Eight Must-Do Restaurants at Walt Disney World

From childhood, we learn to have modest expectations about theme park food.

I mean, I’ve purchased Cheese on a Stick at Cedar Point, and if my doctor ever finds out, she’ll disown me.

That’s what’s so amazing about Disney. We expect generic, barely edible foods when we’re at the parks.

Then, Disney surprises us with delicious dishes, the kind nobody would ever expect at a theme park.

So, you can eat shockingly well when visiting Disney. Here are eight must-do restaurants at Walt Disney World.

Chef Mickey’s

Before we get started, I should throw in a couple of other mentions.

First, you’ll find plenty of spectacular food at the parks, but you should also glance at some resort restaurant menus, too.

Some of these places will surprise you in that you’re in a more relaxed setting, and it’s convenient to get there.

For instance, at Magic Kingdom, you can hop on the monorail to Disney’s Contemporary Resort.

The place where you exit the monorail is also the home to Chef Mickey’s, a wonderful place.

And this brings me to the second point. When you’re a tourist, there’s more to your experience than simply the food.

For my money, one of the best entertainment options at Disney is the character meal.

That’s when you sit down for your meal, and then a series of costumed Disney characters come to your table.

The joy of these photo ops will stay with you for many years after the fact, making places like Chef Mickey’s must-do meals.

Note that this is the only character meal I’m listing today, but they’re all phenomenal.

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café

Due to the alphabetization of this list, I’m starting with the two meals where the food isn’t the star.

Honestly, the food service at Cosmic Ray’s is so inconsistent that a Cast Member once served me a liquified cheeseburger.

To this day, I don’t even understand how that was possible, but I also didn’t care.

I was eating there during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and I had an ideal view of Sonny Eclipse. He’s this guy:

Everything about this is cheesy, and I know it. Still, when I eat lunch at Magic Kingdom, I often pick this place.

Why? It reminds me of eating at Disney as a kid, and I love the ridiculousness of this quasi-sci-fi concert.

Flying Fish

The difference between the cuisine at Cosmic Ray’s and Flying Fish is like the difference between my football throws and Joe Burrow’s.

So, we’re definitely stepping up our game now. HERE is a place where you are going for the flavors.

Flying Fish frequently appears on lists of most underrated restaurants at Disney as well as the flat-out best places to eat.

Both statements are accurate, as Flying Fish’s location on Disney’s BoardWalk hurts it a bit.

This place falls beneath the radar as the overwhelming majority of tourists stick to the World Showcase.

Many of those places are terrific choices as well, and I’m about to suggest a couple.

Still, when you want upscale cuisine and high-quality seafood in particular, Flying Fish is the place to go.

The Hollywood Brown Derby

And somehow, we just got even fancier. In fact, while this place isn’t the most expensive option listed, it is part of a rare group.

Most people don’t even know this, but there’s a third tier to Disney dining.

You’re surely familiar with Quick Service and Table Service restaurants due to the Disney Dining Plan.

However, there’s an even higher level called Signature Dining. It applies to only a handful of fine dining experiences.

The Hollywood Brown Derby is one such place, as you would expect for a restaurant of such prestige.

In case you’re unfamiliar with it, the Brown Derby was an iconic restaurant during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Disney has recreated that vibe here, as well as the legendary Cobb salad created at the Brown Derby.

Dining here is like stepping back in time, and the food’s impeccable.

Kona Café

I haven’t praised Kona Café in a few years because I’ve been a bit mad at it.

For the longest time, this was one of my go-to restaurants at Walt Disney World due to its location and menu.

You’ll find Kona Café on the second floor of the Great Ceremonial House at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

As far as people-watching spots go, it’s one of the best spots at Walt Disney World.

The reason why I withdrew my praise for a while was that Disney kept messing with the menu.

Management inexplicably removed longstanding classics such as the steak and Kona Kone.

Thankfully, normalcy has returned, with a relatively stable menu for a while now.

Disney has emphasized Asian cuisine here, which you can probably guess from the sushi bar.

Oh, and the New York Strip Steak is back on the menu! So, you and your Poke Bowl-obsessed friends should find plenty to eat here.

Le Cellier Steakhouse

As mentioned, you can already eat incredibly well at the World Showcase.

There’s an international cuisine and a flavor to fulfill every desire. So, you could eat here for a month and never have the same thing.

You’ll find one of the best options at the Canada pavilion, and the restaurant’s name tells you why.

Le Cellier frequently makes the shortlist of best steaks at Walt Disney World, and it may just be THE best.

Frankly, the only other two places on its level are Yachtsman Steakhouse and STK Steakhouse.

For my money, I prefer Le Cellier, which fittingly throws in plenty of maple dishes and the best cheese plate in Orlando.

San Angel Inn Restaurante

Here’s another place that’s less about the food and more about the experience…although the food is grrreat!

But you’ll go here for the vibe and the ambiance, as there’s nothing else like it at Disney.

This eatery resides inside the Mexico pavilion, and since you’ll dine by the water here, it takes on an ethereal, almost mystical quality.

You’ll eat beside Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros, which provides you with a unique view.

You can watch excited families ride the boats in the great unknown, but that’s not even the best part.

Due to the unusual lighting (or lack thereof) at San Angel Inn, it’s an unexpectedly romantic place to eat.

You won’t find many of those inside the parks, which makes dining here all the more special.

Space 220

Finally, we have the most expensive meal on this list…but it’s totally worth the money!

Okay, dining at Space 220 once is worth the money. Anything after that is probably a needless splurge.

Then again, the best vacations feature needless splurges. So, I forget my point.

Anyway, Space 220 arrived a few years ago after what seemed like five years of hype.

The technical requirements of this restaurant proved so challenging that it kept getting delayed.

Once guests entered the building for the first time, we understood why.

Space 220 is Disney’s most immersive dining experience of all time. You take a space elevator, a “Stellarvator,” into outer space.

You can literally watch the state of Florida disappear from view as you lift off and accelerate at stunning velocity.

Then, you enter a dining area that features wall-to-wall digital screens, building the illusion that you’re in outer space.

You’ll orbit the Earth while you eat, and some astronaut shenanigans occur on the digital displays, too.

This is one of the most mesmerizing things Disney has ever done, and I fully recommend it.

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Feature Photo: Disney