Gone are the days when theme park food meant overpriced greasy burgers and cotton candy. (mostly!!)
The nation's top parks are catering more and more to sophisticated palates with restaurants boasting high-quality food in unique environments.
USA Today 10Best asked a panel of theme park insiders to nominate their top 20 theme park restaurants, and now they need you to help crown a winner.
Astonishingly Central Florida features an incredible 11 restaurants out of the top 20 nominees!
Vote for your favorite once per day until the polls close on Monday, April 24 at noon ET.
The winning restaurants will be announced on Friday, May 5
BEST THEME PARK RESTAURANT NOMINEES
Best Theme Park Restaurant
MAGIC KINGDOM - WALT DISNEY WORLD
Named for the famous “Be Our Guest” scene in "Beauty and the Beast," this dining experience at Magic Kingdom features three different themed rooms, including a magnificent ballroom, the Beast’s West Wing study and the Rose Gallery. The same menu of American and French cuisine is featured throughout for lunch and dinner.
Best Theme Park Restaurant
DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE
Had enough turkey legs and cheeseburgers for one Disney World visit? Boma "is one of the places when visiting one of the busiest theme parks in the world that you can break out of eating typical American fare," says expert Shea Peters. "Positioned as an East African marketplace, here you can tempt your kids to try tabbouleh, couscous, and lamb, and they also have an incredible amount of vegetarian fare." The dining room for this unique buffet, featuring food from more than 50 African nations, is covered by a traditional thatched roof for a touch of local ambiance.
Best Theme Park Restaurant
UNIVERSAL'S ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE
This grill offers a menu influenced by Asian, Mediterranean, Greek and other cuisines, conveniently located at the Port of Entry at Islands of Adventure. You'll have trouble deciding between French onion soup or pad thai and pork belly banh mi or sticky ribs, among other delicious options. This relaxed indoor setting is the perfect way to introduce global flavors to family members of all ages.
Best Theme Park Restaurant
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA
If you're looking for traditional British food while you're at Universal Orlando Resort, slip inside this dining hall. Fans of Harry Potter will remember it as the oldest pub in London at One Diagon Alley, built by Daisy Dodderidge as a gateway to the non-wizarding world. You can enjoy bangers and mash, fisherman's pie, toad in the hole and a ploughman's platter while your kids feast on fish and chips.
UNIVERSAL'S ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE
Best Theme Park Restaurant
The unique setting of Mythos alone is a feast for the senses. Guests step into a grotto with intricate carvings of ancient figures on the walls and towering rock formations. A seasonal menu offers salmon, risotto, pad thai, burgers and more. A full wine list is also available while outside seating provides views of Islands of Adventure's inland sea and colorful islands.
Best Theme Park Restaurant
EPCOT
Space 220 at EPCOT offers a preview of what it would be like to sit down for lunch or dinner on a space station. Huge video screen "windows" offer views of Earth as the restaurant slowly orbits our home planet. Helping to complete the illusion, guests must take a special "space elevator" to reach the dining room. The menu has fixed-price two-course lunches and three-course dinners; entrees get fun names like Galactic Salmon and Blue Moon Cauliflower.
Best Theme Park Restaurant
EPCOT
Each of the national pavilions at EPCOT aims for a degree of cultural immersion, and Takumi-Tei is one of the places that does it best. It's "a Japanese dining experience that you can't even believe is inside of a theme park," says expert Nikky J. The atmosphere, decor and exquisite menu transport diners from central Florida to Japan, with five dining rooms honoring natural elements like water, wind and stone. The calming ambience sets the scene for a delightful, multi-course omakase meal curated daily by restaurant chefs.
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Best Theme Park Restaurant
Located at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Tiffins celebrates the flavors of the world through its international inspired menu of items like tamarind-braised short rib, spiced chickpea falafel, shrimp and grits, and South American chocolate ganache.
EPCOT
Best Theme Park Restaurant
Hearty pastas, wood-fired pizzas and other Southern Italian favorites fill the menu at Via Napoli in EPCOT's Italy Pavilion. This casual and family-friendly eatery also serves Italian wines, beers (by the pint or pitcher) and specialty cocktails.
Best Theme Park Restaurant
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Yak & Yeti, a Nepalese-style restaurant inside Disney’s Animal Kingdom, serves a menu of pan-Asian dishes – ahi tuna nachos, pork potstickers and tempura chicken – at the base of Expedition Everest. Adult diners can sip on Asian beers, chilled sakes and creative cocktails from the full-service bar. An adjacent quick-service restaurant offers lunch and dinner on the go.
Best Theme Park Restaurant
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Zambia Smokehouse at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a casual dining eatery with an open barbecue pit that offers a variety of proteins, sandwiches, salads and sides. For adults, a beer and wine selection is on the menu, and both indoor and outdoor seating are available.
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