Only about three years ago, Walt Disney World guests were able to make dining reservations 180 days in advance. Maybe since so many things in our world have changed, many of us forget about the stress of making reservations 180 days in advance. Since guests can only make dining reservations within the official 60-day window now, we forget about the thrill and terror of deciding what we wanted to eat basically six months in advance. When Topolino’s Terrace- Flavors of the Rivera prepared to open, people were frantically trying to get reservations for December 2019 in the middle of summer 2019. As the long restaurant title implies, this restaurant exists within Disney’s Riviera Resort.

This restaurant offers French and Italian style cuisine in a fine dining setting. As Walt Disney World marketing likes to say, the views from this sweeping rooftop area rival many other rooftop restaurants. Currently, Topolino’s offers breakfast from 7:30am-12:15pm each day. Adult breakfast entrees cost $42 with child breakfast entrees costing $27. This breakfast comes with high quality food and drink. However, breakfast also comes with some Walt Disney World style. This breakfast qualifies as a character breakfast. Though character appearances can change, this breakfast offers some great Disney characters. How great? Well, Donald and Daisy Duck appear. If that is not enough, Mickey and Minnie Mouse appear also. Depending on your family’s obsession with these characters, their appearance might be worth the price of breakfast alone. This is one of many reasons that reservations are difficult to acquire for Topolino’s Terrace.

The reasons explaining the hype for Topolino’s Terrace do not end with just character breakfast dining. Topolino’s Terrace offers signature dining in the evening. They serve dinner from 5pm-9:30om each evening. As you might expect, reservations present a challenge to acquire. Currently, this restaurant ranks as very difficult to get a table.  The dinner menu quality explains the reason for the demand and hype.  To start with, the bread service provided for all guests sets a great beginning for your dining experience.

The dinner menu offers several high-quality appetizers for your signature dining such as ricotta and gnocchi. For entrees, guests chose between handmade pasta dishes, seafood dishes, veal options, and a filet mignon.  The desserts offered here earn the hype also. Guests rave about the chocolate cake and the vanilla/citrus crème brulee.

Now, as you are reading this, you might be concerned about the amount of money needed. Yes, this place offers signature dining at signature dining prices. For example, the filet mignon costs $54. Still, that price compares well to Orlando area signature dining for a filet mignon. The filet mignon gets solid reviews here. However, what if you want great dining but do not want to spend over $50 for an entrée?

I have a solution for that mathematical puzzle. I suggest the rigatoni here. Okay, I know that fails to sound exciting. Your interest might lower when told the rigatoni currently costs $32. Please stay with me. The rigatoni features braised chicken sugo, rapini, wild mushrooms, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. That rigatoni sounds way more impressive that something you might make a home.

Let me assure you, this pasta-based dish deserves to be at a signature dining restaurant. Many of my Walt Disney World foodies claim this pasta dish as their favorite on Walt Disney World property. The entrée offers an incredibly creamy texture. If you visualize “rich” type of food, this rigatoni meets that standard. Though initially the portion size looks small, this rigatoni qualifies as a filling entrée. The freshness of this entrée exceeds expectations. Even the rapini (broccoli rabe) tastes incredibly refreshing. The rapini adds texture and flavor to this pasta. The chicken might qualify as melt in your mouth good. Also, the chicken tastes so tender. For a chicken pasta menu item, this one gets near perfection. In addition, the cheese looks and tastes wonderful to cap off this great entrée.

Even if you do not fully agree with my glowing review of the rigatoni, you could order this rigatoni and either an appetizer or dessert staying around $50 for signature dining. Overall, the whole dining experience explains the hype.

So, is Topolino’s Terrace worth the hype? You should decide yourself, but we say yes!  Yet, if you are lucky enough to get a reservation, enjoy your meal. You might want to consider a service that helps with finding dining reservations at Walt Disney World. The MouseDining system and subscription can assist in finding those tough to locate reservations. Whatever you do, enjoy your meals. As always, eat like you mean it!