Whispering Canyon Cafe Just Isn’t for Everyone
I recently had the chance to revisit one of Walt Disney World’s fan-favorite restaurants: Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. Upon reflecting on the experience, it occurred to me that the restaurant, while uber popular, may just not be for everyone. Please trust that my goal isn’t to offend those for whom Whispering Canyon must-do; it’s simply to provide an honest peek at the meal and location. We’re not here to waste our Disney dollars, after all. Let’s review who should skip Whispering Canyon Cafe…
To say that Whispering Canyon Cafe isn’t a quiet restaurant is an understatement. Odds will be good that your server will set the boisterous tone from the start. Things are very tongue-in-cheek here, and your western-inspired meal will be anything but quiet, and anything but subtle, for that matter. Fun and silly things can happen throughout your time at the table, including the party next to you asking for a bottle of ketchup, a loud call cascading over the restaurant for said bottle of ketchup, and guests from around the room delivering roughly 15 bottles of the syrupy red condiment.
During my most recent visit, the call for ketchup was sent out by a guest at the table next to me with operatic flair. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Be ye warned.
The majority of the entrees on the menu at Whispering Canyon Cafe are all-you-care-to-eat skillets. There are four skillets offered: The Traditional (beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken and sides), The Pig (pork-focused), The Land and Sea (salmon, chicken, plant-based sausage and sides) and Plant-based.
Each skillet, including the Plant-based (pictured above), is $43 per person. My biggest piece of advice in order to attempt to come close to getting your money’s worth out of one of the skillets is to come hungry. Very hungry. Those who order the same skillet will share the skillet, and if more of any one thing is desired after the initial skillet arrives to the table, it can be ordered.
There are only three individual entrees on the menu: a salmon dish, plant-based quinoa cakes, and a char-crusted New York strip, which, by the way, my mother-in-law loved. If you want a long list of entree choices, you’re not going to find them here. Most guests are here for the skillets.
A word of warning: guests who order a skillet are the only ones who can eat off of said skillet. There’s absolutely no sharing, and if you share even so much as a piece of cornbread with someone who did not order a skillet, that person will be charged $43. We were warned of this several times by our server while placing our order, and we heeded the warnings, even when tempted. Whew.
It takes a bit of time and planning to get to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and it may not fit into the normal path of visiting the parks. In order to get to your Whispering Canyon Cafe reservation, you’ll need to take a resort launch on the Magic Kingdom/Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness line, take a Wilderness Lodge resort bus from a park or Disney Springs, or take a rideshare. All of these trains, planes and automobiles will eat into your park day; be sure to allot at least an hour and a half for transportation.
I say all of this to be honest, yes, but also to have fun. To be honest, Wilderness Lodge is worth every effort to see, even if it’s only to visit the lobby. And Whispering Canyon Cafe can be very enjoyable if you know what you’re getting into before you go. In fact, my review from this time last year is one of the most popular on my YouTube channel. Walt Disney World fans love it for good reason.
Tune in and watch my Whispering Canyon Cafe review below:
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