Sunshine Tree Terrace

Sunshine Tree Terrace: dining at Magic Kingdom Park — location and planning data on MouseHub.

Visitor sentiment

4.4· 103 Google ratings

The MouseHub take

Sunshine Tree Terrace has served soft-serve from a window in Adventureland since October 1, 1971, and the orange and vanilla swirl is the reason people stop. Disney lists that swirl on the menu as the Orange Cream Soft-serve Cup, which is worth knowing before you get to the register. The other draw is the I Lava You Float, DOLE Whip Orange over Fanta Strawberry and Red Passion Fruit Syrup with popping candy on top, for $7.59. Cups are $5.79 and the other floats $6.79, so this is one of the cheaper stops in Magic Kingdom.

Plan on eating standing up. The window has no tables of its own, so visitors carry their cups to a bench or a low wall and finish before the heat does it for them. The walkway outside gets crowded, and by early afternoon the group waiting on orders blocks the path through. Mobile Order in My Disney Experience skips the register, and placing one while you walk over costs nothing. Groups wanting a table, air conditioning, or an actual lunch should keep going.

At a glance

Best for
Two people who want a cheap citrus swirl and are happy to eat it walking
Skip if
You need a table, a seat out of the sun, or something that counts as lunch
Worth ordering
Orange Cream Soft-serve Cup, DOLE Whip Orange Cup, DOLE Whip Strawberry Cup, I Lava You Float
Reservations
Nothing to book. Disney runs it as a snack window, so you either walk up or send the order ahead with Mobile Order.
Value
The cheapest treat in Adventureland. Every cup is $5.79, most floats are $6.79, and the I Lava You Float tops the board at $7.59.

The good

  • The Orange Bird came back in 2012
    Bob Moore and Don MacLaughlin drew him for the Florida Citrus Commission in 1969, and he swung from a branch on the mythical Sunshine Tree inside the stand. A 2012 refurbishment put the original 1971 figure back and revealed him on the new sign.
  • Nothing on the board passes $7.59
    Cups of DOLE Whip or soft-serve are $5.79, most floats are $6.79, and the I Lava You Float is the top price. Two people can eat here for the cost of one sit-down dessert.
  • The line clears fast
    Visitors describe the window as a quick stop rather than a wait. Cast members build the cups as the orders come in, so the queue keeps moving even when it looks long.
  • The citrus cuts through the heat
    The tart orange reads as cold in a way a chocolate swirl does not, which is what visitors keep coming back to on a July afternoon.
  • Mobile Order skips the register
    Disney lists this as a Mobile Order location. Place the order in My Disney Experience, walk to the window, and collect without joining the line.
  • One float goes around two people
    Visitors report the floats arriving bigger than they expected. A couple splitting an I Lava You Float each get a snack out of it.
  • The line is shorter than Aloha Isle's
    Both windows sit in Adventureland and both serve DOLE Whip, and visitors consistently say this one is the faster of the two.

The bad

  • There are no tables here
    The window comes with no seating of its own. You eat on a bench, on a low wall, or on your feet.
  • Nothing covers you while you eat
    Whatever spot you find is out in the open, so a hot afternoon melts the soft-serve and a rain shower ends the snack.
  • The walkway jams at the window
    Guests waiting on orders spill into the path with strollers, and visitors describe having to push through the bottleneck to get past.
  • The I Lava You Float is very sweet
    Fanta Strawberry, Red Passion Fruit Syrup, and popping candy on top of DOLE Whip is a lot of sugar in one cup. Visitors buying it for the novelty often find it too much to finish.
  • Dining Plan meals are not accepted
    Disney flags the location as not taking Dining Plan meals, so a group working through entitlements is paying out of pocket at this window.

Veteran tips

  • Send the order ahead on the app
    Place it in My Disney Experience as you walk into Adventureland, then collect at the window instead of standing in the line.
  • The swirl hides under another name
    The orange and vanilla swirl Disney puts on its own sign is listed as the Orange Cream Soft-serve Cup, $5.79. Ask for it by that name and you will get what you came for.
  • Ask for DOLE Whip in any float
    Every $6.79 float, from Barq's Root Beer to Sprite, comes with your choice of DOLE Whip or soft-serve. The default is not the only option.
  • Split the I Lava You Float
    At $7.59 it is the priciest thing on the board and the biggest. Two people sharing one spend less than two cups would cost.
  • Send someone for a bench first
    One of you claims a seat across the walkway while the other collects the order. At midday that is the difference between sitting and standing.
  • Come before the afternoon crowd
    Visitors report the shortest waits in the morning and the longest once the middle of the day fills Adventureland up.
  • Look up at the sign
    The Orange Bird sits on the stand's sign, and the figure inside is the 1971 original. It is a two-second detour that most people walk past.
  • Take more napkins than you need
    Soft-serve in Florida heat goes soft before you finish it, and the popping candy on the I Lava You Float ends up on your hands.

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

Sources