This week in “A Taste of Disney,” we will explore one of my absolute favorite restaurants of all time, anywhere. For me, it ranks up there with the likes of Ruth Chris Steakhouse. Being a signature Disney dining experience, the restaurant dazzles with phenomenal dishes, an elegant, quiet setting, and spot-on service. The Yachtsman Steakhouse, in the Yacht and Beach Club Hotel, is setup to look like a New England steakhouse with wood finish and touches of a nautical theme. The restaurant has a huge wall of windows offering a view of the resort’s sand pool, lighthouse, and bay.

From the moment you check-in to the moment you leave, the servers are on top of your every need. My family has been to the restaurant so many times that we even have a favorite waitress, Yoon, who has worked there for years. If you get a chance to go to Yachtsman, I really hope you get her as a server because she is a riot! One big family trip, we went out with my whole extended family for a dinner at Yachtsman. My dad showed up late to dinner because his golf game ran past our reservation time. Yoon made sure to call him out for being late and joked around with us the entire night! You can tell the servers at Yachtsman really love what they do and are completely invested in making sure you have a wonderful experience when you dine there.

I suggest going to Yachtsman on an “off” day from the parks. Maybe on a pool side, water park, or downtown Disney day! It is a nicer restaurant, so you have to get a little dressed up. I know I hate coming out of the parks early and then having to shower and dress up when I am tired from being out all day.

Now for the good stuff, the actual food. When you first walk into the restaurant, you will notice a small butcher room with meats aging and sometimes, an actual butcher making his cuts. Yachtsman means business with their steaks. They have a variety to choose from, ranging from the porterhouse to the filet mignon to the rib-eye and New York strip. The highlight of the beginning of dinner is the warm dinner rolls and onion bread they give you. My mom swears by the onion bread with roasted garlic that they provide. I could eat a whole basket of those onion rolls- they are heavenly. The last time I went, I ordered the 8-oz filet mignon, covered in Cabernet Wine Sauce. I passed on the side of mashed potatoes that the entree came with and went for something a little more my style. Three words: Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese. Out of this world. I am an avid mac ‘n cheese fan, so I know some good mac ‘n cheese when I taste it. For dessert, I got the Yachtsman Sundae, which is a trio of gelato. It was very good, but I would personally skip on dessert at the restaurant to grab ice cream at “Beaches and Cream” next door after dinner! However, for those of you who like salted caramel sweets, I see that they have added a chocolate-peanut cake that has pretzels, salted caramel gelato, and liquid ganache. It sounds like it could be a winner!

The Yachtsman is perfect for a romantic dinner for two or a quiet, sit down family dinner. I can assure you that you will not regret your visit. The restaurant has many good things to pick from that I couldn’t highlight in this short post, so please check out the menu!

This week’s recipe is for the delicious truffle mac ‘n cheese that I mentioned! The recipe comes from wdwrecipes.com and apparently was obtained by contacting Disney directly (has to be good!).

Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese

INGREDIENTS

2oz Peeled Diced Garlic

4oz Peeled Diced Shallots

Pinch Crushed Red Pepper

8T Butter

2oz Fresh Basil (Chopped)

1/2 Gallon Heavy Cream

2 Egg Yolks

Pinch Ground Nutmeg

20oz Shredded Fontina Cheese

Salt and Pepper to Taste

4oz Leeks (Chopped)

Garlic Croutons (Crushed)

White Truffle Oil

White Wine

Trofie Pasta

PREPARATION

1. Sweat garlic, shallots, leeks, and crushed red pepper in butter over medium–low heat.

2. Once translucent deglaze the pan with just enough white wine to cover the bottom and allow the alcohol to cook out.

3. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil turning the heat back down to medium low immediately after boiling.

4. Whisk in shredded cheese, fresh basil, and nutmeg.

5. Finish with whisking in salt, pepper, and egg yolks.

6. Blend the entire mixture with an immersion blender.

7. Toss over cooked pasta, and top with croutons tossed with truffle oil.

Happy cooking everyone!

*o*–Kristin

Kristin Casagrand is a student currently studying physical therapy at Bellarmine University. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Kristin has taken many a family vacations as a child driving 24 hrs, cramped in the back of the car and fighting with her sister to get to Disney (definitely worth it though). She looks forward to sharing “A taste of Disney” with everyone each week.

The post A Taste of Disney: Yachtsman Steakhouse appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

There can be many factors (location, funds, special offers etc) as to why many of us have to book our Walt Disney World vacations far in advance and often have months or even years to wait until our next trip.

We all have different ways of filling our time and counting down to that all important departure date so today I thought I would share a particular favourite of mine – THE DISNEY PLANNING DAY!  This particular way of creating a little Disney magic can be shared with your partner, family or a group of friends….that way everyone going on the WDW trip can get involved.

My mother and I are both Disney nuts and love nothing more that researching and planning each other’s next trip to the World. We usually get together about six and a half months before a trip and have a Disney themed day. Not only do we read, talk and eat Disney but I’ve even been known to wear my favourite WDW t-shirt for the day to get into the spirit!

The morning will start off by getting out our vacation paperwork and any reference books we’ll want to refer to. If possible we’ll also usually have two laptops open; so that we can cross-reference websites and information!! We’ll play some Disney-themed music in the background (or one of those great Magic Kingdom audio guides by Lou Mongello!) and then we’ll look at everything we want to achieve that day. It’s usually things like looking at park hours, crowd calendars, behind the scenes tours or ADR’s. The availability of the information that you want to look at will often determine when you schedule your planning day.

After a couple of hours of browsing the Internet and singing along to our Disney music it will be time for lunch. As part of the planning day we like to have a lunch that reminds us of some of our favourite foods to eat in WDW; such as mac ‘n’ cheese, biscuits and cupcakes. Whilst snacking on our lunch we’ll watch a Disney planning DVD or one of our favourite Disney films.

Once we’re full of our American fare we’ll have another couple of hours researching and planning. It’s lovely to see how much information you can find in one day and make notes of what else you’d like to do before your trip.

The best thing about Disney planning days is that they can be changed to suit you and your family. If you’re not into ‘extreme planning’ like my mum and I, why not have a day revisiting the parks and resorts on various Disney websites? If you want to get your children involved why not use the day to draw up a list of the top five things you each want to see or do during your vacation?

If you have a long time to wait for your vacation you might have more than one planning day; if so you could take it in turns to choose the music you listen to or the film you watch. You could even let your children make the WDW themed lunch; learning recipes and cooking makes the day educational as well as fun!!!

Why not comment below and share how you build up the magical anticipation of your next trip to Walt Disney World! 

Emma Godbold lives in the East of England and has been visiting Walt Disney World since she was a teenager. In between trips, Emma can be found reading about Disney history or researching and planning her next Disney vacation. She also writes her own blog at www.daydreamingdisney.com.

The post Missing Disney? Host a Disney Planning Day! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.