The Solo Scale:

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When you’re headed to Disney World, you need to eat. Perhaps luckily or unluckily, there are so many options that you may fall victim to analysis paralysis when it comes to choosing where to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner during your vacation. Even worse, your stomach may abandon you by only offering so much space. I know for me, that’s usually breakfast. I typically don’t have the appetite to do anything more than a quick protein bar or a sweet snack. My go-to options in the morning are Summer House’s Cookie Bar and Gideon’s, to name two of the cookie options I like the most.

However, when it comes to dinner, you’re still spoiled for choice. While the parks or Disney Springs are your first stops, there’s also a lot of great resort dining available. If you’re staying at Coronado Springs, you get multiple options, including Three Bridges.

Before the food review, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. As a result of recent policy changes from Disney, you can’t board a bus from Disney Springs without a hotel reservation. That may eventually expand and happen at the parks. Similarly, without a reservation, sometimes ride shares are being turned away. Three Bridges is not a reservation-based restaurant, which means that the safest way to enjoy is twofold:

1. Stay on property, which is a fantastic idea anyway. Coronado Springs is an amazing moderate resort with the tower and the village options. The rooms are the most spacious of the moderate category. It’s quieter than other resorts and has tons of pools and amenities
   
2. There is one experience at Three Bridges that comes with a reservation — the Sangria Experience. If you book this, you have the reservation required to get on property and then dine afterwards. There’s also an art class that takes place here. S,o while both of these are supplemental, it’s a guaranteed way to not deal with issues. That said, we’ll get into why I’d avoid the sangria experience — namely because of what’s on the menu.

Since there’s no reservations, visiting means you’re at the mercy of how busy it is. I went twice. Once at opening when it was an easy get. The second time with my friend was at about 7PM, at which point it was pretty busy. You put your name on the waitlist and give your phone number to be called when a table is ready. Even though there were a lot of people waiting, it only took thirty minutes before a table opened up for us. I recommend walking around the Coronado Springs lake.

Once the table is ready, you receive a text and check in with the host staff for your table assignment. There’s also a handful of bar seating if you don’t want to wait for a table. The restaurant does have some cover and heating lamps, which makes it a worthwhile choice for any time of year.

I did find it a little breezy and cool on a March night. Having a sweater or shawl with you can help in case the temperature dips a little. The menu for Three Bridges is very Spanish inspired, just like the Coronado Springs hotel, but there’s some pretty familiar menu items if you’re not feeling so adventurous.

However, it can’t be ignored that one of the biggest draws of Three Bridges is its sangria.

The four sangrias are about a half-pour, so two full drinks. They come in a very fun tower and have red, rosé, and white versions. My favourite was the sparkling wine sangria, which is something I rarely see. This lasted through the whole meal and gave lots of taste options, which was amazing.

On to the food, there are multiple main meals, but something on the appetizer menu drew my eye first. Given that my travelling companion was celiac, it also benefitted her because there was a gluten-free option. This is the Trio of Dips. The three dips are a queso, a corn dip, and a guacamole. They come with a heaping basket of freshly fried chips. Even better, if you run out, you get unlimited refills. This was so good that I ordered it again when I visited Three Bridges solo at the end of my trip and it was just as filling and delicious.

During the first night, being able to split it meant that I could also eat a main — the burger, in this case. I think I went back and forth on this a hundred times. It’s a basic smash burger with some shoestring fries. After a long day of walking around a theme park, it really hit the spot. While the trio of dips was good, the substantial burger was really the meal that I needed. The burger was absolutely divine with caramelized onions that were jammy and sweet, arugula on the bottom and an amazing grill. The fries come with a garlic aioli and they’re a perfect portion. The one downside is that it did steal away any appetite for dessert. At least, during this visit.

During my second visit, I went with the Trio of Dips again. Because I didn’t go with a main, I had room for dessert. I went with the one I had been eyeing since making my reservation at Coronado Springs — the churros. Unfortunately, I was a little let down by the churros. I found them overcooked and dry. That could have been because I was the first seating, so maybe the oil was a bit too hot or they were left in a bit too long. They were still good, but I had some higher hopes for them. I far prefer the ones that I’ve had at Nomad Lounge a few times now, as I found them a bit more substantial and less dry.

Overall, Three Bridges is a fantastic dining option at Coronado Springs. The central location on the lake means you get great views, are centrally situated, and there’s amazing food and service on top of it. If you’re staying on property, you should check out the menu for yourself and pick a night to drop by. You definitely won’t regret it.

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