One of the best eating places in Disneyland in 2024

On-the-go churros or hen fingers may match as meals for some Disneyland Resort visitors. Nonetheless, whenever you’re spending as a lot as a journey to a Disney theme park prices today, you may wish to be certain you are having fun with the very best restaurant meals, concessions and experiences that the park has to supply.

Whereas Disney World’s eating places are sometimes extra talked about, Disneyland’s eating choices have additionally reworked. With elevated crowds and rapidly booked-up eating places, it is a good suggestion to map out your consuming plan prematurely — not less than for a couple of meals.

What makes a Disney restaurant nice will not be essentially the meals. It could be a personality expertise, a enjoyable theme or a great spot proper close to the rides that makes the restaurant particular.

Does it get higher than really consuming inside an attraction on the Blue Bayou and watching the Pirates of the Caribbean boats go by? We expect not.

We have dined at dozens of Disneyland eating places through the years on each household and adult-only holidays, from the smallest of snack carts to the fanciest white-tablecloth eateries. Here is what you must learn about eating at Disneyland and our picks for the very best Disneyland eating places — whether or not you are at Disneyland, Disney California Journey Park or a Disneyland resort.

Associated: Every part it is advisable learn about visiting Disneyland

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Finest eating places in Disneyland Resort

Listed here are a number of the greatest Disneyland eating places to take pleasure in.

Plaza Inn

The place it’s: Principal Road, U.S.A.

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What’s on the menu: Mickey waffles and fried hen

Dwelling to the one Disneyland character meal inside both of the 2 parks, Plaza Inn is a favourite for households or anybody who desires some character face time. Throughout morning hours, Plaza Inn hosts Minnie & Associates — Breakfast within the Park. The breakfast is buffet type, with kid-friendly favorites like Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles accessible alongside eggs, biscuits and gravy, and different morning consolation meals.

Guests are at all times assured a photograph alternative with Minnie Mouse. Different common characters embody Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Chip ‘n Dale, Pluto and Daisy Duck.

Reservations go rapidly for this meal, so make your plans as quickly because the 60-day advance reservation window opens. A reminder: Early morning is the very best time for brief experience strains, so chances are you’ll not wish to waste these first few hours sitting down for breakfast. Reserve a time that is a couple of hours after the park opens. (I’ve at all times discovered that 10:30 a.m. is good on days with an 8 a.m. park opening.)

For lunch and dinner, the characters name it a day, and the restaurant turns into a daily fast-casual restaurant. Even with out characters, Plaza Inn is a restaurant with numerous worth. Costs are cheap, and parts are hearty. Do not miss the restaurant’s signature dish, fried hen.

Bengal Barbecue

The place it’s: Adventureland

What’s on the menu: Chieftain hen skewer, Bengal beef skewer

For a really fast chunk, Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland has at all times been considered one of my household’s favorites.

The menu affords numerous lean meats and some veggies — a welcome change from all of the churros and Mickey ice cream bars that usually make up a Disneyland food regimen. Most of the meals gadgets are on skewers, so you possibly can take them to go as you race off to your subsequent Lightning Lane reservation time. When you’ve got extra time, sit and take a break within the adjoining shaded and themed seating space.

Purple Rose Taverne

The place it’s: Fantasyland

What’s on the menu: Burgers, chopped salads, pizza flatbreads

When you’ve got little ones, likelihood is good that you will spend numerous time in Fantasyland. The short-service restaurant there works nicely for households with infants, toddlers and youthful youngsters. It was rebranded a couple of years in the past as Purple Rose Taverne from “Magnificence and the Beast,” however many visitors nonetheless realize it as Village Haus.

You may rely on Purple Rose Taverne for the staples many choosy youngsters eat, together with hen tenders, hamburgers and flatbread cheese pizza. There’s ample indoor and outside seating, and there is even sufficient room to maneuver a stroller as much as most of the tables. The meals for adults is nothing significantly memorable, however park-weary dad and mom will be thankful for the straightforward logistics.

Tiana’s Palace

The place it’s: New Orleans Sq.

What’s on the menu: 7 greens gumbo with hen and andouille sausage, Gulf shrimp and grits

Greater than a 12 months after its debut, Tiana’s Palace restaurant in New Orleans Sq. is holding robust as top-of-the-line quick-service eating places on the Disneyland Resort.

Tiana’s Palace changed longtime favourite French Market as a part of bringing the beloved “The Princess and the Frog” story to Disneyland. It can quickly be joined by a brand new attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Journey, on Nov. 15, 2024.

Like its French Market predecessor, Tiana’s Palace is a higher-end counter service restaurant. This makes it a wise selection for visitors who desire a nicer eating expertise with out fairly as a lot expense or time invested as a real sit-down meal.

The menu is Creole- and Cajun-inspired, with a number of gumbo dishes, a beef po’boy sandwich, tacky shrimp and grits, and sides like buttermilk cornbread. Much less adventurous choices (toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and macaroni and cheese) are on the youngsters’ menu if in case you have choosy eaters within the household.

Tables are exterior on a largely shaded veranda overlooking Rivers of America and the Mark Twain Riverboat. Cease by the close by Mint Julep Bar, the place you possibly can seize a (nonalcoholic) mint julep to accompany your meal or a Mickey beignet for dessert.

Blue Bayou

The place it’s: New Orleans Sq.

What’s on the menu: Hen gumbo and filet mignon

For the quintessential Disneyland date night time, head straight for New Orleans Sq..

My husband and I’ve made dinner at Blue Bayou our date-night custom, beginning once we first visited the park collectively greater than 20 years in the past. It is honest to say the meals high quality and menu selection have each dropped a bit within the final a number of years. Nonetheless, it is nonetheless arduous to prime Blue Bayou’s location and atmosphere.

The restaurant is totally indoors however is lit to provide the phantasm of alfresco nighttime eating overlooking the bayou.

Boats from the Pirates of the Caribbean experience float by whereas fireflies dance overhead. Lunch is cheaper than dinner, however it’s nonetheless one of the crucial costly meals at Disneyland. The restaurant has shifted considerably from its Cajun and Creole roots to supply extra customary American high-quality eating fare, however there’s nonetheless some spice in a couple of dishes. Reservations are an absolute should.

Whereas this can be a fancier restaurant and is priced accordingly, households should not essentially rule it out. Blue Bayou could be a very particular higher-end Disney eating expertise with older youngsters or teenagers for dinner, and it is normally crammed with fairly a couple of households at lunch.

Docking Bay 7 Meals and Cargo

The place it’s: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

What’s on the menu: Endorian fried hen tip-yip

The opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland in 2019 introduced a number of new eating places. The meals choices on Batuu weren’t with out some controversy and blended evaluations — not less than initially.

Associated: The important information to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland

Disneyland continuously tweaks menus in response to buyer suggestions, and Docking Bay 7 has now stood the take a look at of time as one of many extra dependable counter service eating places within the park. With ample, air-conditioned indoor seating, it is also a straightforward place to take a break and (normally) discover a desk. There is a small, partially shaded outside terrace that provides contemporary air and high quality views for Star Wars people-watching, too.

Lunch and dinner menu gadgets embody fried hen (“tip-yip”), a couple of adventurous seasonal entrees and several other vegetarian choices. The pickiest eaters will not discover many selections right here, nonetheless, so test the menu fastidiously if in case you have younger children.

Additionally, do not rule out the concept of a wrap from Ronto’s Roasters subsequent door; it is arguably an excellent tastier choice and can also be open for breakfast. The standard morning wrap with egg and pork sausage is our favourite; there are additionally plant-based backyard wraps and a wrap with sausage and slaw accessible for lunch or dinner. And should you’re within the temper for a enjoyable, candy coffee-style drink, seize the chilly brew black caf (chilly brew topped with candy cream cheese and chocolate puffs).

Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree

The place it’s: Critter Nation (quickly to be re-named Bayou Nation)

What’s on the menu: Barbecue platters and sandwiches, burgers and ribs

Whereas it is too quickly to provide this restaurant an official place on the “greatest Disneyland eating places” record, Hungry Bear is not less than one to look at intently within the coming weeks and months.

In a quiet nook alongside the Rivers of America in Critter Nation, Hungry Bear Restaurant was a longtime counter service favourite for households with younger children. The restaurant had a lot of shaded outside seating, so it was at all times a perfect place to take a much-needed break for lunch noon.

Sadly, the meals high quality declined, and the menu turned fairly ho-hum, so we deleted this restaurant from our record a number of years in the past. Fortunately, Disney responded to the lackluster evaluations. It is within the technique of finishing an overhaul of the restaurant and its menu in anticipation of the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Journey subsequent door.

Associated: Disney World vs. Disneyland — which is the higher park?

The brand new menu is predicted to deliver again a number of the flavors from the beloved and never-forgotten Large Thunder Ranch Barbecue restaurant, which closed almost a decade in the past to make method for the development of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The just lately revealed meals lineup contains barbecue, brisket and ribs, together with the standard burgers and hen tenders that work nicely for choosy eaters.

Finest eating places in Disney California Journey

Listed here are the very best Disney California Journey eating places.

Flo’s V8 Cafe

The place it’s: Automobiles Land

What’s on the menu: Burgers and turkey membership sandwich

Flo’s V8 Cafe is Disney’s tackle the traditional American diner, similar to you may discover alongside Route 66.

The theming and setting in Automobiles Land are immersive and simply a lot enjoyable. By quick-service restaurant requirements, the meals is downright scrumptious. The menu is not fairly as intensive and various because it was once a couple of years in the past. Nonetheless, it nonetheless has extra selections than your common counter-service restaurant at Disneyland Resort.

Lunch and dinner embody gadgets like burgers, a Cobb salad, fried hen and a turkey membership sandwich. Shakes are additionally accessible as a candy deal with. Youngsters can discover loads of selection, from macaroni and cheese to hen strips.

Lamplight Lounge

The place it’s: Pixar Pier

What’s on the menu: Lobster nachos, potato skins and doughnuts

Lamplight Lounge stays one of many hottest eating tickets at Disneyland Resort, so it is a should to make a reservation nicely prematurely if you wish to dine right here. Weekend brunch (Friday by Sunday) is particularly common.

Instagrammable meals and cocktails abound. The decor is Pixar-themed, with tons of memorabilia and particulars to discover. Like Blue Bayou in Disneyland Park, Lamplight Lounge might be higher suited to households with older youngsters and youths as a consequence of its environment and value. Nonetheless, youthful children who love Pixar motion pictures will really feel proper at dwelling right here, too.

The sentimental favourite menu merchandise is the lobster nachos, which have been additionally accessible on the predecessor restaurant on this area, Cove Bar. The menu is unquestionably extra various and fascinating for foodie dad and mom than at many Disneyland eating places, and the drink menu (each alcoholic and nonalcoholic) is filled with whimsical alternatives.

Carthay Circle Restaurant

The place it’s: Buena Vista Road

What’s on the menu: Rib eye, pork chops and mushroom ravioli

For a signature eating expertise in California Journey, Carthay Circle Restaurant is the best choice. It is also priced accordingly, so save this for a particular adults’ night time out or price range accordingly.

Set inside a duplicate of the Carthay Circle Theater, the place Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” debuted in 1937, this restaurant teems with Disney and Previous Hollywood historical past and lore.

Menu gadgets embody pork chops, rib eye, contemporary fish and pasta. Carthay Circle Restaurant’s menu is most intensive at dinner, however it has simply added a cheaper pre-fixe menu for lunch.

If you do not have the price range or the time for a fancier meal, the Carthay Circle Lounge downstairs in the identical constructing affords lighter bites and scrumptious cocktails. Consuming within the lounge’s outside seating part gives the added perk of five-star people-watching — you may in all probability even spot a personality or two strolling by on the best way to their subsequent look.

Pym Check Kitchen

The place it’s: Avengers Campus

What’s on the menu: Quantum pretzel, not-so-little hen sandwich

The meals at Pym Check Kitchen will not be the very best on a Disney property, however it’s fairly enjoyable. It made the lower based mostly on sheer originality.

The idea of this counter-service restaurant in Avenger’s Campus is that Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Pym particles are getting used to experiment with making meals teeny-tiny or monumental.

On the menu, you may discover an unlimited pretzel, a not-so-little hen sandwich with a tiny bun however an enormous hen patty, pasta with tiny noodles and outsized Not possible plant-based “meatballs.” Youngsters normally get a kick out of the pretzel, which is bigger than their heads.

Pym Check Kitchen is without doubt one of the few breakfast choices open in California Journey Park, and its choices are additionally fairly stable within the morning. The “Calculated Breakfast = E x 2 + (B+P)/T” is served with two eggs which can be totally different sizes and ready in several methods.

Fortunate Fortune Cookery

The place it’s: San Fransokyo Sq. (previously Pacific Wharf)

What’s on the menu: Yaki udon with Karaage-inspired crispy hen and pork wonton nachos

When Disney just lately reworked Pacific Wharf into town of San Fransokyo from the movie Large Hero 6, the world’s eating places positively benefited from the refresh. This part of the park is now a eating vacation spot with a number of delicacies selections, all sharing a single giant outside seating space.

There at the moment are a number of restaurant standouts price making an attempt anew, however my private favourite to date is Fortunate Fortune Cookery.

The restaurant has at all times been a go-to place for a dependable teriyaki rice bowl and a few veggies for anybody in search of a more healthy chunk. It now additionally affords a mix of pan-Asian delicacies that includes Korean, Chinese language and Japanese flavors. I attempted a number of menu gadgets throughout a current journey. The meat bulgogi burrito with rice and coleslaw was the very best factor I ate all day, combining taste profiles from a number of totally different delicacies traditions.

For dessert, the restaurant serves an cute and really tasty Baymax macaron with buttercream and chocolate hazelnut filling. Boba followers may also get their repair with Thai tea.

Meals competition marketplaces

The place it’s: Grizzly Peak, Paradise Gardens

What’s on the menu: Adjustments seasonally

Disney California Journey is dwelling to a number of meals festivals all year long. When these happen, meals “marketplaces” pop up alongside the pathways of the park — normally not less than from Grizzly Peak to the top of Paradise Gardens.

The meals choices at these festivals are enjoyable and distinctive, and so they provide an amazing alternative for guests to attempt new flavors. The at all times dependable Paradise Backyard Grill restaurant normally serves competition meals gadgets as nicely, typically in bigger parts.

The most important of those festivals is the Disney California Journey Meals and Wine Competition within the spring.

Look additionally for the Competition of Holidays through the November and December vacation season and the Lunar New 12 months marketplaces through the annual Lunar New 12 months Celebration. Households and teams can get numerous worth out of sharing a Sip ‘n’ Savor move, which supplies you tickets to redeem for plenty of dishes for a single set value.

Finest eating places within the Disneyland resorts

Listed here are the very best eating places at Disneyland’s on-property resorts.

Associated: The place to remain at Disneyland

Dealer Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar

The place it’s: Disneyland Resort

What’s on the menu: HippopotoMai-Tai, zombie, pu pu platter, Hawaiian platter

Close to the pool on the Disneyland Resort, you may discover one of many liveliest locations to eat or drink on Disneyland property: Dealer Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. It is a spot the place volcanoes explode, servers shout, and it is easy to have a very good time.

The poke bowl and Hawaiian platter are enjoyable choices right here, however you possibly can’t go unsuitable simply coming in for a snack and a drink. Order the proper one, and chances are you’ll be part of a shipwreck, explosion or different enjoyable catastrophe.

Napa Rose

The place it’s: Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa

What’s on the menu: Steak and fish

You will not discover any shipwrecks or screaming servers at Napa Rose inside Disneyland’s Grand Californian Resort. Nonetheless, one can find a complicated (however not stuffy) menu of duck breast, steak and sustainably sourced fish, to call a couple of gadgets.

This can be a special day meal and one you do not wish to rush by, so do not attempt to cram it in earlier than catching that subsequent experience on Radiator Springs Racers.

The restaurant additionally serves a premium character breakfast — Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures — Thursday by Monday. It is fairly costly at $142 per individual plus tax. Nonetheless, it’s routinely one of many better-reviewed meals and experiences on the resort due to the restaurant’s meticulous service.

Visitors with a severe princess fan within the household ought to definitely take into account it if the price range permits, significantly for a particular celebration like a birthday or anniversary.

Extra ideas for eating places and eating at Disneyland

As with all issues at Disneyland, visitors who’re ready can have a much less aggravating and extra pleasing expertise. Listed here are a couple of ultimate ideas it is advisable know earlier than you make your Disneyland eating plans and restaurant reservations.

Make use of cellular ordering

Over the previous couple of years, Disneyland has rolled out cellular ordering to the overwhelming majority of counter-service eating places in each parks. You now not want to attend in a bodily queue simply to position an order.

As of late, cellular ordering is just about important. Be sure you obtain the official Disneyland app and that you simply place your order prematurely of the mealtime rush.

It isn’t a nasty concept to position your order an hour or two forward in some instances if you understand when and what you wish to eat. At common spots and on the busiest days, accessible time slots start to replenish, and visitors are unable to order for instant pickup on the cellular order system. Do not wait till your abdomen is growling to position an order, or chances are you’ll be left hungry for some time.

When you place your order, wait till the time you will have chosen to eat. Then click on within the app once more to point your arrival as you method the restaurant. Your meals is normally prepared in a couple of minutes at a pick-up window. Search for the push notification to provide you with a warning within the app.

Make Disneyland restaurant reservations 60 days prematurely

When you plan to go to a desk service restaurant or a preferred character meal buffet throughout your Disneyland trip, reservations are a should. We advocate reserving proper at Disneyland’s 60-day reservation window earlier than your journey should you can. Reservations open at 6 a.m. (Pacific time) each day and the highest eating places can guide up near immediately.

When you miss the possibility 60 days out, a service like MouseDining could be useful in alerting you when a gap turns into accessible. Simply act rapidly, as selections disappear as quick as they seem.

Remember about eating packages

Disneyland has plenty of common reveals and parades that many guests wish to see. Discovering a very good seat for them might require tenting out an hour or extra prematurely.

One resolution is to safe reserved seating or standing areas for these reveals by reserving an related eating bundle. These packages do come at a premium value, however they save substantial time along with offering a meal that visitors can be paying for anyway. Examine the Disneyland web site or app for availability, as there are sometimes adjustments to the choices.

Associated: The best way to use factors for Disney tickets

Suppose past the parks

There are such a lot of wonderful eating places inside Disneyland Park and Disney California Journey, however remember to look past park borders for different glorious eating places.

We have already highlighted a number of the greatest choices at a couple of of the Disneyland on-property resorts, however there are nonetheless extra worthy restaurant selections at these properties. Scheduling a resort character meal in your arrival or departure day at considered one of these resort eating places could be a good selection, because it offers you a Disney expertise with out the price of a park ticket on that day.

The Downtown Disney district adjoining to the 2 parks additionally options many high quality eating places and eating experiences. These eating places are all only a very quick stroll or monorail experience from the parks. Choices embody a brewery, a restaurant specializing in over-the-top milkshakes, a bowling alley with glorious sushi, and eating places specializing in Cajun, Italian and Mexican dishes.

The just lately opened dim sum restaurant Din Tai Fung is already proving to be one of many hardest reservations to get on the Disneyland Resort. Much more new eating places are anticipated in 2025 as building in Downtown Disney continues.

Backside line

Regardless of who’s in your celebration or what your price range is, Disneyland has all kinds of eating places to take pleasure in in your subsequent trip.

In case you are paying by card for these meals, use a card that rewards you with further miles for eating, just like the Citi Status® Card (5 factors per greenback), American Categorical® Gold Card (4 factors per greenback at eating places on as much as $50,000 in purchases per calendar 12 months, then 1 level per greenback), Hilton Honors American Categorical Aspire Card (7 factors per greenback on eligible purchases at U.S. eating places) or Chase Sapphire Reserve® (3 factors per greenback). (Study extra concerning the greatest bank cards for eating.)

The knowledge for the Citi Status Card and Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

Alternatively, you may as well choose up some discounted Disney reward playing cards earlier than your journey to avoid wasting on meals at the very best eating places in Disneyland.

When you’re planning a household trip to Disneyland, listed below are further articles that can assist you craft the right journey: