Pongu Pongu: A Pandora-World of Avatar Snack Review

Are you ready for a party in your tummy and on your taste buds? Or at the very least are you dying for a drink to cool you down on a hot Orlando day at Animal Kingdom? Lucky for you the geniuses at Walt Disney World have created a location in Pandora that can literally be translated into “party party” and I’m pretty sure they mean party for your taste buds.

Location

You can find Pongu Pongu in Pandora-The World of Avatar; the newest section of Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. To get to Pandora, head to the left at the Tree of Life. The entrance to Pandora is just past Tiffins. When you enter the land, you can stay to the right to find this little gem. It’s nestled between Wind Traders (the souvenir shop) and Satu’li Canteen.

Offerings

Pongu Pongu has several beverages to cool you down in the constantly sweltering heat of Animal Kingdom. You can choose from one specialty non-alcoholic beverage, Night Blossom or water. There are three different alcoholic choices which include the Mo’ara Margarita, Mo’ara High Country Ale, and Hawkes’ Grog Ale. There is also one snack item, Pongu Lumpia, which is similar to a dessert spring roll. The Night Blossom, Bottled Water, and the Pongu Lumpia are all covered as snack credits on the dining plan.

An Honest Review

For this review, I tried the Night Blossom. I wanted to try the Pongu Lumpia, but the filling was cream cheese and chunks of pineapple. I don’t do well with large chunks of anything, so I decided to pass on that. The Night Blossom, on the other hand, has my name written all over it.

Night Blossom

This drink is a frozen, layered, non-alcoholic beverage that hits the spot on a super hot day. The layers taste like a combination on green apple, pear, and I’m pretty sure the tangy base is a pinkish/purplish limeade. On top you will find passion fruit flavored boba beads. I honestly thought these were just for decoration, but the cast member assured me they were worth trying. She was right! The little beads burst under pressure and the taste is pleasantly sweet, but not overly so. They are also slightly cool, which makes them even more refreshing.

This drink is honestly now my favorite frozen drink in all of Animal Kingdom, maybe all of Walt Disney World. The taste is tangy, yet smooth thanks to the mixture of flavors. It’s refreshing in so many ways that I find myself craving one every time I find myself out in the heat. The only downside to this drink is the paper straw. It made enjoying the boba beads very hard, but it’s easy to get over that when you know Animal Kingdom is protecting the environment and the animals with these straws.

Needless to say, those straws fit the overall theme for Pandora as well. So, I simply turned up the cup and enjoyed them and prayed I wouldn’t be wearing the majority of them. I can say I was mostly successful, except for one remnant that ended up on my lip for a WHOLE LIVE FEED video. Oh well, you live, laugh, and learn.

 Pongu Pongu: A Pandora World of Avatar Snack Review

Overall, I thought this small snack and drink stand was a fantastic addition to this new land. I was there very early to ride Flight of Passage and I was not ready for a full meal yet. A snack and refreshing drink were on my wish list when I exited that amazing ride and Pongu Pongu mostly delivered. The cast members were friendly and helpful and the service was quick. There are plenty of areas to sit carved into the rocks and areas around the stand and you can also find a seat outside of the Satu”li Canteen if it’s not crowded. If it’s lunch time or dinner time, you may not be allowed to sit there. I do wish I had tried more offerings, so I will be back. Of course, I will certainly be back to explore all of Pandora-World of Avatar.

Looking for more snack options in the Animal Kingdom? Find them HERE!

Let us know if you have tried the drinks and the Pongu Lumpia. Tell us which is your favorite in the comments section below or join us in our Facebook group, DISNEY EXPRESS LANE, and talk about everything Disney!

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Just Released: Menu Options for Satu’li Canteen in Pandora

The magical news just keeps coming in and we couldn’t be more excited! Our friends from Disney Parks Blog just released a “menu preview” for Satu’li Canteen in Animal Kingdom’s newest land, Pandora! Looks like there will be a new way of ordering your food also. We will keep you up to date as more details are released about this new option.

From Disney Parks Blog

With an entire new land taking shape to open on May 27, Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will transport guests to the visually stunning land of floating mountains and bioluminescent plants. And of course there’s a culinary chapter to the story of the Na’vi.

Guests can enjoy creative, flavorful dishes based on the healthful bounty of Pandora, with wholesome grains, fresh vegetables and hearty proteins at Satu’li Canteen, where an on-stage grill is a prominent feature in the colorful dining room.

The Satu’li Canteen was once the main mess hall of the Resources Development Administration (RDA) base located in the Valley of Mo’ara. Now the canteen is owned and operated by Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE) tour company and has been redesigned into a beautiful museum-like dining room.

The interior has been transformed with colorful Na’vi items filling the walls and hanging from the ceiling — hand-woven tapestries, natural Pandoran elements and even cooking tools decorate the restaurant.

Look for familiar dishes with a twist in the fast-casual restaurant, with bowls that allow diners to customize their lunch or dinner. Diners start with a base of quinoa and vegetable salad; red and sweet potato hash; mixed whole-grain and rice or romaine and kale salad. Next is either with wood-grilled chicken, slow-roasted beef, sustainable fish or chili-spiced fried tofu. And the bowl is finished with charred onion chimichurri, black bean vinaigrette or creamy herb dressing.

The menu also offers steamed “pods” – bao buns with either cheeseburger or vegetable curry and served with root vegetable chips and crunchy vegetable slaw.

For little ones, there’s an option of grilled chicken or beef, fish or tofu with greens or rice; a hot dog wrapped in Parker House dough; cheese quesadilla, or a steamed “pod” (cheeseburger bao bun).

The fast-casual restaurant will also be the first to offer Mobile Order, a new convenient option to order and pay for meals on-the-go within the My Disney Experience app, allowing guests to bypass the queue to order when they arrive at the restaurant. Using the app, guests can select menu items, customize their order and pre-pay for their meal. When they arrive at the restaurant they will tap an “I’m here” button in the app, which will notify the kitchen to prepare the meal. When ready, guests will be alerted through the app to pick up their meal at a designated window. Additional fast-casual and quick-service restaurants will begin to offer Mobile Order later this year.

Disney Dining Plan is accepted at Satu’li Canteen but, at this time, Mobile Order only accepts credit cards.

Walt Express cannot wait to sample some of Pandora’s treats! A special THANKS to our friends from Disney Parks Blog for always keeping us up to date!

Check out our Facebook group, DISNEY EXPRESS LANE, for more Disney fun and information!

Photo Credit: WDW NEWS

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