Disney’s Hollywood Studios has an underrated restaurant roster, and is an underappreciated food park among Walt Disney World fans. I’ve been saying this for years, and have backed this up by ranking DHS options highly on our various lists of the best places to eat at WDW.
It seems like most of you disagree. Disney’s Hollywood Studios often gets less love from fans than Magic Kingdom, which is arguably both the worst food park at Walt Disney World and the worst castle park from a culinary perspective (although Disneyland Paris says “hold my boulevardier” to that). For whatever reason, DHS has fewer fan-favorite restaurants than any other park at Walt Disney World.
Part of this could be because Disney’s Hollywood Studios excels at themed dining, with two of the Best Themed Restaurants at Walt Disney World in 50’s Prime Time Cafe or Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, that type of restaurant is polarizing among fans. Understandably, many guests visit restaurants for the food, as opposed to the atmosphere.
Other top picks include Minnie’s Seasonal Dine (one of our favorite character meals), Toy Story Roundup Rodeo BBQ, Oga’s Cantina, Brown Derby, and BaseLine Tap House. I’d hazard a guess that only one of those is viewed as underrated by a majority of fans, and that would be BaseLine Tap House. But by my count, there are a half-dozen different sit-down restaurants that are potentially worthwhile at Disney’s Hollywood Studios–and there’s something for everyone on that list above.
Then there’s the counter service restaurant roster, which includes the second-best in-park option on our list of the Top 20 Counter Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World. Now in fairness, we recently revisited Docking Bay 7, and found two of its most expensive entrees left a lot to be desired. Even so, there’s still Ronto Roasters in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Woody’s Lunch Box in Toy Story Land–two fan-favorites, albeit smaller scale options.
With all of that said, there’s one simple and straightforward counter service restaurant where I dine more than all of the other restaurants at Disney’s Hollywood Studios combined: ABC Commissary. Yes, really. My personal favorite at DHS is the ‘boring’ crowd-pleasing counter service spot at the front of the park.
I’ve mentioned ABC Commissary repeatedly in the last few years as my go-to restaurant while doing Lightning Lane and itinerary testing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As someone who doesn’t necessarily “need” to constantly revisit the stage shows at DHS, I often use ABC Commissary as my reprieve from the crowds–a nice place to decompress.
Far and away my favorite menu item at ABC Commissary is the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Sourdough Bread toasted with Buffalo Chicken, Monterey, Provolone, Cheddar, and Cream Cheese served with a side of Buffalo Sauce and choice of side.
Traditionally, those sides have either been steak fries, arugula-farro salad, or apple slices. When I’m dining with Sarah, I order the salad as a “compromise” to offset the highly indulgent sandwich. But, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play” (I think that’s a Walt Disney quote), which is to say that I order the steak fries when dining solo.
Recently, I noticed that ABC Commissary had added Buffalo Fries as an upgrade (+$2.00) to the entree, so I decided to do some good ole fashioned investigative reporting. What you’re about to read is journalism at its finest, folks.
The Buffalo Fries feature ranch-seasoned french fries drizzled with buffalo-ranch sauce and blue cheese dressing.
This $2 upcharge is definitely not worth it.
It’s a pretty open and shut case–that’s enough journalism for today, everyone. We can pack it up and go home.
Don’t get me wrong, the fries are good. It’s not that I don’t recommend them from a taste perspective. It’s all about the value proposition. This is basically just a light layer of sauces applied very sparingly, as if they’re precious commodities and Disney has to carefully dole them out in thimble-sized portions. I’m not sure who could possibly think this is worth an extra $2.
For that amount, I expect fries that are downright slathered in sauce and, frankly, there should be cheese(s) in the conversation. Maybe even meat, or at least bacon bits (not sure that qualifies as meat in the technical sense). I believe we once fought a war about ‘loaded’ fries and settled this once and for all. Sauces alone are not a topping, they’re a complimentary condiment. The Florida legislature really needs to take up the issue–this is much more pressing than the whole RCID thing.
But if you’re sporting a “Most Expensive Day Ever” shirt and are looking to make it rain wherever you go at Walt Disney World, by all means, splurge on the Buffalo Fries. Sure, they’re not worth it–but clearly you don’t have the best financial literacy if you’re spending money to complain about not having money. At least these fries taste better than the shirt.
Since this blog is all about hard-hitting news, I tested an alternative hypothesis: that the steak fries would taste just as delicious when dipped in free sauces available at ABC Commissary.
My working theory was that the plain steak fries would taste equally delicious when dipped in Ken’s Steakhouse Buttermilk Ranch. After all, combining steak fries and steak house sauce (both of which are inexplicably meat-free) just made sense.
The results were conclusive: this double-steak duo tastes delicious, and costs $0 extra. Huge win for the frugal Walt Disney World guest! Recent research also suggests that a high percentage of Americans find ketchup to be a complementary condiment to french fries. Good news: ABC Commissary is also giving that sauce away.
As for the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich, what else can be said that hasn’t already been said?
My thorough research once again conclusively proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is one of the most delicious counter service entrees at Walt Disney World. This is one of my favorite guilty pleasures in all of Walt Disney World, as it is addictively delicious. It’s also a fantastic value for money at under $13 (with regular steak fries as opposed to the buffalo variety).
It’s a gloriously gooey creation, with the four flavors of cheese balancing nicely with and taming the buffalo chicken. The toasted bread provides nice texture, and the dipping sauce can add a bit of kick–but it’s still pretty mild overall and isn’t spicy in any way whatsoever. This is one of my favorite counter service comfort foods in all of Walt Disney World. An easy 10/10 entree.
I don’t know what they’re putting into this bad boy, beyond the medley of meat and cheese. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s like the “Non-Fat Yogurt” episode of Seinfeld, and this puppy is being laced with some delicious additives or chemicals or something. (No complaints here–I eat enough “organic” food at home, my body can withstand a bit of additives for preservation.)
Then again, four varieties of cheese is probably explanation-enough, and it’s not as if anyone is pretending the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich is actually a health food. (Well, I have told Sarah that, but she didn’t buy it.)
The bottom line is that the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich has become my go-to lunch at Disney’s Hollywood Studios while testing out Lightning Lane strategy or doing field testing. It’s easily one of my top 5 favorite meals in all of Walt Disney World. I’ve eaten it a lot since it was added to the menu ~5 years ago, and it still holds up. The portion hasn’t gotten materially smaller, corners haven’t been cut, and the price is still reasonable. Huge wins all around, and a sharp contrast to what’s happened with other entrees at Walt Disney World.
This Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich is one of the few things I crave when I’m not at the parks, and something I’ll be ranting about decades about once it’s gone from the menu and long-forgotten by most fans. My explanation will never do it full justice–you’ve just gotta try it for yourself.
The Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich is reasonably priced, delicious and just incredibly satisfying to eat during a mid-afternoon break after running around the park all morning. I like to order it and grab a seat in the corner to cool down in the air-conditioning for a bit.
I’m also a big fan of ABC Commissary because it’s one of the few in-park restaurants at Walt Disney World with a self-service beverage station. Since I’m crashing here mid-afternoon after a long day (especially if arriving at the crack of dawn for Early Entry), I like to caffeinate up–and it can take several Cokes to put some pep back in my step, especially after that indulgent sandwich.
As for the restaurant itself, it’s absolutely nothing special, which is somewhat ironic–I’ve spilled a lot of digital ink praising the best-themed and fun restaurants at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but when it comes to my own culinary enjoyment, I eat at the most boring one in all of the park far more than anywhere else.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you eaten the glorious Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich? Ordered anything else at ABC Commissary lately? What was your experience like? Do you think that ABC Commissary is underrated, or think it’s justifiably ignored due to its boring theme and/or menu? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!