One of Walt Disney World Resort’s top-tier restaurants, Flying Fish, will reopen Thursday, Jan. 27, at the BoardWalk. Tim Majoras will resume his role as the seafooder’s chef. Another signature dining restaurant, Jiko – The Cooking Place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, will return Feb. 17. And Turf Club Bar and Grill, a casual dining restaurant at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, will reopens Feb. 3.
Other restaurants remain closed, or “temporarily unavailable” to use the euphemistic official designation. Most notably among them is the estimable Victoria & Albert’s at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, which causes one to wonder if the Michelin Guide inspectors have begun their Central Florida rounds yet. It would be a shame for them to miss one of the finest dining experiences not only in the area but arguably in the country.
(By the way, rumors abound that when V&A does reopen it will have a new chef de cuisine. Only one of my sources has denied the rumor outright, but that was the chef supposedly taking over, so we’ll have to accept that. For now.)
Some other restaurants without official reopening dates are: ESPN Club, also at the BoardWalk; Epcot restaurants Restaurant Marrakesh (Morocco), Takumi-Tei (Japan) and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Norway): and 1900 Park Fare, also at the Grand Floridian,
Both 1900 Park Fare and Akershus are buffets, which you’d think would be the reason for keeping them pandemically shuttered. But Boma – Flavors of Africa, the buffet restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge, is open for self slinging so I don’t know why they’re still closed. (Also, buffets need fewer staffers to operate.)
Monsieur Paul, the upstairs and upscale restaurant at Epcot’s France pavilion, is still closed, too. But as I told you a few months ago, it is being redone with a new concept (though still French, count on it) to reopen later this year.