One of the hallmarks of Walt Disney World involves their dedication to whimsy and wonder. Virtually every inch of the various Disney properties features high quality tributes to the iconic characters and themes created by the studio. Perhaps nowhere outside the parks exemplifies this attention to detail better than the dazzling restaurants onsite. Here are eight of the best Walt Disney World restaurants where the food takes a backseat to the ambience.
1. Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
When is the last time you ate a steak while sitting in the husk of a classic automobile? Unless you’ve eaten here before, the answer is presumably never. Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater celebrates the antiquated 1950s drive-in movie experience by providing glorious big screen programming in a darkly lit auditorium filled with scores of cars repurposed as eatery booths. The experience is as jarring as it is invigorating.
Perfectly situated in Hollywood Studios, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater offers one of the most entertaining restaurant events at any theme park in the world. Clips from classic 1950s B movies provide a throwback feeling to times gone by. They are interspersed with clips from Walt Disney himself, and he is occasionally joined by Garco the Garrett Robot. There is virtually nothing that embodies the 1950s Sci-Fi more than an extremely cheesy robot being treated like it’s Seven of Nine even though it looks more ridiculous than a 1960s Cyberman. The entire meal experience is wonderfully kitschy fun.
2. 50s Prime Time Cafe
While we’re discussing the 1950s, Hollywood Studios also provides the full Happy Days living room experience with its campy interior design. The stylized tables recreate the period when entire families ate together Donna Reed style, and the full restaurant theme is of a single giant kitchen. It happens to have an angled view of the family television. You can even sit close enough to one to enjoy the popular television programs of the era…including The Donna Reed Show.
Disney further enhances the recreation by training the staff to act like Mom would. So, don’t you dare slouch or even think about leaving food on your plate. Whatever you order, you should expect to finish if you don’t want to get nagged. And while this article is about the atmosphere rather than the food, I will note that the milkshakes at 50s Prime Time Café seem straight out of a malt shop.
3. T-Rex
Have you ever wondered how it would feel to eat among the dinosaurs? You can discover the mysteries of these ancient beasts if you choose to eat at T-Rex, a themed dining experience at Downtown Disney from Landry’s Hospitality, the same people who also own Rainforest Café. That restaurant narrowly missed the cut since something else nautically themed is situated in Epcot, but T-Rex is a no-brainer. There is simply no other meal like it in Orlando.
T-Rex features animatronic dinosaurs, wooly mammoths, and a meteor strike. Yes, if you want to re-live the end of dinosaurs as a species, the comet hits every 20 minutes as the lights go down in the restaurant. A thrilling display includes the animatronics coming to life followed by the ground shaking and a re-enactment of the outer space rock assault that created an extinction level event for the dinosaurs. It’s loud, it’s silly, and it’s a joy to behold.
4. Coral Reef Restaurant
Positioned right beside the Finding Nemo ride at Epcot, Coral Reef is best described as an aquarium with fine dining thrown in as a happy bonus. Suffice to say that the fish on the menu is fresh, but that’s not the attraction at this establishment.
You get to watch the aquatic interactions among colonies of fish. Some of the tables are situated right beside the windows that provide views of The Sea with Nemo and Friends. You can watch the employees submerge to perform mundane tasks, you can pick your favorite sea turtle and watch it perform laps around the area, or you can even follow sharks as they intimidate the other sea creatures inhabiting this massive saltwater environment. If you’re feeling adventurous, there is a chance that you can have Mickey deliver a message as he swims inside the reef, although this practice has become less frequent in recent years. Some people say it’s no longer allowed while others note it’s for special circumstances only.
5. Splitsville Luxury Lanes
Live the white trash dream! You can enjoy bowling in your dining room! Okay, it’s that but…classier. This two-story bowling alley represents the height of high-tech bowling thanks to its backlit bowling pins and lanes, and its mystique is further enhanced by the clever layout of the facility. Rather than group all the lanes together as is the case with most bowling alleys, there are only a few in each section, creating a more intimate setting. Combined with the frequent live music on display and the overall energy of this part of Downtown Disney, Splitsville Luxury Lanes delivers a shocking amount of fun, even by Orlando theme park standards.
6. Pinocchio Village Haus
On the surface, this thematic quick service restaurant is nothing special. It offers the usual fare of fried foods ingrained in the Walt Disney World quick service ecosystem. Most Disney fans still relish it due to convivial nature, but if you are one of the lucky few, you can elevate your dining experience. A certain portion of the seats available at Pinocchio Village Haus offer heart-warming, inimitable views of It’s a Small World. Eating at one of the best tables at the restaurant provides an entire different and unique experience as you watch the boats below meander through one of Disney’s signature theme park attractions.
7. Be Our Guest
This establishment has earned the title of most popular eatery in Walt Disney World, no small feat. The explanation is that as one of the cornerstones of the updated Fantasyland, it provides Disney fans the unprecedented opportunity to dine in Beast’s Castle. This massive interior can service roughly 550 guests simultaneously, which makes its constant sellouts all the more incredible. And while people universally adore the food, that is not the primary selling point.
The intricate architecture and precise duplications of aspects of the movie, Beauty and the Beast, are the main attraction here. From the moment people enter the building, they see all of the statues, paintings and suits of armor one would expect in a real castle. The medieval themes are perfectly structured, and all three of the dining areas are breathtaking in their attention to detail.
Having eaten in all three, I must confess that the others feel like a bit of a letdown in comparison to The Grand Ballroom. It is a majestic room and probably claims the largest seating capacity anywhere in Walt Disney World. The accoutrements are all spectacular, but my favorite is unquestionably the electric blue snow effect outside the windows. It deftly enhances the illusion of being on a snowclad mountaintop.
In only a couple of years, Be Our Guest has already earned a reputation as one of the highlights of any visit to Walt Disney World. I fully agree with this belief.
8. Cinderella’s Royal Table
If I need to explain this one to you, you’ve never visited Walt Disney World, nor have you have never watched the original or the 2015 update of the fairytale. For that matter, you must not have read the fairytale, either. Seriously, how have you never heard about Cinderella’s Royal Table, at least by reputation?
I’m getting a bit off track here. Let’s focus on the obvious. Cinderella’s Royal Table embodies the premise of this article. Independent of the quality of the food offered, which happens to be impeccable, the restaurant itself as well as the building it inhabits are the anchor of Magic Kingdom itself, THE most visited theme park in the world.
Explaining the appeal of such an establishment is a bit like explaining the greatness of Michael Jordan. You know it when you see it. Disney has built their entire store structure upon the glory of princesses as an archetype. Cinderella’s Royal Table is the functional epicenter of that universe. Your child will feel like they have died and gone to princess heaven the moment they enter the building. In fact, many adults experience the same sensation. It is the crown jewel of Walt Disney World restaurants.
