Day 9: Disney Resort Christmas Tree Trail Part 3 / H&H@TP 2017

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Maya Grill is a table service restaurant at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. It’s a resort that we have never been to before, so we were looking forward to both visiting Coronado Springs and to our dinner at Maya Grill. And of course to see the Christmas decorations!

Coronado Springs theme is a blend of Spanish, Mexican, and American Southwest, and as someone who loves these cultures, I found myself falling in love with everything about the resort. I would definitely like to come back during the day to check it out. Back when we visited in 2017, they were building (or at least starting to build) a new part to the hotel – Gran Destino Tower. So on our future trips (likely to be 2021 now…), we will definitely be checking all the new stuff out (which by then will be not-so-new!).

Anyway, back to the Christmas decor. Considering the strong theme of the resort, the decorations were quite standard looking. The ones here were mainly decorated with shades of gold.

The Cast Members at Coronado Springs were having a wreath decorating contest, and all the wreaths were on display. The contest was over, and the winner was the Snow White/Magic Mirror/Evil Queen wreath, with The Nightmare Before Before Christmas wreath the runner up.

We had a bit of time before our Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) at Maya Grill, so popped into Panchito’s Gifts & Sundries. They had some really unique items for sale, and naturally, I wanted to buy ALL the things, but restrained myself and bought my standard items – magnets and pins!

After a spot of shopping, we were called in for our reservation and were shown to our table. It wasn’t too busy which was nice, and we were given menus to look at while we waited for our server.

Our server introduced himself and took our drinks order – iced tea, Coke, and Sprite – all refillable. He brought our drinks out, along with a basket of bread. I can’t remember the exact names of everything we received, but looking at the photo I took, it looks like some sort of flat/cracker bread and some little cornbread muffins.

Maya Grill

Starters…

Me: Fried Calamari – Lightly breaded crispy calamari topped with onions, cilantro, tomatoes, Serrano peppers and lime oil with house rémoulade ($12.99)

Him: Tacos Durango – Taco trio featuring beef taco with chipotle salsa, a shredded chicken taco with salsa verde and a cochinita pibil taco with pickled onions and carrots served in flour tortillas ($10.99)

The Boy: House Guacamole – Hand cut avocado, lime, onions, Serrano peppers, pickled onions, and cilantro served with freshly made tortilla chips ($8.99)
Add to your guacamole experience: Fruity – Pomegranate – $2 Spicy – Habañero Peppers, Mango, Onion, Chicharrones – $2

There were five starters to choose from, so not very many really, but we were happy with what we ordered. We are a bit of a “share food” kinda family, so that is what happened with our first course. The guac and chips were good, and the calamari was crunchy and not overly chewy. The tacos were delicious too. For those interested, one of the fillings was cochinita pibil which is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Peninsula.

Entrées…

Me: Maya Grill’s Fajita Skillet – A sizzling skillet topped with your choice of steak or chicken loaded with sautéed onions, bell peppers, and sour cream. Served with cilantro rice, esquites and warm flour tortillas ($25.99)

Both Liam and I went with the fajitas. Even though there were several interesting sounding dishes, I just really fancied some good steak fajitas! And they were good. The esquites – which is Mexican street corn was delicious.

Him: Yucatan Roasted Pork – Slowly cooked pork, orange achiote, pickled red onion, guacamole, chilaquiles verde and corn tortillas ($23.99)

Steve did step out of the box with his dish – which by the description sounds like the cochinita pibil in his taco starter.

A couple of notes on some of the items in his dish:

Achiote is another name for annatto, an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree native to tropical regions from Mexico to Brazil. It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. (Thanks Wiki!)

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican peasant dish of fried tortillas bathed in green or red salsa (depending on the region), and topped with queso fresco (fresh cheese). Thanks, Epicurious! The chilaquiles are what you can see on the left side of the skillet.

The Boy: Maya Grill’s Fajita Skillet – A sizzling skillet topped with your choice of steak or chicken loaded with sautéed onions, bell peppers, and sour cream. Served with cilantro rice, esquites and warm flour tortillas ($25.99)

We were way too stuffed for dessert, which was a shame as there were some yummy offerings including Lemon Sorbet, Mango Sorbet, Coconut Flan (although my husband would disagree – he hates coconut!); Chocolate Abuelita Panna Cotta; and Ancho Chili Crème brûlée.

They also had small dessert shots, but even that was too much! There was Key Lime; Cappuccino Dulce De Leche; Chocolate Mud Pie; Peanut Butter Parfait; and Gran Marnier Berries N’ Cream.

We didn’t have any alcoholic drinks, but there was a selection of tequilas available, including a Traditional Tequila Flight; and several handcrafted margaritas such as Mango Blueberry Basil, Jalapeno, and Pineapple.

You can also order a pitcher or glass of Mexican Sangria which is made with Tequila, orange liquor, agave nectar, and fruit juices.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Maya Grill and would definitely return in the future. We felt like it was one of Disney’s hidden gems. If you enjoy Mexican and Tex-Mex food this is one to check out.

After paying the bill, we took a little walk outside – the resort surrounds a lake called Lago Dorado, which we couldn’t see much of as it was very dark out by now. Plus Disney Resorts (and Parks too) are always dimly lit! Like I said, we will certainly revisit in the future to explore Coronado Springs more.

And that is another day over… I know this is taking forever, but I plan to have it finished before the year is out!

Read about the day after:
Day 10: A Star Wars Kinda Day
Breakfast at The Wave / Contemporary / Bay Lake Tower / Hollywood Studios / Magic Kingdom

Read about the day before:
Day 8: Hubby’s 45th Birthday
Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail / Lunch at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ / Dole Whips from Pineapple Lanai / Christmas Wishes from Poly

» Read ALL the days!

More Disney Trip Reports

• Disney Magic At Sea (Staycation Cruise UK) 2021
• Ohana Means Family Trip 2022 < Coming Soon!
• Four Resorts, Two Festivals 2019
• Hibiscus & Holly at The Poly 2017
• WDW-40:2016
• Christmas at Disneyland Paris 2015
• Halloween in The Wilderness 2015
• Dine Around Disney 2014
• Back To The Magic 2013
• The First Time 2011
• Disneyland Paris 2010

I have included links to my camera equipment.
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The camera I use for my Disney photography is a Canon EOS 70D.
The two main lenses I use are Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro and Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC Art. Both of these lenses will also fit Nikon and Sony DSLRs.
I also take some photos on my iPhone7 for sharing on social media – follow my Disney Instagram account – LoveDisneyPhotos.
Pool photos are taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5. A similar model is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT30EB-A.
Videos are taken with a Panasonic HC-V720, although the newer model is the Panasonic HC-V770.
Any photo editing is done with Photoshop or with Instagram editing features and filters.

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