Matt and Elena's

Walt Disney World Guide

Dining

 Jump to Dining in the Parks

Reservations

• You will need reservations for the most popular restaurants. 
  
• Different restaurants have different reservation policies
• You may have to pre-pay for your meal
• You may make reservations 30, 90, or 180 days in advance.
• Check the Disney World website for reservation information

Menus

• Know the menus ahead of time.  That way you can avoid waisting your time going to a restaurant that does not offer anything you want to eat.
• AllEarsNet has all of the menus for all of the places to eat or get a quick snack.  Check it out!

Tips

• Eat at odd times
• Most people eat lunch at noon and dinner around 5 PM.
• Try to eat lunch at 11:30 AM or early.
• Try to eat dinner at 4:30 PM or early.
  
• Know the menus
• Share a meal
• Counter service - use both sides of the cashier stand
  
• Consider the Disney Dining Plan
• This is a prepaid dining option available to guest of Disney World resorts.
• It is pricy but can save money of you have a lot of adults.  Or children who eat like adults.
  

• Character meals can be a lot of fun
• Different character meals offer different characters
• All of the characters wander through the restaurant while you eat you meal
• Character meals usualy are a one price, buffet meal.  (They can be expensive)

Dining in the Parks

Magic Kingdom

• Columbia Harbour House (Liberty Square) has chicken strip baskets
• Pecos Bill Cafe and El Pirata (Frontierland) share the same sitting area and so some can eat burgers and some can get Mexican
• Enchanted Grove (Fantasyland) has good slushes 
• Cosmic Ray’s (Tomorrowland) has a food court with a lot of options, however there are three sections and they each serve different food.  That can make it a pain to get food for the entire family.
  

Epcot

• For fast food we like The Land (lots of variety) and Yakitori House in Japan (teriyaki). The Cantina in Mexico was a good value - I think we split a meal. The Patisserie in France has great pastries (there’s usually a line). There’s also a place near Test Track called Club Cool.  It has samples of Coke products from foreign countries.  (Some of them have an 'amazing' taste.)
  
• For Table Service we like San Angel Inn in Mexico, Teppanyaki in Japan, and Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco (they have live entertainment and a belly dancer!).

Disney-MGM Studios

• ABC Commissary - lots of variety
• Hollywood & Vine - buffet - you can eat dinner here and get a reserved seat for Fantasmic so you don’t have to wait in line. (you have to make a reservation ahead of time)
• Fantasmic Dining Package
• This package gives you reserved seats at Fantasmic when you make special reservations at Hollywood and Vine or the Brown Derby.
  
• There are a limited number of reserved seats each night.
• It does not cost any extra but it does force you to each at a restaurant for dinner.
• Saves tons of time so you don't have to wait in line for Fantasmic
  

Animal Kingdom

• Flame Tree Barbecue
• Our favorite place to eat for lunch in Animal Kingdom.
  
• Rainforest Café
• We have had dinner here after the park closes and have never had to wait.
• Tamu-Tamu Refreshments
• Great floats and they have straws, with a spoon on the end!
  

Downtown Disney

• Earl of Sandwich
• Good sandwiches
  
• Wolfgang Puck Express
• Good food
  
• Rainforest Café
• The Animal Kingdom one is less crowed at dinner time
• Planet Hollywood
• Lots of atmosphere

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Last updated: 7 August 2006