There is no shortage of options when it comes to dining at Disney World. Whether you are looking for something quick and easy or you want an all-you-can-eat platter with a side of shenanigans, Disney has got you covered!

We recently stopped by Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge to see what was cookin’, and now we’re bringing you our FULL review. Is it worth a stop on your next trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth? Find out here!

Atmosphere

You will find Whispering Canyon Cafe in the lobby of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. The restaurant is an open-concept restaurant, so you can see into the restaurant from the lobby, and vice versa. The restaurant is full of western vibes, from lots of wooden elements to western motifs, you really will feel like you have stepped into an Old Western log-cabin lodge. 

At Whispering Canyon Cafe, you get dinner with a show…and you might just find yourself a part of that show. This restaurant is full of shenanigans and sassy servers, so be prepared for just about anything. One thing is for sure: there won’t be a dull moment while you are dining here. Whether you find yourself loaded up with ketchup bottles or your server brings out a LARGE glass to quench your thirst, get ready to roll with the punches and have a rootin’ tootin’ good time.

With that being said, this restaurant may not be for everyone. If you enjoy being sassed by your servers and getting poked fun at, you will absolutely love your experience! However, if you or someone in your group wants a relaxing, quiet meal with no sass from your servers, this may not be the best option for you.

The servers at Whispering Canyon are playing characters, and they are known for sassing the diners. You will get some delicious food with a side of attitude, so before you book your reservation here, make sure everyone in your group will enjoy the dining experience.

But enough about the restaurant — what’s on the menu here?!

Menu

You can choose from three different starters, including the ‘Burnt End’ Nachos, the Whispering Canyon House Salad, and the Maple-Chipotle Barbecue-braised Jackfruit Dip. Whispering Canyon is known for its all-you-care-to-enjoy skillets, and you can choose from four different options. Each skillet offers a selection of food, and you can get more of anything on your skillet until you are full — or let’s be honest, absolutely stuffed!

If you decide not to grab an all-you-can-eat skillet, there are also three entrees available. You can get the Char-crusted New York Strip, the Cedar Plank Salmon, or the Pan-fired Red Quinoa Cakes. You can finish off your meal with a dessert like the Whispering Canyon Pioneer Chocolate Cake, Granny Smith Apple Pie, or Rice Milk Panna Cotta.

There are also options for the kiddos! They can choose from three appetizers, and they can get an all-you-can-eat skillet as well.

Or the kiddos can create their own entrees with a main item and two sides.

Whispering Canyon also offers all-you-care-to-enjoy shakes and non-alcoholic beverages. 

There is also a zero-proof cocktail, as well as a selection of white and red wines. 

It also offers a variety of beers, hard ciders, and hard seltzers. 

There are also a couple of other options for alcoholic beverages, and you can even get a Bourbon Flight. 

And now, onto the main event — the food!

Eats

Right after we ordered, our server brought out the restaurant’s bread service. This isn’t quite the traditional bread service that comes to mind when you think of it, but don’t let that trip you up. This one is served with squares of sweetcorn bread with accompaniments of honey butter spread, sweet barbecue sauce, and creamy coleslaw.

This just sets the tone for the parade of flavors you’re about to experience while dining here. The sweet cornbread was moist and sticky at the bottom, almost the kind that will make you lick your fingers clean…

…while the light honey butter spread melted as soon as it touched the cornbread squares. Which was totally fine because they were getting popped right in our mouths for biting anyway.

The coleslaw was your standard touch but added a nice break from all of the sweetness offered upfront…

…while the tangy barbecue helped make our mouths water in anticipation of what was to come when our first dish arrived at the table.

For our drink, we opted to switch things up a bit. Rather than spring for another boring water, tea, or soda, we threw caution to the wind and ordered a Milkshake. These shakes are offered in chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry and come topped with whipped cream (unless you request them not to). They’ll cost you $10.50, which sounds steep for such a standard shake, but the secret to these is that they’re all you can enjoy!

Yes — we said refillable, bottomless milkshakes while you’re enjoying your meal! Pretty neat trick, huh? And best of all, you don’t even have to be a kid to order them. We ordered the fruity strawberry and could swear we tasted fresh strawberry seeds blended up against the creamy vanilla milkshake base. It didn’t taste artificial at all to us and was one thick enough to need a wider straw to slurp it up with, but not too thick that it didn’t travel well up to your face.

Here’s a pro tip: while you’re dining, try switching up the flavors between each refill to try them all!

To get things started, we grabbed the ‘Burnt Ends’ Nachos for $14. This starter features beef brisket, barbecue pulled pork, cheese sauce, maple chipotle barbecue, and fresh salsa.

We couldn’t have dreamed up a better nacho combination than what you’ll find here. These nachos have it all — salsa, runny cheddar cheese that’s served warm enough to be steaming, juicy seasoned meats, and that maple chipotle barbecue added just the right amount of sweet heat to combat the savory flavors we’d tasted thus far.

Honestly, we could have stopped here and called it a day — they were that filling and enjoyable to chow down on. However, we’d recommend that if you’re planning to order them yourselves, you see if this fills you up enough to be considered a meal, or plan on splitting them with at least one other person (especially if you’re trying to save room to get through dessert!)

For our main meal, we grabbed the Traditional All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Signature Skillet. This costs $43, but you can get as many of the different items as you want. The skillet features oak-smoked beef brisket, pork ribs, slow-smoked pulled pork, citrus-herb chicken, western-style sausage, smashed potatoes, baked beans, buttered corn on the cob, and sautéed green beans. The price for this meal is per person, but everyone participating in the skillet will have dibs to grab from the overall meal placed at the table.

Oh man — where do we start?! It’s like having your own personal buffet without ever having to leave the table! The meats were all cooked to perfection, tender and well seasoned, while the veggies, like the green beans, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes, just melted in your mouth.

Our favorites were the pulled pork, brisket, and those iconic creamy mashed potatoes. But the chewy sausage, seasoned ribs whose meat tore clean off the bone, and the herb chicken all gave a good fight for the top flavors. The baked beans you’ll find at the center of the skillet, and the only complaint you’ll hear out of us is that it’s a small portion, so you’ll likely be reordering it first.

Just as the name implies, this skillet is all-you-care-to-eat, so don’t hesitate to try a little bit of everything as it first arrives and reorder your favorites to keep the flavors coming while you enjoy your meal to the fullest.

If you thought we were done there, then we hate to prove you wrong, but we weren’t. We HAD to save a little bit of room for something sweet to end such a great meal on a high note. We also opted to pick up the Whispering Canyon Pioneer Chocolate Cake for $9. This dish is made of Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Sauce, Milk Chocolate Twig, and Candied Orange.

This thing was a great way to wind down our experience. You’ll find the whole cake slice sitting on top of a tart, raspberry sauce, which brightens up the flavor of each bite when you run your spoon by it with each scoop.

The chocolate mousse is sandwiched between moist and crumbly-to-the-touch cake layers, and the milk chocolate twig with candied orange on top gave it that extra creaminess we didn’t know it needed until we tried it all together.

You can also request the cake to be served à la mode with vanilla bean ice cream…

…so if you’re feeling up to the challenge, don’t forget to voice your request!

Nosh or Not

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re ready for something you won’t find anywhere else at Disney World. The Cast Members working here really play into their roles and make you feel like you’re part of the action, even if it’s a little crass and sassy at times.
• You’re searching for a restaurant that will feed practically anyone. There are several options to choose from here, whether you want to share a meal, pick out an individual entree, or just grab a lighter appetizer that could easily pass for a full entree itself.
• You’re not sticking to a rigorous schedule. If you find yourself with the ability where time is on your side and you can make the trek over to this Disney World hotel restaurant, you won’t walk away disappointed.

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

• Ruff ‘n rowdy just isn’t your crowd. This restaurant is known for its spunk and its tendency to be a little rough around the edges (all in good fun, of course). If you’re not looking to be served by a sassy cast of characters, consider dining somewhere else.
• You’d prefer a nice, quiet meal. Kinda going hand in hand with our previous point, there’s a good chance things could get loud from time to time on a moment’s notice. If this doesn’t sound like your ideal setting for a meal at Disney World, avoid this one at all costs.
• You’re not willing to leave Disney World’s parks in search of food. Dining here can be challenging if you’re trying to time your meal at just the right time, with so much to do in the parks

Overall

Overall, even without finishing every bite of our food and taking a good portion of it with us to go, we were stuffed! If you’re looking for a meal that’s hearty enough to make you feel like you’ve sat down as the guest of honor at a family gathering (with a little sass mixed in), this is certainly one of the restaurants you need to be grabbing a reservation for on your next Disney World vacation.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for the latest Disney news and more!

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Have you eaten at this Disney World restaurant before? Tell us in the comments!