It’s trip report time yet again! Come along on my long weekend trip to Walt Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon. Today we’re covering our post-race brunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe. You can see all the post in this report here. Onward!
The first most important thing after finish a runDisney race is a shower. The second is a nap. The third is brunch, baby!
For our post-Princess brunch, we selected Whispering Canyon Cafe, as much for its location in our own Wilderness Lodge as its intriguing reputation for tomfoolery. I’m down for just about any restaurant that serves breakfast; indeed, I wish more Disney restaurants offered brinner. (STILL no brinner in 2024?!) Until then, I’ll have to take what I can get. So what can you get a Whispering Canyon cafe?
ATMOSPHERE & SERVICE
Whispering Canyon Cafe is famous for its hijinks – so I guess the first question you should ask yourself before making a reservation is, am I up for some hijinks? Dining is extremely informal and even silly. There’s a lot of shouting (WE NEED KETCHUP!!!!!) and throwing things (napkins, straws). While taking our order, our server grabbed a spare chair and sat in it backwards to chat. Personally I think this creates a fun, familial vibe, but if you’re looking for something upscale, are in a hurry, or just generally don’t enjoy goofy theatrics, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
One thing I found interesting: last time I dined at Whispering Canyon Cafe, back in 2015, we received a coin we could flip to indicate our willingness to participate in the nonsense. It looked like the below, with the alternate side suggesting that the table would prefer to watch from the sidelines.
No such coin materialized this time. Not sure if Disney decided that your reservation at the restaurant is tantamount to agreeing to get silly, or if suggesting you had a choice was deemed too much of a liability. Unless they were simply out of coins, however, it seems you are now dragooned into the whackadoodlery whether you like it or not. We did!
BRUNCH AT WHISPERING CANYON CAFE
Another thing Whispering Canyon Cafe is famous for is its all-you-care-to-enjoy (read: eat) skillets. Now, normally I’m not an all-you-can-eat kinda gal, but the skillet deal is actually pretty decent: at the time of this writing, $26 per plate. Standalone entrees clock in as high as $24; a single biscuit side will run you $5.50. (Incidentally, you can follow along with the menu here.) Judged by inherently warped Disney standards, the skillets are a steal.
One thing to note is that technically you’re not supposed to share skillets, for fairly obvious cost reasons. However, our server was happy to overlook sharing between different types of skillets. This seems reasonable as the skillets are all the same price anyway, but this approach may vary from Cast Member to Cast Member. Not that they watch you eat the entire time, so I guess you could pay your literal money and take your chances?
I went with the heritage skillet, which comes with cheddar biscuits and sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, country potatoes, bacon, sausage, and most importantly, Mickey waffles. Did I say Mickey waffles? I meant Mickey and Minnie waffles; they came in both shapes! Cute.
Everything on the skillet worth eating at least some of, but I would definitely divide it into two categories: “fine” vs “darned good.”
First let’s talk about what was fine. The bacon and sausage were bacon and sausage. I bet you can get the same stuff over at the Wilderness Lodge quick service restaurant, Roaring Fork. I found the bacon a bit anemic, but that’s Disney bacon for you. The sausage was similarly unremarkable yet enjoyable for what it was. While inoffensive in texture, the scrambled eggs could’ve used some seasoning. Ditto on the potatoes.
However! The Mickey and Minnie waffles were perfect, as they almost always are. They’re no different than anywhere else on property, but as long as you’re getting a fresh set that’s no crime. This is a case where the cult following has been 100% earned. Crispy, fluffy, with that unique malted tang, we hardly needed the accompanying butter and syrup.
Also, the cheddar biscuits? Um, even better than the waffles. I’m not a gravy gal so I can’t really speak to that, but even if I was, I guarantee these biscuits do not need it. They’re not even that cheesy and I still have nothing negative to say. The crumb, density, flavor… I mean, I could just sit here and rattle off adjectives like I’m a judge on “The Great British Baking Show” for paragraphs. The biscuits alone are reason enough to get this skillet. Remember, a single biscuit is $5.50. Even if all you eat is five biscuits, they’ve paid for themselves.
THEY ALSO DO DRINKS
To accompany this breakfast feast, we all three splurged on the mimosa flight. Bonus: they were technically out of the fancy serving boards and glasses, but the kitchen magically found some for us! Every other set we saw going by was in plastic cups. Suckers. 😂
Anyway, you get four mini-mimosas: classic orange, the famous POG (pineapple-orange-guava if you’re new to the WDW game), pomegranate, and blood orange mixed with brut champagne. I do think they could all use a heavier pour of the sparkling wine – these are not strong drinks – but the ratios tasted good if a bit weak on the bubbly. My personal favorite was the blood orange, although I’d argue that’s probably more a personal preference than anything else. Nothing life changing, but certainly fun if you’re a mimosa person!
THE FINAL WORD ON WHISPERING CANYON CAFE
Is Whispering Canyon Cafe fine dining? Absolutely not! It is, however, a good time for those with the right sense of humor. The food won’t wow you, but it will satisfy. And if you like Mickey waffles, the skillets are a surprisingly good deal. Add a breakfast cocktail, subtract any kind of hurry, and you have a pretty awesome breakfast equation. Disney math is the best math.
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!
I’m glad we did this one! I’m still working on my review, but I will say that from the Lighter Side skillet there were some yummy items too. I really liked the turkey sausage! The egg white frittata was pretty good too, and I love getting fresh fruit (especially blackberries and raspberries). But the biscuits were the best, which were not *Technically* on my skillet.
I wonder if they’d give us a box of to-go biscuits? I could see taking that and some coffee up to the balcony…