The Boatwright's Dining Hall is located in the Port Orleans Riverside Resort of Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It can be found off the lobby of the main Resort house next to the Sassagoula River. Boatwright's Dining Hall serves Southern and American cuisine and features a shipyard theme that includes shipbuilding models and artifacts. It has a full-service bar and is open for dinner from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Hours are subject to change and can be verified by calling (407) WDW - DINE (939 - 3463.)

The casual dining atmosphere is welcoming when you walk into the Boatwright's Dining Hall. The tables and chairs are wooden and there are several brick accents throughout the restaurant. The chairs are not quite as comfy as the ones in Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Like many Disney restaurants, it can become crowded so reservations are recommended. They can be made by calling (407) WDW - DINE (939 - 3463.)

The menu features a selection of appetizers, main dishes, sides, desserts and beverages. There is also a children's menu for kids ten and younger. Our party began with the crawfish cakes served with a mango slaw. There were several on the plate. As a fan of traditional crab cakes, I found these tasty but not as good as some I have had in restaurants near Hilton Head in South Carolina. Their outer layer lacked a good crisp but the mango slaw was sweet and tart to compliment the crawfish cake well.

The salad with greens was fresh and crisp but nothing spectacular. It was served after the appetizer and before the main dish arrived.

Although the evening we dined at Boatwright's was Thanksgiving, we chose to indulge in a traditional Southern/Creole meal and everyone ordered the jambalaya. It was delicious. Each serving contained plenty of tender chicken meat, shrimp, rice, and spicy Andouille sausage. The jambalaya also had a generous portion of vegetables including the traditional okra. Depending on how jambalaya is made, it can be quite spicy. This version had spice but it was not too spicy for the twelve-year old in our group.

Our dining party used the Disney Dining Plan for this meal. However, if you were to pay without the Plan then a main dish of jambalaya was listed for about $18 a person. The crawfish cakes were listed for about $10.

The Boatwright's Dining Hall offered pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving but I enjoyed a large slice of chocolate cake that had a fresh raspberry sauce with it. It was decadent and went great with the frozen cappuccino. Another member of the party tried the pecan pie and enjoyed it. The crust was flaky and the pecans crisp. The twelve-year old also enjoyed a vanilla milk shake.

We chose to eat that particular Thanksgiving dinner in The Boatwright's Dining Hall because we were staying in the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. It was convenient to our room, and we always like to try our resort's main restaurant when we stay at Disney. So far, we have never been disappointed overly with a Disney restaurant. However, The Boatwright's Dining Hall does not make our top ten list of favorite Disney restaurants.

It was clean, the staff friendly and our food was hot and flavorful, but our family tends to favor Disney restaurants with menus that are a bit more unique. If you are staying in either the Port Orleans Riverside Resort or its sister resort The French Quarter, The Boatwright's Dining Hall is worth checking out. However, if you are staying in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, don't bother taking the bus ride over. Stay at your lodge and enjoy the exotic flavors at the restaurant, Boma.

Learn more about this author, Barb Hopkins.
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