by Daisy Diva
Whispering Canyon Café is a table service restaurant on the first floor of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. First of all, Wilderness Lodge is seriously gorgeous, and even if you don’t have any reservations or specific reason for going, you should definitely stop by for a visit and a quick walk around the property. The lobby is stunningly unique, and as with all things Disney, the theming is top-notch.
Whispering Canyon Café can be easily located in the lobby by taking an immediate left as soon as you walk through the front door. And let me tell you, you’re in for a rootin’ tootin’ good time at Whispering Canyon Café! We had 8:05 p.m. reservations and arrived around 7:30. I went ahead and checked in with the hostess who gave us a buzzer that would work in the lobby area as well as the gift shop which is where we headed. After some shopping, we went back over to 
the lobby and sat down in some enormous chairs and waited for our buzzer to go off while we soaked up the lovely scenery in the lobby. Our buzzer went off by 8:10 and we were promptly seated at a table near the kitchen. Our server Chante arrived at our table shortly to take our drink order, but the hijinks had already begun. My husband and I were thoroughly enjoying the loud, rowdy fun that the servers were having with the diners, but our kids were pretty confused and finally my son said, “Mommy, this place is weird.” It was definitely unlike any restaurant we had ever eaten at before. Chante returned quickly with our drinks, literally tossed our straws and napkins on the table and took our meal order. Now, Whispering Canyon Café is a ton of fun, but let me just say, that is not the only thing it has going for it. The food is so, so, so good. There is a wide variety of food selections available (You can read about Cruisin’ Diva’s recent experience here.), but the restaurant is mostly known for its bottomless milkshakes and all-you-care-to-eat barbeque skillet meal. As much as I wanted the skillet meal, I knew that I could not eat $30 worth of food, but my husband sure could! And all of us got to reap the benefits. The skillet meal comes with cornbread and a salad, and Chante brought enough for all of us to the table. The cornbread was moist and yummy, and the salad was an apple, walnut, blue cheese concoction that was so unique and really good. I was so glad I got to eat a little bit of each before my meal came.
Since I didn’t think I’d get my money’s worth from the skillet, I went with the next item on the menu that had me really intrigued: the Pulled Pork Spring Rolls. They were so delicious and different from anything I’ve had before. They come with a sweet chili dipping sauce (pictured), but that’s not really my thing, so Chante graciously agreed to bring me some bbq sauce for dipping, and it was perfection. The wrapper for the spring rolls was crunchy and crispy and so perfect with the soft, tender, flavorful, pulled pork inside.
Fortunately my husband was willing to let my snag a couple of bites from his skillet (for Diva blogging purposes only of course), and what I had was so scrumptious. The skillet comes with five (that’s right, FIVE) different meats: pulled pork, chicken, sausage, brisket, and ribs. I had the pulled pork, chicken, and ribs, and they were each very tender, full of flavor, and left me wanting more. My husband said that of the five meats, his favorite was the chicken. For those who know my husband, you would find this shocking. He is not much of a chicken lover; he eats it, but it’s not going to be his favorite when there is pork AND beef to choose from. But the chicken really blew him away. It was one of the few items he asked for seconds of. As good as the meats were, the sides were really good as well. The skillet comes with green beans, baked beans, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes. The only side I tried was the mashed potatoes, and they are some of the best I’ve ever had, smooth, creamy, buttery, and just heavenly. You can barely see them in the picture between the corn and green beans, but they were oh, so yummy.
My kids are not barbeque lovers (weird, I know), so they kept their choices pretty kid-friendly. My son went with his favorite: hamburger and fries with a fruit cup. He really loved the burger, and I would call it your pretty standard Disney burger that you can find all over Disney World parks and resorts.
My daughter opted for the grilled cheese dipper, which I mistakenly assumed would be just like the grilled cheese dippers that she had at Be Our Guest several months earlier. But it was different; there was white cheese that I am assuming was mozzarella on the whole grain Goldfish bread that you normally find on the kids turkey sandwich. The small cup of “tomato soup” that I had removed from her plate when she got it was actually more like pizza sauce which would have really made her meal different and unexpected. But she really enjoyed it in spite of my blunder. Her dipper came with a side (fries) and a dessert choice which for her was apple slices.
With all those fries, of course we needed ketchup which meant more hijinks! I won’t give too much away, but this is what our table looked like after we requested ketchup.
My husband drinks a lot when he eats–which prompted our sweet Chante to bring him an “alternate” glass! My glass is on the left, his new one is on the right.
After we were done eating, they server were ready to start up another of their hobby horse races. My kids really loved getting up from the table and running/galloping around the restaurant.
If you are considering eating at Whispering Canyon Café, here are a few tips you may want to keep in mind:
- It is very loud. If you have anyone in your party with hearing or sensory issues, this might not be the best place for you.
- The servers are funny and will pick at you and make fun without being obnoxious–at least that was our experience. I am sure their are some diners who would say they thought their server crossed a line into obnoxious or even rude, but that was not at all the case with us. Chante was the perfect mix of sassy and courteous. I loved her. I wanted to bring her home with us. But I digress…
- Being on your phone or dropping your fork could get you some “trouble” here. Be prepared to laugh at your own expense.
- The servers were more than happy to help parents play a few jokes on their kids. The parents at the table near us has their server wrap their teenager’s phone to a plate with plastic wrap while she was away from the table!
- Whispering Canyon Café is on the dining plan which means that you can get an all you can eat skillet meal and a bottomless milkshake for one table service credit. That is a really good use of your dining plan credit if you ask me–lots of bang for your buck! There is also a skillet meal on the kid’s menu which would be a great option for that 8- or 9-year-old who is on the dining plan and had to order from the kid’s menu still, but has a grown up appetite.
This was our family’s first experience as Whispering Canyon Café, and it is without a doubt our new favorite place to eat. Not only was the food wonderful, but the place was just a whole lot of fun! We will definitely be back. You should give it a try during your next Disney World vacation.
To book your vacation, contact Patricia at All For Dreams Travel.
One of our favorite places to eat.