Should you LEAVE Magic Kingdom to eat?

While there are a few tasty snacks and treats inside this popular park, we usually recommend heading out to one of the nearby hotels for your meals. That’s not to say there isn’t good food in Magic Kingdom (although it’s not one of the best parks for foodies, in our opinion) — there’s just a lot of GREAT food at the hotel restaurants! Steakhouse 71, ‘Ohana, and California Grill are a few of our favorite sit-down restaurants, but what about counter-service meals? Come with us to test out a fast food-style restaurant that’s just a Monorail ride away from Magic Kingdom.

We’re exploring Gasparilla Island Grill, which is located at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. You don’t have to be staying at this fancy hotel to dine here — just hop on a Monorail or drive on in for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

The Grill is counter-service, which means no reservations are necessary. It also has Mobile Order available, so you can order your food ahead of time and schedule a time to come and pick it up without waiting in line. (Pro tip: If you bought one of those resort mugs with unlimited refills, there are refill stations at this spot!)

Now that you’ve got the general idea of what Gasparilla Island Grill is, let’s head inside to check out the atmosphere, menu, and eats!

Atmosphere

You’ll find this restaurant on the first floor of the Grand Floridian hotel. It’s accessible from the hotel’s outdoor paths.

Gasparilla Island Grill offers both indoor and outdoor seating. Outdoor seating is cafe-style and offers a beautiful view of the Grand Floridian Marina with Cinderella Castle in the distance.

Indoor seating has roomy booths and tables in a bright setting.

If you decide not to use Mobile Order, you’ll head up to the counters to order your meal.

Go on over to the bakery case to check out seasonal treats and other goodies (trust us — you don’t want to miss it).

Let’s check out the menu next.

Menu

We went by at lunchtime, but the menu looks pretty similar for dinner as well. For entrées, there are a few options for flatbreads, a burger…

…some sandwiches, and a few different salads.

There’s also a plant-based Impossible burger on the menu. Some sides include salads, chips, french fries, and macaroni and cheese (spoiler alert: we’re BIG fans of that mac and cheese!).

There are several options for kids’ meals as well.

Don’t forget dessert! You could order an entire cake, choose something off the dessert menu…

…or head to the bakery case!

There are a LOT of snacks to choose from, including fruit cups, Mickey bars, mandarin oranges, and more.

There are also plenty of beverage options. You can get soda, bottled water, energy drinks, chocolate milk, and the list goes on.

There are several coffee options as well, like a Caramel Macchiato, Caffé Mocha, or Cappuccino.

In terms of adult drinks, there are only a couple of cocktails available in the form of a Bloody Mary and a Hard Seltzer.

There are options for wine by the bottle or glass…

…and lots of different beers.

OK, you’ve seen the menu — now let’s get to the eats!

Eats

We tried a few different entrées, and we’ll start out with the Broccoli and Tomato Flatbread for $12.29. This is Roasted Garlic, Mozzarella, Broccoli, Fire-roasted Tomatoes, and Ricotta on House-made Dough.

We thought that the sauce and cheese on the flatbread were super tasty, although a little more tang in the sauce would have really kicked it up a notch.

The bread itself was very soft and chewy, and we appreciated that it wasn’t too hard or crispy — that would’ve made it much more difficult to eat.

Overall it was a good snack albeit a little bit boring. The flavors were a kind of bland and we were wishing for more spice. However, if you’re looking for a simple meal, traveling with picky eaters, or want an alternative option to regular theme park pizza, this is not a bad choice. It’s filling and definitely big enough for a meal.

Next up is the Artisan Burger for $14.49. This is a Grilled Signature-blend Burger with Brisket, and Chuck topped with Bacon, Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion on a Toasted Brioche Bun, served with French Fries.

This burger had one major problem: it was VERY dry. You really needed some kind of sauce to make it edible. A sauce would also solve the problem that this burger was pretty bland, as there didn’t seem to be much seasoning at all.

Think about a stereotypical burger that you can get just about anywhere, and you’ll know exactly how this burger tastes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing! It was a solid hamburger and would be a good choice for picky eaters (as long as you picked up some barbecue sauce or ketchup to add to it).

Finally, we tried the Blackened Chicken Sandwich for $12.29. This is Blackened Chicken, Pepper Jack, and Coleslaw on a Brioche Bun served with your choice of a side (we got the mac and cheese!).

We finally got a dish with lots of flavor! We really enjoyed the spices on the chicken. They brought a nice kick to the sandwich without being overwhelmingly spicy. The coleslaw on top added some sweetness that we thought worked great with the spice.

You can get the house-made Macaroni and Cheese as a side (as part of a combo meal or on its own for $4.49), or get it as an entrée for $9.29.

This might only be a side dish, but it was the STAR of our meal.

We’ve been fans of this mac and cheese for a long time now, and this time it was just as great as we remembered.

It’s very creamy and rich, and the pasta is perfectly cooked as well. 10/10 recommend buying this (and maybe only this) when you stop by Gasparilla Island Grill.

Nosh or Not

Head to Gasparilla Island Grill if you:

• Want a simple meal that’s slightly better your average theme park food. The food here isn’t really anything super exciting, but that Blackened Chicken Sandwich was pretty good, and you can also find pretty healthy options on the menu, like salads.
• Want a peaceful lunch with great views. You can escape the rush of the theme parks and hop over here to eat by the Marina and stare lovingly at Cinderella Castle.
• Love mac and cheese. If you’re a macaroni and cheese connoisseur, this is a must-try spot for you. We mean it when we say we LOVE this dish.

Skip this joint if you:

• Want unique and interesting eats. The food here is fine, but it’s really just that: fine. You can find more interesting food over at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, like at Capt. Cook’s (if you want quick service) or ‘Ohana (for sit-down).
• Are looking for an awesome burger. The burger here was very meh, and you don’t want to settle for that when there’s an AMAZING burger just a Monorail ride away at Steakhouse 71. Don’t have a reservation? See if there’s availability at the Steakhouse 71 Lounge, which also serves the Stack Burger!
• Want an exciting or energetic atmosphere. Gasparilla Island Grill is pretty chill, but you can find a fun lounge at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto! This bar has a few fun eats and lots of interesting drinks, but the best part is the exciting atmosphere and antics from the bartenders.

Overall

Overall, we think Gasparilla Island Grill is a pretty good restaurant but not a great one. Should you go out of your way to eat here? Probably not…with one exception. You guessed it — the mac and cheese. If you’re not in it for the mac, we think the only reason to come would be if it’s convenient and you want a simple meal!

The service was great, however, and our food came out in a very timely manner. So there’s not anything very wrong about the Grill, it just didn’t WOW us.

With DOZENS of places to eat at Disney World, we know it can be tough to plan your meals. That’s why we wrote the DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World.

We have reviews, pictures and details about every restaurant all in one digital download – along with ALL of our best tips and strategies from decades of Disney World trips. We’ve got a special discount code for DFB readers, too! Use WDW2023 at checkout for 25% off! 

Keep following DFB for more reviews of all the restaurants in Disney World.

Click here for our COMPLETE guide to eating at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.

Have you eaten at Gasparilla Island Grill in Disney World? Let us know what you thought of it in the comments!