My Must-Do Quick Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World

A trip to Walt Disney World is not only an opportunity to immerse oneself in story and experience in world-class attractions and shopping destinations, but it is also a delight to the palette, featuring scores of restaurants serving a variety of cuisines from all over the world. In fact, the 392 restaurants, lounges, and bars feature not only a great variety of styles and flavors but even make themselves available to those with dietary restrictions, including gluten-free, dairy-free, and meat-free options.

As someone who grew up visiting Walt Disney World, the resort holds a very dear place in my heart. Returning to the parks literally feels like returning home. The parks and their familiarity bring comfort, as does partaking in repetitive behaviors and habits (such as visiting the parks in the order that they opened or touring the Magic Kingdom and Epcot in a clockwise fashion). For me, this also includes ensuring that I visit all of my favorite quick-service restaurants. Many will probably look at my list and disagree with the dining options and choices made by me with the plethora of other dining locations available. However, each of these restaurants is special to me, and not always for the food that is served. Learn more below.

7 – The Yak and Yeti Local Foods Cafe

The first quick-service restaurant on my list is a lesser-known one. Adjacent to the Yak and Yeti Restaurant, a sit-down dining establishment in Animal Kingdom’s Asia, is a counter service location that serves similar dishes without the necessity of a reservation and for significantly less money. While I always make a point to enjoy at least one order of “Disney chicken tenders” and a “Disney hamburger” each trip, Animal Kingdom is not one of those places. Instead, the Yak and Yeti Local Foods Cafe provide the opportunity to enjoy Asian-style dishes including Honey Chicken, Sweet and Sour Tempura Shrimp, and other Asian-fusion dishes. This restaurant is open-air, allowing for guests to relax in the shade while enjoying a delicious dish and listening to the screams of guests plummeting down from the craggy peaks of Expedition Everest. As I reminisce about the meals I’ve eaten in this restaurant, I long once again to sit at the tables and savor the sweet and sour mixed with the white rice and vegetables.

6 – Chicken Guy!

This is a brand new dining option for me. With the major expansion of Downtown Disney into Disney Springs a few years ago, deciding upon where to eat has become relatively overwhelming. However, during my last trip to Walt Disney World in January 2022 (during which I chaperoned a group of 31 high school seniors), I discovered Guy Fieri’s quick-service restaurant, Chicken Guy! After spending a week at Walt Disney World with more than two-dozen teenagers (don’t get me wrong–they are amazing kids, but chaperoning is emotionally and mentally draining), I was enjoying some much-needed “alone time” at Disney Springs while the kids were wandering. As lunchtime neared, I decided to try out Chicken Guy! to see if it lived up to all the hype. Now, as someone who lives in the south, we have our fair share of restaurants that sell fried chicken-everything, from sandwiches to strips. However, let me tell you: the food at Chicken Guy! is amazing. The chicken strips are thin and perfectly crispy, while the fries are seasoned to perfection. I didn’t get the chicken sandwich, but if the strips are any indication, the sandwiches are likely to be just as good. What makes this small restaurant even better is the nearly two dozen sauces one can choose from for dipping or slathering purposes. I am heartily looking forward to bringing my family to enjoy this restaurant during our next visit to Disney Springs.

5 – Sunset Ranch Market

This quick-service location is kind of a cheat, as it actually features four distinct counter service locations: Anaheim Produce, Catalina Eddie’s, Rosie’s All-American Cafe, and Fairfax Fare. One can find nearly anything to eat at these four counter service options, including pizza, hamburgers, chicken strips, hot dogs, and an assortment of snacks. While the food is typical “theme park fare” (except the chicken nuggets–they are amazing), it is the atmosphere and story being told in the Sunset Ranch Market that makes it a must-do for me. The Sunset Ranch Market is based on The Original Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles, located at the corner of 3rd Street and S. Fairfax Avenue. What’s more, Sunset Ranch Market fits into the larger story of 1940s Hollywood that’s being told in Hollywood Studios’ Sunset Boulevard: Rosie’s All-American Cafe features a number of photos and memorabilia of America’s aeronautical forces during the Second World War, while a WWII-era Victory Garden grows nearby. Not only that, but the open-air dining areas are a perfect place to people watch, listen to the 1940s big band music, and enjoy the sights of the Tower of Terror off in the distance–especially at night when it becomes transformed as one of the Beacons of Magic. Serving as a high school history teacher as my “day job,” this is one of the dining locations that is a must-do for me every time I visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

4 – Sunshine Seasons

This quick-service location is a rather new requirement for me, originally out of necessity. In February 2020, my favorite Epcot quick service, the Electric Umbrella, closed. This restaurant had always been a standby for my family: it was centrally located in Future World, overlooked the Fountain of Nations, and had food everyone would eat. I was pretty bummed when it closed to make way for the Epcot reimagining. Because the first half of my day is always spent in the front half of Epcot, we transitioned to the only other quick-service dining location, Sunshine Seasons located in World Nature’s The Land pavilion. This restaurant serves a variety of foods akin to the style you might find at a family reunion or picnic: sandwiches, salads, and rotisserie chicken, as well as salmon, and pizza rolls. What I find most enjoyable about this food court, however, is its location and theming. Sunshine Seasons is located on the bottom floor of The Land pavilion in between Living with the Land and Soarin’. It is a great place for people watching while you enjoy a fresh lunch. I also love how the restaurant is decorated and organized. Static hot air balloons hang from the ceiling (oh, how I wish they still moved like they used to!) and the seating itself is broken into sections based upon the four seasons: look for references to spring, summer, autumn, and winter in the patterns on the tables and carpet, as well as the colors used in each respective seating area.

3 – Woody’s Lunch Box

If there is a meal that I dream about from Walt Disney World on a daily basis, it is a dish served at Toy Story Land’s Woody’s Lunch Box. At breakfast time, the counter service restaurant serves a Breakfast Bowl which is tater tots (or Potato Barrels in Disney slang), eggs, and green onions all slathered with brisket gravy. The restaurant also serves a lunch version, which they call “Totchos:” Potato Barrels and corn chips mixed among beef and bean chili, shredded cheese, onions, and tomatoes. In fact, these dishes are so amazing, my family regularly recreates them for one of our in-rotation meals, which we call “Cowboy Skillets.” On top of the amazing food, the environment of the restaurant is super fun: the chairs and benches appear to be made out of popsicle sticks, while the order counter is situated in a lunch box complete with larger-than-life thermos and containers of food. On top of that, Alien Swirling Saucers and Slinky Dog Dash aren’t too far away to add to some visual variety while one sits on a bench or stands against a trash can-turned-table.

2 – PizzeRizzo

As the day progresses at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, my family has typically made it to the back half of the park. Crowds have begun to pick up, leaving Grand Avenue a perfect escape from other guests as well as the heat. At this point, after hours of walking and standing in line, a smaller meal with something fresh typically sounds good. For me, nothing better fits that bill than PizzeRizzo, which primarily serves personal pan pizzas and a caesar salad. The theming of this quick-service location is subtle: Rizzo the Rat, one of the Muppets, has decided to open a pizza establishment (an obvious reference to the 1984 film, The Muppets Take Manhattan). The Muppet references throughout the restaurant are minimal, with more of a New York pizzeria feel instead. There are plenty of places to sit throughout the establishment, including one of my favorite rooms, Rizzo’s Deluxe Supreme Banquet Hall, decked out for “Gil and Lill’s wedding”: colorful lights flash in the room while a disco ball spins and “the Greatest Wedding Hits of All Time” play overhead. Perhaps the nicest part of the restaurant to eat is the balcony overlooking Grand Avenue: it is shaded, with ceiling fans lazily spinning overhead, and provides a great view overlooking the entrance to MuppetVision 3D and the surrounding shops. Not only that, but lines to order food are nearly always nonexistent, and when lines are present, they move fairly quickly. 

1 – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe

Whenever I think of quick-service restaurants at Walt Disney World, the very first that comes to mind is Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. I know this might not be at the top of everyone’s list, but for me, there is so much that makes it special and enjoyable for me. Growing up, we always wandered around the Magic Kingdom in a clockwise fashion, turning left into Adventureland upon arrival rather than right into Tomorrowland. This meant that by dinnertime, we had made our way into Tomorrowland and had begun looking for a place to eat. Inevitably, our choice was always Cosmic Ray’s. While the food is nothing special or unique (it is a great place to get my requisite order of Disney chicken strips or Disney hamburger), there is bountiful seating. Not only that, if you are lucky enough to grab a seat in the front room, Sonny Eclipse, an animatronic alien lounge singer, provides some fun entertainment to zone out to while eating before venturing back out into Tomorrowland. 

Honorable Mention: The Resort Food Court

I know, this last one is kind of cheating. But I always make a point to enjoy at least one breakfast at the food court or quick-service restaurant of the Disney resort that I’m staying at. To me, there is nothing more “Disney” than enjoying a plate of Mickey Waffles, and nearly every resort food court offers this at breakfast time. Some resorts even offer the Bounty Platter, which includes sausage or bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns in addition to a Mickey Waffle. It is a great way to energize before a day in the parks or see what else Walt Disney World has to offer. In addition, I always make sure to purchase my refillable drink mug so I can enjoy a nice cold Diet Coke (or four) while enjoying the magical goodness of my Mickey Waffle.