On-the-go churros or hen fingers work for some Disneyland Resort friends for some meals. Nevertheless, once you’re spending as a lot as a visit to a Disney theme park prices today, you may need to be certain you are having fun with the perfect of what it has to supply — together with at eating places and on meals.
Whereas Disney World’s eating places are sometimes essentially the most talked about, Disneyland eating choices have additionally remodeled. With elevated crowds and rapidly booked-up eating places, it is a good suggestion to map out your consuming plan prematurely, at the least for a couple of meals.
What makes a Disney restaurant nice will not be essentially what delivers the perfect foodie expertise. It might be a personality expertise, a enjoyable theme or a great place proper close to the rides that make the restaurant particular.
Does it get higher than truly consuming inside an attraction on the Blue Bayou and watching the Pirates of the Caribbean boats go by? We expect not.
We have dined at dozens of Disneyland eating places over time on each household and adult-only holidays, from the smallest of snack carts to the fanciest white-tablecloth eateries. This is what you must find out about eating at Disneyland and our picks for the perfect Disneyland eating places — whether or not you are at Disneyland, Disney California Journey Park or at a Disneyland resort.
Associated: Every thing you should find out about visiting Disneyland
For no-cost help with planning and reserving your subsequent Disney trip, try TPG’s Disney reserving associate, Mouse Counselors.
Greatest eating places in Disneyland Resort
Listed below are a number of the greatest Disneyland eating places to get pleasure from.
Plaza Inn
The place it’s: Most important Road, U.S.A.
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What’s on the menu: Mickey waffles and fried hen
Dwelling to the one Disneyland character meal inside both of the 2 parks, Plaza Inn is a favourite for households or anybody who needs some character face time. Throughout morning hours, Plaza Inn hosts Minnie & Pals — Breakfast within the Park. The breakfast is buffet type, with kid-friendly favorites like Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles accessible alongside eggs, biscuits and gravy and different morning consolation meals.
Guests are at all times assured a photograph alternative with Minnie Mouse. Different common characters embody Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Chip ‘n Dale, Pluto and Daisy Duck.
Reservations go rapidly for this meal, so make your plans as quickly because the 60-day advance reservation window opens. A reminder — early morning hours are the perfect time for brief trip traces — so you might not need to waste these first few hours sitting down for breakfast. Reserve a time that is a couple of hours after the park opens. (I’ve at all times discovered that 10:30 a.m. is right on days with an 8 a.m. park opening.)
For lunch and dinner, the characters name it a day and the restaurant turns into a daily fast-casual restaurant. Even with out characters, Plaza Inn is a restaurant with plenty of worth. Costs are cheap and parts are hearty. Do not miss the restaurant’s signature dish, fried hen.
Bengal Barbecue
The place it’s: Adventureland
What’s on the menu: Chieftain hen skewer, Bengal beef skewer
For a really fast chew, Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland has at all times been one in all my household’s favorites.
The menu provides plenty of lean meats and some veggies — a welcome change from all of the churros and Mickey ice cream bars that usually make up a Disneyland weight loss program. Most of the meals gadgets are on skewers, so you may take them to go as you race off to your subsequent Genie+ reservation time. In case you have extra time, sit and take a break within the adjoining shaded and themed seating space.
Crimson Rose Taverne
The place it’s: Fantasyland
What’s on the menu: Burgers and chopped salads
In case you have little ones, likelihood is good that you will spend plenty of time in Fantasyland. The fast-service restaurant there works properly for households with infants, toddlers and youthful youngsters. It was rebranded a couple of years in the past as Crimson Rose Taverne from “Magnificence and the Beast” however remains to be recognized to many friends as Village Haus.
You may depend on Crimson Rose Taverne for the staples many choosy youngsters will eat, together with hen nuggets, hamburgers and cheese flatbread pizza. There’s ample indoor and out of doors seating and even sufficient room to maneuver a stroller as much as most of the tables. The meals for adults is nothing significantly memorable, however park-weary mother and father will be glad about the straightforward logistics.
Tiana’s Palace
The place it’s: New Orleans Sq.
What’s on the menu: 7 greens gumbo with hen and andouille sausage, Gulf shrimp and grits
It might be a bit of dangerous to place a model new restaurant on a “greatest eating places” listing. Nevertheless, Tiana’s Palace restaurant in New Orleans Sq. appears well worth the gamble.
Tiana’s Palace replaces longtime favourite French Market as a part of bringing the beloved “The Princess and the Frog” story to New Orleans Sq.. Will probably be joined by a brand new attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Journey, set to debut in 2024.
Like its French Market predecessor, Tiana’s Palace is a higher-end counter service restaurant, making it a sensible selection for friends who need a nicer eating expertise with out fairly as a lot expense or time invested as a real sit-down meal.
The menu is Creole- and Cajun-inspired, with a number of gumbo dishes, a beef po’boy sandwich, tacky shrimp and grits and sides like buttermilk cornbread. Much less adventurous choices (toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and macaroni and cheese) are on the youngsters’ menu in case you have choosy eaters within the household.
Tables are exterior on a largely shaded veranda overlooking Rivers of America and the Mark Twain Riverboat. Cease by the close by Mint Julep Bar, the place you may seize a (nonalcoholic) mint julep to accompany your meal or a Mickey beignet for dessert.
Blue Bayou
The place it’s: New Orleans Sq.
What’s on the menu: Hen gumbo and filet mignon
For the quintessential Disneyland date night time, head straight for New Orleans Sq..
My husband and I’ve made dinner at Blue Bayou our date-night custom, beginning once we first visited the park collectively greater than 20 years in the past. It is truthful to say the meals high quality and menu selection have each dropped a bit within the final a number of years. Nevertheless, it is nonetheless onerous to high Blue Bayou’s location and atmosphere.
The restaurant is totally indoors however is lit to provide the phantasm of alfresco nighttime eating overlooking the bayou.
Boats from the Pirates of the Caribbean trip float by whereas fireflies dance overhead. Lunch is cheaper than dinner, however nonetheless probably the most costly meals at Disneyland. The restaurant has shifted considerably from its Cajun and Creole roots to supply extra normal American advantageous eating fare, however there’s nonetheless some spice in a couple of dishes. Reservations are an absolute should.
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Contained in the Blue Bayou Restaurant. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
Whereas this can be a fancier restaurant and is priced accordingly, households should not essentially rule it out. Blue Bayou could be a very particular higher-end Disney eating expertise with older youngsters or teenagers for dinner, and it is often stuffed with fairly a couple of households at lunch.
Docking Bay 7 Meals and Cargo
The place it’s: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
What’s on the menu: Endorian fried hen tip-yip
The opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland in 2019 introduced a number of new eating places. The meals choices on Batuu weren’t with out some controversy and blended evaluations, at the least initially.
Associated: The important information to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland
Disneyland continually tweaks menus in response to buyer suggestions, and Docking Bay 7 has now stood the check of time as one of many higher counter service eating places within the park. With ample, air-conditioned indoor seating, it is also a straightforward place to take a break and (often) discover a desk. There is a small, partially shaded out of doors terrace that provides contemporary air and high quality views for Star Wars people-watching, too.
Lunch and dinner menu gadgets embody fried hen (“tip-yip”), a couple of adventurous seasonal entrees and several other vegetarian choices. The pickiest eaters won’t discover plenty of selections right here, nonetheless, so test the menu fastidiously in case you have younger children.
Additionally, do not rule out the concept of a wrap from Ronto’s Roasters subsequent door, as that’s arguably a fair tastier possibility. The normal morning wrap with egg and pork sausage is our favourite however there are additionally plant-based backyard wraps and a wrap with sausage and slaw accessible for lunch or dinner. And if you happen to’re within the temper for a enjoyable, candy coffee-style drink, seize the chilly brew black caf, which is chilly brew topped with candy cream cheese and chocolate puffs.
Associated: Disney World vs. Disneyland — which is the higher park?
Greatest eating places in Disney California Journey
Listed below are the perfect Disney California Journey eating places.
Flo’s V8 Cafe
The place it’s: Automobiles Land
What’s on the menu: Burgers and turkey membership sandwich
Flo’s V8 Cafe is Disney’s tackle the basic American diner, similar to you may discover alongside Route 66.
Its theming and setting in Automobiles Land is immersive and simply a lot enjoyable. By quick-service restaurant requirements, the meals is downright scrumptious. The menu is not fairly as intensive and assorted because it was a couple of years in the past. Nevertheless, it nonetheless has extra selections than your common counter-service restaurant at Disneyland Resort.
Lunch and dinner embody gadgets like burgers, a Cobb salad, fried hen and a turkey membership sandwich. Shakes are additionally accessible as a candy deal with. Children can discover loads of selection, from macaroni and cheese to hen strips.
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Lamplight Lounge
The place it’s: Pixar Pier
What’s on the menu: Lobster nachos, potato skins and doughnuts
Lamplight Lounge stays one of many hottest eating tickets at Disneyland Resort, so it is a should to make a reservation properly prematurely if you wish to dine right here. Weekend brunch (Friday by way of Sunday) is very fashionable.
Instagrammable meals and cocktails abound. The decor is Pixar-themed, with tons of memorabilia and particulars to discover. Like Blue Bayou in Disneyland Park, Lamplight Lounge might be higher suited to households with older youngsters and youths as a consequence of its ambiance and worth, however youthful children who love their Pixar motion pictures will really feel proper at dwelling right here, too.
The sentimental favourite menu merchandise is the lobster nachos that additionally have been accessible on the predecessor restaurant on this house, Cove Bar. The menu is unquestionably extra assorted and fascinating for foodie mother and father than at many Disneyland eating places and the drink menu (each alcoholic and nonalcoholic) is stuffed with whimsical choices.
Carthay Circle Restaurant
The place it’s: Buena Vista Road
What’s on the menu: Filet mignon, pork chops and braised mushroom ravioli
For a signature eating expertise in California Journey, Carthay Circle Restaurant is the best choice. It is also priced accordingly, so save this for a particular adults’ night time out or price range accordingly.
Set inside a reproduction of the Carthay Circle Theater, the place Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” debuted in 1937, this restaurant teems with Disney and Previous Hollywood historical past and lore.
Menu gadgets embody pork chops, filet mignon, contemporary fish and pasta. If you do not have the price range or the time for a fancier meal, the Carthay Circle Lounge downstairs in the identical constructing provides lighter bites and scrumptious cocktails. Whereas Carthay Circle Restaurant is open just for dinner, the lounge additionally has lunch hours.
Consuming within the lounge’s out of doors seating part gives the added perk of five-star people-watching — you are more likely to even spot a personality or two strolling by on their method to their subsequent look.
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Pym Take a look at Kitchen
The place it’s: Avengers Campus
What’s on the menu: Quantum pretzel, not-so-little hen sandwich
The meals at Pym Take a look at Kitchen will not be the perfect on a Disney property, however it’s fairly enjoyable, so it made the minimize based mostly on sheer originality.
The idea of this counter-service restaurant in Avenger’s Campus is that Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Pym particles are getting used to experiment with making meals teeny-tiny or monumental.
On the menu, you may discover an infinite pretzel, a not-so-little hen sandwich with a tiny bun however an enormous hen patty, pasta with tiny noodles and outsized Inconceivable plant-based “meatballs.” Children often get a kick out of the pretzel, which is bigger than their heads.
Pym Take a look at Kitchen is likely one of the few breakfast choices open in California Journey Park in 2023, and its choices are additionally fairly strong within the morning. The “Calculated Breakfast = E x 2 + (B+P)/T” is served with two different-sized eggs, ready in several methods.
Fortunate Fortune Cookery
The place it’s: San Fransokyo Sq. (previously Pacific Wharf)
What’s on the menu: Yaki udon with Karaage-inspired crispy hen and pork wonton nachos
When Disney just lately remodeled Pacific Wharf into the town of San Fransokyo from the movie Massive Hero 6, the world’s eating places undoubtedly benefited from the refresh. This part of the park is now a eating vacation spot with a number of delicacies selections, all sharing a single giant out of doors seating space.
There are actually a number of restaurant standouts value attempting anew, however my private favourite up to now is Fortunate Fortune Cookery.
The restaurant has at all times been a go-to place for a dependable teriyaki rice bowl and a few veggies for anybody in search of a more healthy chew. It now additionally provides a mix of pan-Asian delicacies that includes Korean, Chinese language and Japanese flavors. I attempted a number of menu gadgets throughout my most up-to-date journey. The meat bulgogi burrito with rice and coleslaw was the perfect factor I ate all day, combining taste profiles from a number of completely different delicacies traditions.
For dessert, the restaurant serves an cute and really tasty Baymax macaron with buttercream and chocolate hazelnut filling. Boba followers may also get their repair with the Thai tea.
Meals competition marketplaces
The place it’s: Grizzly Peak, Paradise Gardens
What’s on the menu: Adjustments seasonally
Disney California Journey is dwelling to a number of meals festivals all year long. When these happen, meals “marketplaces” pop up alongside the pathways of the park, often at the least from Grizzly Peak to the tip of Paradise Gardens.
The meals choices at these festivals are enjoyable and distinctive and an ideal alternative for guests to attempt plenty of new flavors. The at all times dependable Paradise Backyard Grill restaurant often serves competition meals gadgets as properly, typically in bigger parts.
The biggest of those festivals is the Disney California Journey Meals and Wine Competition within the spring.
Look additionally for the Competition of Holidays throughout the November and December vacation season and the Lunar New 12 months marketplaces throughout the annual Lunar New 12 months Celebration. Households and teams can get plenty of worth out of sharing a Sip ‘n’ Savor cross, which provides you tickets to redeem for a lot of dishes for a single set worth.
Greatest eating places within the Disneyland inns
Listed below are the perfect eating places at Disneyland’s on-property inns.
Associated: The place to remain at Disneyland
Dealer Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar
The place it’s: Disneyland Lodge
What’s on the menu: HippopotoMai-Tai, zombie, pu pu platter, Hawaiian platter
Close to the pool on the Disneyland Lodge is likely one of the liveliest locations to eat or drink on Disneyland property — Dealer Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, the place volcanoes explode, servers shout and it is simple to have time.
The poke bowl and Hawaiian platter are enjoyable choices right here, however you may’t go fallacious simply coming in for a snack and a drink. Order the precise one and you might be part of a shipwreck, explosion or different enjoyable catastrophe.
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Napa Rose
The place it’s: Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa
What’s on the menu: Steak and fish
You will not discover any shipwrecks or screaming servers at Napa Rose inside Disneyland’s Grand Californian Lodge. Nevertheless, you will see a complicated (however not stuffy) menu of duck breast, steak and sustainable fish, to call a couple of gadgets.
This can be a big day meal and one you do not need to rush by way of, so do not attempt to rapidly cram this meal down earlier than catching that subsequent trip on Radiator Springs Racers.
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The restaurant additionally serves a premium character breakfast — Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures — from Thursdays by way of Mondays. It is fairly costly at $125 per particular person plus tax. Nevertheless, it’s routinely one of many better-reviewed meals and experiences on the resort due to the restaurant’s meticulous service.
Company with a critical princess fan within the household ought to actually think about it if the price range permits, significantly for a particular celebration like a birthday or anniversary.
Extra suggestions for eating places and eating at Disneyland
As with all issues at Disneyland, friends who’re ready can have a much less tense and extra satisfying expertise. Listed below are a couple of ultimate suggestions you should know earlier than you make your Disneyland eating plans and restaurant reservations.
Make use of cell ordering
Over the previous couple of years, Disneyland has rolled out cell ordering to the overwhelming majority of counter-service eating places in each parks. You now not want to attend in a bodily queue simply to put an order.
As of late, cell ordering is just about important. Ensure you obtain the official Disneyland app and that you just place your order prematurely of the mealtime rush.
It isn’t a nasty thought to put your order an hour or two forward in some circumstances if you already know when and what you want to eat. At fashionable spots and on the busiest days, accessible time slots start to refill and friends are unable to order for speedy pickup on the cell order system. Do not wait till your abdomen is growling to put an order, or you might be left hungry for some time.
When you place your order, wait till the time you’ve gotten chosen to eat. Then click on within the app once more to point your arrival as you method the restaurant. Your meals is often prepared in a couple of minutes at a pick-up window. Search for the push notification to provide you with a warning within the app.
Make Disneyland restaurant reservations 60 days prematurely
When you plan to go to a desk service restaurant or a preferred character meal buffet throughout your Disneyland trip, reservations are a should. We suggest reserving proper at Disneyland’s 60-day reservation window earlier than your journey if you happen to can. Reservations open at 6 a.m. (PT) day by day and the highest eating places can e book up near immediately.
When you miss the prospect 60 days out, a service like MouseDining may be useful in alerting you when a gap turns into accessible. Simply act rapidly, as selections disappear as quick as they seem.
Do not forget about eating packages
Disneyland has a lot of fashionable exhibits and parades that many guests need to see. Discovering seat for them could require tenting out an hour or extra prematurely.
One answer is to safe reserved seating or standing areas for these exhibits by reserving an related eating bundle. These packages do come at a premium worth, however they save substantial time along with offering a meal that friends could be paying for anyway. Test the Disneyland web site or app for availability, as there are sometimes adjustments to the choices.
Associated: Easy methods to use factors for Disney tickets
Suppose past the parks
There are such a lot of superb eating places inside Disneyland Park and Disney California Journey, however remember to look past park borders for different wonderful eating places.
We have already highlighted a number of the greatest choices at a couple of of the Disneyland on-property inns, however there are nonetheless extra worthy restaurant selections at these properties. Particularly, scheduling a resort character meal in your arrival or departure day at one in all these resort eating places could be a sensible selection, because it provides you a Disney expertise with out the price of a park ticket on that day.
The Downtown Disney district adjoining to the 2 parks additionally options many high quality eating places and eating experiences. These eating places are all simply very brief stroll or monorail trip from the parks. Choices embody a brewery, a restaurant specializing in over-the-top milkshakes, a bowling alley with wonderful sushi and eating places specializing in Cajun, Italian and Mexican dishes.
Backside line
Irrespective of who’s in your social gathering or what your price range is, Disneyland has all kinds of eating places to get pleasure from in your subsequent trip.
In case you are paying by card for these meals, use a card that rewards you with further miles for eating, just like the Citi Status® Card (5 factors per greenback), American Specific® Gold Card (4 factors per greenback at eating places), Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card (7 factors per greenback on eligible purchases at U.S. eating places) or Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 factors per greenback). (Be taught extra about the perfect bank cards for eating.)
The data for the Citi Status Card and Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.
Alternatively, you can even decide up some discounted Disney present playing cards earlier than your journey to save lots of on meals at the perfect eating places in Disneyland.
When you’re planning a household trip to Disneyland, listed below are further articles that can assist you craft the proper journey: