Whispering Canyon Cafe Review
Whispering Canyon Cafe is a zany restaurant in Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World specializing in western foods. This review features food photos, our take on the atmosphere, and opinions on the ribs, chicken, beef strip loin, baked beans, corn bread, and other cuisine served here.
We’ve dined at Whispering Canyon Cafe countless times, doing breakfast (read our recent Whispering Canyon Cafe breakfast review here), lunch, and dinner several times. In fact, it’s probably one of the Walt Disney World restaurants at which we’ve dined more than anywhere else. (Definitely top 5 in terms of frequency.) Since Whispering Canyon Cafe is a ton of fun, we try to eat here once a year.
Usually, that meal happens during the Christmas season. With that in mind, we’ll start with our “perfect” visit to Wilderness Lodge, which is during the holidays. Since Whispering Canyon Cafe is an open-air restaurant with views into the lobby, dining here during at Christmas-time is an awesome way to enjoy the decorations and iconic lobby tree. Whispering Canyon Cafe is the perfect place to stop for a meal during the Christmas season, perhaps while doing the “Free Walt Disney World Yuletide Tour.”
We’ve dined at Whispering Canyon Cafe a couple of times this year, and want to start by noting how the experience has been modified as Walt Disney World is (technically) still in the midst of its phased reopening.
First, the hijinks are fairly muted. While your server might toss straws or bring you an oversized drink, don’t expect too much in the way of hootin’ and hollerin’. Servers are all wearing masks, so not a huge surprise there. We do not feel these modifications at Whispering Canyon Cafe have negatively impacted the experience to a significant degree.
Second, Whispering Canyon Cafe is still not filling every table. At this point, that has much more to do with staffing shortages than it does physical distancing, which is gone from Walt Disney World. However, we’ve noticed in the last few weeks that the restaurant is starting to seat more guests.
The result is that Advance Dining Reservations and Walk-Up Waitlist are now easier to score for Whispering Canyon Cafe. This is significant because demand for ADRs far exceeds available restaurant capacity, meaning you might not have a ton of choices for table service meals. Whispering Canyon Cafe is one option that regularly has availability, and we highly recommend it–especially during Christmas!
Beyond that, a lot has changed at Whispering Canyon Cafe in the last few years, and we cover all that in-depth in our Review: New Food & Fun at Whispering Canyon Cafe (that’s our most current review for skillet options). That details the changes to the antics and hijinks here, as well as reviewing all of the new dinner skillets, including one that manages to surpass the traditional skillet reviewed here!
Suffice to say, if you’ve been to Whispering Canyon Cafe previously and are thinking about going back, or are apprehensive to return based upon things you’ve heard or read, you should absolutely read that review instead of (or in addition to) this one. This review covers the restaurant more broadly, including a wider array of menu items.
That aside, the ambiance of Whispering Canyon Cafe itself isn’t much more than what you can see of the lobby along with a few things lining the walls of the restaurant, so its atmosphere is more or less the same as what you’ll experience in the lobby, which might be part of the reason why there’s the added theatrical component.
That “theatrical component” can be a bit difficult to understand if you’ve never experienced it, so I’m going to offer a narrative here of one of our experiences so you can get a taste for what you might experience…
The first time we dined at Whispering Canyon Cafe, our waitress seemed put-out by having to serve us (in a good, hilarious way). She conveyed this disdain for us inconveniencing her by throwing a handful of straws at our table. On top of that, she told us that the tap water was from the pond, and made a few other witty remarks.
The highlight of the meal, though, was her bringing a gigantic cup of Coke for me after I rather quickly finished my first glass. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Mason Jar quite that large.
Our server’s humor was very dry (as has that of other servers we’ve had). For those curious as to how this might play with kids, we have always noticed the kids at adjacent tables to ours eat this up, and “get it” because it’s typically accompanied by visual gags.
Note that there are times during the hi-jinks at Whispering Canyon Cafe that the entire restaurant’s attention might be drawn to your table. If anyone in your party is shy or does not want to participate in the ‘show’ at the restaurant, the servers are normally pretty good at reading guests and quickly ascertaining who is or is not interested in the higher-energy experience.
We’re going to bounce around a bit before we get to the “main event” of Whispering Canyon Cafe’s menu. This review encompasses several meals at Whispering Canyon Cafe, and we’ve added to it over the years as we’ve tried new things (and old menu items have been “retired.”)
First up is the Char-crusted New York Strip with Honey-roasted Carrots, Crispy-fried Red Potatoes, and Whiskey-Onion Butter.
This is a pretty standard menu item you’ll find throughout Walt Disney World, albeit with different sides and preparation styles.
In terms of quality, it’s generally pretty good. Arguably a bit over-salted and over-buttered, but nonetheless a crowd-pleaser. Walt Disney World’s culinary teams are adept at preparing these NY strip steaks, and they’ll rarely let you down. All in all, a safe and delicious bet.
Throughout Walt Disney World, the New York Strip Steak is quite popular with guests using the Disney Dining Plan.
This is for good reason. Objectively speaking, this steak is almost always the best use of Disney Dining Plan credits because it’s usually the most expensive thing on the menu. That’s true at Whispering Canyon Cafe, where it’s slightly more expensive than the skillets. (Personally, I’d recommend the skillets over the steak, but neither will disappoint.)
We’ve also ordered the Slow-smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich. This sandwich is served on a brioche roll and topped with onion rings, barbecue sauce, and western Slaw, and served with fries.
The pulled pork here is good quality, and tastes as if it actually is slow-smoked. Very tender and flavorful, which is exactly what you’d expect from a table service restaurant. The rest leaves a bit to be desired, with the bun and fries both seeming like akin to what you’d find at a counter service restaurant. Even though the meat here is generally good (and that’s the most important part), I’m not sure I’d get this again.
What I would get again is the Chopped Bison Burger, which is available on the lunch menu. Wow. This bison burger is topped with sriracha aïoli, white cheddar cheese, lettuce, double-smoked thick-cut bacon, fried pickle; it’s served with a side of potato wedges.
This burger is juicer and slightly fattier than what you’d expect from bison, but it’s incredible. The patty is thicker and of a higher quality than just about everywhere at Walt Disney World. Ditto the bacon. I’m not one who buys into the sriracha hype, but this aïoli is also exceptional.
The Chopped Bison Burger is so good that I’d consider ordering that next time we go to Whispering Canyon Cafe for lunch, rather than my normal go-to order…
That standard go-to is the Traditional or Signature Canyon Skillet. If it’s your first time at Whispering Canyon Cafe, look no further than the Canyon Skillet. This all-you-can-eat skillet contains ribs, chicken, pork sausage, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, baked beans, and corn bread.
These are incredible, and I’d hazard a guess that ~90% of guests who go to Whispering Canyon order the skillet. The fact that there are other menu options is more a formality than anything else. (The ambiance plus that dish are the reasons why Whispering Canyon Cafe is awesome.)
Suffice to say, the Canyon Skillet is excellent. Everything–from the mashed potatoes to the ribs and the pork sausage are all standouts. Really, it’s all good, except for the beans, which I did not try.
Even the corn bread, something I’d normally consider a filler to prevent you from eating too much of the meat, is very good. If you like a good homestyle BBQ, you really cannot go wrong here. I’d consider this an almost “iconic” dish at Walt Disney World, and I’m craving one as I sit here writing this.
Overall, Whispering Canyon Cafe is an excellent choice, especially at Christmas. It’s one of those rare restaurants at Walt Disney World that offers both an exceptional show and great food–elsewhere, it’s usually just one or the other. Guests are brought right into the wry humor of the show, which is very amusing for most, but might not be as fun for the shy.
Although pricey, the Canyon Skillet is the definite standout on a menu that otherwise is fairly reasonably priced if you have big eaters in your party thanks to being an all-you-can-eat dish. If you can, dine here around Christmas, so you can see the most beautifully decorated Walt Disney World resort while you enjoy your meal.
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Your Thoughts
Do you enjoy the food and hijinks of Whispering Canyon Cafe? What “pranks” have your servers pulled on you here? Planning on trying Whispering Canyon Cafe? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Have not been to Whispering Canyon Café for a number of years, but have to say the last couple times we felt the “hijinks” took on a bit of a hard edge. I didn’t always seem it was in good fun and it was more to amuse the staff. Won’t go back, too noisy, as well.
We ate here in January of this year. The theatrics of the staff made the meal. I hope they don’t completely change it. As for noise, we’ve stayed at Wilderness Lodge before and didn’t personally have an issue with it. I won’t be eating there if the fun is gone.
not knowing about it , at first – just waling in to the lodge, was over whelming.
but after you ate there- well, we’ve told “every body ” back home they have to do it.
we(they) even got on the phone and was talking to our people who were lost, then mad a big deal about it when they arrived. great fun. every time we go to Disney- this is a must do.
loads of fun if you are a fun person- (otherwise don’t go.)but, i can not imagine staying there.
I stayed in the Wilderness Lodge. I hated this restaurant. If you stayed in the wilderness lodge you could never sleep . Because you always heard the racket from this place . I hope as part of the redesign they build walls. To control the sound. I did not stay at the Wilderness Lodge again because of this!
Bob
We are dining there for Memorial Day. Will there be a show?
1832 Dugan Rd.
We dined here recently for the first time. While the food (and service for that matter) were great, the whole performance aspect of the restaurant seemed sparse and disjointed. We never had any “antics” or real performance, aside from periodic screams for ketchup whenever a diner asked for some. They would scream ketchup over and over, but that was it for the whole experience. Without any other substance or performance to supplement the ketchup “gag”, it got very old very quickly.
Fairly disappointing in that aspect, but we did love every other aspect of the restaurant and did have a wonderful server, even though he didn’t engage us with any shenanigans.
We have dined here exclusively for the antics. I don’t understand how there are complaints for this interaction when it is not kept secret. The restaurants are themed in Disney World. Considering you have to make an effort to plan your dining in WDW, make your choices accordingly and not ruin a themed restaurant experience that is enjoyed by others.
We still haven’t made it here, mostly because it always seems as noisy as an elementary school cafeteria…But we hope to eat here on a quiet day with grandchildren in the future. Hopefully they will bring back the “acts.”
And…The stacked potatoes look like the entrance to a ranch!
I was so excited to try breakfast here. It looked great in all the pictures. I have been to a lot of Disney restaurants and most have been amazing. None have been bad… until Whispering Canyon Cafe. We were seated quickly and our order was taken promptly but after that it just went badly. Three in our party ordered the all you care to eat breakfast. After waiting longer than I thought usual the food came, definitely not enough for three and it was cold. The eggs had no flavor, the potatoes were I am almost certain freezer burned and as I said it was cold. My husband and son ate it willingly enough because they were starving but I decided to wait and ask for more. The waitress didn’t come back until well after my whole party of five was done eating. I admit I was sassy. I asked for another serving of hot food because the first round was cold. Then she told me, “well they sure ate it all for it be cold”. I was speechless. Never an apology and no explanation as to why after we got the food she didn’t come check on us. The service obviously is a relative experience but the food isn’t so much so. It was cold, bland and cheaply made by most people’s standards. I will be back to Disney as soon as I possibly can but Whispering Canyon Cafe will not be on my to do list.
I’ve got reservations here after Thanksgiving for breakfast with the kids. The review that said they waited over 1.5 hours for their food is a little … frightening! Please tell me that’s not typical!
Also, the description on My Disney Experience said that they had toys like Lincoln Logs for kids to play with, but I don’t see that mentioned here. True or not?
The Lincoln Logs are in the waiting area for kids to play with while waiting to be seated. They used to do stick pony parades but they didn’t do it on my visit in March 2018 and I think that is disappearing along with all the hijinks. It really is sad because this has been my 8 year old’s favorite restaurant since she was 3. She asked to go back each year but this year she has no interest without the fun.
So glad to hear you recommend this for the Christmas holiday time. I made a reservation here for a late lunch just because it was close to MK so that we could then just take the boat over afterwards to go to MVMCP and had no idea about the antics of the wait staff (I really enjoyed the wait staff at the 50’s Prime time café). I’m excited to see the decorations in Wilderness Lodge at this time, as well. 35 days and counting!
Did I read this right…they allow skillet sharing?! We’re eating at WCC this Xmas and I was trying to figure out what to order to share with my 3 yo when what I really wanted was the skillet. This news makes my taste buds very happy!
Would you recommend a reservation in summer? We have small children & jetlag so would be dining early. I am also considering increasing my Quick Service to Disney Dining, we are staying at WL so we’d eat here either way. Gotta crunch the numbers!
The last time I was at Whispering Canyon, the server handed grandma (me) the hula hoop and I won the contest. The prize was ice cream sundaes and bottomless milk shakes, which I promptly gave to the kids. The first visit was when my grandson was three. He asked the server for ketchup. Need I say more?
We have a reservation for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Some in our group have never been there. Should be interesting.
Due to the pet policy, I moved our April room reservation from Riverside to Wilderness Lodge and am now looking forward to enjoying a few meals at Whispering Canyon. I ordered the skillet once, and only once, because it was a ton of food. Great food, but a lot of it. I’ll leave that to the young ‘uns.
Tom, quick question for you: Would you recommend this place for breakfast?
I have never been to Whispering Canyon and finally booked a reservation there for breakfast this January during a non-park day (where we plan to explore Ft Wilderness & WL, and do the monorail pub crawl, as well) after I heard that the ambiance is akin to 50’s PrimeTime–an absolute favorite of mine.
Unfortunately, we’ve yet to do Whispering Canyon Cafe for breakfast.
I find breakfast at Walt Disney World to be very hit or miss and, usually, not worth the cost. That, plus the fact that Roaring Fork has some very good and reasonably priced breakfast options means I will (personally) stick with that. If you’re going for the ambiance, though, I could see doing breakfast at Whispering Canyon.
Have you looked into Trail’s End at Fort Wilderness? That’s our favorite breakfast at WDW.
I haven’t ever done Trail’s End! We usually don’t do many sit-down (or even counter service) breakfasts, either, as we just bring some easy grab-and-go breakfast foods with us. But we always make sure we go to Kona once a trip. Kona and Olivia’s are my favorite breakfast spots, but I find the latter to be getting more “generic breakfast food”-ish than its previously adventurous, seafood-inspired menu.
I also used to make room for Kouzzina every trip, but unfortunately that has gone to the wayside… or seaside with Ariel and Eric.
I’ve only eaten breakfast at Whispering Canyon, and it’s a must for our family at least once every trip. Between Whispering Canyon and Kona Cafe at the Polynesian, you can’t go wrong for a first meal. They are my two absolute favorites for breakfast on days when a table service meal fits the schedule.
So happy to hear you say that! As Kona is my favorite, I’m glad to hear that Whispering Canyon’s breakfast ranks up there for you, too!
Love Whispering Canyon! I’ve been like three or four times, but only for breakfast. The atmosphere is always so fun and the banana bread french toast is amazing. I would totally go in for dinner to get that skillet if I wasn’t a vegetarian. My choices hurt me sometimes.
No doubt that the skillet would NOT work for you! The breakfast is more than satisfying and always a great atmosphere. I can definitely relate to your dilemma when choosing Disney eats- My wife and daughter are vegetarians as well!
If you *really* don’t want the ‘show’, but do want the food, ask to be seated in the far back of thr restaurant. There is the large main room up front, then further back a smaller ante room that kind of reminds me of the small rooms in Columbia Harbor House. Beyond that is a space like a combination library and porch. Tables here still overlook the lobby and spring, but since you are down by the corridor leading to Territory Lounge and Artist Point, it’s a bit quieter and darker.
I’m from Chicago. I went to Ed Debevic’s as a child and the mean waitstaff (that’s the shtick) scared me so badly that I refuse to go back, or to go to 50’s Prime Time Cafe at the Studios. But the shtick at Whispering Canyon has never “rubbed me the wrong way”, as it were. Sometimes I’m not interested and just want good bbq, but I do often enjoy it. My point is, if you are holding back because you aren’t sure you want the ribbing, don’t worry about that. You can always stop them if it becomes too much.
That’s a great tip, and definitely a good option for those who want the delicious food without the show component. Thanks for sharing!
My daughter and I went there about 3 years ago and had a blast! We ended up with all the ketchup bottles on our table and since I wasn’t finished with my soda, the waitress brought me a teensy mug with “just a little soda”.
Years ago, we added the Whispering Canyon Cafe to our list of restaurants for our first trip with our 10 year old. My husband and her loved it. The food tasted fine – not the best barbecue I’ve ever had but the two of them loved the show and the interaction with other guests. For us it wasn’t too intrusive and they found it fun. I liked watching them have fun but by the evening time at Disney – I’m normally ready for a nice quiet dinner – this was not that kind of place. On this trip go around, sans daughter, we’re giving at a skip – but my husband did ask if we could go back :). What I did love was going and seeing the Wilderness Lodge since we were staying at a value hotel. I thought – OMgoodness.
My husband and ate breakfast early in the morning at Whispering Canyon and it was nice. Unexceptional food but cute ambience in the morning before crowds and good service. We went back with our son and daughter-in-law during the Christmas holiday as we were staying in the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. The decorations in lobby are legendary and do not disappoint however our 8:30 reservation turned into a 9:15 seating. We gave a our order promptly to the waitress who was all into the show. Trying to be good sports we smiled and went along with the jibes. Coffee was served and then… nothing. The place was bedlam. ‘Where’s the ketchup??’ Was screamed across the dining room every few minutes. This elicited a huge boisterous response from some of the staff and diners. The time ticked by but no food. We tried asking our waitress as she flew by to other tables. All we got was the ‘show’ response. So we tried asking another waiter but no luck. After trying but not able to speak to anyone about our food (they all thought it was part of the show) our waitress came by and handed us the check. I told her we would be happy to pay for our meals once we ate them. She was shocked and ran to the kitchen to place the order again. Even though she tried to rush it, it still took another 15 minutes to finally get served. I would never recommend this place during the holidays. It was far too crowded to expect decent service. I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect to get the breakfast food you ordered within 15-20 minutes of placing the order no matter how busy the restaurant. And if there is a hiccup, it is certainly unreasonable to ignore the people trying to get the wait staff’s attention. And by the way, despite waiting over 45 minutes to be seated and an over an hour for our food, we never even had a manager or anyone come over to apologize.