If there’s one thing Mr. Locke and I agree to disagree on is the best Disney World quick service restaurants, so I wrangled in my favorite theme park experts to weigh in on their top picks in the parks to see which of us is right. I asked them for their favorites and, based on theming, ambiance, meals, and service, each gave me his or her top three picks.
The consensus? Even though you’ll see quite a few counter service restaurants that kept getting picked over and over again, you’ll also find some solo choices- and even one that chose only one spot three times. Here are the delicious results to help you plan for your next visit!
Table of Contents
Terri Miller from WDW Hints!
Terri is creator, owner and a writer for WDW Hints. She enjoys all things Disney, especially researching tips, tricks and little known things about the Disney parks (and then sharing them with you!)
She regularly contributes to WDW Magazine, co-owns Mousekejournals and has guest blogged for many sites and been approved by Disney’s Youth Educational Services to organize group Y.E.S. trips! Outside of Disney, Terri regularly works with children through various Children’s Ministries at her church and serves on the Pre-Production & Planning team for Answers in Genesis’ VBS pilot program.
1.Columbia Harbor House, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom
2. ABC Commissary, Commissary Lane, Disney’s Hollywood Studios
3. Restaurantosaurus, Dinoland U.S.A., Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Melody Pittman from Wherever I May Roam
Melody Pittman from Wherever I May Roam is originally from Charleston, WV, but transplanted to sunny Vero Beach, Florida where she lives with her husband Eddie, dog Priscilla, and rescue cat Harlow. They are the parents of daughters Taylor and Peyton, their best friends and pride and joys.
After 20 years with Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 4 years of owning/managing/operating her own cafeterias and catering business, and her husband selling his franchise business, they semi-retired to the South. They are currently building long term rental houses and living as part-time expats in the mountains of Boquete, Panama.
1. Yorkshire County Fish Shop, UK Pavilion, Epcot
2. La Cantina de San Angel, Mexico Pavilion, Epcot
3. Gaston’s Tavern, New Fantasyland Expansion, Magic Kingdom
Kate Fenner, Disney Park Enthusiast
Kate Fenner is a database developer from upstate NY. She first visited WDW when she was 10, explored Disneyland Paris with her husband on their “babymoon”, and this year they brought their daughter on her first trip to WDW- and I had the pleasure of stopping for a chat with them at Magic Kingdom last April!
1. Flame Tree Barbecue, Discovery Island, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
2. Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie, France Pavilion, Epcot
3. Yorkshire County Fish Shop, UK Pavilion, Epcot
Tania Lamb from Lola Lambchops
Tania Lamb from Lola Lambchops is a writer (known as the Latina TravelingMom) for the influencer network, TravelingMom. She was a Spanish-speaking Walt Disney World panelist on the Disney Parks Moms Panel in 2014 and 2015 where she answered 1,000 vacation-planning questions for Guests. She was also selected to be a Role Mother for the Another Mother Runner community for 2016.
1. Earl of Sandwich, Disney Springs
2.Columbia Harbour House, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom
3. Be Our Guest, New Fantasyland Expansion, Magic Kingdom
Stephanie Shuster from WDW Magazine
Stephanie Shuster from WDW Magazine is a life-long Disney devotee, living in Hamilton, Canada and dreaming of WDW every day. In between my trips to the most magical place on earth, she loves cooking, yoga, and travelling with her husband. She’s the Director of Operations for WDW Magazine, Dad’s Guide to WDW, and one of my favorite editors!
1. Flame Tree Barbecue, Discovery Island, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
2. La Cantina de San Angel, Mexico Pavilion, Epcot
3. Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie, France Pavilion, Epcot
Julie Hager, Charming Travels LLC
Julie Hager is a travel agent at Charming Travels LLC specializing Disney destinations. She’s happy to help you with all of your Disney needs. Her love for Disney began as a small child watching movies- and she’s thrilled to have the opportunity to help make dreams come true.
1. Liberty Inn, American Adventure Pavilion, Epcot
2. Casey’s Corner, Main Street U.S.A., Magic Kingdom
3. Landscape of Flavors Food Court, Art of Animation Resort
Liz Cleland of Western New Yorker
Liz Cleland of Western New Yorker is a creative homemaker, gardener and MOST importantly, mother to her son, Mclachlan. She’s accredited with a Master’s Degree in Education, and is currently pursuing an Associates in Psychology.
I continue to educate myself, and in my free time enjoy to garden, cook, use Pinterest, take photos of the area, shop at local stores for great bargains and visit local auctions. Her website provides a look into her lifestyle. She started this blog to encourage others to enjoy Life, Family, Cooking and most importantly to have fun.
Caroline Knowles from Magical DIStractions
Caroline lives in Fairhope, Alabama with her husband and two gorgeous children. A lover of all things Disney (she writes that people are addicted to tobacco, alcohol, and exercise so why not Disney? I totally agree!), she owns and runs the Magical DIStractions website and Magical DIStractions Vacations.
She grew up visiting Walt Disney World and now takes her family to the parks as much as possible.
1. The Mara, Animal Kingdom Lodge
2. Capt. Cook’s, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
3. Friar’s Nook, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom
Richard Christensen from Pixie Dust Daily
Richerd Christensen from Pixie Dust Daily is a husband, father, and avid traveler. Disney has held a special place in his heart since his girlfriend took him there on college spring break trip- he was instantly hooked. In fact, they were married there a few years later.
He began the Pixie Dust Daily website as a project to combine both my love of all things Disney and my Masters in Library and Information Science into an easy to use resource for Disney World travelers and Disney fans in general.
1. Tangierine Cafe, Morocco Pavilion, Epcot
2. Columbia Harbor House, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom
3. Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes, Asia, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Mary Dixon LeBeau from TravelingMom
Mary Dixon Lebeau from TravelingMom was forced into East Coast travel. A Jersey girl herself, Mary married a guy from New England who has a penchant for Florida, so she has become acquainted with – and loves – all the wonderful sites from Caribou, Maine to Key West, Florida.
Mary is also adept at creating vacations that are “one size fits all.” The mother of five (ranging from “Expedition Everest” to “Dumbo”), she has become skilled at planning for all ages, collecting kiddie swap passes and making sure everyone is happy (sometimes all at the same time).
A former newspaper columnist, Mary is now a freelance writer whose work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Parents, Parenting, Pregnancy, Conceive and Family Circle (are you sensing a theme?).
1. Columbia Harbor House, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom
2. Earl of Sandwich, Disney Springs
3. Captain Cook’s, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Krista Joy from Disneyways
Krista Joy is owner of Disneyways, and for 2 years co-hosted The Disney Parks Podcast. She’s very excited to launch a brand new on-line radio show that will cover Disney and SO much more – Living The Dream Podcast.
In her “spare” time she’s a freelance writer for many other websites that deal with a variety of topics. She’s also also a road manager, fan club president, and social media manager for Peter Alden!
1. Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie, France Pavilion at Epcot
2. Landscape of Flavors, Art of Animation Resort
3. Morimoto Asia Street Food, Disney Springs
Randy Crane from Stories of the Magic
Randy Crane from Stories of the Magic has a positive and story-filled Disney podcast offering positive stories from Cast Members, Imagineers, artists, actors, and more–including guests–promoting a mutual love of Disney. It celebrates and preserves the Disney magic, and inspires people to live their dreams just as Walt Disney did.
1. Flame Tree Barbecue, Discovery Island, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
2. Sunshine Seasons, The Land Pavilion in Future World, Epcot
3. Columbia Harbor House, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom
Cindy Schultz at The Mom Maven
Cindy Schultz at The Mom Maven lives in Tampa Bay Florida and spends a lot of her time worshiping and serving at Riverlife Church. She and her family are all Disney fanatics with over 200 visits to Walt Disney World under our belts. They also love NASCAR-especially Roush-Fenway Racing, football and Rays baseball.
1. Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie, France Pavilion at Epcot
2.Earl of Sandwich, Disney Springs
3.Flame Tree Barbecue, Discovery Island, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Andrea Traynor from Mommy Gearest
Andrea Traynor from Mommy Gearest is one of the few Canadian “mommy blogs” to proudly display the MRP badge from Fifth Story, has one of the Top 25 Product Review Moms on Circle of Moms, voted a “blog to watch” in its first year She was named one of Toronto’s top 30 ultimate mommy bloggers and is a Top Mommy Blog. Her Disney passion? Dole Whip, of course!
1. Aloha Isle, Adventureland, Magic Kingdom
2. Aloha Isle, Adventureland, Magic Kingdom
3. Aloha Isle, Adventureland, Magic Kingdom
Laura Ward
1. Columbia Harbor House in Magic Kingdom,
2. ABC Comissary at Hollywood Studios, and
3. Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe.
Enjoy your trip to the happiest place on Earth!! °o°
Sarah Gilliland from Sarah in the Suburbs
Sarah Gilliland at Sarah in the Suburbs was born into a military family and raised all over the world, but will always call the southeastern United States home. After graduating from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Apparel Merchandising, Sarah married her husband, Neil, in January of 2009, and they began to make plans to build their life together in Montgomery, Alabama.
Little did they know that twins, a job change, and a move further north to Birmingham were in the not too distant future!
Sarah and Neil welcomed their fraternal twin girls in February of 2011, and, just over a year later, Sarah and her family moved to Birmingham following her husband’s acceptance of a new job.
With Neil’s love of the mountains and Sarah’s love of the beach, Birmingham is the perfect location for them to raise their family and be equidistant from the two places they love the most.
1. Bill’s Tall Tale Inn and Cafe, Frontierland, Magic Kingdom
2. Lotus Blossom Cafe, China Pavilion in World Showcase, Epcot
3. La Cantina de San Angel, Mexico Pavilion, Epcot
Amy Infanti
Amy is a full service travel agent at Amy Infanti Travel. She specializes in all things Disney, and can book any destination for you. Her services include free planning including fastpasses, dining, tours, disability issues and anything else you might need to make your vacation magical.
Oh, and she’s so highly knowledgeable about tips and tricks for WDW she was my go-to gal for planning my family’s first trip!
1. Gasparilla Island Grill, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
2. Sunshine Seasons, The Land Pavilion in Future World, Epcot
3. Cosmic Rays, Tomorrowland, Magic Kingdom
Robin Hutson from Luxe Recess
Robin Hutson is the founder of Luxe Recess, a luxury family travel writer, a magazine publisher, and photographer passionate about hospitality design and promoting family wellness through travel.
1. Columbia Harbor House, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom
2. Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie, France Pavilion, Epcot
3. Katsura Grill, Japan Pavilion, Epcot
Jana Seitzer from Merlot Mommy
Jana Seitzer from Merlot Mommy is founder and editor-in-chief. She’s a full-time mom to four amazing kids, wife, writer, speaker, photographer, marketer, designer, Disney podcaster, LuLaRoe fashion consultant, and social media maven.
She loves to travel all over the world—solo and with her family—and tell stories about her travel adventures—adventures that often involve a glass of wine or bourbon.
1. Aloha Isle, Adventureland, Magic kingdom
2. Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie, France Pavilion, Epcot
3. Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner, Echo Lake, Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Gayle Turner from Life is an Adventure-The Disney Gals
Gayle Turner from Life is an Adventure-The Disney Gals is a lifelong educator by day and avid freelance writer by night. Mom to 5, Grammy to 4 she is blessed to share her life with amazing family and friends who encourage her to chase her dreams no matter where they may lead.
Fueled by ice tea, when not on the road looking for her latest last minute spur of the moment adventure, or discovering all the nooks and crannies that make up Northern California as one of the Nor Cal Moms, you can find here visiting her son who is now living out his dreams as an entertainer at the Walt Disney World Resort, spoiling her grand kids, checking things off of her Wish List (because Bucket Lists mean you can only do it once) or following her passion working with young performers in the free nationally recognized after school children’s theater program that she founded. She is a a total believer that life is better lived when it is a life less planned.
1. Katsura Grill, Japan Pavilion, Epcot
2. Riverside Mill Food Court, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort- Riverside
3. Flame Tree Barbecue, Discovery Island, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
And Our Two Cents:
Yep, I couldn’t create such a deliciously fun list without giving our two cents,too!
Mr. Locke
1. Gasparilla Island Grill, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
2. Yorkshire County Fish Shop, UK Pavilion, Epcot
3. Sleepy Hollow, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom
The Kid
1. Pecos Bill’s, Frontierland, Magic Kingdom
2. Pinocchio Village Haus, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom
3. Gasparilla Island Grill, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
Karyn
1. Earl of Sandwich, Disney Springs
2. Pecos Bill’s, Frontierland, Magic Kingdom
3. Be Our Guest Lunch Menu, New Fantasyland Expansion, Magic Kingdom
Whew! That was a mouth full! Now that you’ve had time to digest all of our results, which quick service restaurant at Walt Disney World will you hit first on your next visit? Let me know in the comment section below!
