Best Walt Disney World Counter Service Restaurants: When You Want More Than Just Burgers and Fries in the Park

You've checked into your resort and you're ready to hit the ground running. You signed up for the Disney Dining Plan and you have all your table service meal reservations made. You have a perfect mix of steaks, seafood, character meals, buffets and even a few more exotic locales all set up to use those table service credits. Your snacks will include Mickey ice cream bars, popcorn, gelato and maybe one of those crazy itzakadoozie popsicles you saw online when researching your trip. Counter service credits? Disney has to have good burgers and hot dogs with a fresh side of hot fries. It's Disney...theme park food, right? I mean, what else can you expect?

A whole lot more!

Sure, Disney used to be known for some pretty pedestrian counter service food. You could count on the basic American fast food standards with a few surprises, like the Aloha Isle's famous pineapple Dole Whips thrown in. And today you won't have any problem finding those standards, but for those looking for just a little more, look no further!

Magic Kingdom Park. The Magic Kingdom has no lack of places with great burgers and accompanying fixings bars. But those looking for something different will find great choices at Pinnochio's Village Haus in Fantasyland, Columbia Harbor House in Frontierland, and the Main Street Bake Shop on (where else?) MainStreet USA. Pinnochio's features a pseudo Italian menu of pizzas, paninis, Caesar salad, and a Mediterranean salad. Columbia Harbor House features sandwiches with tuna salad, hummus and broccoli slaw, fresh salads and batter fried fish. And Main Street Bake Shop is a perfect stop for breakfast or lunch. Omelet croissants and pastries for breakfast and sandwiches and pastries for lunch make this a great sweet stop to begin or end your day.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. Animal Kingdom is the home of a few counter service places where you can find the basics. But if you're looking for something a little different, try Flame Tree Barbecue or the counter service area of Yak and Yeti. Flame Tree serves up ribs, chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, corn muffins and more. You can also get a fresh salad or a fruit plate. The food is hot, fresh, and tasty and rivals what you can find at a more formal table service setting. The Yak and Yeti is the park's newest restaurant, and in the counter service area here you can choose among sweet and sour pork, kung pao beef, and pork egg rolls to name a few. Even the dessert choices at these two counter service stops include more than just an ice cream or frozen lemonade. Flame Tree offers a slice of delicious key lime pie, and Yak and Yeti serves up their version in a mango flavor. Definitely beyond the ordinary!

Disney's Hollywood Studios. Two great places to stop for lunch at the former MGM Studios are Toy Story Pizza Planet and Starring Rolls Cafe. Pizza Planet has hot and fresh pizzas that come with side salads and also offers entrée salads with chicken or vegetables for a lighter choice. Starring Rolls has huge fresh deli sandwich wedges with a large selection of freshly baked and prepared pastries for dessert. The sandwiches are gourmet and the desserts are gorgeous and both make a good change from deep fried.

Epcot. Epcot has more excellent counter service restaurants than any other park on Disney property. From the huge choices at The Land's Sunshine Seasons Food Court, featuring Asian specialities, fresh soups, salads and sandwiches, grilled items and amazing bakery desserts, this one stop area offers everyone in the family something different and delicious. Epcot also features the World Showcase where nearly every pavilion offers a counter service restaurant serving up their regional specialties. From shawarma platters in Morocco to fish and chips in England to sushi in Japan, nearly everyone's taste for the exotic and the familiar can be satisfied. Spend some time wandering World Showcase and use a few of those counter service credits to experience another culture!

Downtown Disney. The best places for out of the ordinary counter service at Downtown Disney are Earl of Sandwich and Wolfgang Puck Express on the Marketplace side and Cooke's of Dublin on the West Side. The Earl of Sandwich serves up hot made to order sandwiches next to made to order fresh salads with a list of choices to satisfy anyone. There is something special about the sandwich bread that will keep you returning for more. Wolfgang Puck Express is possibly one of the best counter service choices and values at Walt Disney World. Menu items include many of the popular meals served at the Wolfgang Puck Café for lower prices. The barbecue chicken quesadilla, rosemary rotisserie chicken, Chinois chicken salad, crème brulee and gourmet pizzas are among these items. Over on the West Side, Cooke's of Dublin serves up battered and made to order fish, shrimp and sausages with a unique twist on dessert: deep fried Snickers candy bar. Definitely beyond your hot dog and potato chips.

The parks and Downtown Disney do offer the basics for the picky eaters in your bunch, but for those really looking to maximize the dining experience, there are plenty of great counter service options available. And don't just stick with those listed here...the resorts offer a myriad of choices individual to their themes and you can find some hidden treasures if you just take the time to look around. Happy traveling and happy Disney Dining!