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Let’s face it, the food at the Walt Disney World Resort is not exactly the resort’s strong point. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t great dining options. There are plenty of great dining options around the resort. Some of them are at the hotels at the Walt Disney World Resort.
And that is the case for Captain Cook’s. Capt. Cook’s is a restaurant at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. It is a quick-service dining option. This means you can order your food ahead of time and then pick up your food and eat it there. So it is not a sit-down table restaurant where your server brings you out food. So it is a bit more affordable than a sit-down restaurant.
Capt. Cook’s serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is a great option if you are staying at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. By the way, if you are staying at Polynesian or are planning a trip to Polynesian, check out our tips for staying at the Polynesian Resort. And here is a virtual tour of the Polynesian Resort:
Getting to Captain Cook
But I think Captain Cook can be a great dining choice even if you are not staying at the Polynesian Resort. And that is because of its location on the monorail line.
Because let’s face it. Dining at Magic Kingdom isn’t as good as the dining at, say, the World Showcase at Epcot. There are very few sit-down restaurants at Magic Kingdom. And with the few there are, it can often be hard to get a dining reservation. A lot of the quick service restaurants at Magic Kingdom often have few seats available, too. And there’s not a huge variety of food at the restaurants at Magic Kingdom. Also, not all restaurants at Magic Kingdom offer alcoholic beverages.
But Captain Cook’s gives you another dining option – and one with alcoholic beverage options. All you have to do is get on the resort monorail line after a morning or evening at the Magic Kingdom.
Then, you get off at the Polynesian Resort. You can even do a mobile order on your phone while you are on the monorail.
You can enjoy your meal at Captain Cook’s. And then when you are done with your meal, you can get back on the monorail line. This is perfect if you are staying offsite and you need to get back to the Ticket & Transportation Center (or TTC). Because the resort monorail line has a stop at the TTC.
It’s also convenient if you are staying at Grand Floridian Resort & Spa or the Contemporary Resort, because they are also on the monorail line.
Otherwise, you can go back to Magic Kingdom and take a bus or boat to your hotel.
Additionally, if you have lunch here and you want to park hop after lunch, you can take a bus from the Polynesian to the next theme park. My family did this once after we had breakfast at Ohana (see our review of that experience here), which is also at the Polynesian Resort. After our meal, we took the bus to Animal Kingdom.
So you can easily get to Captain Cook from anywhere at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Captain Cook Decor & Atmosphere
So part of the reason I love going to Captain Cook’s is the great decor and atmosphere. There are posters up of the different Polynesian Islands represented at Disney’s Polynesian Resort.
In addition to views of the posters, you also have great views of the pool at Polynesian. You can also get great views of the entire Polynesian Resort, which I think is one of the prettiest hotels at Disney World. And you can get great views of the Polynesian Resort by sitting at one of the tables outside!
Also if you are eating here at night and you sit outside, you could even enjoy the fireworks at Magic Kingdom while you eat!
Captain Cook Breakfast
But enough about the decor, atmosphere, and how to get to Capt. Cook’s. Ultimately, why bother going if the food isn’t good, right?
But that is not the case with Captain Cook’s. It is great no matter what meal you have here.
But let’s start with breakfast. I love the breakfast options at Captain Cook’s. It’s a really great way to start your morning at Disney World.
You can go with classic Disney breakfast options, like the Mickey waffles. Because what is a more iconic Disney World breakfast than Mickey Waffles?
You can also get a great Bounty Breakfast Platter.
This is a great option for anyone (like myself) who loves breakfast foods. You can get a bit of everything with this option, like Scrambled Eggs, French Toast, Bacon, Breakfast Potatoes, Sausage, and a Biscuit.
But there are other great options on the menu at Captain Cook’s. They have some really great side orders. Side orders are great because you can save money by ordering a side item rather than an entree. Our favorite is the breakfast potatoes.
Right now, it is only $4.49, which is cheaper than most breakfast items you can order at Disney World (or other restaurants, honestly). And they don’t scrimp on the portion size, as you can see in the picture.
And the breakfast potatoes are delicious, too! Other sides you can get if you want more meat in your breakfast are sausage and bacon. You can even order multiple sides and share them with your family. And since you can do a mobile order, you don’t have to worry about a judgmental glance from your server for only ordering sides, either!
Lunch & Dinner
So the menu has an interesting history for me. Prior to 2020, I used to go to have their Hawaiian pizzas. But then they took it off the menu.
Which wasn’t all bad for me. I really liked the Parmesan Black Pepper Chicken Wings.
But now they have gotten rid of that menu. But I am hardly complaining. Because they have brought back the Hawaiian pizzas!
This is actually one of my favorite menu items at all over Disney World. I am so excited they are back. And they are just as good as they were before. The Hawaiian Flatbread is a great blend of Marinara Sauce, Mozzarella & Parmesan Cheese, Ham, Pineapple, and Red Onion. Though, by the way, you can hold the onions which I did (though everyone else in my family who order the flatbreads had the onions and loved them). It is such a delicious blend of tastes.
And despite the fact it is my favorite menu item and what I always want to order here, it is not the only good thing on the menu. In fact, the whole menu is a really great mix of food that you won’t normally find at the quick service restaurants at other Disney World hotels (or at Magic Kingdom). They have a great blend of both Asian entrees and American entrees. Some of the menu items include the Spicy Korean Chicken Bowl, Thai Coconut Meatballs, and Asian-style Noodle Salad.
But if you have someone in your party who is hesitant to try one of these items, don’t worry. Once again, it is a great mix of menu items with other food you are more likely to see at theme parks. But they are really good (think higher quality than theme park food). Their Bacon Cheeseburger, for example, is very good.
That makes this restaurant a really good choice for a family that has different tastes and different wants for their dining experience. Like if part of your family wants to vary up your dining experience during your trip and the other half doesn’t want to, this is a great place to go.
Oh, and they also have a great kid’s menu. The chicken nuggets here, for example, are really good.
And as I mentioned before, you can get alcohol here. Enough said.
Refillable Mug System
Speaking of drinks, Captain Cook participates in the refillable mug system at the Walt Disney World Resort. This is where you can buy a mug and then during your vacation, you can refill it for free at any of the Disney hotels. So if you are staying at another Disney hotel and you buy this mug, you can bring it along with you and use it here.
We did this during our last stay. You can see it for yourself in the previous picture.
We bought our refillable mug during our stay at Disney’s Riviera Resort. I then rinsed them out and put them in a Ziploc bag and put it in my backpack. And then we were able to use our mugs when we ate here.
Dessert
My grandfather thought no meal was complete without dessert. So of course I had to mention the desserts!
There are a lot of great desserts available here. One of my favorites is the cupcakes. They always have great cupcakes available that are wonderfully Disney-themed. Once when I was there, I got one Moana-themed cupcake, which makes sense since it is the Polynesian Resort, after all.
I have had another themed to the Walt Disney World Resort 50th Anniversary.
You can order these ahead of time with mobile ordering or just pick one out of the refrigerator and buy it there.
I can’t guarantee you will get these cupcakes as the dessert options often change. But these are the type of creative cupcakes you can get here, and I think it adds to your overall meal.
Conclusion
Capt. Cook’s is a great restaurant at the Walt Disney World Resort for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is more affordable than other dining options, especially by using our tips like ordering side items and using a refillable mug. You can easily get to Captain Cook’s from Magic Kingdom via the monorail. And unlike with most dining options at Magic Kingdom, you can order alcohol with your meal.
So if you take a vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort, we highly recommend visiting Captain Cook’s!
