List of Reopening & Closed In-Park Restaurants at Disney World
Walt Disney World has released a list of the restaurants that will be operating when Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios reopen. From that, we’ve come up with a list of the dining options that’ll remain closed, plus some commentary as to why some very popular spots are not opening, including some of the most elusive ADRs.
This follows the Full List of Attractions & Entertainment Reopening & Remaining Closed at Walt Disney World. The key difference between that list and this one is there are a lot more major locations that are staying shuttered, especially in EPCOT’s World Showcase.
There are some surprises on these list in terms of what’s opening, what’s remaining closed, and what modifications will be made. This includes changes and cuts to Walt Disney World’s most popular and difficult-to-book restaurant. Let’s start with a park by park look at what’s reopening on day one…
Magic Kingdom Opening List:
- Aloha Isle
- Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies
- Be Our Guest Restaurant
- Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe
- Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
- Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen
- Liberty Square Market
- Liberty Tree Tavern
- Main Street Bakery
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
- Pinocchio Village Haus
- The Plaza Restaurant
- Sleepy Hollow
- Storybook Treats
- Sunshine Tree Terrace
- Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
The most noteworthy thing here is that even though Be Our Guest Restaurant is returning, it’s using an ‘all-day’ table service menu previously reserved for dinner. That means breakfast is discontinued, as is the counter service lunch–at least for the time-being during the phased reopening.
This 3-course dining experience is $62 for adults (ages 10 and up) and $37 for children (ages 3 to 9). Tax and gratuity are not included. You can read more about this experience in our Be Our Guest Restaurant Prix Fixe Dinner Review.
One thing that remains to be seen is whether Beast will continue meeting guests at the end of the meal. Given the nature of this, it’s something that could conceivably be modified into a selfie spot. Nevertheless, we wouldn’t fault Walt Disney World in the least if they temporarily eliminated this component of the meal–and that’s our expectation.
Other than that, no huge surprises. We were hoping Crystal Palace would operate in modified capacity, but instead it appears that Magic Kingdom will not offer any character dining experiences initially.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Opening List:
- Anandapur Ice Cream Truck
- Creature Comforts
- Dawa Bar
- Dino-Bite Snacks
- Flame Tree Barbecue
- Harambe Fruit Market
- Isle of Java
- Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
- Mr. Kamal’s
- Nomad Lounge
- Pongu Pongu
- Rainforest Cafe
- Restaurantosaurus
- Satu’li Canteen
- Tamu Tamu Refreshments
- Thirsty River Bar & Trek Snacks
- Tiffins Restaurant
- Trilo-Bites
- Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes
- Yak & Yeti Restaurant
Not much commentary to offer here, as most of Animal Kingdom’s most popular dining options are returning. We’re slightly surprised to see Tiffins Restaurant make the list. Mostly because it has had trouble filling tables since debuting, and likely will struggle even further in a reduced capacity scenario and amidst a recession.
Otherwise, Animal Kingdom is probably the park most unscathed on the reopening dining front.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Opening List:
- 50’s Prime Time Café
- Anaheim Produce
- Backlot Express
- BaseLine Tap House
- Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
- The Hollywood Brown Derby
- The Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge
- Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
- Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
- Milk Stand
- Peevy’s Polar Pipeline
- PizzeRizzo
- Ronto Roasters
- Rosie’s All-American Café
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant
- Sunshine Day Bar
- The Trolley Car Café
Two more pleasant surprises here with both 50’s Prime Time Cafe and Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant opening on day one. We wondered whether 50’s Prime Time Cafe would be able to reopen with the servers offering a ‘show’ element, but hopefully they’ll still be able to deliver tough love behind masks.
We’re actually really looking forward to doing Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. This is a divisive Walt Disney World dining spot, but we love it. The one thing we don’t particularly enjoy is being seated behind total strangers (a common problem here for a party of two). This should temporarily resolve that!
EPCOT Opening List:
- Biergarten Restaurant
- Choza de Margarita
- Coral Reef Restaurant
- Crepes des Chefs de France
- Fife & Drum Tavern
- Funnel Cake
- Garden Grill Restaurant
- Gelati
- Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
- Joy of Tea
- Kabuki Café
- Katsura Grill
- L’Artisan des Glaces
- La Cantina de San Angel
- La Cava de Tequila
- La Hacienda de San Angel
- The Land Cart
- Le Cellier Steakhouse
- Popcorn in Canada
- Refreshment Outpost
- Refreshment Port
- Regal Eagle’s Distinctly Patriotic Smokehouse: A Salute to All Foods, But Mostly Barbecued Meats ~ A Sam Eagle Craft Drafts & BBQ Joint
- Rose & Crown Dining Room
- Rose & Crown Pub
- San Angel Inn Restaurante
- Spice Road Table
- Sunshine Seasons
- Tangierine Café
- Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival kiosks
- Traveler’s Café
- UK Beer Cart
- Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
Much more commentary here once we get to the not opening list, but the one entry that caught our attention here is Garden Grill. Due to the food being served family style (rather than buffet) and this being fur characters, we previously speculated that it’d be the easiest to reopen in modified form.
It’s also possible that Garden Grill will temporarily drop the characters entirely. The revolving restaurant with views into Living with the Land has a ton of appeal on its own. The official page for Garden Grill has yet to be updated–right now it still features Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast, but doesn’t indicate a modified version of the meal.
Magic Kingdom NOT Opening List:
- Aunt Polly’s Dockside Inn
- Casey’s Corner
- Cheshire Cafe
- Cinderella’s Royal Table
- Columbia Harbour House
- Cool Ship
- Crystal Palace
- Diamond Horseshoe
- Friar’s Nook
- Gaston’s Tavern
- Golden Oak Outpost
- Lunching Pad
- Plaza Ice Cream Parlor
- Prince Eric’s Village Market
- Tomorrowland Terrace
- Tortuga Tavern
- Westward Ho
Several of these–Aunt Polly’s, Tomorrowland Terrace, and Tortuga Tavern–are seasonal anyway, so not big losses. Many other restaurants are snack stands that are pretty far from iconic. So, as with the other lists, this looks worse than it is.
For many families, the biggest blow is going to be Cinderella’s Royal Table. Meals with face characters, even in modified form, simply are not possible right now due to a mix of physical distancing and character integrity. Nevertheless, we were hoping for a royal reprise of King Stefan’s Banquet Hall. Maybe that’ll come eventually? (Walt Disney World rarely passes up a chance to capitalize on nostalgia.)
The bigger blow for us is Columbia Harbour House. This is one of our Magic Kingdom counter service go-to restaurants, and the upper level seating area is a great spot to decompress. Without this and Be Our Guest Restaurant lunch, the counter service scene at Magic Kingdom is stereotypical theme park food.
Animal Kingdom NOT Opening List:
- Caravan Road
- Dino Diner
- Drinkwallah
- Eight Spoon Cafe
- Harambe Market
- Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery
- Mahindi
- Pizzafari
- Terra Treats
- Smiling Crocodile
- Tusker House Restaurant
- Warung Outpost
No big losses here.
As with Crystal Palace, it’s unfortunate Tusker House can’t operate in modified capacity, but a huge part of the appeal is the huge variety of the buffet spread. That almost certainly would not translate to a family style meal.
Hollywood Studios NOT Opening List:
- ABC Commissary
- Catalina Eddie’s
- Dockside Diner
- Epic Eats
- Fairfax Fare
- Hollywood and Vine
- Hollywood Scoops Ice Cream
- Kat Saka’s Kettle
- KRNR Rock Station Food Truck
- Market
- Municiberg Neighborhood Bakery
- Oga’s Cantina
- Tune-In Lounge
- Woody’s Lunch Box
Ditto the above, except this time for Hollywood and Vine. We were holding out a sliver of hope that our Minnie’s Summertime Dine reservation would be viable, but it’s hardly any surprise.
Woody’s Lunch Box is a bit more surprising–perhaps this is more a matter of capacity? The execution here was half-baked from the get-go, and operating at (further) reduced capacity may be more frustrating than just redirecting guests over to Docking Bay 7 in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
EPCOT NOT Opening List:
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
- Block & Hans Fine American Ale
- EPCOT Experience Bites and Beverages
- Chefs de France
- Cool Wash
- Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
- Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie
- Lotus Blossom Cafe
- Monsieur Paul
- Nine Dragons Restaurant
- Restaurant Marrakesh
- Sommerfest
- Takumi-Tei
- Taste Track Burgers & Bites (???)
- Teppan Edo
- Tokyo Dining
- Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar
- Tutto Italia Ristorante
- Yorkshire County Fish Shop
I knew I should’ve published that Akershus Royal Banquet Hall dinner review weeks ago. (If I did, you all would’ve known it’s possible to order multiple entrees, as that’s discussed at length in there!)
EPCOT is the park hit hardest on the dining front, which probably explains the desire/need to have a hybrid Flower & Garden/Food & Wine Festival this summer.
While EPCOT’s list of restaurants that aren’t opening isn’t much longer than the others, the difference is quality. Rather than being random snack stands, this is a good chunk of the World Showcase dining.
There are a couple of explanations for this. First, without Cultural Representatives, World Showcase might be short-staffed. Even though non-International Program Cast Members are being allowed to work in World Showcase temporarily, that’s obviously not as simple as flipping a switch.
Second, most of these restaurants are operated by third parties, some of which have been hit hard in the last few months. Patina Restaurant Group is one such example, and most of its Disney Springs restaurants have also not reopened. In EPCOT, Patina is reopening Via Napoli but not Tutto Italia & Gusto.
Speaking of Patina, they’re also the group behind Space 220 Restaurant. It’s not listed above because it never opened, and you should expect it to retain that non-operational status for at least a few months for a couple of different reasons. Perhaps last year’s original “this winter” goal will be met one year late (keeping in mind that “this winter” ends March 20, 2021).
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about this list of restaurants that are reopening and remaining closed at Walt Disney World? Any closures that disappoint you? What about pleasant surprises? Will you be attempting to visit Walt Disney World this summer or fall, or are you waiting until 2021 when things (presumably) start getting back to normal? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? 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!
Fyi, Oga’s now up for res 7/15 on.
Happy that many of my crews favorites are on the open list. Columbia Harbour House being the exception. I’m sorry for everyone who’s favorites won’t be open initially. I wonder if traffic patterns are the reason that some of the “I thought that would be open” places didn’t make the open list? The areas outside some of the closed restaurants can get congested. The also may be making some pathways one way to make social distancing easier to enforce.
Tom, any ideas if this list is just for reopening or remainder of 2020? We’re maybe still going in September and I’m hoping some of these restaurants/snack spots reopen by then! :’(
Forgive me if I missed it here. Is there any update on when we can book dining at resorts? We are staying onsite 7/15-7/17 for a quick trip to scope things out for our bigger trip in August but I only see where those with resort reservations now through 7/10 can book?
Any help is appreciated!
I can’t believe that Columbia Harbor House will be closed. My daughter and I love that restaurant and were planning on going there during the last week in July. I am glad that Spaceship Earth will be open, would hate going to Epcot not able to ride it.
I still have my plans for Fall 2020. The biggest disappointment on this list is Columbia Harbour House. This is my favorite counterservice at MK. I tend to eat there multiple times on trip since I spend most of my trip at MK and I prefer counterservices to save money and time. Luckily Pecos Bill, Village Haus, and Cosmic Rays are open.
I am glad Garden Grill is open. Hopefully Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale will make some kind of an appearance even if they socially distance.
With Visas for working foreigners not being permitted until next year, I wonder how that will impact the various restaurants in Epcot and Animal Kingdom.
I’m so confused- are the list of closures everything that is permanent ? Did I overlook that some will open after a period of time or not? I seriously cannot comprehend why they have to close two ice cream parlors, MK plaza and Hollywood scoops. It’s about to be one step too far if you can’t keep some of the traditions we’ve had for 10 years!
I’m surprised to see Biergarten on the opening list. Are they going to modify that to a family-style meal or an a la carte menu? And I’m assuming the communal seating will be changed.
I’m just curious since it is one of our favorites and we’d love to be able to go when we are there over Christmas, but I do love the buffet since most of the things I love there would not constitute an entree.
MK & Epcot: NOT GREAT, BOB
First of all: Regal Eagle’s Distinctly Patriotic Smokehouse: A Salute to All Foods, But Mostly Barbecued Meats ~ A Sam Eagle Craft Drafts & BBQ Joint. Yes! I will always call it this.
Second: Wow! What a hit to Epcot!
We’re not going until January, but I do have to choose between HS and Epcot. At this point it’s HS all the way.
I will not book a DW vacation under these conditions. Heart breaking!
Family of 10 were due from Uk to Disney Yacht club in August 2020 but cancelled after reading your blog which we all find very useful and informative about what’s not open. Thanks and hopefully we’ll be back next year!
Any indications on when reservations for these in-park table service locations will become available?
The first thing that comes to mind is: Why in the world would anyone drop this kind of money to visit under these conditions! Amazing !!
Hey! Any word on what restaurants at the hotels along the monorail will be open? Specifically Chef Mickey and Ohana? Thanks!
I can’t believe they aren’t opening Casey’s! What am I to do without corn dog nuggets and cheese sauce! No spring roll cart either! I am also really sad that I can’t get my fish and chips unless we got to Rose and Crown.
I echo what others have said about Space 220. This will be my third trip where I thought I might be able to try it.
Any idea why ABC Commissary isn’t opening? I would’ve thought it’s perfect for socially distanced dining given its size.
Not to be negative but with what is not opening at Magic Kingdom alone I have no desire to go back right now. For the cost of a Disney trip when staying on property resort and some of the most iconic locations not open. No thanks. What is a trip to MK without a stop at Casey’s Corner or Lunch with Pooh and friends at Crystal Palace. :’-(
As somebody who is coming late April 2021 and my Travel Agent is asking me to pay the £1000 cost of the 14 day park (non hopper) pass very shortly so I can keep my park reservations me and the wife are now in two minds wether or not to hold our nerve and see what 2021 brings or say nuts to it and come another year.
Our Holiday is a £17,000 2nd Honeymoon and I don’t even know if they will be running the behind the scenes yours we love and I am really not sure what to do as this holiday was booked when our New Zealand holiday next month was put in doubt (and now cancelled last week).
Oh well any thoughts would be welcome.
@Adrian Emery
Since you opened it up to anyone/s opinions, I would, as you said, “Say nuts to it and come another year.” Late April 2021 seems far enough away, but you have to pay 17,000 pounds now. That is too much money for a diminished experience. Hopefully 2022 will be back to normal. (But less crowds would still be nice.)
Tiffins Restaurant has to be the best dining experience we have had at Disney. I’m sorry to hear that it cannot fill their tables.
Given all the restrictions it just seems to be that a WDW vacation would not be worth the money.
We were out at Longwood Gardens outside Philly this past weekend. And I have to say that the mask-wearing in the heat is no fun. It would probably be worse in Disney.