When eating at Disney World, everyone has a go-to comfort food!
Although there are tons of foods we love at the park, you probably know that our comfort food is chicken tenders! So, we made it our mission to go around Disney World and find where you can get the best chicken tenders — take a look at everything we tried.
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Seaside Chicken Strips
Let’s get right into our chicken tender adventure by starting with the Seaside Chicken Strips from Columbia Harbour House for $12.99. It’s called “seaside,” but there is no seafood in this dish. It’s your simple chicken strip you’ll find around the park, but it’s about what’s added, which includes a seasoned aioli, crushed pretzels, and crispy garlic. The aoili on top was seasoned and not spicy at all, while the crushed-up pretzels added a nice crunch to the chicken. The green onions also added some freshness on top. The chicken itself had a great balance between soft and crispy. Overall, we really liked it and we’ll definitely be picking this up again!
Lemon Pepper-Parmesan Chicken Strips
Next, we grabbed the Lemon Pepper Chicken Strips from Pinocchio’s Village Haus for $12.99. These are coated in garlic butter, parmesan, and a lemon-pepper seasoning. These were bright and acidic, and the black pepper added a spicy taste without any heat. The parmesan cooled down the black pepper, and we loved how it wasn’t completely coated in the lemon-pepper, so it wasn’t overwhelming but added a great flavor. The balance between the cheese, garlic, salt, lemon, and pepper was perfect and stuck well on top of the chicken.
Buffalo Chicken Strips
After that, we tried the Buffalo Chicken Strips at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe for $12.99. This plate of chicken strips was coated in buffalo sauce and topped with ranch seasoning, and dang, these were a hit! The sauce wasn’t too spicy, but you could taste the flavor without reaching for your water bottle. We could have used more ranch seasoning on top to help cool it down, but for our reporter, who doesn’t like spicy food, they’re already planning another visit to try them again and get those classic orange fingers at the end!
Waffle Cone Chicken Strips
Heading to Animal Kingdom, we had the Waffle Cone Chicken Strips at Restaurantosaurus for $12.99. You can also grab these at Beaches Pool Bar and Grill at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and y’all, aren’t these so silly? This take on chicken and waffles was so fun, with the chicken coated in maple syrup and a crunchy exterior that reminded us of crushed-up waffle cones. The chicken wasn’t too sticky but gave a perfect level of sweetness mixed with the savory, and while it was a little difficult to eat the waffle cone bowl and the chicken at the same time, we loved the extra crunch.
Spicy Aioli Chicken Strips
Coming in at $12.99 at Rosie’s All-American Cafe in Hollywood Studios, we had the Spicy Aioli Chicken Strips. These were drizzled with aioli that gave it a slight heat but was mostly tangy with a smidge of sweetness. We could have used more sauce on the side to dunk our chicken strips in for more flavor. While we wouldn’t go out of our way to eat these, if we were at Rosie’s, this is not a bad choice. Something to note, though, when you’re looking at the menu, under the Spicy Aioli Chicken Strips, Chicken Strips is listed for a few dollars less. We thought we could order the special strips without a side, but they turned out to be the plain, classic chicken tenders. So, if you want the Spicy Aioli Chicken Strips, you’ll need to order a side as well.
Honey Buffalo Chicken Strips
At Backlot Express, we tried the Honey Buffalo Chicken Strips with Ranch for $12.99. Right off the bat, we were in love with how well these were completely glazed with plenty of sauce. There was a low heat, and while we couldn’t fully extract the honey flavor, a gentle sweetness came through. The ranch was drizzled on top, but you might want to grab an extra side of ranch for a more dunkable experience. This dish was super well-rounded, and we really enjoyed eating it.
Gochujang-glazed Chicken Strips
Then we had the Gochujang-glazed Chicken Strips for $12.99, which you can grab at Capt. Cook’s at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and Everything POP Shopping & Dining at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Ask and you will receive! These chicken strips were amazing! The sauce is like a spicy ketchup that is sweet, salty, and spicy. It’s more balanced than a traditional sriracha sauce, and there’s quite a bit of heat that we were obsessed with. Make sure you have a drink nearby because these strips were totally covered in sauce, and the breading was almost saturated with it. It was overall salty and spicy, and the strips were super thick. Holy cow, these are good!
Sweet Chili Aioli Chicken Strips
After that, we tried the Sweet Chili Aioli Chicken Strips for $12.99, which you can find at the following restaurants:
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- World Premiere Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Landscape of Flavors at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Centertown Market at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Spyglass Grill at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- The Artist’s Palette at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Roaring Fork at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Typhoon Tilly’s at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
- Wind & Waves Market at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort
If you love Blooming Onion at Outback, you’ll probably love these! They have a breaded, crispy outer layer, and the sauce is an aioli lightly drizzled on top. You can taste a bit of spice from the chili, but it’s not overwhelming. The sweetness came through, and the green onion and fried onion pieces on top added a nice extra crunch. There isn’t any lasting heat, which we appreciated, but you can still taste the flavor. One of our favorite parts was how excited the Cast Members were for these. They were thrilled to make them and hear everyone’s opinions, and we’ve found this at most places we’ve visited. Cast Members truly are the magic that adds to each dish!
Jerk BBQ Chicken Strips with Pineapple Salsa
For our final chicken strips, we had the Jerk BBQ Chicken Strips with Pineapple Salsa for $12.99, which you can grab at any of the following restaurants:
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- End Zone Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
- Riverside Mill Food Court at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Gasparilla Island Grill at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- The Mara at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
YUM! The barbecue sauce had a low heat but was mostly sweet, like the sauces you can find at Flame Tree Barbecue and Regal Eagle. The jerk flavors come through with the Caribbean flavors and the mango and pineapple salsa on top, which adds some sweetness and tang. The sauce was ladled on, and the Caribbean seasoning tasted so good together; it was a total win in our book.
Yes, sometimes our job doesn’t feel real when we get to try so many different chicken tenders and bring back all the details for you so you can decide which ones to try during your Disney World vacation. Make sure you keep following AllEars for more tips, tricks, and everything to help plan your next trip.
I’M 99% SURE YOU’VE NEVER EATEN THIS DISNEY WORLD SNACK — BUT YOU SHOULD
Which of these sounds the best to you? Tell us in the comments!
Left out the absolute best chicken strips from Chicken Guy in Disney Springs.