Dining reservations in DisneyLand for first timer

[stinkyfeet]

We've been to DW many many times and Im fine with planning for those parks.  We are heading to Disneyland in CA for spring break.  I want to make dining reservations but don't know anything about the restaurants.  What are the ones that shouldn't be missed.  We will be in the parks for 2 days and my kids are tweens and teens.

Also, how does fast pass/max pass work?

[alleinesein]

Dining reservations can be booked 60 days in advance. Some dining reservations (mostly WOC and Fantastic packages) might not show up at the 60-day mark because the entertainment schedule has not been finalized so just keep checking back every few days.

The restaurant selection isn't as extensive as WDW so you will be very limited in sit down dining options. But, you will be here during Food and Wine at California Adventure so there will be more quick service options in the park. We have started skipping dull service restaurants and have been mobile ordering quick-service food. We find a table, peruse the menu, order and pick up our food.

My only must dine restaurant is Carthay Circle. I prefer it to Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55. It is one of the dining options for WOC.

The Blue Bayou is the flagship dining experience at Disneyland. Quite frankly, it is overrated and if you are on a budget, skip it. You will pay $$$ for mediocre food so you can have the experience of dining inside of Pirates of the Caribbean. If you want the Monte Cristo, you can get it at Cafe Orleans for less money. I've been dining at the Blue Bayou for 40+ years and I will probably not go back unless someone from out of town has to eat there.

For full service, I like Carnation Cafe (fried pickles, baked potato soup, spinach salad, milkshakes) and Cafe Orleans (pomme frites, monte cristo, beignets) in Disneyland. For quick service, I like Red Wagon Corn dogs, Plaza Inn fried chicken, Bengal BBQ, Tropical Hideaway, Galactic Grill (for a quick breakfast), Ronto Roasters (ronto wrap). We dont really eat in California Adventure but we will snack on stuff in the park during the festivals.

There are 5 character breakfasts on property; one at each hotel and one inside of Disneyland. For food, I prefer Goofy's Kitchen because it has the largest variety. For characters, Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn in Disneyland has the most characters. If you want breakfast with Mickey, that is at Storytellers Cafe and it has gotten very $$ in the past few years. The 5th character breakfast is the insanely priced princess breakfast at the Napa Rose. They don't do it every day and it is geared more towards the younger kids.

Fast Passes, MaxPass and boarding groups.
Disneyland still uses the traditional fast pass system where you can get a free fast pass by going to the machine and inserting your ticket. We do not do advanced reservations for fast passes; they are day of and on a first-come, first-served basis. MaxPass is a paid service that allows you to book fast passes in the Disneyland app and includes photopass downloads during your stay. If you want to use MaxPass to book your fast passes in the app, everyone in your party needs to have it on their ticket and it can get $$ since it is $15 per person, per day. For a family of 4, that adds up to an extra $60 a day in addtion to the cost of your ticket. Boarding groups are currently being used for Rise of the Resistance in Galaxy's Edge. You must be in scanned into the park prior to park opening in order to try for one. At the official rope drop time, you can go into the app and try to get one. It is the same system being used at WDW but our boarding passes are being distributed in under 5 minutes whereas the ones in FL are still available 15-30 minutes after park opening.

Let go of the desire to plan out your entire day. Disneyland is more of a "go with the flow" park and does not require any planning other than being at the park when it opens. We are a locals park and the crowd flow throughout the day reflects that. Locals start to trickle in around 11 am and again around 6 pm.

I strongly suggest downloading the Disneyland app so you can familiarize yourself with it. Spend some time looking at the park maps; Disneyland is laid out a bit different than the MK at WDW so while stuff is still in the same general area, there is enough of a difference that you will notice. Be prepared to walk a lot and definitely be open to park hopping. It takes less than 1 minute to walk between the front gates of each park so park hopping is easier out here than in FL. Since everything is so close together, you will walk more than you do in FL b/c you won't have to rely on transportation to get between the parks, hotels and downtown Disney. A slow/lazy park day is typically 8-10 miles for me and a normal day is 11+ miles. Bring comfy shoes!!

Im up at Disneyland at least once a month so if you have any specific questions, hit me up.

[stinkyfeet]

Jan 24, 2020 18:08:03 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Dining reservations can be booked 60 days in advance. Some dining reservations (mostly WOC and Fantastic packages) might not show up at the 60-day mark because the entertainment schedule has not been finalized so just keep checking back every few days.

The restaurant selection isn't as extensive as WDW so you will be very limited in sit down dining options. But, you will be here during Food and Wine at California Adventure so there will be more quick service options in the park. We have started skipping dull service restaurants and have been mobile ordering quick-service food. We find a table, peruse the menu, order and pick up our food.

My only must dine restaurant is Carthay Circle. I prefer it to Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55. It is one of the dining options for WOC.

The Blue Bayou is the flagship dining experience at Disneyland. Quite frankly, it is overrated and if you are on a budget, skip it. You will pay $$$ for mediocre food so you can have the experience of dining inside of Pirates of the Caribbean. If you want the Monte Cristo, you can get it at Cafe Orleans for less money. I've been dining at the Blue Bayou for 40+ years and I will probably not go back unless someone from out of town has to eat there.

For full service, I like Carnation Cafe (fried pickles, baked potato soup, spinach salad, milkshakes) and Cafe Orleans (pomme frites, monte cristo, beignets) in Disneyland. For quick service, I like Red Wagon Corn dogs, Plaza Inn fried chicken, Bengal BBQ, Tropical Hideaway, Galactic Grill (for a quick breakfast), Ronto Roasters (ronto wrap). We dont really eat in California Adventure but we will snack on stuff in the park during the festivals.

There are 5 character breakfasts on property; one at each hotel and one inside of Disneyland. For food, I prefer Goofy's Kitchen because it has the largest variety. For characters, Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn in Disneyland has the most characters. If you want breakfast with Mickey, that is at Storytellers Cafe and it has gotten very $$ in the past few years. The 5th character breakfast is the insanely priced princess breakfast at the Napa Rose. They don't do it every day and it is geared more towards the younger kids.

Fast Passes, MaxPass and boarding groups.
Disneyland still uses the traditional fast pass system where you can get a free fast pass by going to the machine and inserting your ticket. We do not do advanced reservations for fast passes; they are day of and on a first-come, first-served basis. MaxPass is a paid service that allows you to book fast passes in the Disneyland app and includes photopass downloads during your stay. If you want to use MaxPass to book your fast passes in the app, everyone in your party needs to have it on their ticket and it can get $$ since it is $15 per person, per day. For a family of 4, that adds up to an extra $60 a day in addtion to the cost of your ticket. Boarding groups are currently being used for Rise of the Resistance in Galaxy's Edge. You must be in scanned into the park prior to park opening in order to try for one. At the official rope drop time, you can go into the app and try to get one. It is the same system being used at WDW but our boarding passes are being distributed in under 5 minutes whereas the ones in FL are still available 15-30 minutes after park opening.

Let go of the desire to plan out your entire day. Disneyland is more of a "go with the flow" park and does not require any planning other than being at the park when it opens. We are a locals park and the crowd flow throughout the day reflects that. Locals start to trickle in around 11 am and again around 6 pm.

I strongly suggest downloading the Disneyland app so you can familiarize yourself with it. Spend some time looking at the park maps; Disneyland is laid out a bit different than the MK at WDW so while stuff is still in the same general area, there is enough of a difference that you will notice. Be prepared to walk a lot and definitely be open to park hopping. It takes less than 1 minute to walk between the front gates of each park so park hopping is easier out here than in FL. Since everything is so close together, you will walk more than you do in FL b/c you won't have to rely on transportation to get between the parks, hotels and downtown Disney. A slow/lazy park day is typically 8-10 miles for me and a normal day is 11+ miles. Bring comfy shoes!!

Im up at Disneyland at least once a month so if you have any specific questions, hit me up.

This is FANTASTIC information!! Thank you so very much for taking the time to write it all out.

[goldengirlz]

Ditto Carthay Circle.

The other restaurants in Disneyland are pretty whatever. Go for convenience or type of cuisine rather than the “can’t miss” factor.

ETA: Oh, but Salt & Straw in Downtown Disney is legitimately good ice cream. It gets big lines even here in San Francisco (where our ice cream game is strong.)

[Deleted]

We didn’t do a lot of reservations but we really enjoyed Lamplight Lounge in CA.

[abs]

Last time we went we enjoyed Napa Rose, Blue Bayou, The Plaza for breakfast, and Carnation Cafe for lunch.

We hated Ralph Brennan's. My fault--I shouldn't have expected good Cajun food in California. I couldn't even eat my meal though. It was so bad. Goofy's Kitchen is pretty good but very loud and chaotic. Still for a buffet it's decent. Storyteller's was loud, crowded, and terrible. Pass.

We did go to Salt and Straw every day. The ice cream was so good! The churros are yummy, too.

[ribollita]

Mobile ordering is so easy and the food way better than WDW.

We are doing a late Plaza breakfast, Oga’s, Cafe Orleans lunch, and winging the rest most likely.

[thebulldog]

alleinesein, thanks so much for your tips - we are heading to DL in May mainly for GE but have never been either (or to that part of CA even) --- any good recs in downtown disney?

[Deleted]

One thing to keep in mind if you want to cut down on your food costs is that you can get postmates, grubhub deliveries, etc. We did that two of the nights because even just trying to get a large pizza in Downtown Disney was like $50.

[alleinesein]

Jan 27, 2020 15:02:18 GMT -5 @princessbubbleyum said:

One thing to keep in mind if you want to cut down on your food costs is that you can get postmates, grubhub deliveries, etc. We did that two of the nights because even just trying to get a large pizza in Downtown Disney was like $50.

Naples?  Their small pizzas are overpriced especially since you can get the same thing in their quick service but that giant pizza is a pretty good deal if you are feeding a large family.  I do like their new build your own quick service option but that can get $$. 

[alleinesein]

Jan 27, 2020 13:07:42 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

alleinesein , thanks so much for your tips - we are heading to DL in May mainly for GE but have never been either (or to that part of CA even) --- any good recs in downtown disney?

Earl of Sandwich is great if you are on a budget.  Black Tap is okay but it is kid friendly; get there when they open if you dont want to wait in line.  Naples and Napolini are standard Italian fare.  Naples is the sit down restaurant and Napolini is their quick service; they have create your own pizza.  It is $$ so you might be better off eating at Alien Pizza planet if your kids want spaghetti; you can easily feed 2 people with one entree. 

Splitsville has standard american fare plus sushi.  I've had a few things there and while they aren't amazing, they were perfectly fine and satisfied my hunger.  Their french fry app (cheese fries) is huge so you can easily share it.  

Tortilla Jo's is meh; not the best mexican in town but not the worst.  Avoid their quick service; it is overpriced for what you get.  They do make tableside guac so you can customize it.  Margaritas are always tasty.

Jazz Kitchen Express is great for fresh beignets.  They are better than the ones you get in the park.  We dont eat at the full service restaurant anymore b/c of food allergies but I do love their bananas foster dessert.  

Salt and Straw is a must do on every long trip.  Honey Lavender is my favorite flavor.  The monthly flavors are hit or miss; the current flavors are all vegan and I wasn't a fan (but their regular line vegan stuff is tasty).

Jamba Juice is currently being refurbished and rebranded.  It is a good option when you aren't super hungry in the morning but you need something to keep you from turning into a hangry beast in a few hours.
 
There are 2 Starbucks in DD; the main one and downtown disney west (by the old movie theater).  But offer mobile ordering so if you are staying on property, you can order when you leave your room and it will be ready by the time you walk down there.

We very rarely go to Uva bar and Catal; our last experience at the Uva bar left a lot to be desired.  Service was slow, food was underwhelming and I practically had to tackle someone for silverware.  La Brea Bakery is another option (and one of the few breakfast options).  I dont love it but I dont hate it; I just never really go there.  

Dont bother eating at Ballast Point.  It really isn't a true restaurant. They have a very small dining area and thats about it.  Their upstairs bar takes up way too much floor space and it really is more like a glorified tasting room.  If you are into beers, you may want to pop in for a few.  I do love some of their sour beers.

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2020 17:31:49 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Jan 27, 2020 15:02:18 GMT -5 @princessbubbleyum said:

One thing to keep in mind if you want to cut down on your food costs is that you can get postmates, grubhub deliveries, etc. We did that two of the nights because even just trying to get a large pizza in Downtown Disney was like $50.

Naples?  Their small pizzas are overpriced especially since you can get the same thing in their quick service but that giant pizza is a pretty good deal if you are feeding a large family.  I do like their new build your own quick service option but that can get $$. 

I think so. I think we were looking at the build your own and it just made more sense to order for delivery and then we ate by the pool. 

[goldengirlz]

Jan 27, 2020 13:07:42 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

alleinesein, thanks so much for your tips - we are heading to DL in May mainly for GE but have never been either (or to that part of CA even) --- any good recs in downtown disney?

We like Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen. Mostly for the live music and the atmosphere but the food is decent.

[sandandsea]

We loved Blue Bayou and weren’t impressed with Carthay Circle. We’ve tried both multiple times and always come back to the same conclusion. The atmosphere at BB is sooo fun for kids and while it’s pricy it’s totally memorable and the kids really liked their food. We also always get a Fantsmic package with it so we have reserved seats for the show.

The max pass is an additional cost per ticket per day but is amazing. You do all the fast passes on the app and don’t have to walk all over to get them. It definitely maxes what you can fit into a day.

And you can preorder your food on the app and pick it up when you get there and skip the lines, just like order ahead at Starbucks.