Sunshine Seasons Review
Epcot’s Sunshine Seasons is the best counter service restaurant at Walt Disney World. It offers a wide variety of choices, including many healthier ones, with some of the best desserts at Walt Disney World. Along with Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe, it’s the only restaurant we visit on each trip to Walt Disney World. Whereas Cosmic Ray’s is mostly a sentimental and value for money favorite (thanks to the burger toppings bar—I pile about six times as many toppings on the burger as it can conceivably hold, then just dig in; many mushrooms become casualties during the meal), I have to say that I prefer Sunshine Seasons from the perspective of the food.
Sunshine Seasons participates in the Disney Dining Plan as a counter service meal. Like most in-park counter service restaurants, it does not accept the Tables in Wonderland card. If you are on the Disney Dining Plan and want to eat here, you’re in luck, because as this restaurant is an exceptional value on the Disney Dining Plan (to read about the other best restaurants for getting the best bang for buck on the Dining Plan, click here).
Thanks to all of the great restaurants at Epcot, we had not discovered Sunshine Seasons until our Summer 2009 trip. On that trip we first shared the Rotisserie Half Chicken and mashed potatoes, and we were instantly hooked. The chicken was tender and moist (miracles at a quick service restaurant) with plenty of flavor. Similarly, the mashed potatoes were not the standard ‘instant’ type you find at many quick service restaurants, but were soft with a buttery and herb flavor. For only $9.99, we were shocked at the quality of the meal. Since that trip, I don’t believe we’ve eaten a counter service meal at any other restaurant in Epcot.
Also on that trip, we discovered the Key Lime Pie. This was easily the best dessert we’d ever had at a counter service restaurant. Much to our surprise, though, it also surpassed most desserts we’d ever had at table service restaurants, too! Everything about it, from the rich tangy flavor to the lightly singed cream on top (a nice touch, we thought), to even the excellent graham cracker crust made it a dessert to be reckoned with.
The Key Lime Pie is not the only dessert that’s excellent at Sunshine Seasons. I would rate the Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Mousse Cake very highly, and the Asian Chocolate Cheesecake highly. And those are just of the desserts we’ve tried! Sunshine Seasons has a full section of desserts, most of which look just as delicious as these.
On our honeymoon in June 2010, I made it my goal to give some of the other options there a try besides the chicken and key lime pie, so I opted for the sandwich you see pictured, the Turkey and Monterrey Jack Cheese on Foccacia. The sandwich was great; nice and “fluffy” for lack of a better term (yet filling), and the dessert was rich yet good (not nearly as good as the key lime pie). Unfortunately, as of December 2010, that delicious sandwich is now on a dry bread and again the chicken is my dish of choice. While not listed, you can get the chicken with whatever sides are available at its station. Just because the excellent mashed potatoes are not the “customary” side does not mean that you can’t elect to have them. Opting for a side other than the mashed potatoes would be ill-advised.
On top of the food quality, we’ve found the restaurant’s location to be perfect for our touring style, as usually we can use our first FastPass for Soarin’, eat lunch, then head for a relaxing voyage on Livin’ with the Land after lunch. Of course, there have been a couple of times where we’ve been so hungry (or arrived to the park a little late), and Sunshine Seasons made a good stop right after picking up our Soarin’ FastPasses.
Plus, while it doesn’t have Sonny Eclipse, the atmosphere of Sunshine Seasons, even at its most hectic times, is never as bad as Cosmic Ray’s. Sunshine Seasons always seems tranquil and like a healthy place to eat. For me, this is no doubt because of its location in The Land pavilion, a pavilion I associate with the earth and healthy living and eating. Even if the food isn’t actually good for you, it sure seems like it is!
While the food obviously isn’t on par with Kona Cafe, California Grill, or another great table service restaurant, it’s also not comparable in price. In its category, Sunshine Seasons is the best-performing restaurant at Walt Disney World. It’s right up there, I think, with a lower-tier table service favorite of mine, Beaches and Cream at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. Heck, it can even go toe-to-toe with some table service restaurants that cost twice as much. It truly is that good. It has a varied selection of food, that, by theme park standards, doesn’t taste overly fatty or unhealthy. Although the hustle and bustle of The Land pavilion is nearby, Sunshine Seasons does a reasonably good job of secluding guests from the Soarin’ Stampede. I almost dinged Sunshine Seasons a point for tinkering with the bread on my favorite sandwich, but all things considered, that would be unfair, especially since I believe menu change and experimentation is a good thing.
Your Thoughts…
Do you agree that Sunshine Seasons is the best Counter Service restaurant at Walt Disney World? If so, which entree is your favorite? If you don’t like Sunshine Seasons, why not? Share your thoughts in the comments!
To read other Walt Disney World restaurant reviews, check out our Disney Dining Reviews Index.
Overall Score: 10/10
12 Responses to “Sunshine Seasons Review”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe Dining Review - Disney Tourist Blog - [...] place to eat in all of Walt Disney World. Without a doubt (even if its food isn’t as good ...
- Part XV: Coast-to-Coast Disney Trip Report - Disney Tourist Blog - [...] that point, we were getting really hungry, and Sunshine Seasons was sounding really good (mind you, we had only ...
- Carnation Cafe Review - Disney Tourist Blog - [...] and was much better-tasting. I think the Steak Melt has dethroned the excellent sandwiches at Sunshine Seasons as my ...
- Disney Dining Reviews Index - Disney Tourist Blog - [...] Sunshine Seasons Review (Future World) [...]
- Disney World Dining Tips - Disney Tourist Blog - [...] priced “split” options. Same goes with the Oak-Grilled Rotisserie Chicken at Sunshine Seasons or just about any entree at Tangierine ...
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Love your reviews and especially all the pictures you and Sarah take. Makes me really want to get back into photography again (even if I have to lug around all the equipment)just to see what I can do with a DSLR. (I learned on a basic all manual camera a long time ago and have a ton of “rust”.) I do have one little comment to make though and please don’t take it as a criticism. Please stop including your credit cards in your photos (or if you do, make sure the numbers are hidden by something physical and not just digitally taken out). As a former internal auditor, things like that make me cringe.
Photography is such a fun hobby; I’d recommend it! No criticism taken. I didn’t even realize my credit card was in that photo. I have no clue why I took it. I’ll crop that out when I have a chance.
I mentioned this on Twitter, but I wasn’t sure if the twitter App on my Windows Phone actually sent it, so I’ll repost it here.
10/10 on the Brick-O-Meter needs to have its own award. Something like a “Golden Brick”. Kind of like a Michelin Star, but much more prestigious.
This is an excellent point. Once I have more time on my hands, I will design something in PS. I might also consider making a tangible award that I can present to restaurants for them to hang on their walls. Imagine Cosmic Rays being adorned with an award. I think my award might be its first!
I didn’t notice until now that Mrs. Bricker looks like Francie Swift who has been on Law and Order multiple times. Cool. Thanks for the review of Sunshine Seasons and California Grill.
I just Googled that lady and not so sure I agree. But I’m sure she appreciates being compared to a celebrity!
Great post! My wife and I love Sunshine Seasons. They have a roasted beet and goat cheese salad with candied pecans that is amazing. Also, there are not a lot of places in WDW that offer free refills on drinks… Sunshine Seasons does.
Roasted beet salad? I dunno, Jon!
I agree about the free drink refills, though. That is one awesome feature of which we take FULL advantage!
Completely agree with your views on Sunshine Seasons! My family and I also love to visit Sunshine Seasons while waiting for our Soarin’ Fast Pass return time.
We last visited in October 2010 and had the seared tuna noodle salad…absolutely perfect! Could not believe that a counter service restaurant could serve such perfectly cooked tuna and of such high quality that it was able to be served nearly raw.
I agree that I feel “healthier” eating at Sunshine Seasons…must be all the fruit in the Grab and Go section, the high ceilings (feels light and airy, i.e. less heavy and fattening) and the proximity of fresh fruit and veggies being grown hydroponically. Well, my logic makes sense to me and makes me feel like my chocolate mousse cake has fewer calories and fat grams!
Sorry for my long post…I tend to ramble. Also wanted to applaud you for commenting on every post left by your fans…that must be incredibly time consuming but is so thoughtful. I wandered over here from “another website” where you also post and have thoroughly enjoyed all your restaurant reviews and am working my way through past trip reports. Kudos to you!!
Hi Tom!
) Rays and ABC Commissary, but we just got stumped here. Help so I can have Key Lime Pie too!
Sunshine sounds soooo delicious and you definitely had me at the Key Lime Pie. I have a really silly question though. How do you order your food there? My husband and I went down there once to eat and we got a bit confused by everything and gave up and left! I mean, we understand the concept of Chaos (er, I mean Cosmic
Sunshine Seasons is a lot like Cosmic Rays in that you get in different lines for the different food “stations”. You order your entree at the station that you prefer ” Soup and Salads”, “Asian”, “The Grill”, etc. You pick up your entree at the station then get your dessert at the dessert station. You pick up your drink and any extras from the fountain or refrigerated section. You then proceed through check-out with your tray! Hope this helps!
Can I make a nit-picky request? Feel free to ignore it. Do you have a photo of the Sunshine Seasons sign? And if so, could you add it to this article? This was likely a non-issue when you wrote the article, but when I try to pin this article, the only photos are of food (and your gorgeous wife!). So when I look at all of my pins, I can’t tell what restaurant this is from the photo.
Again, feel free to ignore me.