ORLGuide
The Best Restaurants At Disney World
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Nowadays, you pretty much need a PhD in Mickey-nomics to have a good time at Disney World. Rules seem to change constantly and everything requires a barely-functioning phone app. Luckily for you, we graduated Disney University with honors and have all the intel you need to have the best possible food experience on your trip.
If you want to prioritize rides, your best bet is to eat most of your meals on the go. But if you really want to lean into the Disney immersion, the table-service restaurants can be super fun. One perk about the aforementioned app is the mobile ordering system, which lets you schedule food pickups ahead of time and skip some pretty long lines, because you’ll definitely be standing in enough of those already.
There’s also a dining plan for resort hotel guests that allows you to pay for all of your meals and snacks ahead of time. Not every restaurant uses it, though, and it can be more expensive than just paying as you go if your family doesn’t have the appetite of a small army. With all of that in mind, here are the absolute best places to eat at Walt Disney World’s four theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios.
THE MAGIC KINGDOM
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Casey’s Corner is located right off Main Street, so it’s really easy to stop in for a quick snack or lunch while waiting for a parade to pass through. Polish off a chili cheese dog while you watch the piano performers outside play ragtime Disney tunes, or snack on a basket of corn dog nuggets as you explore areas of the park beyond the castle.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Dole whips at Disney Parks are almost as famous as Mickey himself. You can get a classic Dole whip or experiment with the rotating swirls and floats, but the pineapple upside-down cake topped with soft serve is the best dessert you can get in the park. The moist cake absorbs the ice cream as it melts, and is refreshing and sweet in all the right ways.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
The cheeseburger egg rolls in Adventureland have a cult following, so there’s usually a line of people waiting for the salty afternoon snack. Luckily, the line moves fast, and they’re just as cheesy, greasy, and crispy as they sound. They also have a pepperoni egg roll, which sounds like a forbidden Lunchable.
photo credit: Disney
There are plenty of mediocre restaurants in the Magic Kingdom that are worth visiting just for the atmosphere or the fireworks views. Jungle Navigation Co. is the rare place that’s beautifully themed and has some of the best food in this park. Whatever sustainable fish they have is a great choice for a protein-heavy meal, which you’ll need after logging 10,000 steps running around to make the most out of your Lightning Lanes on Genie+. We also love the falafel or curried vegetable stew for some vegetarian options, which can be hard to find in this park.
photo credit: Carina Finn
Our favorite thing to do on an early morning in the Magic Kingdom is to walk around Fantasyland eating a warm Cheshire Cat Tail, which is basically a chocolate brioche twist with pink and purple frosting drizzled on top. These aren’t always available (sometimes they’re a Cheshire Cat Paw, and sometimes you can’t get them at all), but when they are, they’re hard to beat.
If you’re looking for a cheap and quick lunch, go to Gaston’s Tavern for the $12 and colossal ham and cheese sandwich. You’ll see lots of people carrying heavy plates of caramel-drenched cinnamon rolls, but the better snack is the grey stuff cupcake that’s topped with fluffy cookies and cream frosting and crispy pearls. Take it outside and picnic at the fountain just in front of the restaurant—bonus points if you break out in song to complain about egg-based inflation.
The Beauty and the Beast theme of Be Our Guest will appeal to both your cousin who got a princess makeover for the occasion and your friend who’s just here to ride a Tron lightcycle later. The giant ballroom looks just like the one in the movie, but we prefer to eat in the dark, moody West Wing next door. The enchanted rose glows in the corner of the room, and every so often there’s a mildly scary thunderstorm. The French food is pretty great, especially the herby escargot and cheesy french onion soup, but you’re really here to eat in a castle and steal a glimpse of the Beast greeting his subjects.
It’s worth eating here at least once, particularly if you have small children or are a Disney princess fanatic. They’re open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but the best move is to come for an early morning reservation before the park opens so you’ll already be inside during rope drop. Book the earliest possible time slot, and you’ll be finished with your meal in time to be first in line for Seven Dwarves Mine Train, get a front-row spot for the Magic Kingdom’s opening ceremonies, or simply run around a nearly-empty Fantasyland taking photos.
photo credit: Disney
POWERED BY
This wildly popular buffet is one of the only places in the parks where you’re guaranteed to meet Winnie the Pooh and all of his Hundred Acre Woods pals. The food is straightforward American that’s great for picky eaters, though we could swear that The Crystal Palace’s Mickey waffles taste better than they do at other breakfast buffets. If you manage to score a dinner reservation at the right time, the front porch restaurant has one of the best fireworks views in the park.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
If your goal for the day is to see real giraffes and hippos roaming through the Florida countryside, you’ll want to head towards Kilimanjaro Safaris right when Animal Kingdom opens. On your way to the back of the park, stop by Kusafari for an enormous Mickey-shaped cinnamon roll larger than some of the babies being toted around. While it’s big enough to share, we've also just housed all of that flaky, gooey pastry ourselves. For a more savory option, the breakfast totchos are a great way to start your morning.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
This quick-service spot is hidden in a quieter corridor of Harambe Port, and the expansive patio is great for relaxing and watching the Wildlife Express Train roll by. You’ll find a good selection of rice bowls and salads, which might be a welcome respite from all the other salty fried snacks in the Disney Parks—the chicken and rice bowl is well seasoned and topped with some crispy chickpeas for a nice crunch.
photo credit: Disney
The most upscale dining spots inside Animal Kingdom are Tiffins and the attached Nomad Lounge, with a menu of things like gobi manchurian and tamarind-braised short rib. Nomad Lounge is walk-in only, and a perfect spot to snack on thai milk bread with coconut-makrut lime sauce and charcuterie. It’s also nice for a full sit-down meal in the dining room to have whole fried fish and short rib—you’ll generally need a reservation, but we’ve had luck with walk-in tables during off-peak months.
Flame Tree is located just outside Dinoland USA, and it’s one of the most reliably good quick-service restaurants across all the parks. We usually go for the smoky pulled pork sandwich or the St. Louis-style ribs. It’s also worth noting that they serve boozy drinks, like a hard cider and fireball concoction topped with gummy worms and a flamingo-pink vodka lemonade.
If you don’t want to deal with a long wait at Flame Tree Barbecue, stop by a food truck like Eight Spoon instead for some pulled pork-topped mac and cheese. For a more intense salty-sweet experience, go for the pulled pork-stuffed jelly donut sandwich. It’s not as overwhelming as it sounds, and the slaw helps cut through all the richness and sugar.
photo credit: Carina Finn
When you can’t possibly eat another dessert or fried thing, head to Pandora and go to Satu'li Canteen. It’s a spot for build-your-own grain bowls and salads, but we love the cheeseburger pods, a kid’s menu dish that’s basically steamed buns with cheeseburger filling. We can also confirm that you do not need to be a kid to order them.
photo credit: Disney
This is a little snack kiosk outside of Satu'li Canteen. The main attraction here is the Night Blossom, a sour slushie with popping boba that you can get with alcohol to help take the sting out of waiting 90 minutes to cruise down an Avatar river ride. Their pineapple cream cheese spring rolls are also a cult favorite since they’re basically a sweeter version of a crab rangoon.
photo credit: Disney
If you find yourself in need of sustenance immediately upon entering the park, this is a good place to stop for some surprisingly good tacos. We love the street corn ones in particular, because it’s nice to eat plants, especially when you’re surrounded by placards and attractions reminding you that animals and the environment are important.
EPCOT
Takumi Tei might be most notable for making you feel like you’re no longer at Disney. The entrance is so subtle you might walk right by it in Epcot’s Japan pavilion, and once you stroll inside, the noise and chaos of adults vying for popcorn buckets and toddlers having post-naptime meltdowns fades into a quiet calm. You’ll need to spend a few hundred dollars and over two hours at this omakase-only spot, but it’s worth it for a fine dining meal that starts with a platter full of uni shooters and snow crab salad, and ends with tableside matcha and daifuku. The vegetarian omakase is just as fun and interesting as its traditional counterpart.
photo credit: Disney
Yorkshire County Fish Shop is located just beyond the International Gateway entrance of the park, which has access to FriendShip boats that ferry guests in from nearby hotels and Skyliner gondolas that you can ride to Hollywood Studios. The fish and chips here in jolly old fake England are as good, if not better, than ones we’ve had in actual England, and they usually have a rotating meat pie, too.
The people you’ll see in this little bakery largely fall into two camps: families who need a sugar hit after waiting two hours for the Frozen ride, and adults looking for some carbs to soak up all the alcohol from drinking around the world. Both of these groups are likely here for school bread—a fluffy and sweet cream-filled bun topped with shredded coconut. They also have buttery cookies and two different boozy coffee drinks for when you need to stay awake but your brain will explode if you hear the chorus to “Let it Go” one more time.
photo credit: Disney
Don’t trust anyone who talks about Epcot food if they don’t mention Karamel Külche. This is where you’ll find Werther’s-coated popcorn, but also a bunch of other stuff filled with, covered in, and otherwise made from Werther’s candies, like s’more cookies, dipped apples, and gooey caramel squares. This is a great place to stop for souvenirs on your way home, because bringing back candy is infinitely better than a Mickey-shaped keychain.
ORL Guide
The Best Restaurants At Epcot
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
photo credit: Carina Finn
The theming in Toy Story Land is impeccable, and Woody’s Lunchbox is no different. After being launched through Slinky Dog Dash, come here to dine inside of an actual lunchbox, in the shadow of a giant thermos surrounded by three-story toys. You’re here for the grilled cheese stuffed with BBQ brisket, but they also have totchos, breakfast bowls, and some cute and delicious little “lunchbox pastries,” which are essentially amped-up Pop-Tarts.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Round Up Rodeo, also in Toy Story Land, is one of the newest, most popular spots at Disney World. The booths are made to look like Monopoly cards and Scrabble tiles, and the servers freeze at attention whenever they hear Andy coming to look for a misplaced toy. The family-style meal is also great for feeding a crowd—the toughest part is finding space on your table for baskets of smoked meat, gooey mac and cheese, and grilled street corn.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
This ice cream shop is located just a few steps away from the Tower of Terror, so your midday treat might be interrupted by park-goers' screams. Scoops of strawberry or cookies and cream ice cream are great on a hot, sticky Florida day (which is most of the time), but on the off-chance you want something warm, the blueberry-filled Mickey waffles are perfectly crisp and jammy.
photo credit: Carina Finn
There aren’t a ton of food options at Oga’s, but you’re really just here to geek out and dance to the legendary cantina music with a cocktail in your hand. You’ll need to make a reservation for this spot exactly 60 days ahead to drink with your favorite droids (and yes, you can get a slot at 8:30am—you’re on vacation after all). Our favorite drink here is the Fuzzy Tauntaun, a peachy citrus drink topped with a lip-tingling Sichuan pepper foam.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Disney’s Star Wars area is super immersive, and the theming extends to the pod-shaped soda bottles and roaming stormtroopers questioning suspected rebel spies. At Ronto Roasters, there’s a giant spit attended by a droid, and you can get a quick meal before you spend an hour on your feet waiting to fly the Millennium Falcon. We love the peppercorn sauce that covers the roasted pork and grilled sausage in the ronto wrap, and the zucchini wrap is perfect for when you’re looking for some real vegetables.
