Photo Gallery for Whispering Canyon Café Dinner

Welcome to the Whispering Canyon Cafe! This familiar information sign is located at the front entrance of the restaurant.

Here's a look at the Whispering Canyon Cafe Dinner Menu. (Photo, summer 2024)

A bastket of fresh cornbread and honey butter are "Starters" that are served with any of the All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Skillets at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.

This is the initial portion of cornbread and honey butter that was brought to the table for two people. As far as I know, the cornbread is also "all you care to enjoy", so if you would like more... just ask!

Here's a closer look at the Fresh Baked Cornbread and Honey-butter that's served as a "starter" item with any of the Signature Skillets.

Coleslaw is also listed as one of the "starter" items that's served with all of the Signature Skillets at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.

This is a small cup of Coleslaw. It's brought out with the Cornbread and served as a "starter" item when ordering any of the Skillets. I didn't really eat it as a "starter" but saved it for eating with my meal. I'm not sure why the portion is so small though, this one cup (which only has about three tablespoons of coleslaw), was the portion size for two people.

A trio of sauces are also served with the "starters" (these really are for your main skillets, I just think they bring them out now because it's hard to carry skillets and little sauce cups at the same time). One of them is a mustard bbq sauce, one is a traditional (theme-park style) red bbq sauce, and the third, is either a slightly different red bbq sauce or it might actually be a second helping of the same red bbq sauce (I couldn't really distinguish much difference between the two red sauces

The soda at Whispering Canyon cafe is served in Mason Jars.

There is a running gag at Whispering Canyon Cafe, where if you ask for too many refills, you'll get a much larger Mason Jar. They only have a couple of them though, so there's no guarantee you'll get a chance to see one when you're visiting. I drink a lot of soda — and I haven't been served a refill in one yet.

This is "The Traditional" All You Care to Enjoy Signature Skillet at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. Back in the day, there only used to be one skillet option on the menu – and this was it... which is why it's been named "the traditional" skillet.

The Traditional Signature Skillet at Whispering Canyon Cafe includes oak-smoked mustard-barbecued beef brisket, maple-chipotle pork ribs, slow-smoked pulled pork, citrus-herb chicken, western-style sausage, smashed potatoes, buttered corn, and sautéed green beans.

All of the items that are included with each skillet are platted together — in a skillet. Everything in the skillet is "all you care to enjoy" so if you like certain items and you're still hungry, just ask for second helpings!

The red pepper on top of the buttered corn is a nice visual touch! I ate the roasted red pepper, as it wasn't a "hot" (capsaicin) pepper, but something more like a sweet banana red pepper.

Here's a closer look at the sautéed green beans that are part of "the traditional" skillet at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. Behind those beans, on the right-hand side are a couple of elements that are hiding — a western-style sausage and a small portion of the beef brisket are back there.

Here's a photo of "The Land and Sea" All You Care to Enjoy Signature Skillet at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.

The Land and Sea Skillet includes house-smoked salmon, citrus-herb chicken, spicy vegan sausage, charred portobella mushrooms, barbecued cauliflower, roasted potatoes, sautéed green beans, and oven-roasted carrots.

Here's a closer look at the house-smoked salmon that's included in the Land and Sea skillet. Everything in the skillets are "all you care to enjoy" so if you'd like more salmon, just ask for a second portion!

Here's a look at the citrus-herb chicken that's part of the Land and Sea skillet at Whispering Canyon Cafe. Everything in the skillet is all you can eat, so if you would like more of anything, just ask!

Because the skillets are "all you care to enjoy", you can ask for a second (or third) helping of whatever is in the skillet you ordered. Second helpings won't be plated in a giant skillet however — they should be plated in something that better matches the size of what you requested.

My Land and Sea skillet included a "Spicy Vegan Sausage" (I guess that's a nod to the "Land" portion of the meal. To me though, it tasted a little like a pencil eraser. So I asked if I could have a couple of real sausages instead — and the waiter said "sure, no problem" — and this is what he delivered to the table. Two tasty, all meat sausages.

Here's a second helping of a maple-chipotle pork rib (apparently, they only bring one "second" at a time), and a western-style sausage from the "Traditional" skillet.

Depending on what second or third servings of anything you ask for — they'll probably come out of the kitchen in smaller dishes, and slightly hotter than what was on the original skillet (if your waiter or waitress is on their toes and brings it out to you right away). Full skillets might be pre-plated and set under a heat lamp for longer than these smaller dishes.

Here's a second helping of the citrus-herb chicken (drumsticks are available upon request, usually), a maple-chipotle pork rib, and more of those yummy smashed potatoes.

If you ask for a second helping of more stuff, all at once, there's a chance you'll get it plated in another skillet!

So why not just ask for a whole new skillet? Here's a tip that other sites would make you buy a PDF guidebook for — it's because when you pick two or three specific items from the skillet — they have to make that plate just for you! The pre-made skillets with everything in them are made in-bulk and sit under a heat lamp for a while. You'll get hotter, fresher food if you ask for a couple specific things!

This is what a second helping of those Roasted Potatoes looks like. Oh, the plating is a little odd, but those salted Roasted Potatoes were really good.

While it might be a little too easy to make fun of the sparse plating, this second helping of Roasted Potatoes might be plated just right. I can imagine on the trail, in the old west, if one were lucky enough to find some baby potatoes and roast them near an open fire, this might well have been how they were plated.

Salted Baby Roasted Potatoes are not the most difficult thing to make, but these little spuds were a really great addition to the Land and Sea skillet... so much so, that I got a second helping of them.

There are a lot of cool "old west" design elements all around the Whispering Canyon Cafe. This cowboy scene is part of the check-in desk.

There's a small, "we'll just wait over here" space near the check-in desk at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. The space is very reminiscent of a National Park welcome area.

This piece of art is on a cabinet door at Whipsering Canyon Cafe. It's a broad stroke relief carving with various wood stained elements.

Here's a couple of cabinet doors at Whispering Canyon Cafe. It's a great mix-media piece of art, with river pebbles at the bottom, wood carving in the middle, and blue granite inlays at the top.

Here's one of the accent light wall fixtures at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. There's several different designs around the main dining room. They're all made of iron and feature various old west themed silhouette.

There are a couple great giclee paintings around the dining room at Whispering Canyon Cafe as well. I think the thing I love most around the dining area is — that it stays focused on the American west of yesteryear... without injection Disney characters anywhere.

Here's another on of the giclee paintings at the far end of the dining area at Whispering Canyon cafe.

This great rodeo scene captures the dusty old west, while also being a little playful. Notice the pup jumping through the lasso in the foreground. Herding dog tricks were a fun part of any rodeo back in the day.

Here's a typical table setting at Whispering Canyon Cafe. The table surface is red and it's fully lacquered (with a few scratches here and there). Those chairs are all wood with a moderate amount of padding in that green cushion. I've always found the chairs to be comfortable.

There's a whole row of seating along the (almost) floor to ceiling windows that run the entire length of the restaurant. Even though a wide shot of the dining area makes it look a little cramped — there's actually a fair amount of space between many of the tables.

Most of the chairs at the Whispering Canyon Cafe have either an Indian or a cowboy printed on the back. This doesn't really have anything to do with your dining experience here — but it does give the room a possibly kitschy (depending on how you look at it) look back at a time of Americana innocence — where it was okay for children to play "cowboys and Indians", without worry for political or racial statements being made.

Most of the chairs at Whispering Canyon Cafe have either a cowboy or an Indian printed on the back. Here's one of the Indian prints.

Most of the chairs at Whispering Canyon Cafe have either a cowboy or an Indian printed on the back. Here's one of the cowboy prints.

Those stairs on the right-hand side of this photo are actually the entrance and exit stairs to the restaurant. There's a small "waiting area" of sorts behind the cabinet on the far right, and the check-in desk is located right where that small child decided to run into my photo.

It can get noisy in the Whispering Canyon Cafe when the place is full of guests — but the amount of space between the tables is actually pretty good. I've not ever felt crammed up too close to anyone while dining here.

Here's a closer look at one of the tables at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. Most of the tables have a red surface that's lacquered. The chairs are all wood, but the moderate amount of padding makes them comfortable. The pattered carpet really adds to the fun, old-school, toy box feel of the restaurant.

The main dining room at Whispering Canyon Cafe does have a "national park lodge" feel — especially since it opens up onto the resort's grand gathering area just beyond the booths at the back of this photo.

When the seating area is empty, it's a little easier to see just how much space there is between the tables and chairs. The main dining area is quite large and there's ample room to walk between the tables. Located on the far-right of this photo are the half-booths. Those are very long and are mostly used for large parties.

Here's a great shot of one of the Rodeo paintings that's on the back wall at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. Notice all those cowboy and Indian prints on the backs of the chairs? I think they really help define the toy box feel of this classic Disney restaurant.

This painting technically isn't in the Whispering Canyon Cafe. It's located between the Men's and Women's restrooms that are located next to the Whispering Canyon Cafe. I still think it's a cool looking painting though... and if you've ever needed to use the restroom while at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, you've probably passed by this artwork.

There is another seating area at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, that doesn't get used much. It's the Hearthroom and it's pretty far-removed from the action and lively spirit in the main dining area.

The tables and chairs in the Hearthroom seating area at the Whispering Canyon Cafe do look very cool. However, I'll give you a 1-in-3 chance of raming your knee into that table leg when you get up or sit down in your chair. Those table legs are brutal, unless you're sitting propper, Downton Abbey style, with someone pushing the chair in for you.

Well, technically this waterfall isn't part of Whispering Canyon Cafe, but the Wilderness Lodge Resort is so beautiful, I walk around and explore whenever I visit a restaurant. This waterfall is fairly close to the main resort building (you can see some rooms in the background) and it's almost always unique looking, depending on the weather and time of day.