Columbia Harbour House: Best Magic Kingdom Quick Service?

If my family is trying to grab a quick service meal in Magic Kingdom, more often than not you’ll find us at Columbia Harbour House. Yes, we have tried other locations, but we keep going back for the quality of food, unique options, and excellent seating of this Liberty Square staple for lunch or dinner.

Columbia Harbour House’s location across from the Haunted Mansion means that it sees a lot of foot traffic in the day, so expect that there will be long lines at peak lunch and dinner hours.

Mobile ordering is available. In the past, I’ve walked in and placed a mobile order, but the wait for the order to be filled was no shorter than if I had waited in the regular line. Usually all the registers are open during peak times, and the line does move quickly.

Where Columbia Harbour House excels is some of the unique offerings on the menu. Hearty dishes, like chicken pot pie, solid meals like grilled salmon with couscous, and even a lobster roll can be found on the menu. One of the most unique current offerings is the shrimp wedge salad. In addition to shrimp and romaine, the salad has bacon, a half of a hard boiled egg, onions, tomatoes and…..cantaloupe. As strange as it sounds, don’t be afraid if melon isn’t your thing. Unless you knew it was cantaloupe, you’d think that it was just a blend of red and yellow tomatoes. The Zinfandel vinaigrette dressing that comes on it is light enough that it keeps this as a refreshing meal for a hot day in the parks.

For those who want more standard food, Columbia Harbour House also offers a good assortment of fried foods, including an adult (and a kid’s) size chicken nugget entree. Fried fish and fried shrimp are also available.

For a lighter option, my personal choice is the tuna salad sandwich. The adult portion comes on a tasty multigrain bread, but the kid’s option has to win the cute factor. Tuna salad on Goldfish-shaped bread. How cute is that?

Probably the only disappointment for the meal is in the dessert category. I’m a big fan of Boston Cream Pie, so I was very excited to see this on the menu. Unfortunately, even though Boston Cream Pie is supposed to only have a thin layer of cake surrounding the vanilla pudding-like cream filling, this was a thin layer of cake, vanilla pudding, and then a large dollop of chocolate frosting on top that overpowered the layers below it. Unless you’re on the Dining Plan, feel free to skip this dessert.

When you walk in Columbia Harbour House and see the crowd of people on the first floor, you may worry about seating. Thankfully, there’s a sizable amount of seating on the second floor. Some of the seats are near windows, and you can even catch a bit of the afternoon parade from some of them.

Entrees at Columbia Harbour House range from $10-15, or one quick service credit on the Disney Dining Plan. Columbia Harbour House has a 92% approval rating from readers.

Is Columbia Harbour House a go-to place for a quick meal at Magic Kingdom? (Do you miss the Lighthouse Sandwich, a hummus and broccoli slaw staple on the menu for years that was removed last year?) Let us know in the comments.