DISH OF THE WEEK: Pineapple Float at ALOHA ISLE at Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Growing up in South Florida, we went to Disney World a lot. Although my family were not terribly adventurous eaters, you would have thought I would have fully explored the food options at the Disney theme parks.

Sure, I remember eating at Epcot’s Morocco and Germany when I was a kid, but my other Disney food memories are mostly burgers, pizza, and Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream.

So it’s not completely surprising that my first introduction to Dole Whip was actually in New York at an Hawaiian poké restaurant attempting to emulate the iconic theme park treat. I didn’t love it when I tried it then, but when returning to Disney World with my family and young son, I thought I should try the original and see what I had been missing all these years.

We spent three full days at the parks with my entire family. I’ll spare you all the details, but it turns out my son is an adventurous thrill seeker when it comes to rides but less so when it comes to food.

While everybody else stopped for typical soft serve in Fantasyland, I made a bee-line back to Adventureland to the Aloha Isle Refreshment stand right behind the Enchanted Tiki Room.

This is where the famous Dole Whip can be found giving hints of Polynesian culture and flavors. In its pure form, Dole Whip is a creamy pineapple soft serve, yet nowadays there are all sorts of variations, sundaes, and flavors.

I stuck with something close to that original flavor in the form of a Pineapple Float. Instead of sweet soda, the liquid here is Dole pineapple juice with a swirl of coconut and pineapple soft serve.

In the Florida heat, this was utterly refreshing and I felt like I was getting at least some nutrients compared to some of the other empty gutbomb calories found elsewhere in the park.

This was a one-time Disney World post. There are plenty of other food bloggers out there who make their livelihood from reviewing Disney food. I’m a bit less interested in getting too deep into theme park cuisine, but I am sure glad I tried something as iconic to this place as pizza and cheesecake are to where I live. Price: $6.99