Lean in close friends, we have a sad (and hunger-inducing) Disney story to tell.

In the Most Magical Place on Earth (a.k.a. Disney World), you’ll find the oh-so-colorful Art of Animation Resort and its equally as colorful Landscape of Flavors food court. The food court is beautifully decorated with callbacks to some of Disney’s most popular films (really, take a second to check out those designs), but its food menu has changed dramatically over the years. Did you know that you could once get tandoori chicken thighs here with NAAN bread?! It’s true, folks. So grab a tissue (and a snack) and join us for this sad tale.

The Landscape of Flavors That Once Was

Once upon a time, there was a Disney World value resort food court that DARED to dream. It did not let the good value of its surrounding hotel rooms dictate its menu offerings and reduce it to serving only hot dogs and chicken tenders. NO. This food court had goals — it had the desire to be at the TOP, to be UNIQUE! And unique it was. 

Back in early 2012, we here at DFB were savoring every detail released about Landscape of Flavors. At that time, the focus of the food court was customization, giving guests lots of “make your own” options to pick from.

There was a make-your-own salad/soup/sandwich option, a “World Flavors” shop with things like Tandoori shrimp with naan bread…

…and Portuguese sausage…

…a Pizza shop, a Burger shop (including the ICONIC surf and surf burger with a crab cake and fried popcorn shrimp, and a pastrami burger)…

…plus GELATO. Not just one or two flavors of gelato though. This was a FULL ON GELATO BAR.

There were other customizable things at breakfast, too, like a create-your-own fruit bowl option, create-your-own yogurt parfait, and a cereal BAR (no, not a joke).

Breakfast also featured a breakfast chicken burger with a Mickey-shaped egg (you gotta love it).

And lunch/dinner had more customization with the make-your-own pasta area.

You could even customize your own smoothie!

Truly, this food court was a sight to behold, full of customizable options. Back in 2012, we were truly impressed. The flavors here were bold, the ingredients were fresh, and many items were cooked to order right in front of you. The amount of customization was, honestly, staggering.

But it had its downsides. With all that customization and fresh cooking, there could be a lot of waiting. For those who were not in a hurry, that might not have been a problem. But those with larger families ordering a lot of food at different stations could become easily frustrated. And we have a feeling that may have led us to where we are today.

The Landscape of Flavors That Exists Today

The current Landscape of Flavors offerings are but a shadow (if even that) of their former selves. Take breakfast, for example, gone is the chicken sandwich with a Mickey-shaped egg and other unique customizable options. Instead, you’ll find much more standard fare nowadays — a waffle platter, an omelet, scrambled eggs, your choice of cereal with milk, and a basic yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and honey granola.

There’s nothing wrong with a good Mickey waffle, but it’s just not the same as some of the more unique creations from before.

Lunch and dinner have also lost that intense sense of customization and uniqueness. Tandoori chicken remains on the menu, but the Tandoori shrimp and Portuguese sausage are gone. (Instead, you’ll find shrimp and grits and braised beef, as well as some other entrees.)

Pasta remains on the menu, but you’re limited to things like Pasta with meatballs or Chicken-Parmesan pasta.

In terms of burgers, the current Benedict Burger is more unique than your standard fare (Grilled Signature-blend Burger with Canadian Bacon, Fried Egg, Hollandaise Sauce, Lettuce, and Tomato on a Toasted Brioche Bun), but the Surf and Surf and Pastrami burgers are long gone. The other burger options are much more “standard” — cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, and a grilled chicken sandwich.

There are plenty of salads to pick from, but they’re not those uniquely customizable options from before.

Gone is the gelato bar. You will find some great cupcakes here, to be sure, and other snacks, but they’re more along the lines of the “standard” eats you’ll find at Disney food courts.

Oh, old Landscape of Flavors menu, how we miss thee. Perhaps the customization and longer waits we experienced way back in 2012 were simply too much for this food court to handle with a full set of guests trying to quickly get their eats before scurrying to the parks or their hotel room. Perhaps the more elaborate menu items simply required too much effort for them to make sense financially.

Are some of the eats at Landscape of Flavors still tasty? Sure! During a 2023 visit, we found the Greek Salad to be surprisingly tasty. But the Tandoori chicken was lacking in flavor and spice.

Is it the customizable paradise full of unique eats that it once was? Sadly, no. Now, it’s mostly made up of a few food stations with more standard eats, a pre-packaged food area, and the drinks/condiments station. There are some things on the menu that’ll go beyond your basic chicken tenders and fries, but it’s not quite as special as before.

What food court do you think reigns supreme in Disney World? Tell us in the comments. And be sure to drop us a comment if you ate at Landscape of Flavors back in the day when it was different.

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What do you think about Landscape of Flavors? Tell us in the comments.

The post The Deterioration of Landscape of Flavors Food Court From Awesome To Awful first appeared on the disney food blog.