by Brittany DiCologero
Whispering Canyon Cafe is quite the experience– one that I didn’t quite get until about two years ago when I actually dined there for the first time. I’m not going to lie, Chaz and I go back because we like the food in the skillet, but there’s a lot more to this restaurant besides delicious food.
Much like 50’s Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios, the show that the waitstaff puts on for guests is a huge element at play here. How involved your waitstaff will be varies from person to person (and I would also assume that they feed off the energy of the guests). During our most recent visit, we dined with our friend, Aly, and were celebrating Chaz’s birthday.
It should come as no surprise that we all ordered the skillet. I haven’t tried any other menu items at Whispering Canyon, as I’ve never really had the desire to stray away from the skillet. The dinner skillet also comes with salad and cornbread (that I didn’t manage to get a picture of). A couple of years ago, I dined at Whispering Canyon Cafe with some friends from Dinoland, who had the *genius* idea to ask for a side of barbecue sauce and dip the cornbread in it. I wouldn’t normally put anything besides butter on cornbread, but for whatever reason the bbq sauce on the cornbread from Whispering Canyon is perfect.
The skillet works similarly to other family style restaurants at Walt Disney World– the food is brought to the table where you help yourself, and can enjoy all-you-care-to-enjoy of whatever items you’d like. At Whispering Canyon we usually end up ordering seconds of sausage, mashed potatoes, and sometimes chicken. The skillet comes with so much food that we don’t usually eat much more than it is originally served with.
The only thing we’re not crazy about on the skillet is the ribs. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad, they’re just not the best ribs we’ve had, even in Walt Disney World, and with only so much stomach space it’s the one thing we usually do not end up finishing each visit. To me the standouts in the skillet are the sausage and beans. I really don’t even typically like sausage or beans that much, but for some reason the ones from Whispering Canyon just have a nice flavor and I really enjoy them.
One of the fun aspects of our most recent trip was our waitress’ interactions with Chaz and Aly over their drinks. According to our waitress, Chaz finished his drink too fast, and she had to keep coming over to re-fill it. Aly had the opposite problem, that she wasn’t drinking enough. To “remedy” this problem, our waitress brought over a massive mason jar-like drink cup for Chaz, and a tiny shot glass style cup for Aly.
Another fun touch was the way our waitress helped her tables celebrate their birthdays. She called everyone with a birthday up to the middle of the dining room and made them all stand in a line in front of her. The group of birthday guests was primarily made up of Chaz and about six kids under the age of ten. After singing to the birthday guests, the waitress said she was going to bring out a birthday cupcake. The kids were anxious for their mid-meal birthday treat, but when she returned, she only had one cupcake– that she proceeded to eat in front of the kids without offering them any. While Chaz knew this was all a joke, the kids did not and we’re horrified that the only cupcake was being eaten, which was hilarious for the adults in the room to watch.
As the birthday shenanigans concluded, the waitresses came back and brought one cupcake to each table with a guest celebrating a birthday. Even though we were stuffed by this point, we somehow still managed to split the cupcake between the three of us.
Next up after dinner that night was a trip to the Magic Kingdom, which we planned to get to by bus… which was when we really started to feel the effects of everything we had just eaten.
We love Whispering Canyon Cafe, but can realize that it isn’t for everyone. I don’t think my family would be super into it, and by nature of the experience, I would never suggest it to someone looking for a quiet, peaceful meal. If you like the experience of dining somewhere more involved however, like 50’s Prime Time Cafe, I would highly suggest Whispering Canyon for good food and a fun and entertaining meal.
It’s not somewhere we feel the need to eat at every trip, but when we do it’s delicious. We love the experiences we’ve had with the cast members there, and can’t wait to go back and eventually try a different menu item or a (neverending) milkshake.