Best Places to Eat at the Parks Right Now
Okay, let’s be real. A lot of your favorite places to eat at Walt Disney World aren’t great options at the moment.
You may not want to dine indoors during the pandemic for safety reasons.
Conversely, some of the best restaurants haven’t reopened yet due to crowd capacity limits. Don’t worry, though! You’ve still got plenty of terrific options.
Here are the best places to eat at Walt Disney World’s parks right now.
Aloha Isle
Some staples of Disney dining like Casey’s Corner, Columbia Harbour House, and Woody’s Lunch Box remain closed.
So, several of the places I’ll discuss here aren’t necessarily ones that you have in your regular rotation.
In fact, three of these places opened in 2018, 2019, and 2020. If you haven’t visited Disney in a couple of years, you surely haven’t eaten there.
Still, some things remain the same. For example, Aloha Isle qualifies as a classic despite its limited menu.
The explanation as to why comes down to one exquisite treat. You’ll feel joy in your heart as a cast member pours a Dole Whip while you watch.
Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café
Okay, I recognize that some of the places I’ll suggest include indoor seating. If that thought alarms you, I understand.
I haven’t eaten inside a restaurant in more than five months, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend behavior that I’m not undertaking.
However, Mobile Ordering changes the situation. Every place I list here participates in the Mobile Ordering program.
So, you don’t have to sit inside a restaurant to eat. Instead, you can grab your food at the Mobile Ordering station and then find a spot to eat outside.
For example, you could order from Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café and then grab an outdoor table. The restaurant wisely added this seating in 2018.
Conversely, those who are braver than me can sit down and watch Sonny Eclipse sing all the classics while you eat your futuristic food.
Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
When Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened, park officials surprised guests a bit. The new themed land didn’t feature a Table Service restaurant.
Instead, Docking Bay 7 claims supremacy as the most popular place to eat in Star Wars Land.
The food is stubbornly authentic, which means that the names may confuse you.
You would recognize all the names of the entrees if you heard the ingredients, though. Don’t let the names scare you off!
Better yet, the bazaar area of Black Spire Outpost features open-air shopping and dining.
You’re eating outside here, which should alleviate any safety concerns.
Flame Tree Barbecue
For the longest time, Flame Tree Barbecue stood as the unquestioned master of Quick Service BBQ joints.
In recent years, competition has arrived in the form of The Polite Pig and a place at EPCOT I’ll discuss later.
Still, Flame Tree Barbecue remains at the top of the list for best theme park barbecue in Florida.
Plus, the outside seating here will help you do more than feel safe. You’ll also get to gaze at Expedition Everest while you dine.
In fact, you’re right by the water, which means that a Disney Cavalcade may sail by you while you eat!
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café
This place is quite the anomaly among theme park restaurants.
Yes, Disney Quick Service meals legitimately claim the status of the gold standard in the industry. However, many of them possess a sameness.
At Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn, you’ll eat more distinctive cuisine. The flavors come from south of the border, which means they’re spicy and robust.
Also, let’s be real. You’re not going to find Pork Carnitas at your local Six Flags. It’s a daring meal by theme park standards.
Pinocchio Village Haus
Those who don’t want to eat indoors will lose one of the strongest amenities of a meal here.
Pinocchio Village Haus attaches to It’s a Small World, and a handful of tables look down over the attraction’s boats.
However, the truth is that only a few guests receive this benefit for each meal. So, you’re not sacrificing much.
What you will get is a dynamic flatbread, as that’s the restaurant’s specialty. Plus, it’s one of the most centralized locations at Magic Kingdom.
You’re never far away from here when you do Mobile Ordering, and you’ll have plenty of places to look for outdoor seating as desired.
Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue
When this place opened in 2019, it immediately created a community schism.
Some Disney lovers immediately proclaimed Regal Eagle the best BBQ at Walt Disney World.
Others remained loyal to Flame Tree Barbecue, while Florida residents evangelize about The Polite Pig.
In truth, you cannot go wrong with any of the three. If you’re someone who loves slow-aged pork with a zesty rub and delectable hot sauce, this place is heaven.
Better yet, you’ll smell Regal Eagle well before you reach the joint. The fragrant, smoky aroma wafts across multiple pavilions.
You may get so hypnotized by the scent that you pull out your phone and order almost subconsciously.
Satu’li Canteen
Fittingly, the restaurant that introduced Mobile Ordering is alive and well during the pandemic, the time when you need the service the most.
Satu’li Canteen’s popularity happened overnight, but its sustained success speaks to the quality of the Pandoran cuisine on the menu.
The bowls here have earned a reputation as some of the healthiest, tastiest cuisine at Disney parks.
For a time, the cheeseburger pods also came back. However, Disney has streamlined all its restaurant menus due to park capacity limits.
So, the cheeseburger pods aren’t available at the time of publication, but they could return at any time.
Of course, no matter what you eat for your entrée, you’re ending your meal with Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse, quite possibly the most beautiful dessert at Walt Disney World.
Sunshine Seasons
EPCOT’s Mobile Ordering options right now aren’t extensive. In fact, I’ve mentioned them both. But here’s the thing.
Sunshine Seasons, like Regal Eagle, serves impeccable cuisine. Plus, the food here is as farm fresh as humanly possible.
Disney Imagineers grow many of the ingredients at The Land pavilion and then use them in Sunshine Seasons meals.
When you dine here, you’re embracing the healthiest form of dining, a kind that’s fantastic for the environment, too.
Just as importantly, you’ll appreciate the significance of fresh ingredients as you eat. It’s enough to make you want to start your own garden.