Disney World Restaurants Reopening & Fall Dining Deals

More restaurants reopen and dining experiences return at Walt Disney World in late August and early September 2021. At the same time, Magical Dining Month kicks off, bringing deals with it to other locations. This post offers opening dates, details, and what else to expect from WDW dining between now and October.

Let’s start with the most exciting news to us, which is that Tokyo Dining has reopened as of August 27, 2021. Mitsukoshi USA announced that the table service restaurant located next door to Teppan Edo is returning with limited seatings from Thursday to Monday until further notice. Hours of operation will be from 2 pm until 8 pm.

Tokyo Dining in Epcot’s Japan pavilion will be walk-up only until further notice, with no Advance Dining Reservations offered. We’ve been anxiously awaiting Tokyo Dining’s return, so but our schedule is jam-packed the next few weeks, so not sure when we’ll make it there for an updated review…

The announcement of Tokyo Dining’s return comes after Mitsukoshi USA held online in-person job fairs at the end of last month and again this week. Hopefully this means the return of Takumi-Tei isn’t far behind.

We did both the regular menu and the Omakase tasting menu shortly before Walt Disney World’s closure and both were spectacular. We are very ready to return to return to Takumi-Tei, but are very happy to do Tokyo Dining in the meantime. It’d be great to have Takumi-Tei back by the holiday season!

Walt Disney World has announced that the Diamond Horseshoe will reopen on September 12, 2021 with an all you can eat “full-on feast” for lunch and dinner. The musical saloon will offer heaping helpings of food during an all-you-care-to-enjoy meal that sounds very similar to what’s served at Liberty Tree Tavern.

This would make sense, as the Diamond Horseshoe has periodically served as overflow seating for Liberty Tree Tavern since the latter reopened in Magic Kingdom last summer. We haven’t paid attention to its use in the last couple of months, but prior to physical distancing being dropped, the Golden Horseshoe was used on a regular basis to accommodate that through at least this spring.

In any case, this traditional family-style feast opens with a zesty salad, followed by a plentiful platter piled high with roasted turkey breast, pot roast, and oven-roasted pork accompanied by traditional sides. That sounds like the fan-favorite Patriot’s Platter over at Liberty Tree Tavern.

While you get your fill, be sure to quench your thirst with your choice of beverage before enjoying the grand finale: Ooey Gooey toffee cake with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. (Again, the iconic dessert at LTT.)

Now, it would be easy to complain about “menu homogenization” with the Diamond Horseshoe simply copying the menu from Liberty Tree Tavern. If these were normal times and this were a normal restaurant, we might be inclined to agree with that criticism.

However, they’re not and it’s not. Anyone who has dined at the Diamond Horseshoe in the last ~5 years knows that the many iterations of this dining concept have basically been culinary crimes. I like to poke fun at Chef Mickey’s, but the “food” we’ve had at the Diamond Horseshoe makes Chef Mickey’s look like a Michelin-starred restaurant by comparison. It shouldn’t be, but copying the Liberty Tree Tavern menu seems to be the best case scenario here.

With that said, the timing of the Diamond Horseshoe’s opening is interesting to me. If I had to guess the slowest 2-week stretch of 2021 at Walt Disney World, my pick would be the dates following Diamond Horseshoe’s return. With that said, if this is only formalizing what the location has been doing informally for months, it doesn’t really matter when the change happens officially.

It does provide a segue into another interesting topic, though. Where will Walt Disney World go next with restaurant reopenings? There are a couple countervailing factors right now: increased vacation cancellations and decreased staffing shortages.

As we’ve mentioned recently, Walt Disney World has turned a corner on its staffing shortages. The College Program’s accelerated resumption and Walt Disney World’s aggressive hiring blitz are now paying off. Tons of new employees have gone through Traditions training and been assigned to locations around Walt Disney World in the last few months.

These new Cast Members have been working for a couple months, and now have the knowledge, skills, and comfort level necessary to make an impact. As these fresh faces have learned on the job, Walt Disney World restaurants have started filling more tables. We’ve experienced this firsthand, and it’s also true that ADRs are becoming much easier to book. It’s still not perfect or where things were pre-closure, but things are getting better and should be solid by late September.

As supply or dining capacity has improved dramatically, demand has dropped precipitously. Part of this is to be expected. Off-season is here, schools are back into session, hotel occupancy is lower, and crowds are down dramatically as compared to their end of July highs.

However, the slowdown is greater than normal for this time of year–it’s not just a typical seasonal trend. We discuss the reasons for this in Autumn Off-Season Arrives Early at Walt Disney World. You’ll find fans attributing this drop-off to either the reinstated mask rule or rising case numbers depending upon their personal biases. The reality is that it’s due to both. Different people are cancelling for different reasons. And these cancellations aren’t just for this month or September–they extend all the way until December. (This trend began before the Genie+ announcement, but that could very well exacerbate the cancellations.)

This puts Walt Disney World in a predicament. Does the company pump the brakes on reopening plans and reverse course in some regards, or continue full steam ahead? (As we’ve seen with the likely delay to All Star Music’s reopening, nothing is set in stone.) There are pros & cons to both approaches.

The obvious downside to continuing full steam ahead is the costs incurred in operating locations that are unnecessary in light of current demand. The biggest upside to plowing forward is that it helps avoid the same type of staffing shortages that plagued Walt Disney World for most of this spring and summer. Once this wave passes–and like all of the rest, it will pass–that puts Disney in a good position.

Another upside, and one we’ve mentioned frequently, is it puts Walt Disney World in an even better position to bring back the Disney Dining Plan this fall. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, and whether announcements of returning/restored offerings continue at their present pace.

Switching gears, there are a few restaurants we get asked about with regularity. Two of those, Akershus and Victoria & Albert’s, are unlikely to reopen until 2022.

Akershus just reopened as a corporate lounge for Florida Blue, which means Walt Disney World likely has no intention of bringing back the regular restaurant there anytime in the near-term. Over at Grand Floridian Resort, Cast Members from Victoria & Albert’s have been relocated to Citricos.

The other dining option about which we’re asked with regularity is Storybook Dining at Artist Point. No clue what’s going on there. Napa Rose’s Disney Princess Adventure Breakfast just reopened today at Disneyland Resort, so perhaps dining with face characters at Walt Disney World will return sooner rather than later? (Disneyland buffets returned a few weeks before buffets at Walt Disney World.)

Totally a guess, but we’d be surprised if Walt Disney World announces the return of more character dining until Florida’s current Delta wave completely subsides and is out of the news cycle. Honestly, the only restaurant about which I’ve heard anything beyond those listed here is Flying Fish, which is rumored to return sometime in September.

Next, the Ferrytale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise will return to Magic Kingdom for the final performances of Happily Ever After. Reservations are now available for dates September 18 through September 29, 2021. Admission is $99 for adults and $69 for children ages 3 to 9 (tax and gratuity included) and even includes a special takeaway surprise. Dessert cruises are not yet available for the start of the Disney Enchantment fireworks, which debut October 1, 2021.

Speaking of things readers are asking about with regularity, this should bode well for the return of dessert parties on a similar timeline. Now that buffets and fireworks dessert cruises are back, there’s really no reason not to resume the in-park parties. Walt Disney World is leaving money on the table if dessert parties don’t return a couple of weeks before Happily Ever After ends!

Finally, Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month(ish) is back from August 27 through October 3, 2021. During this event, dozens of Orlando’s best restaurants serve up three-course, prix-fixe dinners for just $37 per person–including several at Walt Disney World!

Here’s a full list of participating on-property Walt Disney World restaurants:

• Jaleo (Disney Springs)
• Paddlefish (Disney Springs)
• Terralina Crafted Italian (Disney Springs)
• Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill (Disney Springs)
• Il Mulino New York Trattoria (Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort)
• Todd English’s bluezoo (Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort)
• La Luce (Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek)
• Deep Blu Seafood Grille (Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek)

For a complete list of participating restaurants in the Lake Buena Vista area and Magical Dining Month menus, click here. In addition to the restaurants listed above, there are several located in the Premier Hotels at Universal Orlando and CityWalk, which are an easy walk from Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure theme parks.

We’ve done Magical Dining Month deals several times, and have had great success with the meals far more times than not. Sometimes the offer is illusory (by virtue of smaller portions or modified items), but more often that is not the case. This is a chance for these restaurants to get you in the door during what’s otherwise a slow time of year, wow you, and hope you return to pay full price. Of the options above, our top recommendations would be Jaleo (far and away) and Todd English’s bluezoo.

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

Excited for the return of Tokyo Dining or the Diamond Horseshoe? What about the Ferrytale Fireworks Dessert Cruise? Looking forward to Magical Dining Month? What do you think of this news of restaurants reopening at Walt Disney World? Any restaurant reopening announcements that you’re still anxiously awaiting? Hoping for more ‘restored normalcy’ announcements in the near future? Does this have you optimistic or pessimistic for more dining to reopen at Walt Disney World? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!