Here Are the Disney Restaurants I Adore
I’ve been on the disabled list for the past few days. So, I’ve spent my free time doing what all Disney fans love.
I’ve daydreamed about my next Disney vacation and planned out my next visit, even though I have no idea when that will be.
Photo:visitorlando.com
Also, I think about beloved activities from previous visits. It’s a great way to pass the time while remaining positive.
Today, I’d like to share some of these thoughts with you. Here are my favorite nine restaurants at Walt Disney World.
About This List
Photo: Disney
I should mention two aspects of this discussion. First, my list is ever-changing.
For example, I haven’t dined at Rodeo Roundup BBQ yet, but it sounds like my kind of place, as it combines the charm of Toy Story with the bottomless skillets at Whispering Canyon Café (WCC).
Buttercup’s Beef Brisket
Also, my list changes over time. In past years, I would have included Kona Café, 1900 Park Fare, and WCC.
Alas, Kona Café has irritated me by removing my two most delicious menu items, while 1900 Park Fare isn’t open.
As for WCC, I know that something better may be out there. So, it feels poorly timed to include it, even though I have treasured every meal here.
Disney even broke my heart by tearing down ESPN Club at Disney’s BoardWalk. I was the one person who adored that place.
Photo: Disney
Finally, I’m not including Disney Springs options, as that’s a whole separate list.
Akershus
Photo: Disney
I should start with the acknowledgment that I’m a character greetings guy. In fact, this list would have started with 1900 Park Fare if it were open.
For whatever reason, Akershus is among the least heralded of the character greetings, which surprises me.
Photo: Disney
Guests enjoy a complement of characters on a par with Cinderella’s Royal Table, but for less money.
You meet Belle from Beauty and the Beast, plus several other Disney princesses in a regal setting mere steps from Frozen Ever After.
Akershus
As for the food, I keep promising myself I won’t bring up the brown gjetost cheese; however, I recently ate a protein pack from a grocery store.
My first comment was that I loved it because it tasted like gjetost.
Credit: Disney
The salad bar and its Norse cuisine have expanded my palate.
Be Our Guest
Imagineers outdid themselves in designing Beast’s castle.
I’ve eaten in all three sections here and adored each one.
However, I have a favorite.
When you enter this restaurant, if you walk straight across the ballroom to the side windows, Disney has added a lovely touch for the sake of realism.
You’ll discover that the castle is nestled in the mountains. Imagineers have added a snow effect that provides a spiritual warming.
It isn’t warmer here, but it feels like it should be. More important, it’s just pleasant.
I love basking in the ambiance of Beast’s castle.
Also, the grey stuff is, in fact, delicious.
Capt. Cook’s
You can tell MickeyBlog loves this place by how often we post reviews, all of which are glowing.
The delicious Polynesian flavors at Capt. Cook’s mesh well with my love of sweet barbecue and similar foods.
Photo: Disney
Also, of everything I discuss in this article, this meal is probably the cheapest and most convenient for my travel needs.
I’m all about the pulled pork here, but the plant-based options and desserts are good, too.
Photo credit: WDWInfo.com
Also, you can grab and go with a few snacks for a park visit or your hotel room, presuming you’re staying close by.
Casey’s Corner
Speaking of cheap places to eat, you’ll struggle to do better at Magic Kingdom.
This inviting restaurant sits on the end of Main Street, U.S.A. and celebrates everyone’s love of baseball.
For this reason, it’s a hot dog place, and they take it seriously.
They sometimes do either a hot dog of the month, or the 12 hot dogs of Christmas.
Each one grows more ridiculous and less healthy, but you’re burning enough calories that you won’t care.
Once you’re done, you can walk right into Main Street’s Emporium and do some shopping, too.
Casey’s fits my personality, my terrible culinary habits, and my favorite kind of theming.
It’s the next best thing to being at the ballpark.
San Angel Inn Restaurante
Most places I’m choosing earn their spot on this list due to their cuisine.
As a picky eater, I don’t fall in love with dining the way that some do.
Photo: Disney
For example, Mexican food and I aren’t the best of friends, as I struggle with spicy cuisine.
Still, I LOVE San Angel a ridiculous amount. It’s one of my favorite settings at Walt Disney World.
Disney has created a Meso-American pyramid, with the building’s interior mostly aligning with the exterior.
The serene, almost hypnotic backdrop provides the ideal themed restaurant for me. I go here and lose myself in the immersion.
No matter how many times I watch it, I still adore each Gran Fiesta Tour boat I watch sail past my table.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant
If you’ve read my writing, you know the deal. This is my favorite restaurant on the planet.
I consider it Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Meal. The novel setting of a drive-in theater charms me.
Credit: Disney
Even though I’ve watched the movie loop dozens and possibly hundreds of times by now, I never get tired of that ridiculous moment where the professor’s secretary saves humanity from aliens just before he blithely states that aliens aren’t real.
Space 220
You can tell I’m a huge fan of immersion and Imagineering.
The tech on display at Space 220 clearly makes Imagineers proud. They’ve offered versions at other locations like the Disney Wish and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Photo: Disney
This experience begins the instant you check in at the restaurant. You board a space elevator that creates the illusion that you’re traveling 220 miles above the Earth.
Once you sit down at your table, the entire backdrop displays space walks, flying dogs, and all sorts of other silliness to reinforce the fact that you’ve left your planet behind.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise involving Space 220 is that Patina Group didn’t cut corners on the cuisine.
It’s daring but delicious.
This is quite possibly the best current Disney dining experience available.
Steakhouse 71
Source: wdw info
I was a superfan of the Wave… of American Flavors, having reviewed it multiple times for MickeyBlog.
So, like many Disney fans, I was up in arms at the thought of the company starting from scratch with a new place.
Photo: DVC SHop
Then, I was pleased to learn that Steakhouse 71 is somehow even better.
I should acknowledge that while my wife is a vegetarian, I’m an aggressive meat-eater, because it’s one of the few things I genuinely enjoy.
Credit: Disney
That makes me something of a steak and hamburger connoisseur.
I’m happy to report that the steaks at Steakhouse 71 are better than the ones at Space 220 – and at a cheaper price.
Woody’s Lunch Box
Photo: wdwinfo.com
At some point, foodies drove down the good name of comfort food. I’m salty about it.
By its very nature, comfort food makes you feel better about life.
Photo: Disney
More restaurants, particularly at theme parks, should offer comfort food options. That goes double for Disney.
Woody’s Lunch Box has mastered the concept of comfort food.
Photo Credit: Steven Diaz, photographer
The grilled cheese sandwiches and tater tots are inexpensive but pack a wallop of flavor.
As for the desserts, Disney has improved on the concept of the pop tart. What could possibly be better than that?
Photo: Disney
Some of the daily offerings here are comically good.
When you don’t like those daily offerings, the restaurant staples are still available.
Photo Credit: Matt Stroshane, photographer
The only negative for Woody’s Lunch Box is that finding a table can sometimes be challenging.
Hopefully, the opening of Roundup Rodeo Barbecue addresses that.
Photo: Disney
Whenever I eat at these nine places, I know I’ll have a great meal in a surrounding I adore.
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