Bongo’s Cuban Cafe at Disney Springs is now officially set to close in August when the 22-year lease on the restaurant comes to an end according to owner Gloria Estefan. Estefan said the following in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel:
“They are growing in a different direction, and we are growing in a different direction. So we thought a fresh start is wanted.”
Disney has yet to announce the closure or any sort of replacement for Bongos on the West Side of Disney Springs.
Gloria Estefan and her husband, Emilio, are opening the second location for the Estefan Kitchen brand at the Sunset Walk shopping and dining district at the newly opened Margaritaville property on U.S. Highway 192 west of Interstate 4. This will fill the couple’s Orlando restaurant void once Bongos is closed.
OH No ! Where will we ever get overpriced, mediocre Cuban food in Disney now? It wasn’t terrible but it was certainly not the best .
Ripping the giant pineapple out of the west side is just one more memory of my childhood erased. What’s next? World of Disney? Spaceship Earth? CINDERELLA’S CASTLE??? Oh the heartache.
I have a dinner reservation there for late Sept. and as of now, you can still make reservations there into November! I hope they formally announce this and pull the option from reservations ASAP. Luckily I’m making changes now but I imagine not everyone with a vacation booked reads Disney blogs (crazy I know). Thanks for the update!