Backlot Express

Normally I don’t review amusement park food but this salad was truly bad. Ordered the salad with grilled chicken: slimy wilted greens, acidic salsa, grainy black beans and what I think was meant to be a tortilla chip that is too stiff for just a tortilla but too flexible for a chip. My husband’s burger was disappointing as well, seems like it was sitting out. My friend’s caprese sandwich was good, so if you come get that.

At some point I knew my fiancé and I would have a hankering for a burger and I am glad our day at Hollywood Studios is when we decided to cash in that craving. I had been following an Instagram food blog about Disney food options and the one day it was all about burger ratings at the parks. The Backlot Express burger ranked very high for that specific blogger so I decided to add this place on my favorites list on My Disney Experience app so I would remember.
It can be difficult to find because well, its in the backlot area :). The food service area is tucked away on the inside part so you need to walk down a few stairs to get to it. Anyway, there is plenty of seating both outdoors and indoors. And some of the outdoor seating areas have a great view of the Star Wars attraction where Darth Vador and Kylo Ren test out young jedi training techniques (kid volunteers).
I had the Angus Bacon Cheeseburger while my fiancé was bold and had the Royal Guard Burger. Both VERY good!!! Do not be alarmed by the black bun on the Royal Guard Burger it was still very tasty and great consistency. Plenty of fries (which were also really good), and it was nice that they gave you giant cups you could fill up yourself.
We ended our quick-​service lunch with a Darth Vador chocolate peanut butter cupcake and a chocolate mousse. Both surprising delicious considering this was just a quick-​service facility. I will say like most of the eateries in any Disney park that the food is probably very overpriced, however you get an extreme quantity of food so at least that is not lacking for paying so much. And I was on the Disney Dining plan so the price did not really affect me so I did not need to pay attention.
Would definitely recommend this place for a burger!

Although it’s tucked back into a corner of the Hollywood Studios lot, it is actually a pretty sizeable eatery! It was a touch confusing on where exactly the ordering was, as the seating area is broken into a few buildings.
They offer standard burgers, nuggets, and the like. Hubs had the burger, I went with nuggets. They do give you a TON of fries with each order, so be ready for that — ha! My nuggets were so buried under the mountain of fries, I had to eat a bunch before I could get to nuggets without knocking fries all over the table.
Staff was just okay here — not really the Disney vibe we usually get. The cashier didn’t greet us, but did move the line quickly — so ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ here. The theme is fun and whimsical — there are a bunch of prop styled items to look at throughout. There is even a hidden Mickey in one of the buildings, so be on the look out!
Overall: B
Solid eatery in Hollywood Studios. Burger was just okay — nuggets were good. They give you a ton of fries! ($ 35 for the 2 of us to eat.)

Good quick food! The dark side chicken and waffles were Amazing! Nice juicy chicken! It’s tucked back in the corner so it never seemed really crowded, which was nice!

Although we usually just play our quick service meals by ear, this time we made it a priority to eat here. They have some new Star Wars themed item on the menu. Not sure if they are old favorites renamed or actually new, but we enjoyed them all the same. My son has the Dark Side chicken and waffles; fried chicken pieces and Darth Vader waffles. My daughter and husband had the royal guard, a burger topped with pepper jack cheese and bbq brisket on a dark roll. Fries were hot and nicely salted. Quick service meals also come with dessert so we sampled one of each; Vader chocolate peanut butter cupcake, BB-​8 lemon cupcake, Thumper (from Bambi not Star Wars) raspberry cupcake, and a chocolate mousse. Can’t really pick a favorite, but the lemon was not my favorite. I like a really lemon flavored lemon cupcake and this was not that. It was also topped with a vanilla buttercream and I would have preferred lemon. I feel like we more than got our money’s worth and will add this to the list of go to restaurants.

This place was soooo amazing!!! I got the galactic chicken salad and it was incredible! I also got the cherry slushie, BB8 cupcake, and a side of carrots. The line was long when I arrived but within 5 minutes I had my food ordered and not long after that did I get my food.

The Unkempt Backlot
Overall: 2.25 Stars
If you are in need of a quick fix or are waiting for the start of time of a show to get closer, then you can come by the Backlot Express. Don’t expect much. It’s standard of fast food (burgers, hot dogs, French fries, etc.). Like other every other Disney eatery the fries are excellent.
The cleanliness/​condition of the place is questionable at best. Disney has proven itself to be one of the cleanest family destinations in the world, but the Backlot Express seemed to have slipped through the cracks. Maybe I was there during a shift change or the eatery was more crowded than normal (wait time for tables were 5 – 10 minutes to locate an empty one). The tables and floors were covered in foodstuff. Spilled sodas and ice covered some areas on the floor. Maybe it’s part of the ambiance? I’m also keeping in mind that this place is gigantic in comparison to the other fast-​food places in other Disney parks.
The service at the cashiers and the pick-​up stations like everywhere else at Disney is quick and efficient. They certainly know what they are doing.
If you want a quick fast-​food experience you can come here, but I’m certain you can find a better experience somewhere else in the park for a similar price.

Pretty sure this place is new, first time eating here. Star Wars themed, which is cool. We are here around 11:15, so they just opened. It wasn’t loud or busy. The chicken and waffles had Darth Vadors face on it, and they had a «dark side» burger. Both tasted pretty average for Disney

Great food. Fast service. If you are expecting something out of this world, maybe try a sit down place in HS, but this true to its name — fast service. I would revisit when my next hunger caves in.

Spicy Chicken nuggets were WAY spicer than expected !!! but still so good. My boyfriend and I loved it. We went at around 11, before the crowds of people started getting their lunches, so there was no line and plenty of seats available. What we really liked here that not much of the quick service restaurants had to offer were refillable drinks. That was very convenient because those buffalo chicken nuggets were HOT. I cannot complain about this place. It was a great place to have lunch.

This was the worst food we had during our whole Disney experience by a long shot. I don’t understand why the food here was so much worse (and more expensive) than for instance Cosmic Ray’s Café at the Magic Kingdom. Shouldn’t they be equivalent across all parks? I guess not! Maybe the different casual cafes are run by different companies.
Anyhow, I highly recommend not coming here. The food was really expensive and it was really bad. And by that I mean you will spend $ 12 on a tiny nearly inedible sandwich. It is also much smaller than some of the cafes at the other parks and we had to sit outside half the time. Eventually my husband scored an inside table much to our relief.
This was after we had hiked all over the Hollywood studios looking for a place to eat. Everywhere we went it was super crowded with huge lines and no tables. They definitely have a lack of inside dining options at this particular park (Animal Kingdom seemed pretty bad too but we didn’t even try to have lunch there).
We really wish we had known about the Sci-​Fi dine in theater before coming here. Would have been willing to spend some money for a fun lunch. Unfortunately, it was completely booked up.

Its Disney folks… you will be charged $ 12 per person for medicore fast park food. Surprisingly, Backlot Express had other dining options than your typical burger, hot dog and fries. They had items like salads, buffalo boneless wings and so on, which makes it appealing especially if you on day 3 visiting a Disney park.
My husand and I went at about 1PM the last Saturday of Star Wars Weekends and YES the line was huge and YES I had to spy on tables to get one, but the food was actually pretty good! And the best part of it all, is that the restaurant has tables in air conditioning (hallelujah, because it was hotter than the interno outside!!)
Overall, we had a great experience at Backlot Express. Next time we are visitng Hollywood Studios we will definitly dine here :-)

The roasted veggie sandwich was delicious and fresh. The fries were crispy and hot. An unexpectedly good meal! And I was impressed that they had the veggie sandwich on the kids menu.

Cantaloupe and Cucumber salad as well as the Grilled Veggie Sandwich are a nice break from the norm at these typical Disney burger joints. Never been disappointed, but I know lots of others have.
Love the condiment bar with unlimited tomato and lettuce!
Tip: For a relaxing snack, order a glass of wine or hard cider and a side of fries! Kick back during the non-​peak hours of 2:00 — 4:00 and relax while the crowds bustle outside. It’s dead in here when it’s not lunch or dinner time.

Pretty standard counter service menu for theme parks. Cheeseburgers, chicken, fries, club sandwich and salads.
We ordered the chicken tenders and buffalo tenders. I didn’t try the plain tenders but heard no complaints from my daughter. Buffalo sauce was in the mild-​medium range.
Dessert was specialty themed cupcakes (Star Wars) chocolate with peanut butter frosting, ganache & vanilla with caramel frosting and both had large chocolate decoration on top. Was just as good as those sold at gourmet cupcake shops. (note frosting is of whipped variety not buttercream, so you are not disappointed)
Didn’t have to wait long to order. Food was prepared quickly. Tables were clean. Portion size and quality was good.
No complaints.

This place is our reliable, go-​to stop, for a quick service Disney meal when visiting Hollywood Studios.
Located across from Star Tours and the Jedi Academy Stage, this location is the perfect place to grab a bite after your tour of the Star Wars galaxy. Their offerings are the standard choices you’ll find at most Disney quick service locations throughout the resorts. My go-​to meal here is their grilled veggie sandwich. In the middle of the restaurant they have their condiment bar (side note-​I cover EVERYTHING with their awesome honey mustard). Every time we’ve come here we’ve had awesome service from the staff taking our order-​very friendly and knowledgeable.
The décor is that of a studio prop closet. Signage, random items, etc are found throughout the restaurant. They offer indoor and outdoor dining and the set up is the same as other locations: wait in line, place your order, move forward, pick-​up said order, get to your table, and get your grub on.
Don’t go in expecting Victoria & Albert’s, you’ll be greatly disappointed, but if you go in looking for a solid burger & fries style experience, you’ll be a happy camper. May the Force be with You.

This is our usual stop to get a quick bite to eat when we are in Hollywood Studios. The food isn’t anything spectacular, but I’ve never had anything that was bad here either.
Disney isn’t known for having the healthiest choices when it comes to dining, but they do have some places that have some healthier fare… which I find especially nice during those hot summer months when you really don’t want to eat something that is to heavy or you just want a nice cool crisp salad.
The Backlot Express also has refillable drinks! So if you order a fountain beverage they just give you an empty soda cup or souvenir cup if you purchased one and you can go refill it as many times as you want during the time that you are eating.
This is also a great place to fill up your water bottles with ice and water since the soda machines are out in the open and the lemonade button doubles as a water button (the water and the ice that comes out of the machine is free), plus it beats standing on line inside of another restaurant for a cup of ice water.

I stopped in to find a quick place for something to eat.
I had the cheese burger. It was cold. Bun was fresh. The vegetables on the burger were fresh. The fries with the burger were also about room temperature. The cupcakes that I show in photos were OK. They were not spectacular. Nothing in this place lived up to what I have come to expect from Disney World.

During our recent visit to Hollywood Studios the park was celebrating StarWars Weekends and had lots of fun special events (Jedi training, interstellar autograph signing with the stars, etc.). We stopped into the Backlot Express restaurant in search of a StarWars cupcake for me and were pleasantly surprised to find great gluten-​free options for my husband and amazing customer service! Who would have guessed?
MID-​AFTERNOON SNACK TIME
When my husband mentioned he was on a gluten-​free diet, the cashier called for the manager (as they do for all guests with food allergies). The manager arrived quickly to gather more information and to make my husband’s order personally to ensure NO cross contamination. Not only did the manager know all of the gluten-​free options (burger, chicken, GF hamburger bun, fries), but when my husband said he actually only wanted the fries, the manager insisted on providing those complimentary. Wow!
DINNER
After a snack here earlier in the day, we returned for dinner since we knew the restaurant could provide a variety of gluten-​free options. My husband had the burger, GF bun, and delicious fries made just for him. His meal was served on a special green tray to designate it was a special, allergy-​free meal.
I was quite happy with the Pressed Turkey Sandwich ($ 10.49) on multi-​grain bread which came with a choice of carrots or French fries. The sandwich was served panini style — everything inside pressed together on the grill. The turkey had a slight smoked flavor and was well balanced with the vegetables and cheese melted together inside.
Sadly, the Yoda cupcake was not quite as delicious as I had envisioned, but I wanted to partake in some of the StarWars Weekend festivities and really, how often can you eat a white chocolate light saber?! May the force be with you!

With the Disney dining plan, we made all our reservations for sit down dining well in advance, and decided to play our quick-​service meals by ear.
While at Hollywood Studios, we got hungry and found the closest location to the Star Tours ride we had just finished riding. The Backlot Express is a large restaurant and have a very basic menu or hamburgers, hotdogs, sandwiches and salads. the food is actually pretty good. We were so surprised, we decided to come back on the last day of our trip as well. They have specialty desserts that change from day to day so keep a look out for that. On the day were were there, they were celebrating May the 4^th be with you and had Darth Vader cupcakes that were chocolate with peanut butter filling. Definitely a treat.
Refillable drinks and basic menu items are good here.