Pinocchio Village Haus Restaurant is a large eatery inside the New Fantasyland area of the Magic Kingdom Park. This large restaurant is one of the many Quick Service options at MK. I think that Pinocchio Village Haus is a decent restaurant theme park restaurant. When we visited in June 2017, one of the items was good and the other was mediocre at best. When we visited in September 2017, both of the items we ordered were much better.
Sarah and I ate here during our June 2017 trip mostly because of the view. We also wanted to try something different while we were on the Quick Service Dining Plan. We returned in July 2017 because Sarah wanted to try a different item. What we discovered the first time was above-average theme park Italian food. When we returned, we were reminded that food selections matter.
ATMOSPHERE
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. There are multiple seating areas. There is a large dining hall-style area inside and a smaller, shaded dining area outside. The name of this restaurant is a giveaway for the theming. It is designed to feel like a scene from Pinocchio. The inside seating area is fun, especially because there is a window that looks into It’s a Small World.
Both times we have eaten at Pinocchio’s Village Haus, we have eaten in the outside area. The view from the outside is not half bad either. There is a great spot to look out over New Fantasyland. This area gives you a perspective that includes Prince Charming Regal Carousel, Mickey’s PhilHarmagic, and Cinderella’s Castle.
FOOD
The Walt Disney World website classifies this restaurant as “American Cuisine”. I am struggling a bit to understand how that can be justified. The selections are mostly Italian in nature, at least for adults. Sure, you will not be likely to get a chicken parmesan sandwich at a restaurant in Italy, but that is closer to the style.
There are very few options, but they are what you would expect from theme park Italian food. The options range from flatbread (read: pizza) to pasta. They also throw a sandwich or two in there to mix it up. The first time we went, I ordered the flatbread and Sarah ordered the pasta. The second time I ordered the pasta (it was better the first time) and Sarah ordered a sandwich.
I think the Chicken Parmesan Pasta is the best option. The pasta was not anything to drool over, but it was good quality for theme park food. The flatbread was not very good. The sausage was spicy and good, but the rest of it was horribly bland.
Ironically, Sarah liked the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich more the second time and I agreed. The problem was that the fries were incredibly cold. The thing that I appreciated about the sandwich was that they did not skimp on the marinara sauce. That would have made the sandwich less appetizing, but they did a good job. Both times I ordered the Blue Raspberry Slushie and it just about melted my mouth with how sweet it was, which can be great if you love sweets. I guess I should have seen it coming both times.
What was awesome was our experience with a Cast Member during our July 2017 trip. Sarah and I were wearing matching shirts, as usual. The CM liked them so much she gave us a free dessert! I love that extra customer service!
COST
According to the Disney World website, Pinocchio’s Village Haus is classified with “$” which means adults should expect to pay roughly $14.99 and under, per person. For the Disney Dining Plan users, this restaurant requires one Quick Service credit per person. This is not a great use of the Disney Dining Plan credit. The amount of food is decent, but there are better value-for-money options at Magic Kingdom. Hot tip: If you are looking for a better value (and didn’t get a reservation at Be Our Guest) try Pecos Bill’s. For the Tables in Wonderland users, Pinocchio Village Haus is not applicable.
WHO SHOULD EAT HERE?
The main group of people who will want to eat here are people who want Quick Service Italian food. I think the value is not a draw enough for families to want to eat here and it is not one of the top options in MK.
Another group who may want to eat at Pinocchio Village Haus are people who are already in New Fantasyland and do not want to look elsewhere. I am going to be honest, Sarah and I first ate here mostly out of convenience. We were hungry and were walking through. We looked at the menu and it was just enough to draw us in. I don’t think this is a spot that most parties will go out of their way to find.
