When you’re visiting Disney World, there are tons of different restaurants to choose from, and it can easily become overwhelming.
Magic Kingdom
Thankfully, that’s why we’re here! We’ve eaten at every dining location in Disney World, both quick service and table service, and are here to help you decide what the best options are for your vacation. If you’re planning to spend a lot of time in Magic Kingdom, we highly recommend that you DON’T book yourself a reservation to dine at these three spots.
The Crystal Palace
Now HOLD ON a minute, hear us out — we’re not saying that every meal at Crystal Palace isn’t worth the cost. We’re more specifically advising that lunch and dinner at this spot aren’t going to be as worth it as breakfast.
Crystal Palace
You do get the same character experience with all three meals — getting to meet Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore — however breakfast is actually the cheapest of all, and it’s often the best quality that we’ve experienced! We’ve heard our readers express the same sentiment time and time again, which is why breakfast is the hardest reservation to snag, but it’s worth it if you can grab it.
Buffet
Crystal Palace is buffet style all day long, but we’ve sometimes had our food be not as great quality the later on you get in the day, and we’ve felt rushed at some of our lunch and dinner reservations as well. That hasn’t been the case with breakfast, so while we still hold that meal in high regard, we would advise to stay away from lunch and dinner here.
REVIEW: I Got TWO Character Meals for the Price of ONE in Magic Kingdom
Be Our Guest Restaurant
It honestly makes us so sad that ever since the quick service breakfast and lunch and the table service breakfast option have gone away, many people agree that this spot has gone downhill.
Be Our Guest Restaurant
We’re often not impressed with the food quality here and feel like we’re dining in the dark half the time, but even more than that, you’re not even really getting a character meal experience. You get to wave to the Beast as he walks around once during your meal, but that’s all. And for that high price tag, a quick wave and meh food doesn’t really make up for the cost.
The master comes out to say, “hello!”
Instead, we recommend dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table, which granted, also isn’t known for having outstanding food, but you also get a beautiful atmosphere here and have the opportunity to meet multiple Disney Princesses! We have hope that Be Our Guest will return to its former glory in the future…we just don’t know how long that will take.
I Spent $70 at This Disney World Restaurant. I’d Only Go Back on 2 Conditions.
The Plaza Restaurant
Finally, over on Main Street, U.S.A., you’ll find the The Plaza Restaurant. While this is a spot we’ve really enjoyed in the past, it has also gone downhill over the course of the past few years, and we’ve heard that many of you agree.
The Plaza Restaurant!
Since the park closures in 2020, the menu here has shrunk significantly, prices have risen, but the quality of food has declined, and many times we’re left just feeling “meh” about our experience here. While it’s not nearly as expensive as other table service restaurants, it’s still not what you want to pay for a meal that’s less than impressive.
Full spread from The Plaza
Not to mention that this spot doesn’t have a restroom inside for guests, which can be a hassle, especially if you’ve got kids who may need to run to the bathroom quickly, and it’s pretty small. It can get loud in there pretty quickly, which can be a sensory concern, and it’s certainly not a restaurant we consider makes it easy to get out of the hustle and bustle of things.
The menu!
We make it a point to revisit Disney World restaurants time and time again to see how they’re doing — no one and done’s for us! If you’re looking for a truly great meal though on your Magic Kingdom day, we recommend hopping on the Monorail and heading over to Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, or Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. All three of these hotels have great quick service AND table service restaurants that will very likely be a much better meal than what you’ll find in Magic Kingdom (we speak from experience!).
We’re always here to help you plan your upcoming vacation and make you feel as prepared as possible before you start your trip, so stay tuned to DFB!
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What else would you add to this list? Tell us in the comments!
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I absolutely agree with you! Going to one of the Resorts around the Kingdom is a much better choice if you want to pay fir great food and a better experience!
Disney was always expensive but they used to give you some quality for your money. They don’t anymore. Not even a little. Making a good profit but also providing good service and quality is fine but when you profit and give nothing but empty promises then you got a problem.
Completely disagree with Plaza. I just ate there last week and loved it.
I absolutely agree. It was all 3.
I’m 68. My Mom brought me to Disney in 1971. I’ve been coming ever since
I’d eat at all 3 of these be our guest. Used to be one of my favorites to take my grandchildren to now it’s a waste of time and money.
Disney food as a whole has gone downhill. I have corn and soy allergies and I’ve always vacation there because they can make me food. Just two weeks ago when we were there one of the chefs at Liberty Tavern which offers some of the best food for reasonable price could not find any corn free items he had to go to four different restaurants to gather ingredients and he said he issued a complaint to their executive chef because it seems like they’ve converted a lot of their specialty gluten-free or allergen free breads to really bad quality that includes allergens. On top of that I 100% agree with you that Be Our Guest is a waste of money. The food does not taste all that great. The darkest part of the atmosphere but the service is also bad. The Cinderella Royal table 100% is worth every penny. The food is great and they can make modifications as necessary and it’s not overly crowded so it’s great for neurodiverse families as well. Tony’s and the entire Main Street system of restaurants needs to be gutted and redone or they need to fix the menus. Disney has cut Corners where they shouldn’t have. Cutting corners on food is not the answer. Fire some of the executives
I’d like to book Cinderella Castle in 2026 for my grandchildren. Can anyone tell me which meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) gets most Princesses? Is there a shift change I should watch out for when I book a time. I want to get the best experience for the children. Can you ask in advance where to be seated? Where is the best place to be seated? THANKS!
We’ve tried Be Our Guest twice and have been highly disappointed both times. Unless you’re in the main ballroom, the atmosphere is awful!!! The Beast might as well be non-existed. The food is not good at all.
We highly prefer Cinderella’s Royal Table!!! We have always found the food to be very good!! It is a wonderful Princess experience and the boy guests are given a sword to make them feel included. It is a great time to relax on a busy day. The price is high but well worth it.
I totally disagree with Be Our Guest. We had the breakfast prior to Covid and it was great. Since then we have had dinner several times and it is always amazing. I have never had a bad meal at Be Our Guest. Granted the Beast only walks through, but I know he is waving at me. Going again in September.
I used to love the Plaza, when it had a simple menu and wasn’t trying to be fancier than it is. I’ve been once since it reopened after Covid, and I wasn’t impressed. I can’t imagine going back, unless they update the menu and price the food more reasonably.
What you’re failing to mention is the fact that Be Our Guest has opened back up the Beast’s room where you can do a meet and greet and get pictures. It’s a dark atmosphere because it’s the Beast’s castle. Complaining about that seems ridiculously silly. We eat here almost every time we come and we’ve had no issues with food or service. I will say it has went down hill from when it first opened but it’s still good. Cinderella’s Royal Table was absolutely TERRIBLE. We did breakfast and it was horrible. Everything tasted disgusting. The princesses breezed past us way too quickly. We did it but we won’t be going back. Akershus is a million times better. We enjoy The Plaza but really miss the bottomless shakes. It seems hit or miss for us. Crystal Palace is one we’ve haven’t done but with a 17 and 21 year old…character meals are down to a minimum…lol.
I think Tony’s has gone down as well. They have offered the same menu items forever and they are really nothing fancy. You can make all those dishes at home.