Splitsville Luxury Lanes Review
Splitsville Luxury Lanes is a bowling alley and restaurant in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World. This review of their dining room features food photos, our take on the ambiance here, and whether it’s worth taking time from your vacation to try Splitsville. As basic planning info, the Splitsville dining room is a 1-credit table service restaurant on the Disney Dining Plan and accepts Tables in Wonderland for a 20% discount.
It took us a while before deciding to finally give Splitsville a chance. Stereotypes about bowling alley food and the locale’s own statement about “luxury” lanes kept us away. We had no interest in finding out what luxury bowling alley pricing meant at Walt Disney World, a place where location surcharges are already common. That, and we weren’t particularly keen on “luxury” bowling alley food prices, especially since we assumed the cuisine would be mediocre, at best.
When it comes to dining at Splitsville, it turns out that both things keeping us away were inaccurate. Not only is the food far better than mediocre (or, as Stacey puts it, “the menu is unexpected”) but the pricing is nowhere near “luxury” levels. To the contrary, Splitsville offers some of the best value-for-money dining in all of Walt Disney World. To say we were shocked by our experience here would be an understatement…
Before we turn to the cuisine, let’s start with ambiance. Obviously, this is a bowling alley. I would stop short of describing it as a luxury bowling alley–it’s more like a hybrid sports bar and bowling alley that is family friendly. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect of a bowling alley at Walt Disney World: nicer than the norm, and with an inviting atmosphere making it appropriate for guests of all ages.
Stereotypes about bowling alleys (in my mind at least) paint them as drab, raucous places where the beer flows and people engage in adult fun. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with any of those things, but I think it’s safe to say Splitsville turns that stereotype on its head.
There is, of course, beer and fun, but the ambiance is decidedly light and airy. It’s multi-level design makes it feel less like a hole-in-the-wall joint and more like a family bowl-a-plex. (That’s a word I made up–but describing it as a cross between a cineplex and lifestyle center for bowling seems apt.)
We dined here on a Sunday during the heart of the NFL season, and while the restaurant was pretty busy (and showing virtually every game) it did not have the same intense atmosphere as a place like ESPN Club.
As such, I’d think Splitsville is a good compromise location for mixed parties with half of the group wanting to watch the big game…and half less than interested.
That mural really ties the room together.
Okay, now let’s take a look at the food we tried…
To start, we had the Fantasy Roll sushi. Our server recommended it, calling it shockingly good. I was bracing myself for the worst. The words “bowling alley sushi” practically make my stomach churn, and seems like about as much of a gamble as a gas station hot dog.
To our surprise and delight, the Fantasy Roll was fairly good. Definitely not the best or most inventive sushi we’ve ever tried, but the quality of all ingredients was high.
Even though we were pleasantly surprised by the sushi, I probably wouldn’t recommend it. Relative to our entrees, the sushi was expensive, and it wasn’t that good. It certainly scores points for being better than expected, but that shouldn’t be the basis for what to order.
For my entree, I got the Firehouse Pizza. This is a fairly large (I don’t recall the precise size) pizza with mozzarella, diced chicken tenders, Buffalo sauce, blue cheese and drizzled with ranch dressing.
It’s unbelievably good, and easily large enough for 2 people to share. (And you definitely should order this to share among a few people, as it’s quite rich.)
I really can’t say enough positive things about this pizza. It’s a couple dollars more expensive than a counter service pizza at PizzeRizzo, but significantly larger and in a different league when it comes to quality.
This is what Walt Disney World should be doing with pizza.
Sarah ordered the Spicy Veggie Bowl. This is a rice bowl with broccoli, kale, and crisp mixed veggies stir-fried in spicy kimchee tataki sauce. Topped with avocado and green onions, served over sushi rice.
She said the vegetables were nice and crisp (as advertised on the menu), not soggy like they’d been sitting around for a while. They tasted fresh and it all came together for a great flavor. Not dripping in sauce, but with just enough to enhance the flavor of the vegetables, rather than overpowering them. Value was also really good here–this bowl was large and high quality, but priced at the upper end of the counter service spectrum.
We did not bowl here because…obviously, we are not golfers.
Actually, we didn’t bowl here because of pricing. I don’t have a firm grasp on bowling prices in the real world (since I’m not a bowler), but Splitsville struck me as expensive. (I could be way off here–bowlers, any comments on Splitsville pricing?) It’s odd that food is so inexpensive while bowling is seemingly expensive. But I guess this is a very complicated case. You know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous.
All in all, we are now fans of Splitsville. With that said, I wouldn’t put it among the elite restaurants at Disney Springs from a culinary perspective, nor would I recommend it as a must-visit restaurant for a first-timer. Rather, it’s a place to go for a few reasons: 1) you are a bowler; 2) at least part of your party wants to watch a sporting event; 3) you’re a Walt Disney World veteran who wants to try something new; or, 4) you want a table service quality meal at near counter service prices. If you’ve yet to give it a try, I think Splitsville is worth your time, and something many people will find to be an unexpected gem. But yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, my opinion, man. What’s your opinion, man?
We went to Splitsville in 2014. My family likes to bowl, and Splitsville seemed like XL bowling. Needless to say we were excited to go.
I thought the food was ok. Nothing that wowed me. The bowling, like you pointed out, was crazy expensive. I could have paid for 6 games of bowling for my son, wife, and I in NJ (where everything is expensive compared to the rest of the country) for what I paid for 2 games for just my son and I. My wife sat out, because of the price.
I don’t see us going back anytime soon.
We go to splitsville every trip. They have spoiled us for bowling here at home. We also eat there every trip. Great burgers, kids love the pizza and I really enjoy the sushi as it’s healthy. Early bird bowling makes it an inexpensive day out.
My wife always says the best salmon she has ever had was in a bowling alley in Florida – Splitsville!
We have this rule that we don’t go anywhere/do anything while on vacation at Disney World that we could do at home in Texas (Rainforest Cafe, for example). There was a Splitsville in town several years ago that we’ve been to several times, which is why we weren’t interested in it at Disney. However, it was closed down due to not paying rent or taxes or something or other. So I guess it’s technically back on the table, but it still doesn’t seem vacation-y enough to me.
Splitsville was sorely needed as there was previously no other consistent place to watch sports at DD/DS. The fact that the food is tasty & reasonable is a huge bonus. We’ve eaten there on each of our previous 3 WDW vacations.
As a So Cal local, I’m thrilled that Splitsville is also coming to Anaheim.
My wife & I love ESPN Zone, but more sports viewing capacity is needed.
Very often there’s no seats available at any of the 3 bars during big game days.
We aren’t bowlers, never will be, but count Splitsville as a real gem.
To tie the research together, figure somewhere between $4-$6 per game depending on weekday/weekend, $20-$30 per hour for a lane rental, and $2-$4 for shoes in the real world.
Are there only ten lanes?
Nice to hear you liked it since it’s coming to Disneyland. Do you think this is a good decision, and it will fit well in Downtown Disney?
If you can go for lunch on a weekday, there is an early bird bowling special that makes the price much more reasonable. Something like $10 for adults, $5 for children, for an hour-plus.
Tommy, you’re clearly out of your element. And dude, careful, there’s a beverage here!
I think Splitsville seems more expensive because you’re paying for more than one game. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of paying for a block of time, at least it’s an ethos.
It’s a league game, Smokey.
I’ve eaten there twice and wouldn’t hesitate to eat there again… I found the food to be rather good (the desserts were amazing) and reasonably priced.
We have never bowled at Splitsville, but have eaten there twice and enjoyed the food both times. Great menu and nice sushi options. Looking forward to the opening of the Downtown Disney Anaheim location.
Great review. It seems like there were a lot of ins, a lot of outs here. A lot of what-have-yous. A lot of strands to keep in your head, man. I’m glad you adhered to a pretty strict [food] regimen to keep your mind, you know, limber, for this review.