Disney Dining Review: Storybook Dining at Artist Point
I was really excited to try this one. I had been to Artist Point before it became character dining, and the food was excellent. It reopened from its 2020 closure just in time for our trip, and I was thrilled to reserve it for our arrival day (also my youngest’s birthday).
This is a prix-fix character meal. It features Snow White, The Queen, Dopey and Grumpy. The price is $60 for adults (age 10+), and $39 (children age 3-9), and children under 3 are free.
THE ATMOSPHERE
The restaurant really excels in the atmosphere department. If you aren’t staying at Wilderness Lodge this will allow a chance to visit the beautiful lobby. At the entrance to the restaurant you will be greeted by cast members with themed costumes (aka uniforms) down to the special name tags.
Walking into the restaurant there is a large backdrop that looks like a book opened to the pages of Snow White.
Artist Point has rustic yet elegant decor. It is whimsical and magical! Tree branches spread across the ceiling with twinkling lights (that change colors based on which character is soon to make an appearance) and lantern-ish light fixtures.
I would recommend Storybook Dining based on the atmosphere and theming alone.
I didn’t actually plan to write a blog about this Disney World dining experience, so I didn’t take enough photos! You can find many more photos of Storybook Dining and Artist Point here.
THE CHARACTERS
Clearly this meal will excite your little princess fans. If your child is like mine and more interested in villains, they are also in for a treat.
We were immediately seated at the doorway in the far end of the restaurant where the characters enter. They do come out frequently, and we saw each character several times during our meal.
The characters also lead a little dance and parade around the restaurant showing you how to follow along from your seat.
We received an autographed postcard from the characters at the end of our meal, which was perfect for my children who don’t like to get too close to the character. (As a former Disney entertainment cast member, that pains me just a little!)
THE FOOD
The menu features shared apps for the table, an individually selection of entree, and lastly shared desserts for the table. If you’d like more servings of any of the appetizers, the server will happily bring them.
For starters the server brings a platter of miniature cauldrons of mushroom bisque, a platter of individual shrimp cocktail portions, and hunter’s pies.
They place the platters on a tree stand in the middle of the table. Each of the tree branches holds a platter. Its theming matches so perfectly with the tree branches sprawling across the ceiling.
We opted to have no shrimp. So, we had extras of the mushroom bisque and hunter’s pie.
The bisque was wonderful. I really enjoyed that and could have eaten much more of it. The mushroom bisque is topped with a crispy mushroom. I don’t particularly like mushrooms, but this was my favorite dish of the meal.
My husband enjoyed the meat from the hunter’s pie (turkey and chicken, black truffle, cranberry preserve and crispy sauerkraut. My kids tried this, but primarily ate the pie crust shell.
The kid’s appetizer! Oh my gosh, so cute! They loved the presentation and the food.
It comes out resembling a garden. A mini terra cotta pot holds a mini-popover. The dish includes make your own honey butter (kids get to pour honey into the butter and shake it), vegetables, dip, and cheese. It had cocoa “dirt” crumbs as well.
It was such a fun and well-themed appetizer for the kid. The kid’s meal appetizer thrilled my kids. They polished off the whole dish quickly.
I selected Bashful’s butter-poached salmon with farro, fava beans, English peas and gremolata as my entree. It was very good. It’s not something I would rave about, but I would happily order it again.
My child’s salmon entree was incredibly and inedibly over salted. It was as if it were coated in salt. The server kindly brought out a new portion which was much better. So, that was likely a one-off issue.
The children’s entree options are grilled chicken, grilled fish, and prime rib roast. They can select two sides from the following; roasted potatoes, carrots, broccolini, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese.
I love the theming of the menu. Some of the other entrees are “cottage” beef stroganoff, brother’s Grimm herb chicken, royal prime rib roast, magic mirror’s slow-braised pork shank, and “a stroll through nature” which is a vegetarian gnocchi dish.
The shared desserts were very fun as well, and we each had a different favorite. My favorite was the gooseberry tart. I loved the tartness of the gooseberries with the sweet merengue topping.
My husband’s favorite (also my favorite appearance-wise);dark-chocolate mousse that has the appearance of a tiny red apple. It was very rich. I think I was too full to enjoy such a rich dessert, but it is adorable.
The third was miner’s treasure, a panna cotta topped with a white chocolate Dopey hat and served with chocolate gems. This one was one of my children’s favorite.
The presentation of these thrilled my kids. We all enjoyed them, they just weren’t the BEST desserts on Disney property. They were very good. Lastly, the server brings out “the hunter’s gift to the queen.” One of the chocolates is a heart. The presentation is amazing as the server opens an ornate box containing four different chocolates. I didn’t taste these, but my kid’s gobbled them all up.
How to book disney dining reservation
If you familiar with making Disney dining reservations, your best bet is to reserve dining reservations at 6AM 60 days in advance of your check in if you will be staying at a Disney World resort hotel. If your vacation is 10-days-long (or shorter) you can make all of your advanced dining reservations (ADR) at the 60 day mark.
If your trip is longer than 10 days you will first make reservations for the first 10 days of your stay. For example, if your Disney World vacation is two weeks long (lucky you!) then you will be able to make reservations for the first 10 days 60 days before your check in. Then, four days later you can make your reservation for the last 4 days of your trip.
If you are staying off-property you will need to do that daily for each day you’d like reservations, 60 days in advance.
If you aren’t able to snag every reservation you want, there is still hope! Take a look at my Disney World Vacation Planning Tips post to find out how to get those reservations you weren’t able to get at the 60-day mark.
Reccomendation
Overall, I recommend trying Storybook Dining if you have character-loving kids. If you are staying at Wilderness Lodge you may want to put it your list out of convenience. If neither of these are true for you, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to dine at Storybook Dining.
I love themed dining, and I enjoy character meals. So, even if it weren’t for my kids I would return.
That being said, it’s on my must-do list for our next Disney World vacation, and my kids are still talking about our experience and the food at Storybook Dining. .
*If you are not staying at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge resort the most convenient (and pleasant) way to get there is the boat from Magic Kingdom. Alternately, if your family does not need car seats Uber or an alternate ride sharing service can get you there quickly. If you have your car on property you can park at the resort for free for the duration of your reservation. You will need to show your reservation to security at the entrance of the parking lot.
[…] you read my review of Storybook Dining at Artist Point you know that the character experience is still a bit modified. I wonder if we will see it return […]