In this post we’ll review some of the best places to Eat in Disneyland, from the main park to California Adventure, you can certainly find some tasty vittles!
Disneyland has an amazing policy that lets a lot of outside snacks into the park (you can not bring in a whole meal, but you can bring in baggies galore of snacks). That has allowed our family to eat very little within the park. I love to break out a snack while we are in line. We are less likely to hate that line. We take things like trail mix, jerky, crackers. We’ve even done string cheese and gogurts (best done when you have a cooler in your stroller, so we didn’t do that this year sans-stroller).
This year, however, we were going from dawn until late. Our kids are older and we are DOING the parks. It is VERY fun, but also VERY tiring. In mulling over our dinner options this time, I just decided to stay in the park and enjoy some of the food they had to offer mid-day and also recharge to attack the parks when we’re done.
I was worried about the price, but the way we did it, I think we actually saved money, and we didn’t have to walk all the way out of the park to eat.
The best way to save is booking an awesome room at a great price, which is why I’ve used Get Away Today since 1998 (long before I had a blog). Love them, love their prices — click below to see what you can save (and save $10 more with code CURLS10).
I should also say that we have very much enjoyed our 2 or 3 visits to Blue Bayou (you can read about it & our Disneyland Budget — and see’s Disney site about it here) and I do recommend everyone eat there at least once. But it is REALLY pricey. I just didn’t think that was worth it for our family this time.
I researched out a lot of yummy places to eat (I love Disneyland Prep School for researching my trips). I wanted GOOD food, and large portions in order for my little plan to work.
Plaza Inn
We decided to eat here because I had read that their fried chicken is like crack (and the smell is AMAZING while you’re waiting at Buzz Lightyear). They were right. That stuff is SO good, and portions are HUGE. We bought 3 of the chicken platters, split it amongst the 5 of us (we have 2 teens, a 7 year old and 2 of us parents) and we were all plenty full by the time we were done. It is also in a great spot for people watching (right of main street). We were smart enough to eat there when a parade came by. That way we could say we saw the parade and we could also sit in a nice chair and sip a refillable beverage).
This is served cafeteria-style. Just grab a tray and they dish it up. We went mid-day and had very little wait. The food tastes very fresh and yummy. Also, being served cafeteria-style you are saving the tip money. Horray!
It comes with a HUGE breast piece, a thigh and a drumstick.
We did get extra biscuits, as everyone wanted their own (they are very tasty).
At all the restaurants we got water. I refilled my cup several times (this one you have to walk back in) and just enjoyed the shade and people watching. One of my favorite pastimes at Disneyland.
This meal in October of 2016 was 17 bucks/plate. So around 60 bucks for the whole family, which isn’t too bad (find out more here). But, honestly — if we hadn’t had the nice sit down lunch I may have died, so totally worth it. If it’s expensive to live at Disneyland, imagine how pricey it is to die there!
Bread Bowls at Royal Street Veranda
There are lots of yummy places to eat in New Orleans Square. Obviously, Blue Bayou is sort of Disneyland’s signature restaurant (I would guess that dinner there for all of us would run close to 200 including taxes, tip, etc). There is also Cafe Orleans that serves many of the same dishes at a much cheaper price. We tried to eat there, but you do need a reservation (which you can get on the Disneyland app).
We ate at one of my favorite spots. Royal Street Veranda. It’s tucked in a tiny niche behind Pirates of the Carribean. You can see their sign advertising their bread bowls. It’s just a walk-up window and we had very little wait at close to 5 pm one day. There are tables in the area, so have you party scope them out while you order.
We all ended-up getting the clam chowder bowls, but they also serve a spicy steak (or vegetarian) gumbo, and in retrospect, I wish I had gotten that.
The beauty of this one is the GIANT bread bowls! We got 3 and split them amongst the 5 of us and there was plenty. Just start ripping the bowl apart and dipping it in the soup. In all reality, there isn’t a ton of soup — but the bread is tasty and dipped in the soup it’s about 12 times better.
We also got the fritters, but I didn’t love them, and they weren’t necessary. I’d stick to the bread bowls next time.
As a reminder, all of the Disneyland restaurants will give you free ice water cups (even if you’re not purchasing anything). My son took this up a couple of times. They’re pretty small but so nice and cold. Very nice on a hot day. We still carried a couple of water bottles with us in case this wasn’t convenient but it is so nice of them!
As of this writing the bowls are just over 10 bucks, making this meal around $40 for the 5 of us. It was super filling. A great way to go on a long day at Disneyland. You can find out current pricing here.
Dole Whip
This isn’t a meal, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a true luxury in Disneyland. The Dole Whip stand is right next to the Tiki Room. It’s sponsored by Dole, and boy oh BOY do they do a business. The line can stretch long into Adventureland, but instead go in to the Tiki Room and their line is MUCH Shorter. And eating your Dole Whip inside the Tiki Room is one of my favorite parts of Disney. Sit on one of the chairs in the back (so you can lean on the wall) and sing along as the birds sing and the flowers croon.
Beware though, there’s a nice hollow center in the middle of your whip. Looks can be deceiving! {sad face}
Other Options:
I’ve heard great things about Hungry Bear (closed when we went, and not as nice when the river isn’t filled) Little Red Wagon for corndogs, Jolly Holiday Cafe (I heard there are delicious macaroons), Bengal BBQ in Adventureland (always smells so tasty!), French Market Restaurant, Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante (I heard the portions were huge and we did mean to go here but it just didn’t happen). Did I miss your favorite restaurant — tell me in the comments!
California Adventure Food
I have a harder time eating here. Seems like many of the good restaurants are in the hotel or are kinda pricey or more adult than I want to take my and my sweaty kids to.
We found a great one though:
Cove Bar
Yup, it’s a bar. My kids gave me sideways glances when we got in line for this one (we ate at about 2 pm and had a very short wait). We got appetizers and water. We got the sliders (not amazing, but my kids were concerned they wouldn’t like the other item we got) and the Lobster Nachos. Holy crap, thaey are SO tasty. And filling. once again, we got 1 thing of sliders and 2 plates of nachos and that was plenty for us. The beauty here is that they refilled my water for me (but then you do have to include a tip). They were amazing and I would totally go there again.
Cove Bar is sort of hidden. It’s above Ariel’s grotto and overlooks the lagoon (nice and peaceful) plus you get to see CA screamin’ shoot out (Princess P’s favorite part).
Castle Dogs
We got 3 corn dogs that we cut up and shared. They were super yummy. But, after all the fal-der-rall that I heard over these dogs…. they’re just delicious corn dogs. I wouldn’t kill my mother to eat these. Sorry I didn’t get a photo, my kids ate them too fast. They do come with chips or apples so we actually got some fruit in our kids that day.
Other Options at California Adventure:
Carthay Circle (the signature restaurant of CA adventure, and pretty fancy — and pricey), Lucky Fortune Cookery, Flo’s V8 (not as good as when it opened). The cones at Cars Land are a fun place to get a tasty snack. They have chili, ice cream, and popcorn.
In general, I like the dining options at Disneyland better. We don’t drink Alcohol, and I know that’s a large part of the CA adventure attraction for many people.
Did you know there’s a private restaurant in Disneyland called Club 33. I’d love to eat there someday, but you have to be a member. Let me know if you have connections! I’d love to try that one!
If you’re looking for Disneyland tips — be sure to check out this page!
Don’t forget to check out how much you could save with Get Away Today (they can also book Character meals for you — which I have a whole other post about on that link). Don’t forget that coupon code CURLS10 saves you almost enough for a bread bowl.
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Original article and pictures take www.pullingcurls.com site
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