Table No. 507 at the new La Hacienda de San Angel restaurant in Epcot’s Mexico pavilion is covered with rainbow-colored tequila cocktails and plates of shrimp tacos, pork with mole negro sauce and achiote-marinated chicken. Yet when the first explosion blasts through the air, all eyes as fast as lightning turn to the window, ignoring the waiter holding a dessert platter of churros with chocolate. For foodies, La Hacienda is the best spot for viewing Walt Disney World’s most spectacular fireworks display, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Call it dinner and a show. Book front-row seats at a window table, or dine outdoors on the terrace skirting the lagoon for the full heart-stopping effect. disney.com
Contrasting with eye-popping fireworks is the view of tranquil Old Florida at Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub on Longboat Key. Tables tucked under palm trees face Sarasota Bay, where the bluest water and greenest shoreline invite relaxation. Wooden docks jut into the placid waters, and you can walk out on the restaurant’s pier for a look beyond the bay. Sip a Mar Vista lemonade jazzed up with raspberry vodka while you wait for your fish-dip starter. The steamer pot — crab, mussels, shrimp and lobster in Old Bay seasoning — is a favorite. marvista-restaurant.com
On Marco Island, head over to CJ’s on the Bay, where a huge alfresco gazebo bar is your perfect perch for the evening. Grab a stool, order a mojito and check out the impressive collection of private vessels docked just steps away on a canal. Appetizers worth sampling include the Kobe-beef minis with shoestring fries for the meat-and-potato crowd and the gator rolls, seasoned ground gator meat wrapped in phyllo, for the more adventurous. cjsonthebay.com
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