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8 Restaurants That Should Be on Your Disney Dining Bucket List – Theme Park Edition

Pizza At Via Napoli
Pizza At Via Napoli

Walt Disney World has myriad dining options at your choosing. Between food carts, food trucks, counter-service restaurants, table-service restaurants, and a variety of resort restaurants, it can seem overwhelming to choose the right place for your family to eat on your trip to Disney World. There is a lot to consider when you make this decision. Cost, cuisine, whether you want a buffet, family-style service, or characters to be present all factor into diner’s calculus when picking a restaurant.

8. The Crystal Palace – dining at Crystal Palace features your favorite characters from the Hundred Acre Wood and is served buffet style. I enjoy and recommend eating at the Crystal Palace for breakfast because you are able to gain entrance to Magic Kingdom before the official rope drop for the day. Not only does this give you a leg-up on getting on rides and attractions if you are finished with your meal in time, but is also allows your family to get some amazing photos in front of Cinderella’s Castle without tons of crowds milling around in the background. The Crystal Palace also has a kid’s buffet featuring all of their favorites – including Mickey waffles!

7. 50’s Prime Time Café – located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this restaurant takes you back to the 1950s and features classic, homestyle entrees and television shows. Meals are served and you can enjoy scenes from some classic television shows. My recommendation for dinner is to try the sampler platter which features pot roast, fried chicken, and meatloaf! Make sure you eat all of your vegetables and mind your manners. The wait staff is known to give you a hard time if your plate isn’t clean or your elbows aren’t off the tables!

6. Tusker House – located in Harambe Village in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Tusker House is another buffet which features African and American fare. Mickey and his pals are present during your meal in their safari wear. Be sure to come with an empty stomach – there is so much food here to try and enjoy that you will definitely want to come with an appetite!

5. Garden Grill – this rotating restaurant is located in the Land Pavilion in Epcot’s Future World area. Garden Grill features family-style food offerings of seasonal vegetables and a selection of meats – turkey, pork, and fish. Enjoy as much as you want, but make sure you save room for dessert – the restaurant serves a wonderful fruit cobbler! While you dine, Chip and Dale, along with Mickey and Pluto travel around to visit diners at their table. Garden Grill is also rumored to be home to one of the best hidden Hidden Mickey in all of Disney!

4. Le Cellier – located in the Canada Pavilion in World Showcase at Epcot, this restaurant is home to a wonderful array of steaks. You’ll also want to enjoy the pretzel bread that is served when you sit down (be sure not to fill up on this alone). If you’re extra hungry on your trip, try the Cheddar Cheese Soup. It is an amazing appetizer that will whet your palette for a wonderful meal. They also serve a good selection of Canadian beers, too!

3. Liberty Tree Tavern – located in Liberty Sqaure, this restaurant also serves meals family-style for dinner, but offers a traditional menu for lunch. I highly recommend going for dinner and enjoying the fantastic Patriot’s Platter. If you dine later in the evening, the restaurant does allow you to view the parade from inside the dining room (depending on your vantage point to the window)!

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2. Via Napoli – located in the Italy Pavilion in Epcot, Via Napoli offers the best pizza in Disney World. Via Napoli has an open area dining room that offers fantastic view of the three pizza ovens in the kitchen. The portions are generous, so consider ordering a couple of entrees and enjoying a little of everything!

1. Be Our Guest – located in the New Fantasyland expansion, Be Our Guest currently offers lunch and dinner (it is currently rumored that breakfast will soon be added as well). Lunch is served counter-service, and dinner is table-service. Be Our Guest offers three different dining rooms, so be sure to check out each of them. The restaurant offers a variety of food to please anyone’s palette. If you have room for dessert, you can even order the “grey stuff.” It is rumored to be very good!

Your stomach will be pleased with any dining option you make, but these are some our favorite places to stop by on our visit. Be sure to make dining reservations in advance, some of these options are popular and will fill up quickly! What is your favorite place to dine in one of the parks at Disney World?

About Tyler

Tyler is a lawyer living in South Florida who visits Disney World at least once a month. He enjoys re-living classic Disney experiences and discovering new things about the parks when he visits. Friends and family always ask him to plan their trip for maximum Disney magic!

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