A Great New Spot for Theme Park Pizza!
Dockside Pizza Company (or "Co." as is reads on the restaurant signs) is a new counter service location at SeaWorld, Orlando that (presumably) replaces the aging Seaport Pizza. While pizza would seem to be the main attraction at both locations — the food quality, seating, service and environment cleanliness at Dockside Pizza has improved quite a bit.First things first though… locating Dockside Pizza. SeaWorld does seem to like loading all of it's dining locations into the central and southern regions of the park. Only Expedition Cafè and Captain Pete's Hot Dogs remain in the north half of the park. Dockside Pizza Company is located right next to Mama's Pretzel Kitchen, more or less between Infinity Falls and Sesame Street Land.
Here's a wide shot of the Dockside Pizza Company at SeaWorld, Orlando.
The dining areas at Dockside Pizza Co. are all outdoors. There are quite a few umbrella covered tables and chairs set up all along the front of the restaurant — which also blends in and over to the tables and chairs set up in front of Mama's Pretzel Kitchen. Even during busy times, guests are sitting down, eating, getting up, and moving on — at a pretty regular pace, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find a spot if you're willing to wait around for a couple of minutes.
There's umbrella covered seating all along the front of the restaurant, along with additional seating at the nearby Mama's Pretzel Kitchen. On this side of the location (directly under the sign) is the entrance to the Mobile and Self Checkout area.
We were there just at the end of a typical busy lunch period (around 1:00pm) and the tables and surrounding area all seemed about as clean as any other SeaWorld dining location (which is not to say that it was spotless, but the area was not being totally neglected either). I did see two cast members cleaning various things in the time that we were there.
There's two ordering rooms at Dockside Pizza… if you're looking directly at the restaurant, the entrance on the right hand side is the "talk to a cast member at a register, order and pay for your food" side — and it can get busy.
There's two food order and pickup rooms like this at Dockside Pizza. The side where you talk to a cast member to order your meal can get quite busy. This was taken at the end of the typical lunch period (around 1:00pm).
Here again, it was just after 1:00pm when I took the above photo (so it's understandably crowded), but if it's anything like SeaWorld's other locations… a small number of guests can seemingly overrun the system quickly.
However, I did something that was quite out of character for me, and went into the "self checkout and mobile order pickup room" that's on the far left-hand side of the restaurant (directly under one of the "Dockside Pizza" signs).
This very large "Dockside Pizza Co." sign is hanging over the Self Checkout and Mobile Pickup area of the restaurant.
And much to my surprise … it went a lot quicker — because there was no one there. This photo (below) was taken at the same time as the photo above!
This is the "Mobile Order Pickup" and "Self Checkout" area at Dockside Pizza Company. This photo was taken at the same time (around 1:00pm) as the other, more crowded photo of the "General Order and Payment" room. I think it's safe to say... Mobile Order and Self Checkout is quicker than placing an order with a cast member at a register.
So… if you order on your smart phone, you can pick your order up on the left under the red "Mobile Order Pickup" sign. Or… you can try the totally automated "Self Checkout" option on the right (where no one is standing).
I don't usually gravitate toward these fancy automated things… but this was downright fun. There's a small platform with a camera on top next to a credit card access point. You basically pull what you want out of the heated counter in the center, place it on the platform, the camera takes a look at what all is there, the prices show up on the credit card machine, you tap to pay — and that's it.
The self checkout area has a little silver platform with a camera on top and a credit card access machine right next to it. Basically, you just place what you want on the platform... and the computer looks at everything, and figures out how much the total is. That amount shows up on the card access machine... where you can "tap to pay" with your card — and that's it... you're good to go.
It was hands-down, the fastest I've ever checked out at a theme park counter service / quick service location.
Getting to pull your own food from the heated storage area in the center also has another benefit. You can wait until a hot, fresh, whatever you want slides down the display case. I waited a couple of minutes and a fresh, hot batch of Garlic Knots and several Three Meat Pizzas slid down the incline from the kitchen — I grabbed those, got them scanned in, paid the bill, and was sitting back down at the table in under three minutes.
The Food at Dockside Pizza
I have to say — waiting for two hot and fresh items to slide down from the kitchen probably had a lot to do with how great the food actually was… both the Garlic Knots and Three Meat Pizza were pretty fantastic.The Garlic Knots were at that perfect temperature and age — where you get a nice little crunch from the outside and nice, yeasty, pillowy dough goodness on the inside. I didn't think they were going to stay that way for too long, but we split an order of these – each getting two knots, and ate them like "appetizers".
I rarely make editorial and review statements in the comment section of photos, but these Garlic Knots were actually really, really good. I picked mine up from the "self checkout" area just as they came down the pickup slider — so they were good and fresh... probably right out of the oven.
The second one was just as good as the first one, and it didn't seem to change consistency as they cooled down. Some people like Garlic Knots that are dripping with butter — I am not one of those people — so if that's what you're looking for, you might be a little disappointed. These were lightly brushed with oil and had a really nice dusting of garlic flavored something stuck on the top — not too much, not too little… they were just right for me.
The Garlic Knots from Dockside Pizza Company at SeaWorld, Orlando.
They pulled apart easily with your fingers and had a really nice, pizza dough, yeasty flavor — all while not being too heavy or dense. Really, one of the better variations of a "Garlic Knot" that I've had.
The pizza was also very good. It's shaped more like a flatbread than a traditional "slice", and that's okay by me — it fits better in those rectangle shaped pizza boxes. We selected the Three Meat Pizza which combines pepperoni, Italian meatballs and bacon with mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
This is the "Three Meat Pizza" from the main menu section at Dockside Pizza Company at SeaWorld, Orlando.
I know there's some serious pizza aficionados out there, so this standard American pizza style isn't "New York style" or "Deep Dish" — but come on, any fresh pizza is great pizza, right? Which is why I'll bring up my little "tip of the day" one more time… the self checkout area gives you a chance to get the freshest pizza possible.
There weren't any "Three Meat" boxes in the keep-warm machine for a couple of minutes. I waited a couple of minutes, standing off in the background — when sure enough, three boxes came sliding down the keep warm slide along with those fresh Garlic Knots. I walked right up and grabbed two fresh, hot, right out of the oven items and checked out in less than three minutes. Fresh pizza, is the best pizza.
The "Three Meat" Pizza at Dockside Pizza Company combines Pepperoni, Italian Meatballs, and Bacon with Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan.
The meat combo provided a well balanced texture and meaty flavors. The meatballs and pepperoni were individually placed around the pizza and the bacon was in the form of crumbles on top of that. Mozzarella was the most visible cheese while the parmesan cheese came in the form of an extra "dusting" on top. The dough was not pre-cut (so far as I could tell anyway) but it wasn't tough at all — it was easy to pull apart or to eat as a giant single slice.
While it's probably not going to be "the" pizza that defines all pizzas for you — this was a solid, high scoring pizza that really hit the spot — and I would gladly order this knots and pizza combo again and again.
Value and Conclusion
I haven't really adjusted my brain to the new pricing of everything yet. If you're paying full menu-board, out of pocket prices for any food at SeaWorld — it's actually going to end up being a little more than what you'd pay for somewhat similar items inside the Disney parks.
Here's the main menu items at Dockside Pizza Company (photo taken summer 2024).
I paid full price (plus tax, plus SeaWorld's sneaky "surcharge") for the two items sampled here and it came to just over $32. That's a lot for a pizza and garlic knots. I can (almost) talk myself into justifying the cost at Disney because you're usually also getting an immersive, one-of-a-kind environment... even at a counter service location. You're not really getting that here.
Good food, yes… and the seating area was clean — but at the end of the day, you're more or less sitting on a street-side walkway under some umbrellas. There's usually good music playing in the background and it is convenient not leaving the park.
Even though they're not going to win any design awards, locations like PizzeRizzo at Hollywood Studios or Pizzafari at Animal Kingdom are large, well-themed, (mostly) air-conditioned locations with attached bathrooms. You know you're stepping into a unique location.
What SeaWorld does offer, that makes the food prices a little more do-able — is the All-Day Dining option. It's a $45-$59 wristband (depending on what day and time of the year you're at SeaWorld) that allows you to get one entree (the pizza), one side (the garlic knots) and one drink (I didn't get one of those) — every 90 minutes, at most counter service locations in the park.
If you're going to eat two meals at SeaWorld over the course of the day, that makes each meal around $30 (less than what I paid for my pizza and knots, without a drink). If you're going to eat three meals over the course of the day — that brings the per-meal cost down to around $20. At that price point… it's equal to, or a little less than Disney food prices.
If you leave price and environment out of the equation though... Dockside Pizza Company is actually making some pretty great theme park food that I would stop by and order again on another visit. I love the speed and convenience of the self-checkout area… and the fact that it gives me the ability to get hot, fresh pizza right out of the oven.
