Top Tips
Indoor and outdoor seating is available.
Wheelchair, ECV and stroller friendly but recommend leaving strollers and ECVs outside if possible.
Breakfast and lunch/dinner menus available, including beer and pre-mixed cocktails.
Extensive allergy free menu.
Mobile ordering available.
Free, unlimited 8 oz cups of self-serve water available at the hydration station inside - no need to wait in line at a register for free water.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is astonishingly immersive, with sights and sounds that make guests feel as if they really are on another planet. The unique atmosphere extends to the various dining options, of which Docking Bay 7 is the largest and the only one that offers a full range of dining options. It is also the only Galaxy’s Edge restaurant that has both indoor and outdoor seating.
This article is part of my Galaxy’s Edge series and gives a detailed overview of the restaurant for plus size diners, and those with a range of accessibility requirements. It should be read in conjunction with the video.
The Menu
Docking Bay 7 follows in the footsteps of Satu’li Canteen in Animal Kingdom’s Pandora in offering high quality, well presented food that is just a little different, and much better, than most Quick Service restaurants. It serves breakfast as well as a lunch/dinner menu, and the range of offerings is quite vast, including vegan/vegetarian meals as well as shellfish, beef, pork and chicken.
All of the meals have exotic sounding Star Wars names like Endorian Tip-Yip, which is fried chicken breast served on top of mashed potatoes mixed with peas and carrots. The names of the foods are intergalactic, but the food is familiar. One thing you won’t find here is the standard Quick Service burger and fries. There are salads, noodle dishes and more.
Mobile ordering is available. I highly recommend you use it. It is so easy and will save you tons of time.
My Meal
On my first trip to the Black Spire Outpost I stopped for lunch, and ordered the Endorian Tip-Yip. The chicken I ordered was lightly fried and had a nice peppery flavor to the crispy outside, but was still juicy inside. The mashed potatoes were straight forward, regular potatoes with a firm texture. Crisp, fresh peas and carrots were blended into the mash, reminding me of shepherd’s pie. The dish had a light sauce at the bottom that was described as herb gravy but was more like a light, spicy green chile sauce with a hint of cilantro: complex, well-seasoned with a bite but no lingering heat. I was really surprised by the quality and sophistication of this Quick Service meal.
I tried the Moof juice - a blend of fruit punch, orange and pineapple juices. It tasted as though it had hints of tangerine and mango. Again, a very sophisticated, almost cocktail-like concoction which was surprising for a non-alcoholic drink in a quick service restaurant.
I finished off my meal with the Oi Oi Puff, because it sounded really different and the presentation was so cool looking. The pastry actually had a much heavier, bread like texture than I was expecting and it was not overly sweet which was good. It was topped with a super sweet, tangy, whipped citrus topping and crowned with a chocolate wafer coin embossed with the symbol of the Black Spire Outpost and dusted with wispy pieces of green cake. Mighty fancy for a quick service dessert! The taste and texture were about a thousand times better than your average quick service cupcake. I was blown away. Even though I am not a fan of custard filling, the raspberry flavor of the filling blended so well with the citrus topping and hint of chocolate that I was super glad I ordered it.
I really loved the food I ordered and, based on all the empty plates I witnessed all around me, others loved their meals as well. I am very much looking forward to trying all the dishes I can. In particular, I am looking forward to the Falucian Garden, which is the restaurant’s vegan meal that features meat free meatballs. I’ve heard it’s an amazing dish.
The Restaurant and Seating
Docking Bay 7 offers indoor air conditioned seating, as well as outdoor seating in a courtyard and at tables with umbrellas. There is a surprising number of seating options inside this restaurant. You can dine inside at tables for 2 to 10, or dine solo at one of several high-top counter spaces. All of the fixed seats are plus size accessible.
At the time of my visit, I was 327 lbs, 5’ 4” tall and wearing size 28 bottoms and 4x top. I was able to easily slide into all the fixed seating with plenty of space to spare. There are lots of drum style movable seats surrounding the tables throughout the restaurant. Most tables are pedestal style and can be moved, as needed, to accommodate people of size, wheelchairs, ECVs and strollers.
I urge you not to bring strollers and ECVs into the restaurant unless you desperately need them. Although there is ample space in the restaurant to move them, they can be difficult to manoeuvre when the dining room gets crowded. If at all possible, park your stroller or ECV outside and use the entrance gate to grab a table for your party inside the restaurant while someone gets your food. However, there is a wide gated entrance for wheelchair access.
The high ceilings and hard concrete surfaces in this restaurant cause a lot of echo: during busy periods, the noise may be a slight issue for those with auditory sensory concerns.
I have mild auditory concerns and chose to sit at a table in one of the pods where I had walls surrounding me on two sides. It felt a bit quieter and calmer in the seating pod.
There are areas in front of the restaurant that might be a bit quieter but I felt the quietest place was outside the exit in the enclosed outdoor dining section. This is a better option during cooler, drier weather.
Much like Satu’li Canteen in Pandora, Docking Bay 7 serves food in real dishes with metal flatware. I feel like this elevates the atmosphere. I like that reusable plates and flatware are more eco-friendly as well. Cups are paper, but this allows you to take your drinks to go. Free water is available at the hydration station inside, so there is no need to wait in the queue if that's all you want.
Each section of the restaurant has one or two Cast Members assigned to tending that section: clearing plates for guests, immediately wiping down vacated tables and assisting guests to find an open table. This is a much more efficient system than other Disney Quick Service dining rooms. The vibe is that Cast Members have full ownership of how their section is run and therefore the service to guests is elevated. I really like this. Cast Members seem proactive and pleased to assist guests, and guests seem grateful for the extra personal touch.
Allergies
One of the things that impressed me the most about Docking Bay 7 was the allergy free menu. Just about every dish in the restaurant falls within one of the allergy free categories. This menu is super well designed and most allergy categories have at least 3 options available - some have six! That’s amazing! I have an allergy to shellfish and found tons of things on the menu that met my allergy needs.
The allergy menus can be viewed on Disney’s website. Mobile ordering is available from the allergy menus, which is a new and very welcome development.
Price
The food at Docking Bay 7 is a cut above your average quick service, but so are the prices: entrees for adults start at about $13 and climb to $19 per person. Specialty non-alcoholic juice drinks run just under $6 each, a beer is over $13 and a cocktail is $15. Desserts are about $7 each.
You can use Disney Dining Plan Quick Service and snack credits here, which is a good use of them for guests who are looking for a healthier or unique alternative, or just some higher quality food.
My most recent meal there was a mid range entree, a non-alcoholic juice drink, a soda and a dessert. My bill was $34.04. Ouch! But the food was so good, and served so quickly, that I didn’t mind. If you skip dessert, opt to drink free cups of water available at the hydration station inside the restaurant and by pass beer, cocktails, juices and soft drinks, you can squeak by with a bill under $20 per adult.
Conclusion
Overall I would like to say “Well Done” to Disney for such a wonderful menu, high quality food and elevated service. I am super pleased with the allergy menu and the selection of seating accessible to plus size people, people using mobility devices, single diners and large parties. Satu’li Canteen used to be my favorite Quick Service but I think Docking Bay 7 may be giving it a run for its money. Bravo, Disney! I hope to see more quick services like this in the future. For a long time I have been less than impressed with Quick Service at WDW but Satu’li Canteen and Docking Bay 7 are changing my mind.
This article is part of my Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge series. For a detailed review of Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, please read that here.
Disclosure and Transparency
I paid for this meal with my own funds, and used an Annual Passholder discount that is available to all Disney World Annual Pass holders.