What’s one thing you think of when ‘Disney World’ comes to mind? Is it Mickey Mouse? That gorgeous castle? The rides? The crowds? The magic? Maybe all of those….but for me, it’s all FOOD!
One of my favorite t-shirts I own is a list of #allthesnacks you can get at Disney…Mickey pretzels, Dole Whips, churros, Mickey waffles, candy apples. Because as much as I love the rides at Disney, I REALLY love me a solid Disney snack in between attractions.
An area I didn’t know as much about with Disney World was the sit-down dining selections. We’ve had a few good quick service restaurants but had not explored the sit-down options as much. That’s where you all came in!
Last week, I asked you all on social media….what is your must-visit Disney restaurant? And holy Mickey mouse! I received A LOT of different responses. In order to digest all of this information, I tallied up the votes and then broke your choices down by popularity (how many votes total did each restaurant received). Since I have a young child, I also wanted to separate character dining from regular meals. Sometimes I want to eat with Cinderella, and sometimes I don’t. Sorry Cindy.
I should mention that there were 53 restaurants recommended in total. 53 y’all. WHAT! 17 of them only received one vote and are not included in the purple infographics below. However, if you jump down to the VERY bottom of this post, I will include those 17 as honorable mentions in case one of your favorites is on there.
TIP: Feel free to save these as pictures on your desktop or phone for easy reference when making Disney dining reservations.
A few other notes…
- All restaurants mentioned are at Walt Disney World in Florida…not to be confused with Disneyland in California.
- You can make dining reservations online here.
- I know nothing about WDW Dining Plans and which of these restaurants are included. I’ve heard mixed reviews on the Dining Plan and know there are some great resources online as well as Facebook groups that can help you make a decision on whether or not the DP is right for your family.
- Reservations can be 180 days prior to your arrival date.
- Mouse Dining has saved me! Given that this current trip is being planned in under 30 days, we missed the 180-day window by a LONG SHOT. Mouse Dining will send you up to 6 alerts for dates, times, and desired restaurants should an open reservation become available! I’m using this big time right now and even signed up for a paid package to set up multiple alerts per day per meal.
- I am aiming toward at least one sit down meal per day if not two. I love snacking around the park but like planning our days around times to sit down and enjoy yummy food away from the crowds.
- The cancellation policy varies from restaurant to restaurant. So check your confirmation email to confirm that window in case you change your mind!
- We also had to use a credit card to reserve every meal…just be aware of this when making your online resos.
- One last note, some reservations do require valid park admission! On the days you aren’t going to the parks, aim for the park resort area, Disney BoardWalk or Disney Springs restaurants.
Most Votes Overall
After sorting all 53 recommended restaurants, I tallied the votes. All restaurants that received 2 or more votes ended up on this list!
This list should give you a quick glance at the most popular restaurants (also the ones that will book up quickly) but maybe some other noteworthy options to select from based on votes alone.
I was surprised to see that Chef Mickey’s wasn’t rated as high, as I really enjoy that restaurant. I have memories of going there as a child too – so there’s a lot of nostalgia around starting a magical day at Chef Mickey’s with all of his pals at the Contemporary Resort.
I was also surprised that Cinderella’s Royal Table (the only restaurant where you can eat INSIDE Cinderella’s castle) did not make the list. While I don’t remember the food there as well, when we got married in 2015, we started our Magic Kingdom day off with an early reservation there so we entered the park before everyone else and then joined the crowds with a full stomach and autograph book! Huge tip when doing MK!
Restaurants Sorted by Area
Depending on what area of the park you are staying in, or if you want a reservation for a non-park/park day, this list will help you!
All of the restaurants here were in the top 4 tiers of your recommendations (meaning every restaurant here received at least 2 votes with ‘Ohana topping out at 22 votes).
There are PLENTY of other options in each area but wanted another way for you all to see the most voted for restaurants by location. I’ve used this list quite a bit myself to decide if it’s worth venturing in and out of the various areas to have a certain restaurant reservation.
For instance, I realized we may want to have dinner the night we arrive (which is a non-park day). Today, I hopped on MouseDining.com and setup 4 dining alerts for Story Book Dining, Homecomin’, Boma and California Grill. Hopefully, we get one!
Character Dining
Okay…this one could be slightly confusing. Let me explain.
RANK: this comes from how many votes total it received. It two say TIE – they received the same amount of votes for that place. The list does not go in numerical order based on character dining, but on its OVERALL rank in the lists above (see chart #1 if confused).
MEALS: Not all restaurants offer all meals. Some also call breakfast – brunch. or lunch – Brunch. For further and most accurate details, check out the Disney website. I am just trying to create a quick snapshot.
CHARACTERS: one thing I struggled with on the Disney website is understanding which characters are at which meals. You may have a kid who is terrified of Tigger but LOVES Flynn Rider (or something like this…kids are silly) This list will help you know. * Of course, this goes without saying, not all characters are guaranteed at every restaurant at your reservation time on your date. From my research, these characters generally show up at these specific restaurants.
HONORABLE MENTION: again, I was surprised CRT did not top the list….but since we had such a special breakfast there, I added it as my own honorable mention. We had breakfast there in 2015, but I am crossing my fingers for a dinner reservation there this upcoming trip. Thanks again to MouseDining.com – not sponsored, just really pumped about this resource.
Thank you all for your contributions and suggestions. I hope this helps somebody out there!
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please let me know. Did I miss your favorite restaurant?? Are you surprised by any of the results? Let me know in the comments.
Hollyce
Almost forgot…the 17 honorable mentions!
Tony’s Town Square – 1
Cinderella’s Royal Table – 1
Polite Pig – 1
Docking Bay 7 – 1
Restaurant Marrakesh – 1
Morimoto Asia – 1
Frontera Cocina – 1
T-REX Restaurant – 1
The Boathouse – 1
The Hollywood Brown Derby – 1
Marie & Enzo’s Ristorante – 1
Victoria & Albert’s – 1
Les Chefs de France – 1
Teppan Edo – 1
Spice Road Table – 1
Whispering Canyon Café – 1
Trail’s End Restaurant – 1
