The perfect eating places in Disneyland in 2024

On-the-go churros or rooster fingers may go as meals for some Disneyland Resort company. Nevertheless, once you’re spending as a lot as a journey to a Disney theme park prices nowadays, you would possibly need to make sure you are having fun with one of the 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 remodeled. 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 number 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 place 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 over time on each household and adult-only holidays, from the smallest of snack carts to the fanciest white-tablecloth eateries. Here is what you need to learn about eating at Disneyland and our picks for one of the best Disneyland eating places — whether or not you are at Disneyland, Disney California Journey Park or a Disneyland resort.

Associated: All the things you have to learn about visiting Disneyland

For no-cost help with planning and reserving your subsequent Disney trip, try TPG’s Disney reserving companion, Mouse Counselors.

Finest eating places in Disneyland Resort

Listed below are among the finest Disneyland eating places to get pleasure from.

Plaza Inn

The place it’s: Major Avenue, U.S.A.

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

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

Guests are all the time assured a photograph alternative with Minnie Mouse. Different common characters embrace 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 one of the best time for brief experience traces, so it’s possible you’ll not need to waste these first few hours sitting down for breakfast. Reserve a time that is a number of hours after the park opens. (I’ve all the time 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 an everyday 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 rooster.

Bengal Barbecue

The place it’s: Adventureland

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

For a really fast chunk, Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland has all the time been one in every of my household’s favorites.

The menu gives 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 plan. Most of the meals objects are on skewers, so you may take them to go as you race off to your subsequent Lightning Lane reservation time. When you have extra time, sit and take a break within the adjoining shaded and themed seating space.

Pink Rose Taverne

The place it’s: Fantasyland

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

When you have little ones, likelihood is good that you’re going to spend numerous time in Fantasyland. The fast-service restaurant there works nicely for households with infants, toddlers and youthful kids. It was rebranded a number of years in the past as Pink Rose Taverne from “Magnificence and the Beast,” however many company nonetheless understand it as Village Haus.

You possibly can depend on Pink Rose Taverne for the staples many choosy kids eat, together with rooster tenders, hamburgers and flatbread cheese pizza. There’s ample indoor and out of doors seating, and there is even sufficient room to maneuver a stroller as much as most of the tables. The meals for adults is nothing notably memorable, however park-weary mother and father will be pleased about the straightforward logistics.

Tiana’s Palace

The place it’s: New Orleans Sq.

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

Greater than a yr 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 sensible alternative for company 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 children’ menu you probably 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 may 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. Nevertheless, it is nonetheless exhausting to high Blue Bayou’s location and atmosphere.

The restaurant is completely indoors however is lit to offer 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 probably the most costly meals at Disneyland. The restaurant has shifted considerably from its Cajun and Creole roots to supply extra customary American advantageous eating fare, however there’s nonetheless some spice in a number of dishes. Reservations are an absolute should.

Whereas it is a fancier restaurant and is priced accordingly, households should not essentially rule it out. Blue Bayou generally is a very particular higher-end Disney eating expertise with older kids or teenagers for dinner, and it is often crammed with fairly a number 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 rooster 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 combined 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 (often) discover a desk. There is a small, partially shaded out of doors terrace that provides contemporary air and high quality views for Star Wars people-watching, too.

Lunch and dinner menu objects embrace fried rooster (“tip-yip”), a number of adventurous seasonal entrees and several other vegetarian choices. The pickiest eaters will not discover many decisions right here, nonetheless, so examine the menu rigorously you probably have younger children.

Additionally, do not rule out the thought of a wrap from Ronto’s Roasters subsequent door; it is arguably a good tastier possibility and can also be open for breakfast. The normal 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 in the event 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 offer this restaurant an official place on the “finest Disneyland eating places” checklist, 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 plenty of shaded out of doors seating, so it was all the time a great 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 checklist a number of years in the past. Fortunately, Disney responded to the lackluster evaluations. It is within the strategy 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 among the flavors from the beloved and never-forgotten Massive Thunder Ranch Barbecue restaurant, which closed practically a decade in the past to make means for the development of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The not too long ago revealed meals lineup contains barbecue, brisket and ribs, together with the same old burgers and rooster tenders that work nicely for choosy eaters.

Finest eating places in Disney California Journey

Listed below are one of the best Disney California Journey eating places.

Flo’s V8 Cafe

The place it’s: Vehicles 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 would possibly discover alongside Route 66.

The theming and setting in Vehicles 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 number of years in the past. Nevertheless, it nonetheless has extra decisions than your common counter-service restaurant at Disneyland Resort.

Lunch and dinner embrace objects like burgers, a Cobb salad, fried rooster and a turkey membership sandwich. Shakes are additionally accessible as a candy deal with. Children can discover loads of selection, from macaroni and cheese to rooster 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 very well-liked.

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 kids and youths because of its environment and worth. Nonetheless, youthful children who love Pixar films will really feel proper at residence 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 certainly extra various and fascinating for foodie mother and father than at many Disneyland eating places, and the drink menu (each alcoholic and nonalcoholic) is filled with whimsical picks.

Carthay Circle Restaurant

The place it’s: Buena Vista Avenue

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 finances 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 Outdated Hollywood historical past and lore.

Menu objects embrace 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 finances or the time for a fancier meal, the Carthay Circle Lounge downstairs in the identical constructing gives lighter bites and scrumptious cocktails. Consuming within the lounge’s out of doors seating part supplies the added perk of five-star people-watching — you will most likely 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 rooster sandwich

The meals at Pym Check Kitchen will not be one of the best on a Disney property, however it’s fairly enjoyable. It made the reduce primarily based 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 huge.

On the menu, you will discover an unlimited pretzel, a not-so-little rooster sandwich with a tiny bun however an enormous rooster patty, pasta with tiny noodles and outsized Unimaginable plant-based “meatballs.” Children often get a kick out of the pretzel, which is bigger than their heads.

Pym Check Kitchen is likely one of the few breakfast choices open in California Journey Park, and its choices are additionally fairly strong within the morning. The “Calculated Breakfast = E x 2 + (B+P)/T” is served with two eggs which are completely different sizes and ready in numerous 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 rooster and pork wonton nachos

When Disney not too long ago remodeled Pacific Wharf into the town of San Fransokyo from the movie Massive Hero 6, the realm’s eating places undoubtedly benefited from the refresh. This part of the park is now a eating vacation spot with a number of delicacies decisions, all sharing a single giant out of doors seating space.

There are actually a number of restaurant standouts price making an attempt anew, however my private favourite to this point is Fortunate Fortune Cookery.

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

For dessert, the restaurant serves an lovable 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: Modifications seasonally

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

The meals choices at these festivals are enjoyable and distinctive, they usually provide an ideal alternative for guests to attempt new flavors. The all the time dependable Paradise Backyard Grill restaurant often serves competition meals objects as nicely, usually in bigger parts.

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

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

Associated: The place to remain at Disneyland

Dealer Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar

The place it’s: Disneyland Lodge

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

Close to the pool on the Disneyland Lodge, you will 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 may’t go incorrect simply coming in for a snack and a drink. Order the precise one, and it’s possible you’ll be part of a shipwreck, explosion or different enjoyable catastrophe.

Napa Rose

The place it’s: Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & 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 Lodge. Nevertheless, you will see a complicated (however not stuffy) menu of duck breast, steak and sustainably sourced fish, to call a number of objects.

This can be a big day meal and one you do not need 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. Nevertheless, it’s routinely one of many better-reviewed meals and experiences on the resort due to the restaurant’s meticulous service.

Company with a severe princess fan within the household ought to definitely think about it if the finances permits, notably for a particular celebration like a birthday or anniversary.

Extra ideas for eating places and eating at Disneyland

As with all issues at Disneyland, company who’re ready can have a much less disturbing and extra satisfying expertise. Listed below are a number of ultimate ideas you have to know earlier than you make your Disneyland eating plans and restaurant reservations.

Make use of cell ordering

Over the previous couple of years, Disneyland has rolled out cell 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.

Today, cell 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 is not a nasty thought to position your order an hour or two forward in some circumstances if you already know when and what you want to eat. At well-liked spots and on the busiest days, accessible time slots start to refill, and company are unable to order for fast pickup on the cell order system. Do not wait till your abdomen is growling to position an order, or it’s possible you’ll be left hungry for some time.

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

Make Disneyland restaurant reservations 60 days prematurely

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

If you happen to miss the possibility 60 days out, a service like MouseDining might be helpful in alerting you when a gap turns into accessible. Simply act rapidly, as decisions disappear as quick as they seem.

Do not forget about eating packages

Disneyland has a lot of well-liked reveals and parades that many guests need 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 package deal. These packages do come at a premium worth, however they save substantial time along with offering a meal that company could be paying for anyway. Test the Disneyland web site or app for availability, as there are sometimes adjustments to the choices.

Associated: use factors for Disney tickets

Assume 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 wonderful eating places.

We have already highlighted among the finest choices at a number of of the Disneyland on-property motels, however there are nonetheless extra worthy restaurant decisions at these properties. Scheduling a resort character meal in your arrival or departure day at one in every of these resort eating places generally is a sensible alternative, 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 embrace a brewery, a restaurant specializing in over-the-top milkshakes, a bowling alley with wonderful sushi, and eating places specializing in Cajun, Italian and Mexican dishes.

The not too long ago 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.

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 yr, 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). (Be taught extra concerning the finest bank cards for eating.)

The data 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 offered by the cardboard issuer.

Alternatively, you too can decide up some discounted Disney reward playing cards earlier than your journey to save lots of on meals at one of the best eating places in Disneyland.

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