Sometimes, you just want to walk into a Walt Disney World restaurant and eat everything they serve. Walking through the parks is grueling, especially during the dog days of summer. You burn energy at an alarming rate, and the process makes you crabby. Food replenishes your body and improves your mood.
When you want a lot to eat, Disney has you covered. Several of their restaurants offer what they describe as All You Care to Enjoy (AYCE) meals. You and I call them buffets, although that’s technically incorrect. As pedants know, guests serve themselves at buffets. A server provides the food at AYCE establishments, of which Disney has many.
Today, I’m going to pick the best Disney buffets. The one thing I want to note is that if a restaurant serves a character meal, I’m not factoring in the meet-and-greet. This list is solely about the food, and that’s a tough break for a place like Chef Mickey’s. It’s my favorite character meal, but the entrees aren’t good enough for it to make the list. We’re also throwing out breakfast for this list so that we can compare apples to apples (and pork to pork). Keeping the criteria in mind, here are the best nine All You Care to Enjoy dinners at Walt Disney World.
9. Biergarten Restaurant
Image: DisneyA couple of World Showcase Table Service restaurants merit a spot on this list, and the first of them is at the Germany Pavilion. At Biergarten Restaurant, you celebrate Oktoberfest every day!
When you enter the establishment, you’ll notice the musical backdrop and possibly even a stage show while you dine. The AYCE options include bratwurst, sauerkraut, hot pretzels and many, many meats. The savory options such as pork and sausage make this one of the finest meals at Epcot.
8. Garden Grill
Image: DisneyYou know this as the spinning restaurant. It rotates gradually around the adjoining attraction, Living with the Land. What you may not know about this character meal is that Disney produces a lot of the meal ingredients onsite at The Land pavilion. This sort of farm freshness explains why the salad and vegetables at Garden Grill are so spectacular. The only reason the restaurant isn’t ranked higher is that the limited entrée options don’t quite match the appeal of the sides.
7. 1900 Park Fare
Image: DisneyIf we were grading simply on ambience, 1900 Park Fare would rank in the top three for sure. As far as buffet meals go, it’s one of the finest on the Disney campus. You actually do serve yourself here, although a cast member supplies you drinks.
When you reach the buffet islands, you’ll discover grilled chicken, Mississippi catfish, and the Grand Floridian’s legendary Strawberry Soup. Amazingly, those are just the starters. 1900 Park Fare provides savory dishes such as pork loin and Mongolian beef, too.
The overall menu here is very good, and the desserts are divine. I’m a huge fan of the fruit tart while my wife is all about the cheesecake. We enjoy the overall experience here so much that I regret not ranking it higher, but there are much better AYCE restaurants at Walt Disney World…and that’s an amazing fact since 1900 Park Fare is so good.
6. Whispering Canyon Café
Image: DisneyThis one is kind of a cheat. I know that some of you are ready to point out that Trail’s End is the true AYCE joint at the Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness Resort area. That’s definitely correct, but despite the shared facilities, I’ve always had better food at Whispering Canyon Café, and they have an AYCE menu item that’s in the conversation for best thing to order at Walt Disney World.
The All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Skillet is $32 per person. For that not insignificant cost, you get enough food to last you for a week. I think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not 100% sure. A server brings you massive skillets worth of food, with everything from cornbread to mashed potatoes to baked beans in one skillet. My favorite of the sides is the grilled corn, as I can somehow taste the rustic. And those are just the side vittles.
The entrees are pork ribs, glazed chicken, and pulled pork. There’s so much of it that I guiltily cover my Fitbit’s display when the skillet arrives. This meal is among the most savory and thematic experiences on the Disney campus. Trail’s End is theoretically the same, but it just hasn’t worked out that way for our family. Whispering Canyon Café is always better for us.
5. Cape May Café
Image: DisneyOne of the trends in Disney is for the buffets to have a certain level of sameness. That’s a feature, not a bug. Disney wants theme park tourists to feel comfortable at any restaurant. They stock the menus with similar items, comfort foods that most people enjoy. Virtually anyone can fill a plate with this sort of food, but it’s also generic.
Cape May Café is different. This is the only true seafood buffet onsite, and it’s amazing. The selection of seafood would make Neptune proud. You will smell this restaurant half a mile before you reach it. My family has a running joke about this as we head to Stormalong Bay at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. Anyone doesn’t like the smell of fish should avoid this place like it’s on fire, but for the rest of us, it’s magic.
4. Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue
Image: DisneyYou’re noticing a theme here. I’m a southerner, and I love classic camping staples. Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue is (arguably) the longest running musical variety show in the world. It’s also dinner theater. While the musical revue may cost more than the other restaurants listed here, the show means that you get more for the money. Call it a wash.
As for the food, the entrees get it a song! You know the chicken’s good if total strangers are singing, “More chicken! More chicken!” The best part is the servers slamming the giant plates on the table in front of you, creating a cacophony of poultry. No, it doesn’t help the flavor any, but it does lift the spirits. As for the food, look, Wilderness Lodge is my type of place. The food they serve is authentic campfire cuisine. I’m a huge fan, and this is my favorite meal onsite.
3. Akershus
Image: DisneyElsa and Anna might not be real people from a real country, but the pavilion that hosts their attraction, Frozen Ever After, most assuredly is. And that nation, Norway, offers some of the most delicious meats and cheeses on the planet.
While the multi-princess character meeting at Akershus get all the attention, the food is phenomenal, too. The names of entrees here may look strange on paper, but you already know them. Tradisjonell Kjøttkake is Norwegian meatballs, Svinestek is marinated pork loin, and Kyllingbryst is chicken breast. Since these recipes use different spices and preparations, however, you’ll notice flavor variants that will pleasantly surprise you with their depth and richness.
Out of all the character meals at Walt Disney World, Akershus offers the best food.
2. Boma – Flavors of Africa
Image: DisneyI knew what the top two would be before I populated this list. Picking which one should win was a brutal exercise, though. Boma is worthy of a claim as the best AYCE restaurant on the Disney campus. The restaurant brags that it uses recipes from more than 50 different African countries in its food preparations. It also defers to more conventional palates by offering standard North American cuisine as well. The contrasting foods on your plate will make you feel adventurous even if you avoid the most exotic flavors.
What differentiates Boma from its peers is the spiced meat. Many of the proteins have explosive flavors that will blow your mind. And don’t even get me started on the desserts. Boma’s famous Zebra Domes are in such demand that Disney’s posted the recipe in a couple of their cookbooks. You can also watch an unofficial video here.
The impressive aspect of Boma is that its exotic flavors aren’t divisive. It’s almost universally beloved, a rarity for unconventional cuisine at Walt Disney World. Even the most popular restaurants at the World Showcase have their detractors, but Boma largely avoids that fate.
1. ‘Ohana
Image: DisneyI’ll start with an obvious statement. The food at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort is ridiculously good. It’s the only place outside of a theme park where you can buy a Dole Whip, and the two other primary restaurants onsite, Captain Cook’s and Kona Café, are also spectacular. The best of the three, however, is ‘Ohana; it’s also the finest AYCE meal at Walt Disney World.
For those of you unfamiliar with the setup here, you sit down at a table overlooking the Magic Kingdom across the way. The glass window goes from the floor to the ceiling, giving you a breathtaking view of the surrounding area. As you gaze on the majesty of the inner sanctum of the world’s most popular theme park, a server brings you a plate of food. And then this keeps happening.
Anyone who likes meat will think of ‘Ohana as The Good Place. As long as you’re sitting at that table, you can just keep ordering proteins. The foods come in waves. One round, you’ll get Oak Grilled Chicken. Later, Spicy Grilled Shrimp arrives. The meats actually change from time to time, but you may get pork, or marinated sirloin steak, too. At the time of publication, steak is available, but the pork isn’t…which makes my stomach sad.
Before and after the meat portion of the meal, you’ll be treated to other delicacies. ‘Ohana serves the sides all at once. These include Lo Mein, stir fried vegetables, chicken wings, and wontons. The restaurant also serves the Polynesian’s beloved pineapple bread, although it doesn’t come with the spectacular butter that Kona Café offers.
As for dessert, you get the one buffet eatery item that can compete with Zebra Domes: ‘Ohana Bread Pudding with Caramel and Banana Sauce. It’s one of the most recognizable desserts on the Disney campus and a spectacular finish to an already incredible meal.
From start to finish, ‘Ohana provides a special dining experience. It’s one of the most hotly contested Advanced Dining Reservations, and for good reason. It’s clearly the best AYCE dining experience at Walt Disney World.
