Evan and I have been lucky enough to spend the coldest months of the winter near Orlando this year. We’ve enjoyed experiencing the warmth, the people and DISNEY while we’re here. While we aren’t eating all the food like we might if we were here on a shorter vacation, we have had the opportunity to try a lot of different Disney World Food offerings. Some were awesome, some were good and some were meh.
Here are the Disney World food items we’ve tried and our honest thoughts on each. As we continue to visit, I will add more to the post. Note that there are a lot of things that go into food quality. It can be how busy the restaurant is, the people working and the time of day. Just because we loved it or hated it does not mean that you will have the same experience. So definitely try something if you are excited to even if we didn’t like it…we would!
Oh and I’m not saying these are the best or the worst because there is no way we will be trying every dish at Disney. We just don’t have time or the inclination. Instead, it is what we have tried and what we thought. That’s it. Hope you find it helpful! I’ve split all the foods up by Walt Disney World park for ease.
Snacks Available at all Parks
Our favourite and most purchased snack is POPCORN. We bought the popcorn bucket for $10. Now we get refills for $1.50. It gets filled on almost every visit. Overall the taste and value is very good. We have had one bucket of stale popcorn and one bucket of burned popcorn. Considering how much we’ve eaten, that is just a blip.
Mickey pretzel with cheese sauce. This is Evan’s favourite lunch. He is super picky about cheese (he refuses to eat slices or any kind of nacho cheese) but he loves the Disney cheese sauce. We usually share one and it keeps us full for a while. When we can’t decide what to eat, a pretzel is our go to.
Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar – The ubiquitous Disney treat. Rock hard ice cream, yummy semi-dark chocolate shell…it is just so good. I love these!
Turkey legs are mostly available in Magic Kingdom but they are also available at other parks. Evan had not even tried the turkey leg when we took this silly picture. The turkey legs are smoked and brined so they taste more like ham than turkey. It is HUGE and filling but we didn’t love it.
Churros – Ignore Evan’s crazy face. He LOVES Disney churros. Personally, I don’t get the cinnamon sugar with chocolate dip thing but I like both the churros and the chocolate separately. Just not together. The churros are about 2 feet long so definitely shareable.
Cotton Candy – I am not a huge cotton candy fan, but I must admit that the Disney version is pretty darn tasty. Note that if you have an Annual Pass, you will get 20% off if you choose to buy your cotton candy at the Main Street candy store instead of at a food kiosk. Plus, you get to watch them make it.
Walt Disney World Food – Magic Kingdom
Grilled Chicken Club Meal and a side of Macaroni and Cheese from Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland. Since the amount of fries given is HUGE, we opted to order a side of Mac and Cheese instead of an entire kid’s meal. I wanted to love the chicken club but the chicken was very dry as was the bun. The toppings soaked into the dry bun and it started to fall apart right away. Next time I will get a hamburger instead.
Evan did not love the mac and cheese. I tasted it and it didn’t taste very cheesy. More like just a cream sauce. We added salt and it made it better but still not great. Neither of us would order this specific meal again. We do love Cosmic Ray’s, though, because they have unlimited burger toppings including sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, crispy onions and jalapenos. Definitely more than you normally get.
Dole Whip at Aloha Isle in Adventureland – Everyone’s favourite pineapple treat. Can you believe I had never tried it before this year? Evan and I both love it and we buy it often. Hate lines? Order it using your Disney app to cut your wait by more than half!
Fish and Shrimp Combination Platter at Columbia Harbour House in Liberty Square – Evan and I split this large meal. You got two pieces of fish, 5 or 6 shrimp, fries and corn. It was a great size to split and everything was tasty. On our last trip, I figured out that I could sub the corn for steamed veggies. We got a HUGE serving of green beans and they were MUCH better than the corn. I wholy suggest you do the substitution for more food, better tasty and a slightly healthier option. Also, order using the Disney app to save time.
Citrus Swirld Float from Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland – I never thought I would say it, but I love the citrus swirl more than the Dole Whip. I know, I know, I didn’t think it was possible either. The citrus swirl (not to be confused with the Orange Cream) is now my favourite. It is a swirl of orange juice slush with vanilla ice cream. They blend together for a tart and tangy treat. We chose to order it as a float paired with orange soda. Delish!
Buffalo Chicken Tots from Friar’s Nook in Fantasyland – Crispy tater tots smothered with buffalo chicken, chopped celery, blue cheese and garlic ranch dressing. This portion is HUGE and great to share. They also have Fiesta Tots and Greek Tots. Note that Friar’s Nook seems to go back and forth between tots and mac and cheese options.
Walt Disney World Food – Epcot
Beef Udon Soup and Edamame side at Katsura Grill (Japan Pavilion) – Evan and I weren’t starving so we decided to share an udon soup and a side of edamame. We loved both and this was a fresh and delicious meal. The beef was shaved so it was very tender. The bowl as a convex portion in the bottom so it looks like you get more than you do. However, it was a pretty good serving size. We would defintely order this again.
Chicken Teriyaki Kids Meal and California Roll sushi from Katsura Grill (Japan Pavilion) – Evan wanted sushi for lunch but I didn’t want to buy that AND a full adult meal. Instead, we ordered a kid’s meal and sushi. I also asked for extra teriyaki sauce. The rice was very good as was the broccolini. The chicken was quite dry. Overall it was pretty good and a HUGE serving for the price considering you also got a drink and a cookie. The sushi was also really tasty and fresh. We would do this meal again! Don’t forget that Disney rarely if ever checks to make sure you are actually ordering a kids meal for a kid. It is a great way to save money and get less food if you don’t want to share.
Rainbow Shaved ice with Sweetened Milk from Kabuki Cafe (on the edge of the Japan Pavilion) – This is the PERFECT light and refreshing dessert for a hot day at Epcot. We got the rainbow and we would definitely get this again.
Fish and Chips from the Yorkshire County Fish Shop (UK Pavilion) – Fried, greasy and delicious. This is one of Evan’s favourite meals at Disney. The fish is light and flakey with a thick English batter crust. The chips are thicker than you get elsewhere in Disney too. We share an order between us. You get two pieces of fish and a good serving of fries.
American Dream Slush from the Fife and Drum Tavern (American Pavilion) – Evan LOVES this slush. It is a mixture of strawberry slush, vanilla ice cream and blue raspberry slush. A perfect mix of creamy and tart frozen drink deliciousness.
Croque Glaces from L’artisan des Glaces (France Pavilion) – This sweet tweet is one of our favourites and one of the most unusual we have tried. It is a fresh baked brioche bun stuffed with ice cream and then grilled. It comes together for a not-so-sweet treat that we could eat over and over. We chose to stuff ours with the coconut white chocolate ice cream and no sauces (you can add raspberry, chocolate or caramel). We will be getting another before we head home!
Poutine from The Refreshment Port (Canada Pavilion) – Poutine it is not but we decided we had to give this abomination a try. For those of you not from Canada, poutine is made with brown gravy. Specifically beef gravy. This “version” of poutine is smothered in the Le Cellier Cheddar Cheese Soup. It has bacon bits in it and the cheese curds are nicely squeaky. Overall, Evan and I both enjoyed it but it is NOT poutine and they should really find a different name.
Walt Disney World Food – Animal Kingdom
Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl Kid’s Meal at Satu’li Canteen – Evan decided to try the wood grilled chicken bowl on rice and grains (you can also choose a salad base). He disliked the coleslaw so he dumped that on my plate. He ate all his chicken and said it was delicious but I think he would have liked it better had it come with some kind of sauce. I found it a bit dry. I liked that you could see the chicken and beef being grilled in the restaurant.
Vegetable Steamed Curry Pods – Bao Buns at Satu’li Canteen – Two steamed buns filled with vegetable curry. These are right up my alley and I loved them. My only picky complaint is that their is WAY more bread than vegetable curry. The root vegetable chips were also really tasty and I loved the popping boba on top of the slaw.
Chocolate Cate at Satu’li Canteen – This is a cookie base, chocolate mouse and a chocolate coating. That little white bit on the top is banana cream. It is SO GOOD. Evan and I fought over the last bite.
Night Blossom frozen beverage at Pongu Pongu – Layers of Apple and Desert Pear Limeade topped with Passion Fruit Boba Balls. This was sweet and delicious. Evan wanted a second one. My only nit picky complaint is that the paper straw (which I know is because of the animals) gets gummy and gross by sip two. Blech.
Buffalo Chicken Chips from Trilo-Bites – Fresh made chips are smothered with buffalo chicken, blue cheese, garlic ranch and arugula. The buffalo chicken has a nice spice without being too spicey (even Evan liked it). The fresh made chips are delicious and the serving is quite large. A perfect snack to share!
Asian Noodle Salad at Caravan Road – I so wanted to love this. Unfortunately, it is more noodle than veggie so it felt that it was a “salad” in name only. The noodles were also a bit crunchy and the taste was just meh. I was left feeling meh. Not terrible but not something I would get again.
What have we missed? What is your favourite Walt Disney World food?
Make sure to check back as I will be adding new foods as we try them!
AmyJo
Sunday 23rd of April 2023
I meant Boba balls not Bali balls
AmyJo
Sunday 23rd of April 2023
I loved the Mickey pretzel, but I also really enjoyed this drink I had it was pink and green and had Bali balls on top of the drink. It was delicious, I wish I can make it at home!
Terra
Sunday 8th of April 2018
I believe the poutine is actually meant to be authentic Quebec poutine - which is actually not made with brown gravy. It’s only served that way in Quebec though, not the rest of Canada
Merry Kuchle
Sunday 8th of April 2018
Interesting. I’ve eaten poutine in Quebec and it was with brown gravy. What is it supposed to be with?
Ashley
Tuesday 27th of February 2018
I love the pretzels as well!