Pandora’s Satu’li Canteen will introduce Mobile Order to Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World has released details on the menu that will be served in Satu’li Canteen when Pandora – The World of Avatar opens at Animal Kingdom on May 27, and with the new food comes a new Mobile Order system for getting service through your smartphone.
The Satu’li Canteen is themed as the former main mess hall of the Resources Development Administration (RDA, the human antagonists from the film) 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, 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.
The fast-casual menu features “familiar dishes with a twist” focusing on customizable food bowls. 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 kids, 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).
Disney has experimented with mobile food ordering in the past, notably at the Backlot Express in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Be Our Guest in the Magic Kingdom, but Satu’li Canteen will be the resort’s first quick-service restaurant to offer it full-time through the new Mobile Order system. This new option to order and pay for meals on-the-go within the My Disney Experience app allows 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. It isn’t possible to modify your order once placed, but you can cancel it at any time until you tap “I’m here.”
Disney Dining Plan is accepted at Satu’li Canteen but, at least at first, Mobile Order will only accept credit cards; all discounts and special dietary requests must also go through a live cashier. The Mobile Order system, which can only be used through the My Disney Experience smartphone app (and not via a web browser at disneyworld.com), will roll out to additional fast-casual and quick-service restaurants later this year.
To get a sneak peak inside Pandora, watch these World of Avatar preview videos:
