French Fry Diary 07: Captain Cook’s at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, Orlando

You want snacks, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is a cornucopia of snacks, and of course the number one snack is the favorite fried food – the French fry.

On our most recent trip to WDW, we stayed at the Polynesian Resort. It’s one of the main on-property hotels, one of the big three, the one with the island theme and the flaming luaus. Heck, it’s even a monorail stop.

Their 24/7 kid-friendly snack shop/restaurant is called Captain Cook’s Snack Company. Referred to by more than one employee here as their version of McDonalds, it’s really more like a Wawa meets cafeteria with nicer trimmings sort of place. Really, the only thing that says Disney about the whole place is the friendly atmosphere and service, and the Mickeys and Minnies on the cups and napkins. Come to think of it, one must wonder the why of the name – yes, Captain Cook was a real pirate, but Captain Hook was a Disney pirate.

The official blurb reads: “A 24-hour walk-up counter café on the first floor of the Great Ceremonial House. Features include egg sandwiches, bakery bar, hamburgers, pizza, hot/cold sandwiches, salads, and snacks.” Snacks. That would be the fries, people.

My visit was in the morning, so I, of course, got their breakfast potatoes. After marveling at the concept of being given a beeper for my short order I picked them up and proceeded to eat. At first glance they appeared to be quite similar to the potato wedges one might get at KFC, only not seasoned so darned much. After a taste they proved to be more.

They were in fact potato wedges, but freshly cut and baked, lightly seasoned and then sautéed. I doubt they were fried. They had the wonderfully texture of a boiled potato inside but cooked just enough. Yes, it was a short order, but filling enough to be a meal. Good stuff.

I wonder what their fries are like? I got to find out later that day. Nothing to write home about (blogging is a different story…). They are standard-tasting deep-fried natural cuts, but the magic is in the post cook/pre-serve technique. After the deep fry, the fries are shaken in a metal mixing bowl with a splash of salt and shaken some more, a la Belgian fries. Bravo. Fun to watch, just okay to eat.


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