Where Should You Eat at Hollywood Studios?

You’ll never feel happier in your life than when you’re vacationing at Walt Disney World.

Still, you will face unique challenges during your trip. You’ll enjoy more choices than you’ve ever had during any prior vacation.

Photo: Food Network

So, you may need some help, especially with regard to dining. You cannot possibly know what’s worth your time and what you should skip.

That’s where MickeyBlog can help! Here’s where you should eat Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

50s Prime Time Café

Photo: Fine Art America

First, let me be clear. If I don’t list a restaurant here, you don’t want to eat there. I’m not using my own opinion here but consensus voting instead.

Places like TripAdvisor and Disney fan sites have provided guests with a forum to vent about the bad places. That leaves you with many restaurants worth your time and hard-earned money.

Also, Hollywood Studios works a bit differently than EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. Most of the best places here are Quick Service eateries. They cost less!

50’s Prime Time Café is one of only four nicer restaurants on this list. I’m listing it because many guests love the uniquely immersive experience here.

Photo: DIsney

You effectively enter a black & white sitcom from the 1950s. Yes, you’re living in a cliché where all the jokes are awful, and the nuclear family dines together.

The experience will delight everyone in your party. Still, I should mention that the food here is ridiculously rich.

I’d suggest that you pick this place for dinner, not lunch. Otherwise, the cuisine may prove too heavy during a kinetic Hollywood Studios visit.

ABC Commissary

Image Credit: Disney

Here’s a different kind of classic television restaurant. Many moons ago, people who worked in television kept busy all the time.

So, they often ate at the network commissary, a place that served a varied menu of goodies.The same premise applies at ABC Commissary, where you can order a grilled cheese, tacos, or a chicken club.

Something else you’ll like about eating here is that you’re close to Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but you’re above the fray.

This place works perfectly as either an escape from those crowded theme lands or your final stop on the way into the chaos.

Backlot Express

You’ve probably realized that entertainment theming plays a massive factor at Hollywood Studios. Well, it once did.

Recent restaurants have varied their offerings, as you’re about to notice. The older places share a sameness, as Imagineers styled them after classic Hollywood tropes.

The backlot is a film set, usually outdoors. Obviously, some of the seating at this restaurant is outdoors, but there are some indoor tables as well.

As for the food, when you think counter service restaurant, you have Backlot Express in your head without even realizing it.

Photo: alexisgfadventures.com/

This place is as burgers and nuggets as Disney gets. Still, I happen to like it. Here’s a review from the summer of 2021.

Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo

Photo: Disney

Do you want to eat a full meal at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Then, you only have two options! Both of them make this list. However, if you can only eat at one place, you should pick Docking Bay 7.

The diverse menu belies the fact that it’s theoretically alien cuisine.

My only complaint here is that the seating is a bit uncomfortable. But I love ordering menu items like Kaadu ribs and chicken Tip Yips.

The Hollywood Brown Derby

Photo: Disney

Here’s the last of the classic old Hollywood cliches. In fact, this one is a real place.

Back in the day, Hollywood bigwigs would make deals while dining at the famous Hollywood Brown Derby, home of the beloved Cobb Salad. A legend persists that the Cobb Salad exists because a manager here hated throwing out old food. So, this person turned it into a salad.

Hollywood Brown Derby is legitimately one of the best-reviewed restaurants at Walt Disney World.

However, I should warn you that it’s also the most expensive option on this list. So please understand that you will LOVE it if you plan to dine here. You’ll pay more than anywhere else, though.

Hollywood & Vine

Nobody has ever described the food at Hollywood & Vine as delicious.

Instead, folks eat here because Disney hosts a character meal. Specifically, Minnie Mouse wears a seasonally appropriate outfit and holds court.

Some of Minnie’s friends, like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, join her.

In between their visits, you’ll eat a smorgasbord of mediocre food, and I’m saying that as someone who loves the place.

Think of this as my warning that you’re choosing this restaurant for the character meal, not the menu. If you do like the food, think of that as a happy bonus!

Oga’s Cantina

I couldn’t decide whether to include this or not, as it’s not a restaurant per se.

At Oga’s Cantina, you’re living out your Star Wars fantasy of hanging out at an intergalactic cantina like the one in the movie.

You’ll listen to kicky alien music, drink fizzy alcohol concoctions, and possibly snack on super-weird cuisine.

Oga’s Cantina may prove the most challenging reservation to book out of everything I list here. For Star Wars fans, it’s a must, though. Even I, someone wholly apathetic to Star Wars, have had a terrific time here.

Ronto Roasters

I don’t know what a Ronto is, and I totally don’t want to eat it. I’m in the minority here, though.

The Ronto Wrap on the menu is undoubtedly the most popular thing at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Photo: Disney

You can also order some wraps and plant-based items here. Honestly, it’d be like going to Chick-Fil-A and not ordering chicken, though.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant

I’m quite possibly the world’s greatest evangelist for this restaurant. It’s my favorite place to eat on the planet.

Even so, I want to be honest with you here. If you’re hungry and searching for the best possible meal, this might not be the place for you.

Many critics associate it with Coral Reef Restaurant at EPCOT, which means the experience outweighs the food’s mediocrity.

I strongly disagree, but I have stars in my eyes for this place. It’s an indoor recreation of a drive-in movie theater.

A bunch of terrible sci-fi movie clips play on a loop while you sit in a fake convertible, and the whole thing makes me so happy.

Woody’s Lunch Box

Photo Credit: Steven Diaz, photographer

If you only pick one place at Hollywood Studios to eat, this is probably your best bet.

Woody’s Lunch Box sells comfort food like grilled cheese sandwiches, tater tots, and upscale Pop-Tarts.

This place is among the cheapest dining options at Hollywood Studios, AND it’s one of the best meals, too.

That’s a combination that’s impossible to beat. So, while all the dining options I’ve listed today have their charms, the people’s choice is Woody’s Lunch Box.

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Feature Photo: Disney