Dining At Walt Disney World Is Getting More Interesting!

Walt Disney World table service dining lately has been a bit….challenging. Likely due to a number of factors, the availability of options is definitely limited right now. I’ve heard stories of people trying to make favorite dining reservations at the 60 day mark to no avail. Heck…even while down there over this past weekend, I wanted to see if there was any day of availability and couldn’t find anything that would really work. Even staples that I usually am able to choose, like The Wave (more about that restaurant in a minute), were not available. So, I am happy to share with you all that there’s going to be more table service dining options coming later this month and beyond!

First, starting May 16, Chef Mickey’s will once again offer dinner! It will be an all-you-care-to-enjoy family-style dinner that will include character appearances. You’ll be able to snap a selfie or wave hello from a distance. Guests will take home a souvenir with character signatures and colorful artwork.

What’s for dinner? The family will start with “Chef Mickey’s Caesar,” citrus-poached shrimp salad, and assorted breads. Moving on to main courses, you can choose from gnocchi, roasted garlic potato Gratin, plant-based faro wheat fried rice, prime rib, roasted turkey, and salmon. And for dessert, there will be an assortment of sweets. Little ones can enjoy mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, turkey corn dog nuggets, and more!

But that’s not the only dining experience coming back! Cape May Café at Disney’s Beach Club Resort reopens on May 18! Guests visiting Cape May Café will find old favorites and new changes. The restaurant will serve breakfast and dinner, but Minnie’s Beach Bash Character Breakfast and the Seafood-and-More Dinner Buffet will not return at reopening.

Instead, breakfast will be an all-you-care-to enjoy family-style menu that will feature pastries (including the layered crispy, cream-filled “Lobster Tail”), omelets, and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse waffles. For dinner, there will be house-made Parker House rolls and corn bread, a seafood boil with a variety of fresh seafood, The Turf Platter with steak and chicken, and lobster mac and cheese.

Bookings for Cape May Café and dinner at Chef Mickey’s open on May 7.

Then, later this summer, another character dining experience will return. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Tusker House Restaurant, will reopen with a modified character experience where Guests will enjoy family-style entrees inspired by the flavors of Africa. You can also take photos of Donald Duck and friends, dressed in their safari best as they promenade through the restaurant. Menu details and reservation information will be shared soon.

That’s not the only change that’s occurring though. Remember how I mentioned The Wave? Well both the Wave…of American Flavors & The Wave Lounge at Disney’s Contemporary Resort will be unavailable this summer as this space is refurbished. Reservations will be available through July 15, 2021. (Oh no!!! This news makes me very sad as I very much have enjoyed the menus for both breakfast and dinner at The Wave. I really hope they keep the sweet potato pancakes for breakfast and the bacon and eggs appetizer for dinner stay on the menu when it reopens!)

We’ll keep you updated on more restaurant changes as we move toward what looks like a relatively busy summer.