Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory — Restaurant in Lake Buena Vista

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory promises to bring the bold flavors of Louisiana to your plate, and I was more than ready for the ride. I went all in with two classics: the jambalaya with cornbread and the gumbo—both featuring sausage and chicken thighs, because if you're not eating something simmered to perfection with meat and spice, are you even in the South?

The Jambalaya – A Love Story

Let’s start with the good news: the jambalaya was an absolute winner. The tomato-based sauce was rich and hearty, giving every bite that slow-cooked, deep Southern comfort feel. The rice was perfectly cooked, the sausage packed just the right amount of smoky spice, and the chicken was juicy and tender. If food had a personality, this dish would be that warm, slightly eccentric aunt who always smells like paprika and gives the best hugs. And then there was the cornbread—moist, slightly sweet, and basically the best edible spoon you could ask for. If they had given me a plate of just jambalaya and an entire loaf of cornbread, I wouldn’t have complained.

The Gumbo – A Cautionary Tale

And then… there was the gumbo. Oh, gumbo. I had such high hopes. It looked promising—dark, rich broth, a generous amount of chicken and sausage, and that unmistakable slow-simmered aroma. But then I took a bite and immediately wondered if I had accidentally insulted the chef in a past life. The sheer amount of black pepper in this dish didn’t just season it—it took over. My taste buds weren’t being introduced to spice; they were being held hostage. The broth had complexity, sure, but it was like trying to appreciate a fine wine while someone blasts a foghorn in your ear. Somewhere beneath the pepper assault, I could tell this gumbo had real potential, but unfortunately, my palate was too busy sending distress signals to truly enjoy it.

Final Verdict – A Tale of Two Dishes

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory definitely delivers on Louisiana-inspired flavors, but it’s a bit of a rollercoaster. The jambalaya? A masterpiece. The gumbo? An endurance challenge for your spice tolerance. Would I eat here again? Absolutely. Would I order the gumbo again? Only if I had a glass of milk, a loaf of bread, and possibly a support group ready to help me recover.

In short, if you’re looking for a meal that hits all the right Southern notes, this place has some solid options—but if you’re not prepared for an aggressive spice attack, maybe stick with...

Hopefully when I visited it wasn't the norm. The week of Thanksgiving is busy at Disney World, one of the busiest. When we decided on some food we stopped at our resorts eatery. We have been there at 6am, 730am, even as late as 9pm and 1130pm for a pizza. No matter the crowd the staff always seemed so slow. I wasn't the only one who noticed as you could hear plenty of others voicing this throughout. Maybe a lot of these people were new. I had waited in line one morning to find out the cook didn't hear their helper say blueberry pancakes so I had to wait after people behind me in line because they didn't have cohesion. I also witnessed at night a womans pizza not getting put in. It doesn't take long to get a pizza. Maybe ten minutes. When I go t in line I saw her out my pizza on and when it came out the woman in front of me who had gotten a personal sized asked about hers and the worker forgot to even put it through. These seem like such easy things to fix so maybe it was just a bad week. Also the cashiers always seemed to be clicking thr wrong item, charging for adult meals when a kids meal was ordered. There were several times we were behind or saw in another line someone getting refunded for that. The only thing that I really have to praise is the food itself. Breakfast sucked but the lunch and dinner was extremely delicious. Maybe I was just...

The Floatworks is the only dining option in the French Quarter section of the Port Orleans Resort. The food is decent but you should expect to pay Disney scale prices. In keeping with the New Orleans feel, the food is Southern themed and features some staples of the South like the "meat and three" combo and Po Boy sandwiches. If you aren't into Southern cooking, there are a few items that you can eat that are generic American food but even the Southern items aren't truly hardcore Southern cooking and can be tolerated by most palettes.

The one place you might save money is to but one of the all-you-can-drink mugs. The French Quarter is small enough that you can bring your mug for meals and run back to your room to drop it off before heading out to the parks so you don't have to lug it around all day.

In the past, the policy was that you could reuse mugs from previous visits. Unfortunately, Disney decided that they could use new technology to milk some more money so the mugs now have a chip that you must activate with a certain number of days. The old mugs will no longer activate the dispenser. The other let down of the mugs is that they are no longer resort-specific, instead having become generic across all of...