Landscape of Flavors is a counter-service restaurant in Walt Disney World’s Art of Animation Resort. The de facto food court sits beside the lobby and has several ordering bays offering different kinds of food. Landscape of Flavors is on the Disney Dining Plan as a counter-service credit and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This review will cover the lunch and dinner menu while also looking at the atmosphere and value.

We’re a proponent of Walt Disney World’s value resorts. The lower price points offer a more approachable way to take advantage of on-site perks while the rooms and amenities are generally nicer than what is available off-site at the same price. Thanks to that reason, we stay at Pop Century, Art of Animation and the All-Star Resorts more than just about anywhere at Disney World.

Where these resorts haven’t won us over, at least in the past, is in their dining options. All five of the value hotels have a counter-service restaurant that is more or less a food court with different stations to pick up food. Our general impression has always been that these spots offered more quantity than quality; a landscape of mostly average flavors.

That said, nearly all of our experiences with these spots have come out of convenience rather than sitting down and having a proper meal. Grabbing things on the go isn’t always a fair representation of a counter-service spot. It’s also not fair to lump all of these value resort restaurants together, they may have the same construct but they have different kitchens and menus.

On a recent trip while staying at Art of Animation, we decided that Landscape of Flavors deserved a fair shake. Maybe there were better flavors to be found tucked between a giant Simba and Radiator Springs than we gave it credit for.

The seating area in the counter-service restaurant is a microcosm of the whole resort, with sections of Lion King, Cars, Finding Nemo, and The Little Mermaid artwork. Given the size of Art of Animation, there’s thankfully a bunch of tables throughout Landscape of Flavors. The outside facing wall is all windows to let some natural light in.

No one should come eat here directly for the atmosphere of a food court, but the artwork is fun to look at if you’re already staying or dining here. I especially like The Lion King section in one of the corners. That’s probably just because I love The Lion King but there’s a little more of a mood to this section. Sadly, they didn’t take my request to have the phenomenal “Be Prepared” on audio loop for all of their open hours.

Landscape of Flavors has a colorful seating area with plenty of room to find a table. The real star of the show is the different light fixtures throughout the restaurant that match the movie area you’re in.

There’s also limited seating outside. In the middle of Landscape of Flavors are all of the drink and condiment stations. It’s a fine system, albeit a little crowded.

Before drinks and seating, guests grab their food in this ordering bay that features 4 different windows to order at. There’s also a cold case with drinks and pre-packaged food and desserts. There’s a real late 90’s vibe to where you pick up the food. The colorful flooring reminds me of that show Zoom on PBS that I watched when I was 9 years old. Does anybody else remember that? Just me? Okay, moving on.

After grabbing your food from one (or all, we’re not here to judge) of the windows, guests move to the check-out. You can also mobile order at Landscape of Flavors. This all makes for a very casual and generally efficient dining experience. I’ve had to wait a few times but usually Cast Members cycle guests through quickly. Busy dinner times may not apply to that statement.

The atmosphere is sufficient but nothing to write home about. It’s hard to make a place that needs to be this large still have a style. I like the artwork throughout but the ordering bay could use a refresh.

Moving to the food, here’s a look at the menu. We’ll cover some of the distinct options below but wanted to mention that all of these value resorts have a pizza window and a meatball sub. The pizza is fine, overpriced but will do in a pinch. I’ve never met a meatball sub I didn’t like and this one is no exception. These tend to lean a little cheesy and a touch dry, but they aren’t a bad option as long as the bread is fresh. One of these bad boys will definitely fill you up!

Ramen was the big winner at Landscape of Flavors. You can get the dish with chicken, beef or both proteins in it, along with vegetables and a soft-boiled egg in miso broth. We were pleasantly surprised here. This is also a hearty dish thanks to the generous portion of noodles in it. The broth wasn’t complex but it had a good flavor that stayed away from being heavy. Don’t get the wrong idea, this isn’t some amazing bowl of ramen but it was a nice lunch option on par with what you’d find for a good counter-service meal in the parks. Depending on the meat choice, this is somewhere between $12-$16, which is a relatively fine value.

Sticking with the bowl theme, this is the Southwest Pork and Chicken Bowl. Along with the meat, this consists of Rice, Roasted Corn, Pico de Gallo, Pickled Red Onions, Cotija, and Avocado Crema. We’ve got another pleasant surprise here! I thought the meat had a good flavor and avoided being dry, partially thanks to the delicious Crema. Everything else paired nicely, and I’d put this a small step above the chain burrito bowl spots (Chipotle, Qdoba, etc.). Again, the bar is low but we came away happy with this $14.79 offering.

I didn’t think as highly of the Sesame Chicken. While we saw them using the wok for some meals, the chicken tasted similar to the frozen Orange Chicken we buy from Trader Joe’s for quick meals. Now, I like the Trader Joe’s option but the flavor here was too salty. The veggies were a definite highlight of the dish but I wouldn’t get this again.

We ended with this cute little Nemo Cheesecake. The cuteness is the main draw here but this is passable in terms of taste. Our value resort cheesecake hierarchy (something that definitely exists) does place Pop Century’s Tie-Dye Cheesecake above this one as far as flavor goes but if you’re already at Landscape of Flavors and want an adorable dessert, here it is!

Overall, we were pretty happy with our meal(s) at Art of Animation. The food and atmosphere is not going to wow you and I wouldn’t go make a special trip just to dine here. But if you’re staying at the hotel and are having a resort day, you could certainly do worse than some of the options here. This is our favorite of the value resort counter-service restaurants. That’s not the highest praise but there is some quality mixed in with the quantity at Landscape of Flavors.

Overall Rating – 7/10

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