Following up the flushing success of the Tangled Toilets at Walt Disney World–arguably the best bathrooms anywhere–Imagineering has doubled down on Rapunzel with more than just restrooms. This Snuggly Duckling review and photo tour takes you inside the second in-park restaurant dedicated to Blondie and Eugene Fitzherbert.
The Snuggly Duckling is a counter service restaurant in Fantasy Springs, the new port-of-call themed to Peter Pan, Tangled and Frozen at Tokyo DisneySea. Somewhat like New Fantasyland over a decade before it, Fantasy Springs blends multiple intellectual properties into a single land in way that works. See our Fantasy Springs Review: Great Land, Good Port for more on that.
Rapunzel’s Forest is the smallest area in Fantasy Springs, transporting guests into the world of the Walt Disney Animation Studios film, Tangled. In this miniland, guests can enjoy Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival, the first Tangled attraction anywhere in the world to bring the story of Rapunzel to life in what might be Disney’s most romantic ride ever (as discussed/debated in our ride review).
The other highlight of Rapunzel’s Forest is the Snuggly Duckling restaurant, which is inspired by the tavern frequented by the ruffians in the film. Despite the Tangled area being smaller than its counterparts inspired by Frozen and Peter Pan, this is the largest restaurant of the bunch in Fantasy Springs, with a colossal 620-seat capacity.
This version of the Snuggly Duckling builds on the idea of the original Tangled Tree Tavern at Shanghai Disneyland and expands upon it significantly, with several indoor and outdoor seating areas. The best comparison is probably Gaston’s Tavern, either the version in Magic Kingdom or the larger one next door at Tokyo Disneyland. The Snuggly Duckling is significantly larger than all of those restaurants, but the idea of a ‘Tangled Tavern’ is similar.
The Snuggling Duckling is like stepping onto the ‘set’ of Tangled, with the exterior perfectly pulled from the film. The tavern’s facade is hidden behind the foliage of a massive tree that is partially growing into the building, with the iconic Snuggly Duckling sign by the entrance welcoming guests inside.
Once inside, you’ll notice plenty of artistic liberties taken, as this is a high-capacity counter service restaurant inside of a hangout for ruffians. The order and pickup areas alone are probably about the size of Gaston’s Tavern in Magic Kingdom. Speaking of which, guests need a Mobile Order just to enter the Snuggly Duckling restaurant, and there’s no ordering at the cash registers inside.
We’d expect this to change sooner or later, as we’ve noticed that Mobile Order hasn’t really caught on at Tokyo Disney Resort (strides have been made, but Japan is not a cashless country). For now, demand exceeds supply–despite the Tangled tavern’s huge size–so Mobile Order spots are filling up.
There’s no substitute for seeing inside yourself, so let’s start with a look around the various dining rooms of the Snuggly Duckling:
There’s no two ways about it–the Snuggly Duckling is a massive mess hall. It’s one of the largest restaurants at Tokyo DisneySea, behind only Zambini Brothers and Casbah Food Court. Also like those colossal counter service eateries, it manages to feel much more intimate thanks to exceptional themed design work and the space being broken up into multiple dining rooms.
There are a total of 4 such seating areas–3 indoors and 1 outside–along with the massive ordering area. Each have a defining thematic element (this reminded me of Be Our Guest) that sets the tone. One has a piano for Hook Hand to play, another features a fireplace and beautiful bear chair, and the final room is highlighted by a stunning murals and artwork painted by Rapunzel.
Much like the ruffians and the tavern in the film, the Snuggly Duckling offers a delightful dichotomy of manly men and feminine fun. You’ll spot weapons stuck in the walls, walls damaged from roughhousing and assorted antics, kegs and casks, skulls and bones–that sort of stuff. Then you’ll see magical unicorns, flowery princess paintings, and so forth.
Everywhere you look, there’s something to see. The interior itself is exactly what you’d expect of a tavern–masculine woods and rustic charm, with exposed beams, stone archways, warm lantern lighting, and that type of thing. The decor is an exercise in tonal contradictions, there’s a lot of it, and it’s very amusing. Imagineering did a superlative job of balancing the park’s practical need for much more counter service dining capacity with the expectation that this offer Tokyo DisneySea-caliber design and attention to detail. Mission accomplished.
With the beautiful themed design at the Snuggly Duckling out of the way, let’s turn to the menu.
This is where the Snuggly Duckling is going to go off the rails for most of you.
The Snuggly Duckling is one of Tokyo DisneySea’s crowd-pleasing restaurants, with a menu consisting of burgers, sandwiches, and even a plant-based option. I know what you might be thinking: “Fantastic–finally something for my family!” You’re probably wrong.
This is, essentially, American theme park fare as reinterpreted for Japanese tastes. And you know how people complain about World Showcase at EPCOT not offering truly authentic cuisine from [insert any of the countries]? Same idea here.
Let’s start with the Fried Shrimp Burger. This can be purchased as a sandwich-only, or as part of a set with a salad or fries and choice of soft drink.
The fried shrimp patty has a nice crunch and texture, the slaw adds a bit of flavor, and so too does the sauce–which struck me as a cross between thousand island dressing and tartar sauce.
This is a decent option if you enjoy this sort of thing. I love seafood and eat a lot of it in Japan, but would rather have grocery store sushi (which is actually quite good!) than this. Sarah liked it even less than I did. Nevertheless, I should probably share that every American we know preferred this to the other main option at the Snuggly Duckling.
That’s the Duckling Dream Cheeseburger. This can also be bought as a burger by itself, or as part of a set with salad or fries and soft drink.
Every American we know hates this. Every Japanese Disney fan we know loves it. Both of those statements are pretty much across the board. There’s one big exception: we somewhat liked this!
And the “we” there isn’t just me speaking for the blog. I’m probably going to ruin her healthy living street cred, but Sarah somewhat liked this, too. I can’t even begin to describe why–perhaps it was that we were craving American comfort food after a month-plus of sushi and ramen? I don’t really know, honestly. I normally hate TDR burgers, but I almost liked this (almost). It’s actually edible and borderline enjoyable.
This burger’s sauce is similar to the fried shrimp sandwich, minus the tartar sauce. These burger is topped with tomato, a thick slice of highly-processed ham, and slaw. The patty is low quality, typical of what you’d find at other counter service restaurants around Tokyo Disney Resort. It looks awful (above is the best looking version of this we received).
Yet somehow, it comes together and tastes kinda good. Almost addictively so? Again, no clue why. My theory is the hunk of ham melds with the sauce and the random chemicals that are surely in the various ingredients and somehow–against all odds–offers a unique and engaging flavor.
Look, I cannot explain myself and I know “this looks awful, is low-quality, highly-processed, and shouldn’t taste good…but does; I will not further explain why or how” is not exactly compelling critique. But I also know this wasn’t a one-off. We ate (I’m almost embarrassed to say the number) 4 of the Duckling Dream Cheeseburgers over the course of our visits to Fantasy Springs.
With that said, there are two big reasons for repeatedly revisiting this dish. First, this burger costs like $6 thanks to the low price and exchange rate, and the only other full meal alternative is the much more expensive Frozen restaurant. Second, you can’t exactly come and go from Fantasy Springs as you please right now due to the stringent virtual queue and timed entry. But for that, we would’ve only eaten at the Snuggly Duckling once.
For its specialty drink, the Snuggly Duckling serves up Rapunzel’s Magical Milk Tea.
This milk tea is creamy and sweet–a standard sweetened black tea, plus milk, and tapioca balls along with a hint of fruitiness. Sarah found it to be a bit too sweet, but I thought it was perfect.
I could get this again and again–and in fact, I did. The Vacation Package includes unlimited drinks, and I put down about a half-dozen of these puppies over the course of one day. Now that was too much sugar.
The first dessert served at the Snuggly Duckling is the Caramel Duckling Muffin.
What you see is what you get here, which might actually be praise considering the rest of the menu. This is a regular spice-cake muffin topped with cream and filled with caramel. It’s soft, moist and flavorful. It tastes exactly like it should, with no discernible faults or mental gymnastics required for a positive review.
With that said, it’s a very simple dessert in a park that has over a dozen spectacular snacks. Even though it’s cheap, there are better uses of your limited stomach space unless you’re really into muffins or have like 2 weeks at Tokyo Disney Resort.
Finally, there’s the Sweets Ever After dessert, which is arguably the flagship menu offering given it’s served in Rapunzel’s signature skillet.
This is fine. Let’s be honest with one another–you’re ordering this for the photo, doin’ it for the ‘Gram, as the kids say. Right? And it’ll fill the role of making fellow fans envious.
As for the taste, the Sweets Ever After sadly isn’t anything special. It’s topped with tasty strawberry and blueberry, along with a lemon cream that offers a sweet-but-artificial tartness. No complaints about any of this. It’s the pastry itself, which is deflated in the middle and way too chewy throughout, that makes this dessert a dud. (I’d happily revisit this in the future if I see photos that look puffy and airy, which is how I assume this should be.)
Ultimately, the Snuggly Duckling is an solid addition to the restaurant lineup at Tokyo DisneySea. The park desperately needed more counter service dining capacity, and this is just the ticket: a high-capacity and fully-fledged counter service restaurant. It’s basically Tokyo DisneySea’s answer to Tomorrowland Terrace at Tokyo Disneyland, but with a much better setting.
The Snuggly Duckling is a good option for picky eaters who find the park’s other counter service restaurants to be unapproachable for whatever reason. With that said, I could see a lot of American palates being put-off by the texture and consistency of the burger and everything about the fried shrimp sandwich. So I guess more accurately, it’s a good option for Japanese picky eaters, which may not help you much if you’re reading this English language review.
Thematically, the Snuggly Duckling is also very strong. If this were a new quick-service restaurant at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, we’d be showering it with praise for the lavishness and attention to detail. But it’s not. At Tokyo DisneySea, this is consistent with other massive meal halls, but–at best–middle of the pack overall from a thematic perspective.
All things considered, it’s very difficult to actively recommend the Snuggly Duckling unless you’re a hardcore Tangled fan, need a plant-based option, find the other menus unapproachable, or are stuck eating in Fantasy Springs and don’t want to splurge on the Frozen restaurant. Even though we liked the burger that everyone else loves to hate, this wouldn’t crack my top 10 places to eat at Tokyo DisneySea.
In an ideal world, you’d use the Vacation Package to see the inside of the Snuggly Duckling and try out Rapunzel’s Magical Milk Tea. Failing that, Mobile Order one of the Dream Burgers to share, see if we’re out of our minds, and use that as your ticket inside. The Snuggly Duckling is definitely worth seeing, but even with the most charitable possible reviews of the menu, it’s not worth your limited stomach space unless you have very, very specific tastes.
Planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort? For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea Trip Planning Guide! For more specifics, our TDR Hotel Rankings & Reviews page covers accommodations. Our Restaurant Reviews detail where to dine & snack. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money post. Our What to Pack for Disney post takes a unique look at clever items to take. Venturing elsewhere in Japan? Consult our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto, Japan and City Guide to Tokyo, Japan.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you dined at the Snuggly Duckling? What’d you order? Did you love or hate the food? Think we’re crazy for kinda, sorta enjoying the burger? Thoughts on how the Tangled restaurant stacks up to other options at Tokyo DisneySea from a thematic perspective? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
