Open & Closed Restaurants at Disney World (Late 2023)
This list of open & closed restaurants at Walt Disney World covers what’s operating in Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and resort hotels. We update this regularly, with info on what’s coming soon, newly reopened, temporarily closing, and more. (Updated September 17, 2023.)
The good news is that the vast majority of noteworthy dining options at Walt Disney World have now reopened. Last year, restaurants reopened on a near-weekly basis. This included several Signature Restaurants, hidden gem counter service spots, and most buffets. On top of that, table service restaurants started filling more tables, improving their efficiency, and seating more guests per day.
On another positive note, Walt Disney World’s culinary teams aren’t quite as understaffed as they were the last two years. This is one of the big reasons why restaurants are able to fill more tables and increase their capacity. The same is also true at character dining experiences, where tables were removed to allow more clearance between characters and guests. That’s good news for those trying to score Advance Dining Reservations or walk-up availability.
Most Advance Dining Reservations are still more competitive than pre-closure, but many ADRs are getting easier to book. Some are still elusive, especially for larger parties. As such, it’s recommended that you book bright and early 60 days beforehand–and even that might not be good enough. These include Story Book Dining at Artist Point, Toy Story Roundup Rodeo BBQ, Space 220 Restaurant, California Grill, and a handful of other locations.
If you don’t make ADRs that far in advance, check out our Top 10 Tips for Difficult ADRs at Walt Disney World. With the exception of new or newly-reopened restaurants, we make the vast majority of our ADRs only a few days in advance (or even the same-day). This covers some of our hacks for reserving restaurants on shorter notice.
In more “mixed” news, the Disney Dining Plan will return in 2024. This is great for Walt Disney World fans who love that pre-paid meal plan, but it’ll also increase demand for table service restaurants. The positive of this is that it could be another catalyst for Walt Disney World to restore missing meal services or bring back some of the remaining restaurants that are still closed. The negative of it is that ADRs could once again become more competitive.
With that out of the way, let’s start with some other updates…
Coming Soon
- Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs (BoardWalk)- Late 2023
- Cake Bake Shop (BoardWalk) – Spring 2024
- EET by Maneet Chauhan (Disney Springs) – Late 2023
- Pirates of the Caribbean Lounge (Magic Kingdom) – TBD
- Summer House on the Lake (Disney Springs) – 2024
Permanently Closed
- ESPN Club
- Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show
Current Closures
Magic Kingdom
- Aunt Polly’s Dockside Inn
- Tomorrowland Terrace
Both of these have been seasonal for the last decade-plus, but neither have operated at all in the last 3 years. Normally, these would open for the weeks around peak season dates. That’s possible again for Thanksgiving or Christmas 2023, but unlikely before then. Even if it does return, Tomorrowland Terrace would only be open for lunch due to fireworks dessert parties in the evening.
EPCOT
- Restaurant Marrakesh
Located deep in World Showcase’s Morocco pavilion, Restaurant Marrakesh is used as a free lounge during the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. So it definitely won’t reopen until December 2023 at the absolute earliest. More realistically, it probably won’t open until mid-2024 and maybe not even then.
Our expectation is that, whenever it does return, it’ll be a different concept. Disney took ownership of the Morocco pavilion a few years ago, and has quietly changed a lot since then. Turning this into Aladdin character dining to increase its popularity makes too much sense for Walt Disney World not to do it.
Resort Restaurants
- 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian)
- Garden View Tea Room (Grand Floridian)
- Narcoossee’s (Grand Floridian)
- Cape Town Lounge & Wine Bar (Animal Kingdom Lodge)
Grand Floridian is currently in the midst of a large-scale reimagining, and this is expected to encompass 1900 Park Fare and the Garden View Tea Room. That project has now moved into the main building, with work being done on the lobby. However, it will not conclude in 2023 as previously anticipated, instead pausing for the popular holiday season and resuming in early 2024. As such, we do not expect either 1900 Park Fare or Garden View Tea Room to return until at least Spring 2024. (And again, that’s at the earliest.)
Then there’s Narcoossee’s, which recently reopened in reimagined form. Walt Disney World just posted the following update on this restaurant: “We recently introduced an enhanced interior and menu offerings at Narcoossee’s and will be making a few more equipment updates. Beginning September 17, 2023, Narcoossee’s will be unavailable. We expect to reopen by mid-October. During this time, we welcome Guests to consider other dining locations at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa—including the signature dining favorite, CÃtricos.”
Missing Meals
- Be Our Guest Restaurant – Breakfast
- Be Our Guest Restaurant – Counter Service Lunch
- Brunch at California Grill
- Plaza Restaurant – Breakfast
- Trattoria al Forno – Bon Voyage Character Breakfast
Be Our Guest Restaurant is still doing its prix fixe dinner rather than 3 distinct meals. However, its popularity has decreased dramatically over the course of 2023, so we’re optimistic that it might return to normal at some point in 2024.
While open, Trattoria al Forno is doing a standard breakfast rather than its Bon Voyage Character Dining Experience. The major impediment to this returning and other character meals extending their hours is (still) staffing shortages. Fortunately, Cast Member morale is starting to improve and turnover is decreasing, so Walt Disney World should finally be able to hire and retain enough Cast Members to restore operational normalcy.
This is also why, for example, breakfast has been so slow to return to restaurants all around Walt Disney World. There’s more than enough demand to sell out of ADRs for all three meals well in advance–Disney is not voluntarily leaving money on the table; they don’t have enough Cast Members to work the shifts necessary to open for breakfast and lunch.
With all of that out of the way, here are the restaurants that are open at Walt Disney World as of Late 2023…
Magic Kingdom Open Restaurants List
- Adventureland Spring Roll Cart
- Aloha Isle
- Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies
- Be Our Guest Restaurant
- Casey’s Corner
- Cinderella’s Royal Table
- Cheshire Cafe
- Columbia Harbour House
- Cool Ship
- Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe
- Crystal Palace
- Diamond Horseshoe
- Frontierland Churro Cart
- Gaston’s Tavern
- Golden Oak Outpost
- Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
- Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen
- Liberty Square Market
- Liberty Tree Tavern
- Lunching Pad
- Main Street Bakery
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
- Pinocchio Village Haus
- Plaza Ice Cream Parlor
- Plaza Restaurant
- Prince Eric’s Village Market
- Sleepy Hollow
- Storybook Treats
- Sunshine Tree Terrace
- Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
- Tortuga Tavern
- Westward Ho
Again, Be Our Guest Restaurant is offering an ‘all-day’ table service menu previously reserved for dinner. That means breakfast is discontinued, as is the counter service lunch. You can read more about this experience in our Be Our Guest Restaurant Prix Fixe Dinner Review.
Animal Kingdom Open Restaurants List
- Anandapur Ice Cream Truck
- Creature Comforts
- Dawa Bar
- Dino-Bite Snacks
- Dino Diner
- Eight Spoon Cafe
- Flame Tree Barbecue
- Harambe Fruit Market
- Harambe Market
- Isle of Java
- Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery
- Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
- Mahindi
- Mr. Kamal’s
- Nomad Lounge
- Pizzafari
- Pongu Pongu
- Rainforest Cafe
- Restaurantosaurus
- Satu’li Canteen
- Smiling Crocodile
- Tamu Tamu Refreshments
- Terra Treats
- Thirsty River Bar & Trek Snacks
- Tiffins Restaurant
- Trilo-Bites
- Tusker House Restaurant
- Warung Outpost
- Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes
- Yak & Yeti Restaurant
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Open List
- 50’s Prime Time Café
- ABC Commissary
- Anaheim Produce
- Backlot Express
- BaseLine Tap House
- Catalina Eddie’s
- Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
- Dockside Diner
- Epic Eats
- Fairfax Fare
- The Hollywood Brown Derby
- The Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge
- Hollywood Scoops (Seasonal)
- Hollywood & Vine
- Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
- Kat Saka’s Kettle
- KRNR Rock Station Food Truck
- Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
- Milk Stand
- Municiberg Neighborhood Bakery
- Peevy’s Polar Pipeline
- PizzeRizzo
- Ronto Roasters
- Rosie’s All-American Café
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant
- Sunshine Day Bar
- Toy Story Roundup Rodeo BBQ
- The Trolley Car Café
- Tune-In Lounge
- Woody’s Lunch Box
EPCOT Open Restaurants List
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
- Biergarten Restaurant
- Block & Hans Fine American Ale
- Choza de Margarita
- Cool Wash
- Coral Reef Restaurant
- Crepes des Chefs de France
- Epcot Festival Marketplaces
- Fife & Drum Tavern
- Funnel Cake
- Garden Grill Restaurant
- Gelati
- Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
- Joy of Tea
- Kabuki Café
- Katsura Grill
- Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
- L’Artisan des Glaces
- La Cantina de San Angel
- La Cava de Tequila
- La Hacienda de San Angel
- The Land Cart
- Le Cellier Steakhouse
- Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie
- Lotus Blossom Cafe
- Monsieur Paul
- Nine Dragons Restaurant
- Pizza al Taglio – Via Napoli Pizza Window
- 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
- Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya
- Sommerfest
- Space 220 Restaurant
- Spice Road Table
- Sunshine Seasons
- Takumi-Tei
- Tangierine Cafe (festival location)
- Teppan Edo
- Traveler’s Café
- Tutto Italia Ristorante
- Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar
- UK Beer Cart
- Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
- Yorkshire County Fish Shop
Even though the overwhelming majority of restaurants have reopened, it doesn’t always “feel” that way at Walt Disney World–especially to those who enjoy the unique dining experiences. Here’s hoping more normalcy to restaurants returns in 2024. We’ll keep you posted with regular updates here!
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
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? 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!
A bit unrelated, but on the topic of Hollywood Studios dining…
Any idea what is going on with Fantasmic Dining Packages? I was hoping to score one for November but noticed none were available.. Did a quick Google search and it sounds like people have had issues all year long! (Also noticed Brown Derby isn’t taking reservations at all the dates of the holiday parties?!)
I don’t pay close enough attention to know what’s happening at the moment, but you are correct that it’s been an ongoing issue. It seems related to the shifting showtimes and schedule for Fantasmic, and it probably “helps” that Walt Disney World doesn’t have a sense of urgency to push the package because ADRs will fill up regardless.
Sorry to not be of more help, but just keep watching. Also, it’s not the end of the world if you can’t score a package–it’s pretty easy to get good seats unless you’re visiting during peak season.
It appears that Ohana is only open Weekends from March – June. Can you confirm?
I’m hoping 1900 park fare reopens before July. It was always my favorite dinner spot
Akershus breakfast has been one of our absolute favorite meals. Really hoping they will once again offer breakfast sooner rather than later.
What about Space 220 at Epcot? I didn’t see that one mentioned.
it’s been open. we went this past September. pricey so definitely a one time thing for us. didn’t help our kids barely ate
I thought so. Wanted to make sure. Thanks for the info!
you’re welcome!!
I need the Trails End buffets to come back please
So sad about the price increase at Takumi Tei. The restaurant is so lovely, and the staff was extremely friendly as we practiced our Japanese. One of the best Disney meals we’ve had. We’ll likely just do Morimoto Asia instead (although I wish they’d shake up their menu more often).
$250 per person for a meal at Disneyworld? Congratulations, Disney, you have finally found the limit of what I will pay. Thank goodness there are more than enough other excellent dining options. And I’d love to hang out at the walk-up waitlist stand and see people’s reactions to the price. Bring on the Figment popcorn bucket!
Finally. Takumi-Tei Is returning. My favorite EPCOT restaurant.
I was there a few weeks ago and spoke with a Hoop de do manager about the return of Trails End buffet. He said it is never coming back and the family style is permanent.
What are they doing to Narcoossee’s?
Garden Grill breakfast is a fave of ours. I hope it’s back soon!
Just going by complexity reverse order, Takumi-Tei seems to be hiring, this may return in time for the holidays. Chef Mickeys and Trails End will convert back to buffets seem like low hanging fruit.
Bon Voyage breakfast will return before 1900 Park Fare and Akershus returns. Restaurant Marrakesh is a giant question mark, maybe it gets reimagined, especially owned now by Disney.
And finally the Dining plan returns in 2023.
Solid assessments, all around.
I’m skeptical about Takumi-Tei, but hope you’re right. Mitsukoshi has been hiring and having job fairs for over a year and hasn’t had much success. With borders finally reopening properly and the international programs returning, maybe there’s still a chance this holiday season.
Personally, I kind of hope 1900 Park Fare stays closed until whatever is planned for the Grand Floridian overhaul makes its way to the lobby. That space feels very much like a converted convention center and could really use a refresh. We’ve waited this long–what’s another ~8 months?
Tom-
When will they restore Trail’s End to its former glory?
Your guess is as good as mine at this point. I really figured it would’ve happened when Hoop-Dee-Doo returned. No clue what the holdup is.