News Space 220 Restaurant dining experience at Epcot's Future World

[Disone]

He couldn’t have been more right 5 years ago.

But I saw mentioned in the Guardians thread that Space 220 has walk up availability? I didn’t want to go further down the off-topic rabbit hole, so how does that work?

Well today they definitely did not have walk-up availability. I was given the option to wait anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes for a bar seat. It ended up being 45 minutes.

 

[tparris]

Is the reservation imminent or at any point in the day? And does the whole party need to go, or just one person?

Reservation is for lunch or dinner, I got 5:45pm for mine. Only one person needs to be there to make the reservation for their party.

 

[Bocabear]

We ate there first weekend in June and the food quality and service were terrible.
Aside from the windows intro space, the interior is an awful gray box... (Think old B-list airport) The bar area is miserable looking...just part of the room with a mirror so you can see you are in space...This all could have been done so much better. Such an enormous missed opportunity to create something really beautiful and special...Unless we were just there on an off day, we all decided that this would be our last trip to Space 220... A very expensive, "mediocre at best" meal... And honestly, the interior is not nearly worth it. HUGE Boo on this place.

 

[correcaminos]

We ate on Friday. As someone who has a mild allergy to allium (onions, leeks, scallions etc) this was a very hard place to eat. No accommodations offered just had to pick from the adult menu and they removed items I couldn't have. I had hoped for chicken and waffles but the waffles were out. Seriously onion in waffle batter that they couldn't prepare a batch for me without it. As a non red-meat eater it was hard. Since it was an allergy and we were in the lounge portion I was able to pick the one thing I could eat (chicken and cheesy polenta - lentils were even out). Food for me was excellent. My husband's food was bland and we had the same chicken.... he just got appetizer (calamari) and the full options for the chicken. So they took care to make sure my chicken was well seasoned. His was not (he had what I couldn't finish). Kid's food (smashburger) was okay.

We did have excellent service. It was cool. It was fun in a way but as the restaurant got more crowded it was super loud. The screens became highly repetitive and never saw the darn space puppy the hour+ we were there. Being one of the first seated gave us a better view of the area before all entered. We likely won't go back unless the menu changes. It was so complicated and the chef never came out to talk to me, just kept the poor server going back and forth. Fortunately I made good guesses on what I could eat in the end.

 

[UNCgolf]

We ate on Friday. As someone who has a mild allergy to allium (onions, leeks, scallions etc) this was a very hard place to eat. No accommodations offered just had to pick from the adult menu and they removed items I couldn't have. I had hoped for chicken and waffles but the waffles were out. Seriously onion in waffle batter that they couldn't prepare a batch for me without it. As a non red-meat eater it was hard. Since it was an allergy and we were in the lounge portion I was able to pick the one thing I could eat (chicken and cheesy polenta - lentils were even out). Food for me was excellent. My husband's food was bland and we had the same chicken.... he just got appetizer (calamari) and the full options for the chicken. So they took care to make sure my chicken was well seasoned. His was not (he had what I couldn't finish). Kid's food (smashburger) was okay.

We did have excellent service. It was cool. It was fun in a way but as the restaurant got more crowded it was super loud. The screens became highly repetitive and never saw the darn space puppy the hour+ we were there. Being one of the first seated gave us a better view of the area before all entered. We likely won't go back unless the menu changes. It was so complicated and the chef never came out to talk to me, just kept the poor server going back and forth. Fortunately I made good guesses on what I could eat in the end.

They have onions in the waffles??

 

[Disone]

They have onions in the waffles??

I think she said, that they said, that onions were an ingredient in the batter used to make the waffles. You know.... every chef has got to get fancy.

 

[monothingie]

We ate on Friday. As someone who has a mild allergy to allium (onions, leeks, scallions etc) this was a very hard place to eat. No accommodations offered just had to pick from the adult menu and they removed items I couldn't have. I had hoped for chicken and waffles but the waffles were out. Seriously onion in waffle batter that they couldn't prepare a batch for me without it. As a non red-meat eater it was hard. Since it was an allergy and we were in the lounge portion I was able to pick the one thing I could eat (chicken and cheesy polenta - lentils were even out). Food for me was excellent. My husband's food was bland and we had the same chicken.... he just got appetizer (calamari) and the full options for the chicken. So they took care to make sure my chicken was well seasoned. His was not (he had what I couldn't finish). Kid's food (smashburger) was okay.

We did have excellent service. It was cool. It was fun in a way but as the restaurant got more crowded it was super loud. The screens became highly repetitive and never saw the darn space puppy the hour+ we were there. Being one of the first seated gave us a better view of the area before all entered. We likely won't go back unless the menu changes. It was so complicated and the chef never came out to talk to me, just kept the poor server going back and forth. Fortunately I made good guesses on what I could eat in the end.

Given your specific and unique food restrictions, I really don't think it's fair to knock them on the fact that they can't construct a custom dish specifically for you. I'm pretty sure they were as accommodating as possible, all Disney food locations go above and beyond basically any place on the planet to accommodate special and specific guest needs, but there is ultimately a limit.

 

[bhg469]

I have yet to eat here but now with these reviews I am not really gonna go out of my way to try it now. I feel bad for people that are stuck on site and have only disney restaurants to choose from.

 

[monothingie]

I have yet to eat here but now with these reviews I am not really gonna go out of my way to try it now. I feel bad for people that are stuck on site and have only disney restaurants to choose from.

I was there last year and enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting a gourmet experience, but between the ambiance, drinks, and the and food it was nicely done. Yes it is expensive for what you get, but what Restaurant on Disney isn't? Give it a shot. At least you can say you tried it.

 

[bhg469]

I was there last year and enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting a gourmet experience, but between the ambiance, drinks, and the and food it was nicely done. Yes it is expensive for what you get, but what Restaurant on Disney isn't? Give it a shot. At least you can say you tried it.

I will eventually make it but as a local we are often going after work and rarely on the weekends. Our "trick" just about everywhere on site is to just drop into a majority of the restaurants and just sit at the bar. This place doesn't allow for that option apparently. It will happen, but I'm definitely not in a rush. We only live about 15 minutes from WDW property but have so many better options off site as well.

 

[monothingie]

I will eventually make it but as a local we are often going after work and rarely on the weekends. Our "trick" just about everywhere on site is to just drop into a majority of the restaurants and just sit at the bar. This place doesn't allow for that option apparently. It will happen, but I'm definitely not in a rush. We only live about 15 minutes from WDW property but have so many better options off site as well.

I'm not sure if it changed, but you had been able to do a walk up and sit either in the lounge or the bar. We ate at the bar once and in the lounge another time. Each time we didn't have ADRs and the wait time was minimal (20 minutes).

 

[Bocabear]

even using the word "Lounge" is deceiving... It is just a bar against the back wall of the room , part of the dining room...there were no "Lounge" tables, just the bar and people walking to the restrooms... The space is completely charmless... The "elevator "Lobby and entry hallway were nicer than the dining room itself. This in no way lived up to the hype...
At $80 prix-fixe I would not recommend anyone give it a shot...unless your favorite dish is on the menu and you have money to burn.

 

[solidyne]

So, are there three distinct areas? Restaurant, Lounge, and Bar, with the first two bookable on MDE, and the third walk-up-able?

Or is it that the bar is the lounge, as @Bocabear suggests? If that's the case, when you book "lounge," are you really booking a bar seat?

 

[monothingie]

So, are there three distinct areas? Restaurant, Lounge, and Bar, with the first two bookable on MDE, and the third walk-up-able?

Or is it that the bar is the lounge, as @Bocabear suggests? If that's the case, when you book "lounge," are you really booking a bar seat?

The lounge is a separate seating area in front of the bar. Last time I was there it was mostly indistinguishable from the rest of the seating. All seating is technically "Walk-up-able", but your mileage may vary with successful outcomes.

 

[UNCgolf]

I think she said, that they said, that onions were an ingredient in the batter used to make the waffles. You know.... every chef has got to get fancy.

Right, I know, but that seems like a bad idea. I have never heard of anyone using onions or onion powder in waffle batter.

 

[correcaminos]

even using the word "Lounge" is deceiving... It is just a bar against the back wall of the room , part of the dining room...there were no "Lounge" tables, just the bar and people walking to the restrooms... The space is completely charmless... The "elevator "Lobby and entry hallway were nicer than the dining room itself. This in no way lived up to the hype...
At $80 prix-fixe I would not recommend anyone give it a shot...unless your favorite dish is on the menu and you have money to burn.

That's not entirely correct. The lounge is the upper level next to the bar. We were seated at tables and had the lounge reservation. The dining area is down the stairs.

Part of why we opted for the lounge was to have options for the menu. Lunch for my spouse was $55 off the prix fixe but he found it underwhelming. IIRC the kid's prices were $29? Mine was $35 for the chicken and polenta. Most appetizers were $20 or less.

So my suggestion is to try for the bar or lounge at lunch if one wants to try. A bit disappointed they removed the deserts from the lounge/bar menu too.

They have onions in the waffles??

In the batter apparently. I had ordered it hoping it was safe as the server said she was sure the chicken was safe. It was. The waffles (corn based) were not... so crazy to me as that is totally a safe food along with pancakes normally. Threw me. Even corn bread is usually totally safe so I was shocked.

Right, I know, but that seems like a bad idea. I have never heard of anyone using onions or onion powder in waffle batter.

Let just say this was a first for me

 

[Disone]

So my suggestion is to try for the bar or lounge at lunch if one wants to try. A bit disappointed they removed the deserts from the lounge/bar menu too.

I don't recall if it was on the digital bar menu, but we sat at the bar and couple next to us at the bar definitely has full entrees AND desserts served to them. So natural we asked about desserts and the bartender spieled them all and told us his favorite was the carrot cake. In the end due to...... wallet restraint, we did not order any but we certainly could have.

 

[correcaminos]

I don't recall if it was on the digital bar menu, but we sat at the bar and couple next to us at the bar definitely has full entrees AND desserts served to them. So natural we asked about desserts and the bartender spieled them all and told us his favorite was the carrot cake. In the end due to...... wallet restraint, we did not order any but we certainly could have.

Lunch time they did not offer us desserts since the lunch prix fixe did not offer it. Or we were told Friday. I totally would've had dessert for lunch as that's almost always safe

 

[Disone]

Lunch time they did not offer us desserts since the lunch prix fixe did not offer it. Or we were told Friday. I totally would've had dessert for lunch as that's almost always safe

We were there during lunch. 1:00 p.m. And yes, they had the lunch prefix menu. But you didn't have to do the prefix. You could still order a la cart. It wasn't very clear but if you asked they said you could still order a la carte.

 

[ElvisMickey]

Last Tuesday I just happened to check MDE around mid morning and voila, an ADR was available for that night. I was shocked. Anyway, I snagged it and experienced this place for the first time. The food was good, not great. You’re definitely paying more for the experience than anything. My bill was $120 with tip and I was dining solo lol. I definitely won’t be running back anytime soon. Cool to experience once though.