Hollywood Studios Woody’s Lunch Box Review

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Very quickly after Toy Story Land opened in Hollywood Studios, Woody’s Lunch Box became a huge hit. Woody’s Lunch has a unique menu that you can’t find anywhere else (updated May 8, 2021).

This review takes a look at all the basic information you need to know about Woody’s Lunch Box, from hours to menus and beyond. As with all of my reviews, I take a look at both regular menu items and gluten free menu items.

So the question is: Should you add a meal at Woody’s Lunch Box to your Hollywood Studios itinerary?

Woody’s Lunch Box Information

As I already mentioned, Woody’s Lunch Box is a Quick Service restaurant located in the Toy Story area of Hollywood Studios. In Disney lingo, this refers to the fact it is more like “fast food” and doesn’t require a reservation. 

The restaurant is pretty easy to find considering Toy Story Land is not exactly a huge area. Woody’s Lunch Box is eligible for mobile ordering, and as always, I highly recommend you use it if you can. Quite simply, Disney mobile ordering is a gigantic time saver.

Previously, the mobile ordering system did not include allergy friendly menu items, but now it does!

Woody’s Lunch Box Theme and Atmosphere

From the time this restaurant was announced, people were confused about the name. Most people assumed it would be called Andy’s Lunch Box, because after all, all of the toys (and presumably lunch boxes) are Andy’s. If Woody had a lunch box, it would be quite small. But I digress.

The overall idea of the restaurant expands on the Toy Story Land theme. All of the Disney park guests are honorary toys playing in Andy’s backyard. As a result, we are all miniature and everything around us is oversized.

Woody’s Lunch Box continues with this theme as a place that Woody has set up in the back yard to provide all of those honorary toys with a place to grab something to eat and drink.

Overall, this is very well done. The entire land is just bursting with color and details that enhance this impression. Woody’s Lunch Box is created from giant tinker toys and objects. Everything about it fits with the theme of the land and feels cohesive.

Woody’s Lunch Box Hours

Woody’s Lunch Box is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In general, they begin serving food when the park opens and stop serving food when the park closes.

• Woody’s Lunch Box Breakfast Hours: 9:00a to 10:30a
• Woody’s Lunch Box Lunch and Dinner Hours: 10:45a to closing

Seating at Woody’s Lunch Box

And here we come to one of my major issues with Woody’s Lunch Box. While I absolutely adore how they have designed this whole area, the seating area for Woody’s Lunch Box is tiny. Depending on when you go, finding a place to sit and eat is like the Hunger Games.

People stalking the tables in a very small area, just waiting for a group to start clearing their stuff. Then everyone pounces on that table trying to be the first one there. This might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but is actually quite close to one of our experiences.

Another important thing to note is that the entire restaurant is outside, and shade is at a premium. Sure, most of the tables have a little umbrella, but this is scant protection on a hot summer day in Florida.

Because of both these factors, I highly recommend you time your visit to Woody’s Lunch Box during “off peak” hours of the day. This allows you to have more choice of seats and try to get some shade.

Woody’s Lunch Box Disney Dining Plan Information

Woody’s Lunch Box is eligible for the Disney Dining Plan. The entrees use one Quick Service credit on the plan. In terms of value for your dining credit it’s not a very good one. The overall prices on the menu are pretty low, making your credit not worth very much.

There are items on the Woody’s Lunch Box menu which are eligible for snack credits as well.

Note: As of updating this, the Disney Dining Plan is on pause with the reopening. It will hopefully be restored eventually, so double check if it’s available for your trip.

Woody’s Lunch Box Menu

While there is not a lot of variety available on the menu, what is there is pretty darn unique. You can’t get food like this anywhere else at Disney World.

As with anywhere in Disney World, menus are subject to change. Always take a look at the Disney website to confirm the current menu before you go.

I’m not listing them all here, but there is also a fairly extensive beverage menu, including specialty beverages and alcoholic beverages.

Woody’s Lunch Box Breakfast Menu

• Breakfast Bowl: Potato barrels smothered in smoked brisket country gravy, scrambled eggs, and a smattering of green onions
• Kids’ Breakfast Bowl: Potato Barrels smothered in Smoked Brisket Country Gravy, Scrambled Eggs and a sprinkling of Green Onions served with a Cuties® Mandarin and Potato Barrels with your choice of Beverage

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the S’more French Toast Sandwich is no longer on the Woody’s Lunch Box breakfast menu. Hopefully, as Disney reopens more and more, it will return.

Currently, the breakfast menu is basically the normal menu, just with some breakfast bowls added to it.

Woody’s Lunch Box Lunch and Dinner Menu

Entrees

• BBQ Brisket Melt: Sliced Smoked Brisket, Pickles, and Tangy Barbecue Sauce between Melted Cheddar and Monterey Jack on Grilled Sourdough Bread
• Grilled Three Cheese Sandwich: Melted Provolone, Cheddar, and American on Grilled Sourdough Bread
• Smoked Turkey Sandwich: Thick-sliced Smoked Turkey Breast, Lettuce and Tomato with Dijonnaise spread served chilled on Sunflower Multigrain
• “Totchos”: Potato Barrels coated with Beef and Bean Chili, Shredded Cheese and signature Queso with Tomatoes and Corn Chips finished with Sour Cream and a sprinkle of Green Onions

Sides

• Tomato Basil Soup
• Potato Barrels
• Mini Babybel Snack Cheese
• A Cuties Mandarin Orange
• Cheese Sauce

Dessert

• Chocolate Hazelnut Lunch Box Tart: Chocolate-Hazelnut stuffed Pastry coated in Maple Fondant and Candied Bacon
• Lemon-Blueberry Lunch Box Tart: Lunch Box Tart with Blueberry Filling, Frosting, and a taste of Lemon
• Raspberry Lunch Box Tart: Raspberry Marmalade stuffed Pastry coated in a Strawberry Fondant and Crispy Pearls

Woody’s Lunch Box Kids’ Lunch and Dinner Menu

• Turkey Sandwich: Sandwich Half with Thick-sliced Smoked Turkey Breast, Lettuce and Tomato with Dijonnaise spread delivered chilled on Sunflower Multigrain served with a Cuties® Mandarin, Potato Barrels and your choice of Beverage
• Grilled Cheese: Half-Sandwich with Melted Provolone, Cheddar, and American on Grilled Sourdough Bread served with a Cuties® Mandarin, Potato Barrels, and your choice of Beverage

Woody’s Lunch Box Gluten Free Menu

One of the best things to come out of the reopening is the expansion of the mobile ordering system. And with this, came the expansion of easier access to allergy menus.

Woody’s Lunch Box was one of the restaurants that had no posted allergy menus, but all that has changed. You can now see all the gluten friendly options offered by Woody’s Lunch Box on Disney’s website and in the mobile ordering app.

Woody’s Lunch Box has Udi’s gluten free bread which it substitutes for all of the sandwiches. The rest of the ingredients in the sandwich are already gluten free so it’s an easy swap.

However, you won’t find the Totchos listed as gluten friendly menu. It is possible to have it made gluten free, you simply need to speak with a Cast Member directly. When in doubt, ask a Cast Member.

The potato barrels themselves are not covered with breading or anything like that, and they do have a dedicated fryer. Supposedly they swap the chili out for vegetarian chili. Frankly, I never noticed the swaps, so what does that say about me?

Woody’s Lunch Box Review

Overall, I’m a fan of Woody’s Lunch Box. I love that it is such a different type of offering from anything else you can find on property. I also love the general theming of it and how they executed the design concept.

But I also just love Toy Story Land in general so some of it stems from that. Woody’s Lunch Box blends seamlessly into the overall feel of Toy Story Land.

That being said, the seating area is just flat out ridiculous. It should not be that hard to find a seat anywhere at Disney World. Why on earth did they think a scattering of tables would suffice?

I don’t know about you, but during a long day of walking I want to sit to eat my food, not stand. Considering the limited space available in the general area of the restaurant, don’t expect this to improve.

Because of the overall low prices of the entrees at Woody’s Lunchbox, this is a great option for anyone who is trying to eat at Disney World on a budget.

But enough of that, let’s get to the good stuff! Unfortunately, we haven’t had breakfast there since I prefer to save money and eat breakfast in my resort room. But here are our thoughts on the lunch and dinner menu.

BBQ Brisket Melt

First, let me say that we had high hopes for this sandwich. Online reviews from other bloggers raved about the BBQ Brisket Melt. And the pictures showed thinly sliced, juicy meat. It looked delicious.

Doug and I had this sandwich on two separate occasions months apart from one another. That is important to note since we both had the same exact experience, which suggests it wasn’t just a one off.

Of course, when I got mine it was on gluten free bread to make it safe. Doug had his on the standard bread.

Both of us agreed that the meat was extra fatty, thick, and hard to eat. I had a hard time even cutting my sandwich in half.

I will admit, thick sliced beef is a bit of a dislike of mine in the first place, so right off the bat that’s a bad start for me. But the fact that it was so hard to eat was a real bummer.

I eventually gave up and didn’t even finish the sandwich. Trust me, that doesn’t happen often.

All of this is really disappointing because the overall flavor of the meat and sauce was very good. It’s a sandwich with a ton of potential, and clearly lots of other people have gotten great versions of it. Unfortunately, we did not.

Grilled Three-Cheese Sandwich

Here we have a fairly basic grilled cheese sandwich. But hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. My sister got this on our last trip together and I fairly drooled over it while I attempted to eat my BBQ Brisket Sandwich.

Tracey reports that her sandwich was actually kind of lukewarm. Because of this the cheese wasn’t very melty anymore and the bread was starting to harden. She did say that if it was fresh it would be delicious.

I honestly can’t remember if we had to wait a while for the food or not. We might have since it takes so much longer for them to prepare allergy safe foods.

I have a feeling she did the polite thing and waited for me before she ate. So, word to the wise, eat this sandwich right away while it’s still hot.

I would definitely try the gluten free version of this. The bonus to ordering the gluten free food is you know that it’s prepared fresh for you.

Totchos

Now we find ourselves at the main event. This is the most truly unique item on the entire menu. And based on the reviews on those other sandwiches, clearly the winner for best menu item in my family.

Full disclosure, the first time I ordered it I did so straight from mobile ordering. I didn’t realize they needed to make changes to make it gluten free. Everything I had seen online simply said the Totchos are gluten free.

I didn’t know it wasn’t until after I got home. I never reacted in any way to the regular Totchos. However, I am NOT sensitive to possible cross contamination so I would not recommend doing this.

All of that aside, I loved the Totchos. First off, the portion size is absolutely huge. It is so big and filling that I couldn’t finish it either time I had it. 

It’s just such a mix of elements that I love. The corn chips added an absolutely necessary crunch amidst a bunch of “mushy” foods. The sour cream acted as a great counterpoint to the other flavors. 

Overall, I found the Totchos to be very good. I anticipate I will have them many more times in the future.

Lunch Box Tart

Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture of the Lunch Box Tart Doug got on our trip. I’m really upset about this because it’s so pretty.

Regardless of that, he really enjoyed the tart. They are similar in idea to a pop tart, only so much better. He said it was delicious and much more filling than a standard pop tart.

Keep an eye on exactly which flavors are offered, as this could change. Once upon a time, there was only one flavor offered and it was seasonal. Now, there are 3 flavors offered which may or may not change.

The Lunch Box Tart is eligible as a snack credit for those on the dining plan. It is also relatively inexpensive by Disney standards, making this a great little snack. Honestly, for those who don’t need much for breakfast, this is a great option for a cheap breakfast.

Potato Barrels

Since this side is part of most of the entrees, I figured I’d say a few words about them.

I mean, they’re tater tots. Fairly standard, nothing special about them. But at the same time, they’re tater tots!

This is the essence of the idea of pretending to be a kid again. Potato barrels are something we often enjoy as kids but don’t eat as adults. It’s nice to relive childhood, sometimes.

Final Thoughts on Woody’s Lunch Box

Honestly, until I sat down to write this review, I didn’t realize what a lackluster experience we had there. And this is a real shame.

Overall, I think Woody’s Lunch Box is a restaurant with a lot of potential. And clearly other people have had great experiences. I’m not sure if we just had bad luck on two separate trips or if it’s really the norm.

All of that aside, it’s still a restaurant I think of fondly as one I would go back to again. Maybe that’s because I’ve had the Totchos multiple times and love them.

I guess when in doubt, order the Totchos!

Lackluster review aside, Woody’s Lunch Box is a solid choice. Just be prepared that it might not be the best meal of your life.

Your Thoughts

Can someone please tell me about a more positive experience they had with the food at Woody’s Lunch Box? I desperately want it to be better than what we’ve experienced. Let me know in the comments below.

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