Image from The Story of Walt Disney World 1971
The results on our Facebook poll were overwhelmingly in favor of the Stuffed French Toast from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort!
I’m not surprised at all! Let’s start off with a bit of history. Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, along with Disney’s Contemporary Resort, was one of the resorts that opened in October 1971 with the opening of Magic Kingdom. Welton Becket and Associates architects handled the hotel planning and designs, while WED Enterprises were the master planners that incorporated the magic of Disney. My favorite interesting fact is that the rate per night was between $29-$44, but then milk was also only 55 cents per gallon. Can we go back to those prices?
The restaurants in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort on opening day included:
–Papeete Bay Veranda, now ‘Ohana (1995)
–Coral Isle Coffee Shop, or Cafe, now Kona Cafe (1998)
–South Seas Room
–Tanbu Lounge
-The Luau was served on the beach
The Stuffed French Toast was served at the Papeete Bay Veranda and the Coral Isle Cafe. We could go on about the history of the resort, or you can just go back to WDW Radio Show #111 – Wayback Machine to Disney’s Polynesian Resort to learn more.
Bring on the food! The recipe for Stuffed French Toast was one of the most requested Disney recipes and was shared in many newspapers. It was also included in the 1986 cookbook, Cooking with Mickey Around the World. The recipe has changed over the years and is now called Tonga Toast, but I’m going to try the old recipe from the cookbook.
Image from Daily Press, August 3, 1986
I bought a loaf of uncut sourdough bread from a local bakery. Sunday morning seemed like a perfect time for this. With my Disney PJs still on and coffee just starting to take hold, I decided to venture forward with this recipe. The bread was a bit smaller so I cut four slices at 1-inch thick. Then I cut the pocket to stuff the banana into.
I put one fourth of the banana in each slice of bread. It was kind of messy because the crust was crispy so the banana didn’t stay together. I just stuffed it in as much as I could then washed my hands again. It said to use four inches of oil in the pan, but I just put in about two inches and it seemed to still work.
I doubled the milk, egg, and vanilla since I did four slices and let them each soak before placing them in the oil. In hindsight, instead of dipping each slice in the bowl, I should have put them in a large casserole dish and poured the mixture over the slices it could soak in. The cooking was pretty right on, I did four minutes on each side instead of three. Be sure to sprinkle the cinnamon sugar right away so it soaks in. I also flipped it over and sprinkled the other side.
To make the meal complete, I added some bacon, because duh… bacon goes good with everything, and some fresh strawberries. I did put some maple syrup on the side, but I liked it without. If you like banana bread, this is next level. No complaints were made by the wife, so I think it turned out pretty good. She actually said, “when is the next recipe?”
If you want us to try another Disney dish, go over to our FaceBook poll in the WDW Clubhouse and vote on next month’s recipe. Here are the choices:
–King Stefan’s Banquet Hall – Duchess Quiche
–Crystal Palace – Barbecued Chicken
–Liberty Tree Tavern – Beef Lexington
My name is Molly and I live in South Dakota. With my art and design training and love for history, I have helped develop over 80 local history exhibits through the years as a Curator. Disney has been in my blood since I was born. Visiting my Grandparents in California also meant my parents taking us to Disneyland. Since the late 1970s, I have taken many trips to DL and WDW but sometimes it’s too long in between trips. I have always tried to stay connected to Disney from watching “The Wonderful World of Disney” every Sunday night, to movies, books and blogs. Once I found Lou on WDW Radio, it became even easier to dream of Disney in between visits!
