A Time-honored Traditional Skillet Meal in the Beautiful Wilderness Lodge Resort
The Whispering Canyon Cafe would be in that list of "Five Disney Dining Locations I've Visited the Most" over the last couple of decades. When thinking about our entire dining party — when thinking about food that everyone would generally like... and maybe, we want to go somewhere tomorrow, not having made reservations 60 days ago — The Whispering Canyon Cafe always seems to be there for us.I haven't been back in a couple years though — way back in olden times, they used to only feature one, all you care to enjoy style skillet for dinner. Now there's four different skillets available, and one of them is even a vegetarian skillet! Has anything else changed at Whispering Canyon Cafe? Let's find out!
Location and Dining Periods
Located on a quarter floor above the lobby of Disney's Wilderness Lodge, the main entrance to the Whispering Canyon Cafe is directly to your left, as you walk in through the front entrance of the resort. The lighting is usually a bit of a shock if it's still daylight outside. The location may seem a bit dim and dreary at first, but once your eyes acclimate to the lighting in the lobby, the warmer wood tones will start to appear.
Welcome to the Whispering Canyon Cafe! This familiar information sign is located at the front entrance of the restaurant.
The astute photo observer might notice a discrepancy between the sign above and the information in our listing categories here at Mealtrip. We still have Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner listed as three separate review periods, while Disney seems to think there's only Brunch and Dinner.
After the great closedown of 2020, locations started opening back up again with modified menus and dining periods. The Breakfast and Lunch smash-up seems to have been a result of that "let's really watch our operating costs" period.
I've still left three separate dining periods here in the Mealtrip directory for a couple of reasons. For starters, I used to really like the Lunch menu... it was one of the few locations that did offer quite a number of different entrees and starters for lunch, that just weren't available at any of the other periods. While that's no longer the case — Disney themselves still have those three menu periods listed in their menu database for the Whispering Canyon Cafe, so I'm hopeful that one day — all three periods might return.
While the restaurant is open and serving "brunch" from 7:30am until 2:00pm — the menu is more like a collage of distinct breakfast and lunch items — rather than offering unique "brunch" items. You can get a pulled pork sandwich at 7:30am and you can get an omelette at 2:00pm — but there's not really any items on the menu that bridge the gap, all on the same plate.
Getting back to the location though — the design cues at the Wilderness Lodge Resort are very "Out West National Park Lodge", and they're done very well. It's definitely one of the better immersive resort environments in the Disney bubble. If you can forget about the humidity and heat for a few minutes — you might actually think you're out west and not in "touristy Florida" the whole time.
The Whispering Canyon Cafe is set a couple feet higher than the Wilderness Lodge lobby — a couple quick steps up (there's a wheelchair ramp as well) — and you'll find the reception / check-in desk. The front of the desk features an "old west" themed cowboy inlay element.
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 quite a number of furniture details in the reception area that are unique to this location. A long desk that supports a couple of accent lamps, features a great relief carving of a couple of deer out in a wooded area.
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.
Next to that, doors of a cabinet depict a couple of cowboys riding horses, over a river rock bed with blue sky (in marble) above.
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.
The Dining Area Environment
None of the dining areas at the Whispering Canyon Cafe are suitable for "quiet conversation". This is very much a "cafe" in the sense that it's a very open environment, even if the food isn't quite "cafe" style. The waitstaff can be a little rambunctious at times with a little pioneer era humor and sass — but more on that in a bit.Moving past the guest check-in and reception area and looking into the main dining area, there's a slight kitsch Americana feel to some of the elements — like the highly lacquered red table tops matched with seat covers that are almost aqua green in color.
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.
Those chairs all have "kids toy chest" style cowboys or Indians painted on the seat backs — a look that's repeated in the carpeted areas.
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.
Now might be a good time to mention, that while there are Cowboys and Indians depicted in many of the graphics around the room — there's an even number of both — and neither group is ever singled out or referenced as being "the good guys" or "the bad guys".
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.
There were Indians and there were Cowboys in the old west — they are both shown here… and no statements are made beyond that. Personally, I find it to be a very logical balance, that leaves the door open for further family discussions.
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.
While the area might look crowded at the peak meal times — there's actually quite a bit of room around the tables, and I've never really felt crowded or too bunched up with other guests here at Whispering Canyon Cafe.
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.
On one side of the dining area, large floor to ceiling windows are the main feature, which help to bring a little nature into the dining area.
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.
The opposite side of the dining area opens up onto the Wilderness Lodge's lobby area. Since the restaurant is a couple of feet higher than the lobby, you feel more like an observer of that area — and not like you're eating in the lobby. That side of the main dining area features booth style seating. The booth are very large though — mostly reserved for groups of 6-8 guests. It's a little hard to see the booth area in the photo below, but if you see part of a totem pole in the center — that's actually the lobby area.
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.
There's also another seating area at the Whispering Canyon Cafe that's not used very much. It's located in an area I'd call "back behind the restaurant". While it's a small area, the very different design style of the tables and chairs give the area a much more upscale feel.
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 seating area itself is a few feet above the lobby as well, but because it's open to the lobby on two sides and visually closed off from the main seating area by a wall — you do tend to feel a little cut off from the ambience of the restaurant and pick up more of the lobby's ambience.
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 proper, Downton Abbey style, with someone pushing the chair in for you.
The Service and Whimsical Shenanigans
Not too long ago in the Whispering Canyon Cafe's history — wise-cracking wait staff "sassing customers" and a lot of pioneer settler shtick was a big draw for guests visiting the restaurant. It quickly became part of the location's charm and several of the "bits" — like guests asking for ketchup — became legendary.Times are a little different now though, or at the very least — I think the waitstaff are "reading the tables" better. You can kind of tell when a group is just there for a nice meal -vs- a group that might enjoy a whimsical, clamorous, waiter or waitress. Which is a good thing — let's face it, the schtick can be a little awkward if you're not expecting it or if you're just not into it.
Everything did seem to be taken down a notch or two on the night we visited, but there were some tables here and there that were getting into the rollicking, old west action. If you're new to the Disney bubble and not familiar with the Whispering Canyon Cafe's history — here's one of the well-known bits.
If one of the guests at any given table asks for ketchup, the server may do a little shtick bit about ketchup — and finally proclaim that there's only one way to get ketchup 'round these parts… and that to do a ketchup call. And then they will yell out to the rest of the restaurant that — "we need ketchup" — and basically anyone that has ketchup is supposed to get up and put their bottle, on your table. This sometimes results in two dozen (or more) ketchup bottles showing up on your table.
Again, if you don't want the attention, don't ask for ketchup. If you're not giving off any "I want to joke around with my server" vibes — you'll probably be okay and just end up having a nice dinner.
Occasionally I'll read on a forum somewhere, a theory about why things are a little quieter at Whispering Canyon Cafe these days. I'm not sure that it's anything other than — the schtick doesn't land well with as many guests as it used to. Cultural and language barriers are real… that along with the fact that people just aren't as engaged with each other or their surroundings at dinner — as they used to be.
On our most recent visit, I saw the ketchup routine play out several times. Clearly, the parents in the group knew about the joke and I think they wanted to see what their kids would do — or try and re-live a moment from their own past. But in at least two instances — the kids didn't look up, away from watching Sponge Bob (or whatever) on their personal hand-held smart device long enough to notice that anything out of the ordinary was going on. One kid even seemed a little annoyed he was running out of space to put his phone. Bottom-line, if your group doesn't engage with their surroundings or talk much to each other during a meal at home — the good spirited fun at the Whispering Canyon Cafe isn't going to do anything to change that.
Beyond that — the actual service on the night we visited was somewhere between good and "just okay". Drink refills were a little hard to come by and food refills didn't come out correct or in a timely manner… but it wasn't anything too off-putting that it put a damper on our fun night out.
The Food at Whispering Canyon Cafe
While there are a couple of traditional a la carte style appetizers and main entrees on the menu — it's the all-you-care-to-enjoy skillets that are the main draw here. For a long time, there only used to be one skillet, but now there's four slightly different variations to choose from — including a plant-based skillet. As the name suggests, the skillets are all-you-care-to-enjoy — meaning, you can get second or third helpings of whatever you want.
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.
There are also (slightly less known-about) all-you-care-to-enjoy milkshakes as well. The base price of either the chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry shake is higher than a soft drink or water (which also include free-refills), but there's not too many places I know of that offer free refills on milkshakes. If it's a beverage you like — this is the place to get one!
I just recently added an article to the Mealtrip system titled "Where to Find The Best Place To Eat at Disney World — A Probability Breakdown by Menu Style and Dining Formats" where the All-You-Care-to-Enjoy format ranked 12th out of 14 formats. Did this meal do anything to change my mind about where the dining format placed in the grand scheme of things? Not really.
I used to really enjoy Disney skillets… they were better than buffets and the food quality had been on-par with a la carte table service food. Now though, it's more like buffet food — except someone else makes a plate for you. While not having to get up and down all the time to get food might seem like a good thing — for me, overall food quality suffers a little.
One of my little tricks to make buffet food better — is to wait for the fresh, hot, new buffet dishes to come out of the kitchen. This happens regularly at Disney buffets so chances are if you see something like BBQ Chicken, and there's only two left — wait five minutes — and a whole new tray will show up. Hot fresh buffet food at Disney is on-par with the very best table service restaurants. You can't do that here at Whispering Canyon Cafe though — the "buffet" is in the kitchen and someone else slaps together a "skillet" for you and you get small helpings of everything that's supposed to be in the skillet — not everything in the skillet will be the best, hot, fresh version of each food item.
For this review, we ordered two different skillets — The Traditional Skillet and The Land and Sea Skillet. At the time of the review all the skillets are $40.00 each and drinks, are available as a separate purchase. Both skillets include Fresh Baked Cornbread and Honey-butter.
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.
A couple of items were brought out soon after we placed our order. The cornbread was delivered in a wire basket with a small dollop of butter in the basket. This is kind of like having bread service before the meal (which only happens at a couple of locations anymore). This was a very "middle of the road" cornbread. It had a medium crumb texture that was a cross somewhere between a cake and a true pioneer-style cornbread. It wasn't super hot or super flavorful, but it probably was "fresh baked" — it probably didn't contain much (if any) butter-milk though. The "honey butter" was a lightly sweet, very aerated oil-based product that didn't melt.
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.
Delivered at the same time as the cornbread, we were given a very small, metal cup of sliced cabbage with mayonnaise and a couple of julienned carrots tossed in the mix. It was about four tablespoons worth (a quarter cup) and it was chilled.
Coleslaw is also listed as one of the "starter" items that's served with all of the Signature Skillets at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.
I believe this was the Coleslaw... and it's apparently intended to be shared between two people. Not to put too fine a point on it — but the small quantity, was just about right, based on the quality of the dish — which I have renamed the "Mayo Cabbage Cool Pot".
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.
The sum of the Coleslaw was never better than it's parts… the cabbage was crunchy and bitter, the carrots added a little color, and the mayo was unseasoned, standard issue… oil, egg yolk, vinegar.
Our server also dropped off three sauce pots containing Mustard BBQ Sauce, Theme Park Red BBQ Sauce, and a second Theme Park Red BBQ Sauce — the total volume of all three sauces was greater than the tiny pot of Coleslaw.
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).
Most soda, tea, and I think even the milkshakes at the Whispering Canyon Cafe are served up in mason jars (with paper straws). There's also some very large mason jars (that used to be part of the shenanigans), but it's my belief, that as the larger jars get broken (as all food service dishes and glasses do eventually), they're not replacing them. This smaller size is more durable.
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.
Let's take a look at The Traditional Skillet first. It's definitely pretty and has some nice colorful elements.
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.
The red pepper in the corn pot is a really nice visual touch. It wasn't a "hot" pepper but something more like a red banana pepper that had been grilled. Naturally, a whole pepper placed on top of corn doesn't really do anything to flavor the corn, so this was purely for show.
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.
That buttered corn was okay… maybe a little overcooked and warm in temperature. In fact, "warm" could be used to describe the whole skillet. I don't think they want to send out anything "hot" for legal reasons… it is a metal skillet after all. Now the food temperature wasn't low enough to be dangerous, it was, good and warm — but it's worth saying that I've had hotter food served on ceramic plates from table service a la carte restaurants in the Disney system.
The smashed potatoes were a nice lumpy / rustic texture with the occasional potato skin piece in the mix. They were a little buttery and a little seasoned… probably with garlic. The "might have almost been fresh" green beans were also very good and not overcooked at all.
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.
Moving on to the meats — the Traditional Skillet features some oak-smoked mustard beef brisket, maple-chipotle pork ribs, slow-smoked pulled pork, a citrus-herb chicken breast with leg, and a western-style sausage. Just looking at the next photo, all the meats are around back. The sausage, rib (singular) and chicken are visible.
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 pulled pork and beef brisket are very small portions located at the very top of the skillet and slightly under the corn pot.
In the past, I would always hope to find at least one of the meats (or other main protein) to be really good — and the others would play a supporting role. This time — there wasn't really one protein that popped out as being "exceptional". That being said — the chicken and rib (singular) were both good enough to warrant a second helping.
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.
The chicken was good, mostly because it was semi-moist and not totally dried out. Without looking at the menu, it would be hard to identify the flavor as being citrus-herbed chicken — as opposed to just "bbq chicken". The same goes for the rib. It had a nice pork rib meat flavor, but not really "maple-chipotle".
The western-style sausage is basically a typical breakfast sausage link — it was good, but certainly not unique in any way. The beef brisket and pulled pork portion sizes were quite small — and both were plated very close together. It was difficult to tell where the pulled pork ended and the beef brisket began. It seems as though the bbq-standard pulled pork might have been a little dried out, while the beef brisket had both hard meat pieces (sort of like burt ends, but more dried out) and also contained soft pillow fat — all at the same time. Kind of like the whole brisket was broken down on a single cutting board and instead of putting a choice cut in the skillet, everything from the over burnt exterior and the fat were all just scrapped off and put in a little pile — hidden by placing a corn pot over the top of it.
All of the meats did have a nice oak-smoked barbecue flavor and didn't "need" any of the bbq sauces to be considered "bbq" flavored (which is the way it should be). I did try the sauces on different meats, and the flavors all paired very well. The red sauce is a "theme park basic" bbq sauce (high with vinegar acidly but not seasoned in any particular way) and also had a nice smokey flavor. The Mustard BBQ Sauce was also very good and a nice change of pace, but was also the most basic version of what Mustard BBQ Sauce should be. Most of the meats were on the "slightly dried out" side of things and couldn't be considered tender or juciy in any way — so the sauces could come in handy for that reason, but they weren't necessary from a flavor perspective.
The other skillet we tried was the Land and Sea Skillet — they both included the citrus-herb chicken and sautéed green beans — but all of the other elements were different.
Here's a photo of "The Land and Sea" All You Care to Enjoy Signature Skillet at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.
The full list of items includes house-smoked salmon, citrus-herb chicken, spicy vegan sausage, charred portobella mushrooms, barbecued cauliflower, roasted potatoes, sautéed green beans, and oven-roasted carrots. So — nothing technically from the "Sea" but I guess "The Land and Sustainably Farmed Salmon Skillet" was too long to print on the menu.
There's no need to talk about the green beans or the citrus-herb chicken again — they were the same as on the Traditional Skillet. The House-Smoked Salmon should be the big draw on this one, but it fell a little short.
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!
The menu did say House-Smoked Salmon, but there was zero essence of it having been smoked in any way. I was hoping, that since this was (more or less) thought of as a bbq place, the salmon would have some of that same oak-smoked goodness that the various meats have — but no luck. It was just a plain, medium grade, slightly over cooked salmon.
The carrots tasted like carrots. That's perhaps the shortest sentence I've written all year.
The Spicy Vegan Sausage — was a lot like eating an ArtGum Pencil Eraser. If there were any actual vegetarians near the table, I would have to empathize with them — an all too common practice in the Disney bubble.
The charred portobella mushrooms were hidden out of sight, under the chicken along with the barbecued cauliflower. If we've learned anything from digging into the "Traditional Skillet" and the hidden brisket — it's where they put things they hope you don't find.
The charred portobella mushrooms were not big, sliced up, proper smoked and bbq grilled portobellas — but more like simple pan seared baby bellas or even creminis. As near as I could tell, no seasoning was added whatsoever. A missed opportunity to be sure. A very small amount of balsamic, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic goes a long way with making a really good charred portobella. You're literally adding $0.07 of ingredients per serving based on the portion size that was in the skillet — that instantly would have made the whole skillet a crave-worthy item.
Another missed opportunity was the barbecued cauliflower. This can and should be one of those few vegetarian "pub grub" items that actually tastes amazing — when done right. The barbecued cauliflower in the Land and Sea Skillet was just simply sautéed, slightly yellow, and a little soggy (no doubt because it was sitting under the chicken).
The best item in the skillet — was the roasted potatoes. These were pan roasted, single-bite sized, with a decent salt scrub surrounding them. Is a simple pan roasted, salt encased baby roasted potato a "must come back and get this again" item? No — but I'm really glad they were in the skillet.
Time Has Little To Do With Infinity and Roasted Potatoes
I liked the roasted potatoes so much, I asked for a second helping of those, another piece of chicken, along with a "real" sausage to make up for the vegan sausage that was practically inedible. A few minutes later… a server brought me a skillet — with 10 roasted potatoes.
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.
Okay I thought — the plating is a little sparse but this is at least 1/3 of what I asked for. I let five minutes pass — but seeing as how my potatoes were cooling off rapidly — I simply started eating them. After an additional five minutes had passed (and my meager plate of cooling potatoes had been reduced to just five) — the server came over and asked if I wanted anything else. "Why yes — how about the chicken and sausage I asked for 10 minutes ago?" Oh yeah!" — he replied.
Shortly thereafter, another server brought out a very small skillet containing a rib and a sausage.
Here's a second helping of a maple-chipotle pork rib (singular), and a western-style breakfast sausage.
Never mind the fact that my "Land and Sea" skillet did not originally include a rib — or my steadfast belief that chickens don't have edible ribs — my remaining potatoes and I were just glad to have some meat again. And you know what? The rib wasn't half-bad.
A few minutes after I finished my second helping of ten potatoes, rib (singular) and sausage — two more actual sausages were brought to the table in their own little serving dish. Sigh.
My Land and Sea skillet included a "Spicy Vegan Sausage". 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... eventually. Two tasty, all meat sausages.
In The Past, Value and Closing Thoughts
I would never really expect all the elements in an all-you-care-to-enjoy skillet to be high-end, super great, craveable items. In the not-so-distant past though… there had been one or two items in the skillet that would stand out from all the rest. You used to be able to say "well, that was a little expensive but you know, the chicken and green beans were exceptional — I'd go back just to get some more of those". Sadly, that didn't happen this time.There was nothing bad about the food — it was all perfectly edible and it all had a good, wholesome, not-processed character. It was all just the very most basic version of what it could have been. The smoked salmon should have (at the very least) tasted smokey. The citrus-herb chicken should have been more moist and had either a nice marinade or outer coating with notes of lemon or orange and herbs like black basil, thyme, chopped parsley, oregano, black pepper — anything really. Chicken in general is a great opportunity to build something super craveable. Even if the slow-smoked pulled pork had been the sauced-up variety that you find in most sandwiches — it would have been better than the simply roasted using wood and very little seasoning version that was in the skillet.
All of this might sound a little critical, but the skillets we purchased were $40 per-person (at the time of writing this review). Yes, it is all you care to eat, so you can get multiple helpings of whatever you want — but there's very few people that are going to be able to eat such a large quantity of food — to make up for the fact that all of the items are the most basic versions of what each item could have been.
Actually adding honey to butter and making a compound "honey butter" to put on the cornbread costs pennies per serving to do. Sautéing the green beans with a single lobe of garlic. teaspoon of lemon and tossing in a handful of diced tomatoes right before you take them off the heat — takes simple sautéed green beans to the next level — and again, in a food service setting, you're talking about adding just a few cents to the cost of preparing those items.
At $40 per-person — I would expect at least a couple of items in each skillet to have been one level more complex than what they were. One step more craveable… and for at least one or two items to bring the "wow" factor… but that just wasn't here this time.
This further gives credence to my decision to put the "All You Care to Enjoy" dining format down in the 12th spot out of 14 identified formats in our "Where to Find The Best Place To Eat at Disney World" article.
Again, it's not "bad" food — it's just seeming more and more likey that you'll find greater culinary effort and excellence with just about every other menu style and dining format — than you will with "Family Style or All You Care to Enjoy Skillet" locations. Only "Counter Service Level Two" (a quick dine location that only offers standard burger and pizza type options) and "Grab-and-Go" locations placing lower on the list.
I think the reason Whispering Canyon Cafe is one of our "most visited places" isn't the food per-say — but a combination of the fact that when reading the menu, the food seems accessible to a broad number of people in a dining group — along with the opportunity to see all the great design elements of the Wilderness Lodge.
From the second you drive into the resort, seeing the bison hoof prints that have been placed in the sidewalks and those big wood columns as you walk under the portico out front… the wood carvings at the top of the interior columns and the giant stone fireplace in the lobby, complete with rocking chairs. The small trickle of water inside that passes under a low wooden walkway before it turns into a babble and then somehow exits the building under the chilling to floor window and turns into a full-on waterfall outside.
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.
If you don't have an annual pass and you're not staying at the Wilderness Lodge — the only way you're really supposed to be able to get into the resort to see all of these cool design elements is by making a reservation at a table service restaurant. The only two options you have at Wilderness Lodge are Storybook Dining at Artist Point and Whispering Canyon Cafe.
Given those two choices — I'd still pick Whispering Canyon Cafe all day long. Storybook Dining at Artist Point is kind of a "one and done" experience, that's not really worth repeating (at least not solely from a culinary standpoint).
If you're okay with really basic, wholesome not over-processed, slightly smoked (and even possibly wood grilled) food — that you can get second or third helpings of — and keep your expectations in-check… I'd still recommend Whispering Canyon Cafe. It does have a long-standing historical significance in the Disney dining system, and many guests have fond memories of the rollicking whimsical shenanigans that took place in this very detailed, beautiful resort setting.
