Walt Disney World brings a lot to the table when it comes to Cinco de Mayo.  The most obvious is the entire Mexico Pavilion within the World Showcase.  But don’t forget the Coronado Springs resorts and one of Disney’s dining hidden gems….Maya Grille.  In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, we will take a closer look at these locations to get into the Mexican spirit.

One of the best attractions at EPCOT is the Gran Fiesta Tour featuring The Three Caballeros.  It takes guests on a tour of Mexico and Mexican culture all while looking for Donald Duck who has “gone rogue” and left the other two Caballeros.  The attraction rarely has a wait.  It takes guests past one of Mexico’s fine restaurants, San Angel Inn.  To get to the attraction, guests have to walk through a busy open air style Mexican market where guests can purchase a variety of Mexican trinkets and gifts.

All of these things are located inside the giant Aztec pyramid.  The fun doesn’t end outside the pyramid.  There is a fun Mexican Donald Duck meet and greet.  I love Donald Duck and his interactions are always great especially when you get under his skin by saying, “MIckey Mouse is #1.”

Also outside the pyramid is Mexico’s second restaurant, Hacienda de San Angel.  This restaurant provides a different feel and experience compared to San Angel Inn.  Hacienda has much more of an open air and more “busy” feel.  San Angel has a feel of intimate river-side dining especially with the table close to the Gran Fiesta Tour.

The last piece to the Mexican Pavilion is Cava del Tequila which is an area where guests can go in and sample over 100 different kinds of tequila in a quiet setting while enjoy “tapas style” menu items.  Personally, I’ve never been to Cava del Tequila but it comes highly recommended.

That brings us to Disney’s other homage to Mexico and Mexican heritage the Mayan-themed Coronado Springs Resort.  This sprawling resort is home to one of the most interesting pools at Walt Disney World….The Dig Site Pool.

I had the chance to tour the grounds when my wife and I traveled out to Coronado Springs for a dinner at Maya Grille.  If you are staying at Coronado Springs, want to go resort hopping, or are a Florida resident who loves Disney, this is a great place to have dinner.  The resort and the restaurant are well themed and the restaurant, at least when I was there, was not very crowded.  You can read my full review of the restaurant experience here.

Before I go, you can hear me provide the Mice News Minute as part of the Behind the Magic podcast.

Thanks for reading!