SATURDAY SIX Theme Park Food Hall of Fame Spotlight: Over the Top BURGERS

On a glorious day back in February 2020, the Disney Food Hall of Shame made its debut and contained examples of some of the craziest foods we’ve ever seen at the theme parks. Inducted among the inaugural class included the Hurricane Box from 2016, the Pop Tart Sandwich, and – of course – the infamous Animal Kingdom Poop Snacks.

However, it became clear over the following years that many of the craziest cuisine made for the theme parks actually tasted good and inducting them into a Hall of Shame was not just a misnomer but an actual disservice to you, Dear Reader. So today we are going to officially start our SATURDAY SIX Theme Park Food Hall of Fame series, and we’re going to kick it off with a look at the most over-the-top burgers we have seen over the years, starting with…

# 6 – Titanosaurus-sized Burger

Anytime there is something going on with the Jurassic Park universe of films we will see a tie-in of some kind at the Universal Orlando Resort. For example, when Jurassic World came out in 2015 we saw an amazing line of t-shirts made for Margaritaville. For Jurassic Park‘s 30th anniversary there was a John Hammond meet-n-greet at CityWalk along with an amazing Tribute Store in USF. For 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth we got a whole bunch of new menu items for Islands of Adventure including the Titanosaurus-sized Burger at Burger Digs.

The burger was definitely larger-than-life.

Now I’m not sure what type of weirdo perfectly sane person eats red peppers in a Florida theme park during the middle of Summer, but this burger comes with a good sized one. All the marketing for this burger – including the actual menu screen at Burger Digs – showed a charred red pepper on top. Our red pepper was definitely not charred and instead was completely raw. I wasn’t going to eat it anyway, but it was missing that cool visual element.

I personally like whenever Universal or Disney take the extra step and use a branded product, such as Tostitos cheese sauce in this burger. Listen, I don’t care how much people tell me “it’s the same thing,” I’m not buying Dr. Publix or Dr. Thunder instead of Dr. Pepper.  You have to have standards and personal lines that you won’t cross, and for me that’s one of them.

Anyway, the Titanosaurus-sized Burger is an appropriate one for the larger-than-life Jurassic Park area in IOA and something that should probably be on the menu year round instead of limited time magic. Flavorful, and big enough to split between two people.

In my humble opinion, Thunder Falls Terrace may be the most underrated quick service restaurant at any Florida theme park. It’s regular menu is filled with fare that is far from normal theme park stuff (such as ribs, rotisserie chicken, and rice bowls) and often has seasonal items, such as the Costa Rica-inspired Casado Burger that had plantain chips and avocado crema.

# 5 – Doughnut Burger

I’m a huge fan of extreme eats at the theme parks, so back in 2019 when I saw that Universal was selling a Doughnut Burger in CityWalk, my eyes bulged out of my head like Jim Carrey in The Mask.

Then came the kicker.

The doughnuts that were being used for the “buns” weren’t just regular doughnuts, they were VOODOO DOUGHNUTS.

The burgers were available at what is called the Coke Icon Kiosk which is pretty much in the dead center of CityWalk and the area where you take a left to go to Islands of Adventure or a right to Universal Studios Florida. The burgers were pre-made and there was an E-Ticket typo in their signage.

You would think being premade would make them taste horrible, but it was actually really good! The glazed doughnut gave almost a maple syrup like flavor to the overall burger. So maybe the extra “T” in DOUGHTNUT was for “Taste.”

The Doughnut Burger wasn’t long for this world at Universal, but it will live in our hearts forever (or at least that’s what my cardiologist keeps telling me. What a nag.)

Two years later, at Halloween Horror Nights 30, Universal brought back using the “donuts as burger buns” gimmick for the Jack’D Donut Slider. This was actually awesome.

Items like this slider make me wish I could fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming the Food Czar at Universal. One of my ideas is having a food festival in Springfield USA. We’ll hold it during the 10 days between Mardi Gras and Halloween Horror Nights. This food festival would be BONKERS. Fried food stuffed with other fried food. What do you think of this one: a fried Oreo but the batter is cookie dough, it’s sprinkled with Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnadust, and served as a sandwich with full size Kit Kats as the “buns.” Yes, we may need to invest in defibrillators to have at each booth, but my gut says this would be a hit.

As this article goes to press, The Cowfish in Universal CityWalk features a special burger on their menu which uses doughnuts as the burger buns.

The sugary donut buns are actually more of a brioche donut than the regular ones we have seen over the years (both at Universal and at Everglazed in Disney Springs.)

This burger is straight up fantastic! In fact it just may be the best burger at Cowfish with so many flavors going on. Spicy power on top, cool cucumbers inside? Awesome bacon and burger is JUICY. Thankfully, the donut bun isn’t overly sweet. Biting into this will give you that moment Remy has in Ratatouille when discovering the powerful feeling that foods can give you. This is a “run, don’t walk” situation, so be sure to add it to your list if going to Universal in the near future.

# 4 – The Cowfish Has Left The Building

Speaking of The Cowfish, they also feature a burger which sounds next level bananas (literally) but is actually AWESOME. The Cowfish Has Officially Left the Building is a tribute to Elvis, and features a combination of peanut butter, fried bananas, and bacon. You may be thinking it is time to grab an extra large bottle of Pepto Bismol, but it works. As God as our witness, it actually works!

The Cowfish currently offers this burger from the “skinny Elvis” phase featuring a half pound burger, but you can order it as a one half pound burger in its DOUBLE HUNKA LOVE version.

The Cowfish has the most fun and unique menu at any theme park restaurant and is worth going out of your way to experience. Let’s check out the creativity in another item they offer which features peanut butter like The Cowfish Has Left The Building burger. The PB&J Sushi Roll does a kid’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich like a sushi roll. Just incredible!

How fun is this?!

# 3 – Mr. Toad Burger

For the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World, they released several food items that were nods to former attractions. This is how we got the legendary Mr. Toad Burger at Friar’s Nook in Fantasyland. Olives were used as a pair of “eyes” along with a pickle as a “tongue” to give this burger a face. This was pure insanity and an item that went viral on social media immediately because of it’s horrifying nature.

This burger was legitimately a Big Deal in the theme park community back in 2021, to the point where we included it on that year’s Theme Park Turkeys of the Year drawing by Brian Cooper (The Mr. Toad Burger is right next to Jack the Clown and his cohort in crime, Chance.)

The burger was used in many memes and it probably caused many people on DisTwitter to mute or block my friend @schmoofy because he would post like 50 straight photos of the burger. Schmoof’s obsession with the Mr. Toad Burger was mind boggling, and other users would tag him in posts when they finally tried it. Taste wise, the Mr. Toad Burger wasn’t all that different than your standard Disney quick service cheeseburger, but they certainly found a great way to present it.

In fact, the Mr. Toad Burger gimmick was reused recently at Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar for their seasonal Halloween-themed menu. Now we also had the added dimension of using cut up slices of cheese as “teeth.”

# 2 – Grub Burger

For the release of the live action version of The Lion King back in 2019, D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs came out with a Grub Burger that features a “signature-blend burger patty, fried mozzarella, fresh tomato salad, lettuce, tomato worms, basil grasshopper, and a balsamic vinegar spider.”

Granted, the Grub Burger appears to be what a 10 year old kid would create, but the combination of all these elements worked really well. We also have to give some major bonus points for creativity, because this is truly thinking outside the box. A basil grasshopper? Amazing.

Speaking of a burger that looks like it came from the Dream Journal of a young child, let’s look back at HHN 31’s Good Guy Burger. This one not only featured donuts as the buns, but was also topped with red icing and Fruit Loops! When I say something is unhealthy, you can take that to the bank, and the Good Guy Burger was the quickest thing to put you straight into a diabetic coma.

Continuing our section comprised of “burgers, if made by kids,” is one I absolutely loved at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. Back in 2016 they released a whole bunch of unique burgers, and one featured chili and a seemingly a whole bag of Fritos. This combination worked GREAT, although it is probably the messiest burger we’ve ever had.

# 1 – Picnic Burger

Ever want to see a HEART ATTACK REPRESENTED IN FOOD FORM? Well, here you go. At the Everything Pop food court at Pop Century we had the Picnic Burger. This was a hamburger topped with an actual grilled hot dog, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and sauerkraut. If you are ever around someone who says they are “so hungry they could eat a horse,” make them a picnic burger at home and see if they can walk the walk.

A hamburger topped with a hotdog… now that’s American Exceptionalism.

That wasn’t the only item at Walt Disney World which had a burger topped with an item you would generally order separately, as Planet Hollywood offers the Bacon Mac-N-Cheese burger.

This is billed as “Guy Fieri’s smash-grilled burger, applewood smoked bacon, six cheese mac-n-cheese, cheddar, LTOP, crispy onion straws & donkey sauce on a brioche bun.” The menu at Planet Hollywood is so bonkers that it has to be seen to be believed. I love everything about the restaurant, including its courage to try and have multiple different themes at once (outer space, steampunk, carnival, Guy Fieri, sports and movie memorabilia among others.)

Honorable Mention – Our Favorite Burger Buns

My anaconda don’t want none
Unless you’ve got buns, hun.” – Baby Got Back, Sir Mix-a-Lot

Sometimes its not the burger itself that stands out, but actual bun that it is presented in. Let’s check out some notable standouts from over the years including this Vero Beach signature burger. One of the great things about Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is its commitment to sea turtles that lay eggs on the East coast of Florida every year. The bun for this burger features a design to make it appear like a turtle shell. Just fantastic.

The colorful and whimsical Circus McGurkus in IOA’s Seuss Landing features a burger with a red bun…

…while the dark and foreboding Das Stakehause in Epic Universe’s Dark Universe features a signature burger that not only has a black bun, but a wooden steak going through it to appear as if flesh and blood are coming out.

While HHN 32 had a red and black bun along with the wood “stake.”

The BE FAIR TO FLORIDA movement isn’t happy that this wonderful yellow Minion-themed burger bun is only available at Universal Studios Japan.

But sometimes the other countries have exclusive buns that they can probably keep to themselves…

By far and away the craziest hamburger “bun” that we’ve seen at the theme parks over the years was at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, when Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café used hot dog buns as their gluten free hamburger buns.

So there you have it: SAT SIX Food Hall of Fame Spotlight – Over the Top Burgers! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on BlueSky (@derekburgan).

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following: 

Theme Park Turkeys of the Year Archives

The SATURDAY SIX Celebrates 10 Years of @bioreconstruct

SATURDAY SIX Tribute to Josh easyWDW

SATURDAY SIX Tribute to Ian Barritt

TPEI Tribute to Brett Taggart (AKA @Schmoofy)

Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, Digital Maestro Scott Walker, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog, my personal protege Hunter “Elvey” Underwood, artist @SonderQuest, the mighty maven of merchandise Hedgehog’s Corner, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and “the Dadalorian” Nick, hot shot Michael Carelli, charter member of the Universal Four @Nitro230, the permit princess Alicia Stella, master cartographer Tommy Hawkins, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Absolutely no help was added by SeaWorld Influencer @SuperWeenieHtJr. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHide and you Potterheads will enjoy Meg’s other blog work over at the Central Florida Slug Club.

Next Food Spotlight…HOT DOGS!