Mary Poppins Makeover Coming to CÃtricos
Walt Disney World has announced the opening of the newly reimagined CÃtricos at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, which will pay homage to the whimsy and elegance of Mary Poppins Returns. In this post, we’ll share photos of the new menu and commentary about the thematic overhaul.
This is one of a few recent announcements of changes to Walt Disney World’s flagship resort. Earlier this summer, Disney Vacation Club has announced plans to expand the Villas at Grand Floridian by overhauling the Big Pine Key building of existing hotel rooms at Walt Disney World’s flagship resort.
As discussed in our 2021-2022 Walt Disney World Hotel Construction Tracker, don’t be surprised if Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort receives a substantial overhaul in 2022 after the Contemporary and Polynesian Village Resorts are finished with their reimagining projects. There were rumors of big changes to the Grand Floridian pre-closure, but those have since fizzled out. However, it would make sense to take those rooms down next if occupancy remains low and other Magic Kingdom resorts can absorb the displaced guests…
As for the details of the reimagining of CÃtricos at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, the announcement was light on details and photos. There was just the one image–pictured below.
Basically, all we know right now is that the new-look CÃtricos will take subtle cues from the movie’s animated sequence. The dining room brings guests into a fanciful garden setting where you can “trip a little light fantastic” as you experience the restaurant surrounded by the glow from decorative lamps and chandeliers.
For this Signature Restaurant at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Chef Andres Mendoza crafted a new menu featuring Florida cuisine with a Mediterranean influence.
Even though CÃtricos will now be a restaurant with character-inspired decor, it’s still a restaurant with character. Guests dining at CÃtricos are asked to adhere to the minimum dress code requirements. Dressier attire is also welcome.
Starters at CÃtricos will include Sweet Corn Bisque with pickled fennel, popcorn, and fennel oil and a colorful Strawberry Salad with chamomile-infused goat cheese, frisée lettuce, bacon vinaigrette, and spiced sunflower seeds.
Entrées include Butter-poached Florida Cobia with mashed fingerling potatoes, grilled asparagus, and local mushrooms with a grapefruit beurre blanc or a delicious Guava Barbequed Short Ribs with aged cheddar creamy grits, roasted poblano, curtido slaw, and Brussels sprouts.
For a sweet ending to your meal, Pastry Chef Kristine Farmer created some truly delicious and decadent desserts.
These include the Warm Apple Rose with seasonal apple, marzipan layers, and frozen coconut milk as well as the Chocolate Torte, a dark chocolate financier, dark cherry compote, and vanilla bean mascarpone cream.
For those who enjoy an elevated food and wine experience, the new and exclusive Sommelier Room at CÃtricos will allow Sommelier Israel Perez and his team to source boutique wines that pair with special creations from Chef Andres.
The award-winning wine list includes a host of epic wines, sold by the ounce using the latest technology in order to insure both freshness of product and a first-class experience. Many wines are available by the glass, and sommeliers are on hand to suggest wine pairings.
CÃtricos will open on July 15, 2021. Advance Dining Reservations will be available on July 1, 2021.
Before we dig into the commentary, I want to start by re-sharing our “Grand Floridian Stay Report: Weak Rooms at Disney World’s Flagship Resort.” The title alone speaks volumes, but there’s more.
From that: “Grand Floridian simply cannot compete with the Four Seasons on the luxury level. Why not move the ‘battle’ to a playing field where the Four Seasons cannot compete with Disney? Lean into characters and theme, having more lavish Victorian designs with Dickensian Mickey & Minnie or Mary Poppins & penguins sprinkled into artwork and design flourishes.”
“Go all-in on Alice in Wonderland rooms, Beauty and the Beast rooms, Cinderella rooms, and whatever else…Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach have demonstrated that exactly this can be accomplished in a self-contained way that has minimal impact on overarching themes. The character rooms would draw families to the resort and the rest of the Grand Floridian could maintain its thematic integrity. It’s not like the lobby or common areas really need an overhaul—at least not like the Contemporary—anyway.”
Obviously, a restaurant is not a room.
However, I find myself more or less shrugging at the reimagining of CÃtricos into a Mary Poppins-inspired restaurant. This is despite being a pretty fierce critic of the Enchanted Rose Beauty and the Beast Bar, which I still to this day maintain should’ve gone to Disney’s Riviera Resort.
For one thing, the single photo of the interior at CÃtricos looks very subtle. If you didn’t tell me that design was inspired by Mary Poppins, I never would’ve known. (Even after telling me, I’m struggling to see the connections.)
It’s easy to forget, but CÃtricos actually went down for refurbishment shortly before the closure of Walt Disney World last March. Nothing was ever announced about scope or details, nor was any concept art released. My guess is that this “reimagining” is a scaled back version of whatever the original vision was for this space, and it’s probably not going to be nearly as dramatic of an overhaul as Enchanted Rose.
For another thing, Mary Poppins makes sense at the Grand Floridian. It’s already there in the Villas, and it more or less makes thematic sense at a Victorian hotel. While I don’t need intellectual property everywhere I go at Walt Disney World–especially in fine dining locations–this particular use of IP does not bother me in the least.
Even the original Club 33 at Disneyland had subtle nods to Walt Disney-era films. This is not really comparable to that from a quality perspective (those were props), but the point is that light touches are not necessarily incongruous with fancy restaurants.
Finally, there’s the simple reality that CÃtricos needed something, anything in my opinion. It has felt tired for years, and maybe this will be that long overdue shot in the arm. I know some fans love it–and we’ve had some good menu items in there over the years, to be sure.
However, if I had to pick a Signature Restaurant for a special occasion, it would be dead last on my list. It just doesn’t resonate with me. I’m not sure that this will be what turns things around for CÃtricos–or at least, causes my opinion of it to do a 180–but I cannot envision any of these changes making me like it less. These changes seem pretty low-risk, with a decent amount of upside and not much downside. I can see other Walt Disney World and CÃtricos fans disagreeing, but that’s just my take as someone who is pretty indifferent to CÃtricos. All of my current frustrations are focused squarely on the awful new menu at Trail’s End. “Unfortunately,” I don’t have any outrage to spare for this.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the Mary Poppins-inspired reimagining of CÃtricos at the Grand Floridian? Are you on board with the “subtle” nods to intellectual property, or does this not belong in a Signature Restaurant? Are you a CÃtricos or Grand Floridian fan? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
It’s interesting that most of the recent upgrades to the Deluxe resorts have been to inject character-inspired decor. Meanwhile, two of the newest hotel construction projects, Riviera and the Gran Destino Tower, are very light in the character-inspired decor department. While there’s obviously a market for all kinds of decor up and down the character-inspired scale, the different approaches seem somewhat at odds from an overall strategy perspective. Am I missing something?
Gran Destino is an outlier because it was built specifically for conventions, so it has that clientele in mind. Those aren’t happening right now for obvious reasons, but that’s why it exists.
I’d argue that Riviera Resort does have a decent character presence. While it’s not ornately themed, there are a ton of French and Italian movie posters, and a big deal has been made about its collection of Disney art inspired by famous European pieces. While it’s not to my tastes, it’s like a mashup of luxury and Disney, and I’m betting it scores well with casual guests and Disney fans.
I think your are right that Disney needs to go all in and compete where they can win. We’ve watched them build two tower type resorts (Gran Destino and Riviera) and they’ve updated rooms with bland colors and furnishings in what may be an attempt to appeal to the luxury, Hilton type tourist, but it just doesn’t work for a “Disney” guest. Disney can’t manage hotels the way Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, etc. do so they should play to their strengths and utilize their IP. I think when most people book a Disney resort, they want and expect Disney all over the place. From the WDW Resort TV to the characters on a bar of soap, they want it. The Grand Floridian needs an update. While I like that resort alot, the rooms are boring and expensive. I can stay in one of half a dozen Hiltons or Marriotts on property for 1/3 the cost with better room amenities. Mary Poppins, Alice, and Peter Pan would fit in great at the GF. Citricos has not been on my radar for years so a reboot of sorts is needed too. I’m looking forward to it and hope to hear some interesting news on a room design too. Just please no Frozen, Pixar, or Avengers.
Tom, this might be a little off topic, but when you suggest infusing some character into the rooms at Grand Floridian you list Caribbean Beach as an example of how it can be done. Are you referring to the “dreaded Pirate rooms?” I have never stayed in one but they are only ever referred to as “dreaded” in your posts which makes me think you and/or a lot of guests don’t care for them. Am I missing something?
Those rooms are less desirable because of their location, plus the bed quality, size, and comfort. They were redone in the Pirates style because they were among the last to book at Walt Disney World. It was lipstick on a pig, so to speak.
However, it’s pretty lipstick…and not the lipstick’s fault it’s being put on a pig. There’s nothing wrong with the underlying Pirates style or look. Does that make more sense?
I love the resort (& would stay there with a reasonable rack rate reduction) and stop by for a meal and drink every trip. However we’re avoiding it until the orchestra returns. At those rates they can afford it even with low occupancy.
The cobia *may* be on the menu to keep the connection to Floridian cuisine, since that’s been the justification for keeping the CÃtricos name after most of the citrus-related dishes were removed several menu changes ago. If this ends up being a elegant refresh with minor thematic touches, I could see wanting to keep the name so people don’t expect characters.
@Beth
Good catch! I was originally thinking of the animatronic bird from “A Spoonful of Sugar,” but you’re right, a “Feed the Birds” reference is more likely, and very classy.
Citricos has served consistently fresh, excellent food since at least the early 2000s. We made a habit of going over trip. Our only alarming experience — a condescending jerk behind the bar — was fixed when the manager sensed our discomfort and got us a round of champagne and dessert for everyone on the house.
I agree with Tom about The Enchanted Rose and about Citricos needing a makeover. So far this looks decent.
In addition to the obvious Victorian décor, the little bird on the lamp is a subtle nod to Mary Poppins’ song, Feed the Birds. The rose apple dessert is Mary’s favorite flower. I think it’s all very understated and lovely. Elegant and romantic.
We’ve had very good experiences at Citricos. Often the restaurants are our “excuse” to visit these beautiful resorts and it is nice to see more options come available.
Citricos is first class in every way. It’s hard to beat a window table overlooking the impressive GF grounds. I like getting a “little” dressed-up for dinner. It’s on my short list for special occasions. Can’t wait to see it this Fall.
Seems like yet another pass at “As long as people are willing to pay more for less” philosophy. I’d love to see more quality theming everywhere. That’s what has always made Disney Disney for me. From the beginning (my first visit was around ‘66,) the value & magic was the full experience. They are not thinking forward to future generations when they fail to seed young ones with a fully immersive experience. My grandchildren are not as easily impressed as my generation. And yet, the immersion grows weaker with each new update. Puzzling.
We loved Citricos even though it was freezing cold in there with the air con but one of the best meals we had hope they haven’t changes the menu too much it’s in our list for next year !
Tom, I think you’re spot on that Citrico’s doesn’t have the same wow factor as other signatures. When we last ate there, we were underwhelmed. It felt like an average restaurant with some fancy desserts.
As long as it is subtle, I love the idea of mild theming. Yes, it’s fine dining, but it’s also at WDW. V&A’s should be left alone for “serious” dining but other restaurants can benefit from IP-based enhancements. I don’t want to see Lightning McQueen posters at Le Cellier but have no problem with appropriate theming that non-Disney fans could easily miss – as long as theming isn’t at the expense of food quality (I’m look at you Chef Mickey’s).
V&A’s showcases Isreal Perez’s knowledge and experience. Asking him to be involved at Citrico’s can only improve it. Also, it gives more diners the chance to ask him about his TV acting career!
@Jim, I agree. The menu sounds tasty, but doesn’t seem to make any connections to the purported theme. Then again, I didn’t see any Mary Poppins connections in the concept photos, either. Big shrug.
We actually love the old Citrico’s. We consider it one of the most under-rated restaurants at Disney. Not sure if that will continue to be the case after this re-imagining.
Your article says it will “now be a restaurant with characters…” Which ones?
To clarify, with character-inspired decor. It will not be character dining.
I don’t understand why Disney is reinventing this restaurant instead of gearing up tried and true favorites like 1900 Park Fare and Hoop-Di-Doo. Nothing about this sounds appealing. Disappointed with this news.
Citricos closed for refurbishment last year shortly before the parks closed, so this isn’t really something new, just the finishing of a previously-started project.
I’m 100% sure the Grand Floridian will undergo an overhaul, probably around April next year. Why? Because we’re staying at the Villas on a DVC rental! We’re two for two in recent resort stays – we were at Coronado in 2018 during the Grand Destino construction and stayed DVC at the Poly in April while the rest of the resort was closed. I’m sure this means we’re in for it again next year
Is anyone seeing a disconnect between Mary Poppins and a very modern foodie menu? How about a modern take on English food. And why keep the name “Citricos”. Aside from the Rose re-do, the rest of the place is either overtly or subtly Mary Poppins or at least Victorian. Just because Chapek speaks. doesn’t mean it shouldn’t make sense. If his benchmark is the four seasons. this is not an auspicious start. More like Eisner on those days when he did not have a good idea.
Potentially agree on whether keeping the name Citricos makes sense, not sure about the rest. If the Mary Poppins decor is truly subtle, most guests may not even notice it at all.
Never been to Citricos. We love Narrcoosses.
My son Loved 1900 Park fare for breakfast with Mary Poppins, Alice and Madd hatter (loved the most).
I just hope Character meals change soon.
Tom, will it be reimagined with characters once it is open this year?