#57 - Dinobites

Category: Restaurants
Category Rank: 9

Park: Animal Kingdom
Park Rank: 4

For number 57, we hit my personal-favorite snack in the entire World, the ice cream sandwiches at Dino-Bites in Animal Kingdom.  Unlike the Starring Rolls Cafe however, Dino-Bites doesn't pretend to offer quick service entrees; it is all about the snacks there.

It goes without saying that the Dino-Bites are really big ice cream sandwiches and a relatively excellent deal when used as a snack credit (though you can get the same deal at the Plaza Ice Cream Shop in Magic Kingdom).  However, it used to be an even better deal, because they were downright ginormous at one point in time, as seen by our first visit (no, our kids are not midgets or the victims of trick photography).  With the amount of ice cream and cookie you got, it made this a must-do attraction within Animal Kingdom.

As mentioned in the post on Starring Rolls, we have our favorites when it comes to snacks, so it makes sense for our favorites to be on this list when other individuals probably do not think they rise to the level of beating out other notable attractions.  One thing that was difficult for me to consider is how they ranked in terms of nostalgia.

The ice-cream sandwiches are my favorite snack.  The cupcakes at Starring Rolls are typically considered the best snack, because you can only "gourmet" ice cream and cookie so much.  But both get ranked lower than the snack option from Epcot and Magic Kingdom.  What gives?

Part of this is the overall effect of the parks.  I consider Magic Kingdom to be the park that truly screams WDW, and Epcot a distant but respectable second.  Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, while offering the better snack option, don't bring the same cachet when making one reminisce fondly about the World.  Ergo, they rank lower on the list.

Animal Kingdom, as you noticed, has only four items in the entire 60 (not counting World-wide things like the maps).  That's pretty low, compared to the 21 that Magic Kingdom has.  Part of this is because the park is smaller (in number of attractions that is... in size, it is a lot bigger actually).  Part is because it isn't quite as good.  A big part is because it has a disproportional number of thrill attractions compared to total ones.  Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo the Musical, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Kali River Rapids are all ineligible for this list, and that doesn't leave you with much in the park.

Number 56 on our list is going to see us move outside the parks and look at a resort (hotel) for the first time, featuring an up-and-comer for our family.