Author’s note: This blog got lost in the shuffle of leaving Florida. We’re currently in New Mexico and will have new blogs for you soon. Enjoy this one!
What’s more fun than a family visit at Disney Springs? We have had such a wonderful series of visits from friends and family these past few months!. Our latest visitor was my sister Abby, an amazing woman who actually fell for Disney long before I did. Her visit to Florida was for work, and while she didn’t get to visit any parks during her stay, she had some time to visit Disney Springs with us on the day she arrived.
Honestly, we hadn’t been to Disney Springs in quite a while – probably months – because when our annual passes for the parks were valid, the only days we’d consider visiting Disney Springs would have been weekends, and weekends there are often insanely crowded with locals. So it had been a while, and I knew it would be fun to not only meet up with my sister, but share a bit of what makes Disney Springs a special place for us.
Probably the most exciting thing about the visit for us was getting to go to Raglan Road, a sit-down Irish pub. It has some beautiful, intimate-feeling rooms inside with dark wood and fancy plates, and it also has some great outdoor tables with umbrellas. We managed to snag a table completely shaded by the buildings around it, and it made our visit feel much, much cooler than the 86 or so degrees it actually was. It was lovely.
Being gluten-free, I’ve heard some pretty fantastic reports of the food at Raglan Road, with the number one highlight being that they have a dedicated gluten-free fryer! That means you can order fish and chips and onion rings, all gluten-free! Abby was generous enough to share her fish and chips with us – the fries aren’t crispy, but they’re decent and nice if you love the taste of potato, and the fried fish was crispy – you’d never guess it was gluten-free! The onion rings were equally crispy and delicious, standing up perfectly to the outrageous horseradish mayo type sauce they served them with.
Both Ross and Abby seemed happy with their beers. I drank all of the water and ate all of the fried deliciousness, and it was good.
As Abby said of Disney Springs, “So it’s basically just a mall,”, and that’s certainly true. We showed her our favorite stores (including the one where I got my Snow White-inspired dress from Ross for my birthday last year) and pointed out the live music and the Lego sculptures. And we stopped at Eliza’s Bakery, which I was thrilled to see is now carrying chocolate coconut soft serve (in addition to vanilla) and making some amazing-sounding flavored shakes! All vegan/gluten-free/soy-free/dairy-free etc.
I wasn’t in the mood for coconut soft serve though. I was in the mood for baked goods, and Eliza’s always delivers. I got a thin mint cookie, which was delicious (hard interior covered in chocolate) but started melting as soon as I walked out of the store, and this outrageous container of extra donuts, called The Bakery Sink. Yes, they sell you a pile of four donuts when they have extras in the morning. I’m limiting myself to one at a time. So far I’ve had chocolate covered and a lemon poundcake type one.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our incredible performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the middle of the WonderGround Gallery. Trust us, it was store-stopping. (That’s clever talk for show-stopping.)
It was wonderful to catch up with Abby and hear about her adventures in Austin. It was also fun to see her reaction to fun merchandise and clever theming. Thanks so much for the visit, Abby!
Wherever you are this week, I hope you find something to smile about and enjoy like we are.
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