My husband and I are a meat loving couple. We respect vegetarians. We think it’s great they stand up for what they believe it. Plus, we are thankful they are saving more meat for us. I could go on forever, but the point is tofu is not big in our household. We are always up for trying new dishes, but enjoy more simple, hearty meals. Recently we tried ” Trail’s End Restaurant ” at Disney’s Fort Wilderness campground, and were not disappointed. It was amazing.
Being locals, we have the luxury of trying new Disney restaurants when ever we want. Being us, we waited until the last moment to make a reservation. An hour before, to be exact. Our reservation was for 8:45pm, and we showed up promptly at 9:05pm. How were we supposed to know you need to park in a main parking lot, and then take a shuttle to the campground? Ok it does say it online, but those were just details, and we were hungry.
We explained our excuse of no excuse to the hostess ladies, and they were fantastically in character. They spoke of throwing someone out promptly “frontier style” to make room for us. Although no one was tossed through a window, we were seated at our table within a few minutes, secretly disappointed the little lady didn’t demonstrate her cowgirl skills. We were introduced to our server Serena, and were given the type of service Walt would be proud of. She was friendly, joyful, and in character. You could tell she loved where she worked. Since we were having the dinner buffet, she explained everything on the buffet, and even went as far as to explain what goes best with what. Our drinks were on the table before we sat back down from the buffet, and we were never without a refill.
The food available was as follows; Smoked Pork Ribs, Fried Chicken, two kinds of Mac and Cheese, Hand-carved Roasted Meats, Soup, Chilli, Salad Bar, Peel-n-Eat Shrimp, Veggies, Pizza Slices, House-made Fruit Cobbler and so much more. I cannot stress enough how high quality and tasty the food was. We were expecting a typical BBQ buffet, but it was so much more. Even with dining late, the food trays were full and fresh. The only complaint we could make was that the pizza was typical buffet pizza. Seriously that was our only complaint. I am the type of foodie who can always find something wrong. I once thought a chocolate cupcake tasted too much like chocolate.
We thought the decor in the restaurant was equally great. Was it a little outdated looking? Sure, but it’s supposed to be. It’s a frontier theme. In no cowboy movie did I ever see sterile looking, bright light flashing, modernism. This place looked exactly like it should- an old casual saloon. There was a bison on the wall, metal plates to eat from, and people talking loud. We loved it. It’s the kind of place you can bring your kids and not worry about them bothering anyone.
The cost of the meal varies on what season you go, day of the week and age of guest. For two adult meals, two nonalcoholic drinks, and tip we paid 60 dollars ($24.99 each for the meal) on a weekday in April. We felt like it was well worth the money. My husband even remarked it’s his new favorite restaurant on property. I might not place it first, but it’s definitely on our list to do again.
If you are looking for a place with simple great food; Trail’s End Restaurant is the place. It’s the kind of place where you can tie up your horse, and mosey on down to get some incredible grub. Ok we didn’t exactly have a horse, but we did have a Ford Fiesta with lots of horsepower. Go get your eat on!
