The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Disney World Favorites That Are Gone but Should Never Be Forgotten

This past week the theme park community said goodbye to It’s Tough to Be a Bug at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and it got me thinking about other things at Walt Disney World that have been removed over the years. So today we’re gonna take a look back at the stuff I miss the most at the WDW parks and resorts.

Each item on this list made a profound impact on my family’s vacations over the years, creating magical memories that we fondly reflect back on. Feel free to post the things you miss the most in the comments, and we’ll start my list off with…

# 6 – Rio Grande Nacho Challenge at Pecos Bills

For some reason known only to Disney themselves, several years back a whole bunch of “secret” menu items appeared at the parks and resorts. This seems like an insane way to run a business in one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world, but there were specialty food and drink items that weren’t printed on any restaurant menu or posted online, but were available if you asked a Cast Member (including one bonkers menu at the All Star Resorts you could only see through a ViewFinder.)

One of those “secrets” was the incredible Rio Grande Nacho Challenge at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn at the Magic Kingdom.

Let’s get to the particulars. The cost of the challenge was $85. Now back in 2017 – which feels like five lifetimes ago – that was a pretty Out There price, but I still believe there was a lot of value there, and will explain along the way. Pecos Bill offered an AP discount, so after discount and tax the total was $72.42. The Rio Grande was only served between 3-6 PM, and Pecos Bill would only serve four groups per hour.

Pecos Bill did the Rio Grande Nacho Challenge right in terms of presentation, as groups are brought back to a reserved section of the restaurant. There were fun, old timey tin plates and cups for everyone in the group. Two pitchers of whatever drinks you prefer were served with the Rio Grande, but you could also ask for pitchers of any other type of beverage once those were gone. We originally started with lemonade and iced tea, but eventually also got pitchers of Coke, Diet Coke, and water.

The tin cups were great and got you into that Old West atmosphere.

When it was time for the Rio Grande to be served, a whole cadre of servers descended upon the room, hootin’ and hollerin’. One was even ringing a small cowbell to amp up the excitement. The Rio Grande Nacho Challenge was one of those rare items at restaurants that make all the other guests turn their head to see what’s up (very similar to reaction of diners at The Kitchen at the Hard Rock Hotel when a slice of the Kitchen Sink cake is delivered to a table.)

The Rio Grande nachos were put on a table next to your group, along with three different sauces and a plate of hot peppers. One member of our group was a vegan, and the restaurant brought over an off-menu veggie rice bowl for them to enjoy (at no extra cost.)

Pictures don’t do justice to the scale of how big this nacho plate was.

The pictures above shows how the Rio Grande Nachos were normally served, while the picture below is what you get if you ask for the toppings to be served on the side. There was a whole bunch of meat on the nachos, and everyone absolutely loved the chicken. The beef crumbles and pulled pork weren’t bad at all, but the chicken was really tasty.

Everyone had a blast.

When we were finished, the group took the Pecos Bill Code of the West and we received a certificate proclaiming us the Deputies of the Day.

The kids in the group got cowboy hats, and everyone got a sheriff’s star. The whole experience was exceptionally well done by the staff, and everyone left full. Trust me, I’ve had a good amount of experience with extreme plates of nachos, and the Rio Grande blew me away.

Before we go, I do have to mention one more food item that I want back at Walt Disney World, and that’s the crumb cake from Pandora: The World of Avatar. Granted, the amount of food coloring and dyes used in this snack probably made it unsafe for human consumption, but it was so good!

# 5 – Unique Menus for Everything Pop/Landscape of Flavors food courts

For many years, the combination of Pop Century and Art of Animation was my favorite place to stay at Walt Disney World. The price point of Pop couldn’t be beat, and I just can’t get enough of all the amazing details in AoA. The two resorts also shared a rarity in the theme park value resort world: Great Food Courts.

For me there was a time when the Everything Pop food court was a small scale version of 50’s Prime Time Café in DHS. There was no elaborate theming or any “show” atmosphere, but the food court offered items you couldn’t find anywhere else and felt more like home cooked meals from another era rather than the chicken strips/burgers/pizza slices most value resort venues offered.

Pop also had some fantastic desserts, including the incredible King Cupcake. Dedicated to the “King” Elvis Presley, this cupcake contains all the elements Elvis used in his favorite sandwich combined with a chocolate cupcake. Inside the cupcake was a dollop of banana custard, while on top there was peanut butter icing, candied bacon, and chocolate drizzle. Just AMAZING.

You also had items like the Everything Pop Sundae, which was an ice cream sundae topped with brownies, gummie worms, and pretty much every topping you can think of along with the entire dessert being encased by Pop Tarts set up like Stonehenge.

Pop Century is larger than life, and desserts like this showcased that.

Meanwhile, over at Art of Animation, the Landscape of Flavors food court opened to rapturous applause from the theme park community. My family were big fans of the create-your-own-pasta station (which includes several types of pasta, sauces, meat, and a whole bunch of fresh veggies to top it with) but there were many interesting choices as well that you don’t see at *any* Disney hotels, let alone value resorts…

Today, the food courts at Pop Century and Art of Animation share many of the exact same items (of which you’ll also find a the All Star Resorts.) The uniqueness and creativity of both menus has been stripped bare to maximize profits, but my heart will never forget that King cupcake (at least that’s what my cardiologist keeps telling me.)

# 4 – Osborne Lights

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood studios never failed to take my breath. Walking through the park and just being enveloped in Christmas lights is a feeling that I will remember and cherish forever.

The sheer awe and sheer scale of the Osborne Lights can’t be compared to anything else. Such a singular experience you couldn’t get anywhere else (and still can’t!)

There were so many great details in the lights, including Hidden Mickeys…

…a reference to the classic TV show Dinosaurs (along with the infamous leg lamp from A Christmas Story)…

…and a purple cat (whose location would change from year to year giving guests a challenge to discover it.)

As a merchandise guy, I’ll always love my Osborne Lights refillable mug.

Straight up E-Ticket.

# 3 – Star Wars Weekends

There is no denying that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a fantastically themed land with some truly great elements (Rise of the Resistance, Ronto Wraps. Savi’s lightsaber experience) along with some that are not-so-great (Smugglers Run, Blue Milk.)  However, while Star Wars fans were blessed with an incredible land, they lost one of the most fun things ever at WDW: Star Wars Weekends.

Star Wars Weekends were held at Disney Hollywood Studios and added a much needed touch of whimsy to a brand which sometimes can become a bit too serious. Even Disney’s advertisements for the event were off-the-charts good when it comes to theme park ads as they combined the stuff we see every day as theme park fans and mashed it up with elements from the Star Wars Universe.

Right from the jump, guests at Star Wars Weekends got a taste of the action as Stormtroopers would patrol the entrance to DHS.

My personal favorite part of Star Wars Weekends was seeing Disney characters dressed up as characters from Star Wars.

These characters could be seen at meet-and-greets…

…and as part of a large walk around parade.

The parade featured characters from all the Star Wars films along with various celebrities who would be appearing that weekend.

As a merchandise guy, another huge part of Star Wars Weekends for me was the addition of new products. Each year they would add on to my favorite toy line of all time, one that mashed up characters from Star Wars with Disney characters.

Hyperspace Hoopla was up there with Halloween Horror Night’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure as my all time favorite shows in a theme park. The show was based around a Star Wars dance-off and it was both irreverent and absolutely hilarious.

# 2 – Daytime Parades Outside of Magic Kingdom

Disney’s Magic Kingdom has one of the ALL TIME best day time parades with Festival of Fantasy, but none of the other three parks have parades any more. What’s up with that?!

Parades are good old fashioned family entertainment, with the side benefit of drawing people away from attractions (which is a win for those who don’t like parades.) Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade at Animal Kingdom had all of our favorite characters atop wildly colorful vehicles.

Along with a wide mix of characters from movies like Jungle Book, Pocahontas, The Lion King and more. There were also some very creative walk around characters and puppets with that distinctive Animal Kingdom DIY charm.

Looking back, there weren’t many positives when it came to the Covid-19 shutdown of the parks, but when Disney reopened, it had character motorcades at DHS.

Another motorcade at DHS “back in the day” was Disney’s Stars and Motorcars Parade. This was a parade that you may confuse with a hallucination, as it featured characters in specially themed cars that reflected their movie. For instance, there was a Mary Poppins car with carousel horses coming out the back, Snow White in a car designed to look like her dress, or a vehicle featuring Hades adorned with the flames of hell…

For many years DHS would also be home to “Limited Time Magic” parades that featured characters in support of a recently released television show (such as Dinosaurs) or animated movie (including Aladdin, Toy Story, and Mulan.)

EPCOT may have had the gold standard of parades with Tapestry of Nations. Featuring puppets from Michael Curry Design (who also did puppets for Diagon Alley’s Tales of Beedle the Bard show along with the Maleficent dragon float for Disney’s Festival of Fantasy parade,) and a fantastic soundtrack, Tapestry of Nations was sort of a parade version of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth in the sense of we’re never going to see anything like THIS again.

The Circus on Parade was part of Daredevil Circus Spectacular at EPCOT that was included in our article on 6 Things We STILL Can’t Believe Actually Happened at Walt Disney World.

The World Showcase Parade is one that was only seen a handful of time during the grand opening year of EPCOT, featuring “hundreds of dancers, musicians, and costumed characters” marching across World Showcase Promenade.

# 1 – The Void

“I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.” – Obi-wan Kenobi, Star Wars

I am NOT a huge fan of Virtual Reality gaming. In fact my first experience with VR was on a Legoland coaster. (This is of course completely discounting all the horrible “VR” over the years such as Aladdin’s Magic Carpet at DisneyQuest.) Like 3-D movies, I’ve always thought VR was a neat gimmick, but nothing that special. After doing The Void at Disney Springs, specifically Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, I was 100% convinced that VR is the future of the entertainment industry.

The Void experience was located at Disney Springs in a building connected to Once Upon a Toy.

A pre-show setting up the story of the experience featured the character Cassian Andor from Rogue One (who, years later, would be featured in a highly acclaimed show on Disney+).

Guests were outfitted with a special helmet and backpack, then literally walked into another world. I could not believe what I was experiencing.

As a rebel spy, you were transported to the lava planet Mustafar and as God as my witness it feels like you were there. One of my favorite parts of the entire experience is that it didn’t “dumb itself down” and all but made you figure things out on your own during the journey. You also had the smart aleck droid K-2SO (from Rogue One) along the experience, giving suggestions and funny comments about your ability in the game (or lack thereof).

At several points you got to shoot at attacking Storm Troopers and at the end even got a small taste of Darth Vader. It was everything the 10 year old me wanted and then some. A literal dream come true. After we finished, all I could think about was doing it again. The cost was $29.95 per person, and while the actual gameplay was only about 7-10 minutes long, it was worth every single penny.

Honorable Mention: Disney’s Magical Express

Disney’s Magical Express was a complimentary bus service that took Walt Disney World hotel guests to and from Orlando International Airport (MCO.)

At MCO, Magical Express had its own dedicated area.

Guests would hop onto their assigned bus, and be transported straight to their resort. If you wanted your Florida vacation to be completely in the Disney Bubble, Magical Express was the way to go.

Even better? Magical Express included luggage tags which ensured that your bags would go straight from your departure airport straight to your Disney hotel room! That’s right, no waiting at the MCO luggage carousel and schlepping them onto the bus. Once you checked your bags in back at home, the next time you saw them was when they showed up in your hotel room.

So there you have it: 6 Things Gone From WDW But Will Never Be Forgotten! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on BlueSky (@derekburgan).

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Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, Digital Maestro Scott Walker, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog, my personal protege Hunter “Elvey” Underwood, artist @SonderQuest, the mighty maven of merchandise Hedgehog’s Corner, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and “the Dadalorian” Nick, hot shot Michael Carelli, charter member of the Universal Four @Nitro230, the permit princess Alicia Stella, master cartographer Tommy Hawkins, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Absolutely no help was added by SeaWorld Influencer @SuperWeenieHtJr. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHide and you Potterheads will enjoy Meg’s other blog work over at the Central Florida Slug Club.