Which are the best Disney World restaurants to visit? There are so many Walt Disney World restaurants to choose from, it can be very difficult to narrow them down when the time comes to choose your advanced dining reservations for your Disney World trip. This post contains some of my Disney World dining recommendations based on our dining experiences.
We have definitely found that we save money by using the Disney Dining Plan. Being a UK guest, we often book when the free dining plan offer is on for the following year.
By upgrading the standard quick service meal plan to the regular dining plan, we are then able to enjoy our Walt Disney World restaurants and only pay the gratuities.
We haven’t sampled anywhere near enough of the Walt Disney World restaurants, however after trialling quite a few, I now already have a list of the Disney World reservations I will opt to get again for our next trip.
Ohana Restaurant
Ohana restaurant is in the Polynesian Resort, one of the best Disney hotel restaurants. Accessible from Magic Kingdom park via the Monorail system, or perhaps you’d like to take a water taxi or bus.
Ohana means family and serves its food family style. We really enjoyed our dinner experience here last year and will be looking to get another reservation for 2019.
With skewers of meats cooked on the open barbecue in the restaurant, fresh salad, noodles and stir fried vegetables to name a little of what you can expect, Ohana became a favourite of ours.
Be Our Guest Restaurant
We have eaten at be Our Guest twice, and in my opinion one of the best restaurants in Disney World. With the menu and meal structure changing for their dinner service in the Summer of 2018, we will definitely be looking to book again for 2019.
We think the food at Be a Our Guest during dinner to be of excellent quality and well worth the cost. We’re not alone in this as the restaurant is extremely popular and is one of the Disney World reservations you will need to secure as early as possible.
Related Post – Cinderella’s Royal Table VS Be Our Guest
Hoop De Doo Revue
I kept hearing about Hoop de Doo Revue, one of the Fort Wilderness restaurants at Walt Disney World. During our 2017 trip, we decided to visit and we are so glad we did. It’s definitely one of the top Disney dining experiences in my experience and well worth the two table credits on the Disney Dining plan.
In our opinion Hoop De Doo really is one of the best Disney World restaurants. We enjoyed it so much we tried to get another reservation during our holiday but there was no availability, which to be honest we weren’t surprised about but we were hoping for a cancellation slot.
Hoop De Doo Revue provides you with almost two hours of entertainment from the Pioneer Hall players whilst you enjoy as much fried chicken, ribs, mashed potato, corn, beans, salad and dessert as you like. All washed down in jam jars full of your favourite beverages that are refillable during the dinner show.
Crystal Palace Restaurant
Another one of my favourite Magic Kingdom restaurants we will definitely return to is Crystal Palace. A character restaurant where you can enjoy a buffet and meet Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet.
On a hot Florida day, Crystal Palace will also provide you with some great escape from the sun in its amazingly cool air-conditioned restaurant.
We found the buffet choices to be of good quality and I loved finding a good selection of vegetables and meats on the buffet that you don’t see in all of the Walt Disney World restaurants
Tusker House
One of the best places to eat in Animal Kingdom is Tusker House. It’s also available as a Rivers Of Light Dining package providing you seats in the Rivers of Light night time show in Animal Kingdom, so it’s well worth booking.
Tusker House is one of the Animal Kingdom character dining options where you can meet Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Mickey Mouse in their safari gear. It’s a great way to meet the characters without waiting in line and enjoying some good food at the same time.
The food on offer provides a great choice with some amazing carvery meats with flavours that will have you going back for more. Also on offer in Tusker House is the infamous jungle juice, a lovely blend of fruit juices that is so refreshing. You have to try it if you visit Tusker House.
Yak & Yeti Restaurant
Another Animal Kingdom restaurant worth a second visit is Yak & Yeti. If you like Chinese food then I recommend you give Yak & Yeti a try. I opted for non traditional fare on our first visit and ordered a steak, and it was gorgeous.
On another visit I would definitely opt for something a little more traditional as the plates that were arriving at tables around us looked amazing. We ate so much food at Yak & Yeti we could barely manage dessert.
Rainforest Cafe
Walt Disney World has two Rainforest cafe’s. One in Animal Kingdom and the other in Disney Springs. We opted to book a table at the Animal Kingdom as it meant we could tie in our meal with a visit to Animal Kingdom.
Reservations for Rainforest Cafe are easier to come by and you don’t rend to need to book so far in advance like a lot of Disney World dining choices. I really wanted to visit Rainforest Cafe for the experience as well as the food.
We will definitely go back to Rainforest Cafe as I had one of the best burgers I have ever eaten at Walt Disney World. It was cooked to my choice of rareness and it was packed with so many flavours. Eating that surrounded by animal noises, jungle plants and a fish tank was a brilliant way to spend a couple of hours.
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’
If you’re looking for a great restaurant to try in Disney Springs, then Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ is a great choice. Possibly the most famous and popular dish on the menu is the fried chicken and doughnuts, and whilst it may sound a little strange, it really works!
There is both indoor and outside seating in the bustling restaurant in Disney Springs. The portions were so huge we couldn’t fit dessert in and had to choose it to go. Definitely worth a second visit.
That all looks so delicious. We didn’t use any of the Disney restaurants when we went which I do regret now. There’s so much choice and they all look like a wonderful experience.
I love Ohana and that is always our final night tradition. A meal there then down to the beach to watch the final fireworks show. I would definitely dine at Be our Guest again as we dined there in 2013 not long after it had just opened x
Definitely agree that Tusker House is a MUST DO! The food and the service there are both hard to beat. We’ve not had a bad experience there yet. It’s one of the very few restaurants we will visit every time we go to Disney. The breakfast is super good. I’m not fond of bananas, but their banana bread pudding is to die for! And if you want it all, book your ADR at the end of the breakfast period. You’ll get breakfast, but can also dine on lunch offerings as they arrive before breakfast is fully broken down. Definitely the best of both worlds!
Rainforest Cafe is the other every-time-we-visit restaurant. It’s traditionally our arrival day go-to place at Disney Springs. We first went to the AK one when my granddaughter was 6. She’s now 12 and still insists on going there when asked for her input on places to eat at. It’s not a good value if you’re on the dining plan, but we usually don’t get that. I save about $400 paying out of pocket versus paying for the DDP.
One we hope to try next time we go is the seafood buffet at Cape May (Beach Club Resort). All you can eat crab legs and shrimp is heaven on a plate, though I understand there’s plenty for the non-seafood lovers to enjoy, too.
We’ve never tried Cape May Cafe, perhaps one for the list. We also love Rainforest Cafe but choose the Animal Kingdom one as then we pop in the park afterwards.