Two Signature Restaurants & More Reopening at Disney World!
Walt Disney World has announced the reopening of two high-profile Signature Restaurants, plus the return of arguably the biggest counter service restaurants that were still closed at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom! In this post, we’ll offer opening dates, Advance Dining Reservation timeframes, plus what else we can expect from WDW dining for the next few months.
It’s fantastic to see more dining locations returning at Walt Disney World–especially three that we absolutely love. Before taking last week off (presumably to let the news of several shows and a nighttime spectacular returning have the spotlight), this had become a weekly occurrence over the last month or so.
In fact, if you look at the List of Open & Closed Restaurants at Walt Disney World, there really aren’t a ton of noteworthy ones still shuttered. It’s mostly a mix of lesser known snack spots plus Signature Dining at this point. As we’ve noted previously, it has felt to us like more is closed than is actually the case, but that’s in large part because I’ve been salivating at the prospect of embarking upon our highly anticipated Steakhouse World Tour. Well, some good news on that front…
Let’s start with the biggest and most exciting (for me) news first: Yachtsman Steakhouse will soon be reopening at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts. For the better part of the last year, I have been anxiously awaiting this, kicking myself for cancelling an ADR shortly before the closure.
Per Walt Disney World, Yachtsman Steakhouse will be “stoking the flames of their oak-fired grills so we can again savor their premium, grain-fed steaks or the dry-aged Duroc pork chop served with heritage grits, broccoli rabe, and apple-cognac gastrique.”
In addition to the great steaks and chops at Yachtsman Steakhouse, the Chilled Admiral’s Tower for Two (consisting of Maine lobster, snow crab, tuna tartare, jumbo shrimp, mussels, scallop ceviche, and charred octopus salad) is back as well.
So too is the signature creamy Lobster Bisque and the delicious Yachtsman’s Chocolate Cake for Two with dark chocolate mousse, chocolate decadence cake, mixed berry curd, peanut butter crunch, and mousse.
Yachtsman Steakhouse opens August 5, 2021. Advance Dining Reservations will become available on July 29, 2021.
We are beyond excited about this–seriously. (“We” might not be entirely accurate–I suspect Sarah is just humoring me because I won’t shut up about this.)
Back when sharing our ideal “normal” day at Walt Disney World, I said it entailed staying at Beach Club, breakfast at Cape May Cafe, lunch at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, then heading back to the resort to float around the lazy river in Stormalong Bay for a couple hours, before dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse and recovering from my meat sweats and/or food coma with Impressions de France, and ending the night with a post-show stroll around World Showcase. It is time. IT. IS. TIME!!!
In other huge (again, to me!) Walt Disney World dining news, Toledo — Tapas, Steak & Seafood will soon reopen, with delicious small plates and dishes inspired by the flavors of Spain.
Lighter options will include the Charred Octopus, Pan con Tomate, and Flight of Four Pinxtos. Other Entrees include the Char-grilled Steak with olive oil-potato purée, forest mushrooms, date jam, and sherry vinaigrette and the the Rioja-braised Chicken with grapes, sherry vinegar, and roasted tomato bomba rice.
Also returning is the signature Chuletón Bone-in Rib Eye with tomatoes, onions, and choice of two sides (we conquered this and it was glorious!)
The dark chocolate “Café con Leche” Choux is the perfect sweet ending to any meal.
Toledo — Tapas, Steak & Seafood in Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort opens August 5, 2021. Advance Dining Reservations will open for booking on July 29, 2021.
With these two major steakhouses returning, we can now cross off #4 on our 2021 Walt Disney World Bucket List–the Steakhouse World Tour. I’d love to go really big and do both Toledo and Yachtsman Steakhouse on the same night, but not sure I want to make the Guinness Book of World Records as the “youngest person to have a heart attack at Walt Disney World.”
In counter service news, Pizzafari is the final piece of the puzzle at Animal Kingdom. After serving as a Relaxation Station for many months post-reopening, it’ll soon return to service the park’s pizza needs.
Pizzafari will reopen on August 2, 2021. While “pizza rules in the jungle” (fact check needed), you can also order a Chicken Parmesan Sandwich, Green and Grains Salad, and the “Spaghetti and Meatball” Cupcake.
In a park with a formidable counter service lineup, I’m not personally overly excited about this one, but understand that it’s a crowd-pleasing option geared towards families.
Plus, the more people who dine at Pizzafari means shorter waits and less crowded seating areas at Flame Tree BBQ and Satuli Canteen. Win-win!
Finally, Magic Kingdom’s counter service scene will soon be less awful. After serving as a backstage break area and Peter Pan’s Flight overflow queue for the better part of the last year, Columbia Harbour House will reopen on August 5, 2021.
Seafood favorites are back, including the Lobster Roll and Trio Platter with a combination of fried fish, fried shrimp, and chicken strips served with hushpuppies and french fries or green beans. If you’re craving something other than seafood, try the Lighthouse Sandwich (hummus with tomato and broccoli slaw on multigrain bread) or the Harbour Salad (mixed greens, shredded cheddar, apples, onion, apple cider vinaigrette, topped with chicken strips).
Not that anyone out there cares, but the return of Columbia Harbour House will allow us to cross off #10 from our aforementioned 2021 Walt Disney World Bucket List: eating upstairs at Columbia Harbour House.
Seriously, sometimes it’s the little things that mean so much. Walt Disney World is about the memories and nostalgia, and we have a lot for the upstairs of Columbia Harbour House! It’s probably not the exciting choice, but that’s the frontrunner for our dinner on October 1, 2021.
Now, if we could just get Be Our Guest Restaurant to resume its quasi-counter service breakfast and lunch. Those two seemingly little moves would be huge, and dramatically improve the culinary landscape at Magic Kingdom.
Ultimately, this is probably way more exciting to me than most of you–I’m truly over the moon. With that said, this should be great news to all Walt Disney World fans, as more normalcy everywhere is better for everyone. We should continue to see restaurants return on a near-weekly basis at Walt Disney World, but that’ll probably slow down in the not too distant future as we near the end of the list for what can most easily return. As we’ve pointed out repeatedly, there’s more than enough demand to bring back every single closed restaurant—and to fill more tables at the locations that are already open.
The biggest impediment is that operational locations are short-staffed and ones that have yet to reopen need to hire and train new Cast Members. We won’t further rehash that here since we bring it up in almost every dining post. Suffice to say, fresh-faced College Program participants are now all around Walt Disney World with more on the way once the new semester starts and regular hiring/training also continues. In the last week or so, we’ve also noticed more tables being filled as new employees gain more experience and management is more comfortable increasing capacity. Things are getting better!
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 of this news of restaurants reopening at Walt Disney World? Excited for the return of Yachtsman Steakhouse and Toledo — Tapas, Steak & Seafood? What about Pizzafari and/or Columbia Harbour House? Looking forward to the return of more Signature Dining at Walt DIsney World? Any restaurant reopening announcements that you’re still anxiously awaiting? Hoping for more ‘restored normalcy’ announcements in the near future? Planning on going to Walt Disney World for the start of the 50th Anniversary celebration? 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!
My family and I went to the Yachtsman’s once over our many trips to Disney World – maybe 5 years ago. I do remember all of us having to dress up for the meal — I packed a collared shirt & slacks for myself and son, and my wife a dress just for this meal.
I do recalled thinking packing these outfits wasn’t worth the trouble for the food and service we received — this meal turned out to be the longest in our 2 week trip. We had an 8:00pm ADR and didn’t finish until after 11:00pm. I also recall our server being more attentive to those parties around us who were more fully committed to their dress code — guys in suits and girls in full dresses. I remember bringing this fact up to my wife during the meal.
I hate bringing a suit just to eat while on vacation at Disney. I no longer require one at work and tend to only wear one at Weddings or Funerals. I sweat standing still and hate bringing along a suite that takes so much space in my case and only wear it once to bake in the heat while on the way to the restaurant only to eat a meal.
So haven’t been back since – one and done
Tom – just had to comment to say that my wife texted me last night with a screen-capture from this article just to point out that you too have seersucker suit (I just wore mine recently so it was a topic of discussion).
My question is simple. Better Filet, Yachtsman or Le Cellier? We currently have a reservation for Le Cellier, but have always loved Yachtsman in the past. We booked Le Cellier because Yachtsman wasn’t available. Just curious what the opinions are.
I’m a year away from my next trip, but I’m thrilled for you, Tom! I can’t imagine a day in the MK without escaping upstairs at Columbia Harbour House. It’s my favorite quiet spot in the park! Enjoy!
AAAH! I am so excited!!!!
Yachtsman is our FAVORITE! I am so thrilled with this news. I will be booking an ADR!
Wonderful dining news and great to have a truly positive news story. Also impressed that they didn’t mess with CHH menu and kept many of the fan favourites. Can’t wait to chill out upstairs with my fried shrimp and tartar sauce while people watching at the window and charging up the phone. Agree that opening at least lunch ADRs at BOG would be another big stride forward for MK guests and also take the pressure off dinner. Many families just want to eat at BOG to ‘see it’ and lunch would satisfy completely at a lower price point.
Tom! Let everyone know that Theme Park Reservations are open for MK on October 1!!! I had one booked, but my friend did not. Good thing she trusted me with her password, because I just got one for her! The only people out of luck are Annual Passholders at the moment!
Yes, please keep us up to date on the Luau and Hoop De Doo reopening. It’s not brought up often, so I take it there’s no news?
Hello Tom. Simple question……we’re staying at the Swan in mid-October. For a big steak night out, should we shoot for the Yachtsmen or Shula’s??
Now, if we can only have the Luau and Hoop Dee Doo back!
How dress up do you have to get for the Yachtsman Steaknouse ???
My shorts and sandals will not do ???
Any word or whispers about when Disney will be bringing back dining at Victoria and Albert’s?
I am assuming since this is a close-quarters indoor restaurant it could be awhile and Trip Advisor has it listed as closed through 2021. I’m wondering if that reported closure was factual.
A commenter on our Citricos review (https://www.disneytouristblog.com/citricos-dinner-review-mary-poppins-restaurant/) said that their server informed them Victoria & Albert’s wouldn’t return until sometime in 2022.
I haven’t independently confirmed that, but it would make sense.
Love your blog! Any ideas as to when Club levels will return to “normal”, with food / beverage service? Thanks for all you do!
Here are Club Level reopening dates: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/club-level-reopening-dates-disney-world/
I assume they will return as normal when each comes back. I’d also expect more added to that list over the coming months.
The best news about the Yachtsman Steakhouse. We are going in October and hopefully get a reservation. Thank you for the great news. I can taste the steak already.
Mickey1928-
I’m not Tom, but thought I’d respond to your question about scoring a table upstairs at the Columbia Harbour House restaurant.
First, we’ve eaten there many times over the years and the menu has actually gotten better with time! As a Quick Service (QS) eatery, there are no reservations; there are tables on both the first floor and the second floor available for sitting to enjoy your meal.
Tips for getting a top floor table: 1. eat there earlier or later than typical meal times, 2. Wander around upstairs with your tray of food and hopefully a party lounging after their meal will offer you your their table (it’s happened to us a couple of times!), 3. Be willing a clean a table that a CM has not yet gotten to after a party has departed.
Hi will Wolfgang express ever reopen? It was one of my favorites. Loved the sandwiches and pizza. Don’t care for the bigger fancier one. Will be sad if it never opens. Thanks
It was originally said to be a permanent closure, but then the restaurant group indicated they’d reopen at some point.
My guess is that it’s permanent. There’s no shortage of guests at Disney Springs and that has been the case for the last year. If they can’t make it now, I don’t know how they can ever. (Although perhaps the DDP is important to that particular location?)
Wow that is the best news about the Yatchsman Steakhouse is my happy steak dinning at WDW. So now that is on my list for December. Super excited!!!
Thanks fir The up date.
I get overly excited about every single restaurant that reopens (particularly the table service!), because it means fewer people standing in long lines and better crowd distribution. Now if I can just decide which kidney I’d like to sell when they announce paid fastpasses
Yay, for the Yachtsman. We eat there every time, but it was not open in December when we last went. Harbour House — another one we missed. Ate Pinocchio’s last time we were there, but the handicapped section at HH cannot be beat.
But I disagree about Pizzafari. I like FTBBq; but when we were there in December, it was horrible — seating was awful, the cast member was totally out of character when he treated my daughter who was in a wheelchair (to put it politely) not very nice. And social distancing was non-existent. Pushing, shoving, unhappy people. Pizzafari here we come.
Although none of these are at the top of my personal list, I’m super excited! Selfishly, this all bodes well for the return of the Dining Plan!!! Have you noticed how the brand new menu items at Food and Wine show snack credit eligibility???? I know this doesn’t NECESSARILY mean the Immediate return of DDP but DON’T RAIN ON MY PARADE!!! Sorry… had to get that out of my system…