Where to eat at and around Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Close by, on foot or by car

• Sanaa

  9 min walk

  Indian and African cooking over the Sunset Savanna, Kidani Village · $$

  The lodge's other restaurant, at Kidani Village, 9 minutes away by path. The dining room looks over the Sunset Savanna, where gazelles, zebras, giraffes, kudu and ostriches can wander past the windows. Start with the Indian-style bread service and its nine accompaniments, from mango chutney to red chile sambal, then a slow-cooked curry such as butter chicken, or a sampler platter, with a South African wine or a mango lassi. Lunch is 11.30am to 3pm and dinner 5pm to 9.30pm; book ahead. From 7.30am to 11am it becomes a breakfast counter with no booking, and the Sanaa Lounge pours until 11pm.

  Reserve aheadDisney's Animal Kingdom Villas, Kidani Village, 3701 Osceola Parkway, Lake Buena Vista

• Tusker House Restaurant

  6 min by car

  Character buffet in Animal Kingdom's Africa, park admission needed · $$$

  Needs park admission, and a theme park reservation with some tickets. A buffet in the Harambe marketplace in Animal Kingdom's Africa, where Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and friends in safari outfits come round the dining rooms. Breakfast, from 7.30am to 10.30am, is the meal for an Animal Kingdom day: Mickey and Simba waffles, South African French toast bulkas and cook-to-order omelettes, at $35 to $59.99 an adult. Lunch and dinner bring spit-roasted tandoori chicken, berbere-marinated pork and doro wat, for more than $60. Book ahead. The park's car park is 6 minutes by car, or take Disney's bus from the lodge.

  Reserve aheadAfrica, Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Lake Buena Vista

• Toledo - Tapas, Steak & Seafood

  9 min by car

  Rooftop Spanish at Coronado Springs, in the MICHELIN Guide · $$$

  Disney's rooftop restaurant on the 16th floor of the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs, listed in the MICHELIN Guide. Tapas, charcutería and cheeses come from an on-stage kitchen, then a hand-cut Spanish chuletón for two, charred octopus or seafood paella for two, with more than 50 Spanish wines chosen by a Master Sommelier. Ask for a table by the glass wall, which looks towards the Epcot fireworks. Dinner only, 5pm to 10pm, Wednesday to Sunday; it is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Book ahead. It is 9 minutes by car or taxi.

  Reserve aheadGran Destino Tower, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, 1001 West Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista

• Jaleo by José Andrés

  17 min by car

  José Andrés's Spanish restaurant at Disney Springs · $$

  The chef's biggest Jaleo, on several levels at the West Side of Disney Springs, and one of Disney's Signature restaurants. The menu runs across the regions of Spain: tapas, cheeses and paellas cooked over a wood fire, with Spanish wines, sherries and sangria, and Sangria Hour at the bar every day before 5pm. It serves lunch and dinner every day, and tables are worth booking. Disney's bus runs from the lodge to Disney Springs; by car the Orange Garage is 17 minutes away and about three minutes' walk from the door, with free self-parking.

  Reserve ahead1482 East Buena Vista Drive, Disney Springs West Side, Lake Buena Vista

• Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant

  16 min by car

  Irish pub with live music and dancers, Disney Springs · $$

  The evening out: a pub at The Landing whose whole interior was shipped from Ireland, with free live Irish music on several stages and Irish dancers every day. Order bangers and mash, fish and chips, shepherd's pie or boxty potato pancakes, with a flight of Irish whiskey or beer. It opens at 11am on weekdays and 10am at weekends, when brunch runs to 3pm with the Rhythms of Raglan dance show from noon, and serves until 11pm. Reservations are strongly recommended, but no particular table can be requested. The Lime Garage is 16 minutes by car, or take Disney's bus.

  Reserve ahead1640 East Buena Vista Drive, The Landing, Disney Springs, Lake Buena Vista

• The Polite Pig

  16 min by car

  Family-run barbecue counter, in the MICHELIN Guide · $

  The cheap, good counter at Disney Springs, and listed in the MICHELIN Guide. Order at the counter: chicken, pork and fish come off the smoker; the thin-sliced, black-pepper-rubbed brisket is the one to order, the maple-Dijon cedar-plank salmon a close second, with potato salad on the side and cake or pie to finish. Everything to drink is on tap, from beer to cocktails and wine, and the whiskey collection runs to Pappy Van Winkle. It is open from 11am to 11pm, to 11.30pm on Friday and Saturday, by the Town Center fountain below the Lime Garage escalator, 16 minutes by car.

  Walk inTown Center, Disney Springs, 1536 East Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

• Gideon's Bakehouse

  16 min by car

  Orlando's own cookie bakery and iced coffee, Disney Springs · $

  Orlando's own bakery, first opened at East End Market. The cookies weigh almost half a pound and take more than 24 hours to make, from the Original Chocolate Chip to Pistachio Toffee, with double-frosted cake slices and the Original Peanut Butter Iced Coffee. The Coffee Cake Cookie is sold every morning, and Hot Cookie Hour runs from 2pm to 3pm and 7pm to 8pm. It opens daily from 10am to 11pm, to 11.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Expect a queue, often virtual, of two to five hours from Friday to Sunday; there are no preorders and a limit of seven cookies. The Lime Garage is 16 minutes by car.

  Walk inDisney Springs, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

• Columbia Restaurant

  17 min by car

  Spanish and Cuban cooking on Celebration's lake, since 1905 · $$$

  Something only Florida does: the Celebration branch of the Columbia, the family-owned Spanish and Cuban restaurant that began in Tampa in 1905 and is Florida's oldest. It overlooks Celebration's lake, with old-world dining rooms, an outdoor café, a courtyard and a tapas bar. Order the original 1905 Salad, tossed at the table, then the paella a la Valenciana or the lechón asado, Cuban roast pork; mains run from $22 to $54. It is open from 11am to 9pm Sunday to Thursday and to 10pm on Friday and Saturday, and takes reservations. Celebration is off Disney property, so it is 17 minutes by car or taxi.

  Reserve ahead649 Front Street, Celebration

Breakfast