Space 220 is a table-service restaurant in Walt Disney World’s Epcot. Located in World Discovery right by Mission: Space, the restaurant’s concept is to take guests 220 miles above Earth into a dining room overlooking the planet. Space 220 offers a prix-fixe for both lunch and dinner, serving an appetizer and main for lunch and adding in a dessert for dinner. The restaurant is not currently a part of the Disney Dining Plan but does offer a 10% Annual Pass Discount. In this post, we’ll review lunch at Space 220 including thoughts on the restaurant’s cuisine, atmosphere and value.

Theme park dining is generally at its best when shooting for an immersive or story-driven experience. While the cuisine has made remarkable gains over the last few decades, having the restaurants being another transportive piece of the parks they’re in is what makes them distinct from dining out in the real world. Space 220 strives for that above all else and it means the restaurant coasts in other areas. But there’s no doubting the ambition and distinct environment.

Guests have noticed too. Even though Space 220 has been around since 2021, it remains one of the hottest advanced dining reservations in Walt Disney World. The popularity likely stems from experiencing something very different and unique.

Space 220 is at its best when the restaurant feels more like an attraction. Up until getting seated at your table, that’s exactly what the experience is. Guests check in to the right of Mission: Space and then wait inside of a lobby that does have a sci-fi feel to it. We were given an elevator boarding pass, that you can see Melissa proudly sporting.

After a couple of minutes, our line in the lobby was boarding the elevator. This is one of the highlights of the whole meal and adequately sets up the story. This isn’t your typical elevator, it’s a space elevator! Once we all entered, we shot up into vast universe. As the ride goes, you can see Epcot shrinking in the distance, followed by Florida and then Earth. Eventually, the space elevator stops once you’re 220 miles above the world.

It’s a really fun setup. There’s a little bit of cheesiness to go along with the cool, sleek look of everything. And the elevator ride isn’t some fast moving rocket but the visuals work well enough to sweep you up in the story. In terms of comparison, riding on the Rise of the Resistance ship that gets detained by the First Order (before the actual ride begins) is a similar experience. That’s on a larger scale than the Space 220 elevator, and has a plot point, but ideas are similar including transporting guests from one area to another.

Once off the elevator and airlocked into the restaurant’s (and space station’s) entrance hallway, guests wait to be seated. This process happens quickly but as you wait there’s some cool things to look at! The most interesting of them is a bit of nod to Living with the Land, where this space station has figured out a way to grow and harvest vegetables.

I really enjoy the look of this portion of Space 220. There’s a great sci-fi feel to it, with just a hint of danger. Don’t worry, the Xenomorph isn’t waiting around the corner and an ape isn’t about to destroy the space station. But some classic space movies were definitely used as inspiration for this portion of the restaurant. It looks great!

All of this setup takes between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on how long guests are waiting in the different lobbies. I really liked all of the story told without words. For me personally, it is my favorite part of Space 220.

The main event happens once you’re seated and guests are treated to a view of Earth from 220 miles above. This is seen through a number of windows (I believe it’s 13) that give a panoramic view. This view is the star of the show. In fact, it’s the one man team. Once you’re seated, the view of Earth is what you’re there for.

That’s both good and bad. The view is pretty amazing and the concept works. All of the setup is paid off by walking into the dining room. But the novelty of it may wear off by the end. Outside of a few items floating by in the windows, there won’t be anything extra while dining at Space 220. This is a deliberate choice and one that speaks to great idea behind the restaurant. When you have something amazing, then let it speak for itself.

On the other hand, I found the dining room to be a little hollow. Maybe that’s an insightful look into the vastness of space and how tiny we are in relation to the rest of the galaxy… But I doubt it? It seems like even the restaurant acknowledges this with handing out collectible cards to try to make the experience more personal.

The room is broken into an upper and lower tier, with the lower being right beside the windows. Sitting right next to the windows obviously gives a close look at Earth but you miss out on the sweeping views. I think the worst spot to sit in the restaurant would be on the bottom level right next to a side window that doesn’t show Earth. There’s just not much to look at from down there.

The upper level gives the sweeping views. I think the preference would be close to the windows but on that higher tier. If you manage to sit in a view without the windows then you’re looking at the blue carpet and lots of metal. That’s true to theme but not exactly the immersive experience most want.

Space 220 does offer a bar and lounge for guests that are 21 and over. The bar faces away from the windows but will get you inside of the restaurant without having to pay the steep prix-fixe menu prices. There’s a large mirror there so you can see the windows through that!

The atmosphere in Space 220 is mostly fantastic. Everything leading up to being seated was phenomenal and borders on being a full blown theme park attraction. I’m less certain about the experience once seated. The view and concept are executed well. That said, it felt like there was one element missing to me but I’m not creative enough to figure out what I would add. There’s a fine line between overdoing things and having the perfect dining environment. In the end, I’d prefer a restaurant to be a little more subtle like this than telling guests that they’re in space every possible second. Still, I would have enjoyed one more element to Space 220. Admittedly, that’s nitpicking a restaurant that has one of the strongest atmosphere’s in WDW.

Moving on to the food, here’s a look at the menu. Lunch is $55 while dinner comes in at $79. That’s a steep upgrade for an added dessert and a menu that’s largely the same. Dinner does differ from lunch in offering a Filet Mignon instead of Steak Frites as well as a few other changes like a Short Rib entree. We’d recommend lunch for a value play (some of you may laugh at $55 being a value play), as Space 220 is more of a ‘get in the building’ than a ‘pay the highest price for the meal’ restaurant.

To start, we ordered the Starry Calamari which consisted of Fried Calamari, Italian Cherry Peppers, Spicy Marinara and Roasted Pepper Citrus Aioli. This appetizer was delicious, with the calamari having a good texture and the breading full of seasoning. I liked the Aioli far more than the Marinara, as it gave the hearty, salty starter a little bit of zest. This was very filling but not overly greasy or breaded.

The Apollo 16 Shrimp Tacos were the other appetizer we tried. The two tacos were made up of Marinated Shrimp, Lettuce and Shallots inside of a Crispy Wonton Shell. For those curious, Apollo 16 does have some connection to shrimp – my brief research shows that dehydrated shrimp were one of the meals on the plane and brine shrimp traveled with the mission as part of the Biostack experiments. You likely didn’t come here for this information but the more you know!

Melissa really liked the appetizer, finding them refreshing and a nice play on Asian-inspired tacos. I thought they could have used a crema or salsa to liven them up a little bit. The flavors were all good, just missing a little something. I thought the wonton shell was the best part and the shrimp were plump and delicious.

The best entree we tried was the Galactic Miso Salmon with Sautéed Leeks, Tempura-fried Mushroom, Curry Blood Orange Beurre Blanc. Perfect cooked, the Salmon also had an Asian inspiration with the Miso glaze. There was a hint of sweetness to pair with the tender fish. The Beurre Blanc added a little acidity but not enough to drastically change the taste. As far as the sides went, the Tempura-fried Mushrooms were fantastic and we both could have eaten a whole plate of them.

The Interstellar Steak Frites was the most disappointing dish of the meal. I liked the chimichurri it was served with but the meat had a good amount of fat on it and was heavy on the salt. Frankly, the quality of the meat was just not up to par even with the cook on it being the medium-rare temperature I requested. The fries weren’t elevated much above Walt Disney World counter-service fries. In other words, they weren’t good. I would not recommend this dish if you’re going to lunch at Space 220.

While the food was a mixed bag at Space 220, guests are paying for more than that. Personally, I liked the experience as a whole much more than most character dining settings and lunch is usually cheaper here than at those restaurants. That’s a bit of an apples to oranges comparison, especially since character dining spots aren’t trying to appeal to a guy in his mid-30’s. But the value is relative and Space 220’s isn’t awful, in those terms, when factoring in the atmosphere.

On the flip side, the value wasn’t good enough for me to want to go back to the restaurant anytime soon. I think the first dining experience is novel and exciting. Once that goes away, I don’t think the food was good enough to keep coming back for more. With that said, I’d recommend the restaurant to those that really love immersive and atmospheric dining. Or if someone in your group really likes outer space, then go for it! But Space 220 isn’t one of our favorite restaurants at Walt Disney World even if the atmosphere is out of this world.

Have you dined at Space 220? Let us know your thoughts or any questions you might have in the comments below. Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our Disney World Trip Planning Guide to help you out. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!