REVIEW: We Tried the NEW Mac & Cheese Menu at This Underrated Disney World Snack Spot (And You Should Too!)

If there’s one thing you should know about our team here at AllEars, it’s that we take our cheesy snacks VERY seriously.

From plastic cheese with our corn dog nuggets to chips and queso to charcuterie boards, we’re cheese lovers, and we’re not ashamed of that. So when we heard there was a major mac & cheese change in Animal Kingdom, we knew we had to go investigate!

Background

The Smiling Crocodile is one of the many little snack stands in Animal Kingdom. This spot used to be home to a few different Tex-Mex items, but recently it had a major menu change.

Now, Smiling Crocodile has STOLEN the macaroni & cheese crown from Eight Spoon Cafe. Both snack stand menus were recently updated, and you’ll now have to come over here to get some cheesy pasta goodness.

Atmosphere

The Smiling Crocodile is located in Discovery Island near Flame Tree Barbecue. It doesn’t offer much in the way of seating, but you can often find a table easily at Flame Tree next door.

This little stand is typically only open from 11AM-3PM each day, so you’ll need to stop by during lunch hours if you want to get the famed mac & cheese.

When they changed the menu, the regular Baked Macaroni & Cheese came here from Eight Spoon, as well as two new options — Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Buffalo Chicken and Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Garlic Smoked Sausage.

Let’s try them out!

Food & Drinks

Starting out with the Baked Macaroni & Cheese for $7.99, this is very similar to the old version from Eight Spoon. Right off the bat, we could tell this was like twice the size of the old ones from Eight Spoon. It didn’t look like a snack, it looked more like a meal — which made it a great value for its price!

We found that our Baked Mac and Cheese didn’t have as much of a “baked” quality to it, at least in comparison to Eight Spoon. There wasn’t quite as much crispiness to the top layer. There wasn’t a lot of that golden brown crisp on the top of the mac and cheese. It was just more creamy and “normal”. Maybe it was our portion, but that’s what we noticed.

The pasta was soft, creamy, and had a mild cheese to it. It wasn’t too strong, making the flavor of the dish better than most mac and cheeses you’ll find around Disney World.

It’s pretty much simple with one flavor, but it was delicious. We would get this again, and it was pretty filling too.

Next up is the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Garlic Smoked Sausage for $9.99. It’s topped with garlic-smoked sausage, as well as sautéed peppers and onions. There’s also pickles on this, like pickled chips chopped up into smaller pieces. The pickles were a great addition to this — they were crunchy, crispy, and had a sharp, tangy flavor.

The peppers added a brightness to the dish and a slight chew as well. However, the crunchy and chewy quality comes from the pickle. The onions were very small, so they were easy to get lost. We honestly could’ve gone without the peppers and onions — and just had sausage and pickle.

This could’ve also gone great as a cheesburger mac and cheese if they replaced the meat with beef. The garlic-smoked sausage was fine, but didn’t have as much garlic flavor as expected. It was also pretty mild, with no spice and a little smokiness. We will say this one had the best texture of the three.

And lastly, we have the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Buffalo Chicken, which is topped with buffalo chicken and ranch dressing for $9.99. It’s essentially the same mac and cheese as the regular one, with buffalo chicken and sauce added to it. There’s also a decent portion of ranch added to this!

This was our favorite of the three pretty easily. You might catch us eating this over and over and over again! Look, the Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese at Flame Tree Barbecue is pretty much a consensus favorite amongst a lot of Disney goers. We don’t want to be brash, but this one could give it a run for its money!

The flavors work so well for this one. The chicken was soft and had a shredded-like quality to it. The buffalo sauce was incredibly mild — so if you don’t like spice, or you’re thinking about your kids, you’ll be fine! It was one of the mildest of buffalo sauces we’ve had, to be honest. The ranch probably cooled it off, because there was a lot.

Magic or Tragic?

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re a huge fan of mac and cheese! They have all sorts of mac and cheese here for you to choose from, and they are a great portion. You’ll love it here!
• You’re looking for something budget-friendly. You get a really good portion for what you pay for, almost making it a value buy. Let’s be honest, that’s not something you’ll usually hear tied to food at Disney World.
• You want something quick and easy. This is a quick service spot, so you’ll get your food pretty fast. You can also take it with you wherever you’re headed next on your Disney day.

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

• You’re not a mac and cheese fan. This spot only sells mac and cheese dishes for food, so you might want to go somewhere else if that’s not really your thing.
• You’re looking for a larger menu. If you like having lots of options to choose from, the menu here is more limited and built for a select few foods.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news and more!

Disney World Restaurants You’ll Need to Try in 2025

Have you eaten at this Disney World restaurant before? Tell us in the comments.

Post a Comment