Free Disneyland Paris tickets? On y va! COMPLETED About This Page:

[Thomhazel]

Three weeks sounds about right. Scary that late November is so soon. Rain won't matter for brunch luckily.

[KMB733]

Sorry the line for Pirates was so long. The maze for Alice in Wonderland looks like a lot of fun!

[chezp]

Saturday 6 October – part seventeen: exploring Walt’s life

Instead, we headed out, and started to walk back down towards Main Street, where dinner awaited us. The castle was mobbed, as the Ugly Sisters were out, and there was a crowd about five deep to see them, so we walked through the Christmas shop instead, but that’s so small that it was packed as well. You seriously did not want to go in there if you’re claustrophobic.




When we came out of the front of the castle, we first saw that the pumpkin on the Royal Theatre stage was all lit up...



... and secondly that there was a display with the fountains in front of the castle, which we’d never seen before, so we stood there to watch it.



Once that was done, we made our way back down Main Street to Walt’s An American Restaurant. As soon as we stepped inside, I just knew we were in for a real treat. I just loved the ambience of it. As the menu later told us, the theme of this place is all about Walt’s childhood in Marceline, and you could see that instantly.



Although this piano stood empty downstairs, occasionally you’d hear someone tinkling away on it, which was a lovely touch. While I’m on the subject, a word here about the music. It was just at the perfect level, so you could still hear it in the background, but it never overwhelmed the atmosphere or the ability to have a good conversation with those you were having dinner with. It consisted, unsurprisingly, of lots of Disney music, but just orchestral versions, rather than the sung versions.

We were told to head up the stairs as soon as we checked in, but that took me quite some time, as I stopped at most of the photos on the way to look at them, and to photograph as many of them as I could. I just felt so privileged to see so much of Walt’s life, and I loved the way that this restaurant reflected him so much.



At the top was a podium, and we were seated straightaway. I must admit I was hoping for a view over Main Street itself, as this restaurant is located at the corner of Main Street, and Flower Street, the cross street, and I didn’t want to be left with a view over Flower Street. It was just perfect.


The view from the window...

... and the view from our table into the restaurant

Next: the best dessert ever at any Disney park!

[chezp]

Saturday 6 October – part seventeen: exploring Walt’s life

Instead, we headed out, and started to walk back down towards Main Street, where dinner awaited us. The castle was mobbed, as the Ugly Sisters were out, and there was a crowd about five deep to see them, so we walked through the Christmas shop instead, but that’s so small that it was packed as well. You seriously did not want to go in there if you’re claustrophobic.




When we came out of the front of the castle, we first saw that the pumpkin on the Royal Theatre stage was all lit up...



... and secondly that there was a display with the fountains in front of the castle, which we’d never seen before, so we stood there to watch it.



Once that was done, we made our way back down Main Street to Walt’s An American Restaurant. As soon as we stepped inside, I just knew we were in for a real treat. I just loved the ambience of it. As the menu later told us, the theme of this place is all about Walt’s childhood in Marceline, and you could see that instantly.



Although this piano stood empty downstairs, occasionally you’d hear someone tinkling away on it, which was a lovely touch. While I’m on the subject, a word here about the music. It was just at the perfect level, so you could still hear it in the background, but it never overwhelmed the atmosphere or the ability to have a good conversation with those you were having dinner with. It consisted, unsurprisingly, of lots of Disney music, but just orchestral versions, rather than the sung versions.

We were told to head up the stairs as soon as we checked in, but that took me quite some time, as I stopped at most of the photos on the way to look at them, and to photograph as many of them as I could. I just felt so privileged to see so much of Walt’s life, and I loved the way that this restaurant reflected him so much.



At the top was a podium, and we were seated straightaway. I must admit I was hoping for a view over Main Street itself, as this restaurant is located at the corner of Main Street, and Flower Street, the cross street, and I didn’t want to be left with a view over Flower Street. It was just perfect.


The view from the window...

... and the view from our table into the restaurant

Next: the best dessert ever at any Disney park!

[Disneybine]

Walt's is a real treat! We had dinner there once and were seated by a window overlooking Main Street as well. I can't wait to see pictures of your food!

[lauriep]

What a lovely restaurant. Like you, I'd love to go through all the memorabilia slowly.

[cubfancolleen]

That looks like a beautiful restaurant! Can't wait to hear about the meal itself.

[Brad]

The water show at the castle looks great -- I'm pretty sure that must be a new addition within the past few years.

Walt's is the best! I really love the Victorian theme that they execute so well. I really wish there was an equivalent restaurant on Main Street at WDW, but there really isn't.

[Colexis Mom]

More great pics! Love the arcade so you can escape the rain! Great table at Walt's!

[pamcarey]

The restaurant looks great!

[disney_duke]

What a fascinating restaurant! You guys scored a great table. Can't wait to hear and see more about it.

[KMB733]

The restaurant is really beautiful!!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Brad

The water show at the castle looks great -- I'm pretty sure that must be a new addition within the past few years.

Walt's is the best! I really love the Victorian theme that they execute so well. I really wish there was an equivalent restaurant on Main Street at WDW, but there really isn't.

I know - it's such a shame, isn't it.

[chezp]

Saturday 6 October – part eighteen: the best dessert ever at any Disney park!

As we sat there, and read the menu, we learnt more about the restaurant, and what it represents...



... Having read that, I just had to have a wander around to see all the various rooms. My goodness, I couldn’t get over the size of this place! Wow, it was massive. Obviously they expect this place to be really popular, and they do a dining package for their night-time Disney Dreams show, so I imagine that draws in a heck of a lot of people.... The setting of the whole place reminded me of any of Disney’s signature restaurants, although I must admit the one that I felt it most closely resembled was actually Victoria and Albert’s, such was the sheer elegance of the place.




The fact that our waitress was called Victoria did add somewhat to my feeling that this was like Victoria and Albert’s. Talking of which, she was lovely. We got chatting to her, and it turned out that she was Russian, which really surprised us. I never cease to be amazed by how many languages people can speak – she was fluent in Russian, French and Spanish, as well as English and she was just utterly charming.

She started off by asking what we wanted to drink and we had a look at the wine menu. As soon as we saw that they had a rose Grenache on that was produced for Disneyland Paris, we opted for that. It was very nice stuff and the bottle was lovely, so much so that we took it home with us.



We were surprised to find out from Victoria that firstly they couldn’t sell us a bottle, and secondly that none of the shops anyway at Disneyland Paris sold it either. As we said to her, they’re really missing a trick here....

Once we were settled with our wine, we had a good look at the menu. As with all the other Disneyland Paris restaurants, they offer a set menu, which includes an appetiser, entree and dessert. The only problem here was that they offered two set menus, the first of which had a non-meat option, albeit not the one I wanted, while the more expensive one just had three meat courses for entree. Hmm.... now that doesn’t seem fair. I decided to see what Victoria could do about that for me. When I explained the situation, she said she’d have a word with the manager, and sure enough, I was able to sub one of the entrees out for what I wanted.

For appetiser, I opted for Walt’s gourmet selection, which consisted of crab tartar, smoked salmon, cucumber-feta smoothie, and a sesame wafer. I enjoyed all of the dishes, although if I’m honest, while they were very good, they weren’t quite excellent to me. The crab tartar was a little on the salty side to me, and as Mark said the sesame wafer tasted a bit like bird seed. The two didn’t quite go together. The smoked salmon was superb, although cutting it up to enjoy with the cucumber that was wrapped around it and the asparagus on top of it was very difficult on the dish it was served on. As for the cucumber-feta smoothie, I’m not quite sure what I made of it. I found it fascinating in terms of taste, as it was nothing like anything I’d ever eaten before, but as to if I liked it – Hmmm.... not 100% sure on that one. I think I did though...



Mark had the crab tartar with fresh herbs, rocket salad, balsamic vinegar cream, and a sesame wafer. Essentially, this was a larger version of what I’d sampled, with some added extras alongside it. He seemed to enjoy it, although he made the same comment as I had about the saltiness of the crab tartar.



For entree, I went for the fillet of sea bass, accompanied by watercress, red rice, tomato and olive sauce, and baby vegetables. I will be honest, when it arrived, it really wasn’t what I expected...



... you may well be thinking the same thing as me, it looks burnt. that was my first thought as well. After having devoured the dish, I can only assume that’s where the red rice ended up, as I certainly didn’t find it anywhere else. Although it had an odd flavour to it, it went perfectly with the sea bass. The same can be said of the watercress, which was a lovely accompaniment to the dish. However, oddly enough, beautiful as the sea bass was, the real winner on the plate for me were the baby vegetables, cooked perfectly, and with a lovely sweet taste to it. It was just beautiful – what a shame there wasn’t more of this!

Mark had the grilled fillet of Charolais beef, accompanied by new potatoes and heirloom vegetables, tomatoes on the vine, and Bearnais sauce. He did ask for it medium-well done, but said it came out a little bit underdone for his liking. As he said, that’s the way the French cook it though. Aside from that, I didn’t hear any complaints.



By now, it was getting dark outside on Main Street, and it looked lovely, except for the fact that it was now tipping down outside. Thank goodness we were inside, enjoying a wonderful meal. And it was about to get even better...



For dessert, we both opted for Walt’s gourmet selection, which was a collection of desserts, consisting of crème brulee, warm chocolate cake, fresh fruit salad, and a mini macaroon. Oh my goodness, that was just heaven on a plate – and seriously the best dessert I think I’ve ever had in my life. Every single thing on that plate was just perfect. The crème brulee broke up as soon as your spoon went near it, the chocolate cake oozed chocolate goodiness, and my goodness, it was so rich and divine, and even the fresh fruit salad was one I could eat, as it was all exotic fruit, with not a single tree fruit (to which I’m allergic in sight). Even better, it was served up in a chocolate case, although perhaps the chocolate wasn’t quite as amazing as everything else on the plate. And then there was the macaroon. Now I love these things anyway, so this was perfect for me, and it was just as good as it should be. All in all, it was just the best ever way to end a good meal – and this had been one good meal.



But still it wasn’t over, as the menu we’d chosen also included tea or coffee, so we both said to tea, and it turned up in this teapot – very cute!



Sadly, the tea was Earl Grey, which neither of us can stand, but we made the best of it, and managed at least a couple of sips before we gave up.

During our meal, our waitress took some photos of us together.



Now the meal was over, and the time came for the check. We weren’t surprised when it came in at €120 ($155). Although it’s a lot of money, it was worth every penny we paid for it. It really was a superior meal, and exactly what you’d expect from France, although sadly in the past I do think Disneyland Paris has failed to deliver in its cuisine. Well, it certainly does here. I hope this won’t be our last visit to this wonderful restaurant.

Walt’s An American Restaurant

Appetiser 8½ 9½
Entree 9½ 9
Dessert 10 10
Service 9½ 9½
Atmosphere 10 9½
Value for money 9 9½

Average score: 9.46

Next: Disneyland Paris at night

[Disneybine]

How wonderful that you had such an excellent meal at Walt's It's not exactely cheap, but then again, signature restaurants at WDW aren't, either. Your food definitely looks delicious!