Are you hopping? In California Adventure, Ariel's Grotto is a fun character meal, and Wine Country Trattoria is a nice quite spot if you're exploring kid-free (they've got a little hidden balcony area that's great for people-watching – we like to sit up there and order apps and a wine flight).
Yes, we are going big since it's our first time and who knows when or if we'll be back, so 5 days of hoppers. : )
We will not be kid-free, sadly. But we each might venture out for a few hours on our own after the kids are asleep and still completing a sitter one night.
Post by alleinesein on Mar 15, 2016 21:30:00 GMT -5
If you want to do the Blue Bayou mainly for the Monte Cristo they only serve it at lunch. You would be better off going to Cafe Orleans and saving some $$ for the same item ($27 at BB and $19 at CO).
I've done the dinner package at the Blue Bayou for Fantasmic and it is the same as the normal menu; Paint the Night is the current 'replacement' for the show portion since Fantasmic is dark.
Between Storytellers and Breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza I prefer Storytellers. It is a table service restaurant so you will have someone waiting on you and bringing you drinks. The Plaza Inn is counter service/cafeteria style. Each one has their own set of characters- Storytellers has Chip & Dale, Meeko, Brother Bear, Brer Bear and a few other forest creatures. It is also more interactive for kids. As an added bonus it is all indoor seating whereas Plaza Inn is mostly outside.
I very rarely eat counter service in DL. Pizza Port, Bengal Barbeque, the Corn Dog truck on Main st and the Tiki Juice hut are the ones I frequent the most.
Carnation Cafe on Main street has been revamping their menu and thats been my go to for casual meals in the park on my last few visits. River Belle is now a full service restaurant and it looks like they brought over part of the menu from the BBQ at Big Thunder Ranch. The Plaza Inn has really good fried chicken for dinner.
When are you going in the fall? Halloweentime at Disneyland typically starts the last week of Sept and the park does close early 3-4 nights each week. Tickets for certain nights sell out fast so if you plan on being out here during that time you might want to follow the Disneyland blog for more information.
Yes, we are going big since it's our first time and who knows when or if we'll be back, so 5 days of hoppers. : )
We will not be kid-free, sadly. But we each might venture out for a few hours on our own after the kids are asleep and still completing a sitter one night.
We will be there mid November - so post Halloween stuff, I think the Christmas stuff will just be up from what I read.
We'll have an 8, 5 & 2.5 year old - so no Disney kid clubs, sadly. I'm okay if we don't get a night out, we've taken plenty of vacations where we haven't. we're pretty good at relaxing on the balcony w/ a glass of wine & calling it a day.
Post by thedahliharpa on Mar 15, 2016 23:24:50 GMT -5
I love the Main St. Corndogs and Corndog Castle at CAD. I like Cafe Orlean's food much better than Blue Bayou but it's worth it once for the experience.
Post by thedahliharpa on Mar 15, 2016 23:27:35 GMT -5
Storytellers is also good and we do Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast once a year or so. There is so much my kids with food issues can eat at Goofy's Kitchen.
Post by thedahliharpa on Mar 15, 2016 23:41:42 GMT -5
Now I'm hungry.
This is my favorite at Cafe Orleans...
N'awlins Vegetable Ragoût with Blackened Chicken Vegetable Ragoût with Seasonal Squash, Red Onions, and Bell Peppers served atop Corn Cake with Shaved Aged Parmesan
Post by Wines Not Whines on Mar 16, 2016 5:53:53 GMT -5
I've only been to DL twice, but our favorite places to eat were Cafe Orleans and the corn dogs. We also liked the Cove Bar for drinks and lobster nachos, and Cathay Circle Lounge for drinks and snacks, at Cal Adventure. Cal Adventure has better food options IMO.
Post by waterchurch on Mar 16, 2016 19:50:30 GMT -5
I will echo that the Monte Cristo at cafe Orleans is good. Definitely big enough to split. I also like the blt flatbread at Pinocchio's village haus in fantasyland. The funnel cake is huge and yummy at hungry bear restaurant in critter country, and it's fun to sit by the water and see the ducks. Though the boats won't be running due to construction, so it's not as interesting as it normally would be. I also love the beignets at the little stand behind French Market. And dole whip. And fresh churros. I pretty much go to Disneyland for the food, lol.
Carthay Circle has the best food in both parks, IMO but it's pricey. I also highly recommend the corn dogs! They have them in DCA, also near Goofy's Sky School.
I haven't been to Disneyland yet, but looking at all the menus online (b/c I'm a dork who does things like that) the choices looked pretty dismal, especially fro QS. It seemed more like regular "theme park food" then all the options at WDW.
I haven't been to Disneyland yet, but looking at all the menus online (b/c I'm a dork who does things like that) the choices looked pretty dismal, especially fro QS. It seemed more like regular "theme park food" then all the options at WDW.
This is my feeling too.
I can get pretty excited by Flo's and the Cozy Cone in DCA, but DL doesn't excite me compared to what WDW has to offer.
I haven't been to Disneyland yet, but looking at all the menus online (b/c I'm a dork who does things like that) the choices looked pretty dismal, especially fro QS. It seemed more like regular "theme park food" then all the options at WDW.
This is my feeling too.
I can get pretty excited by Flo's and the Cozy Cone in DCA, but DL doesn't excite me compared to what WDW has to offer.
I plan to visit in 2019 so they have 3 years to get there act together and serve better food.
That's interesting because when I was looking at menus I feel like I saw a few things that were better than wdw.
WDW might have more options because of the sheer size of the resort but that doesn't mean they have better food We have an entire Star Wars themed QSFB location in tomorrow land; how can you not love a Darth Tamale?!
Carthay Circle had the most amazing soup on their winter menu- a squash soup loaded with wild rice, cranberries and roast goose.
While I do have a few favorite items at WDW I prefer the options at DLR. DLR caters to locals more than tourists so things that people love tend to stick around and we get all bent out of shape and nasty when Disney tries to change stuff.
If you like churros you need to hit up the Downtown Disney Churro cart located by the Lego store when you are out here. They make a churro ice cream sandwich that is messy yet oh so delicious. They slap a chunk of vanilla ice cream between 2 warm churro 'buns'. Another bad for you but oh so tasty item in Downtown Disney is the Beignet french toast sticks at Jazz Kitchen express. They coat them in a cinnamon powdered sugar blend and serve them hot with maple syrup.
I'm going up to Disneyland on sunday night and I will probably eat my way through the park. Dole whip, corndogs, light side lemonade, beignets....so many choices!
I was just talking to my friend two days ago about Disneyland. I'm going in 2 weeks and asked her about where she likes to eat and she said they always got to a place called the Rainforest Cafe. It's located in Downtown Disney.
Post by 1confused1 on Mar 21, 2016 15:15:58 GMT -5
We did the princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto in CA Adventure for my daughter's birthday and it was fantastic (make a reservation), all the princesses visit each table so you don't need to chase them around the park. And they serve alcohol!!
The Hungry Bear by Splash Mountain has the best fried green tomato sandwiches. Also, some of the fast serve places offer kid meals, which was good for us because my kids are picky and don't eat a lot.
When we went before all I remember was the Character meals at Ariel's Grotto & Paradise Pier. Tons of time with characters and they were fun but the food was meh. The food at the Plaza was better. We also ate at Storytellers Cafe & Rainforest Cafe...both were pretty good but I can't remember details.
We are going Sunday-Thursday next week and we have reservations at Ariel's Grotto (princesses), Plaza, Cafe Orleans and Carnation Cafe. We didn't make reservations far in advance & we are a party of 6 so we had limited choices. I'll report back if anyone is interested.
When we went before all I remember was the Character meals at Ariel's Grotto & Paradise Pier. Tons of time with characters and they were fun but the food was meh. The food at the Plaza was better. We also ate at Storytellers Cafe & Rainforest Cafe...both were pretty good but I can't remember details.
We are going Sunday-Thursday next week and we have reservations at Ariel's Grotto (princesses), Plaza, Cafe Orleans and Carnation Cafe. We didn't make reservations far in advance & we are a party of 6 so we had limited choices. I'll report back if anyone is interested.
Carnation Cafe has really good fried pickles and the spinach salad is tasty (and huge!).