Where to Find Comfort Food at Disney World
Sometimes, when you’re on vacation, what you desperately need is a small slice of home.
You’re tired, you’re hungry, and you’re homesick. It happens. Fortunately, there’s a cure. It’s comfort food!
Photo: Playbuzz.com
A few tasty bites of your favorite foods will quickly turn around your day and brighten your mood.
So, which Walt Disney World restaurants serve the best comfort foods?
50’s Prime Time Café
Photo Credit:DVC Request
No other place at Disney will remind you of home as much as 50’s Prime Time Café.
I’m not even sure I mean that in a good way, as the conceit of this restaurant is that your family consists of jerks.
Photo: Disney
Okay, I’m joking. Mostly. But the idea at 50’s Prime Time Café is that you’re eating a home-cooked meal with uncles, aunts, and cousins.
Your servers will sometimes be the bane of your existence, occasionally going so far as to ask you to clean up the dishes!
Photo: Disney
As is the case at home, you’ll happily put up with the aggravation in exchange for the delicious food.
Your menu consists of dining room staples like Aunt Liz’s Golden Fried Chicken and Mom’s Old-fashioned Pot Roast.
Photo: Disney
This place serves some of the heartiest flavors in Orlando.
Casey’s Corner
Photo: Pexel.com
Then again, you may prefer something simple, and what’s simpler than hot dogs and fries?
That’s pretty much the only dish on the menu at Casey’s Corner, making this a straightforward dining experience.
You’ll feel like you just asked a parent for food, and they told you that was the only thing in the refrigerator.
Plus, the homey baseball setting provides an inedible but happy slice of Americana.
Art Smith’s Homecomin’
Photo: Homecomin’
Come on, you knew this one had to be on the list.
Art Smith earned his reputation as Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef.
She’d happily recount stories of his legendary cuisine on her once-seminal talk show, making Smith a celebrity chef.
Eventually, the former Disney Cast Member went out on his own, but he’s remained true to his Florida roots throughout his career.
At Homecomin’, southern cuisine is on the menu, and it’s so decadent that you’ll regret the fact that you eventually must leave.
I don’t know if Art Smith is the first chef who thought to pair fried chicken with donuts, but he’s definitely the master of the craft.
Photo: Chef Art Smith Homecomin’
Seriously, NEVER leave this restaurant until you’ve ordered the doughnuts.
Oh, and the biscuits are phenomenal, too, as they should be. Art Smith is a Southerner. We have standards.
Liberty Tree Tavern
Liberty Tree Tavern
What’s homier than Thanksgiving dinner? Well, Liberty Tree serves one every night! It’s always Thanksgiving here.
So, grab a table, sit down, and order the Patriot’s Platter. Don’t even consider any other options unless you’re vegan.
Here’s what you’ll get with the Patriot’s Platter: “Roasted Turkey, Pot Roast, and Oven-roasted Pork with Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Herbed Stuffing, and House-made Macaroni & Cheese.”
Are you drooling? You should be drooling. Everything about that screams family dinner.
Of course, you may be vegan. If so, I applaud your dietary decisions, as does Disney. In fact, they’ll even reward you!
The Impossible Meatloaf is quite possibly the best plant-based dish in Orlando.
Vegan Disney
PS: Save room for dessert. The Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake is iconic, but the plant-based Warm Apple Cake may be even better.
Rose & Crown Dining Room
Photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvQ1e2hu4w4
I should mention in advance that Yorkshire County Fish Shop works just as well.
That’s because the reason why you should visit Rose & Crown is the obvious one.
Image Credit: Disney
When you’re at the United Kingdom pavilion, you’re spitting on the crown if you don’t order the Fish & Chips.
To avoid an international incident, you must devour a full plate of seafood and French fries. It’s the law here!
Rose & Crown serves other dishes as well, but we’re only focusing on comfort today.
So, that narrows the menu to the Scotch Egg, Bangers and Mash, or Shepherd’s Pie. If you’re a Brit, this is the food of your youth.
If you’re not, just try it. You may try to defect afterward.
Oh, and my wife will make me sleep on the couch if I don’t mention her beloved Sticky Toffee Pudding. She’d mainline that stuff if she could.
Via Napoli Pizzeria e Ristorante
What’s a better comfort food than pizza? You can’t name anything, can you?
Real talk: there was a period of time in my 20s where I lived off cold pizza and Coke.
When I was a teenager, mom would leave cold pizza in the fridge for me to eat after practice.
I still make that pizza recipe some today, but I can assure it’s nothing like what they serve at Via Napoli.
This place takes the thick cheese concept from Chicago-style pizza and elevates the way that Italians should.
After all, Chicago stole their concept in the first place, but even the mystic flavors of Giordano’s cannot match the motherland.
Photo: Via Napoli
So, grab a few friends, a comically sized Mezzo Metro pie and share some slices with the people you love.
Nothing says friendship like a pizza that’s larger than a small toddler.
Whispering Canyon Café
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Real talk: I just found out that Whispering Canyon Café will close for renovations during the week of my anniversary.
I’m not even planning on being at Disney that week, yet it still makes me irrationally angry.
Photo: Disney
That’s how attached I am to this place. And the reason why is my standard order.
I get the bottomless signature skillet called The Pig. Then, I order so many refills that my server starts to look at me funny.
Photo: Disney
I’m fine with strangers judging me as long as I get to devour the ribs, the pulled pork, the pork belly, and the sausage.
You probably shouldn’t watch me tear through the corn, either. It’s not pretty.
Photo: @justinhamana/Twitter
Whispering Canyon Café serves nothing but rustic comfort food that will remind you of grilling under the stars.
Woody’s Lunch Box
Finally, we have the other obvious entry on the list.
Disney is currently expanding the seating area at Woody’s Lunch Box because park officials got caught off-guard here.
Nobody could have possibly predicted the explosive popularity of this restaurant. It’s one of the hottest spots at Disney.
Real talk: the nastiest behavior I saw at the parks during the pandemic happened here.
Cranky people were willing to lay hands over getting a table. I’m talking full, “Take off the earrings and talk about yo’ momma.”
It got serious. And I got it. A meal at Woody’s Lunch Box is important.
I’m always a little sad for people who tell me they’ve never eaten here. That’s like never setting foot in the Eiffel Tower.
Yes, the two things are roughly the same, in my estimation. And I’ve been to the Eiffel Tower.
Photo: Disney
I’ve also eaten a grilled cheese sandwich, tater tots, and a Lunch Box Tart at Woody’s Lunch Box. Perfect is perfect.
To a larger point, all these places serve comfort food that will remind you of the happiest moments of your childhood.
You’ll feel like Anton Ego taking that first bite of ratatouille. This could be you:
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Feature Photo: Homecomin’
