Charcuterie – $22

Cured beef, candied bacon, smoked pork, green chile cheese, smoked cheddar, and pickles (allergy-friendly for fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, sesame, and soy allergies)

For a $22 charcuterie board at Walt Disney World, this comes with a reasonable amount of food for sharing. The bread, while well seasoned, is cooked oddly: in spots, it’s crispy like a cracker, while in others it’s tough or floppy. It’s also very fragile and causes a mess on the table. However, we liked it swiped through the green chile cream cheese, which our reporter with New Mexico credentials said was pretty good. It also comes with three slices of smoked cheddar cheese that weren’t overpowering with smokiness.

The smoked pork comes in cubes that taste like slightly fatty honeybaked ham; our reporters debated whether there was an actual glaze involved or if the meat was just tossed in maple syrup. Either way, we weren’t fans of the pork cubes. The cured beef is the standard capocollo (or gabagool) that you get at many Walt Disney World functions, so nothing special.

And we know you’re looking at that clotheslined candied bacon, so here’s the verdict: it’s mostly sweet, with a little spice on the backend, but it’s hard not to like candied bacon. Overall, while the board’s presentation is clever and the amount of food is decent for the price, the whole experience is middling.

Rating out of 7: 4

Glazed Sticky Ribs – $16 

Glazed in Barq’s® Root Beer, with cowboy beans and jalapeño crisps (allergy-friendly for egg, fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, milk, sesame, and soy allergies)

These are the best ribs we’ve had in a Disney park. They’re very sticky due to the root beer glaze, but the pork is tender, and the crispy jalapeños add a nice bite of heat as well as textural contrast. The cowboy beans are a perfect accompaniment and also taste good with the jalapeño bits stirred in. This is a well-executed dish that’s worth the price. (Note that the “cast iron” skillets are actually plastic, presumably to prevent their use in an old-school saloon brawl.)

Rating out of 7: 7

Queso Fundido with Barbecue Burnt Ends – $15

with warm tortilla chips (allergy-friendly for gluten/wheat, egg, fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, sesame, and soy allergies)

Smoky, salty, tender, juicy — our reporters raved about these burnt ends as surprisingly good-quality barbecue for a theme park. The queso isn’t the same as the one served with the mini hot dogs and is thinner than we expected, but still creamy and slightly spicy. Unfortunately, the warmed tortilla chips drag the score down: while they’re only there as a delivery vehicle for the queso and meat, they’re weirdly salty and have an odd texture we found unappetizing.

Rating out of 7: 5

Sweet Golden Corn Fritters – $12  

with cilantro ranch dressing and red chili honey (allergy-friendly for fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, sesame, and soy allergies)

Our reporters were excited for these corn fritters, but unfortunately they let us down. The flavor is fantastic, super corny and sweet, but the consistency is all wrong.

These are dense and doughy, the opposite of what we want out of a corn fritter. If you pop one in your mouth, you’re going to be chewing for a while, so we recommend cutting them in half to eat. They’re also very sticky due to the chili honey.

Rating out of 7: 2

Chipotle Chicken Tostada -$14

with queso fresco, lime crema, and pickled cactus salsa (allergy-friendly for egg, fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, sesame, and soy allergies)

While not a great value, the chipotle chicken tostada appetizer delivers on flavor and texture. It’s loaded with smoky, spicy chicken (with some crema to cool it down), and the tostada and lettuce provide a nice crunch. All the toppings are proportional and one doesn’t overpower the others.

Rating out of 7: 6

Mini Hot Dog Platter – $12

Wrapped in pastry served with tortilla chips and a side of queso (allergy-friendly for fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, and sesame allergies)

These little snacks may look like mini corn dogs, but they’re actually wrapped in flaky pastry that reminded us of refrigerated croissant dough. While the queso is creamy, flavorful, and actually hot, we can’t recommend this because the value isn’t there: it’s four Pillsbury-wrapped mini hot dogs with some cheese and a handful of tortilla chips. We think this is only here as a kid-friendly option on an otherwise adult-leaning menu.

Rating out of 7: 2

Whinnyin’ Whiskey Lemonade – $18

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Aperol liqueur, strawberry purée, Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, and basil

While you definitely taste the alcohol, the lemonade cools off the burn, with a sweet strawberry aftertaste. It’s a little sour, a little sweet, a little bit tart, and has a nice alcohol kick. This is a great cocktail, balanced and very refreshing.

Rating out of 7: 6

Cactus Rose Margarita – $17 

LALO Blanco Tequila, prickly pear, lime, and agave

Mexico Pavilion, take notes: this is better than any margarita we’ve had at your festival booths. It’s a classic margarita with a subtle prickly pear flavor and a nice sweetness from the agave that makes it very drinkable. We also appreciate that there aren’t any unnecessary garnishes or rims happening here, just a good drink.

Rating out of 7: 6

High Plains Huckleberry – $19 

44° North Mountain Huckleberry Vodka, crème de cassis liqueur, lemon juice, and cranberry

So far, The Diamond Horseshoe bartenders are impressing us with the cocktails that lean on the sweeter, more refreshing side. If you like a drink with berry notes, this one’s for you. Our reporters debated whether the garnish was huckleberries or blackberries, but ultimately, the entire drink was our huckleberry (sorry, it was obligatory).

Rating out of 7: 6

Rattler Rum Punch – $17

Bacardí Superior Rum, orange, pineapple, lime, and passion fruit, garnished with a sweet-and-spicy rim

And our good luck with the cocktails comes to an end. This tastes like an old, bad Disney World cocktail. All we got in terms of flavor was pineapple and syrup, and it wasn’t even refreshing, just that sugary, syrupy aftertaste. We couldn’t taste the rum at all. For the first time, the spicy rim was the best part of the drink.

Rating out of 7: 1

Coal’d Fashioned – $19

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur, cinnamon syrup, orange bitters, and Angostura bitters

This surprised us by being a solid Old Fashioned with some interesting cinnamon coffee notes. The blend of flavors overall is really nice. Bourbon fans will like this drink.

Rating out of 7: 5

In Holiday Fashion – $19

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon, rosemary syrup, cranberry, and cinnamon

We’re guessing this drink is seasonal due to its name, and that’s a good thing because we don’t want this to stick around. It’s watered down, there’s barely any bourbon flavor, and the rosemary doesn’t fit with the drink profile at all. The overall experience was described as “cranberry Fabuloso.” Unless you like drinks that remind you of cleaning products, we say skip it.

Rating out of 7: 1

Enchanting Ember Lemonade – $6.49

Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, strawberry, and hot honey

“Ember” is fitting because that hot honey overpowers everything else in this drink. It’s refreshing but also shockingly spicy.

Rating out of 7: 3

Orange Cream Soda – $6.99

Fanta Orange with vanilla and cream

We wanted creaminess but got carbonation instead. This should be a dessert drink, but it left us disappointed. It’s still pleasant, but it’s just orange Fanta with cream in it for an additional dollar.

Rating out of 7: 4

Caramel Root Beer with Sweet Cream – $6.99

Barq’s Root Beer flavored with caramel, and topped with sweet cream

This tastes like a melted root beer float in the best way, while still maintaining a lot of carbonation to keep it fresh. It’s like a Disney World take on butterbeer but — dare we say it — better? We all loved this.

Rating out of 7: 7

Enchanting Grove Lime Splash – $6.29

Minute Maid Limeade, cucumber, and mint

Our reporters called this “not a Disneyland mint julep.” It’s trying to evoke one, but is too sweet and too tart with no mint flavor, just sticky sweet cucumber.

Rating out of 7: 2