The Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger brings bacon, cheese, and fries to Seuss Landing at Universal Islands of Adventure, but it is a step down from the former sandwich with a similar name.

Once, ordering the Roast Beast at Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous meant getting something that felt like it belonged in a Dr. Seuss restaurant. Unfortunately, the current Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger is a very different experience.

We recently tried the Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger at Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous in Universal Islands of Adventure, and while nothing is particularly wrong with the burger, it is hard not to see it as a significant step down from the Roast Beast Sandwich that previously carried the name. The Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger is essentially a bacon cheeseburger with caramelized onion aioli, tomato, and lettuce on a toasted brioche bun, served with crinkle-cut fries. It is priced at $18.99

In fairness, that description pretty much tells you what you are getting…

What Is the Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger?

The Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger takes the very familiar theme-park cheeseburger formula and gives it a Seuss-themed name. The burger features bacon, cheese, caramelized onion aioli, tomato, and lettuce on a toasted brioche bun. Crinkle-cut fries accompany the burger.

At $18.99, it is positioned alongside several of the more substantial entrees at Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous. The current menu also includes the Morris’s Mac-nificent Mac & Cheese Cone, a chicken sandwich, a chicken salad, and two types of pizza.

The problem is that the Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger doesn’t quite feel like a Roast Beast. It feels like a standard theme park quick-service bacon cheeseburger. Of course, most of the menu feels that way these days.

There’s nothing wrong with a bacon cheeseburger. Sometimes you just want a burger and fries. Still,  when you call something the Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger at a restaurant inspired by Dr. Seuss, expectations naturally go a little higher than “burger, lettuce, tomato and fries.”

A Very Basic Burger

The Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger is a perfectly recognizable theme park burger, but that is also its biggest weakness. The caramelized onion aioli is meant to add personality, while the bacon and cheese deliver the familiar combination guests expect. The lettuce and tomato add the usual burger toppings, and everything is served on a brioche bun.

The result is not some bizarre or experimental creation that requires a trip to the circus to understand. It is a basic bacon cheeseburger.

There is something almost comical about how ordinary the burger feels when compared with the name “Roast Beast.” You hear Roast Beast and might expect something distinctive. Instead, you get a cheeseburger that could probably introduce itself at a theme park burger convention, and nobody would question why it was there.

The crinkle cut fries are exactly the kind of familiar side that makes sense with the burger. Still, they do little to change the overall impression.

This is not a bad meal because it is simple. The issue is that the price and the Roast Beast name suggest something more memorable.

The Roast Beast Sandwich Was a Different Story

This is where longtime Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous guests may have the biggest problem with the current offering. The Roast Beast Sandwich was a much more distinctive menu item.

When Circus McGurkus reopened in 2024 with its revamped menu, the Roast Beast Sandwich became a permanent menu item after previously appearing as a Who-lidays seasonal offering. That sandwich featured mushroom meatloaf, shaved ribeye, cheddar cheese, and crispy onions with secret sauce on a pretzel bun, served with curly fries. That is a considerably more ambitious sandwich than the current bacon cheeseburger.

The former Roast Beast Sandwich had multiple components that set it apart from the standard theme park sandwich lineup. It also fit the restaurant’s whimsical personality much better.

Now compare that with the current burger:

• Mushroom meatloaf? Gone.
• Shaved ribeye? Gone.
• Crispy onions? Gone.
• Pretzel bun? Gone.

Instead, we have a bacon cheeseburger…

Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with that. However, going from a mushroom meatloaf and shaved ribeye sandwich to a fairly standard bacon cheeseburger feels like somebody took the Roast Beast, sent it to a theme park kitchen, and told it to simplify its résumé.

What First-Time Guests Should Know

For guests who have never visited Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous, the restaurant is located in Seuss Landing at Universal Islands of Adventure. The restaurant centers around Little Morris McGurk from Dr. Seuss’s If I Ran the Circus, and the interior embraces the big-top concept with colorful Seuss-themed details. Guests can also see the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! passing overhead.

This quick-service restaurant is a relatively easy option when you are already spending time in Seuss Landing and want a full meal without committing to a traditional table-service restaurant.

One useful thing for guests to know: the restaurant also offers pickup. The pickup window is located to the right of the restaurant entrance, and the condensed pickup menu includes the Roast Beast Bacon Burger.

Still, the restaurant itself is part of the attraction here. You are not simply walking into another generic counter service building. The circus setting, Seuss theming, and overhead trolley make the location one of the more visually distinctive quick-service restaurants at Universal Islands of Adventure.

Is the Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger Worth $18.99?

This is where the burger becomes difficult to recommend based solely on the food. At $18.99, the Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger is not an inexpensive theme park lunch. At that price, we want the food to be more memorable than a basic bacon cheeseburger with fries.

The burger does have caramelized onion aioli, which adds a little more personality than the most basic burger. Nevertheless, the overall experience still lands firmly in familiar territory.

For a first time visitor who has never experienced the former Roast Beast Sandwich, that comparison will not mean much. They will simply see a bacon cheeseburger on the menu and can decide whether that sounds appealing. However, for longtime guests who remember the Roast Beast Sandwich, the current offering is a different story.

The old sandwich had an identity. The new burger has bacon. Sadly, that may be the most succinct way to describe the change.

Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger at Circus McGurkus Café Stoo-pendous

The Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger is not an awful theme park burger. It is a basic theme park burger. That distinction matters, which is why we keep typing it!

If you want a familiar bacon cheeseburger while exploring Seuss Landing, this option gives you exactly that. The toasted brioche bun, bacon, cheese, vegetables, and caramelized onion aioli are a recognizable combination, and the crinkle-cut fries complete the expected burger meal.

However, the Roast Beast name sets expectations that the sandwich itself doesn’t really meet. For us, the biggest disappointment is not that Universal Orlando Resort serves a bacon cheeseburger. It is that this bacon cheeseburger replaced a much more interesting Roast Beast concept. The former Roast Beast Sandwich sounded like something you could only get at Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous. The Roast Beast Bacon Cheeseburger sounds like something you could get at approximately 47 theme parks.

Sometimes the simplest meal is exactly what you want. This just happens to be a case where we miss the much more interesting Roast Beast that came before it.

More Universal Orlando Theme Park Dining Reviews

• Johnny’s Pizza Hot Dog at Fat One’s
• Portland Cream Voodoo Doughnut
• Butterfinger Voodoo Doughnut
• Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feats Kitchen

For more theme park dining reviews, visit MSM News every weekday at noon Eastern Time. Additionally, we sometimes post bonus theme park dining reviews. As always, eat like you mean it!

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