I’m going to begin here with what won’t be considered.

Quick Service locations. This score is all about table service.  It’s true that you might take the Skyliner from Pop to eat at the Riviera’s Primo Piatto, and maybe in some future version we’ll try to account for that. But today we’re keeping things simple by leaving it out.  There’s some terrific quick service available both in the parks and at the resorts, but most of it isn’t destination dining.

Quality. Surprised? Here’s the thing: Planet Hollywood at Disney Springs is currently ranked #91 out of 97 on our site, but 68% of diners still have a good meal there even though we give it just 1.5 stars. Maria & Enzo’s is currently ranked #94, but 69% of diners gave it a thumbs up and we gave it 3.5 stars. (In case you’re wondering how that happens, the number of reviews and how old they are figures into the rankings). Food quality is too much in the eye of the beholder and it can turn on a dime within a couple of months; even the “worst” restaurants at WDW will still make a lot of people happy. So I’m not going to try to tackle this, because there’s not really any way to get it “right”. Call me a coward if you want to, I can take it.

Reservation Availability. I know, I know, having to book your table 60 days in advance or stalk it with the Reservation Finder doesn’t exactly scream convenience. But we’re focusing on the convenience of your vacation once you have arrived at the World, and many guests are happy to put in lots of effort up front, as long as friction on their actual trip is low.

Why am I dinging expensive locations? Well … because they’re expensive. Most families, when they go on vacation, might splurge on a high-priced restaurant once or twice, but they’re not going to do it every night. So 3 moderately priced restaurants are more accessible, in some sense, than 3 expensive ones.

I’m also knocking off points for being in a theme park or at Disney Springs. Restaurants that are in theme parks mean you need to use a park admission, or maybe to have a park hopper. Restaurants at Disney Springs don’t need a park ticket, but they do need you to start at a resort, and that means no finishing out your day at a park and heading straight to dinner. These constraints add friction when you’re planning, so I took 50% off the base location score for theme parks and 65% off for Disney Springs.

I defined a neighbor as any location that could be reached using non-bus Disney transportation, with no transfers (except on the Skyliner, because Skyliner transfers are fast).  Why no buses?  First, stroller folding (which you don’t have to do on monorails, boats, or the Skyliner), and second because the buses add so much connectivity that this would have become meaningless. Besides, strolling over to take the Skyliner or a boat to dinner is atmospheric; the trip is part of the experience. Taking the bus is just … well, not very exciting.

Walks of less than 10 minutes (about .5 mile) as measured using Google Maps directions were also included, unless Skyliner or monorail transportation was available. More importantly, a walk of less than 10 minutes on either end was considered to be “part of getting to transportation”, so, for instance, Yacht & Beach Club is considered a neighbor of Caribbean Beach despite the short walk after getting off the Skyliner at the International Gateway.

Scores for neighboring locations are weighted based on the transportation method used, with the most convenient methods having the highest weights.  Monorail and Skyliner, which arrive frequently and have some of the most predictable transit times, were weighted at 0.7. Boats were weighted at 0.5, and walking was weighted at 0.3.  Walking weights were included only if the alternative was a boat.

Just keep in mind …

There’s a lot of subjectivity going on here. I assigned weights based on how much impact I thought certain types of touring or restaurant preferences reflected the average guest. But maybe you’re not the average guest!  So if, for instance, you always come back to your resort in the late afternoon before heading out to dinner, then go directly back for an evening swim afterwards, keep that in mind as you’re looking at scores for resorts that have Disney Springs as a neighbor. In your “personal dineability calculation”, those resorts might score higher than they do here.

Ranking Dineability

Now that we established the rules, we can calculate all the scores. As it happens, they fell roughly into 4 different groups.

An embarrassment of riches

Crescent Lake resorts ran away with this contest due to their easy access to both EPCOT’s World Showcase and each other. A look at Yacht & Beach Club’s top scoring grid easily shows how connected these resorts are to other dining locations.

Boardwalk is just tenths of a point behind and the Swan Complex with the Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve comes in at 24.5.  More juggernauts here are Caribbean Beach/Riviera at 21.9 and Art of Animation/Pop Century at 21. These aren’t the highest scores in this group but those are Moderates and Values with incredible dining access through the Skyliner network.

Pretty good

Next up is the monorail resorts, all within about a point of each other.

• A Deluxe stay on Crescent Lake or the monorail gives you great access to convenient dining. But you don’t need to pay that much; the Skyliner puts a Moderate and two Values in the same level of dining convenience — more, when compared to the monorail resorts.
• Boat access to Disney Springs from Port Orleans, Old Key West, and Saratoga Springs expands the dining options at these otherwise isolated resorts.
• If you’re staying at one of the resorts in the Animal Kingdom resort area and you don’t have a car, your access to convenient dining at other resorts will be nonexistent.

Did these scores match your expectations based on your experience? How would you have done the math differently? Let us know in the comments!

Originally published July 19, 2022.