The 10 Disney World Restaurants We Miss the Most
The glass can be half-full or half-empty, depending on your perspective.
Yes, marvelous restaurants like Cape May Café and Tusker House either have reopened or will soon.
However, we still have a decent-sized list of ones that haven’t come back yet. And it’s killing us!
Here are the ten Walt Disney World restaurants I miss the most!
Pizzafari
I’m not going to try to sell you on the fact that Pizzafari serves world-class cuisine. It doesn’t.
However, when I’m at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and need a slice of pizza, I know where to go.
At least, I did before the pandemic. Since then, I’ve felt a bit lost without Pizzafari available as an emergency meal option.
Columbia Harbour House
This one feels like something of a cheat, but I know that people would get angry if I didn’t include it.
Columbia Harbour House hasn’t operated since Walt Disney World reopened. You can find most of the menu at Tomorrowland Terrace, though.
Not coincidentally, Tomorrowland Terrace is currently one of the best places to eat at Magic Kingdom.
Still, we’ve all eaten seafood at Liberty Square since we visited Magic Kingdom as children. Doing it at Tomorrowland feels strange.
For that reason alone, I still miss Columbia Harbour House.
ESPN Club
Okay, this one’s probably just me. I acknowledge that in advance.
As a sports fanatic, I feel most at home at sports bars. My favorite restaurant in town has about 40 TVs, including small ones in the booths.
At Walt Disney World, I generally forget about the outside world…unless the Atlanta Falcons or Atlanta Braves or playing. In that case, I want to watch the game.
ESPN Club at Disney’s BoardWalk has turned into my go-to place when I want to watch the game. It’s not just for the ample TVs, either.
The menu here fits my palate to a T. On a recent trip, we ate at Flying Fish for my wife and then ESPN Club for me.
You can guess which meal each of us enjoyed better of the two. I like chicken strips, fries, and nachos. ESPN Club is my kind of place.
Restaurant Marrakesh
You may have heard that the Morocco pavilion has undergone some turmoil during the pandemic.
The country of Morocco founded a corporation to oversee this pavilion, only for the project to fall out of favor after roughly 35 years.
The corporation filed for bankruptcy, forcing Disney to step in and take complete control of the Morocco pavilion.
While the pavilion has remained open during this odd circumstance, Restaurant Marrakesh has yet to return.
As such, park visitors have lamented the lack of Mediterranean cuisine at EPCOT.
Guests have missed the Kabobs and Tangines available here, and the absence of Bastilla is heartbreaking.
I suspect that this place will be one of the first on this list to return, but I would have said the same thing three months ago, too.
Akershus
Okay, from this point forward, Disney is really hitting me where I live. All the restaurants I’ll mention next are ones we visit pretty much every trip.
I’ve raved about Akershus so much that I sound like the restaurant manager. My family is just that attached to this Princess character meal.
The Norwegian flavors are genuinely unlike anything else at the World Showcase. The meats and cheeses at the salad bar all make my heart sing.
I’m also fanatical about the desserts, particularly the chocolate mousse that comes with the Royal Chef’s Dessert Plate.
I’ve spent time at Akershus during the pandemic since it was temporarily a Relaxation Station. The experience haunted me because it felt so wrong.
Casey’s Corner
This might be the restaurant that everyone knows the best because it resides on the corner of Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom.
Photo: https://www.wdwkingdomforum.com/
You’ve walked by the place many times and likely grabbed a hot dog here more than once. And you’ve loved it every time.
There’s something that just feels right about a baseball-themed restaurant that sells hot dogs. And the Corn Dog Nuggets are spectacular too.
Storybook Dining at Artist Point
Here’s the one that probably hurts Disney the most. Before the pandemic, Storybook Dining at Artist Point had turned into the most popular meal.
Yes, places like Art Smith’s Homecomin’ and Be Our Guest remain tough to book as well, but the Seven Dwarfs/Snow White meal was the new hotness.
Photo: MealTrip.com
On the nights that I’ve visited here, the wait times were 30 minutes or more…for people with Advanced Dining Reservations! And they were the lucky ones.
Since it was introduced, this place sold out every night, a stark contrast to the old Artist Point. It had been one of the easiest places to get a table at Disney.
Now, guests flock to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge to experience the Evil Queen’s horrifying menu. They sell an edible heart here!
Sadly, Disney hasn’t been able to host many popular character meals during the pandemic, a point I’ll make two more times.
Boma – Flavors of Africa
I talk about the Zebra Domes at Boma so much that I’m vaguely disappointed that the restaurant has never mailed me a batch. Where’s the swag?
Seriously, though, I have a child-like palate, yet I treasure the rich flavors at Boma. This place will make you appreciate the intricacies of African cuisine.
Unfortunately, Boma cannot open until its hotel does. Yes, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is operational. However, only half of it is fully running.
Kidani Village has returned, but we’re still awaiting Jambo House’s amenities like restaurants. That means Boma remains unavailable.
You can buy the Zebra Domes elsewhere at the resort, though. And you really should!
1900 Park Fare
I’m someone who plays paladins and angels in video games. I’ve never yelled, “For the Horde!” because they’re the bad guys!
So, I shouldn’t love 1900 Park Fare, a place where dinner includes the comedy roast-style insults from evil stepsisters.
Photo credit: https://www.tripadvisor.co.za
That’s the magic of Drizella and Anastasia Trumaine. Their smack talk is so effective that the meal borders on irrelevant.
When Disney hosts this character meal, five different characters visit your table, with the wicked stepsisters as two of them.
These table-to-table interactions weren’t possible during the pandemic, which has prevented Disney from hosting its most acerbic character meal.
I will book a reservation for 1900 Park Fare the first day that it returns, though.
‘Ohana
You knew this one would top the list. When guests think of Disney resort restaurants, ‘Ohana springs to mind ahead of the rest.
This family-style meal service feels ahead of its time in that Disney has since moved away from buffets. Family-style service has turned into the future.
Alas, ‘Ohana isn’t closed due to any service issues. Instead, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort has undergone dramatic renovations this year.
Management wanted to modernize the hotel before its 50th anniversary on October 1st. Overhauling the Great Ceremonial House came at a cost.
Disney didn’t want to encourage guests to hang out here while working on the building. Both the front entrance and the monorail station have been in shambles.
So, Disney chose to operate two of its restaurants here, Kona Café and Capt. Cook’s. It left ‘Ohana and Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto offline.
The restaurant should return soon, eventually bringing back my favorite character meal at Walt Disney World, the Best Friends Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch.
Until that happens, I will continue to feel sad each time I wander through the Great Ceremonial House. The whole place feels empty without ‘Ohana.
Thankfully, Disney just provided us all with some heartwarming news. ‘Ohana will reopen on July 9th! You can start booking reservations on June 10th! The characters, however, are not returning as of yet…
This reopening news alone signals that the worst is over!
