Morimoto Asia sets opening at Disney Springs

The transformation of the former Pleasure Island Mannequins dance hall into a world class dining destination is nearly complete. Morimoto Asia now occupies the 36-foot-tall building along the Disney Springs waterfront. We just learned it will open to the public for the first time on September 30th.

Morimoto Asia was developed in a partnership between the Patina restaurant group (which owns some of my favorite restaurants) and Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.

The interior design of the restaurant looks amazing with lounges, dining rooms, an open kitchen and an outdoor terrace. The glass beaded chandeliers and glass mosaics can already be spotted from the outside and they look great.

The cuisine will be “pan-Asian” with an eclectic take on Morimoto’s favorite Asian flavors including moo shu pork, Peking duck, lobster chow fun, sweet and sour crispy whole fish, and spicy kung pao chicken. If you love dim sum you won’t want to miss the weekend brunch, with dumplings, shumai, bao, spare ribs and more. As with all Disney restaurants, there will be kid friendly options too, such as chicken ramen, kakuni pork bao, and karaage fried chicken.

I’m looking forward to the sushi bar and the Morimoto signature line of sake. Remember to always serve your friends first!

Reservations will be accepted starting on Sept 16 on Open Table. It will eventually move onto the Disney reservation system. Starting Sept 30 you can call the restaurant to make ressies too (407-560-6686).

Related: I think Disney has officially started to call Downtown Disney “Disney Springs.” Lots of new signage up around the property uses the new name now and the official release for the opening also said “Disney Springs.”