REVIEW: Story Book Dining in Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Returns with Delicious Entrées and Delectable Desserts

Spencer Lloyd

Updated on:

artistpoint2021cover

REVIEW: Story Book Dining in Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Returns with Delicious Entrées and Delectable Desserts

Spencer Lloyd

Updated on:

artistpoint2021cover

REVIEW: Story Book Dining in Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Returns with Delicious Entrées and Delectable Desserts

Artist Point reopened today at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and alongside it the Story Book Dining with Snow White returned. The menu has undergone a few changes, so we stopped by to try it out and say hello to friends from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” again!

Interior

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Artist Point is located on the first floor of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World.

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At each table, guests are centered around this tree-shaped serving dish designed to hold the various plates from which food is served, a wonderful thematic touch.

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The interior follows the resort’s turn-of-the-century National Park lodge theming, with rustic architecture and plenty of wood. Even a few faux tree limbs are part of the interior decor.

Characters

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Guests have the opportunity to take pictures of a few friends from the classic Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” during their meal.

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The characters we spotted were Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, and the Evil Queen. All four characters wander around the restaurant, remaining distanced from guests due to COVID-19 safety protocols. This is a particularly notable change for the Evil Queen, who used to remain stationary near her book.

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The autograph card features art of a story book telling the tale of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

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The card is signed by The Queen, Snow White, Dopey, and Grumpy.

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Appetizers

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Every great meal begins with a delicious opener, and we had three to choose from. We also tried one kids option.

Wild Mushroom Bisque

Crispy mushroom

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This one’s a thick and hearty soup that we thoroughly enjoyed, we highly recommend it.

Wicked Shrimp Cocktail

Bloody Mary Vinaigrette, Seaweed Salad, and Spiced House-made Seasoning

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The shrimp were a bit fishy, but the crisp greens made this a decent choice.

Hunter’s Pie

Turkey and Chicken, Black Truffle, Cranberry Preserve, and Crispy Sauerkraut

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The truffle and cranberry flavors remain prominent even among the delicious meatball that takes the center stage in this appetizer. We loved this one, all the way down to the crispy crust on the outside.

Kids’ Appetizer: From the Garden

Create-Your-Own Honey-Butter with Fruits, Vegetables, and Cheese

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Young or old, this is a great choice for anyone to create your own honey butter. It’s fun to “plant” the vegetables in the provided pot, and you get apples, string cheese, carrots, snap peas, and cucumber slices in the pot along with chocolate crumbs and a “shovel”. Ranch is also provided in the other jar.

Entrées

The main course makes or breaks the meal, and there’s plenty of choices at Artist Point to cater to different tastes. But there’s also plenty of difference between the excellent and not-so-good here, so choose carefully!

Cottage Beef Stroganoff

Tender Beef, Preserved Vegetables, Spätzle, Mushrooms, and Aged Cow’s Milk Cheese

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The spätzle was a good consistency, not too doughy. And the meat was plentiful, making this a worthy portion. It was slight salty, but a hearty, filling dish overall that we would gladly eat again. Our only complaint was that the vegetables on top were rather plain.

A Stroll through Nature

Asparagus, Leeks, Arugula, Gnocchi, Sage, and Parmesan

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Vegetarian options don’t often stand up well against meat entrées, but this one surprisingly does! Loaded with cheese, this Gnocchi-heavy entree was our second favorite dish of the six we tried. The asparagus was perfect, not too hard, not too soft. Possibly the best gnocchi dish at the Vacation Kingdom of the World, and that says a lot considering there are quite a few. We know it’s not the best value of the entrées, but it’s so delicious that you may forget!

Brother’s Grimm Herb Chicken

Cauliflower Purée, Roasted Vegetables, and Chicken Jus

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The chicken is nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s well made, offering tender and juicy bites. But where this dish really shines is the accompaniments, with the Brussels Sprouts in particular bursting with flavor. The potatoes and apples are enjoyable as well, rounding out the dish nicely.

Sorceress Spell of “Tricken” Chicken

Herb-crushed Potatoes, Snap Peas, and Vegetable Jus (Plant-based)

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The chicken itself was delicious and well cooked, and we particularly enjoyed the seasoning. However, the menu advertises snap peas and herb-crushed potatoes but cauliflower, carrots, and wilted greens were the provided sides. Not a huge deal, they were still fine. The jus was a little gelatinous, but tasted decent.

Royal Prime Rib Roast

Horseradish-Mashed Potato, Carrots, and Jus

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The quality of the prime rib was only okay, it was pretty bland and a little tough. The horseradish mashed potatoes were our favorite part of the meal, offering a nice, spicy kick. The popover was good, flaky on the outside, doughy on the inside. The hay-smoked carrots, on the other hand, were the most vile thing we’ve possibly ever had on Disney property. They were hard, possibly under-cooked, had the smell of a horrible body odor, and taste exactly like their putrid smell.

Magic Mirror’s Slow-braised Pork Shank

Horseradish-Mashed Potato, Wilted Greens, and Jus

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Unfortunately, the shank was slightly under-seasoned and a little dry. But the real star here is the mashed potatoes and jus below, which were absolutely excellent. They come with a strong horseradish flavor in each bite, which may be off-putting for some, but it was enjoyed by everyone here.

Desserts

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Of course, we can’t forget about the best part of the meal—sweet time! We tried all four of the available desserts to see how well they turned out.

Miner’s Treasures

Cookies ‘n Cream Panna Cotta and Chocolate Gems

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The Panna cotta itself had good consistency, but we didn’t get detect much cookie in the “cookies and cream” flavor, more of a plain vanilla. However, a chocolate coin underneath the Panna cotta added a nice crunch, which is needed for softer desserts. Those Dopey hats are edible and made of white chocolate, but they’re not as sweet as the chocolate coins beneath the Panna cotta and came across as grainy.

“Poison Apple”

Dark Chocolate-Apple Mousse and Sour Center

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Despite being advertised as having a sour core, we didn’t get much in the way of “sour” here. It’s simply dark chocolate mousse with a fruity inside. The interior core tasted more like raspberry, which paired well with the chocolate. This was enjoyable even though it didn’t fit the description, and certainly makes for a pretty presentation.

Fairy Tale Gooseberry Tart

Meringue and Gooseberry

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This might be the crowd-pleasing choice for all. The tart crust was very soft, not like the crispy tart that came with the Hunter’s Pie appetizer, but that fits better for this sort of dish. The filling inside certainly matches, with a distinct gooseberry flavor that isn’t overly sweet. The meringue on had a nice crispy shell while the inside was pillowy, making this a fine way to cap off your meal.

The Hunter’s Gift to the Queen

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This is merely a trio of decadent chocolate truffles, with dark chocolate and fruit flavors. They’re delicious of course, but nothing particularly mind-blowing to write home about.

Cocktails

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Artist Point offers a few special alcoholic cocktails themed to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” during the dinner service.

Enchanted Apple

Skyy Infusions Citrus Vodka, DeKuyper Pucker Sour Apple, and White Cranberry Juice

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An interesting take on the cosmopolitan, but the taste was perhaps too artificial for some. The sour apple flavor vastly overpowered the other flavors, so be advised if you were ordering this for any cranberry or citrus flavor.

Alchemy

Tanqueray Gin, St~Germain Elderflower Liqueur, and Watermelon

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The elderflower liquor and gin are the prominent flavors but both are extremely subtle, making this a more middle-of-the-line beverage.

The Smoking Mirror

Johnnie Walker Black, Wildberry, Lime, and Rosemary Smoke

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This drink came out smoking, which was a nice touch, but it lasted so short of a period that none of us got a picture of it. This was by far the most unique of the five drinks we ordered, not only in presentation, but in its smoky flavor as well. It was also the strongest of the drinks we had by far thanks to the Johnnie Walker Black scotch. We would order this again.

The Antidote

Bacardí Superior Rum, Hickory Smoke, Lime Juice and Ginger Beer

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We personally weren’t fans of this one. Unlike The Smoking Mirror, the smoke was really intense to the point we felt like it tasted like gasoline. The alcohol was there, sure, but hidden under the intensity of the smoke.

Evil to the Core

Patrón Silver Tequila, Blackberry Brandy, Habanero and Orange Juice

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This tastes (and looks) very similar to many offerings of this style you can find all around Walt Disney World. It’s syrup-heavy and sweeter than expected, with a massive pile of blackberry seeds sitting at the bottom. We wouldn’t have this again.

A Brew of Peaches

Jim Beam Black Extra-aged Bourbon, Peach, Raspberry and Brûlée Demerara Sugar

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The bourbon is extremely prominent, relegating the raspberries to more of an aftertaste. This drink is slightly sweet due to the peach and raspberry intensifying the sweetness of the bourbon, but we enjoyed it in the end.

Overall, while the quality of some food has taken a slight decline at Artist Point, we still find this to be a solid choice. Characters and the experience are mostly the same as before, except remaining distanced for the time being. It may not be the finest restaurant at Walt Disney World from a culinary perspective, but you certainly won’t be disappointed either. Artist Point remains one of the more beautiful restaurants in the Vacation Kingdom of the World regardless, and we’re glad to see it open for business once more.

Let us know in the comments what your thoughts are about Artist Point and whether you’re looking forward to dining here again!

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2 thoughts on “REVIEW: Story Book Dining in Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Returns with Delicious Entrées and Delectable Desserts”

  1. The only thing good about this place was the characters! One of the worst meals we have ever had in a Disney restaurant.

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