Favorite Places to Eat at Walt Disney World® Resort

There are lots of other options that are truly wonderful, but these just happen to be our favorites at Walt Disney World® Resort. We tried to pick at least one location at or near each of the parks you will be visiting, though if you have the Park Hopper® Option with your tickets, then you can “hop” to another park to eat dinner and see nighttime entertainment. You don’t need to worry about which day you will be going where (unless there is a reason you want to be at a certain park on a certain day). Your Small World Big Fun agent will look at where the crowds are expected to be and will do his or her best to steer you in the opposite direction. You can also download this handy list to take along with you.

We've also written great posts on how to eating with food allergies and eating vegetarian when traveling to Disney!

(ADR = Advanced Dining Reservations) (QS=Quick Service, reservations not needed)

TABLE SERVICE RESTAURANTS IN THE PARKS

MAGIC KINGDOM® PARK

  • Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen — Our new favorite restaurant in Magic Kingdom! The servers are the skippers from the Jungle Cruise ride and they tell you funny jokes as they take you through the “expedition” of your meal. Great fun and great food! Requires ADR.
  • The Plaza Restaurant — Located at the end of Main Street, U.S.A.® — takes ADR, but sometimes you can get a late lunch reservation with no wait during the slower times of the year.
  • The Crystal Palace — Character meal with Pooh and Friends. Requires ADR.
  • Liberty Tree Tavern — Like having Thanksgiving dinner. Everything is served family-style. — Requires ADR
  • Be Our Guest Restaurant — The newest restaurant in Beast’s Castle in Fantasyland®. Prix fixe set menu at dinner requiring 2 table service credits, Quick Service at breakfast and lunch. Requires ADR — hard to get, so plan early! This is the only Quick-Service restaurant that will accept ADR for lunch and breakfast. Eating here for breakfast or lunch will still only use one of your QS credits.

 EPCOT®

  • Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria — Disney brought the ovens all the way from Naples, Italy, which is known as the birthplace of pizza. They even import the flour and water used to make the pizza dough from Naples! Requires ADR.
  • Coral Reef Restaurant — Dine in front of a two-story aquarium. Good seafood option. Requires ADR.
  • Spice Road Table — Great tapas options with a view of the World Showcase Lagoon. Requires ADR.
  • Garden Grill Restaurant — This slowly rotating restaurant serves food that has actually been grown in the gardens at Epcot. Character meal featuring Chip ‘n’ Dale. Requires ADR.
  • Akershus Royal Banquet Hall — Good alternative to Cinderella’s Royal Table for dining with the same princesses but only uses one of your table-service credits. Only recommended for breakfast unless you like a Norwegian menu. Requires ADR.
  • Le Cellier Steakhouse — Good steaks and great cheese soup! This is a Signature meal, meaning there is a dress code. Difficult to get a reservation unless we call 180 days in advance. Uses 2 credits. Requires ADR.
  • La Hacienda de San Angel — Located in Mexico with floor-to-ceiling windows on the water. Excellent viewing for the Epcot Forever fireworks! This is a prime place to watch the fireworks but you need to be willing to eat around 8 p.m. When you arrive, request a table by the window and be willing to wait for it to get the best views of the show. Requires ADR.
  • San Angel Inn Restaurante — Located inside the Mexico pavilion, which looks like the inside of a Mayan temple. Wonderful atmosphere. This is not Tex-Mex (there is no cheese dip on the menu) but the food is good. Requires ADR.
  • Chefs de France – Traditional French favorites. A great place to let your kids try something different. Requires ADR.

 

DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS®

  • 50’s Prime Time Café — This is a super fun place to eat! Themed after a 1950s sitcom and your waitress is “mom.” Most fun if you can play along! Requires ADR.
  • Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano Fantasmic Package — Great way to have good Italian food AND avoid the lines to get in to see one of Disney’s best nighttime shows. A Fantasmic! dining package (for lunch or dinner) gets you a ticket to a reserved seating area for the show, saving you from waiting in line for up to two hours. Requires ADR. *Note: Dinner reservations are earlier (3:45-5 p.m.) so they can get you fed and to the show on time. We recommend having a late breakfast, eating your dinner and then having a snack during the show if needed, or option to book a lunch instead.
  • Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant — One of the best-themed restaurants at Walt Disney World Resort — diners eat in cars facing a drive-in movie screen and watch old science fiction trailers. Requires ADR.

 

DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM® THEME PARK

  • Tusker House Restaurant — Buffet with lots of great choices! Character meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Great option if there’s no availability at Chef Mickey’s. Requires ADR.
  • Rainforest Café — This is a good choice for a menu with lots of variety. It is a chain restaurant, but if you haven’t been to one, it is lots of fun. See animated animals from the rainforest come alive while you eat. Requires ADR.
  • Yak and Yeti™ Restaurant/Yak and Yeti Local Foods Café — The restaurant is table service and requires ADR. The Local Foods Café is Quick Service.

TABLE SERVICE RESTAURANTS IN THE RESORTS

 

MAGIC KINGDOM AREA

  • DISNEY'S CONTEMPORARY RESORT  California Grill — Long considered one of the best restaurants in central Florida. Located on the top floor of the Contemporary Resort, this restaurant boasts stunning views of the Magic Kingdom. If you time it right, you may be able to see the fireworks. If you dine before the fireworks, you can still return to the restaurant to see the fireworks from the observation deck. Uses 2 credits and has a dress code. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S CONTEMPORARY RESORT — The Wave ... of American Flavors — An easy walk from the Magic Kingdom. Includes a varied menu with a little something for everyone. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S CONTEMPORARY RESORT — Chef Mickey’s — One of our favorite ways to kick off our vacation or to say goodbye to Disney. This is the quintessential character meal with Mickey and the gang. This place can get LOUD. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT Kona Café – Arguably the best breakfast to be found at Disney. Do NOT leave without trying the Tonga Toast! Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT ‘Ohana at the Polynesian is a big family favorite with coconut shell races and hula lessons for the kids. Character meal for breakfast with Stitch and Friends. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA — 1900 Park Fare — Another good Princess character meal option. At dinner, you will meet Cinderella with Prince Charming but the fun really starts when the evil stepsisters make their appearance! At the Grand Floridian, which is on the Monorail. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPANarcoossee’s — Seafood, with a view of the Magic Kingdom. Uses 2 credits. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S WILDERNESS LODGE — Whispering Canyon Café — This place is lots of fun — ask the waiter for ketchup and see what happens! Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S WILDERNESS LODGE — Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White — Character dining with Snow White and a few of the dwarfs. Inspired by the cuisine of the Northwest. Prix Fixe Menu. Dinner Only. Requires ADR.
  • THE CABINS AT DISNEY'S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT AND CAMPGROUND Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue — Fun, campy comedy dinner show at Fort Wilderness. Uses 2 credits. Requires ADR.

 

ANIMAL KINGDOM AREA

  • DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE – Both Boma – Flavors of Africa and Jiko – The Cooking Place at the Animal Kingdom Lodge are outstanding. Both require ADR. Boma is a buffet, more casual and less expensive than Jiko, but Jiko is not to be missed. The food is superb, with an excellent wine list. These restaurants are great excuses to visit the resort if you are not staying there. Jiko uses 2 credits.
  • DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE – KIDANI VILLAGE Sanaa has a fantastic view of the Sunset Savannah. The menu is “African inspired” and includes a range of sampler platters if you want to try something new. There are still lots of kid-friendly options!  Requires ADR.

 

EPCOT AREA

  • DISNEY'S BOARDWALK ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT ESPN Club — A great casual spot and a super diversion for the menfolk. They do not take reservations. Look for visiting sports figures at certain times of the year.
  • DISNEY'S BOARDWALK ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT Flying Fish — Excellent seafood. Watch the chefs as they prepare food in the open kitchen. Uses 2 credits. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S BOARDWALK ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT Trattoria al Forno – Great authentic Italian food. Breakfast is a character meal with Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S BEACH CLUB RESORT Beaches & Cream Soda Shop — Go there for the ice cream sundaes. Very small location so reservations are limited. Requires ADR.
  • DISNEY'S BEACH CLUB RESORT Cape May Café — Has a wonderful seafood buffet at night. If you don’t like seafood, there is a “regular” food side with something for everyone. Breakfast is a character meal buffet with Mickey and Friends. Requires ADR.

DISNEY SPRINGS® AREA

  • T-REX™ — If you have a dinosaur lover, this is the restaurant for you! It is owned by the same chain as Rainforest Café but instead of rainforest animals, you’re dining with the dinosaurs! Requires ADR.
  • Paddlefish — Nice seafood restaurant on a paddleboat. Uses 2 credits. Requires ADR.
  • Frontera Cocina — Gourmet Mexican restaurant. Requires ADR.
  • Morimoto Asia — Pan-Asian cuisine including seafood, sushi, Chinese, Japanese and Korean food. *Uses 2 table-service credits.
  • Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin' — Features farm-to-fork, home cooking. Requires ADRs.
  • STK Orlando — An ultra-modern steakhouse featuring an innovative menu, in-house DJ and fabulous patio. *Uses 2 credits. Requires ADRs.

GREAT QUICK-SERVICE OPTIONS IN THE PARKS (no reservation needed)

MAGIC KINGDOM (Mobile ordering available):

  • Casey’s Corner — Counter service restaurant located at the end of Main Street, U.S.A. Serves hot dogs and fries. Sometimes there is a ragtime piano player there that the kids will love.
  • Columbia Harbour House — Counter service restaurant in Liberty Square. Fish, chicken and great salads, a bit for everyone! Plenty of choices for the kids.
  • Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café — Counter service in Tomorrowland® Area. Great family meal — whole rotisserie chicken and great burgers with a fixin’s bar that’s very good!
  • Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café — Counter service between Adventureland® Area and Frontierland® Area. Mexican cuisine with fajitas and nachos, plus a great burger bar with all the fixings!

 

EPCOT

  • Sunshine Seasons — Counter service in the Land pavilion. LOTS of choices — you will have no trouble finding something for everyone here.
  • Tangierine Café — Counter service in Morocco. Mediterranean cuisine at a great price.
  • Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie — Counter service in France. Lots of options for lunch, plus a little something for your sweet tooth! Stop here to get dessert before the Epcot Forever fireworks (We love the napoleons!)
  • Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar — Nifty wine bar in Italy. Limited menu.

 

DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (Mobile ordering available)

  • ABC Commissary — The recently updated dinner menu includes lemon pepper salmon and sirloin steak.
  • PizzeRizzo — Pizza, subs, and salads
  • Woody's Lunchbox — Breakfast, lunch and dinner — delicious sandwiches and soup, plus alcoholic beverages for adults.

 

DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM (Mobile ordering available) 

  • Satu’li Canteen — NEW quick service location in Pandora — The World of Avatar. Serves sandwiches and bowls with an international flair.
  • Flame Tree Barbecue — Counter service that serves smoked meats and chicken. A great option.
  • Pizzafari — Counter service with flatbreads, pizzas, salads, pasta, and more. Very good and convenient location.

 

DISNEY SPRINGS AREA

  • Earl of Sandwich® — A great spot for a quick service meal. Soups, sandwiches, and salads.
  • Sprinkles — Cupcake ATM. Need we say more?
  • D-Luxe Burger (mobile ordering available) — Features gourmet burgers, hand-cut fries and artisanal gelato shakes.