Where Should You Eat at the Grand Floridian?

For several years, one of the best Disney Vacation Club resort restaurants remained closed. It just reopened in April 2024 after a four-year absence. Remarkably, few people missed it because the other dining at this particular hotel is so incredible. 

Where should you eat at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa? You legitimately cannot go wrong anywhere, and I’ve got proof. Let’s talk about Disney’s best resort for dining. 

Quick Service and Lounges

Discussing Quick Service dining at the Grand Floridian is kind of like debating the plot of a John Wick film. You’re missing the forest for the trees when you do it. The reality is that when you stay at the Grand Floridian, you’re probably going to want better than Quick Service.

Having acknowledged that fact, the Grand Floridian hosts one of the best Quick Service eateries in the entire DVC catalog. I’m a strong advocate for Gasparilla Island Grill, a counter-service restaurant with tasty sandwiches and decadent desserts. 

You’ll find this place near the hotel lobby, but it’s also right by the water as well. So, you can eat at an outside table and relish the beauty of your surroundings.

This restaurant’s buzz gets drowned out by the other Grand Floridian dining options. However, DVC members should adore Gasparilla Island Grill for its menu, its flavor, and its value. There’s a reason why TripAdvisor ranks it among the top 250 restaurants in Central Florida. 

Those who prefer to sit directly by the water will enjoy two other spots. Beaches Pool Bar & Grill and Courtyard Pool Bar will serve relaxing cocktails while you swim, sunbathe, and luxuriate. 

I’ve had terrific luck at both and personally prefer the ambiance at Beaches Pool Bar. However, Courtyard Pool Bar typically seems more tranquil since it is ostensibly the quiet pool. The two establishments serve the same drinks, but Beaches offers a few more extra options.

For a more exotic drinking experience, you’ll head to the hotel lobby’s second floor. Disney reinvented this space as Enchanted Rose, which is arguably the most elegant bar at Walt Disney World. Even if you don’t drink, you should explore the place because the Beauty and the Beast theming will captivate you. 

Fine Dining

The first restaurant to mention at this hotel is the Grand Floridian Café, a staple of DVC dining for many of us. It serves a delicious breakfast that you can also order for lunch. Later in the day, you’ll find a Disney dining comfort food icon, Buttermilk-fried Chicken. It’s exquisite.

Even though I’m a Grand Floridian Café disciple, the longstanding debate among DVC members is which they prefer between Citricos and Narcoossee’s. To its credit, Disney spent part of the pandemic reinvigorating both. So, these fine dining options are modern and impeccably themed.

At Citricos, Disney has added subtle but lovely touches connecting the dining experiences to Mary Poppins Returns. The new DVC hotel rooms follow the same theme, creating a lingering sense of home at the resort. 

As for the food, I don’t need to tell you about Citricos’ reputation. Disney lists this restaurant as Signature Dining, an honorific reserved for only the finest Walt Disney World meals. 

Citricos more than meets the hype, as demonstrated by its current ranking in the top 75 in Central Florida. That’s from an aggregated ranking of guest reviews for more than 2,000 restaurants. It’s in the 97th percentile due to a vibrant menu of chops, stews, and a truffle mac and cheese enhancement. 

Somehow, Narcoossee’s is even better. The margin is narrow, but the seafood here slightly surpasses the reviews at Citricos. At the moment, diners rank Citricos 77th and Narcoossee’s 67th in Orlando. 

That’s not even the stat that will blow your mind here, though. Neither of them qualifies as the top dining option at the Grand Floridian. As you probably know, that honor belongs to…

Finest Dining at Victoria & Albert’s 

Here’s where the conversation takes a turn for the ridiculous. As exceptional as all these Grand Floridian restaurants are, they pale in the face of Disney’s ultimate destination dining experience.

Victoria & Albert’s is more than just the best dining choice at the Grand Floridian. Somehow, this humble DVC resort eatery has claimed the throne as THE best restaurant in the United States.

As a point of clarification, I don’t simply mean the best theme park restaurant, either. It’s the best place overall. And it’s hovered in that range for several years now.

At the 2024 Michelin Guide Ceremony in Tampa, it was announced that Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has been awarded a Michelin Star.

For a cost of about $300 per person (or $450 with the wine pairing), you can eat what is unquestionably the bucket list meal for every DVC fan. It also happens to be the best dining experience you can have in the United States.

The Returning Favorites

The absent restaurant I referenced at the start is 1900 Park Fare, which reopened on April 10th, 2024, after a four-year closure. I should warn you that the experience has changed some though.

Sure, 1900 Park Fare remains the home to breakfast and dinner character interactions, plus the resort’s beloved Strawberry Soup. So, it’ll feel familiar to longtime fans. 

Disney has overhauled the characters available here, though. We’ve got new arrivals like Tiana, Aladdin, and Mirabel.

Thankfully, some things haven’t changed. For instance, you’ll meet Cinderella as well, but the Fairy Godmother and the Wicked Stepsisters no longer appear, a heartbreaker for some. 

As for the décor, Disney has taken this opportunity to refresh it a bit. This restaurant shares the same space as the Grand Floridian Café, and it’s similarly welcoming in tone and meal experience. The modernized area is most noticeable with new tables and chairs and some lovely paintings on the walls. Overall, it feels like the 2024 version of a familiar, much-loved place.

This recently reopened restaurant is increasingly sought after for dining reservations. Explore Unlocked Magic’s Dining Reservation Finder to effortlessly receive alerts when reservations for your preferred date/time become available!

Other Options in the Area 

Of course, you don’t have to eat at the hotel. In the unlikely event that you’re willing to leave the Grand Floridian to dine, you’ll have your choice of the other DVC monorail resort offerings. 

For me, that means ‘Ohana, Kona Café, Chef Mickey’s, and Steakhouse 71. You can add California Grill, Capt. Cook’s, and Contempo Café to that list as well. 

Then, we have all the offerings at Magic Kingdom, which is a monorail ride from the resort as well. For that matter, so is EPCOT, albeit a slightly longer one.

So, you may conveniently dine at two of Walt Disney World’s four theme parks if that’s your preference as well. In short, you’ll never go hungry while staying at the Grand Floridian. Even better, since you’re burning so many calories at the parks, you can eat Disney’s best food guilt-free!