Dopey Challenge Dining Options at Disney World

The Dopey Challenge is no joke. Not only does it take long hours of training to prepare for on top of super-early mornings to complete the races, but it also presents the unique challenge of trying to stay fueled and ready for four straight days of races. Most marathon or half-marathon races include a lead-up of increased carb intake followed by the celebratory meal afterwards. But part of the Dopey Challenge is trying to keep taking in calories and electrolytes throughout the keep to replenish and refuel for the next race. Add to that the walking around the parks each day and you’re essentially playing catch-up to stay on top of nutrition leading up to the marathon.

Thankfully, you’re in Walt Disney World where there is no shortage of cuisine and food options on hand. While it could be easy to load up on churros and Dole whip, they are probably not the best options while gearing up for several races. With well over 100 restaurants and food stands between the parks, resorts, and Disney Springs, you can be sure to find foods that are both familiar and fun (you are at Disney, after all). Here are some of my favorite dining picks throughout Walt Disney World resort during the Dopey Challenge.

General

Resort pizza

Okay, weird start but hear me out: I’m a pizza-before-long-run guy. My family usually does a pizza and movie night on Friday right before my long run on Saturday. Available at most value and moderate resorts, the pizza is admittedly not the best (more on that in a bit), but it’s better than most on-property pizza at $21 it’s solid value to feed the whole family. It definitely does the job as a good refueling option.

You can find plenty of other good options at your resort quick service spot, but 1) there’s too many resorts to go through each one, and 2) I really haven’t tried enough of the resorts to mention them. But trust me on the pizza.

Character Breakfast

If you’re at Walt Disney World with your family, it’s a near-must that you do character dining at some point. For my family of multiple picky eaters, breakfast is the only meal where I know my kids will actually eat enough food to justify the cost (well, not totally… but at least they won’t say they’re hungry 30 minutes after leaving the restaurant). Most of the character breakfasts are “all-you-care-to-enjoy”, meaning you can keep a steady train of Mickey waffles, potatoes, and eggs to your table. And unlike most restaurant trips with young kids where it’s a race to eat your food and get out unscathed, children want to hang around to see the roving characters long enough for you to keep eating. Ideally, a big breakfast after the half marathon is a great way to reload on carbs for the next day.

Our favorite in-park character breakfasts are Tusker House in Animal Kingdom and Garden Grill in Epcot. Tusker House has a really interesting array of African-inspired foods along with the usual breakfast fare. Garden Grill has the added benefits of being family style (no trips to the buffet line) as well as being a rotating restaurant around fan-favorite Living with the Land. Outside the parks there’s the kid-favorite Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary and Cape May Café in the Beach Club.

Mickey Pretzels

A constant you can find throughout the parks are the Mickey pretzels. While certainly not a meal, the Mickey pretzel is the perfect snack option to keep you rolling through the parks and the races. Take the easy carbs as you get them!

Epcot

Via Napoli

Resort pizza might not be the best on-property pizza, but Via Napoli likely takes that title by a mile. Regardless of your taste in pizza (there are “crust” people, “sauce” people, and “toppings” people), Via Napoli will likely check all the boxes. Even if you’re on the fence on pizza before a big race, they also have pasta dishes as well. But pizza is the star of the show here.

Sunshine Seasons

Inside the Land Pavilion you’ll find this quick service spot on the bottom floor that serves a wide variety of fresh options. Among the better run-centric options are the chicken stir fry or a chicken and rice bowl.

Katsura Grill

The Japan Pavilion has a couple of the more expensive table service meals on property. But tucked away is this quick service location that serves some simple sushi rolls (if that’s your thing) as well as some teriyaki and rice dishes.

La Cantina de San Angel

The Mexico Pavilion is home to many favorites, including the marathon-finish margarita – at least until the course changed in 2025. But you can get some tacos or a burrito bowl in a pinch. And be sure to swing by after the marathon for a celebratory margarita.

Bonus Post-Marathon Meal: Biergarten

Biergarten in the Germany Pavilion is easily among the best meals in a park teeming with great options. An all you can eat German smorgasbord of schnitzels, sausages, spaetzles, and strudels, not to mention the steins of beer. Plus there’s live music! I’d save this one as a perfect meal after completing your Dopey Challenge.

Magic Kingdom

Tony’s Town Square

Not Via Napoli, but Tony’s a solid-if-not-spectacular Italian restaurant in front of the park. If you’re looking for a big bowl of pasta before your races this would be your best bet in Magic Kingdom. Don’t miss on the garlic bread!

Sleepy Hollow

I recommend this with some sadness, as the chicken and waffle sandwich used to be better. In 2024 Sleepy Hollow in the Liberty Square area changed their waffles from a perfect foldable style to large Mickey waffles. Don’t get me wrong – I love a good Mickey waffle. But the change turned the dish from a portable sandwich (yes!) to a knife-and-fork plate (fine?). But the sweet and spicy chicken on top of a fluffy waffle will always be a winner.

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café

They refreshed their menu in late 2024 with some bolder Tex-Mex dishes, but you can still get a good bowl of rice, chicken, and all sorts of veggies. Now they just need to bring back the self-serve topping bar.

Bonus Snacks – Cheshire Café and Gaston’s Tavern

Alright, I can’t include only healthy options. You need to keep those calories up if you’re doing your Ultra Dopey with races and full park days. My family always grabs a couple Cheshire Cat Tails (basically a long chocolate croissant with pink and purple icing) for breakfast after we rope drop in Fantasyland, and you also can’t pass up the giant cinnamon roll (with extra frosting) at Gaston’s.

Hollywood Studio’s

Woody’s Lunch Box

While the brisket melt, turkey sandwich, and homemade “lunch box tart” are all great, the Totchos are the must-have here. A bowl of tots, chili, cheese, and sour cream is a small meal on its own. It’ll have you forgetting that the restaurant should be called Andy’s Lunch Box since you’re technically toys belonging to Andy, right?

Ronto Roasters / Docking Bay 7

These two quick service options are right next to each other, and they both serve one of the best food items in the park: the Ronto Wrap, a seasoned sausage wrapped in a pita with slaw and a peppercorn sauce. Although the Breakfast Ronto Wrap is probably better as it adds egg and cheese. Docking Bay 7 also has some really unique-looking options that combine simple staples in interesting packages.

ABC Commissary

This is an easy quick service location to walk past without even noticing, but they have some really great, fresh options ideal for race refueling. The fan favorite here is the Buffalo Grilled Cheese, which really needs no explanation. Almost anything starting with “Buffalo” is a winner, except the Bills (it’s okay, my wife is a Bills fan so I can make that joke – I’m sure they’ll get their Super Bowl sometime).

Fairfax Faire

Down by Tower of Terror you’ll find one of the more bizarre-sounding food items at Walt Disney World: the mashed potato waffle bowl. Rumor has it Beaches and Cream ordered way too many waffle bowls and someone decided to fill those bowls with mashed potatoes (???) and a variety of protein options. I don’t know if that’s true, but it helps explain how insane the concept sounds. This certainly wouldn’t be my favorite option on a warm day, but if you’re looking for a carb-rich waffle bowl then you’ve found your ideal pick.

Animal Kingdom

Satu’li Canteen

Animal Kingdom rivals Epcot for some of the best food at Disney World. Few options are better than Satu’li Canteen, the quick service location tucked in the back of Pandora. This is another “bowl” restaurant (like any Millennial, I love a good bowl full of food), where you pick a base of rice, noodles, or greens, a protein, and an assortment of toppings. The ingredients are all fresh and the presentation is always fun. This is a great spot for a pre-race dinner followed by a night-time stroll through Pandora.

Yak & Yeti

The Yak & Yeti is a table service restaurant with a quick service option in the back. You can get a lot of the same dishes at either spot, including the Honey Sesame Chicken of the famous Chicken Fried Rice. Both are good choices for eating on the move.

Eight Spoon Café

Various mac and cheese dishes highlight this stand on Discovery Island. Mac and cheese might not be your ideal version of “running fuel”, but they are filling and really good.

Trilo-Bites

This stand is not long for this world as it stands in Dinoland USA, but hopefully the Buffalo Chicken Chips can make it elsewhere in Animal Kingdom. Again, thick-cut kettle chips don’t scream “healthy runner”, but they are worth it while you can still get them.

Disney Springs

There are really too many good Disney Springs restaurants to name here. While some of the restaurants are good options to gear up for the races (Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill and Maria & Enzo’s are two great options for balanced meals), I definitely enjoy Disney Springs for a post-Dopey celebration meal. I followed up my 2025 Dopey Challenge with a perfect tray of Polite Pig barbecue, and before that I capped off the 2022 WDW Marathon with a burger and giant plate of fries from The Edison. There are so many good restaurants, and I can’t go to Disney Springs without a trip to Gideon’s for their massive cookies and peanut butter cold brew.