How Do You Decide Where to Eat at Meal Time?

[Bubblegum1286]

I'm not asking about snacks, but rather meals.

How do you decide where to stop for lunch or dinner? I know, I know- Blue Bayou for dinner... But we're on a budget, so that's probably not going to happen this trip. So, aside from the restaurant with the best Fantasmic spots, what else influences where you eat?

Do you just grab a bite to eat wherever you happen to be at lunch time? (Ex-you just got off Racers, so Flo's is an easy stop)

OR

Do you center where you want to be at lunch/dinner time around what restaurant is a must-do for you? (Such as making sure you're already in the area for gumbo at Cafe Orleans?)

I understand there are different camps on this aspect, and I just wanted to get everyone's take on it.

We ate lunch at Flo's last time we were in CA. We only have one day there, so I want to have lunch at the best place we can. What's your CA lunch stop and dinner recommendation??

 

[scrapshappen]

I'm not a foodie at all. My favorite meal item in DCA is the chicken salad in the bread bowl at Pacific Wharf Cafe followed closely by the clam chowder in the bread bowl also at PWC. Third would be a Corn Dog from the Corn Dog Castle. (Chowder and Corn Dog are also available at DL).

We generally know what we want to eat that day and kind of plan our day around it. Sometimes, we just decide at the last minute though because we are hungry and it's convenient.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

I look at the menus of all the restaurants before i go. I pick out some items i want to try and that dictates where we eat. If the restaurant happens to be close to where we are at dinner time then that is a bonus, but i would never eat somewhere just because it's "close by". I would rather walk a bit and get to a destination where i know i am going to be happy with my choice.

 

[gerilyne]

For us it's about what kind of food we are in the mood for and where we are at when we get hungry. Very seldom do we make lunch reservations for table service so we can be more open and flexible. But I have spent time looking at all the menus so we know where we are in the park and our options in the area. But if it's something we really want we try to ride the rides in that area.

We haven't eaten a lot on CA, breakfast at Flo's, dinner at the Mexican restaurant on the wharf (it was pretty good and the seating was a lovely spot). Also loved Cathay Circle which may be a little more pricy since it is TS. I'd really like to try Paradise Garden Grill so I'm afraid I can't give a review of the food quality.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I'm not a foodie, so I'm not super picky. Over the years, we've basically eaten everywhere except the more expensive restaurants at DCA (Carthay Circle, for instance). Current favorites in DL are Pizza Port, Hungry Bear, and Tomorrowland Terrace. I'll add Blue Bayou, but that's only on the rare occasion that we can afford it. At DCA, current favorites are Cocina Cucamonga, Taste Pilot Grill (or whatever it's called now), and Flo's (not for the food, but for the atmosphere).

 

[McNs]

We book some meals before going but no more than 1 per day, usually one every second day. Don't like to lock in too much in advance unless it is a "must do". We usually just eat when we get hungry or have time, research here and other sites helps knowing what there is around each location. Oh, and the food reviews from the podcast team!

 

[Bubblegum1286]

Anybody eat at the golden horseshoe? I'm thinking the stop in mid-day for a break from the heat and a quick lunch might be nice and I hear the show is a cute "classic." Is it worth it?

 

[lorijohnhill]

I'm really bad about meals. I often will get sidetracked on the way to a meal and end up two hours and a bucket of popcorn later realizing that my family is grumpy because we haven't eaten a proper meal. My daughter could care less; she's happiest living on churros. My husband and brother both require "real" food to keep going. We really enjoy Pizza and Pasta at the Boardwalk. I really loved the beer cheese soup and bread bowl at PWC, but I think that may be seasonal. I'm a picky eater, so it's a little tricky at times. I don't eat seafood, can't handle spicy food, and don't care for much in the line of Cali Cuisine (mushrooms and "twigs" and stuff).

In DL, my favorite is Harbor Galley for stuffed baked potato. I also enjoyed the Carnation Cafe.

We just kind of take it as we go.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I make reservations for dinner each day. In the park I plan on being in at dinner time. Made the mistake once of having a dinner ressie at a hotel and we were deep in DL and didn't want to leave... And it was a Friday night and only CS was available... Boo. So we have dinner ressies each nite... Based on me pouring over menus and pre-deciding what everyone will like. Lunch is a little more free flowing... We will eat what we are near... But I know what places we like (corndog, Bengal bbq, rancho del zocalo etc.). Overall the Disney burgers are not my fave... So I try and avoid those places and go places that have more of a variety.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

Okay, you guys are giving me great ideas! Thank you! Here's kind of what I'm considering:

I'm thinking of making a list of the "better" table service and quick service places to eat (the highly recommended ones) and then at lunch time or dinner time, we can stop by whichever one on that list is the closest. I AM a foodie, so what I eat is important, but I also enjoy the atmosphere of restaurants. So this kind of gives us some flexibility. If our party is willing to walk to a place for something specific that sounds good (like the burgers at Hungry Bear or pizza), we can walk. Otherwise, we can find the one closest to wherever we happen to be during mealtime, and it won't throw us off course too much.

Thoughts?

 

[PHXscuba]

When we have the kids with us, I try to have one CS restaurant on each side of the park picked out (i.e. Hungry Bear for west side of DL, Pizza Port for east) so wherever we are around mealtime I know we'll be able to get something we want without criss-crossing the park. More important to me is eating before/after peak times, or you'll wait in longer lines for food than rides!

I see you are traveling with kids, so it's also nice to know that almost all the CS restaurants have the Kids Power Packs, so you can get what grown-ups want and still satisfy the kids if they get picky. When I travel with adults only, we have a bad habit of just snacking all day!!

BTW, my trip falls right in the middle of yours. Here's to good food and short lines to get to it!!

PHXscuba

p.s. The show at the Golden Horseshoe used to be better. The food selection is limited and we waited a looong time to get our food. I'm not sure I'd prioritize it.

 

[tarheelalum]

The golden horseshoe show is great but the food is only so so. The corn dog and fries next door at the stage door café are much better. Get your food there then bring it over to the horseshoe and sit down and enjoy the show. Or without any food whatsoever, sit down and enjoy the show and some great air conditioning on a hot day at the horseshoe. For great CS at DL, The Plaza Inn offers a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to food. Also the place next door to Café Orleans is pretty good. Their chicken and a few other dishes there are really good. Often better than BB imho. BB has great atmosphere that a lot of people love but they often fall short in my opinion when it comes to their food and the overall value they offer. Basically style over substance but YMMV.

At DCA the lucky fortune and the Wharf both offer really good food. At Pacific Wharf around thanksgiving their turkey pot pie is awesome!!!

 

[VandVsmama]

If BB is out, then there are still a lot of great options at DL. We really love the relaxing atmosphere at Hungry Bear and DH loves their fried green tomato sandwich. Their sweet potato fries are good, too. The 4 of us shared 1 of their oh so cute bumble bee cupcakes and it was very tasty...it was NOT like eating a blah grocery store cupcake.

The food at Plaza Inn is good, too, and that's Counter Service. The interior was designed by Walt Disney's wife and it's really lovely...totally fits in with the early 1900's-era style stuff that you see all over Main Street.

Where to eat sometimes depends on the type of food that you & your group like to eat. For example, does anybody have food allergies to consider? Is anyone vegetarian or vegan?

In terms of where my family chooses to eat for CS, it sort of depends. For example, for our next trip, DH really wants lunch at Hungry Bear, so I will try to work out day out so we end a ride near Critter Country kind of around lunch time. Otherwise, we would pretty much play it by ear.

 

[jkolkemo]

When we are hungry we usually all just try to agree on something, not always as easy as it sounds. I also collect coupons for Downtown Disney. We go the same time each year and signed up for all the birthday clubs for that month. Also I have a Disney VISA and AAA. This gives quite a few discounts or freebies. Earl of Sandwich is nice to get away from the park for a bit and take the monorail over.

 

[LALA8971]

Even with all my over-planning, dinner is always up in the air when we go. This is the one thing I let go of completely. I hate having my evenings revolve around an ADR. We stop wherever we are and decide what looks best at the time!

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I usually have one TS reservation per trip, typically for a lunch, and often it's at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. We eat so much there that it pretty much sustains us for the rest of the day, just some snacks for dinner.

I'd say most of my meals in the parks are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and other snacks (like the wonderful little hummus/pretzel cups) I've brought from the hotel. However I do try to eat one meal in the parks per day. I may plan it out ahead of time (for example for my past trip I knew that I wanted to try the baked potatoes at Harbour Galley), but usually I wing it. I know what my favorites are, and there is at least one favorite in every land (except for Fantasyland), so I will stop by whichever favorite I am closest to. Unless I have a specific craving, in which case I will walk all over the parks if necessary. I wasn't really feeling anything for lunch in DCA the other day, so I hopped over to Disneyland because the idea of cheap pasta and chocolate milk next to Space Mountain sounded really good all of a sudden.

As for DCA suggestions...I like what they offer in the Cozy Cones, and the whole Pacific Wharf area has great options. When I used to go with my family of 6, it was the only area where we could all actually find something we wanted.

 

[lovebug33]

We decide on some restaurants we want to try and then we go to those, even if it means walking to it. We always do big thunder ranch bbq one night.

 

[HappiestHaunt]

We hardly ever make TS reservations, since we are fairly familiar with the park offerings on both sides and when we are ready can head to a spot to eat as we wish. Where we end up usually depends on how hungry we are and what we are in the mood for. Even our large July trip where we will spend 5 days at the park we only have two TS reservations (and one is out of the park at Steakhouse 55). This allows us to be mostly flexible with our meals. During long park visits, we tend to take afternoon breaks and often eat off site during these breaks. When we take day trips we have spots with proven tastes we enjoy. So if in NOS we like to hit the Harbor Galley for shrimp Cobb salad or stuffed potatoes as a light meal/snack since they have that nice waterfront seating. If we want a bit more for a meal, we head to Plaza Inn for the terrific chicken meal. We also like Rancho Del Zocolo for a few of their offerings if we are looking for a full meal. In DCA we are highly likely to head through the Grand entrance and hit White Water Snacks over most of the DCA park offerings, since much of what is available there has been disappointing (sadly including the revamped smoke jumpers grill). At White Water Snacks the burgers are always good as are the Nachos, and its a nice cool spot to take a breather at (we also like grabbing breakfast here since it is decent priced and so good, plus they are often open prior to park opening). We like the Cove Bar in DCA as well, with the delicious Lobster Nachos (our DD really loves these) and the drinks are strong. But it can be a bit pricey for often visits and usually includes a very LONG line when you visit after opening (I wish this spot took TS ressies or at least walk up sign ups). The one spot we have yet to try is the Paradise Garden Grill, which is on our list to try soon. HTH!

 

[agamble]

Anybody eat at the golden horseshoe? I'm thinking the stop in mid-day for a break from the heat and a quick lunch might be nice and I hear the show is a cute "classic." Is it worth it?

Look at the menu and see if it's something you'd want to eat. They pretty much just have fried chicken/fish sticks with French fries. They do have some chili too. As someone mentioned you could get the corndog next door and bring it in. But you could also get the much better Mexican food from Rancho Zocalo and bring it in, but I prefer to eat at Rancho Zocalo as the seating is very pretty at night.

We have our favorites we like to eat at. A lot of times we just go with what is closest, but for our next trip I've planned where we're eating based on which park we're in. This way we can be sure to get our favorites and try a few new things. We will be eating at the Golden Horseshoe, but I have kids and they'll love having chicken and fries and my husband will likely like the chili.

My husband loves Rancho Zocalo and as I mentioned the seating is nice (lanterns, etc.) and also plentiful.
We both really like the bread bowl (soup) at the pier.
I'm not a huge fan of Flo's Café, but we've eaten there a few times.
I used to love the flatbread pizza in DCA, but they've recently changed it to standard pizza. We're going to give it a try during our trip though.
The Hungry Bear has a great fried green tomato sandwich, and if you like sweet potato fries they offer those.

 

[Carolynleanne]

We've pretty much nailed down what we like to eat at Disneyland at this point, so we have a couple favorites and just eat at whichever is closest when we're hungry Hungry Bear and Plaza Inn are our tops!