Skippers Canteen....atmosphere/experience?

[firstwdw]

Is this a fun place? Do the "Skippers" tell jokes like on the ride? Or mostly just decorated to the theme with interesting menu names? trying to get an idea of the theming and current experience.

Does the restaurant have an open feeling? or packed all in close to one another?

 

[Wayland10]

The Skippers tell jokes, although I’ve heard it depends on who you get and how busy they are. We’ve always had good luck. The main room can be crowded, but it’s also more airy feeling, while the theming in the two back rooms is awesome. I love the SEA room and reading the book titles on the “secret door”. We’ve always really enjoyed our food, too, and don’t think it’s too exotic, just good and not standard theme park food.

 

[firstwdw]

The Skippers tell jokes, although I’ve heard it depends on who you get and how busy they are. We’ve always had good luck. The main room can be crowded, but it’s also more airy feeling, while the theming in the two back rooms is awesome. I love the SEA room and reading the book titles on the “secret door”. We’ve always really enjoyed our food, too, and don’t think it’s too exotic, just good and not standard theme park food.

awesome! Thank you!

 

[JZCubed]

Is this a fun place? Do the "Skippers" tell jokes like on the ride? Or mostly just decorated to the theme with interesting menu names? trying to get an idea of the theming and current experience.

Does the restaurant have an open feeling? or packed all in close to one another?

There are 2-rooms (?) for dining.

When you enter, there is a 'large' open room that seats a majority of the patrons.

There is also a more 'intimate' room, I refer to it as the Butterfly Room. Some people may not enjoy this space because you are closer to the restroom.....but we request the space every meal.

We enjoy Skipper Canteen, but we also enjoy 'exotic' foods in general. In other words, the mostly well-seasoned food may not be for everyones tastes, so really review the menu before committing your family members to a reservation.

Since we are also a family that enjoys jokes & joking around, we have found that the more we engaged the staff, the more jokes we received in reply.

As always, some Cast Members are more (or less) enthusiastic than others.

And fwiw, we find the 'antics' at Skipper to be more frequent than at 50's Prime Time (but that could just be our experience).

I reiterate, it is not a menu for everyone; know your group.

 

[DsneyDude1]

It is a lunch destination on every trip for us.

 

[KCNat]

The food was awesome. Love the theming...

 

[HopperFan]

I was excited when they were building it but disappointed after eating there several times.

- We have NEVER had a server who was anything more than very friendly, maybe a pun or two. No different than any other restaurant.

- The majority of the tables are in the Mess Hall which is large, high ceilings, very loud and feels like eating in a quick serve/food court location. If I could only get this room I'd pass.

- The other rooms are to the "side" .... the S.E.A. Room, Jungle Room (Family Parlor Room) and lots of unique seating options. These rooms are so full of things to see and look at - you could spend hours. A much different experience than the Mess Hall.

- Also fun to save time for exploring the "passageway" and all the books & collectibles.

- Food has always been good, nothing more nothing less. They have the opportunity to plate something special but when rice and broccoli are the standard (cheap) sides nothing really stands out for me. It is harder for me because I do not like curry or tofu at all and don't risk it when it says spicy because you can add but you can't take away. That eliminates half the menu for me.

They have always had trouble filling the restaurant since it opened, usually taking walk ups, though not sure about now that dining options are a bit more limited.

 

[sheilafri]

I recently ate there as a single, seated in the main room. The theming of the room was good. The food was good, too, more so than anything else I’ve had at MK, but moderate portion size. My server was nice, but no jokes. I don’t know if that’s because I was a single.

 

[gharter]

I was excited when they were building it but disappointed after eating there several times.

- We have NEVER had a server who was anything more than very friendly, maybe a pun or two. No different than any other restaurant.

- The majority of the tables are in the Mess Hall which is large, high ceilings, very loud and feels like eating in a quick serve/food court location. If I could only get this room I'd pass.

- The other rooms are to the "side" .... the S.E.A. Room, Jungle Room (Family Parlor Room) and lots of unique seating options. These rooms are so full of things to see and look at - you could spend hours. A much different experience than the Mess Hall.

- Also fun to save time for exploring the "passageway" and all the books & collectibles.

- Food has always been good, nothing more nothing less. They have the opportunity to plate something special but when rice and broccoli are the standard (cheap) sides nothing really stands out for me. It is harder for me because I do not like curry or tofu at all and don't risk it when it says spicy because you can add but you can't take away. That eliminates half the menu for me.

They have always had trouble filling the restaurant since it opened, usually taking walk ups, though not sure about now that dining options are a bit more limited.

Agree with the room descriptions. Love sitting the S.E.A room or the Library, much more so than the mess hall.
We have had average servers and some awesome ones.
The last time we ate there the person seating us rattled of one liners, one after another. It was great. The server did similar when she came to the table the first time, then more normal service after. that. This has been our more common experience.
Sadly, one trip, we were in the S.E.A. room, our favorite and the server added nothing except take the order and bring the food.

 

[Eastern]

The main room is loud and busy. Our servers have usually been efficient but not really jokey. We usually get the pork, chicken or curry and it's always good. I don't usually order tofu but it was good in the curry. I got it with chicken for an extra charge but she gave me the tofu on the side anyway.

 

[pezaddict231]

We went a few years ago. Our server was friendly but did not tell any jokes or anything like that.

We were in the main room which feels very wide open and airy. Tables weren’t close together. It doesn’t feel particularly special though. Could be any restaurant. The other rooms are more fun but smaller

Food was pretty good. We mostly liked it. I got the chicken and loved it. The Char Siu is nothing like real Char Siu. It’s not bad but if you’ve had the real thing it’s strange in comparison. Steak Salad was good. My daughter loved the Mac and cheese, it’s made from scratch. Desserts were mostly disappointing.

Overall it’s pretty good but kind of a missed opportunity IMO.

 

[Orion Nebula]

Several years ago it was one of my favorite places. The last visit (March) made me scratch it off my list. The food was way more lackluster and the waitress wasn't "fun". She pretty much stood there talking about covid. But MK isn't known for it's food like Epcot.

 

[peabody58]

It was a one and done bucket list item for us in Jan 2022. Atmosphere and service was ok, but food was lack luster and a bit too exotic for our tastes (we lean toward bland comfort foods).

Don't let our review or others deter you from trying it out at least once. Part of what we love about WDW is always trying new places to eat, as well as returning to our favorites. Your experience may be the polar opposite.

 

[k5xs]

We love the Skipper Canteen.

We always show up about 30 mins before so we can request the butterfly table. We have been accommodated every time.

Food has been consistently good. Nothing spectacular, but good.

Servers have always been attentive. We’ve always gotten at least a few one-liners from them, but as others have noted, it’s a mixed bag. Our favorite moment came when DW ordered a Coke Zero. Server brought an empty glass and as he placed it said officiously “And a Coke Zero for the lady.”

If you go, try to take a few minutes to read the titles on the books on the bookshelf that leads to the secret passage. Hilarious.

 

[TheHulamuffins]

This is one restaurant that has always been on our list since it opened. The story on the back of the menu is amusing. We also prefer the smaller rooms to the big one. We have been lucky in that regard on recent trips. The Tastes Like Chicken is quite good, in my opinion--it has a small amount of a nice sauce with just a little heat. If you like really spicy food, there are probably better choices. The dumpling-type appetizer is good, too. The Kungaloosh for dessert is great. It is always smaller than I expect--despite getting it multiple times to share--so sharing between 2 is a good idea, but sharing among 3 is not so workable.

When we were first there, our servers joked more, I thought. The first time, I ordered a bright green non-alcoholic drink and was warned that it was probably radioactive. It seemed to be off the menu when we were there in January 2022.

 

[AvidDisReader]

I agree with most. Really enjoy the Skipper Canteen. The food is good, not great. As for the servers, they all joked along and I of course egged them on, accept our last visit in Jan, The place was packed in Jan and they were really short handed in help so I gave them a pass.

 

[bluejasmine]

We love Skipper Canteen its a must do at least once for our family. We actually ate here twice in 2020 for our first and last day! The steak is good, the pork is good and the chicken is good and I love the Kungalush dessert!
My family arent real adventurous eaters, especially my DIL but even she loved her food..