Dining at Hurricane Hanna's (When You're Not Staying at Disney's Beach Club)

If you visit the Epcot Resorts area, you might find yourself in need of a quick-service meal. Unfortunately, the options are few and far between. So much so that I often have to get a little creative when it comes to dining. My latest thing is to have a late lunch at Hurricane Hanna’s Waterside Bar and Grill at Disney’s Beach Club. Thankfully, you do not have to be a guest of the resort to dine at Hurricane Hanna’s. The quick service restaurant sits outside the fenced pool area and has a separate sitting area for guests who aren’t staying there. It’s also a pretty sweet spot to have lunch or dinner.

a view of Crescent Lake from the outdoor dining area at Hurricane Hanna's

Hurricane Hanna’s sits between Stormalong Bay and Crescent Lake. If you’re leaving Epcot, you’ll continue straight past the main entrance of the Beach Club. The poolside bar and grill will be on your immediate right, just past the shipwreck. You can’t miss it. It’s approximately a five-minute walk from Epcot’s International Gateway. You can take the FriendShips from Epcot to the Yacht Club if you do not want to walk. You’ll see Hurricane Hanna’s from the Yacht Club’s dock. However, this route will take longer because the boat stops at the Boardwalk first.

Hurricane Hanna's Waterside Bar and Grill

Here is a photo of the outdoor dining area at Hurricane Hanna’s. This photo was taken a couple of months ago on our last stay before the restaurant opened. One thing I appreciate is that all of the tables and chairs are covered with umbrellas. While this area can be busy, we’ve never had any trouble finding a spot. Most resort guests pick up their food and return it to Stormalong Bay.

outdoor tables and chairs at Hurricane Hanna's for non-resort guests

For the most part, Hurricane Hanna’s offers fairly standard quick-service items like cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets. That’s a good thing, considering it’s the only place to pick up these types of items between the Yacht and Beach Club. But on this last visit, I checked the menu before stopping and noticed that onion rings were listed in the My Disney Experience app. Of course, you wouldn’t have known this had you walked up to order because they weren’t listed on the regular menu. (I do not know why, but this is typical where select places offer “secret menu items,” and most guests are none the wiser.)

Anyway, I love onion rings, so I planned to order a cheeseburger with a side of onion rings. My order process went something like this: ” Do you have onion rings?” Yes. “Okay, can I order a cheeseburger with a side of onion rings?” No. (I’m not kidding.) So, I ended up ordering the onion rings and a cheeseburger kids’ meal.

Thankfully, the onion rings were freshly prepared. This is probably because I was the only person who had ordered them all day since they weren’t on the restaurant’s menu. They are listed online as battered onion rings with jalapeno ranch dipping sauce. I didn’t expect to like the sauce, but it was the perfect accompaniment.

an order of onion rings with jalapeno ranch

Readers of the site know that I’m a proponent of ordering kids’ meals at Walt Disney World. I order them at quick-service restaurants and when I use mobile ordering at to-go table-service restaurants. I don’t always order a kids’ meal, but as someone who visits Disney World weekly, I must be careful about how much I spend. Everything here, as you can imagine, is more expensive. But I don’t want to leave the impression that you can order a kids’ meal at a table service restaurant. Those are reserved for children ages 3-9 years old. If you have a child who is past the age limit but still wants something off the kids’ meal, the restaurant can prepare an adult portion of the kids’ meal.

While they aren’t the most sizable meals, kids’ meals come with a small fountain drink and two sides. I wasn’t thinking clearly this afternoon because of the menu confusion. So I ordered a side of fries and a side of grapes. Had I maximized my meal, I would have ordered two sides of grapes and saved them to snack on later. Of course, the last time I did that with a pair of Cuties, I found them grossly molded in the barely used pocket of my backpack a month later. So that could have been the fate of an extra pack of grapes.

Anyway, here’s a look at the components of my kids’ meal with the side of onion rings. It was too much food, but I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. It was a relaxing late lunch between the surrounding views, the shade, and the breeze blowing off the lake.

a kids' cheeseburger meal from Hurricane Hanna's

So, if you’re in the area and find yourself in need of a meal or a place to break, Hurricane Hanna’s is the perfect place to do just that–even if you’re not staying at the hotel. But don’t be surprised if you soon find yourself planning a stay. The entire resort is an incredible vacation destination.

For more about Disney’s Beach Club Resort, you might enjoy the following:

Have you ever enjoyed a meal at Hurricane Hanna’s when you’re not staying at the resort? Was this location even on your radar? Let us know below in the comments.