The Quest for Coffee

Way back before they had Starbucks in Disney World, or even better Joffrey's Coffee, it was hard to find a decent cup of coffee. All of the resorts and quick service restaurants had only NesCafe.

Some people like the robust overly bold flavor of Nescafe, but for me, it was the equivalent of sludge in a cup. It's flavor always made me think of the liquid in the Monster's Inc. breakroom that Mr. Waternoose was drinking when asking Sully for a scare demonstration. So, to me it was undrinkable.

Every morning I would go down with my refillable mug and make me a coffee to wake up and embark on my park day. And every morning I would try and fail to doctor my coffee to something drinkable. I would be cranky because I had not had enough caffeine.

One day my husband, then fiance' Bradley decided to help me find a good cup of coffee, something that I would enjoy, and likely something that would help me be more personable. Thus, our quest began.

We were at the Magic Kingdom that day and we had lunch at The Crystal Palace. I was talking to my in-laws about needing a cup of coffee that I didn't have to doctor so heavily. A cast member overheard our conversation and suggested that we got to The Polynesian resort, they had a coffee bar there, and they assured me that their coffee was fantastic.

So a few hours later Brad and I boarded the Monorail and headed to the Polynesian. I love the Polynesian and dream of staying there at least once. It has so much character and the theming is so beautiful. We arrived off of the monorail station and directly to the left of the entrance was a coffee bar- that was selling sushi. We did not know that the coffee bar was only open morning hours and then was a sushi bar for the rest of the day. We asked the cast member and they explained and I was a bit disappointed, but at least we had tried.

Brad asked if there was anywhere else to get coffee. They recommended Captain Cook's which is the quick-service restaurant for that resort. We went down and I ordered a coffee and Bradley ordered some chips and we sat down, only to find that my coffee was more Nescafe. I was dismayed but Brad remained undeterred, so we asked the cast member at Cook's where to find a coffee that wasn't the same that was everywhere. They suggested the Grand Floridian. They told us that there was a cafe there near Victoria and Albert's. So off we went.

We arrived at the cafe, feeling underdressed, and approached the cast member, who was more than kind and happy to help. We explained our dilemma and he informed us that no, they had the same coffee there, but to try the quick service restaurant there, that they may have some flavors to help. So again, we moved on.

We arrived at the quick-service restaurant and explained to yet another cast member what we were doing, and they said that no, they too only had the same coffee. We left, me feeling slightly dejected as we had been merely looking for a cup of coffee, and it had seemed to become like the quest for the Holy Grail. I remember mentioning as much to Bradley and telling him, we don't have to keep going, and that I could make do with what I had, and that being at Disney World with him was worth not having coffee for a few more days.

He reassured me that he was having fun, and he had an idea and would I be willing to try at least one more place. I remember thinking he was crazy but at this point, I had nothing else to lose. So he led me back to the Monorail, and we rode over to the Contemporary resort. I remember stopping to look in the shops and Brad asking a cast member about coffee.

He came back with a grin and told me the directions he had been given. We went down passing the conference rooms on the second floor, on to the first floor, and past the resort check-in and concierge. He asked another cast member and she said "you're so close- just go around this corner"

As we rounded the corner we discovered Contemporary Grounds, a coffee bar that had specialty coffees, and better yet, it was open! I ordered an iced mocha and had my first sip ever of Joffrey's Coffee and fell in love.

The four-hour detour made it truly a quest worth the effort.

credit for photo goes to Disneyparks.com

Now every trip to Disney World, he and I make a point to make a special trip to Contemporary Grounds, to get my Joffrey's coffee. Now, you can get Joffrey's everywhere in the parks, and I recommend it and if you ever get a chance to try it you definitely should. It is now my favorite coffee and I choose it almost exclusively while we are down there.