Best Disney World Resort Hotel Restaurants RANKED- We Visit Multiples Times Per Month!

Although Disney World's theme parks have plenty of incredible restaurants, there are even more amazing restaurants located at the various Disney World resorts. Even if you are not a guest of a Disney World resort hotel, you are able to dine and enjoy any of their restaurants during your vacation. Each Disney World resort has at least one quick service restaurant option, and some resorts have sit-down table service restaurants, including several with character meet and greets.

I am a Disney World annual passholder, Florida resident, and visit Disney World several times each month. There are so many resort restaurants to choose from and it can be difficult to pick which reservation to make for your next trip to Disney World.

I will list our favorite Disney World resort hotel restaurants and explain why we enjoy them so much. We rank our favorite resort hotel restaurants in several categories including the best quick service and table restaurants, best resort hotel restaurants with character meet and greets, best “upscale” dining experiences, and more!

Our Favorite Disney World Resort Hotel Restaurants

This article will rank the top three of our favorite Disney World resort hotel restaurants within several different categories. These categories include:

• Best table service hotel restaurants: These restaurants are your typical table service restaurants. We almost always recommend getting a reservation for table service restaurants (especially for our favorites listed below), because they tend to be extremely busy. If you are not able to get a reservation, sometimes you can join a walk-up list using the My Disney Experience app if there is capacity available.
• Best character dining hotel restaurants: This category includes the best restaurants where you can meet some of your favorite characters while you dine. The character dining restaurants are typically table service with a family style, buffet, or prix fixe menu. We definitely recommend getting reservations for any character dining restaurant throughout all of Disney World property as they are typically the busiest.
• Best quick service resort restaurants: Every Disney World resort has a quick service restaurant available, and we will rank our favorites in this section. You never need a reservation for quick service restaurants throughout Disney World. You can even pre-order your food for easy pick-up or to go using the My Disney Experience mobile app. If you plan on dining at resort quick service restaurants frequently, we recommend picking up a refillable mug souvenir for unlimited refills on soda, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate throughout your trip.
• Best hotel “upscale” restaurants: For a more upscale or romantic dining experience, check out this section for our must do restaurants at Disney World resorts. Unlike most restaurants throughout Disney World, these restaurants typically have a dress code. The dress code is not strict, however, it's important to consider before dining at these restaurants as clothing must be clean, neat, and in good condition. They do not allow swimwear or other inappropriate clothing in these upscale restaurants. 
• Honorable mentions: We will wrap up our list with some honorable mentions that are worth visiting but may not make our top choices or perfectly fit into the other categories.

Best Table Service Resort Hotel Restaurants

The following three restaurants are our favorite table service restaurants located at the Disney World resorts. As mentioned, we highly recommend reservations for table service restaurants due to their popularity. Most of the table service restaurants fit the overall theme of the resort and offer food that would make sense for the theme (i.e. African-inspired food at the Animal Kingdom Lodge resorts). All of the table service restaurants offer great food, however, these are our favorites!

3. Olivia's Café – Old Key West Resort

Olivia's Café, located at Disney's Old Key West Resort, is open daily for brunch between 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM and dinner between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM. We feel Olivia's is an extremely underrated table service restaurant that has both great food and a laid back but unique atmosphere. Olivia's is described as “hearty home cooking with a taste of the Florida Keys at this hidden gem.” If you look around the restaurant, you will see hundreds of framed photos of guests visiting Disney World throughout the past decades, which is a cool detail and definitely makes this restaurant feel homey.

At my most recent dinner experience at Olivia's, a friend ordered the Southernmost Buttermilk Chicken entrée and described it as one of the best fried chicken dishes she'd ever had. I personally enjoyed the West Indian Tofu and Coconut Curry entrée which had a lot flavor but wasn't too spicy.

Olivia's also has a variety of food allowing everyone in your group to find something they'd enjoy, including prime rib, shrimp scampi, and a cheese and charcuterie entrée. The great service, laid back atmosphere, and delicious food makes Olivia's one of our top 3 Disney resort table service restaurants.

2. Ale & Compass – Yacht Club Resort Hotel

Ale & Compass is located inside Disney's Yacht Club Resort which is located steps away from Disney's BoardWalk area, a quarter-mile promenade of unique nightlife, restaurants, and bars. Ale & Compass is a more upscale dining experience but offers a variety of delicious food and drinks at a relatively low cost.

Ale & Compass is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner between 7:30 AM and 11:00 AM, 11:45 AM to 2:00 PM, and between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM. Although it may look fancy on the inside, Ale & Compass actually has a lot of different food options that don't break the bank.  The most expensive item on the dinner menu is a $36 New York Strip steak dinner which comes with delicious truffle fries, house-made steak sauce, and a Watercress salad. Our server highly recommended the Cabernet-braised short ribs which were also a big hit with our group. We also love the chicken pot pie which has a flakey crust and the rolls.

As previously mentioned, the location of Ale & Compass is another reason why we love this restaurant besides the delicious food and atmosphere. If you're looking to continue the fun after dinner, you can simply walk outside to the BoardWalk to enjoy ice cream, additional drinks at one of several bars, or simply a nice stroll around the BoardWalk. You can read more about the BoardWalk and the various restaurants and lounges in our Disney Boardwalk restaurants guide.

1. Sanaa – Animal Kingdom Resort Hotel – Kidani Village

Our favorite table service restaurant has to be Sanaa, located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Resort. This resort has amazing and unique African and Indian foods and is located within a beautiful location right outside the Sunset Savanna. That's right, you can spot giraffes, zebras, birds, and other animals roaming around right outside the windows as you dine. Sanaa offers lunch between 11:30 AM and 3:00 PM and dinner between 5:00 PM and 9:30 PM. There is also a Kuamsha Breakfast which does not require reservations, however, we specifically chose Sanaa as our favorite table service restaurant due to the lunch and dinner options.

If you make the wise choice to dine at Sanaa, the Indian-style Bread Service appetizer is a MUST do. This service comes with your choice of five breads or Naan (as well as gluten-free and vegan bread upon request) with nine accompanying dipping sauces ranging in various flavors. This bread service alone is worth dining at Sanaa, but their entrees are also delicious.

Overall, the location and animal viewing, beautiful atmosphere, and unique foods made Sanaa an easy choice for our favorite table service restaurant at a Disney World resort.

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Best Character Dining Resort Restaurants

Next up are our favorite Disney World resort restaurants that offer character dining experiences. Please note that not all resort restaurants have character meet and greets at each meal, and some are only open during specific meals. However, reserving at least one character meal is a great idea, especially with children, as it is a very convenient way to meet characters without having to spend time in line at the parks to meet various characters. 

3. ‘Ohana – Polynesian Village Resort

Disney's Polynesian Village Resort is one of my favorite resorts for so many reasons, one of which is their ‘Ohana restaurant located on the second floor of the main lobby, known as the Great Ceremonial House. ‘Ohana is open for breakfast between 7:30 AM and 12:15 PM and dinner between 3:30 PM and 10:00 PM. Although character dining only occurs during breakfast, it is such a fun experience for the whole family. Guests get to meet Stitch, Lilo, Mickey, and Pluto while taking photos and receiving autographs. There is also a very cute “conga line” that periodically goes through the restaurant where children can play instruments and dance along with Mickey and friends.

In addition to the character experiences, the food is also delicious! It is “family style” where you can order as much food as you'd like, so definitely come hungry. Their pineapple-coconut bread is one of our favorites, along with the delicious POG juice, which combines orange, passion fruit, and guava juice.

If you're lucky enough to get a table by the window, you can get some great views of the Polynesian's resort pool, along with Cinderella's castle in the background. Overall, this is definitely a great character dining experience we recommend for guests of all ages.

2. Story Brook Dining at Artist Point – Wilderness Lodge

Although you can usually meet Snow White at EPCOT, a fairly rare character greeting is with any of the Seven Dwarves and the Evil Queen. You can meet Grumpy, Dopey, Snow White, and the Evil Queen while dining on delicious food at the Artist Point restaurant at the beautiful Wilderness Lodge Resort.

Artist Point is open for dinner between 4:00 PM and 9:00 PM and offers a three course prix fixe menu with shared appetizers for the table, an entrée of each guest's choice, and shared desserts. There is also a very cool presentation of “The Hunter's Gift to the Queen” dessert, which is a box of chocolate hearts that when opened, leaks out smoke.

During dinner, besides getting to meet and greet with the various characters, there are also a few fun shows that incorporate the beautifully lit trees within the restaurant which give a more modern enchanted woods feel. We really enjoyed the characters, food presentation, and overall atmosphere of Artist Point which makes it another great character dining option at a Disney World resort.

1. Topolino's Terrace- Riviera Resort

Located on the top of the beautiful Riviera Resort, Topolino's (which translates to Mickey Mouse's Italian name) comes in at number one for our favorite character dining experience at a Disney World resort restaurant. This restaurant has it all amazing food, adorable character meet and greets with your favorite classic Disney characters, as well as breathtaking views from the top of the Riviera Resort. Topolino's is also conveniently located on the Skyliner, which makes it a perfect breakfast option to fuel up before you head to EPCOT or Hollywood Studios for the day.

Similar to ‘Ohana, Topolino's Terrace has family-style character dining during breakfast hours only between 7:30 AM and 12:15 PM. However, they also have an eloquent and French and Italian-inspired dinner served between 5:00 PM and 9:30 PM. After your meal, be sure to step out onto the terrace to enjoy the views of the Riviera Resort's pool and outdoor areas as well as views of the Skyliner and EPCOT.

You can see our full Topolino's Terrace review for everything you need to know about our experience dining here!

Best Quick Service Resort Restaurants

This section details our top three favorite quick service restaurants located at Disney World Resorts. Most quick service resort restaurants offer the general same types of foods, however, some have interesting theming, convenient locations, or specialty dishes that we will include below. 

3. Everything POP – POP Century Resort

Of all of the value-priced resorts, our favorite quick service restaurant is the Everything POP quick service restaurant at POP Century Resort. This resort appears to have the widest variety and best tasting foods of the value resorts which makes it our favorite.

Everything POP is open daily between 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM and has something for everyone in the family to enjoy. Our favorite breakfast options include the Loaded Totcho Bowl or Vanilla Pancakes. For lunch and dinner, they serve a variety of burgers, sandwiches, pizza, pasta, and more. For a quick meal at a low cost, POP Century's Everything POP quick service restaurant is our go to option.

2. Centertown Market – Caribbean Beach Resort

Our number two ranked quick service resort restaurant is the Centertown Market located at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. This quick service restaurant offers a Latin and Caribbean inspired menu which is unique and tasty. They are open between 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM offering guests breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. A couple of our favorite entrée options include the Arroz Mamposteao and the Caribbean Plant-Based sausage, black beans, and rice bowl.

1. Capt. Cook's – Polynesian Village Resort

 

We're headed back to the Polynesian Village Resort for our favorite quick service restaurant – Capt. Cook's, located on the first floor of the Great Ceremonial House. This is one of the smaller quick service restaurants, however there is indoor and outdoor seating near the pool area which we tend to enjoy. More importantly, they arguably have the best food out of all the resort quick service restaurants.

Capt. Cook's is open from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM daily and has amazing offerings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Our absolute favorite breakfast is the Tonga Toast, which is banana-stuffed sourdough bread, battered, deep-fried, and dusted with cinnamon sugar. For lunch or dinner, the Pan-Asian Noodles and Vegetables dish is also highly recommended, but anything off their menu you will be sure to enjoy. Additionally, if you are looking for a delicious dessert, you can walk around the corner to visit the Pineapple Lanai stand, which offers various types of DOLE whip.

Best “Upscale” Resort Restaurants

Lastly, we will list our top three upscale dining experiences you can find at the Disney World resort restaurants. Although these are typically not as unique or interesting as some of the themes and overall atmosphere as the other restaurants, the food is typically top notch and can be a fun date night or special occasion during your trip. Our top three favorites are included below!

3. Victoria & Albert's – Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

Not too surprisingly, the Grand Floridan Resort and Spa has one of our favorite upscale restaurants, Victoria & Albert's. It's always a treat to even walk around the Grand Floridian, yet alone dine there at such a beautiful restaurant. Victoria & Albert's has won numerous awards and accolades including the AAA Five Diamond Award since 2000, Forbes Travel Guide Five Star since 2018, Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, and Florida Trend Golden Spoon Hall of Fame – American Regional award. 

The one downside of Victoria & Albert's is the availability to get a reservation as it is only open from about 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM daily, and is a long prix fixe menu dining experience. However, it is easily one of the best and more beautiful Disney World restaurants throughout all of Disney World property.

2. Yachtsman Steakhouse – Yacht Club Resort

Another upscale yet rustic resort restaurant is the Yachtsman Steakhouse, located at Disney's Yacht Club Resort. This restaurant is only open for dinner between 5:00 PM and 9:30 PM daily. Similar to the theme of the resort, the New England-style Yachtsman Steakhouse offers fine American dining including steaks, fresh seafood, and more. 

Yachtmans Steakhouse's high-quality beef is prepared on an oak-fired grill in their open kitchen, and guests can watch their butchers cut the steaks in the dry-aging room. It truly feels like an upscale dining experience from the moment you walk through the front door. 

1. California Grill – Contemporary Resort

The California Grill at the Contemporary Resort is our favorite restaurant for special occasions, celebrations, and a truly unique Disney World resort dining experience. The best part about California Grill is the amazing views of the Magic Kingdom. If you time your reservations correctly, you can even watch the fireworks from the restaurant. When the fireworks start, the lights dim as the music is piped into the restaurant, immersing guests into the magic of the night in the comfort of the restaurant. 

California Grill is open for dinner each night between 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM and offers an award-winning prix fixe three-course menu with one appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Guests over 21 can also choose from a wide assortment of hand-picked wines, most of which are of course from California. The views are a meal in themselves. Watching sunset and then the fireworks from here is perhaps the most upscale experience you can have at Walt Disney World.

Dining at the California Grill is the quintessential example of fine dining at Disney World which is why it takes the number one spot as our favorite upscale Disney World resort restaurant. 

Honorable Mentions

Scat Cat's Club Café – Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter

If you haven't explored or stayed at the Port Orleans Resort, I highly recommend it. You truly feel as if you've stepped into the streets of New Orleans, and you can even often spot horse-drawn carriages giving guests rides throughout the property.

More importantly, you can find delicious beignets and other treats at the Scat Cat's Club Café, located inside the main lobby of the Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter. 

The Scat Cat's Club Cafe is open daily between 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM and is always a standby queue with no reservations or mobile orders. Currently, this restaurant is the only place you can purchase beignets on all of Disney World property (but we're hoping that changes when Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens at Magic Kingdom). They always offer classic Mickey-shaped beignets with various dipping sauces as well as various specialty beignets, which mostly recently were hot cocoa flavored. For those 21 and over, you can also enjoy Baton Rouge Beignets which are made with your choice of Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur, Kahlua Liqueur, or RumChata Liqueur. Scat Cat's Club also serves coffee and other beverages to enjoy.

Whispering Canyon – Fort Wilderness Lodge

Another honorable mention and favorite table service restaurant is Whispering Canyon Café, located inside the Wilderness Lodge Resort. This restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner between 7:30 AM and 11:25 AM, 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM, and between 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM. Whispering Canyon offers hearty Western fare including all you can eat skillets and “shenanigans.”

The shenanigans is definitely true, as the restaurant can get pretty rowdy with the servers picking on their guests. During our last visit, our waitress named “Anita Margarita” told us if we needed any ketchup, we had to scream for it!

Once we did, a nearby table brought us every single bottle of ketchup in the restaurant. When the next table needed ketchup, the parade continued and we were responsible for carrying every bottle to the next table. If you are into similar shenanigans as well as hearty western food, this is a great option. 

Disney Dining Plan

If you haven't heard the good news, Disney World's Disney Dining Plan recently returned on January 9, 2024. If you plan on dining at any of the Disney World restaurants either in the theme parks or at the various resorts, I highly recommend considering the dining plan. We list all of the restaurants included in the 2024 Disney Dining Plans in our Disney Dining Plan guide.

There are two different plans Disney World offers:

• Disney Quick Service Dining Plan: This plan is for groups who are only interested in dining at quick service restaurants throughout Disney World. No reservations are required for any of the quick service restaurants and can be a convenient option, especially with young children. There are over 100 quick service locations throughout Disney World. Everyone over the age of 3 on the quick service dining receives two quick service meals, one snack or non-alcoholic drink, and one resort refillable mug per each night of stay. Beverages are included with each meal, and guests over 21 years old may substitute for beer, wine, and cocktails. Meals and snacks can be redeemed at any time during your stay, and expire at midnight on the day of checkout. 
• Disney Dining Plan: The Disney Dining Plan is similar to the quick service plan, but includes one table service meal, including character dining meals. Each person over the age of three on this plan receives one quick service meal, one table service meal, one snack or nonalcoholic drink, and one resort refillable mug. All of the same rules apply to this plan, the main difference is the option of having one table service meal each day instead of two quick service meals. If you choose this option, make sure to make as many reservations for table service meals as possible in order to confirm availability. 

The Disney Dining Plan can not only be a great option for groups interested in dining at the various restaurants throughout Disney World but can bring much peace of mind financially while taking on the large task of planning a Disney World vacation.

Plan Your Next Disney World Vacation

For more dining recommendations and other ways to save money and help plan your next Disney World vacation, be sure to subscribe to our FREE Mickey Visit newsletter for the most up-to-date Disney World information. This also includes exclusive deals and the lowest ticket prices anywhere. Additionally, make sure to check out our other guides related to dining at Disney World below:

• Walt Disney World Restaurant and Dining Guide + Tips and Tricks 2024
• Ultimate Guide to Walt Disney World's Cheapest Food Finds
• Every Character Dining Disney World 2024 Experience Reviewed
• Best Disney World Discounts 2024: Ranking Ticket & Hotel Deals
• When to Visit Disney World 2024 Disney World Crowd Calendar

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