Our Preview Tour of The Edison, Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante and Enzo’s Hideaway Tunnel Bar at Disney Springs

Hi everyone!

We were invited to tour the newest concepts coming to Disney Springs this winter. For a couple of years, The Edison has been taking shape on the edge of Village Lake in what was the former Adventurers Club location. More recently announced, also by the Patina Restaurant Group, are three Italian concepts as part of the same complex: Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante, Pizza Ponte and Enzo’s Hideaway Tunnel Bar. While each is a very separate location in offerings and atmosphere, they are all grouped together by story and connected physically. We were unable to take photos ourselves yesterday (the buildings aren’t yet 100% “show ready” to put it into Disney speak), but they are close to opening – The Edison will have its grand opening on December 31st, 2017 with a specially ticketed New Year’s Eve event and the other restaurants look very close to ready. We only did not tour Pizza Ponte, which will be a fast casual concept.

We were provided with photos, and I will talk a little about each location. These four concepts more than double the Patina Restaurant Group Florida portfolio, which already has my favorite local Italian restaurant in Epcot’s Via Napoli, along with Epcot’s Tutto Italia and Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs.

The backstory for the three Italian restaurants is that this location used to be the Disney Springs air terminal. Eventually it closed down, but Maria & Enzo, Italian immigrants who owned a bakery inside, purchased the terminal. Maria & Enzo’s is a spacious, Southern Italian restaurant with vaulted ceilings and this globe on the ceiling. The globe has three gold dots representing Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Walt’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri. Maria & Enzo’s will have 100 different wines to choose from. The restaurant will serve imported Italian pastas, fresh fish and aged steak, with executive chef Theo Schoenegger at the helm. Since we did not visit Pizza Ponte, I will just mention that it will be a more casual restaurant with pizza, pastries, Italian sandwiches and such.

There is also a mural above that includes a variety of locations, including New Orleans, Daytona Beach and Cuba. These are geographically correct as far as placement. The mural is very colorful, offering a vibrant touch to the restaurant (as does the carpet).

Here is a look at the mural with the globe. What can’t be seen in this photo is how spacious this room feels, including large windows with flowing curtains overlooking Village Lake and with a view of Characters in Flight. And there is a First Class Lounge where guests can be upgraded to. This concept is meant to invoke the golden age of travel, and is to be “elegantally casual”. Guests can wear their theme park clothes as they can anywhere else throughout the restaurants except for The Edison after 10pm each night.

Here is a look up at the ceiling. You can get  a feel for the height.

Next, we walked through Enzo’s Hideaway. It is probably the most interesting for me as far as a place to spend time dining in regards to atmosphere. The storyline on this is that it used to be bootlegger tunnels during prohibition. Enzo turned it into a speakeasy, and now it will be a restaurant with Roman Italian cuisine. For me, it has the feel of a wine cellar. Expect a large selection of rum drinks here.

There is a large graffiti mural here.

Our last stop was The Edison. The Edison’s backstory is that it used to be a power plant and features a working clock tower which will probably be its signature icon. This location will be family friendly by day, but 21+ at 10:00 p.m. That is also the time when there will be a moderate dress code – think signature dining locations at Walt Disney World, not fancy but no flip-flops and tank tops, etc. There will be a cover charge at that time along with entertainment that can include dancers and aerialists. This will be a milder version of its L.A. counterpart, more cabaret than burlesque.

There are authentic artifacts here, including the boilers. Many of the restaurant pieces were real working items. There is also a Boiler Bar here.

And guests can enjoy the Breaker Bar – each bar will have signature cocktails unique to that bar, which will encourage guests to move around the venue. Also, there will be a “Bartender’s Breakfast”, which will include late night breakfast items. I don’t know what time that will start yet.

Areas of The Edison include he Ember Parlor, Telegraph Lounge, The Patent Office, The Tesla Lounge, The Radio Room, Waterfront Patio, and The Lab. We didn’t see the entire location. I asked as far as capacity, and was told about 450 standing or 280 seated. This makes it also a very attractive option for convention groups and anyone looking for a large venue to host an event in what is an industrial steampunk type of atmosphere.

The Edison has a 1901 Club, where guests can sign up for exclusive invitations to preview events and tastings, along with receiving monthly entertainment calendars.

Trans-Global Airways with what appears to be a nod to Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald’s “If You Can Dream it, You Can Do it” quote.

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It was fun getting a sneak peek at these soon-to-open restaurants!

Find out more about these locations on the Patina Group website.