Open & Closed Restaurants at Disney World (Summer 2022)

This list of open & closed restaurants at Walt Disney World as of Summer 2022 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 returning, and more. (Updated May 12, 2022.)

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 even some buffets. On top of that, table service restaurants started filling more tables, improving their efficiency, and seating more guests per day.

The biggest recent development is that normal character dining has returned to Walt Disney World. This means hugs, autographs, five highs, and applies to both fur and face characters are back at those restaurants. Presumably, this also means the reopenings of Akershus Royal Dining Hall and 1900 Park Fare are on the horizon, plus the return of missing meals at Crystal Palace, Cape May Cafe, and many other restaurants.

On another positive note, Walt Disney World’s culinary teams aren’t quite as understaffed as they were last year. This is one of the big reasons why restaurants are able to fill more tables and increase their capacity. (The same will also soon be 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.

To be sure, most Advance Dining Reservations are still much more competitive than pre-closure. Many restaurants have ADRs so elusive that you won’t have much luck scoring them unless you book bright and early 60 days beforehand–and even that might not be good enough. These include Space 220 Restaurant, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, California Grill, Be Our Guest Restaurant, and many more locations.

With that out of the way, let’s start with some other updates. First, the bad news. Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show is gone for good. This fun-filled luau featuring traditional Polynesian dances, live music, and an all-you-care-to-enjoy tropical feast is being replaced by a New DVC Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. It’s highly unlikely that resort will offer a luau once it opens, as the space simply will not exist for it.

Next, Walt Disney World has shared that Victoria & Albert’s will be opening its doors once again at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa “later this year.” For what it’s worth, the reimagined Citricos restaurant pulled all or most of the Cast Members from Victoria & Albert’s when that reopened in order to fully staff that location. One of our servers told us that the plan is to reopen Victoria & Albert’s sometime this summer.

More bad news, depending upon your perspective, is that the ESPN Club is permanently closed. Walt Disney World announced this along with news that the BoardWalk is receiving a reimagining and new restaurant. Speaking of which, that’s the Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers, a new table service restaurant and bakery that’s hugely popular in the Midwest.

The only other news in terms of reopening dates comes from Fort Wilderness, where Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue will return this summer with some script and scenery changes to the popular dinner show. That should make a lot of longtime Walt Disney World fans happy, as we received tons of questions about Hoop Dee Doo!

Permanently Closed

• ESPN Club
• Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show

Recently Reopened

• Connections Cafe & Eatery – Epcot
• Flying Fish – Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
• Jiko: The Cooking Place – Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Spyglass Grill – Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Turf Club Bar & Grill – Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

Coming Soon

• Cake Bake Shop – Sometime in 2023
• Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue – June 23, 2022
• Top of the World Lounge – Summer 2022
• Victoria & Albert’s – Summer 2022

Nothing else has specific dates or even seasons, but the implication from Walt Disney World’s character announcement is that Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot and 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian will both reopen by Summer 2022. However, with the vagueness of the press release, that’s not a foregone conclusion.

Beyond that, our expectation is that we won’t see much movement again until around Memorial Day. Between now and then, Walt Disney World might restore more ‘missing meals’ (see below) than closed restaurants.

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

Note that even though Be Our Guest Restaurant has returned, it’s using an ‘all-day’ table service menu previously reserved for dinner. That means breakfast is discontinued, as is the counter service lunch.

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.

Magic Kingdom Closed Restaurants List

• Aunt Polly’s Dockside Inn
• Tomorrowland Terrace

Both of these are seasonal anyway, so not big losses. Normally, these would open for the weeks around peak season dates. That’s probably possible again for Summer 2022

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

Animal Kingdom NOT Open List:

• Caravan Road

Not much commentary to offer here, as most of Animal Kingdom’s most popular dining options are returning. Animal Kingdom is probably the park most unscathed on the dining front. Everything still closed is a snack spot, many of which were not open regularly, anyway.

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
• 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
• Tune-In Lounge
• Woody’s Lunch Box

It’s a similar story at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Almost every single noteworthy restaurant has now returned. Many have scaled back menus or show elements (in the case of 50’s Prime Time Cafe), but everything “important” is available.

Hollywood Studios Closed Restaurants List

• Municiberg Neighborhood Bakery

Basically, everything is open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Municiberg Neighborhood Bakery is part of the temporary Incredibles area set up in Pixar Place, and it very well may never return.

EPCOT Open Restaurants List

• 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
• 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
• Sommerfest
• Spice Road Table
• Sunshine Seasons
• Tangierine Cafe (festival location)
• Teppan Edo
• Tokyo Dining
• Traveler’s Café
• Tutto Italia Ristorante
• Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar
• UK Beer Cart
• Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
• Yorkshire County Fish Shop

EPCOT NOT Open List:

• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
• Monsieur Paul
• Restaurant Marrakesh
• Takumi-Tei

When Walt Disney World first reopened, EPCOT was the park hit hardest on the dining front. That was due to it being the least busy park initially, having the most restaurants to begin with, and many not being operated by Disney.

The good news is that many restaurants have already returned at EPCOT–more than all of the other Walt Disney World parks combined. The bad news is that some of the park’s culinary all stars–like Takumi Tei and Monsieur Paul–still have not announced reopening dates. On a positive note, Takumi Tei has started doing private events on select weekends, like whiskey tastings.

There are a couple of explanations for the ongoing closures. First, without Cultural Representatives, World Showcase’s restaurants are 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 were hit hard by the closure. These operating participants lack Disney’s resources and getting back up and running may be more difficult.

Now let’s turn to resorts. For these, it’s easier for us to simply list what’s still closed at the operational hotels, as most restaurants have reopened…

Closed Resort Restaurants

• Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue
• Top of the World Lounge
• 1900 Park Fare
• Garden View Tea Room
• Victoria & Albert’s
• Cape Town Lounge & Wine Bar

Missing Meals

• Be Our Guest Restaurant – Breakfast
• Be Our Guest Restaurant – Counter Service Lunch
• Cape May Cafe – Character Breakfast
• Cinderella’s Royal Table – Fairytale Princess Dining
• Crystal Palace – Breakfast
• Crystal Palace – Character Dining
• Garden Grill – Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast Breakfast
• ‘Ohana – Character Breakfast
• Trattoria al Forno – Bon Voyage Character Breakfast

This last list encapsulates why many Walt Disney World guests still find dining to be lacking, especially at Magic Kingdom. There’s no pre-park opening breakfast, many character meals are missing, and Be Our Guest Restaurant is still doing its prix fixe dinner rather than 3 distinct meals.

On top of that, throughout Walt Disney World, character dining is still modified. There are also several Signature Restaurants still closed, and dinner shows are likewise unavailable. So even though the overwhelming majority of restaurants have reopened, it doesn’t always “feel” that way–especially to those who enjoy the unique dining experiences. Here’s hoping more normalcy to restaurants returns in Summer 2022. 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? Will you be attempting to visit Walt Disney World in early 2022, or are you waiting until after that when things (presumably) get 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!