Sunday Brunch: Prince Eric's Village Market
by Reuben Gutierrez
8 September 2013
As New Fantasyland continues to reveal itself like a
ship returning from just over the horizon, nothing could be more
exciting than an additional food location. One of New Fantasyland's
new residents recently opened shop in a quaint village that emerged
opposite from of his castle. Last week, Prince Eric's Village Market
opened to guests with a food selection different than the park's
other snack stand offerings. With ice cream and popcorn readily
available at other stands in other lands, the Village Market opted
for healthier food choices deemed by Disney as 'Healthy and Better
for You.' Much like an actual fresh food market in an actual kingdom
village, guests will delight in finding fresh fruit, healthy
beverages, and other nourishing snack options.

A healthy bounty of whole fruits, yogurt, hummus with pita chips,
Craisins, and more. Fresh lemonade churns in the caged crate.


Pineapple spears, fresh fruit cups, and more Craisins.
Apparently 'bananas from Honduras' is something to write home about.
Longtime resort visitors may notice
continuity to these health foods. We've seen them as other healthy
options around the whole of Walt Disney World resort, but now have
the convenience of finding them all in one place. Prince Eric's
Village Market isn't the first to offer such convenience; the
Liberty Square Market also serves a very similar healthy snack menu
amidst their hot foods - American favorites like ham-and-cheese
sandwiches or corn on the cob. Though the Village Market does not
serve hot foods, it does provide several 'healthy' beverage options
to cool down the guests in this kingdom under the sun.

Honest Teas and Fruit Juices

Vitamin Water

Odwalla Juice come in an interesting variety of flavors and
provide vital nutrients

The Main Menu showcases the specialty beverages and a general
listing of the health food options. There's even fresh watermelon
seasonally!
Two of the rather unique items to
this Magic Kingdom snack stand include fresh lemonade and
fruit-flavored shaved ice. With the lemonade available in two
flavors and the shaved ice in five, this certainly makes the stand a
repeat stop to invite guests to return and try them all. For my
inaugural visit to the Village Market, I chose to have the
watermelon shaved ice. In my past experiences at state fairs and
such, the vendors never put enough of the fruity syrup, leaving me
with a glob of ice that only hints towards any particular flavor. At
Prince Eric's Village Market, the shaved ice acts more like a 'snow
cone ice float,' which certainly becomes a welcome refresher under
the Florida sun. The villagers add a lot of flavoring too, so my ice
had watermelon in almost every bite and the water had flavor in
every sip. If I had to pick one fault, I would point to the
too-chunky ice. Then again, this might have occurred through a fault
in the ice crusher/shaver. I prefer a finer shaving of ice, so to
speak, than the glacier in which I attempted to dig my flimsy
plastic spoon.


Nestled at the bottom of the humble Seven Dwarfs
Mountain, the market area uses a theme reminiscent of ' or perhaps
actually is ' the seaside village Ariel and Prince Eric tour in
The Little Mermaid. Designed in an earth tone color scheme, I
surmise that the village will complement the soon-to-be-finished
mountain terrain. In addition, the remainder of the village (still
under construction) likely shall turn into a Mermaid
merchandise location. The market itself consists of a single counter
with two sides, constructed from what appears to be crates, barrels,
and similar wood planking one would find on a former seafaring ship.
The awning looks as if it was recycled from an old and weathered
sail. Perhaps Prince Eric and his crew salvaged materials from a
ship wreck to construct this modest market.


Prince Eric has certainly come a long way in the
Disney Parks, as he no longer serves as mere parade and show arm
candy. During construction of Ariel's new grotto, Eric made regular
appearances at meet-and-greets, and naturally features among the
characters in Ariel's Undersea Adventure attraction. Now, the Prince
has his own food stand, and it's certainly one to be proud of. While
the majority of the healthy food options here are not new to the
Disney parks and resorts, having all of them available in one place
with some interesting, cool beverages makes it a must-stop shop for
health-savvy guests. As with all Disney menus, they're certainly
subject to change; with the health snack food niche that Prince
Eric's sailing-ship-turned-market provides, this is a menu I look
forward to sea, er'see.