As I mentioned in a previous post, you can bring food into the parks with you. Which I 100% recommend if you have any super picky eaters. No parent wants to spend $5-$10 on a meal their kid won't eat. One trick we used on our last trip and that we will most definitely use in the future is to buy snacks online (we ordered on Amazon) and have them shipped to your hotel. Most hotels will hold packages for you. We ordered goldfish, applesauce pouches, baby food pouches, chips, and fruit snacks, all of which were waiting at the front desk when we checked in. We also shipped formula for Peanut and some snacks and sodas for the parents. It worked out fantastically when we flew to California. It saved us a lot of room in our bags. We've also had friends and family take PB&Js into the park (our picky Goober won't eat PB&Js, so that wasn't really an option for us, unfortunately). When we drive, we usually just stop at a grocery store to pick up snacks once we arrive, but we might start shipping our non-perishable items regardless of how we're traveling.
Disneyland Dining
When it comes to Disneyland food options, in general, there are four types: Food carts, counter-service restaurants, table-service restaurants, and character dining. Food carts and counter-service restaurants do not take reservations; you just get in line and order at the counter (hence the name). All table-service restaurants (or sit-down restaurants) take reservations. You can make reservations up to 60 days in advance, and if there is a table-service restaurant you want to eat at, I highly recommend you make your reservation as soon as you can. They fill up fast, and the wait without a reservation can get long.
Character Dining
Character dining is a different animal. At these meals, you will eat at your table and certain characters will come to you and say hi. We have been to Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel and Minnie and Friends - Breakfast in the Park at the Plaza Inn. If your kids love meeting characters, this is a good way to cross a bunch off your list in one go. They aren't exactly cheap, but the food is good, and they are both all-you-can-eat buffets. The great thing about Goofy's Kitchen (and the other character dining options at the resort hotels) is that you don't need a park ticket to go. We like to do Goofy's Kitchen the day we get in to get a fun taste of Disney without using up a day at the park. If you do Minnie's breakfast, that does require park admission; the Plaza Inn is on Main Street.
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| Meeting Dale at Minnie's breakfast at the Plaza Inn. May 2018. |
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| Peanut meeting Chip at Goofy's Kitchen. May 2019. |
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| Goober meeting Minnie at Goofy's Kitchen. May 2019. |
Snacks and Treats
In addition to the many places where you can buy full meals, there are also many, many awesome little snacks you can buy throughout the parks. There are bakeries and candy shops that sell cake pops, rice krispy treats, cookies, macarons, and so on. Then there are the popcorn carts, the ice cream carts and shops, and the churro carts and shops. The restaurants also often have fun themed treats for special events and holidays. The Disney Parks Blog will often post foodie guides for special events. They're a good follow on social media if you're interested in the special treats (and for other general information about Disney parks).
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| The Alien macaron at Pizza Planet is delicious. But huge. Definitely good for sharing. |
Another great resource for Disney food that I recently found (thanks to my awesome hairstylist who also happens to be Disney obsessed) is the Instagram account @disneyhungry. Andrew and I haven't really made the rounds for a lot of the treats at Disneyland, but we have a list of Halloween treats (and others) we can't wait to try thanks to her account. We'll be trying a ton of new treats when we head to the parks in a couple of weeks (can't wait!!!!).
Mobile Ordering
Disneyland has recently launched mobile ordering for quite a few of their counter-service restaurants. We used it for the first time this past May, and it was AMAZING. While we were in Tomorrowland, we decided that we wanted corn dogs at the Stage Door Cafe, which is on the other side of the park in Frontierland. So as we headed that way, I placed an order through the Disneyland app. By the time we got to the Stage Door Cafe, our order was ready, and there was no line for pickup. This was especially awesome because the Stage Door Cafe has a notoriously slow-moving line. They have also recently added the Mint Julep Bar (which sells mint juleps, obviously, but also Mickey-shaped beignets, which are the bomb and I'm going to eat my weight in the pumpkin beignets on our next trip), which I am SO EXCITED for because the line gets crazy long.
The Disneyland app has a list of all the participating locations, and directly underneath the name is the next available pickup time. You just click on the name, select your return time, then scroll through the menu and make your choices. You can even connect a credit card to your account so you can pay through the app, so literally all you need to do is show up and pick up your food. It's a great way to save some time in the parks.
Dining Packages
One last dining option is a dining package for various shows. There are dining packages for the Frozen show and World of Color in California Adventure and for Fantasmic in Disneyland. These are all shows that require a long wait if you're hoping for a good seat. World of Color and Fantasmic do offer Fastpasses for the shows, but you still have to get to your area at least an hour early in order to get really good seats. Frozen doesn't offer a Fastpass. There are three shows a day, and if you want to sit in the Orchestra, you're going to want to get in line anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour early. Dining packages are a great way to get a good meal and a reserved viewing area. As you can guess, these are not cheap. They cost anywhere from $45-$90 per person depending on the restaurant and whether you're going for lunch or dinner.
So what's included? You get a three-course prix fixe meal, which includes a starter, an entree, and a dessert, as well as a drink. But the main thing you're paying for is the reserved viewing areas for the shows. They save you time in the park because you don't have to get there quite as early, and you're guaranteed at least a decent view.
The only dining package we've done so far is the World of Color dining package. We've had meals at both Carthay Circle and Wine Country Trattoria, but I would very much recommend Carthay Circle over Wine Country Trattoria. It's more expensive, but the food is better. We weren't impressed with the food or the service at Wine Country Trattoria.
However, we will be doing the Fantasmic dining package at Blue Bayou during our next trip, so we will definitely be writing up a review once we get back.
Our Recommendations
To conclude this rather massive entry, I'll give a quick list of our favorite places to eat. Hopefully in the near future we'll be able to write some detailed reviews of some of these restaurants, complete with pictures.
Counter-service restaurants:
- Disneyland
- Stage Door Cafe (Frontierland - excellent place to try Disneyland's delicious corn dogs)
- Rancho del Zocalo (Frontierland - very tasty Mexican food)
- Red Rose Taverne (Fantasyland - the Beast Burger is huge and delicious, and they have delicious desserts, i.e. the Grey Stuff)
- Galactic Grill (Tomorrowland - tasty burgers)
- Plaza Inn (Main Street - a bit pricey, but super good food; try the fried chicken)
- California Adventure
- Award Wieners (Hollywood Land - great hot dogs)
- Flo's V8 Cafe (Cars Land - excellent American diner food, we eat there almost every trip)
- Cozy Cone Motel (Cars Land - this falls under counter-service and snacks; they sell everything from ice cream to churros to mac and cheese cones, which are great)
- Smokejumpers Grill (Grizzly Peak - good burgers, fries, and shakes)
Table-service Restaurants:
- Disneyland
- Blue Bayou (New Orleans Square - the food is delicious and the ambiance cannot be beat; it's inside the very beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean, and it legitimately feels like you're outdoors)
- Carnation Cafe (Main Street - tasty food similar to Plaza Inn)
- California Adventure
- Carthay Circle (Buena Vista Street - probably the most expensive place in both parks, but the food is pretty amazing)
Snacks:
- Disneyland
- Tropical Hideaway (Adventureland - loaded Dole Whips are THE BEST; the bao are also super tasty)
- Tiki Juice Bar (Adventureland - for regular Dole Whips, though you can also get those at the Tropical Hideaway)
- Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor (Main Street - hand-scooped ice cream)
- Mint Julep Bar (New Orleans Square - Mickey beignets!)
- California Adventure
- Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats (Pixar Pier - the lemon soft serve is awesome, and dairy free!)
As I said earlier, we haven't gotten many snacks other than our go-to places listed above. Hopefully we'll be able to update this post with a couple of new recommendations after our next trip. Only 15 days to go!
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