Food in Disney World can be expensive, so you don’t want to waste money buying BAD snacks and meals! Don’t worry — we’re here to help you sort out which eats you should get and which you should SKIP.
We ate a lot of food in Disney World in February, from new eats to classic fan favorites. We visited several table service restaurants, grabbed seasonal snacks, and even discovered a few brand-new items. So which were WINNERS and which should you avoid? Let’s dive in.
Before we get to the best and worst eats, we’ve got to let you in on a secret: There’s a simple tool that can make your Disney World meal planning super easy — the DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining 2023. We wrote the guide based on decades of experience dining at the parks and hotels, and it’s full of reviews, pictures, and details about every single restaurant. We also included our best tips and strategies to help you create the perfect plan for your group.
You can use the code WDW2023 at checkout to get 25% off the guide too! Now, on to the best and worst things we ate in Disney World in February.
The BEST Things We Ate in Disney World in February
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
We discovered a NEW snack at Terra Treats in Disney’s Animal Kingdom: the Buffalo Chicken Pizza for $7.29. It’s a thick-crust pizza with chunks of chicken, buffalo sauce, and melted cheese.
We thought this was a great snack! The amount of chicken on the pizza was impressive, and the buffalo flavor really came through (so if you’re not a fan of buffalo sauce, you’ll want to steer clear). The crust was soft and fluffy, and it was fun to have a different variety of pizza other than just your basic cheese and pepperoni.
Now is this the BEST pizza we’ve had in Disney World? Well, no, but it is ONE of the best we’ve had at a quick-service location. It’s a great option if you’re looking for something a little different, but not TOO different. It’s also another reason why we’ll argue that Animal Kingdom has some of the best food in all of Disney World!
Check out our full review of the Buffalo Chicken Pizza here.
Mardi Gras Mickey Beignet
We found a new Mardi Gras-themed Mickey Beignet at Scat Cat’s Club Café at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter. Is this just an excuse for us to talk about how much we LOVE just about every kind of Mickey beignet we’ve ever had? Yes. Yes, it is.
This “new” treat was essentially a normal Mickey beignet with a generous amount of icing and Mardi Gras sprinkles on top (instead of the classic powdered sugar). You can get one for $3.99. When we got ours, it was piping hot, pillowy, and sweet.
Note that the Mickey beignets at Port Orleans aren’t the airy, light beignets that you’ll find in New Orleans. They’re denser and cakeier (like a donut), but we still think they’re delicious.
Read our full review of Mardi Gras Mickey Beignets here.
Tinker Bell Sundae
The Tinker Bell Waffle Sundae at Marketplace Snacks in Disney Springs is vanilla soft-serve ice cream with lemon curd, strawberries, kiwi, white chocolate crisp pearls, and strawberry-covered biscuit sticks for $8.99.
We loved this refreshing treat! The waffle was warm and fresh and combined beautifully with the ice cream. The standout flavor is the lemon curd, which was delicious! We also loved the texture of the pearls.
We didn’t have any complaints, but it’s a pretty big treat, so you might want to share this one with a friend or two. And don’t forget to grab several napkins, because it melts fast and quickly becomes messy. If you love vanilla and lemon flavors and need a refreshing treat on a hot day, you’ll 100% want to grab this treat.
Want to read our full review? Check it out here!
Strawberry Cheesecake Brownie
The Strawberry Cheesecake Brownie was a limited-time treat at the Boardwalk Deli for Valentine’s Day. It was definitely one of the best Valentine’s Day treats we had this year!
It was a strawberry cheesecake with chocolate cream and crisp pink pearls on a fudgy brownie for $5.29. The brownie was rich, fudgy, and gooey, and the strawberry cheesecake was light and complemented the brownie perfectly.
Although this treat is not available anymore, you should be on the lookout for it to return next year!
Check out our full review of this limited-time treat here.
Loaded Burnt Ends Fries
Regal Eagle Smokehouse in the American Adventure pavilion has a variety of barbecue dishes, like Kansas City Smoked Half Chicken, Memphis Dry-rub Pork Ribs, and Sliced Texas Beef Brisket Sandwiches. But we’ve seen all that before. We recently discovered a NEW offering at this spot. Check out the new Loaded Burnt Ends Fries, which are Seasoned French Fries with Burnt Ends, Macaroni & Cheese, and Beer-battered Onion Rings…are you drooling yet? 🤤
The WORST Things We Ate in Disney World in February
Gasparilla Island Grill Burger
We recently reviewed several eats at Gasparilla Island Grill, which is located at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. 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.
Sesame Chicken Stir Fry and Walt Disney’s Favorite Chili
We stopped by Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort to review the World Premiere Food Court. This spot is very convenient if you’re staying at the All-Star Movies hotel, but should you go out of your way to eat here? Based on our latest review…maybe not. We tried the Sesame Chicken Stir Fry and Walt Disney’s Favorite Chili, neither of which impressed us.
The stir fry comes with chicken, broccoli, red peppers, and onions and is served on a bed of Jasmine rice for $11.99. The chili bowl is fairly simple; it is a meat and bean chili topped with cheddar cheese and served in a bread boule. This dish is $9.99, making these excellent picks for those on a budget.
The chili bowl came in a bread bowl made to look like Mickey, which we thought was a nice touch. We thought the chili itself was seasoned well and reminded us of the flavors you’d enjoy in a taco. So what was the problem? The bread was VERY dry and even the chili didn’t really help.
Unlike the chili, the sesame chicken was very light. It was still a good serving but the fresh ingredients made it less heavy, and it’s a good option for when you’re craving some veggies after filling up on theme park food. However, the sesame sauce was minimal, and we thought this dish was pretty bland and under-seasoned. If you can’t handle spices, this could be a nice dish for you, but if you’re expecting an Asian dish with some zing, this isn’t it.
The meal wasn’t great, but we really enjoyed dessert! We had the Box Office Cupcake, which costs $5.49. It’s made up of a traditional yellow cake filled with caramel and topped with marshmallow buttercream and peanut-pretzel-popcorn brittle. Every single part of this was wonderful: the marshmallow frosting was light and fluffy, the caramel filling was rich, and the cake wasn’t dry at all.
Overall, we thought the World Premiere Food Court was a decent place to eat. The food isn’t anything adventurous, but if you’re traveling with a picky eater or need to please a large group of people, you’re sure to find what you need here. When we went, the dining room was practically empty, and it was nice to enjoy some quiet time. For those who prefer more upscale dining, you probably want to skip this food court, but after a long day in the parks when you just need something to fill your tummy before bed, this might just hit the spot.
Check out our full review of the All-Star Movies food court here!
Strawberry Red Velvet Whoopie Pie
The Strawberry Red Velvet Whoopie Pie returned to Trolley Car Café in Disney’s Hollywood Studios this Valentine’s Day. It’s a red velvet cake filled with cream cheese buttercream and topped with strawberry buttercream.
We’re just going to say we LOVED last year’s version of the snack. But this year, this treat had a lot less buttercream in the middle, and that’s our first complaint about it. Now, we can’t really complain about the flavors because the strawberry and red velvet cake tasted GREAT together. It’s also a very pretty dessert, especially with that edible glitter on top of the strawberry. The buttercream was also tasty, but we just needed MORE.
The cake with this year’s snack was also not as moist as we would’ve liked. And overall, the texture of the cream in the middle was also kinda’ off for us — it almost reminded us of eating shortening (not that we do that regularly). Honestly, we thought this was only a step above a Hostess snack cake. But it is only $4.99, meaning that it’s one of the less expensive snacks in Disney World, so if that’s your thing, go for it. It will be available for a limited time, though, so keep that in mind.
If you’re looking for a good alternative to the red velvet whoopie pie, we highly recommend the Carrot Cake Cookie (which we’ve loved for a LONG time), which is also at the Trolley Car Café!
Check out our full review of the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie here.
Valentine’s Day Chocolate Cupcake
For Valentine’s Day this year, we tried the Valentine’s Chocolate Cupcake from Zuri’s Sweets Shop in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a chocolate cupcake base with pink and white buttercream frosting. This little cutie is topped with red, pink, and white sprinkles and chocolate Mickey ears to make it all the more festive, and it’s available for $5.49. But is it worth the cost?
Well, we thought the cake was perfectly moist and that the frosting was thick and creamy — just the way we like it! The sprinkles were a fun addition, but they didn’t do much in terms of flavor. It’s piled HIGH with frosting, which may be a positive or a negative depending on how you feel about the frosting-to-cupcake ratio.
It’s a very sweet cupcake, so if you’re not into sugary desserts, you might want to pass on this one. But for those craving a sweet treat for the holiday of love, it’s a fun little way to celebrate! In reality, it’s topped with some cute decorations, but it’s simply just a chocolate cupcake with buttercream. Nothing really original or outside the box here.
Read our full review of this cupcake here!
Coral Reef Restaurant
We stopped by Coral Reef Restaurant in EPCOT recently. This restaurant is located inside The Seas Pavilion, and one of the walls of the main dining room is made up of a MASSIVE tank filled will all kinds of sea creatures. It’s definitely a unique view!
The restaurant serves a variety of seafood menu items (which may or may not make you feel a little weird to eat while watching the tank). In the past, some have regarded this restaurant as being pretty mediocre — so how did it stack up during our visit? Honestly, it’s complicated.
We tried a couple of mocktails, including the Agave Garden for $11, which is made with Lyre’s Agave Reserva Spirit, cold-pressed lime juice, passionfruit-papaya-green tea, and cucumber. The cucumber flavor was very strong, and the drink was pretty spicy from a jalapeño garnish. Overall, we thought that the flavor combination was a little bit odd.
However, one of the appetizers we tried saved the day! The New England Clam Chowder is available for $10 and it’s made with baby clams, Applewood-smoked bacon, potatoes, and cream. And you guys…this was GOOD. It was VERY creamy and served nice and warm. There were good-sized clam chunks through and the bacon on top was a little chewy, which really mingled well with the chewy clam texture.
Then, for the main course, we ordered the Orange-glazed Sustainable Salmon, which is $29. It comes with a vegetable stir fry and shiitake sticky rice. The glaze on the salmon was sweet with a slight tanginess from the orange, and the salmon itself is moist but could use a little bit of salt. We really enjoyed the garnish on top, which added some overall brightness to the salmon when eaten together. If you grab a bite with the salmon, shiitake rice, and garnish, the flavors are all really well balanced between tangy, earthy, and bright.
However, the “stir fry” left us a little disappointed. There were only a few vegetables, including some chopped-up mushrooms, carrots, peppers, and one green bean. They were pretty basic, and didn’t add much to the overall dish. In general, we were hoping for a slightly larger portion of food for the price you pay. It wasn’t the best salmon we’d ever eaten and the size (as well as the size of the veggies) was on the small side.
But yet again, we had something coming up to redeem the meal! For dessert, we ordered the Baileys Almande and Jack Daniel’s Mousse. It’s $9.50 and is made with chocolate ganache and candied almonds. This and the clam chowder were our favorite things we ate! It’s quite rich and comes encased in a chocolate shell that tasted like dark chocolate. There are raspberries on the side that were tangy and fresh, and paired really perfectly with the chocolate flavors. The chocolate mousse was rich and smooth and had crumbled candied almonds on the bottom. The mousse on top had a bit more texture to it, and definitely had a hint of alcohol flavor, but it wasn’t overwhelming.
So in general, the food was up and down throughout our meal. While the mocktail wasn’t our favorite, the Clam Chowder was a soup we’d go back again just to order. The salmon left us a little underwhelmed, but the dessert helped make up for that. It seems that it REALLY matters what you order here, but if you pick wisely, you could end up with a delicious meal. (Oh, and they have surprisingly good dinner rolls!)
Check out our FULL review of Coral Reef Restaurant here.
If you’re visiting Disney World soon and trying to decide where to eat, check out these posts for more tips and recommendations:
- 5 Disney World Snack HACKS $5 Or Less
- The WORST Disney World Restaurants According To Yelp
- 15 Cheap But Filling Disney World Snacks For When You’re Ballin’ On a Budget
- 10 Disney World Restaurants Every First-Timer Should Have on Their List
- 6 Surprising Rules About Drinking in Disney World
Keep following DFB for more food reviews, planning tips, and news from Disney World!
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Which of these eats would you try? Let us know in the comments.
Ken says
It astounds me that Walt’s favorite…Chili… can only be found at 1 or 2 locations on property. That’s not right, and then to make a crummy Chili to boot, that is a slap in the face.