What to Order at Amare Before Your EPCOT Night

Published July 26, 2026 · Updated September 9, 2026

Amare is the move when your Disney World dinner plan needs to feel polished but not punishing. It sits at the Walt Disney World Swan Reserve, which makes it especially useful for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios days, but the real trick is using it as a reset: lighter Mediterranean flavors, a calmer resort setting, and a menu that can work for adults, date nights, and families who need something better than another fried theme-park meal.

The catch? Amare is not the place to order randomly. Mediterranean menus can look shareable and easy, but your meal can swing from excellent to expensive-and-forgettable depending on how you build it. Here’s the smarter way to approach it.

Start With Spreads or Something Shareable

At Amare, your best first move is usually something shareable: dips, spreads, breads, or a vegetable-forward starter if they are on the menu when you visit. Mediterranean restaurants shine when the table gets a few flavors going early, and this is also the easiest way to keep the meal from feeling too formal for kids or picky eaters.

If you are dining with a family, this matters. A starter gives everyone something safe to nibble while the adults order more interesting mains. It also buys time if you are coming from EPCOT, where kids may already be tired from walking World Showcase.

The smart move: order one shareable item before committing to multiple entrees. If the table is still hungry, add another round instead of over-ordering from the start.

Seafood Is Usually the Right Lane Here

Amare’s whole personality leans coastal Mediterranean, so seafood is the category to watch first. If the menu includes a simply prepared fish, shrimp, scallops, or a seafood pasta, that is usually where this restaurant makes the most sense.

Why? Because you are not coming here for the biggest portion on Disney property. You are coming for a cleaner, brighter meal that does not leave you regretting every choice on the walk back to EPCOT or your hotel. Seafood, citrus, herbs, olive oil, grains, and vegetables fit that job better than a heavy steakhouse-style order.

The trade-off: seafood can be the pricier lane, and menu availability changes. If value is your priority, compare the seafood options against any chicken, pasta, or flatbread-style dishes available that night before defaulting to the most expensive entree.

Flatbreads and Pastas Can Be the Value Play

If Amare has flatbreads, pasta, or other shareable mains available, do not treat them as backup orders. They can be the smartest way to eat here, especially if you are with kids, splitting appetizers, or planning dessert elsewhere.

This is where a casual planner can mess up: they assume the signature-looking entree is automatically the best order. Sometimes the better Disney World move is to spend less, split more, and leave flexible. That is especially true if your night includes EPCOT festival booths, BoardWalk snacks, or a later stop for drinks.

The smart move: if you are not starving, pair a spread or starter with a pasta or flatbread instead of each person ordering a full entree. You still get the Amare experience without turning dinner into the whole evening.

Who Amare Is Actually Best For

Amare is best for adults who want a calmer dinner near EPCOT, couples staying around the Crescent Lake area, and families who need a break from park food without going full fine dining.

It is especially useful if you are staying at the Swan Reserve, Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, or BoardWalk area. From EPCOT’s International Gateway, it can work as a strategic dinner escape, though you should be realistic about walking time and tired kids.

It is not the best choice if your group wants characters, ultra-themed dining, giant portions, or the cheapest meal possible. For those goals, you are probably better off choosing a different restaurant and saving Amare for a quieter night.

The Timing Trick: Use It Around EPCOT, Not Against EPCOT

The best way to use Amare is to build it around your EPCOT plan. If you are spending the evening in World Showcase, an early dinner can give you a reset before nighttime entertainment. If you are ending a Hollywood Studios day, it can be a calmer alternative to eating inside the park.

Just do not schedule it so tightly that you are sprinting between transportation, dinner, and a show. Resort restaurants are wonderful when they create breathing room. They are frustrating when they become another timed obligation.

The smart move: book Amare when you actually want to leave the park bubble for a bit. If your family is determined to maximize every last minute of ride time, keep dinner simpler and closer.

What to Skip If You Are Watching the Budget

Skip the automatic three-course mindset. Amare can become expensive quickly if every person gets an appetizer, entree, drink, and dessert. You do not need to do that to have a good meal here.

Instead, choose one splurge lane: a seafood entree, a nice shared starter, or drinks. Then keep the rest of the meal practical. Disney World dining costs add up fastest when you treat every meal like a special occasion.

Also be careful with resort convenience spending in general. If you forgot sunscreen, medicine, chargers, or other basics, resort shops can carry them, but the markup can sting. Pack the boring essentials before you leave home so your dining budget goes toward food you actually care about.

How to Get a Table Without Babysitting the App

Advance Dining Reservations open 60 days before arrival at 6:00 AM Eastern in My Disney Experience. If Amare is important to your plan, check then. But if you miss it, do not assume you are out of luck.

Dining availability changes because guests cancel and rearrange plans. That is where SupaPark’s dining Drop Watch is useful: SupaPark can ping you the second a table opens, then you grab it in My Disney Experience. That is the difference between checking randomly and letting the alert find you.

For a restaurant like Amare, this is especially helpful if you are trying to match dinner to an EPCOT or Hollywood Studios day instead of accepting whatever time happens to appear.

The Takeaway

Amare is not a must-do for every Disney World trip, but it is a very good strategic dinner when you want Mediterranean food, a calmer resort setting, and easy access from the EPCOT-area hotels. Order shareably, look hard at seafood, use flatbreads or pasta as the value play, and do not overbuild the meal.

The smartest version of Amare is simple: use it as a reset, not a production.

Go deeper — the full guides: The Insider’s Guide to EPCOT’s Regal Eagle Smokehouse: What to Eat, Skip, and Share · The Insider’s Menu and Booking Guide to California Grill · The Insider Guide to Vegetarian Dining in EPCOT’s World Showcase

SupaPark tracks live wait times and crowd forecasts, and pings you the second a hard-to-get reservation opens or a ride goes walk-on — free to start at supapark.com.

Keep planning: Amare · live dining reservation drops · is Lightning Lane worth it