Sleepy Hollow Inn Review

Sleepy Hollow Inn is a counter service restaurant at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom that is self described as a “refreshments” stand. In this WDW dining review, we’ll share food photos, our experiences eating here, and whether we recommend it as a snack of meal option at Walt Disney World. (Last updated June 26, 2019.)

The implication with the ‘refreshment stand’ description is that its offerings are more limited than a full restaurant, and that’s accurate with Sleepy Hollow. However, the menu items it does have, and its overall quality make it worthy of being dubbed a counter service restaurant, even if not officially by Disney.

Sleepy Hollow is sort of like Gaston’s Tavern in terms of category–more than a snack cart, but less than a counter service restaurant. As far as the Disney Dining Plan goes, most of the items at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments menu qualify as snacks on the Disney Dining Plan. Unfortunately, the delicious waffle sandwiches we cover in this post do not qualify.

Since Sleepy Hollow is a refreshment stand and not a bona fide counter service restaurant with indoor seating (although in fairness, Flame Tree BBQ doesn’t have indoor seating and it’s near the top of our list of Best Walt Disney World Counter Service Restaurants), there isn’t much to comment on with regard to its theme.

The building housing Sleepy Hollow is designed to look like author Washington Irving’s home, and some artifacts from the era and references to Irving’s stories can be found in and around the refreshment stand, but that’s about it with regard to theme. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing–much like Flame Tree BBQ, Sleepy Hollow scores points here with a seating area that offers up great views of Cinderella Castle.

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As far as the menu goes, the stars are the waffle sandwiches, which have been added to the menu within the last couple of years.

The three main sandwiches are the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich; Nutella and Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich, and Breakfast Egg and Cheese Waffle Sandwich (served until noon).

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We really enjoy each of these waffles. They have a certain fresh, homemade taste to them that is lacking from even the best counter service options elsewhere in the Magic Kingdom. Other places are mass-producing food to cycle through hundreds of guests per hour, but Sleepy Hollow serves fewer guests these sandwiches that are all prepared after they’re ordered.

The waffles are freshly cooked in a waffle iron, and these waffles are definitely what gives these sandwiches such a unique and fresh taste (the other ingredients are good, too, but the waffles themselves are the stars).

Sleepy Hollow Inn Review - One of the Magic Kingdom's best restaurants?

Sarah regularly craves the Nutella and Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich, and I have to admit that I enjoy this one, too. It’s really rich and decadent, but balanced nicely with loads of fresh fruit. We’ve had so much fruit on ours, in fact, that it’s difficult to eat the sandwich without first removing some of the fruit or making a mess on yourself.

Personally, I’m not quite as big of a fan of this waffle. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, but there’s a lot of Nutella on it, and while I like Nutella, it’s too rich for me. If I ate an entire one of these sandwiches, I’d definitely be sick. I consider this one a great snack to split, but some people I know think this is a great lunch.

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I prefer the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle. Although billed as spicy, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this spicy (in Disney parlance, “spicy” normally means mild, but I’d say this sandwich is on the upper edge of medium). The chicken itself is great and the slaw on the sandwich is good, too.

Then again, I’m a huge fan of chicken and waffles, so this is right up my alley. Sarah likes spicy food, but isn’t a big fan of fried chicken, so it isn’t a winner for her. If you like spicier foods and are a fan of chicken and waffles, this one will probably be perfect for you.

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The Breakfast Waffle is probably the best breakfast option in the Magic Kingdom, but that really isn’t saying much. The eggs seem to taste better than Disney’s standard “Plastic Eggs,” but they still don’t taste like eggs you’d find in the real world.

Otherwise, the sandwich is pretty good; it’s good mostly as a result of the delicious waffle, but the meat and tomatoes also play their parts. If this waffle were a lunch or dinner item, it’d be nothing to write home about, but since counter service breakfast options in the parks are so limited and bad, it is a highlight.

In addition to the waffles, Sleepy Hollow Inn serves a Foot-Long Corn Dog, which is unlike other corn dogs at Walt Disney World in terms of its (higher) quality.

This is freshly-battered and was the best corn dog I’ve had at Magic Kingdom. We’re talking quality approaching Little Red Wagon at Disneyland here. It’s still not as good as the waffle sandwiches, but if none of those options appeal to you, this is a good alternative.

Beyond the waffle sandwiches and other savory snacks, Sleepy Hollow has great ice cream treats. Their specialty for a while has been the ice cream cookie sandwich, and now that it’s no longer available at the Main Street Bakery, this is the go-to spot in the Magic Kingdom to get it.

Currently, the best option on that front is the Vanilla Ice Cream Churro Sandwich, which can be fantastic. If you get a churro that’s warm and fresh, this is the pinnacle of snacking in Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, our luck on that front has been hit or miss, with the churros (or cookies, for that matter), sometimes being on the stale side.

While we enjoy this ice cream cookie sandwich (assuming the cookies are soft, not stale or burnt), we come here time and time again for their specials.

These specials include things like the Pumpkin Waffle Ice Cream (above), Presidential Sweet, and Birthday Cake Ice Cream Cookie. It seems like every time we stop here, there is a new special item available (these are listed on a little sign by the register). They’re almost always great, so it’s a little disappointing when they stop being offered.

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The only real downside about Sleepy Hollow, besides the limited menu, is the wait. There are two components to this, the wait in line to order and the wait for food once ordered.

The wait to order can vary greatly, and due to there being only one ordering window, if even a few people are in front of you, it can take a long time.

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Since Sleepy Hollow is so centrally located, we recommend ‘monitoring’ its line as you walk around the park and going only when you see it has a short line.

As far as pick-up goes, even if no one was before you in line when you ordered, you could be waiting 5-10 minutes for your food because the waffles are freshly prepared. This isn’t a huge complaint–we love freshly prepared food–it’s just worth noting that the hourly capacity here is not even close to a place like Cosmic Ray’s.

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Overall, if you like waffle sandwiches or ice cream desserts, Sleepy Hollow Inn is a great place for you. We happen to really like both, so it ranks as one of the best counter service restaurants in the Magic Kingdom, and one of our current go-to locations in the park.

Sleepy Hollow is probably best visited as a shareable snack spot (see our Best Magic Kingdom Snacks & Desserts post for more options), but we regularly eat lunch here. The only downsides are the limited menu and the often long wait you’ll encounter when stopping at Sleepy Hollow. Still, it comes highly recommended, and it’s tough to penalize a location that describes itself as a “refreshment stand” because we’ve decided to treat it as a counter service restaurant.

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Your Thoughts

Have you had any of these waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow Inn? Which one is your favorite? Plan on trying one? Do you agree or disagree with our review? 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!

27 Responses to “Sleepy Hollow Inn Review”
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