We commonly get asked about food in the Disneyland Resort. Where are the best places to eat? Can you bring in food? What do you recommend for snacks? How does mobile order work?
Don't worry, we've got you covered for every situation and question.
First things, first. Crowd Pleasers. Do your kids live off chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese? Do you have a big group at Disney and find it hard to please everyone? Here are some of our top choices for quick-service restaurants in the parks to please everyone:
1. Jolly Holiday- Sandwiches, soups and salads sure to please everyone! This is our most frequented quick service restaurant in the Resort. There's something about the housemade potato chips served with the sandwiches that are so delicious. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and contains a bakery with a variety of tasty delicious baked goods. $14.99 and under, Annual Passholder discount and Mobile Ordering available.
2. Plaza Inn- This is the place for the world famous fried chicken! Ok, maybe not world famous, but it does have a strong reputation for delicious fried chicken. The line can get long at times, so keep an eye out on the line. The restaurant also serves pastas, chicken, pot roast, salmon and salads. Pasta and chicken available for the kids. $18.99 and under, Annual Passholder discount available, No mobile ordering. For information regarding Plaza Inn's character breakfast, scroll down to our "special occasions" section.
3. Red Rose Tavern- Beauty and the Beast themed quick service restaurant with burgers, chicken sandwiches, flatbreads, salad, poutine, and POMME FRITES! Yes, you can get the pomme frites without the reservation or price of Cafe Orleans. Don't forget to try the grey stuff, it's delicious! Breakfast is also served (pancakes, breakfast burger, stuffed french toast). $16.49 and under, Annual Passholder discount and Mobile Ordering available.
4. Smoke Jumpers Grill- Located in Disney California Adventure. Burgers and Chicken Burgers with a burger bar- you can add your own toppings on at the end. Veggie burger, salads and chicken tenders also available on menu. $13.49 and under, Annual Pasholder discount and Mobile Ordering available.
5. Flo's V8 Cafe- Route 66 inspired diner with American cuisine in Cars Land (Disney California Adventure). Serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with old time music playing in the background. It's a step back in time! Our go to meals include the Club sandwich, tuna sandwich and the fried chicken meal. Lots of seating available inside and outside, including great views of the rocks and the archway in Radiator Springs. $14.99 and under, Annual Passholder discount and Mobile Ordering available.
Next up is Special Occasions. Do you have a birthday coming up? Are you celebrating an anniversary? Graduation? Did you pass your professional licensing exam? Here are our suggestions for sit-down restaurants within the parks to celebrate:
1. Lamplight Lounge- The lounge is known for it's fun and pretty drinks- alcoholic and nonalcoholic. We love having brunch at the lounge but their lunch and dinner menu is tasty as well. Presentation is a large part of the experience here, so your meal will look almost like a work of art when it arrives to you. There's lots of fun Pixar art and memorabilia inside the resaturant and fantastic views of the pier. $15-35 per adult.
2. Carthay Circle- Modeled after the movie theatre that Snow White and the Seven Dwarves premiered in, this restaurant is full of Disney history. The downstairs portion of the restaurant is the lounge- full of drinks (alcoholic and nonalcoholic), appetizers and kids meals. This is where Lindsay and Kayla celebrated passing their speech and language pathology licensing exam after graduate school! The upstairs portion is a full restaurant serving lunch and dinner. It's a nice restaurant, the menu and atmosphere reminded me of Club 33, but the prices more around Blue Bayou. Lunch will cost $15-$34 per adult, Dinner around $35-60 per adult.
3. Character Breakfasts- There are many character breakfasts around the resort and most don't require a park ticket to attend! Character dining is a special experience where you get individualized attention with the characters roaming the restaurant. They come to your table, sign autographs, take pictures and chat with you. It provides a little more intimate experience as it doesn't feel as rushed as the meet and greet lines in the park. It's a great way to celebrate birthdays, graduations, new jobs, etc. for all ages! Plaza Inn's Minnie & Friends Breakfast in the Park is the only character dining experience currently inside Disneyland. The other character dining experiences include Disney Princess Adventure Breakfast (Napa Rose, Grand Californian), Donald Duck's Seaside Breakfast (Disney's PCH Grill, Paradise Pier Hotel), Breakfast and Dinner at Goofy's Kitchen (Goofy's Kitchen, Disneyland Hotel), Mickey's Tales of Adventures Breakfast (Storytellers Cafe, Grand Californian).
4. Blue Bayou- Love the atmosphere of this restaurant- low lighting, you can see the fireflies glowing across the water of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The menu is honestly not our favorite here, especially when they stopped serving the Monte Cristo on the dinner menu, but it is definitely a fun place to dine for a special occasion! Note: If you're after the Monte Cristo sandwich, check out Cafe Orleans as it is served on the menu all day and for a much more reasonable price. $35-60 per adult.
Please note that all of the Special Occasions suggestions are full service restaurants. Reservations are HIGHLY recommended for each location as seating is limited and demand is high. Reservations can be made on the Disneyland app, www.disneyland.com, or by calling 714-781-DINE up to 60 days in advance. Annual Passholder discount available at all locations.
Can you bring food into the parks? Yes, you can! You can bring whole meals, snacks or beverages. You cannot bring in your own alcohol. Everything you bring into the parks need to be contained in a NON-GLASS container. Security will not let you in with a glass container. However, you can bring a cooler! There are lockers for you to store the cooler in (for a fee) or you can carry it around all day. Our favorite way to eat our lunches from home is to have a picnic over on Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. It's a little getaway within the park, full of picnic tables, beautiful trees and nature, and tons of play places for kids and adults to run.
How does mobile order work? Do you recommend it? Yes! Mobile order is a fantastic option. We love it on crowded days or days when the kids cannot stand in another line. Mobile ordering works for most of the walk-up/counter service restaurants and some snack stands (including DOLE WHIPS and BEIGNETS!). You need to download the Disneyland app, hit the "plus" sign in the middle and select "order food." It may ask you to log in to your Disney account if you have one. You'll then see a list of restaurants currently offering mobile orders and their "return time window." Select the time you want on your chosen restaurant and proceed to order. Once you've completed your order, you'll return to the restaurant within the appropriate time frame, click "I'm here. Prepare my order," and just wait for it tell you that your order is ready for pickup. The kitchen doesn't work on your order until you hit the button telling them that you have arrived, meaning that your food is always fresh! There will be a separate line at the restaurant labeled "Mobile Order" where you will retrieve your food. Annual Passholders: as long as your pass is linked on your Disney account and app, mobile ordering will honor your discount.
Don't forget to try a corndog, churro and a Dolewhip!
Happy eating!
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