price tag that you are for a table service restaurant, as we just talked about, your average food quality at a table service restaurant is mostly going to be a lot better. You know, the thing is, is at the end of the day, a quick service restaurant, they are still pumping out food at a very high rate. And so there are still high likelihoods, even at Walt Disney World, that maybe you get something sometimes that's been sitting under a heating lamp. You know, if you go quick service at some of the food stalls during food and wine sometimes, sometimes you get something that's been sitting there for a second. Sometimes even at the quick service restaurants, you know, that are even some of the best ones, you can tell, okay, this kind of got made quickly today. And on average, while there are still times where a table service meal at Walt Disney World maybe isn't the best, it's still probably going to be a lot better than your average quick service experience in terms of your food quality. Also, you're not going to get, you know, I'm talking about the actually actual like making of the food too. But also, there are things like La Cellier at Epcot in Canada. I'm not going to get a filet like that with risotto at a quick service restaurant. Now, sometimes they serve uh like a cut version of the filet, you know, at the food and wine festival, but that's still not the same as sitting down and eating that filet made f like made to your order at the restaurant. You're just getting a pre-made cut of filet mignon at the booth. But man alive, when I tell you that's a great meal. Jico, same kind of thing. I'm not getting a steak like that anywhere else at a quick service restaurant. I'm just not. Even some of the more elevated, you know, burgers and stuff that I've had at some of these restaurants, you're not gonna get at your average quick service place on property. So it's not just how they prepare the food and the quality of the preparation, it's the actual quality of the food that you are eating in terms of how good the meal actually is, is just a very high likelihood that it's gonna hit more at a table service restaurant than it is at a quick service one. And so table service ties this one up pretty quickly here, and we're tied now at one apiece. Which now brings us to our next category, and that is atmosphere. Now at a table service, the thing is the atmospheres are going to be wildly drastic between LaCellier, which is kind of darker, and quiet to Tretoria Alforno, which is a little bit brighter, but also I found to be very quiet to, you know, you've got character meals, which are sometimes a little bit louder and a little bit more rambunctious because you've got kids in there excited to meet their favorite characters. There's also some character meals, though, like um Topolino's Terrace at the Riviera, which I actually found to be a quite pleasant atmosphere even for a character meal. Like, I didn't feel like I was overwhelmed with just screaming and all this stuff that you typically find. And again, I'm not trying to say that as a complaint. I'm just saying your atmospheres at your table service restaurants are going to be wildly different depending on where you go. A meal at Gico is not going to be the same even as a meal at California Grill. You know, like it's going to be wildly different no matter where you go. But at most quick service places, kind of the thing about it is because it is such a quick stop for people, because that's what it's intended to be, you are going to get a lot of people that are hustling and bustling, moving about. So a lot of times these quick service atmospheres are a little bit louder, they're a little bit more rambunctious because you've got a lot more families, especially, that are piling up into these restaurants so that they can get a quick bite to eat, get a little bit of an AC break, you know, and then head on out for their park day and to go enjoy whatever they're doing next. So those atmospheres don't really tend to lean towards, you know, creating a mood as much as they are like, hey, we're trying to get you in here, get you a meal, and then get you out. And then especially when you think about a place like Woody's Lunchbox at Hollywood Studios, where basically the whole atmosphere is just that you're sitting outside in the middle of the sun, not really a great atmosphere to be had. So, you know, it's not that all quick service restaurants have bad atmospheres. Holy smokes, I've talked about this probably a lot before, but man, when BR guest used to have a quick service lunch, that was the coolest thing because you could eat in the Beast Castle, you weren't having to get a reservation, it was just a quick service lunch. You got in, you got your food, you could sit down in any of the rooms and eat. That was some awesome atmosphere. Docking Base 7's got an interesting atmosphere inside as well. You can sit down and eat in. You know, so it's not that all of these quick service places are just derived of good atmosphere to eat in. It's just for the most part, they kind of all fit the same mold because that's what they're designed to do. They're not designed to really keep you there for an hour. They're designed to get you there for maybe 25-30 minutes to eat and then back out the door to the park. So obviously, despite some table service restaurants, yes, also fitting that mold of being a little bit louder and more rambunctious, for the most part, you're still gonna find a lot better atmospheres at most table service restaurants than you are at a quick service. So I'm gonna give this category to table service, which means table service is now up two to one in our face-off. But now we go to convenience. And as much good as the table service category has gotten from our last two sets of criteria, this is one where it does fall very, very short. Because it is not convenient to stop off at a table service restaurant. And that's because one, you have to have a reservation for it most of the time. Sometimes you can get on a walk-up list. There are some table service restaurants that do offer that, but for the most part, you have to have a reservation. So if you haven't gotten one already and there are none available to be had, well, you're out of luck. You're not going to be able to just walk into a table service restaurant and sit down most of the time and have a meal. That is something, especially in this new era of the Disney parks, that has become harder and harder to do. And so that's one reason why it's not as convenient because you can't just walk in whenever you want. But then also it is a time commitment. You know, like there is something to be said about the time that you are gonna spend in there, and we're gonna talk about that literally in the next category. But, you know, when it comes to your convenience, like, you know, you are gonna have to spend a significant amount of chunk of time in these places. So, you know, it's not as if everybody has that kind of flexibility in their day. There are a lot of times where I have to make a plan around my table service restaurant. Okay, I got a meal at this place, so that means I gotta start here, and I probably gotta leave here at about this time so that I can get over there or whatever. And it's just that you kind of have to spend a lot of time planning around your table service meal. And that's not necessarily something every family wants to have to do when they're on vacation at Walt Disney World. And then when you compare that to a quick service restaurant, which literally quick services are scattered just about everywhere across the four parks, no matter which one you're at. I mean, you could literally just be walking past something and go, oh, hey, maybe we should just stop in here. You can walk in, you can go up to the window, you can order. If you were smart and you ordered ahead of time with mobile order, you could go ahead and just walk in, grab your plate, sit down, and be on your way. I mean, there are so many quick service places to eat. And especially like if you're at Epcot with all of the festival booths, which I do consider to be quick service because you're not sitting down and eating at them. Like, there is a lot of times where you can just pop in, pop out, get something to eat, and it's very, very easy, very, very convenient. So when it comes to convenience, Quick Service does win this category fairly easily because there's just a larger abundance of them, and just by its nature, it's designed to be easier. So now Quick Service has tied this thing up at two a piece. But it's probably, as you could tell, going to take this next category very easily as well, which is time commitment. Yeah, when it comes to time commitment, you don't really have one with a quick service restaurant. Literally, you can go to a quick service restaurant whenever you want, walk on in, or place a mobile order. Now, mobile orders you do have to be a little bit more strategic with because they don't always just have them available for the time that you want. So either you have to make that ahead of time based on what time you think you're gonna be there, or you just have to take whatever window is available when you're hungry. So that is kind of the drawback to it sometimes with mobile order, but for the most part, a lot of them still have counters that you can walk up to and order from. So you could just walk in to any quick service place and place an order at any time. I mean, there's literally no time commitment to it. And then once you sit down, I mean, you're basically just on how fast can you eat and how long do you want to be there? Your time spent in the restaurant from that point moving forward is based off of you and what you want to do. So, with that being said, yeah, when it comes to timing, you can't beat a quick service restaurant because most of the time they are going to get you done really, really fast. And then again, when you compare that to a table service restaurant, the thing is you do have to make a reservation. So that means you have a reservation time. And, you know, there is a policy where, I mean, after a certain amount of time, you will be penalized for being late. You know, either they'll give away your reservation or, you know, cancel it and then still charge your card for not showing up or whatever. But you want to try to make sure you're there early enough where you can go ahead and check in and get on the list for the table. Then you got to go sit at the table. You gotta, you know, go through the whole basically song and dance of if you were at any restaurant in your hometown that you sit down and eat at. You know, you got to look at the menu order and then wait for them to make it and bring it out and then eat and then pay the check and all this stuff. And just you are gonna have to spend a much more definitive amount of time there than you are a quick service restaurant, especially if, again, you're doing a character dining meal because you're gonna want to see all of the characters featured in your meal. You don't want to just leave after seeing one, you want to see all of them that come around. And so, with that, you know, factor in it, you then have to kind of stay definitely a more definite amount of time to make sure you catch everybody before they head on out. Or before you head on out, sorry. And so, yeah, it's just your overall time commitment with a table service restaurant is much more involved than a quick service one. So quick service takes the time commitment category very, very easily, which now puts it up three to two. And now we get to variety. And when it comes to variety, with table service, you have variety all over the map. I mean, you've got a place like Via Napoli over in Epcot, which specializes in like making pizzas and things like that. And then you've got obviously a place like LaCelle and Gico, which are two places that have really phenomenal steaks, but Jico's an African-inspired restaurant with a lot of African flavors, while La Celleie is from Canada, so there's a lot of Canadian flavors and flair with that one. So even places that sell similar food are you know are serving you similar food still have very wildly different flavors to it. You know, I think about all of the different table service restaurants I've been able to eat at, even several different Italian restaurants, they're all different in just what their specialty is and all these things. And I mean, there is just such a wide variety of table service restaurants. There really, really is. I mean, you could plan a whole trip just to eat, and you probably won't, you there's a very high likelihood you could find a place to eat every single night on your trip and not have the same style of meal. Meaning, you know, you're not going to eat four steaks in one week. You know, you may have one steak one night and fish the next night and pasta the next night. Like, there's such a wide variety of places to eat at table service restaurants at Walt Disney World, you could keep the plates rotating constantly. And it's awesome. Like, I that's why I love eating at Walt Disney World. You know, when it comes to food, I'm not nearly as, you know, picky there as sometimes I am at home because there's such a wide variety and they're all so very good for the most part. So Table Service offers you such a wide array of dining options available to you, on top of the fact that, man, you even have a variety in the style of restaurants where like you've got some that are buffets. Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge is a buffet with African food. You've got obviously the character meals, which a lot of times are buffets, whether it's the one in Epcot, I think it's Oscar House is the name of that one. I can't quite remember. Ohana for breakfast is Ohana, man, is two different meals in one, depending on what time of the day you go. But Ohana's got the stitch characters and the breakfast platters there. You've got Hollywood and Vine, which is at Hollywood Studios, which is a buffet. Like you've even got amongst the table service of variety, because some of them are buffets. Some of them, like I mentioned, are character meals where you're meeting some of your favorite Disney characters. So there's just a lot of different moving pieces when it comes to table service restaurants. But when it comes to quick service, it's not necessarily so cut and dry because you do have some places, like I mentioned, like Satulli Canteen, that is very, very different than the majority of your quick service restaurants at Walt Disney World because it serves stuff that you're not going to find anywhere. Like the steamed uh cheeseburger pods, you know, you've got the build your own plate where you can make rice or noodles and then put chicken or steak on top of it and all this stuff. Like there are some meals like Satulli Canteen that are very, very different. But the problem is when it comes to quick service, the majority of them are pretty much the same. You know, a lot of them are gonna offer you a lot of very similar options. Lots of burgers and fries, lots of chicken tenders and fries, lots of those things. And again, there are times where that can be very, very helpful for sure. And so maybe you just want a burger and fries. Now, there again, there are places to find different types of food where you don't have to just get a burger and fries. And I try to help you guys through this podcast and through the vlogs. I try to help you guys find places like that, like ABC Commissary that sells some different stuff now. Like I love the Buffalo Chicken grilled cheese there and stuff like that. Like there are places that offer different varieties of food that are good and not your standard stuff, but it's just for the most part, most places on property that are quick service are going to offer you some variety of the same meal. So it's not the type of variety that you really want. And so that's why I'm gonna give this this category to the table service, because I think there is such a wider array of table service restaurants than there are quick service restaurants, which means we are, by my count, tied up at three as we head into the next one, which is vacation experience. Now, this category is one that it's about basically how much are you enjoying the meal, which feels more like a Disney vacation. You know, what's gonna play more into it? And I'll say this. As somebody that has now, I was thinking about this the other day. I've been going to the parks since I was six years old, and I'm 28, almost 29 years old now. We don't need to talk about that. But for 20 plus years of my life, I've been going to Walt Disney World. And, you know, my family is one that we we were blessed to be able to go as often as we did. And people often thought, oh, well, you're eating all this stuff. Like, no, a lot of times we were bringing food from home or eating at a quick service and splitting meals with each other, like, you know, and things like that. A table service meal was often a very, very big treat for us as a family. Like it really was. Like it was a treat for us to go to be our guest for dinner, you know, or it was a treat to go to Ohana or Tusker House or whatever. So a lot of my memories, especially when I was growing up, were going to quick service restaurants and having really fun meals with my family. And that is kind of the thing about the quick service, is that because it's a little bit faster, you know, you're not necessarily having to worry about a time commitment. You can talk about, you know, what your favorite things were, what you want to do next before you leave, and then you can head on back out and do those things and have fun and you know, and and get ready to close out your park day if you're eating a quick service dinner, or get ready for the afternoon, you know, marathon through the heat, you know. Like there is something to be said that quick service restaurants can be a lot of fun for your family, you know, even though they are designed to be a little bit faster, up tempo, trying to get you in and out of the door. However, for me, I think table service restaurants definitely do carry a little bit more of that punch when it comes to what makes you feel like you are on a quote unquote Disney vacation because they have things like the character meals where you're literally getting to meet some of your favorite characters, like Mickey or Winnie the Pooh or Stitch or Goofy or whoever it is that's your favorite. There are places where you can do that, or meet princesses, or whatever. Like there are a lot more table service restaurants that are going to help you make very special memories as compared to quick service restaurants that don't necessarily do that. Even places like California Grill, which is a very bougie and expensive table service meal, man. If you're up there at the right time and you're out on the balcony up there, you know, when they are pumping in the firework music and the fireworks are going off in Magic Kingdom, that's a vibe. I remember eating at Narcuzzi's over at the Grand Floridian. Again, another kind of bougie expensive meal. And I'll never forget when my waiter said, Why are you sitting? Or I was actually the person bringing me my food was like, Why are you sitting in that chair? And I said, Oh, I don't know. I just sat down and he said, Well, move to this chair because the lights are about to come on at Magic Kingdom, and you're gonna see it from across the water because Narkuzzi sits right near the water at the Grand Floridian. And so I switched chairs, and I mean he was right. The lights all came up, you know, at Magic Kingdom, and I got to watch it from across the water while I was eating, and I was like, yeah, that's really awesome. And it's just stuff like that that you don't always get, even just little things like that, that you don't always get from a quick service experience. So that's why for vacation experience, I did give this one to the table service category because I just felt like overall you get a little bit more of those lasting vacation moments from a table service meal than a quick service meal. And so, you know, with that being taken into account, now table service, by my estimate, is up four to three in this face-off. But now we move to our next category, and that is family friendliness. So when it comes to family friendliness, Quick Service obviously has a lot of really great perks for a family, for an average family at Walt Disney World. One, because you don't have to necessarily worry about, you know, getting all dolled up. There are a lot of these sit-down table service restaurants where they do have dress codes where, you know, you don't necessarily have to wear like a suit and a tie, but they would prefer you to wear clothing that is not like tank tops and flip-flops and swimsuits and stuff like that. Like they would rather you dress a little bit nicer for the meal because it's a nicer restaurant. So, like, for instance, if I'm going to a place like Jico, we've sat in there with gym shorts and a t-shirt on before, but I still felt a little bit weird about that because I was like, oh, I don't know, you know, but I didn't wear my hat. Took my hat off and put it in my backpack. But when I've gone to Jico other times after that, I've usually packed a collared shirt just to change into, and maybe some khaki shorts or something to put on, so that I look a little bit nicer for the meal. Again, I'm not wearing a full suit or anything, but just to look a little bit nicer. And so, you know, with that, you know, it is nice when it comes to quick service that you don't have to do anything like that. I think it's also nice for a lot of families that, you know, you do have a lot of safe options, like we talked about earlier with quick service. A lot of times you are talking about places that are serving burgers and fries or chicken tenders. And so you don't have to worry about your picky eaters so much because you're worried that, oh, they're not gonna like something at Chefs de France because, well, they don't like French food or anything like that. Like, yeah, they may have a kid's menu, but is it always gonna be so cut and dry chicken tenders and fries? Sometimes there's not. And so, and sometimes too, you might get mad that they're ordering chicken tenders and fries at a nice table service restaurant. So, with that being said, I do think the quick service category carries a lot of family friendliness with it because it's more affordable for the average family for sure, and you don't have to worry about environment because a lot of them are louder, a little bit more rambunctious. You don't have to worry about a screaming toddler, a baby, or anything like that. Like, there is something to be said that Quick Service does offer you a ton of perks as a family, and Table Service has some very family-friendly experiences as well. You know, I'm I've already talked about the character meals. I mean, that is something where the environments are gonna be a little bit louder and a little bit more excitement in them because you're meeting characters and such. So, you know, you don't have to worry so much that your kids are gonna not fit in there or anything like that, because you know, you're gonna have fun meeting the characters and taking your pictures and all that. So, you know, with those types of meals, you know, that's not really as big of a problem. But I think the only thing is, is really outside of the character meals, there's not as many sit-down table service restaurants that I would really classify as being family friendly, just because there are so many places that do require you to wear something a little bit nicer, or they ask you to at least. I know at California Grill that I mentioned earlier, they do actually have a pretty strict dress code. So if you're not wearing a dress or pants and a collared shirt, you know, you're probably not going to be allowed up to California Grill. Because they're a little bit tighter with the dress code there. And you talk about a family, that's not always necessarily easy. And then the price point as well. I mean, family friendly is not something I would consider when I'm paying maybe $50 to $60 per person for a meal, as compared to, you know, like I said, $18 to $20 per person for a quick service meal. So I would give the family friendliness category to quick service. There are table service options that are family friendly, but for the most part, almost all of your quick service restaurants are going to be family friendly. So this means we are now tied up as we enter our last two categories: value for the money and flexibility. And value for the money, you know, I kind of can kind of teeter-totter both ways because when it comes to quick service, obviously the value in that is that you are paying significantly less per person. And like I mentioned, you can still get some really good food for that price point. And then also you have to factor in as well that with a quick service restaurant, a lot of times you can find a lot more places that appeal to everyone in your party with a quick service restaurant as compared to table service, because the menus are a little bit more defined at table service restaurants. So if you have larger parties, it can be a little bit easier to agree upon a quick service place to go rather than a table service restaurant. However, when I consider our categories that we've gone over already, things like food quality and atmosphere and variety, I think then the value for your money then does not necessarily become the price of the meal itself. It's are you getting the best overall dining experience? And I think more times than not, yes, you are paying a little bit more, but the value for the money that you're spending is going to be found more evened out at a table service restaurant than it is a quick service restaurant. Because I think a lot of times you may end up leaving a quick service restaurant and going, well, those chicken tenders just tasted like any other chicken tenders that we can get anywhere else. Or maybe your burger wasn't quite as good as you were hoping it was going to be. And you may still have some of those disappointments with a table service restaurant, but I kind of guarantee more times than not, you're gonna walk out of a table service restaurant going, man, that was really, really good. You know, and so with that being said, I think the value for your money is oftentimes going to be tied to your table service experience. Because despite the higher price point, you're just getting a much overall better meal. And so for me, table service takes this category and now takes a five to four lead. But then we go to our last category, which is flexibility. Which category offers you the most flexibility with your day? And like I mentioned a little bit earlier in the time commitment section, the unfortunate thing about the table service restaurant is that you have to set a chunk of time aside for it. You kind of have to plan your day around when you're going to go eat at these places. Whether it's you got to travel to them, you're staying at the same park, you know, how you depend, how your day goes is dependent upon the restaurant that you're going to eat at. And so that's not always easy. And that's one of those things that at the end of the day, you might sit there and say, well, you know, as much as I love a good table service restaurant, I don't really have time to go squeeze one in. I'm gonna go eat a quick service meal instead. And so that's why I think a quick service meal does offer you a lot more flexibility. Because it doesn't really matter what time you're at. If you're at 2:30 in the afternoon and you realize you haven't had lunch, well, you can go pop over and eat something somewhere real fast. Unlike a table service restaurant where it's like, oh shoot, I've got to get over there because my reservation is in 30 minutes and I got to get to the restaurant. So it's just one of those things of when it comes to planning your day, I mean, quick sir, a quick service day is going to give you a lot more flexibility in your schedule overall. So now we are left with this. We have a tie on our hands. We are all tied up after 10 categories at five apiece, which now means I have to make the ultimate decision. And I have wrestled with this a lot. Because, on the one hand, you know, I love the quick service restaurants a lot because of the flexibility and because of the fact that you don't have to have that time commitment. And I like to be kind of the free-flowing, oh, okay, well, I'm I'm gonna go here now and I'm gonna go there now. I kind of like having that openness in my schedule. But I also have become a major foodie with the Disney Parks over the last couple of years, and I enjoy getting to go to the different restaurants and try different foods, especially like I mentioned, foods that I don't necessarily get to eat when I'm at home. So, with both of these, I find immense value in both. But I think the one category that's gonna really form my decision here is the vacation experience category. And that's why I'm going to give this one by the slightest of edges to table service and declare table service the winner of this face-off. Because I do think more often than not, there are more times where I leave a vacation at Walt Disney World thinking about certain table service meals that I've had more than quick service. And yeah, there may be times like food and wine pops up, and I think about all the fun food that I ate at Food and Wine, but I'm also still thinking about my meal at Topolino's Terrace or at La Cellier or at Jico or fill in the blank with any of the other amazing restaurants I've gotten to go to at Walt Disney World. There's more times that I think about those meals in particular than I do just any quick service stop that I made. And I again I think that some of my favorite moments with my family has come with character meals or just even with friends going to character meals and things like that. Like, I really do believe that table service restaurants just add a certain spark to your vacation experience that really is something unique and different and memorable. And so I'm gonna give this one today to table service, which kind of surprises me because for a moment I felt like I was gonna go lean more towards quick service, but I decided to change my mind at the last second, and I am giving this one to Table Service. So, congratulations, table service. You are the winner of our face off today. But what we're gonna do now is take a quick break because we've got some holiday Disney news to go over. Well, if you didn't know already, one thing that we love here at Disney My Way is the Magic Candle Company. They are incredible. They have taken some of your favorite Disney Park and Resort scents, and they've turned them into all types of products from candles to hand soaps to room sprays, whatever it is you're looking for, your favorite scent is available at magiccandlecompany.com. And the best part is if you use the code DMW at checkout, they are gonna give you 15% off your order. That's right, just by using the code DMW at checkout, you're gonna get 15% off your order. So why wait? Head on over to magiccandlecompany.com today or use the link in the show notes below and get your first magical order in today. So we do have several bits of Disney news to get into on this one, but I won't bury the lead because Disney did drop holiday details for us this week. So we did expect to hear this, I guess, because maybe Monday or Tuesday they kind of teased that halfway to the holidays was coming up, they're gonna start announcing things, and then they finally dropped it on Wednesday, June 24th, all of the sweet details. So Jollywood Nights is returning to Walt Disney World again for 2026, and you've got several dates in November as well as December, and even two in January. So anywhere between November the 7th, all the way up to January the 5th on Select Nights, you'll be in. Able to find dates for Jollywood nights. Our preferred news place to go check those out is, of course, our friends over at blog Mickey. But you can also just head on over to the Disney Parks Instagram page to see their post about Jollywood nights. And then, of course, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is also returning to Magic Kingdom for this year. And their parties will start on November the 8th, but they will not run into January for the Christmas party. It will only run up to December the 22nd. So keep that in mind. Now with both of these parties, if you are staying on property during this time, you will be able to start getting your tickets on July the 9th, and on sale for everybody else will be July 16th. So again, if you are a resort guest, July 9th is when that's going to open up for you. July 16th for everybody else. And I will say this: as I often do warn with these parties, this party in particular, the Very Merry Christmas party, it will sell out very, very fast. Very, very fast. It's very difficult to get a last second ticket for this party. And then I'll add this too. However, after last the last time I went to, which I guess it was it last year? I can't remember at this point. But Jollywood Knights has become better and better every time they've done it. And it has become a really, really fun event. And so I would not be surprised if we start to see a lot more Jollywood Knights tickets sell out too. So with both of these parties, if you know you want to go, as soon as you are able to buy your tickets, I would go ahead and try to fill up your party dates because they will sell fast. So that's just my two cents. Again, you know, both of those are going to sell out quickly. So I would I would do that. Now Festival of the Holidays over at Epcot will be running from November 27th to December the 30th. So make sure to catch that. Of course, food and wine will kind of run until the end of early November. So, and I actually have a trip in early November, and I'm a little not sad. I kind of didn't even expect there to be such early dates for the Christmas parties, but they literally start up the day that I go home. So I'm a little sad about that. But I do get to catch food and wine, which is cool. But if you are a Festival of the Holidays fan over at Epcot, again, that's going to be November 27th through December 30th. But there will still be some holiday offerings, like I mentioned with Jollywood nights, that will run into early January, which seemed a little weird to me when I read it. But I guess they're trying to extend it out a little bit more so everybody gets to soak it in and enjoy it. So that'll be a lot of fun. Now, of course, with all of this, I do need to go ahead and probably address something that if you are a Disney News follower, you probably caught a little bit of some glimpse of and it's caused a lot of drama. But the Grand Floridian gingerbread house will not be returning. So this was a huge gingerbread house that they constructed in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. It was made out of real gingerbread, and they would sell gingerbread products out of it. Lots of people would come to the lobby, buy the stuff, and head on out. And they are saying that they will probably make miniature gingerbread displays to go around the lobby. They just can't make the big one anymore. And of course, a lot of people are upset about this, but it makes sense because you already have the new little perch bar lounge thing that's in the lobby that takes up a good chunk of space. You've got the piano, you've got, you know, for the Christmas holiday, they'll have the big tree in there like they do with most Disney resorts during the holidays. So there's just not a lot of space to work with in the lobby. And a lot of people are mad because of the perch bar, whatever. And I'm just gonna say this. Y'all, like, there was already not a whole lot of room to operate with the gingerbread house in there, anyways. Like, I love that lobby, and I love sitting in that lobby and listening to the piano and all that. It's stressful going in there during the holiday season with that gingerbread house up. Again, I'm not saying necessarily that I'm glad that it's gone or anything. It's just it was already getting tight in there before. So, with that new bar and other things going on in the lobby, this was kind of something that I'm not shocked that they made the decision on. And again, I am sad that this is not gonna be there. This was something that I always thought was so cool, especially the first time I got to see it. I remember my mom talking about it. Then we went on a vacation one time during December and went to go see it, and it was awesome. Like, it was really cool. And I'm not necessarily as ramped up about it as other people are, but you know, it is sad that it's going away. I will admit that. But again, it's just with crowds and the lobby being so much more full. I can understand where they're coming from with this. As well as this, because a lot of people are getting all up in arms about this as well. Disney also released kind of a statement that said, you know, that oh, there's gonna be so many Christmas trees and decorations everywhere, and for guests staying at the resorts, or for those with valid dining reservations. And that's the part that I think is getting a lot of people mad. The Disney Resorts collection offers a wide array of bright and merry holiday decor. So now, of course, Disney Twitter has taken it to the extreme and is freaking out saying, Oh, it's the end of resort hopping, it's it's the end of all this. And I'll just say this. I think it's a little early to overreact. We're literally what six months away from the holiday season. Maybe five if you consider it's early November, kind of when this all picks up. But y'all, like to overreact and say that they're killing resort hopping altogether, that they're doing all that, we don't know that yet. And look, if they just kill resort hopping, like, yeah, I'm gonna be really sad about that. But the other thing that we have to consider here with them restricting it now with Disney Springs, and we had this conversation already, and now apparently them possibly restricting resort hopping during holidays, too. The only reason they're doing this is because of people. Disney's not just doing this because Disney doesn't want you to go to those hotels and see them. Disney's doing this because people have been abusing the system for a long time. And just taking advantage of, oh, I'm uh telling probably security guard cast members, like, oh, we're gonna go see the Christmas decoration so that they can park at the resort and then go on the mon rail and go somewhere else. You know, like I'm not accusing anybody doing that, it's just that's something I could have seen happening. And you know, and that's one of those things of you know, when you take advantage of the system, you know, one time it's like, okay, got away with it. Well, when multiple people are doing it multiple times, eventually they're gonna catch wind of it and shut that down. So, like, I'm just sitting here going, yes, I am sad that the gingerbread house is going away, and there's people up in arms about that. If they take away resort hopping, I will be very sad about that too. But at the same time, I can't sit here and just stew and get mad because I understand the rationale behind their decisions. And there's so many people that are like, well, I'm not going back to Disney anymore, and I'm getting rid of my AP and I'm getting rid of all this stuff. And look, you can do that if if you want to. By all means, I actually would say the same thing. I'm not one of those people that's just saying, if you don't like it, get out. What I'm trying to get my point across is look, if you're mad at them, then don't give them your money. Like that this is a very easy solution for you. I know it might be sad because you might have been going to the parks for 15, 20 years or whatever it may be. But I mean, if you're not happy with them, then don't give them your money. I wouldn't actively pay to go to an experience that I genuinely dreaded. You know what I'm saying? Like, it just doesn't make sense to me. I get that they're taking away stuff that some people hold very near and dear. And look, they're getting rid of stuff that's very near and dear to me, too. Carousel progress is going away, and I'm very sad about that. Or at least its current version, they're gonna get a new one, but it won't be exactly the same. It won't be the exact same experience that I love. But am I getting rid of my annual pass? Am I canceling my November trip because of it? No. Because there's more parts to Disney World that I like beyond just certain things, and maybe I'm just a different breed, I don't know. And if you're mad about this, and again, if you want to cancel your stuff and not go, that's fine. Again, I don't want you to be miserable. I think that's my ultimate point. I would rather you be happy and not go back to Disney World ever again than what feel like you're spending your money for something that you hate. So that's I think the point I'm really trying to get across. But I I know a lot of y'all are probably gonna see people up in arms about this, and I I'm just not to that point yet. Maybe if they get rid of resort hopping, I'll I'll be a little bit more stern because I do think that's kind of a sad thing for them to do. They just take that away because you know they're afraid of all this stuff, but especially during holiday times and times where crowds are gonna be really, really at their peaks. I understand them trying to restrict it a little bit. I do. So it's just an up in the air type of thing. But you know what? I don't want to go out on that note. So we do have a reopening date for Pete's silly sideshow over at Magic Kingdom. What a great transition. Where you can meet and greet characters. That has been closed since January, by the way, under that refurbishment. It's now going to reopen on June 27th, along with big, well, a refreshed and new big top souvenirs. I think is maybe still under refurbishment. But I don't know. But you'll be able to meet Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy there over at Pete's Silly Sideshow. And then also the boardwalks getting some new additions here over the next couple of months. So you are getting a new 21 and up lounge that also has a daytime twist that will be replacing jelly rolls and a new mysterious quick service that is yet to be fully announced. But Hurley Burley is going to be a new seaside theater lounge over at the boardwalk with a story spanning more than a century, leaning into the turn of the century coastal theme. So the lounge will run on a split personality, according to our friends at blog Mickey. During the day, a charismatic host will lead family-friendly trivia and games, and then at night it will become a live music venue for guests 21 and over, serving classic coastal inspired cocktails and light bites along with entertainment. And then, like I said, at some point down the road, they will also be adding in a new quick service, but there's no real details on that yet. And then there will also be a new basin store, basin which sells bath and body products, not actual bath and body work products, but bath and like lotions and stuff. It will be coming to the boardwalk as well. And it will be a pretty involved store where they'll obviously sell bath salts and soaps and bath bombs and body butters. It will also have interactive elements that will set this one apart because Disney Guest will be able to find a custom bath tea blending counter and make your own soap station and a soap embossing press for a personalized finish. So some cool things getting added to the boardwalk here now after some refurbishments have been going on. So exciting times there as well. But that is where we're going to wrap this one up. So thank you guys so much for following along. If you would, please make sure to like, share, subscribe wherever you get your podcast from. That would help us out a lot. Also, if you'd like to support the show, our fourthwall.com as well as our magic candle company links are in the show notes below. You can also follow us on Instagram at Disney MyWayPodcast. I'd love to hear from you all what your favorite sit-down or quick service restaurants are. Please let us know. You can also hit the fan mail button in the show notes and interact with us there. I'd love to hear from you all. But until next time, I hope you guys have a magical rest of your day. And I'll talk to you again real soon.