There's a Reason We Keep Coming Back to This Disney World Hotel

Disney World has plenty of hotels — there’s something for just about everyone!

Walt Disney World Swan Reserve

Whether you’re looking for a fully themed, immersive Disney experience, something grandiose, or something a little bit outside of the Disney World bubble, chances are you’ll be able to find something that fits your needs. But, if you’re looking for a new, swanky, and luxurious hotel just steps away from EPCOT — the Swan Reserve might be just the thing.

The Swan Reserve is the third addition to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts located on Disney World property. It opened in November 2021 and while it is not technically Disney-owned and operated — it is just steps away from EPCOT. One of the coolest parts about the hotel is the citrus-themed elements throughout from the menu items to fruit trees! We recently got the chance to try some Swan Reserve classics and check out the Citrus Scout scavenger hunt.

The Swan Reserve

You can grab a Citrus Guide from the front desk that will lead you to different QR codes around the hotel, which you can scan to reveal a mystery word. Once you’ve completed the activity, return to the front desk to claim your prize!

In addition to becoming Citrus Scouts, we also checked out some of the iconic eats and drinks you’ll find around the Swan Reserve, starting at Stir — the lobby bar! We sampled the Florida Beehive made with Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla gin, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, orange blossom honey, fresh lemon, and orange juice.

Florida Beehive

What’s interesting about this cocktail is that it’s a “Choose Your Own Adventure” situation — you can pick from tropical, citrus, floral, or herbal flavors shaken with a Neo-Victorian era Champion shaker. We chose the tropical version and we’re glad we did! It was light and sweet with a natural sweetness from the fruits. It was one of the best cocktails we had at Disney World in a long time!

Champion cocktail shaker

Next, we went over to Tangerine, the pool bar, and tried the Tangerine Whip. It’s made with tangerine, oat milk, and Don Q Cristal Rum, blended and frozen, garnished with an orange slice. This is a resort favorite, and we can see why. The flavors reminded us of a creamsicle with a nice hint of vanilla. It was nice and fresh without being too sweet or tart.

Tangerine Whip

We headed to Amare where we grabbed an appetizer and entrée to try — starting with the Charred Octopus. It’s served on a fennel purée and topped with pickled onion, crispy potato shards, and a pistachio gremolata.

Charred Octopus

We LOVED this. The octopus was nice and meaty without being fishy or too salty, which can be a common problem with it. The fennel was smooth and earthy and paired well with the octopus — but the crispy potato shards were our favorite. They reminded us of shoestring fries! We’d absolutely get this dish again.

YUM

And, of course — it wouldn’t be a DFB trip to Amare without getting the Amare Flatbread! AJ herself sings the praises of this pizza and it’s easy to see why. It’s topped with leek, potato, lardon, roasted black pepper, and Gruyére cheese.

Amare Flatbread

The crust was absolutely perfect — crispy but light and just enough to carry all of the toppings without being overwhelming. The cheese was tangy and delicious, but really subtle. The potatoes were thinly sliced and the leeks added that allium flavor that just goes so well with potato.

SO GOOD

We got plenty of saltiness from the smoky lardon but it wasn’t overpowering at all, with the perfect amount of black pepper to add some of that aromatic spice. This is definitely not something you want to miss!

Get yourself some of this pizza!

Finally, we finished things off with the Citrus Cannoli. The shell was soft and crumbly when we bit into it, but still held the cannoli filling well — which was wonderfully creamy with a hint of orange and citrus flavors. It was a fun and fresh twist on a classic dessert!

Well, what are you waiting for?! Get yourself over to the Swan Reserve STAT!

Citrus Cannoli

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for the latest news from Disney World — including the Swan and Dolphin hotels — so make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog if you don’t want to miss a thing.

Click HERE for our Complete Guide to Eating at Walt Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin Resorts!

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Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by the team at the Swan Reserve to preview these menu items. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ