Poll: Where is the best food in the WDW area?

I have no trips planned, but I’ve been daydreaming about going on a third trip with my DS8, daredevil DD6, DH and MIL. In these daydreams I find myself thinking about staying off property and doing both WDW and Universal. We’ve always stayed in the bubble so I’m really not familiar with the food quality and options outside of WDW.

MIL is a bit of a foodie so I try to cater to her tastes (as long as the place is kid friendly) - she likes both hole in the wall places and high end places as long as the food is good, but if the restaurant is expensive then she expects the service/atmosphere to be quite good as well. She was unimpressed by most places we went on our first trip (Raglan Road, Tangarine Cafe, Flame Tree BBQ, Sunshine Seasons, Be Our Guest, POR restaurant) and much happier on our second trip (Trattoria al Forno, Garden Grill, Teppan Edo, Boma, Sanaa, Ohana).

Where are the restaurants with the best food in the WDW area?

  • Walt Disney World, even if Disney Springs is not included
  • Walt Disney World, but only if Disney Springs is included
  • Universal Orlando Resort, even if CityWalk isn’t included
  • Universal Orlando Resort, but only if CityWalk is included
  • Restaurants in Orlando that are not on theme park property
  • Good restaurants are pretty evenly spread throughout the area. No one park (or non-park area) has significantly more good restaurants than any other.
  • Other

0 voters

I voted “Other” just so I can see the results! :laughing:

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Cheater! :stuck_out_tongue::wink:

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I haven’t had food anywhere but at Disney and at Universal—we’ve never ventured out of the bubble(s). I think the food is pretty bad at Universal, and that you can find some actually really great food at Disney, especially at the resorts. Flying Fish was a particular highlight, as was California Grill.

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Smashburger in Orlando is pretty good!

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Quick service isn’t great at Universal but there are some exceptions that are amazing such as Voodoo Donuts for quick snack and Cowfish for table service imho. The resorts have good food too.

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Most of the time, if you are staying on property, it is just easier to eat in the bubble. Time is money. WDW has fabulous choices. Universal, well…

We tend to go to FL for 10-14 days. So many days offer us lots of flexibility. Sometimes, we don’t stay in the bubble for the entire time. Thus, we have a car for part of the trip and that makes it easier to go outside the bubble to eat. In 2019, we enjoyed Flippers Pizzeria in Lake Buena Vista and Fogo de Chao in Orlando (closer to Universal). We went to Fogo de Chao for lunch on a weekday. The salad bar is amazing! We could have just eaten there. But we chose the Brazilian BBQ with the salad bar. It was less than $40 for lunch and was delicious. We were supposed to have dinner at Sanaa but had to ‘cancel’ because we were so, so stuffed by dinner!

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