Quick Service at Magic Kingdom!

We are talking about everyone’s favorite thing at Disney…the food! We are breaking down everything to know about the Quick Service dining options in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom!

*Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe is one of our favorites for the vibes!*

There is so much that qualifies as “quick service” including full restaurants with seating, walk up windows, carts etc, especially if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan, but there are five true restaurants that fall into this category that we’re going to start with.

First of all, let’s touch on the Disney Dining Plan, specifically the Quick-Service Dining Plan. Walt Disney World has two basic types of restaurants; "Quick-Service" (walk-up or counter-service restaurants) and "Table-Service" (sit-down restaurants, where you’ll have a server, etc. This also includes Character Dining). The Dining Plans offer credits for those restaurants.

In a nutshell, Disney’s Quick-Service Dining Plan includes (2) Quick-Service meals per person/per night, (1) snack per person/per night, and (1) Refillable Mug per person that can be used throughout the duration of your stay at your Disney Resort hotel. If you want a bit more information and a breakdown of what we think are the best use of your credits throughout Walt Disney World, not just Magic Kingdom then check out this blog post from People Mover Travel here!

Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe

This is a quick service that offers lunch and dinner but not breakfast, which is important to note! This restaurant is located in Tomorrowland and it’s kind of a futuristic, outer space themed restaurant with the star of the show - Sonny Eclipse! Sonny is a weirdly wonderful alien animatronic lounge singer who croons out stellar hits while you enjoy your food! If you grew up in the 90’s this is going to bring back all the amazing Chuck E Cheese memories of your childhood.

The food here is largely burgers, fries, chicken fingers and general “theme park food” but it’s all tasty and sometimes that’s exactly what you want! They do offer a few other options for dietary restrictions like a plant based patty melt and of course they’ve got a kids menu for your little ones as well.

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

This restaurant is in Frontierland and offers lunch and dinner. For some reason it took us a long time to really try this one! We might have tried it very early on in one of our trips but then it was years before we tried it again. What we remembered or thought we knew about it was that it was mostly tacos, which are delicious, but more recently we discovered that they have a more extensive menu including bowls, burgers and more. There’s a lot of good seating including a separate room in the back area of the restaurant and an outdoor patio area that could be good for a view of the parade if you time it right!

As mentioned the food is largely Mexican with a few other options as well and they offer some dietary restriction options like a veggie bowl and gluten free versions of some of their offerings. They do have a good kids menu too with smaller versions of tacos, bowls and burgers for your little ones.

*Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe is highly underrated in our opinion!*

Columbia Harbour House

This restaurant is in Liberty Square and serves lunch and dinner. This is a New England inspired restaurant which means they focus a lot on seafood! You’ll find things like clam chowder, lobster rolls, grilled salmon and more. The kids menu here is kind of a weird one, they do have chicken tenders but the rest is shrimp and salmon. So if you’ve got a kid like ours who may not eat shrimp or salmon a good thing to know is that they offer Uncrustables as a side option here. Which is so nice if you’re struggling to find something for your kid to eat!

We have enjoyed everything we’ve eaten there, though it’s not a super high quality seafood dinner, it’s really good for a quick service meal! And it’s something different then the other options throughout the park. There is a plant based crab cake sandwich and some gluten free versions of their items as well for those with dietary restrictions.

One of our favourite things about this restaurant is that there’s seating on the bridge above the breezeway by Memento Mori that gives you a perfect view to people watch in Liberty Square!

Pinocchio Village Haus

This is a quick service in Fantasyland that serves lunch and dinner (still no breakfast!). The menu is Italian favorites and one of our all time favorite items is their flatbreads! There’s one we ate previously with balsamic that we CRAVE when we’re at home! The menu is mostly flatbreads but does include a few salads and some kids options including pepperoni flatbread, chicken strips and a turkey sandwich.

We will say, this one does feel the most chaotic when you enter. As soon as you enter you are directly in a line and it feels a little hectic but it does go quickly. There are two places we love to sit in this restaurant that are really cool! First, there’s a spot upstairs where you can overlook the carousel and the Fantasyland courtyard. There might just be two tops, its kind of narrow but it’s really cool! Second, there’s a spot that overlooks the loading area of “it’s a small world” and you can watch everyone there. Plus when you’re going on “it’s a small world” you can look up and see people waving at you from inside the restaurant!

Casey’s Corner

This is a fan fave! They serve lunch and dinner and the menu is full of hot dogs, chili dogs, and our personal favorite - the corn dog nuggets! The menu is simple but it is delicious and you can get a regular hot dog or foot long dogs and there are plant based options available as well. One thing to keep in mind is there isn’t a specific kids menu here so you would be ordering for your kiddo off the regular menu.

Now that we’ve covered those five quick service restaurants, we decided to rank them! We both decided to create our own lists because there was just no way we could agree on one definititive ranking!

Jessica’s Ranking

*The Lunching Pad is one of our favorite walk up windows.*

#5 - Casey’s Corner

Really just because there’s not a lot of options and I don’t think of it as a full meal restaurant, it’s more like “We’re getting corn dog nuggets and sitting in the hub grass to watch the castle.”

#4 - Pinocchio’s Village Haus

The stress of it stresses me out a bit. Sometimes it can be hard to find a table, and it can be tough juggling with kids.

#3 - Columbia Harbor House

This one isn’t super high on the list largely because I feel like the kids menu could use some improvement.

#2 - Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe

I love this place so much but I wish they had a few more options that weren’t just burgers and fries.

#1 - Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

I loved that chicken rice bowl I ate last time and the menu itself is one of my favorites. It’s a little quieter and less busy than the rest so it’s more enjoyable to me.

Tyler’s Ranking

#5 - Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe

The food here is pretty standard, mediocre burgers and chicken tenders, it’s not bad but not great.

#4 - Pinocchio Village Haus

I love the seating areas here but its always a little too busy and I can feel a little stressed going in here.

#3 - Casey’s Corner

I love the corn dog nuggets and if you can find a spot to sit while they’re playing the piano outside it really changes the ambiance of the place!

#2 - Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

The menu here is just a little different than everything else in this park and its always really good.

#1 - Columbia Harbor House

I love the lobster roll, I love the salmon but really I love sitting in that bridge area watching everyone go by.

There are also some other options beyond actual quick service restaurants where you can get food that falls under the quick service category. Especially if you are using the dining plan as mentioned above.

The Friar’s Nook in Fantasyland

This is something we’ve discovered as we were searching for breakfast options in the Magic Kingdom. Because as you can tell above, there isn’t much in the way of breakfast in the choices we’ve discussed so far. They offer a breakfast sandwich, doughnut holes, tater tots with sausage gravy and cold brew, coffee, tea etc. Then at lunch and dinner you can find mac and cheese, bratwurst, hot dogs etc. This is a walk up area with a few tables outside but not a full restaurant.

*If you’re looking for the infamous Nutella fruit waffle then check out Sleepy Hollow Refreshments!*

Golden Oak Outpost in Frontierland

They offer a select menu with chili cheese fries, chicken strips, loaded chicken strips and beverages. If you’re using the dining plan, we wouldn’t necessarily suggest using one of your credits here as you wouldn’t get the best bang for your buck.

Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland

This restaurant is almost mythical because it’s not always open! But when you catch it open, it’s really good! They offer lunch and dinner choices including a BBQ pork sandwich, orange chicken strips and even a peanut butter, hazelnut spread and banana sandwich along with a variety of beverages.

Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square

This is another great option for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner! They have waffles, funnel cake and the infamous nutella and fruit waffle sandwich along with coffee, tea and other beverages for breakfast. And then for lunch and dinner they continue to offer the fruit waffle sandwich, funnel cake but also include a sweet and spicy chicken and waffle sandwich along with various beverages.

Westward Ho in Frontierland

This is another walk up window that offers breakfast, lunch and dinner! For breakfast you can find breakfast sandwiches, doughnut holes, coffee, tea and other beverages. For lunch and dinner they offer a candied bacon skewer, jalapeno poppers and corn dog nuggets which would all be amazing uses for snack credits!

Main Street Bakery on Main Street (Starbucks)

This is a Starbucks that offers all the favorites you’re used to at your local Starbucks but you CAN use snack credits here for any size drink and various menu items! So if you are wanting to go here and utilize the Dining Plan you absolutely can.

The Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland

This walk up counter also offers breakfast and they have a breakfast bowl that sounds delicious! It’s tater tots topped with a cheese omelette, chili con queso and sour cream! They also have something called sticky bubble bread which sounds sweet and gooey and delicious! For lunch and dinner you can find a variety of hot dogs, pretzels and beverages included slushies!

There are a few other places that have one or two items that could count as a meal credit or snack credit if you were trying to utilize the dining plan. For example: Gastons Tavern in New Fantasyland has a ham and swiss sandwich with chips and a drink. Liberty Square Market has turkey legs and a few grab and go items like babybel cheese, fruit etc.

Mobile order is also another feature that Disney offers that we HIGHLY recommend! You can do this through the Walt Disney World app while you’re in line at a ride for example so that when you’re ready to eat you don’t have to wait in a huge line up.

From the Citizens of Disneyville

We asked our followers over on Instagram, @disneyvillepodcast, what some of their favorite Magic Kingdom quick service restaurants, menu items and must-tries are and there are tons of good choices to add to your “must-try” list on your next trip to Walt Disney World!

*While there isn’t a large menu at Gastons Tavern we still love it for a little treat and of course, the vibes!*

The Pepper Jack Pretzel from Cheshire Cafe!
Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Cosmic Rays!
Any of the Pinocchio Village Haus flatbreads!
GF pizza at pincchio village haus is surprisingly good!
Columbia Harbor House upstairs always, unless its too busy!
Tortuga Tavern has a lot of nice seating for lunch!
Columbia Harbor House is the ONLY right answer and you sit upstairs on the bridge!
Sleepy Hollow, sitting at the tables covered by umbrellas staring at the castle eating a fruit waffle and drinking cold brew!
Casey’s Corner for the corn dog nuggets!
Pretzel bun sausage, egg and cheese sandwich from Friar’s Nook!
Hear me out, Casey’s Corn dog nuggets but with Pecos queso!
Columbia Harbor House hush puppies!
It’s a toss up, but I always end up at Cosmic Rays!
Pecos Bills, lots of seating, dim lights with air conditoning and a carnitas bowl with alll the guac!
Cosmic Rays, average theme park food but the vibes remind me of my childhood!

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