Is Space 220 Worth It? No – But The New Lounge Is! (REVIEW)
I’m going to be 100% honest with you, I do not think Epcot’s Space 220 restaurant is worth the price tag – This is because there’s a lounge addition where you can get the exact same experience as the 3-course prix-fixe dinner menu for a tiny fraction of the price. When we visited, we found the elevator that “launches” you into space to be the most interesting part of the experience, which is the same whether you’re visiting the lounge or restaurant.
Why I Don’t Think Space 220 is Worth it
A lot of people want to know if Space 220 is worth it for the hefty price tag – and well, I think it is on one condition. If you’re just going to the lounge (not the restaurant) I think Space 220 is worth it. You get the exact same experience at the Space 220 lounge as you do at the restaurant (they’re in the same room), for a fraction of the cost. If I’m being honest, the elevator was the most exciting part of the whole experience at Space 220. So, spending hours at Space 220 for an $80 3-course meal doesn’t necessarily seem worth it to me when there are a ton of great places to eat in Epcot that are much cheaper.
👉 Take Advantage of the Quick-Dining Option: Most 3-course Disney prix-fixe dining experiences, like Be Our Guest in the Magic Kingdom, don’t have a lounge option – so you might as well save some money (and valuable park time!) for restaurants that don’t have a quick option.
Why Choose the Lounge
Don’t feel like spending $79 per person for a 3-course meal? Neither did we! Especially in Epcot, home of the really really good (and relatively* cheap) food. After a long day of eating-around-the-World-Showcase, I couldn’t manage another three courses, so we booked Space 220’s new Lounge, which offers a small bites menu as well as the option to get the original prix fixe 3-course meal.
The lounge option is in the same room as the restaurant, you take the same elevator up, and you can still get the 3-course set menu there if you want to. Lounge reservations are easier to get, and the only real “downside” is you can’t sit right up against the space window, those seats are for the restaurant. Everything else about the experience is pretty much the same!
Main Differences of Space 2020 Lounge Vs. Restaurant
🍔 Dining: You can eat at both Space 220 Lounge and Restaurant. The difference is the lounge offers a small bites menu as well as the traditional prix fixe option. At the Restaurant, you can only do a 3-course sit-down dinner.
💰 Budget Tip: Visiting the lounge instead of the restaurant takes the prerequisite cost of visiting Space 220 down from around $100 per person (including tax + tip) to around $30 per person, and is what I would recommend.
⏰ Save Time: The experience of visiting Space 220 Lounge doesn’t have to take more than an hour since you’re ordering off a small plates and drinks menu. If you’re doing the full 3-course meal from the restaurant, I would budget 2 hours!
👉 Note! You need a Reservation for Both the Lounge & Restaurant: Every day during our 4-day Disney trip (and in the weeks approaching it) Space 220 restaurant was completely booked out. We lucked out on our second to last day and were able to secure a spot at the lounge when someone canceled through the “Disney My Experience” mobile app.
Space 220 Lounge: My Experience + Review
Epcot’s newest themed restaurant, Space 220, is located in the same complex as the famous ride “Mission: SPACE” that opened all the way back in 2003. We went on Mission: SPACE before dinner (and I would recommend you do as well because it’s a little bit too bumpy to go on right after eating!) to get into the space spirit. I thought the ride held up as a great counterpart to the restaurant, despite being 20 years older. Both the ride and the restaurant simulate launching you into orbit, in the Mission: Space version you’re an astronaut training on a mission, and in Space 220 you’re dining on a space shuttle orbiting the globe.
Space 220’s elevator to outer space operates via a simulator that makes it look (and feel!) like you’re being launched into orbit. The elevator was my favorite part of the dining experience, but you’re not allowed to ride it unless you’re dining at the lounge or restaurant. The name Space 220 is from the fact that you’re supposed to be dining 220 miles above planet Earth. The “window” in the dining room is actually a massive screen that showcases the view from your space station, complete with astronauts floating in and out of view.
Space 220’s Themed Menu
Space 220 is considered a fine-dining restaurant and the menu is pretty high-end. Expect seared salmon, filet mignon, braised short rib, and lobster. All with “space-themed” names like “Galactic Miso Salmon”, “Slow Rotation Zero-G Short Rib”, and “Neptuna Nicoise”. The courses aren’t just 1st, 2nd, 3rd – instead, they’re also given the space treatment and are instead called “Lift-Offs”, “Star Course”, and “Supernova Sweets”. Children of 9 years and younger have the option to order off a kids’ menu (for a much cheaper price tag of $29) that features kid favorites like “Spaceghetti”, “Galactic Cupcake”, and “Mission Macaroni”.
Space-Themed Drinks We Had
Space 220 serves alcoholic drinks and they’re all fun, space-themed, and heavily gimmicked. You can expect all of the signature cocktails to have a fun add-on. For example, some are served in a smokey bell jar, others are poured thematically over cotton candy, and one bubbles up like a potion due to the presence of Pop Rocks. Be warned though, in typical Disney fashion, the Space 220 signature cocktails are super sweet! The drinks were my favorite part of dining at Space 220, even though they were too sweet for me and I wound up ordering a plain old boring Gin & Tonic instead.
