Pizza Planet Review
Toy Story Pizza Planet in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World is a quick service restaurant serving pizza, pizza, and more pizza…and a few other things. This post includes photos of the food, along with our thoughts on this restaurant and its ambiance. As of early 2016, Pizza Planet is closed until November 7, 2016 for refurbishment.
Due to the length of this refurbishment and the fact that Toy Story Land is being constructed elsewhere at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there are rumors that Pizza Planet will be re-themed. Prior to the Toy Story theme, it was originally to be part of a larger Muppet Studios mini-land that included “The Great Gonzo’s Pandemonium Pizza Parlor,” MuppetVision 3D, and another restaurant themed to the Swedish Chef.
Now, many people believe this will finally come to fruition, with Toy Story Pizza Planet potentially becoming “Swedish Chef’s Cooking School” or Gonzo’s Pizza Parlor. It seems just as likely that these “rumors” are actually wishful thinking based on a bit of deductive reasoning resulting from premises we know to be true. I guess we will know for sure in the fall, but here’s some old info on Pizza Planet for now…
Pizza Planet is open for both lunch and dinner, and offers indoor seating with two levels, and an arcade on the lower level. In addition to the varieties of pizza, Pizza Planet also carries salads and meatball subs. It participates in the Disney Dining Plan as a counter service credit. It does not accept the Tables in Wonderland card for a 20% discount. As far as value goes, Pizza Planet is neither a good nor bad value on the Disney Dining Plan (see our ranking of the best value quick service restaurants here).
Pizza Planet is supposed to be themed like the restaurant by the same name from the hit Disney-Pixar film, Toy Story. I suppose as far as nailing the ‘dive pizza joint’ theme goes, Pizza Planet succeeds in spades. However, I’m not sure this is such a compliment. The theming of Pizza Planet is very utilitarian, with little done on the inside to execute the Toy Story theme. It’s also incredibly loud thanks to the arcade, and it’s always a popular lunch and dinner option with families, making it both busy and chaotic. If you’re looking for a quiet place to relax away from the hustle and bustle of the theme park masses, Pizza Planet typically is not the best of choices.
As for the food, Pizza Planet is a mixed bag. It serves, almost exclusively, the type of food that is stereotypically associated with theme parks. Cheap and greasy mass-produced pizzas are the main draw here, with meatball subs and uninspired salads as an afterthought. Restaurants like Pizza Planet give Walt Disney World dining a bad reputation, and because of poor guest planning, many people assume the only thing Walt Disney World restaurants serve is burgers, hot dogs, and pizza like this. Obviously that is not true, but the reputation persists.
All of that said, Pizza Planet is a bit of a guilty pleasure for us. If you eat this type of food in moderation, and go in expecting greasy fast food pizza, pizza at Pizza Planet isn’t a half-bad meal. Still, whenever we leave there, we feel like we’re doing some sort of walk of shame on the way out.
In terms of value, Pizza Planet isn’t half bad, either. You receive a personal pizza of the plain cheese, pepperoni, or a veggie variety, and a Caesar side salad all for around $9. If you’re paying out of pocket, this is a really good value (as mentioned above, on the Dining Plan you’re better off eating at somewhere more expensive to maximize “value”), and you might actually be able to split a meal between two adults. $5 or so for a meal at Walt Disney World is a relative steal! The desserts also are pretty good (because they’re often brought over from Starring Rolls). If you go at an off-hour and eat outside, the place isn’t that busy, and you have a nice view of the courtyard by MuppetVision.
Of course, the pizza isn’t the best stuff on earth, and isn’t nearly as good as the flatbreads that have been introduced at many Disneyland restaurants (and hopefully are making their way to Walt Disney World!), but it isn’t terrible, either. It’s all about expectations: if you go in expecting a pizza like you might order from Dominos or Pizza Hut, you’ll probably find Pizza Planet enjoyable. If you expect something that you might find at a gourmet New York or Chicago pizzeria (or even something on par with Via Napoli in Epcot), you will be incredibly disappointed. Expect a pizza that will taste approximately “$9 good,” (adjusted for “Disney inflation) and you shouldn’t be disappointed.
Overall, as mentioned above, Pizza Planet is a guilty pleasure of ours. While we eat there on occasion and continue to go back on rare occasions, there are too many caveats (don’t go when it’s busy because it’s crowded and loud, expect greasy and mass-produced pizza, etc.) to really give Pizza Planet a high score. Pizza Planet is probably best for parents with children who are picky eaters, enjoy arcades, or Toy Story. The rest of us should only visit Pizza Planet if we want to try a “guilty pleasure” (emphasis on the guilty) or want to check every Walt Disney World restaurant off our “list.”
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Your Thoughts…
What do you think about Pizza Planet? Is the food just so-so, or is it a great value for families with things kids will actually like? If you like it, which pizza (or non-pizza) is your favorite? If you don’t like it, why not? Share your thoughts in the comments.
It scares me that they will refurbish it because even though its not exactly like the movie they did a really good job. I’m afraid they’ll just end up ruining it . Although they are supposed to have a MegaGulp and SuperNova burger. This kind of job is supposed to be up the graphic designers being hired to really get the attention to detail. We 90’s kids know our fantasy foods and sometimes even the recipe. Who knows. If disney really wants to cash in something like this could blow and a wreck chuck e cheese .Although I hear they are getting rid of their animatronics. Bad idea.
Anyways , I’m really hoping they don’t take down the huge hanging aliens. If anything they should just worry about making it more accurate for the next Pizza Planet they build. I wouldn’t want something well designed but not movie accurate to go to waste. Disney is a movie company not food processing company so I dont expect them to be great at making food. If I worked there I’d be trying to get deals with real companies like Pizza Hut or Papa Johns . Disney has its job and pizza companies have there’s . So they should work together . MegaCorps can run into issues with “small” details and it’s not really their fault. They have one primary mission and often wouldn’t think about the small stuff and with millions of consumers coming through it would be difficult to catch on to certain areas that may need improvement or even know what’s in demand from fans.
At the end of the day. Dont tear down the old to make way for the new. It’s not “wrong” or “obsolete” . There’s plenty of room elsewhere for the new. From the clips I saw it looked great. Thanks for the review though. It really helps super fans piece dreams together. I look forward to a supernova burger one day.
To Infinity and Beyond!
Is this place still open? I’ve tried to look for it to “favorite” it for our Disney World trip, but can’t find it on the website anywhere!
I had a bad experience at Pizza Planet once. I waited an hour (!) in line for 1 cheese pizza & 2 sodas. I guess the computers were down at the time. The pizza was ok, but not good enough to justify the wait. I swore I’d never go back, and I haven’t.
Definitely believe that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the webb the easiest thing to be aware of.
I say to you, I definitely gget irked while people consider worries that
they plainly do not knokw about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top
as well aas defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people could
take a signal. Will likkely be back to get more. Thanks
Always the spot for a quick lunch between shows. My daughter (now 20) looks for a table outside while I go get the food. By the time somebody finish eating and vacate the table I get to the front of the line and order the pizza. No wasted time and a “frugal” way to eat in the park. It is one of our ‘must do’.
Do you actually like the food, or is it just a ‘must do’ because it’s convenient?
I love the pizza at PizzaPlanet! It’s not what you call greasy- just the normal oil you’d find on any good pizza! It’s so much better than Dominos! The kids pizza is smaller than the adult one- so it depends how much you really want to eat. We enjoy the salad too! Most of the resorts have the same Pizza -except for Pop Century which just switched to a French bread kind- thank goodness Animation still has the good kind. There you are better off ordering a whole pie if a few people are eating it.
I agree on the decor – it could really be an awesome place! We usually eat upstairs or outside – never a problem with the noise….I’m not a fan of flatbread- hope they add- not exchange! If you want a good flatbread- go to Wilderness Lodge QS- my husband really likes theirs….
We ate here when we visited early this May, we did notice that you get the same size pizza for the children’s order and the adults. So I would recommend ordering the children’s size with all the sides for $5 compared to the $9 for just the pizza itself for the adults. The quality and service itself were good, but I would agree, it’s not the best either.
The cupcakes aren’t imported, they are handmade in the bakery connected to pizza planet in the back.
I actually like Pizza Planet. We went for the first time over Christmas and thought the pizza was actually good. Nice crust and tasty sauce.It is a great value for those traveling with kids because you can easily split two adult meals between a family of four (and have room to enjoy a cupcake). Dine upstairs and you can charge your phone while you eat!
I’m with you on the value aspects. And it’s not half bad once per trip, but I still think it’s far from good. It’s about Domino’s quality.
We tried this QS for the first time this month and was pleasantly surprised. We went Mother’s Day weekend, on Friday night, the place was empty and the food was great! I was happy with the price but did find the arcade machines loud as expected. We plan to go back!
I really wish they’d give Pizza Planet a makeover and make it more like the Pizza Planet in Toy Story!
Yes! That would be awesome!
The pizza is good but plain. The food is OK. But my problem is the lines to order. It is often very crowded with the line out the doors. And I have never been able to find a seat inside. But I seem to go back occassionally when a good ole cheese pizza is what I’m craving.
three thoughts on pizza planet:
1) kids seem to love it exponentially–making it a great place for parents no matter the quality of food/noise/decor–if the kids are happy and actually eating then it’s automatically a great place in my book–we ate there twice this past week at our kids’ insistence (and the salad plus pizza does make for a decent combo)
2) the Chocolate Cappuccino Cupcake is fantastic and huge which makes it a great value as your dessert on the dining plan
3) upstairs at Pizza Planet is my favorite cell phone charging spot in all of WDW–get a table along the brick wall side and you will find ample outlets to charge your phone (camera?) while you eat.
I agree with your review, but I wanted to add something. Pizza planet at DHS seems like SUCH a missed opertunity to me. The Pizza Planet in the Toy Story movie was an amazing loocking place. It was a true space port, with all of it’s offerings being space themed. It had a giant rocket outside, the doors where flanked by robots, ect. Replicating that enviorment as it was seen in the movie would have taken this ho-hum quick service option and made it fairly awesome. Now personally, I’m much more of a fan of something like pinocchio’s village haus for qucik service theming, but for kids this could have been a must do. Now I realize a fully realized pizza Planet would have taken a made for this purpose building (and weather this would fit thematically into DHS is arguable)……but……..the large brick warehouse that currently carries the name just makes me sad as I imagine what could have been.
I agree with this! It could be such an awesome restaurant!
The one in Disneyland Paris seems to have made a real effort with the theme indoors (loads of pictures on the interweb)but is also almost never open! So I’ve never actually been inside.. but I hope to. One day.
Now in 2015 with the Toy Story Midway Mania and general Pixar area in DHS, I think that popularity could easily demand an update to Pizza Planet (maybe with a little better pizza this go around too haha).
Mass-market fast-food pizza is a guilty pleasure, indeed, though one I usually enjoy while wearing a disguise, in hopes no one will see me! In fact, I think pizza is in some ways a great national differentiator. I was at a conference some years ago with thousands of people fed daily in a massive, state-of-the-art university dining hall. Plastic tray in hand, I approached the pizza area, where a woman was deliberating. Have you had the pizza, she asked. Is it any good, she wondered. I replied: Are you from Chicago? No, she responded. I continued: Are you from New York? No, again. Where are you from, I asked. Charlotte, NC, she said. Only then did I feel safe in assuring her that the pizza was wonderful!
HA HA! That’s a funny way to gauge the ranking(accurate, but still funny!).
My kids, and husband, LOVE Pizza Planet and it’s the only QS restaurant in DHS that we are allowed to eat at! I suggest other options and try to inspire a desire for other food, but it never works. Pizza Planet all the way for them. THey like the arcade, and truthfully, the pizza isn’t that bad. It’s what you would expect pizza to taste like.
However, I think you are underestimating the value of a meal at Pizza Planet. Pizza and salad makes for a rather large meal. And the kids pizza and adult pizza are the same size, which, truthfully, is a bit much for an adult to eat! So by ordering 2 adult pizza combo meals, we get 2 salads for the adults, and 2 pizzas that we split 1 for the kids and 1 for the adults, and 2 desserts! It’s plenty of food and feeds a family of 4 for less than $20.
Like I mentioned in the review, if you go in expecting average fast-food style pizza, you won’t be disappointed. I think the pizza is far from good, but it depends on your baseline, I suppose. Comparing to the pizza I regularly ate in college, it’s pretty good!
Your statement on value is a great point, though. Compared to other restaurants at Walt Disney World, you get a lot for your $9 (or so). This is definitely something to consider if on a budget, and I’m going to update the review to reflect that.
Pizza Planet is my kids’ second favorite counter service restaurant (after Casey’s). They love it! I just thought it was okay until I ate the new Chocolate Cappuccino Cupcake. It was one of the best things I ate during our October visit (and I don’t even like coffee). I look forward to our next visit to Pizza Planet just so I can have another one!
That cupcake is actually “imported” over from Starring Rolls (they also have it at BoardWalk Bakery), so I wouldn’t quite give credit to Pizza Planet for that. Still, it is a REALLY good dessert!
We ate here last spring because all of the other QS restaurants at the Studios were getting terrible reviews. I completely agree with your review and upon seeing ABC Commissary, I wish we would have gone there!