Backlot Express

Backlot Express: dining at Disney's Hollywood Studios — location and planning data on MouseHub.

Visitor sentiment

4.2· 1,872 Google ratings

People say this restaurant serves tasty burgers, chicken strips, and teriyaki chicken bowls. They also highlight the reasonable prices, plentiful seating, and quick service. Other reviews mention the drinks section can be crowded.

Summarized with Gemini · Report summary

The MouseHub take

Backlot Express is a quick-service restaurant in Echo Lake at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and it has been serving there since Disney-MGM Studios opened on May 1, 1989. The menu runs to burgers, chicken strips, and Southwest salads, with a Teriyaki Chicken Bowl and a plant-based version of it for anyone who wants a break from the fryer. Entrees run $10.99 to $15.99, and the burgers and strip baskets arrive with fries or carrot sticks included. Doors open at 11:00 AM and the kitchen closes at 8:00 PM.

Most visitors come for the room as much as the food. Studio props and film memorabilia crowd the indoor halls, there is covered patio seating outside, and the air conditioning does most of the work on a Hollywood Studios afternoon. The drink station is self-serve, which is worth knowing before you buy a bottle somewhere else. Families with picky eaters do well here, and so do guests eating around an allergy, since the menu carries seven allergen-specific lists alongside the standard one. The recurring complaint is the beef. Reviewers call the burgers ordinary cafeteria food, and anyone hoping for more than theme park standards leaves flat.

At a glance

Best for: Families with picky eaters who want an air-conditioned table and a menu that holds no surprises.
Skip if: You are chasing a meal worth planning your day around, or you want dinner after 8:00 PM when the kitchen has closed.
Worth ordering: Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork Burger, Teriyaki Chicken Bowl, 1/3 lb Angus Bacon Cheeseburger, Honey Buffalo Chicken Strips with Ranch, Buffalo Fries
Reservations: No reservations to chase. It is a walk-up counter, and Mobile Order in the My Disney Experience app is the faster way in.
Value: Entrees run $10.99 to $15.99 and include a side, and reviewers think the portions match what counter service costs in the parks.

The good

The seating keeps going
Indoor halls and covered patios spread across the building, so a table turns up somewhere even when the room looks packed.
The air conditioning earns the stop by itself
A seated hour out of the Florida sun does as much for the afternoon as the meal does. Reviewers treat the cool rooms as the main reason to come.
Picky eaters find something they recognize
Burgers and chicken strips carry the menu, and the kids' side of it runs to chicken strips and macaroni and cheese for ages 9 and younger.
The allergy menus go deeper than most
Seven allergen-specific lists sit under the standard one, covering gluten and wheat, egg, fish and shellfish, milk, peanut and tree nut, sesame, and soy, each with its own entrees, kids' meals, and desserts.
The rooms are worth a lap
Studio props and film memorabilia fill the walls and ceilings, so the building reads as a working backlot warehouse rather than a dining room.
The drink station is self-serve
The fountain island is yours to work. Pour your own, and go back for a refill before you head out.
Beer and cocktails are on the board
Draft beer starts at $10.00, wine pours at $12.00, and the frozen cocktails run $16.50 to $18.50.

The bad

The burgers taste like cafeteria food
Reviewers keep landing on the beef, describing patties that come out dry and short on flavor. Nobody is leaving here talking about the burger.
The indoor tables go first at lunch
The air-conditioned seats fill through the noon rush, and parties arriving after that end up on the covered patio.
The menu plays it safe
Reviewers who eat their way around the park rate this one near the bottom for interest. The lineup has stayed close to fried standards for years.
The kitchen closes at 8:00 PM
Doors open at 11:00 AM, so there is no breakfast here, and dinner has to happen early. Anyone eating after the evening shows needs another plan.
The ice runs out at lunch
The self-serve island takes a beating through the noon rush, and diners report finding the dispensers empty.
Plant-based diners get one entree
The Plant-Based Teriyaki Tofu Bowl is the only one on the menu. The Southwest Salad without chicken still comes with cheddar on it.

Veteran tips

Order on the app before you walk over
Mobile Order lets you pick an arrival window and collect at the pickup window instead of standing at a register. Place it while you are still in the Star Tours line.
Arrive at 11:00 AM when the doors open
The first half hour is the reliable window for an indoor table. By noon the inside rooms are gone and the patio is what's left.
Skip the extra order of fries
Burgers and chicken strips already come with french fries or carrot sticks. A separate side is $5.49, or $6.99 for the Buffalo Fries.
Take the teriyaki bowl to dodge the fryer
Seasoned jasmine rice, teriyaki chicken, and yuzu-pickled edamame, at $13.29. The tofu version costs the same.
Split the Wookiee Cookie while it lasts
Two oatmeal cookies with vanilla cream filling and a milk chocolate sash, $7.49, and big enough for two people. The menu lists it as a limited-time offering, so it may be gone by your trip.
Ask for a Special Diets Trained Cast Member
Disney's own instruction on this menu is to speak with one on arrival at the location. Do that before ordering rather than at the pickup window.
Top up your cup before you leave
The self-serve station is the last free pour you'll get for a while. One caveat: the $14.79 Annual Passholder Tumbler is sold with a drink and the menu says it is not valid for refills.
Build the stop around Echo Lake
Star Tours and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular are both a short walk away, so lunch here costs you nothing in crossing the park.

MouseHub editorial, written from visitor reports and official Disney sources. Last reviewed August 12, 2026.