Story Book Dining Dinner Review
*This gluten free dining experience took place in April 2024. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, chicken/turkey & cabbage allergies.
Dinner at Story Book Dining
Story Book Dining at Artist Point, located at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort, has been a restaurant that has been at the top of Brandon’s wish list for a long time. We’ve also had tons of requests by readers to do a review of this location. Story Book Dining can be a difficult dining experience to book, because it is a pretty popular character meal. But, we managed to find a last minute reservation recently and finally decided to check it out.
Atmosphere
Story Book Dining is located in the restaurant space that formerly housed the signature restaurant Artist Point. Disney has kept the Artist Point name as a part of Story Book Dining’s official title, so you will see that featured at the restaurant’s entrance area.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon and I shared some wonderful meals at Artist Point, so we’re always a bit nostalgic for this location — and in all honesty, do miss the signature restaurant. Spoiler alert, we do also really like Story Book Dining too!
Story Book Dining at Artist Point Interior / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
The interior of Story Book Dining features most of the original decor from the original Artist Point theming. But, you can also see new highlights that reflect the character dining experience. We didn’t get a ton of photos, but you can see that there is greenery around the restaurant that is supposed to make you feel like you’re in the Enchanted Forest with Snow White and her friends.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Autographed Card / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Because this is a character meal, there were no shortage of character experiences. We were given a pre-signed autographed card featured all of the characters that we would see during our meal. This included the Evil Queen, Snow White, Dopey, and Grumpy.
Brandon with Dopey at Story Book Dining at Artist Point / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Snow White, Dopey & Grumpy also come to your table where they can sign autograph books or other items and take photos. The characters are timed throughout your meal, so they will come out periodically, and we saw both Grumpy & Dopey twice.
Sarah with Grumpy at Story Book Dining at Artist Point / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Of course, you have to get into the spirit of photos, so don’t forget to get your poses on! I was channeling my inner Grumpy when taking this photo!
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Invitation to Meet the Evil Queen / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
While Snow White, Dopey, and Grumpy come to the table, you will receive an invitation to meet the Evil Queen at a designated location in the restaurant for a photo opportunity. Servers tend to keep an eye on the food pacing and breaks in the line for the Evil Queen. She can be very popular. Our server gave us the card in between our entree and dessert, which was the perfect timing.
Talking to the Evil Queen at Story Book Dining at Artist Point / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
I love this candid photo of us talking to the Evil Queen. She was absolutely fantastic. The character interaction was amazing, and we had ample time to talk and take photos. If you’re going to Story Book Dining, do not miss out on meeting the Evil Queen.
Food & Drinks
As much as we loved all the characters at Story Book Dining, what we were most looking forward to and curious about was the food. This restaurant is owned and operated by Disney, so they do have an allergy-friendly menu. You can also speak to a chef at any time to discuss options.
On our visit, we spoke to Chef Chris, who was so helpful at answering our questions and talking through options. He mentioned when we went that the the allergy-friendly menu wasn’t fully up-to-date. He also said there were a lot of easy modifications they could make too. So, it can be really helpful to talk to a chef, especially if you have multiple dietary needs.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Gluten Free Appetizer Trio / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Because of our special dietary needs, both Brandon and I had slightly different options throughout the meal. Shown here is my gluten free appetizer trio. This included:
Wicked Shrimp Cocktail - Bloody Mary Vinaigrette, Seaweed Salad, Spiced House-made Seasoning
Marked Gluten Free & Safe for Egg, Fish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies
Hunter’s Pie - Turkey and Chicken, Cranberry Preserve, Crispy Sauerkraut
Was not marked Gluten Free but currently IS gluten free and safe for Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Sesame Allergies (Chef Chris said this dish needed updating on the allergy-friendly menu)
Wild Mushroom Bisque with Chive Oil
Marked Gluten Free & Safe for Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, Sesame, and Soy Allergies
If you’re dairy free, you can get versions of appetizers with modifications. We have seen vegan versions of the bisque (where it’s similar to a consomme) — and Brandon was served a gluten free & dairy free cucumber salad that could be an option too.
Overall, all three of these items were delicious. My favorite was actually the mushroom bisque. I’m not usually a mushroom fan, but both Brandon and I were loving this soup. I also really loved the meatball that I had too. This was so flavorful, and I could honestly have made a meal out of the soup and meatball if I had a big bowl and platter of them.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Modified Appetizer Trio / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon’s version was heavily modified, because he is allergic to fish/shellfish, chicken & turkey. He was able to get the Mushroom Bisque with no modifications. And, in place of the other two appetizers, he was given a cucumber salad and a side of kids mac & cheese (not gluten free).
Brandon really enjoyed everything he got, and he even liked the cucumber salad, which he’s not normally a fan of.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Wild Mushroom Bisque / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We were both raving about the mushroom bisque to Chef Chris, so he popped back to our table with a few additional bonus cauldrons of soup. So good!
Also, how adorable are these little cauldron soup cups?! Such great theming for the restaurant.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Waterbook Sauvignon Blanc / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We did end up getting drinks with our meal on this visit. Story Book Dining and many of the dining locations at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge do have a large collection of Pacific Northwest wines. I ended up with the Waterbook Sauvignon Blanc from Washington.
It wasn’t my favorite Sauvignon Blanc but it wasn’t bad either. I would say a solid glass of wine and a white wine that would please most palates.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Smoking Mirror / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon got one of the specialty cocktails made for the restaurant. The Smoking Mirror included Johnnie Walker Black 12yr Whisky, Wildberry, Lime, and Rosemary Smoke. The presentation of this was great. But, Brandon said that was probably the best part of the drink. It wasn’t his favorite and was extremely sweet. He wouldn’t get this again but said he was glad he tried it.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Magic Mirror's Slow-braised Pork Shank / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For my entree, I kept debating on what to order. I had originally planned on getting the gluten free & dairy free herb chicken dish on the menu, but Chef Chris said the pork shank was highly recommended and his favorite entree.
So, I ended up getting the Magic Mirror's Slow-braised Pork Shank. This entree was marked gluten free and safe for Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, Sesame, and Soy Allergies. It does contain dairy.
Overall, I really liked this dish. I can see why it’s so popular. The portion size was huge, and the pork was very tender. It was falling off the bone and had a lovely sweet & sour type glaze on it. The grits were good but not my favorite. They had a pretty hefty amount of goat cheese in the. I’m not a big goat cheese fan, so next time I’d probably order the herb chicken entree instead.
If you love pork and want a hearty meal that’s a sizeable portion, this is a really good entree to get at Story Book Dining.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Royal Prime Rib Roast / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For Brandon’s entree, he ended up getting the Royal Prime Rib Roast entree. Chef Chris confirmed that the potatoes, carrots & jus were all good for his special dietary needs — along with the popover (aka Yorkshire Pudding).
This dish can be made gluten free by removing the popover. It is also marked safe for Egg, Fish/Shellfish, and Peanut/Tree Nut, and Sesame Allergies. Some components do contain dairy, but I suspect this is an easy one to modify GFDF.
Brandon liked this entree but didn’t love it. He did say it exceeded his expectations, as he’s not a big prime rib fan. So, if you’re a prime rib fan, you will probably love this entree. Chef Chris did say this is the #1 best seller in the restaurant.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Gluten Free & Allergy-Friendly Dessert Trio / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For dessert, we were each served our own unique trio of dishes. Mine was the gluten free and allergy-friendly dessert. It was also vegan. I got the following (some of which weren’t listed on the restaurant’s allergy-friendly menu):
Fairy Tale Goosberry Crumble
Rotted Apple (aka plant-based brownie)
Chia Pudding
All of the dishes were gluten free, dairy free, nut free & vegan.
My favorite by far was the plant-based brownie shaped into a “rotted apple.” The flavors were great — perfect for a brownie bite. The chia pudding was my least favorite. I love pineapple, but I found the pineapple topping to be really bitter and the pudding itself wasn’t super flavorful. The gooseberry crumble was actually pretty tasty but super duper tart. If you don’t like that super tart flavor, you may not be a fan of this.
Overall, I really liked the dessert options and was impressed with the theming and inventiveness.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - Peanut & Tree Nut Free Dessert Trio / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon got the standard dessert trio, which were all safe for his peanut/tree nut allergies. This included:
Fairy Tale Gooseberry Pie
Marked Safe for Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, Sesame, and Soy Allergies
Miner’s Treasures - Cookies 'n Cream Panna Cotta, Chocolate Gems
Marked Safe for Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Sesame Allergies
“Poison” Apple
Marked Safe for Fish/Shellfish and Sesame Allergies and Chef Chris cleared it for Brandon’s nut allergies too
Brandon’s favorite of his desserts was by far the poison apple. He did not like the gooseberry pie, and he thought the cookies and cream panna cotta was just OK. So, you’re mileage may vary on which desserts you like or want to skip.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point - The Hunter’s Gift to the Queen / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
At the end of our meal, we were served a special “Hunter’s Gift to the Queen,” which included hand made chocolate hearts. We were told these were made in-house and didn’t contain any gluten. They told us we could also get Partake Brand cookies in place of the chocolate hearts if we didn’t feel comfortable consuming them.
We had no issues with the chocolates but were really glad that Chef Chris gave us options so we could make a decision about consuming what we felt most comfortable with.
If you want to hear more about our experience at Story Book Dining, check out the vlog we did for our YouTube channel for more information.
Overall
Our expectations for Story Book Dining were pretty middle of the road, because we’re not always big fans of character meals and set menus. But, we were absolutely blown away by how good this experience was. From the character interaction being well spaced out to the outstanding special dietary needs options, we couldn’t have asked for a better meal experience. If you love the Snow White characters and want a chance to meet them, this is hands down a must recommend. Even if you’re not a big fan of these characters, we felt the overall experience for a character meal was excellent. We really liked the pacing of the meal, the character interactions (be sure to check out our vlog for the most adorable message Snow White left for Brandon’s dad), and the quality of the food & the options we had. Both of us would agree that we wouldn’t hesitate to go back again and would highly recommend it.
Have you been to Story Book Dining? What was your experience dining there?