Best Burgers at Disney World
Looking for the best burgers at Walt Disney World? This list shares our favorite all-beef patties in the theme parks, resort hotels, and at Disney Springs. There are even a couple plant-based Impossible and Beyond Burger options for vegetarians! (Updated April 17, 2024.)
Burgers are my passion and my calling (or so I’d like to think). If allowed to do so, I would eat them 4 meals per day. My life’s goal is for the staff at In-N-Out Burger to greet me by name, as if I’m Norm entering Cheers. Suffice to say, I have a lot of experience with burgers at Walt Disney World. I’ve had some great burgers there and some bad ones (and then there’s the short-lived Cosmic Ray’s Pizza Burger, which I just barely survived consuming), and this has been an “in progress” post for ages now.
That remains the case to this day with our April 2024 update. Sadly, although there are a couple of additions with the latest refresh to this list–there are also a couple of big losses with the removal of the Lobster Thermidor Burger at Grand Floridian Cafe and Main Street Burger at Plaza Restaurant in Magic Kingdom. When Walt said that Disney would keep moving forward, I don’t think this is what he had in mind. But just as Disneyland will never be completed, this list of the best burgers at Walt Disney World never be finished…
Be confident that I will not rest on my burger-consuming laurels. I will leave no menu unturned in my consumption of burgers–all in the name of science, research, and the future of mankind. If a new burger appears on a menu at Walt Disney World, I will be there to try it, reporting back to you on the quality of each specimen.
Note that this list contains both table service and counter service burgers from around Walt Disney World. The table service options are almost universally better on a strict quality scale, but accounting for value, some counter service choices are worthy inclusions on the list.
They say everyone was put on earth for a purpose, and if that’s true, I’d like to think mine was “eating burgers.” It’s tough work, but someone has to do it. Let’s start in Magic Kingdom…
Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger – If you’re in the for a good burger at Magic Kingdom, your best option is actually leaving the park and walking (or taking the monorail) over to the Contemporary where you’ll find arguably the best burger in all of Walt Disney World: the Stack Burger. This Steakhouse 71 special features a Signature Blend of Beef, American Cheese, Lemon Aïoli, Red Onion, House-made Pickles on a Brioche Bun, topped with Pork Belly.
For the sake of research, I’ve ordered the Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger 4 times in the last year-plus, and can confirm that it’s consistently delicious. As for why I’ve had it so many times–the bar here serves the full menu, making it the best and easiest place to eat within walking distance of Magic Kingdom.
Suffice to say, the Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger is up there as one of my top 3 burgers at Walt Disney World. Maybe #1. The Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger is a greasy diner burger, perfected. I’d liken it to a higher end version of Shack Shake’s ShackBurger, but with the amount of cheese you’d get at In-N-Out plus pork belly to top it all off. In case you haven’t had any of those options, that’s very high praise. It’s just not “very best burger at Walt Disney World” levels of praise.
Bison Bacon Cheeseburger – Another top 3 burger at Walt Disney World that’s also near Magic Kingdom is the Bison Bacon Cheeseburger at Geyser Point Bar & Grill. I’m not 100% sure it’s the absolute best (extensive research will be undertaken to conclusively determine whether that’s the case), but Wilderness Lodge is our favorite resort and we eat here a lot.
There’s a lot going on here, but none of the ingredients are out of place. To the contrary, this is a symphony of flavors. Everything adds something, be it in terms of texture (onion straws) or flavor (aioli). The Marionberry BBQ sauce is the highlight in this regard, and made the dish more like something you’d find in the Pacific Northwest. Some will claim that bison is too lean to produce a truly great burger, but I’m guessing those people have never tried this. It’s neither overly lean nor does it have a gamey flavor–it’s perfect in every way.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Burgers – This hyper-themed table service restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has long been known for its burgers. These have changed a lot over the years, starting with the All-American Burger about a decade ago, devolving to the Picnic Burger (topped with hot dogs), and then evolving to seasonal specialty burgers.
You really can’t go wrong with any of these. They now use a Signature Blend of Beef with House-made Burger Sauce and have unique toppings. I’d say these are among the best burgers at Walt Disney World. My favorite is the “Pork-on-Pork” or “Double Pork Burger,” which features a pork burger patty topped with pork belly, rainbow cabbage slaw, cheese, and house-made mustard bbq sauce.
This burger is fantastic. The pork patty is leaner than the normal signature beef, but that’s more than offset by the pork belly. The acidic slaw and sauce has a light kick to it, and the cheese just melds everything together perfectly.
Gemini Burger – Served at both the insanely popular Space 220 Restaurant and even more insanely popular Space 220 Lounge, the Gemini Burger is a great option at the latter and only a so-so option at the former. That’s because the restaurant has a prix fixe menu and the burger is one of the lower-dollar values, whereas the lounge is a la carte.
Either way, the Gemini Burger tastes delicious. It’s a pretty unassuming burger, consisting of Signature Beef Blend, White Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Shredded Lettuce, Tomatoes, Roasted Pepper Citrus Aioli, and accompanied by French Fries. But the burger is thick, juicy, and incredibly tender. The generous helping of white cheddar cheese and citrus (but not overly so) aioli brings it all together.
Despite being less of a burger enthusiast than me, Sarah actually preferred the Gemini Burger at Space 220 to the New York Strip Steak!
Three Bridges Signature Burger – The eponymous burger at Coronado Springs’ fantastic over-the-water bar and grill is another gem. The Three Bridges Signature Burger is topped with crispy potatoes, Manchego cheese, roasted garlic-lemon aioli, arugula, and tomato.
Cooked to a perfect medium-rare, this is juicy and delicious. The biggest challenge is deciding between this, the lamb, and steak!
Kobe Beef Burger – This option at the underrated Yak & Yeti Restaurant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is one pricey burger, but it’s made of Kobe beef, and I’m pretty sure Kobe means “expensive” in Japanese.
Now, something tells me that a burger made by a Landry’s restaurant is probably Faux-be beef since only scarce amounts of real Kobe are actually available in the United States, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is easily one of the best (if not the best) burgers at Walt Disney World.
Connections Cafe Burgers – When this relatively-new restaurant first opened, it had several different burgers on the menu–the Southwestern Burger, Mediterranean Burger, Banh Mi Burger, and French Bistro Burger. All are gone now except that last one, with a regular ole burger and plant-based option also added.
Depending upon which of us you ask, the French Bistro Burger is either the best burger on the menu at this new EPCOT eatery, or the worst. Fortunately, this was/is my favorite of the bunch. Consisting of a Gourmet Beef Blend, Caramelized Onions, Bacon, Brie, Mushrooms, Dijon Mayonnaise, and Toasted Brioche Bun, the French Bistro Burger is fantastic.
Regal Eagle Smokehouse – This restaurant in Epcot’s American Adventure pavilion is a salute to all foods, but mostly barbecue meats.
Both the plant-based BBQ Jackfruit Burger and its regular counterpart (both are pictured on the left side of the above photo) are very good. They’re not revolutionary, but they’re currently among the best counter service burgers in any of the Walt Disney World theme parks.
STK Burgers – Located at Disney Springs, STK (sound out the name instead of spelling it…) is a steakhouse that also happens to serve some of the best burgers at Walt Disney World.
We’re particularly partial to the Linz Angus Burger for lunch, but the Wagyu Burger is also fantastic. A thick and juicy patty that’s a tad fatty (I normally order burgers medium-rare, but think this one is better medium because of the fat) and incredibly filling.
Plaza Burger – The best burger at Magic Kingdom, and pretty much the only good burger in Walt Disney World’s flagship park, is right at the front in the Plaza Restaurant. Enjoy a view of Cinderella Castle while you savor this Angus Beef Signature-blend Patty, Smoked Bacon, Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato, and Signature Sauce on a Potato Roll.
The Main Street Burger is simple but highly effective. It’s essentially a ‘by the books’ soda shop burger. Good quality ingredients and beef that are better than the norm for Walt Disney World, but not necessarily gourmet or inventive. Nothing revolutionary or envelope-pushing, but sometimes a solid burger served on the heart of Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom is more than enough. That’s the case here, and I’d recommend this as a result.
The Donut Burger – Another option at Disney Springs is available at Everglazed, which is otherwise a donut and coffee shop. The Donut Burger features two patties, American Cheese, Ketchup, Mayo, Lettuce, Tomato and B&B Pickles.
You might be weary of ordering a burger at a doughnut shop, but this is fantastic. We feared that this would be an unmitigated disaster of clashing flavors and over-the-top decadence, but it works. It really works! Against all odds, the sweetness of the doughnut melds beautifully with the patties and toppings and coalesces into one fantastic burger.
D-Luxe Burger – This is the Walt Disney World burger spot, with a solid lineup from start to finish. Usually, I’ll order their seasonal specialty for the sake of trying something new. If I had to pick a favorite beyond that, it would be Southern Classic Burger, which is topped with a fried green tomato, pimento cheese, bacon, and lettuce. The pimento cheese and fried green tomato add excellent texture and round out the flavor on an already great beef patty–it all just wows. I’m also a fan of the the El Diablo Burger.
There’s also something to be said with keeping it simple and letting the high-quality beef patty speak for itself with the Classic Cheeseburger. Whatever you do, be sure to order fries and try the various dipping sauces. They’re addictively delicious!
Braai Burger – This hidden gem is the “best Walt Disney World burger you’ve never heard of.” Available at Animal Kingdom Lodge, of all places, in the Victoria Falls Lounge.
The Braai Burger is cooked on a wood-fired grill, and has a lovely smokey flavor as a result. The patty is topped with Black Diamond Cheddar, Applewood Bacon, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Red Onion Marmalade. It pairs perfectly, but as you can imagine based upon its height in the photo above, the Braai Burger can be very messy. Totally worth it.
Yacht & Beach Club Burgers – Few experiences at Walt Disney World top grabbing a seat at the counter in Beaches & Cream, enjoying a burger and sundae, and then recovering from my food coma by floating around in the Storm-Along Bay lazy river for an hour or so.
The same could be said for the burgers at Ale & Compass Restaurant and Crew’s Cup Lounge. Personally, I prefer the latter (when open), and think the quality is just a tad higher at those two locations than Beaches & Cream.
Bronto or Megasaurus Burger – It’s a huge disappointment that this burger served at T-Rex Cafe isn’t made of actual dinosaur, but until science gets its act together and clones dinosaurs, I guess we’ll have to settle for beef.
I can’t penalize T-Rex Cafe for the shortcomings of science, though, and this burger deserves accolades for being surprisingly good. It’s not the leanest burger ever, but it tastes fresh and is plenty juicy, making it a great, safe option at T-Rex Cafe. (Note that these are the same thing, the Megasaurus Burger is simply “Mammoth-sized.”)
Spicy Jackfruit-Carnitas Burger – Served in the Centertown Market Food Court at Caribbean Beach Resort, this plant-based “burger” is topped with spicy jackfruit, bbq mushrooms, cabbage slaw, and chipotle mayonnaise. (This same burger has been added to many more menus throughout food courts at Walt Disney World.)
Juicy, lightly spiced, and full of meaty flavor, this Impossible burger was good enough to trick me. I could’ve done without the abundance of slaw, but everything else worked together flawlessly. It’s truly incredible the strides Walt Disney World’s vegetarian cuisine has made in only a few years—I remember when this stuff bordered on inedible, and now it’s among menu highlights.
Ultimately, there are dozens of delicious burgers at Walt Disney World, and I’ll continue to sample them all–for very important research. However, that covers it–for now–when it comes to my favorite burgers at Walt Disney World. Hundreds have entered (my stomach), few have emerged to take their place on this honorable list.
In Memoriam: Le Cellier Burger, Lobster Thermidor Burger at Grand Floridian Cafe, and Pork Belly Burger at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. This post is dedicated to your juicy deliciousness; you were taken from us too soon.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS…
Now, the question I have for you, carnivorous readers, what other burgers at Walt Disney World should I try? Have you consumed a delicious burger at Walt Disney World? What’s your favorite burger at WDW? Any burgers you recommend avoiding? Do you agree or disagree with my best burger picks? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Just got back from 10 days at DW. We ate a LOT of great stuff,
(shout out to Olivia’s, Boathouse, and Spice Road, among others), but our worst meal, and worst burger, was at Kona Cafe. A greasy hockey puck that sat in my gut like a lead balloon. The staff was lovely as always, but the food….ugh.
I agree that D’Luxe Burgers has the best burgers on Disney property! I wasn’t expecting much because quick service burgers leave a lot to be desired, but these were so good! We will definitely be going there again when we go to Disney in October.
Have to disagree, though, with Sci-Fi Dine In’s burgers. We’ve eaten there twice (usually like to give a place a second chance) and were disappointed both times. When we were there in December, the burger wasn’t cooked the way I’d ordered it & the tomato slice was the butt end of the tomato & green. Oh, and it wasn’t hot. I’d eat a burger at Cosmic Ray’s before going back to Sci-Fi & that says a lot!
I’m definitely going to have to try the burger at Yak & Yeti in October. We usually focus on the Asian offerings, but if it’s a great burger, I have to try it. Same with the Braai burger at AKL. Since we’re staying at AKL for part of our split stay, that works out really well.
Burgers rule!
We have also tried The Edison Burger along with their house brand of craft beer, A bit pricey but fabulous.
we stayed at Dolphin week after Thanksgiving and as you are aware crowds crowds crowds so finding food was a project…..One nite we left Epcot as was so beyond crowded and to get food was nearly impossible so that brings me to your burger story……Passed Big River Grille and Brew on Boardwalk so we took chance and Voila we got outside table….Beautiful early evening out there and we all got the Black and Blue Burger…..seriously it was one of the best burgers i had and family who also got burgers agreed….So not sure if it was a fluke or not but try one there ….I am still wishing i could go get another right now was that good……sigh….
Has anyone been to Crew Cup’s Lounge since the reopening? I’ve been wondering if it’s taken a step back along with Yachtsman’s Steakhouse, since they appear to share kitchen area.
How was the burger at Hollywood’s Sci-Fi not mentioned?! Best burger I have ever had by far!
Agreed! Had it this week and it was fantastic.
The award winning burger at the Boathouse, the one with the cherry peppers, is legit one of the best burgers I’ve ever put in my mouth. Personally offended it wasn’t included 😉
We tried the Bison burgers at Geyser Point at your recommendation ( on our self guided tour of the Disney Hotels…ty) and it was fantastic!
We have been to Le Cellier several times (love it) and never thought about a burger, what happened?
Thanks for all you and Sarah review!
I’m still partial to the bison burger at Geyser Point. We had both that and the Steakhouse 71 burger during our Christmas trip and both picked Geyser Point as the champion. I’m a huge pork belly fan but just couldn’t get there with the S71 burger. Although we acknowledged that the day we went to S71 for lunch, we had French Quarter beignets for breakfast that might have stifled our appetite, whereas Geyser Point was our arrival day lunch and we’d only had a little oatmeal before making the drive to Orlando. So in the interest of being fair to the integrity of the process, a rematch will be necessary in our future.
We finally had an opportunity to try In N Out burgers a couple of years ago. We were…not impressed. Now I’m not sure what to make of your expertise, Tom. Had you said Five Guys, I’d follow you anywhere. 😉
If you’re the burger guy I can be the pizza guy lol. I just need you to pen my thoughts lol. Good update to this article. I’ll need to start working on eating this list
My girls, 10 and 11, want yo know how to get in on the burger tasting job. “Does he have a real job? “ they ask. I often read your posts aloud for them at bedtime . Thanks for the entertaining, hard hitting reporting. Sincerely, we really enjoy all your tips but it is your writing style that keeps us reading along!
I absolutely LOVE the bison burger. So much so, in fact, that after a MK day this past trip, I made a special trip over to WL to mobile order that (without the aioli) and the chicken and waffles from Roaring Fork (which I had for breakfast the next morning) since we were staying at Boardwalk. Best burger I’ve ever had on property.
My favorite is the burger at the Edison in Disney Springs. Give it a try.
Finally made it to Disney Springs so we tried D-Luxe Burger. Sadly we were not impressed. I had the El Diablo & I found it bland. My kids tried Buffalo chicken sandwiches. My daughter asked for it plain while my son actually ate it with Buffalo. Both were disappointed. My second daughter found a food truck with tacos in cones…loved it! My youngest daughter returned with Mac & cheese, from a different truck. She was happy. And while it was cheaper to pay out of pocket, I will never go back without the dining plan.
The best burger I have ever had was from AMC dine in theater in Disney Springs weirdly enough. Their Royal Bacon Brie Burger.
I’m disappointed you are so invested in In-n-out; have you even tried a shack burger or wayback?? I’m eager to try the offering at yak and yeti now, that’s not something I’d normally consider ordering there! Thanks for the tips.
So great to see this post updated. I’ve been dreaming of having that Bison Burger and a Rogue Dead Guy Ale while out at Geyser Point. Someday….
The burger at the Yak and Yeti is great!
Crew’s Cup Lounge in the Yacht Club is absolutely the best. J