Earlier this month, Disney debuted “Disney Family Night Dinner” and original card game at select Walt Disney World hotels. We decided to head out to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to not only review the meal, but also take a look at the original card game that comes included with the family-style meal.
Disney Family Night Dinner Review
Current Menus and Pricing
We’ll start by acknowledging that there are currently two meals offered at two separate resorts. While we went to Centertown Market at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, an offering of the same name is currently available at Gasparilla Island Grill at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. The original card games are the same with both offerings, but the food differs.
Centertown Market – Disney Family Night Dinner ($79)
- Caribbean Pull-apart Rolls with Onion Jam and Guava Butter
- Roasted Jamaican-style Chicken
- Fried Yucca, Rice and Seasonal Vegetables
- Decorate-Your-Own Mickey and Minnie Cookies
Gasparilla Island Grill – Disney Family Night Dinner ($89)
- Garden Salad
- Three-cheese Lasagna
- Two Mickey-shaped Pizzas (cheese or pepperoni)
- Minnie-shaped cheesecake with strawberry sauce, whipped cream and fresh berries
Caribbean Beach Disney Family Night Dinner Review
Guests looking for an easy takeaway meal at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort will find an option with the Disney Family Night Dinner at Centertown Market for $79.
Just like the offering at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort (REVIEW), you won’t be able to order the items on the Disney Family Night Dinner a la carte. Also, the meal is perfectly packaged to take back to your room should you want to. You’ll find two boxes, easy to carry, and loaded with everything you need including utensils.
When you open the two bags, here’s a look at the spread.
Overall, this feels like a more complete “meal” than the Grand Floridian counterpart. You’ll find a delicious assortment of food here, but it lacks the Disney flair of the Grand Floridian meal. Whereas the Grand Floridian version felt like a fun thing to do with kids, this is a decidedly more grown up offering.
Rice and Seasonal Vegetables
This was almost the highlight of the meal. The vegetables were wonderfully fresh and the seasoned rice at the bottom of the container rounded out the bowl nicely. You could almost just eat this and call it a meal, but there is some delicious chicken waiting for us.
As with the other Disney Family Night Dinner, the portions were wonderful for the Caribbean Beach version.
Roasted Jamaican-style Chicken
A combination of legs and breasts, the Jamaican-style chicken is a home run. There is a spicy kick to it, but what did you expect? It pairs wonderfully with the veggies and rice to balance out the spice.
Packed beneath the chicken was the Fried Yucca. We found the Fried Yucca to be a little lackluster compared to the much-superior version of yucca found in a new dish at Docking Bay 7, but this plays the part of a simple side for this particular meal and can be skipped without you feeling left out.
Caribbean Pull-apart Rolls with Onion Jam and Guava Butter
Before we get to the Decorate-Your-Own Mickey and Minnie Cookies, we have to talk about the amazing Caribbean Pull-apart Rolls.
These are the same rolls that we glowingly reviewed when Sebastian’s Bistro and Banana Cabana first opened and the don’t disappoint here. Still wonderfully soft, the onion jam is nice, but we think you’ll happily reach the end of the guava butter container.
Decorate-Your-Own Mickey and Minnie Cookies
The only “kid-friendly” part of the meal, the Decorate-Your-Own Mickey and Minnie Cookies feel out of place with the rest of the offerings.
We would’ve much rather seen the Mile Marker Zero iced key lime pops or something a bit more tropical implemented here, but with the rest of the meal feeling quite grown up, Disney certainly had to do something here to make this a Family Night Dinner. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter how they taste (“acceptable”), the fun thing here is being able to decorate your own cookies.
Overall, the meal was a lot. The portion size was much more than what we were expecting and can’t stress enough how this will easily feed a family of four. For a post-park resort meal, this is unbelievably simple and certainly hits the mark. It’s not something that we’d suggest locals or day guests go out of their way to experience, but it’s a smart meal for resort guests. One of the examples on how this meal might fall short for a local or day guest is the exclusion of drinks.
Of course, when you actually look around a resort, you’ll see that a good majority of resort guests already have refillable mugs.
There is one more aspect of this meal that puts it over the top and earns a recommendation from us – the “card game” element.
Disney Family Night Dinner Original Card Game
Ok, so what exactly is the Disney Family Night Dinner original card game? Here’s a look!
This isn’t a traditional “card game” in the slightest, but it’s a cute addition to the meal that works perfectly for a family visiting Walt Disney World. What this game really amounts to is a series of prompts that are designed to create a family bonding moment.
Here’s a look at the front and back of the cards.
At the end of the games, Disney sprinkles a bit of magic on the end of your Family Night Dinner with a sort of a puzzle! Flip over the title card and you’ll have to work to find a phone number that you can call from any resort phone.
Here’s a look at the solution, followed by a listen into the response when you call the number.
Is “Disney Family Night Dinner” Worth It?
If you think that any of the offerings look interesting, we’d recommend Disney Family Night Dinner. This offering is very much targeted to the family that has just finished their long day at the theme parks or a day at the pool and are looking for something easy and fun.
This is actually quite a smart addition by Disney and while we were told that this could be a 1-2 month test, if guests enjoy it, the Disney Family Night Dinner could become a more permanent, or at least seasonal, offering.
The food does the trick, and the game has the potential to create some wonderful family memories!
To read our review of the Grand Floridian version of the Disney Family Night Dinner, check out our article below!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!