Festively themed
Pepper Market, a quick service restaurant, is located inside El Centro at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Over the years it would seem that Pepper Market has undergone a bit of an identity crisis, but now it seems to have finally decided to join the ranks of the many other food courts located inside Disney’s Value and Moderate resorts. Let me explain.
Background
The first time my family and I ate at Pepper Market was over 8 years ago. The set-up was a bit complex. After being seated at an assigned table we ordered drinks from a server. Then we wandered to various food stations, chose what we wanted to eat and asked a Cast Member to stamp our ticket indicating the items chosen. After our meal was over, we took all of our tickets to the cashiers located at the exits and paid for what we had ordered. The biggest complaint about this practice was that Guests were required to pay a “service charge” for the servers at a counter service establishment. Basically, at one time a mandatory gratuity was added.
Then Pepper Market was put into a testing mode and became a buffet-only restaurant. This was a win for those on the dining plan because they were basically eating at a buffet restaurant but only being charged one counter service credit. This was a problem for other Guests, however – especially those who only wanted to order a small meal or side. They had to pay a fixed price for the buffet meal. After that testing period ended, Pepper Market reverted back to its original model. However, the problems that existed before were still making Guests unhappy … until now.
While the stations are still by the exits, cashiers have been moved to the interior of the restaurant
Renovation!
After a renovation in the past year, Pepper Market has gone the way of food courts, to the delight of most Guests. Gone are the servers, forced gratuity and tickets to be stamped. Cashiers have been moved to the interior of the restaurant, making it easy for diners to pay for their meals prior to eating, typical of other food courts. Disney also added a self-serve drink station to Pepper Market, so it is easy to grab a cold or hot beverage on your own or top off your refillable mug. The menus are largely unchanged, although fajitas have disappeared much to our disappointment. However, the menu still features a huge variety of choices. In addition to a separate kids’ menu, breakfast features favorites like Mickey waffles, made-to-order omelets, pancakes, cereal, fruit and pastries. Lunch and dinner favorites include soups, salads, burgers, chicken, ribs, flatbread pizzas and pasta in addition to a large dessert station. Many items are prepared to-order, and as in any restaurant, that could lead to longer wait times.
Newly added beverage station at Pepper Market
The atmosphere in Pepper Market is something that has not changed over the years. While this is a busy food court, the vibrantly colored decorations give it a warmth that we really enjoy. It is like a festive Mexican bazaar in the middle of a Disney resort. Location in El Centro is incredibly convenient for Guests staying at the Coronado Springs Resort, near the front desk and shopping, and a bus stop is right out front when you are ready to head to the Parks. Overall, I think the changes are ones that Guests can appreciate and we will definitely stop by on our next trip.
Pepper Market hours: Breakfast – 7:00-11:00; Lunch – 11:30-2:00; Dinner – 4:30-11:00
Disney Dining Plan accepted (Quick-Service)
The original Pepper Market was the best.
We have been since the most recent changes and were SO happy!! Those punch tickets were very confusing. Much more enjoyable now.
Just returned from our fourth family (13 of us) vacation at Coronado Springs over the past eight years. We have always loved the Pepper Market. However, this year we were disappointed. There were long lines. We tried various times to eat, but the result was the same. One morning for breakfast, the line for eggs was 26 deep. The people working behind the counter had to bring out their own supplies, thus causing the wait to be even longer. By the time you waited in another line to pay, the food was already cold. I must say that the staff was friendly and worked very hard. The problem was that there were not enough staff members to care for all of the people. (This was not a free dining week.)
We also missed the quick hot dog and hamburger stand that use to be open after late night hours at the parks.
My family and I stayed at Coronado Springs Resort 5 times and we have always like the Pepper Market due in part to the choice of food and the setup. The system with the stamped card worked well in our opinion and on our last visit in June of 2014 the manager told us about the change to the typical food court. We voiced our dislike.
We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort one year and the one thing that led us back to Coronado was the food court. The lines were long to pay for your food which meant it was most likely cold by the time you sat down to eat it and your party was eating at different times if they went to different food stations. In addition, if your party went to different food stations it meant either waiting to all go through the check out at the same time (food was cold) or several checks and if you are paying with cash everyone needs to have money. after everyone was done.
We are now at looking at a trip to WDW in 2016 and really favor Coronado Springs, but I am disappointed to hear that the changes were made to a food court. This may change our minds, except that all resorts have the system.