disney WORLD DINING RECOMMENDATIONS
Here are a few of my favorite Disney World restaurants by category. I love to talk about Disney dining so please let me know if you have any questions or want talk more in depth about any of these restaurants or any others you don't see listed here.
Character Meals: These are my top 5 favorite character meals on all of Disney World property. I will mention some other character meals in my park specific recommendations below and while those are great too, these are my absolute favorites.
Topolinos- On the top floor of Disney's Riviera Resort. Beautiful views, beautiful restaurant, delicious food, and on the skyliner path. There is a set price but you order from a menu. This would be a great option for breakfast on an Epcot day, a Hollywood Studios day, or a rest day. Characters are Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy and they're wearing French artist inspired attire. Characters only appear at breakfast- 7:30am-12:30pm.
Cape May Cafe- Located at Disney's Beach Club Resort (short walking distance from the back entrance to Epcot). Also accessible by skyliner. This would be a great breakfast on an Epcot day (or even a Hollywood Studios day). It's a buffet but we have always had great food experiences here. **If you have a child under the age of 3, buffets are a great option because the child will eat for free but can have all the options of the buffet. The characters are Minnie, Goofy, Daisy, and Donald and they're wearing beach attire. Characters only appear at breakfast- 7:30am-11:30am.
Tusker House- Located inside Animal Kingdom. There are characters at breakfast, lunch, and dinner here! If you have some picky people in the bunch, breakfast may be your best option because it's more typical breakfast food but lunch and dinner are also delicious if you aren't afraid to venture out a little and try some African inspired cuisine. Either way, Tusker House is a buffet with lots of options. The characters here are Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy and they are dressed in safari attire.
Cinderella's Royal Table- If you’re looking to dine with princesses, this is my favorite princess meal simply because of the iconic location! You can't beat the magic of eating in the castle and meeting lots of princesses. The princesses are at all three meals here but if you're planning to go to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and you want to go to this restaurant, I would recommend having lunch or dinner after a morning appointment at BBB so your princess will be dressed like a princess for the meal! Cinderella is always here and the other princesses can vary but it's usually Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Jasmine. As a side note, you have to pay in full for this meal at the time of booking unlike most other Disney restaurants where you hold your reservation with a card but the card is only charged ($10 per person) if you don't show up to the reservation.
Ohana- Ohana is located at Disney's Polynesian Resort and has characters at breakfast. Breakfast is served family style. The restaurant and the character interactions are very fun here and it's a quick monorail ride away from Magic Kingdom or Epcot. The characters are Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch in luau attire. Breakfast is served from 7:30am-12:15pm.
Magic Kingdom:
Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen- In my opinion, this restaurant has the best food in Magic Kingdom! They're open for lunch and dinner and the theme of the restaurant matches the theme of the Jungle Cruise ride- down to the dad jokes and puns. They have a Brazilian cheese bread appetizer that’s a “secret” menu item and it’s delicious.
Be Our Guest- This restaurant, located in Beast's castle, has fun theming and usually delicious food (though it can be inconsistent sometimes). The Beast walks through the castle a few times during your meal but he doesn't stop for pictures or even to say hi- he just keeps walking! It's a three course prix-fixe menu of French-inspired dishes. My own kiddos really love the dessert here because kids get to paint a white chocolate “Chip” cup with edible paint. The castle has several different rooms themed from the movie and it’s really a delightful experience but it can be time consuming.
Crystal Palace- This is character dining and while it doesn't make my top 5 character meals in all of Disney World, it is close and it's definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Magic Kingdom. It's a buffet and characters are at all three meals here. At breakfast, they have some awesome churro Mickey waffles that you can only find in one other restaurant on Disney World property and on Disney Cruise Line. Pro tip: if you get a breakfast reservation between 10-10:45, you'll be there when they change the buffet over to lunch and you can try both their breakfast buffet and their lunch buffet for the price of breakfast so it makes a great brunch spot! The characters are Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore.
Epcot: (There are so many great restaurants here so it’s hard to narrow it down! Almost every country in the World Showcase has a great table service restaurant- or two! I’m going to list four restaurants that have great food and something else fun (characters/atmosphere) but you really can’t go wrong in Epcot. If your trip is during a festival, you may just want to sample lots of different things instead of making a reservation.)
Space 220- This is one of Epcot’s newest and most popular restaurants. My kids really love it. You take a ride up to the restaurant that feels like you are riding a space shuttle and then the restaurant is supposed to feel like a space station and it has giant screens that look like windows with different space things floating by. There are actually two different experiences in this restaurant- Space 220 with a set menu and (more expensive) price and Space 220 Lounge where you can order from the lounge menu or the restaurant menu but without the prefix price. The seating for the lounge is a little farther back from the “windows” but you can still see everything and have the full experience.
Akershus- Located in the Norway section of Epcot’s World Showcase. If you decide not to do Cinderella’s Royal Table OR if you want a double dose of princesses, this is another meal option with princesses. The princesses here are usually Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Mulan, Tiana, and/or Mary Poppins. There can be some differences but you will definitely see Belle. All three meals have characters here. The food is served family style and while it’s not my favorite, it’s not bad and the experience is great.
Garden Grill- Located in The Land building. This restaurant is really cool! The entire restaurant revolves so part of the time, you’ll be dining in the Living with the Land ride. This is a character meal and it has characters at all three meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all served family style- another good dining option for kids under 3. The characters here are Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale.
La Hacienda De San Angel- This has recently become one of my favorite restaurants at Epcot. For years, we skipped it because we preferred San Angel Inn Restaurante in the Mexico section of World Showcase and while I still love that one, this is my new fav. If you get a reservation during the fireworks, it’s an awesome experience. They turn all the lights off in the restaurant and play the fireworks music and you can see the fireworks out the big windows on one side of the restaurant. We also really enjoy the food here.
Hollywood Studios:
Roundup Rodeo BBQ- This one opened recently in Toy Story Land and I actually haven’t had a chance to eat here yet but several of my clients have eaten here and really enjoyed it. They have all given similar feedback that it was really fun and the food was also good. No characters but a great atmosphere. Food is served family style and they are open for lunch and dinner.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater- This restaurant has been a long time favorite for my family. The tables look like antique cars and the restaurant feels like you're outside at night. You sit in the "car" and eat burger and milkshake type food while watching old timey sci-fi movie clips. My kids LOVE it.
50’s Prime Time Cafe- This is also a family favorite. The restaurant is designed to look like a home/kitchen in the 1950s. The waiters and waitresses pretend to be your extended family and they mess with you about things like having your phone out or putting your elbows on the table, etc. The food here is 1950s style comfort food and it’s usually really good.
Animal Kingdom- My very favorite restaurant here is Tusker House but we’ve already addressed that above so here are two other options.
Yak and Yeti- This is a very popular option at Animal Kingdom and a big draw here is the ahi tuna nachos (you can also sub chicken if tuna isn’t your thing). As a little “Disney hack,” you can also order the nachos to go from the bar without a reservation if you’re looking for a faster or more spontaneous option.
Tiffins- I have eaten at Tiffins and while I enjoyed it, I’m not rushing back to go again. It’s good but I just feel like there are better options. Honestly, I love to eat at Animal Kingdom Lodge on an Animal Kingdom day but I’ll get to those recommendations below.
Miscellaneous- These are a few more of my favorites but they’re not character dining and they’re not inside one of the four parks.
Sanaa- This is a big family fav for my family. It’s located at Animal Kingdom Lodge and you can see the animals from your table- if you get a good table (you can make requests). The food is a little adventurous so keep that in mind if you have picky eaters in your group. We LOVE the bread service here. Delicious.
Boma- Boma is also at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It has an amazing breakfast buffet and it’s a great way to start an Animal Kingdom day. I don’t know a single person who has gone to Boma for breakfast and not enjoyed it! They also have a great dinner buffet but if I personally had to choose between breakfast and dinner, I would choose breakfast.
Beaches and Cream- This is a fun little soda shop style restaurant at Beach Club Resort. You can get to it from the Skyliner or by walking out the back entrance to Epcot (International Gateway).
Ohana- We’ve already talked about Ohana’s character breakfast but their dinner is really different from breakfast and it’s also a lot of fun. It feels like a very iconic Disney dinner- served family style. The food is usually good and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. Depending on your seat and reservation time, you can also see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from this restaurant.
California Grill- This is a very nice restaurant in Disney’s Contemporary Resort. While it’s a white tablecloth kind of place, it’s perfectly okay to wear park clothes since that’s expected on Disney property. The restaurant is great but my favorite reason to eat here is for the amazing view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Dinner is served from 5-10pm and if you have a reservation any time during that window, you can watch the fireworks from the restaurant balcony. If your reservation isn’t during the fireworks, you just arrive early or return for the fireworks.
Again, if you have questions about restaurants not mentioned here or you want more options, just let me know. Disney dining is VAST and I did my best to narrow it down to my very favorites but I have lots of opinions about restaurants I didn’t list. ha! And as always, if you have a specific need in your family like food allergies or dietary restrictions, I have tips and lots of info for these scenarios. Let’s talk. -Rachel
***Updated 9/7/23