We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. Please click my disclosure policy to learn more.
Epcot’s Rose and Crown Pub is a table service restaurant located in the United Kingdom pavilion at Epcot. The restaurant itself is pretty popular and always seems to have a good number of people there enjoying the food and setting (updated January 19, 2022).
We wanted to try out the restaurant’s food, but we also tried out a strategy for Rose and Crown with fireworks viewing.
Great News: Harmonious, the brand new Epcot fireworks show opened on October 1, 2021!
All of this means that Rose and Crown Pub is once again an option for fireworks viewing! But is the fireworks viewing as good with Harmonious as it was with Illuminations?
This post covers the strategy I’ve used in order to take advantage of Rose and Crown’s fireworks viewing location. This is separate from the Rose and Crown Fireworks Dining Package that Disney offers.
However, I do include information for that package in this post too so you can determine which Rose and Crown fireworks viewing strategy you want to go with.
Epcot Rose and Crown Pub Information
As I mentioned already, Rose and Crown Pub is located in the United Kingdom pavilion of Epcot. It is a popular table service restaurant (meaning it’s a sit down meal, not fast food).
Due to it’s popularity, making Disney dining reservations ahead of time is highly recommended. Lunch reservations are much easier to get than dinner reservations.
If you want to take advantage of the fireworks viewing at Rose and Crown and need a specific dining time, you’ll face the most competition for reservations.
When the Disney Dining Plan is available, a meal at Rose and Crown uses 1 Table Service credit per diner.
Rose and Crown Pub at Epcot has seating for both lunch and dinner. The lunch seating runs from 11:30a to 3:30p, while dinner goes from 3:45p until an hour before closing.
Setting and Atmosphere
Rose and Crown offers seating outside on their porch or inside the restaurant itself. The lake views and nice atmosphere make the porch seating much sought after. Of course, if you are trying to view the fireworks, having a table out on the porch can be clutch.
There is a bar located inside, which is necessary in anything trying to be an English pub. There’s also a small to-go bar set up outside the restaurant for people who don’t have reservations.
Inside, you’ll find polished wood everywhere along with leaded glass touches. All in all, it evokes that English Pub feel. All it needs is a little stonework to complete the job.
Rose and Crown Pub Fireworks Reservation Strategy
When trying to turn your Rose and Crown dining experience into a perfect fireworks viewing strategy, it’s all about the details. The first step is to secure an Advance Dining Reservation for a time that allows you to still be at Rose and Crown when the fireworks begin.
For a larger party, or one that generally takes their time, a reservation start time between an hour and a half to two hours prior would probably work. However, the closer you can get to an hour ahead of time, the better off you are.
When Doug and I used this strategy, we had a 7:45p reservation (for a 9:00p fireworks show) and it worked perfectly. If the fireworks show starts at a different time during your trip, adjust accordingly.
Because you are looking for such a specific time, you might want to bump Rose and Crown up on your priority dining reservation list.
Rose and Crown Fireworks Dining Package
This is a whole separate Rose and Crown Pub offering from simply making a well timed reservation. Prior to lockdown Disney started this new offering, and now it’s finally making a return.
The Rose and Crown Fireworks Dining Package returned on October 1, 2021.
Guests who purchase the Rose and Crown Fireworks Dining Package receive the following:
- One appetizer
- One entree
- Dessert platter
- Unlimited beverages
- A table on the patio for easy Harmonious viewing
How much will this set you back? Rose and Crown Fireworks Dining Package costs:
- Adult: $89 per person, including tax and gratuity
- Child: $39 per person, including tax and gratuity
Remember, Disney considers anyone aged 10 and above an adult.
In order to book this package, all guests on the reservation must have a valid theme park ticket as well as a valid theme park reservation. I’m not sure how they’re handling this if you plan to park hop from a different park earlier in the day.
Miscellaneous Details about Rose and Crown Fireworks Dining Package
Here are a few other important details to note. Advance dining reservations are necessary for this package.
You can check in 45 minutes prior to the start of Harmonious. In all, your dining experience is expected to last 90 minutes, ending when the show itself ends.
The seating area for this event is outdoors and uncovered. If it rains or the weather interferes in some other way, guests with the Rose and Crown Fireworks dining package will be seated in a covered outdoor area (likely the wrap around porch).
Comparing the Dining Package to My Rose and Crown Fireworks Strategy
The thing is, I don’t think there’s necessarily a right or wrong choice here. Either way, if you play your cards right, you’ll have an easy view of some amazing fireworks.
Personally, I wouldn’t book the dining package. This is mainly because I have two children who could never in a million years eat $89 worth of food to make the Rose and Crown Fireworks Dining Package worth it.
Do the math for your family to figure out whether you could have a cheaper meal by simply making a standard reservation during Harmonious.
If you aren’t able to get the time that you want, at least you know there’s a back up plan in place and you can try to book the dining package.
Rose and Crown Menu
As with all Disney restaurants, make sure you check out the most up to date menu on Disney’s official website, as the menu can always change.
On the website, the menu is broken up into a lunch menu and a dinner menu, but at this point they are exactly the same.
Rose and Crown Appetizers
- United Kingdom Cheese Platter: A selection of Traditional British Cheeses with Accompaniments
- Scotch Egg: Golden-fried Hard-boiled Cage-free Egg wrapped in Sausage with Mustard Sauce
- Coronation Salad: Crisp Salad with Madras Dressing on top of a Crunchy Grain Cracker
- Soup of the Day
Rose and Crown Entrees
- Fish and Chips: “Rose & Crown’s Signature Dish” Beer-battered and served with Tartar Sauce
- Shepherd’s Pie: Ground Beef, Seasonal Vegetables, English Peas, and Mashed Potatoes with McCall’s Irish Cheddar
- Chicken Masala Curry: with Seasoned Vegetables, Basmati Rice, and Raita
- Welsh Pub Burger: Angus Beef Patty with Beer Cheese Sauce, Bacon and Beer-battered Leeks served with a side of Branston Mayonnaise
- Bangers and Mash: Traditional English Sausage with Colcannon Potatoes, Mushroom, Onion, and Red Wine Demi
- Savory Impossible Hot Pot: Seasonal Vegetables in a Plant-based Meat Casserole baked with a mashed potato topping (Plant-based)
- Catch of the Day
Rose and Crown Desserts
- Sticky Toffee Pudding: Steamed Pudding “Cake” served with Warm Vanilla Custard and Hot Butter-Rum Sauce
- English Trifle: Layers of Strawberries, Vanilla Custard, Graham Crackers, and Whipped Cream
Kids’ Menu
Kids’ Appetizers
- Soup of the Day
- House Salad
Kids’ Create Your Own Entrees (Choose One)
All Kids’ create your own meals come with one entree and a choice of two sides. All meals also come with a beverage.
- Butter Chicken
- Fish and Chips
- Cheesy Pasta
- Turkey Meatball
- Bangers
Kids’ Choose Your Own Selections (Choose Two)
- Roasted Carrots
- Brown Rice
- Fruit Salad
- Peas
- Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
- English Trifle
Rose and Crown Pub Gluten Free Menu
As with most Disney restaurants, there is an allergy menu at Rose and Crown listing foods which are safe for the 8 common allergens. This used to only be found at the restaurant, but now you can find it posted on Disney’s website.
The following items are listed as gluten friendly on the Rose and Crown Pub menu:
- Baked Fish and Chips: Baked Seasonal Fish with Lemon (For Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, Shellfish, and Soy Allergies)
- Shepard’s Pie: Ground Beef, Seasonal Vegetables, English Peas, and Mashed Potatoes with McCall’s Irish Cheddar (For Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies)
- Chicken Masala Curry: with Seasonal Vegetables and Brown Rice (For Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies)
- Savory Impossible Hot Pie: Seasonal Vegetables in a Plant-based Meat Casserole baked with a sliced Potato Topping (For Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, and Peanut/Tree Nut Allergies)
Unfortunately or us, Rose and Crown Pub does not make a gluten free Fish and Chips. If you do want the rare treat of having Fish and Chips, head over to Cookes of Dublin or Raglan Road in Disney Springs.
Keep in mind that these are made to encompass ALL of the top 8 food allergies. If you only have a need for gluten free food, there is more leeway for you.
Speak with a chef and they can custom make a meal for you.
Rose and Crown Pub Blends
Rose and Crown has all of the drinks you would expect from an English Pub. This includes ales, stouts, and lagers, wines, mixed drinks, and scotch flights. But the pub blends are where it’s at.
- Golden Imperial Pint: Half Harp and Half Bass Ale
- Golden Fox Imperial Pint: Half Boddingtons and Half Bass Ale
- Half & Half Imperial Pint: Half Harp and Half Guinness
- Bass & Guinness Imperial Pint: Half Bass Ale and Half Guinness
- Cider & Blackcurrant Imperial Pint (gluten friendly): Cider with a shot of Blackcurrant Juice
- Bumblebee Imperial Pint: Half Boddingtons and Half Guinness
- Shandy Imperial Pint: Half Sprite® and Half Harp Lager
- Snake Bite Imperial Pint: Half Cider and Half Harp
- Blacksmith Imperial Pint: Half Smithwick’s and Half Guinness
- Black Velvet Imperial Pint: Half Cider and Half Guinness
Aside from these drinks listed, the drink menu is absolutely huge. I won’t include them all here or you’ll be scrolling for the next few minutes just to get to the review!
Epcot’s Rose and Crown Review
So, what are our official thoughts on the experience we had dining at Epcot’s Rose and Crown Pub? Here’s a deeper dive…
FYI, you’ll see me refer to Illuminations a lot, the old fireworks show. That was the show running during this particular trip. We were supposed to do this again during a trip in May 2020 to review it for the Epcot Forever show, but I think we all know what happened…
Seating Location and Atmosphere
Since we planned to request a table outside, we made sure to arrive early to our reservation. I let the hostess know that we didn’t mind waiting a little longer for a table on the porch.
We ended up with a table outside, but not one that would give us a good view of the fireworks. We were just fine with that as we discovered that Rose & Crown has a private viewing deck that ALL diners at the restaurant could use during the fireworks.
This means that you don’t actually have to sweat getting a table outside, unless you simply want to enjoy some outdoor dining.
Even with a less than ideal view at our table, sitting out on the porch is nice.
Unlike our experience with enjoying the porch seating at Nomad Lounge, this porch was not a quiet atmosphere. This is not to say it was obnoxiously loud or unpleasant, because it wasn’t.
The Rose and Crown has
Our table was located very close to the entrance, as well as the street kiosk that is associated with the Rose & Crown. Because of this, combined with the general time of night, there were the sounds of people grabbing a pint and some of the outdoor tables by the kiosk enjoying the revelry.
Really, it all just lent itself to the atmosphere.
There are plastic panels that can be lowered in the event that it’s cold outside. The night we were there a cold front came through with a decent breeze off of the lake that made it pretty chilly.
A Cast Member lowered our panel as soon as we made the request. It definitely helped to cut down on the wind and made us a little warmer. The clear plastic took away from the view, but it was worth it at that point.
Food
Doug and I prepared to enjoy our meal as we tend to like British cuisine. I informed the Cast Member of my gluten sensitivity and they brought me the allergy menu right away. Once again I had a great experience with dining at Disney with a gluten-free diet.
There were enough options that it took us a decent chunk of time to figure out what we each wanted to eat. Additionally, we deliberately wanted a slower pace to this meal so that we would still be there when Illuminations started.
I ordered straight off of the allergy menu so had no need to speak with a chef about modifying some other options. I chose the crock of potato leek soup as an appetizer and vegetable cottage pie.
Both choices were delicious (and unfortunately, neither are still on the menu).
Creamy soups are often out of the question for me due to flour in them for thickening, so it was a nice treat. Plus, as mentioned above, it got super chilly during that meal and the nice warm soup hit the spot.
I also found the vegetable cottage pie to be a delight. Very different from what I would have imaged a vegetable cottage pie would be, but I really enjoyed it.
I enjoy goat cheese, but it can be very overpowering if not used well, and I found this to be
That being said, between the soup and the cottage pie I was completely stuffed.
Doug is a huge fan of meat and potatoes, so after much deliberation, he ended up going with the Bangers and Mash. He said the meal was very enjoyable, and again, quite filling.
The meals were so filling in fact that we both declined dessert, which is saying a lot as I love a good dessert.
I also got a Cider and Blackberry to go with my meal, which was huge. Really just a pint glass I’m sure, but with all the food I ate, finishing the drink off was slow going.
It was delicious though and I enjoyed all of it. Overall, both of us really enjoyed our meal here.
That’s really good news, as even with subpar food, the fireworks viewing would make it work it to eat at Rose and Crown Pub. But when you add delicious food on top of the fireworks, you hit the jackpot.
Fireworks Viewing
Throughout the meal, we could hear Epcot’s periodic announcements over the PA system announcing how many minutes until Illuminations started. We could see other Rose and Crown patrons being escorted to the viewing area as time got closer.
The people seated outside in good viewing spots requested to have their plastic side panels raised for the show so they could see better. Those seats definitely looked like they were utterly perfect for watching fireworks.
Our waiter was nowhere to be found with only 5 minutes left before the show. I eventually flagged him down and he took us down to the private viewing.
A Rose and Crown cast member must lead you to the deck or you are not permitted entrance. There is another Cast Member there manning the gate and will only open it when you are accompanied by staff.
The viewing platform itself is a deck that sits below the seating deck of the restaurant. The deck gives you a clear shot to the center of the lake for the fireworks show. We found our spot right at the rail with only a minute or two to spare.
The view of Illuminations was awesome from here. I was concerned about the wind as I had read that if the wind is blowing towards Rose and Crown you can get bogged down in the smoke, but this was not the case that day.
I think the wind was strong enough and slightly off to the side of us so it went on past us and gave us a superb view.
My pictures of the fireworks aren’t exactly the best, but what you can see is the fact that I had a completely unobstructed view of the show.
But What About Harmonious Viewing?
Ok, full disclosure, I wasn’t able to get a reservation for Rose & Crown at all, or for the fireworks dining package, when I went to Disney last time.
This was a major bummer as I wanted to try it out with Harmonious. However, I did watch Harmonious and stopped by Rose & Crown to get an idea of how the viewing would be.
One thing you’ll notice about Harmonious is that it involves enormous barges out in the middle of the lake. The angle which you view these barges is very important.
Let’s take a look at what I mean:
See those big things front and center which spout water and create images to go along with the fireworks? Those are the main portion of Harmonious.
This picture was taken from a prime viewing location to allow maximum experience.
Now, let’s take a look at a picture I took of those barges during the day, from Rose and Crown:
You can see you have a decent view of the screens on the side barges. However, your view of the central ring is at an angle. This will make it more difficult to see whatever happens in that ring, and trust me, a lot happens.
Depending on where you’re sitting within the restaurant, or whether you are on the viewing dock, you’re view will be at an even harsher angle.
However, if you want to see the fireworks front and center, you need to be prepared to wait, and deal with crowds.
On the flip side, doing a Rose and Crown fireworks strategy, or the fireworks dining package, gives you a decent view with no crowds and good food to go along with it.
I still think this is a great strategy with a decent viewing spot for an easy fireworks viewing experience. Just be prepared that the view isn’t as good as it once was.
Final Thoughts on Rose and Crown with Fireworks Viewing
The Rose & Crown Pub is an excellent dining choice in and of itself. The food was very good and we really enjoyed the whole experience of eating on the porch overlooking the water.
We were happy with the service, though might have considered it a little slow if we weren’t trying to wait until the fireworks anyway.
But the CM might have simply been helping us along with that goal as I’m sure that’s what most people with 7:45p reservations are doing.
The combination of a meal that we really enjoyed with such easy access for fireworks viewing was priceless. We didn’t have to deal with the crowds at all.
At the most, there were 20 other people on that private deck with us. We just had to roll up on the private deck a couple of minutes before the show, instead of staking out a good spot well ahead of time.
I would highly recommend this strategy for anyone who wants a good fireworks experience. The 7:45p reservation time worked perfectly for a 9:00p fireworks time.
It would probably work just fine for a 9:30p start time as well, you would just need to slow down your eating to a more leisurely pace.
Your Thoughts
Have you ever watched Illuminations from the Rose & Crown porch? What other awesome spots have you discovered to watch the show? Let us know in the comments below.
Don’t forget to follow The Disney Journey on Pinterest and Facebook to stay up to date with all the latest news and updates.