How Do You Decide Where to Eat at Meal Time?

DLgeeks · Apr 28, 2015

We go often enough that we pretty much just play it by ear. Every once in a while we'll make TS reservations at BB or BTR for dinner, but usually we just go with whatever sounds good at the moment. In DL the Plaza Inn, Pizza Port or Rancho Zocolo are our go-to places for lunch or dinner. For CA lunch is often a corn dog on the go or chilli dogs at Award Wieners (not the healthiest choice I know!), the nachos at the Mexican place in Pacific Warf are quite good, as are the bread bowls at Boudin. My personal favorite is the Pacific Garden Grill - their menu changes seasonally and while I like the Mediterranean menu the best, we've had several other things there that have been really good (the pasta place next door to it is also a good option if you have picky eaters in your group).

DLgeeks · Apr 28, 2015

There are also several restaurants in DTD that are a good option, especially for dinner, if you want to sit down - Tortilla Joes and the Jazz Kitchen both have great food and are still very kid-friendly

Bubblegum1286 · Apr 29, 2015

jkolkemo said:
Earl of Sandwich is nice to get away from the park for a bit and take the monorail over.

Yeah, I signed up for Earl of Sandwich as well. Can you get to DTD if you don't have a park hopper? Will they let you back in whatever "land" you were in to start with after you breeze by DTD?

DLgeeks · Apr 29, 2015

DTD is between the two parks, so yes you can pop out of the park and then head back in once you are done as long as you still have your ticket. One of our favorite ways to end the night is to take the monorail out of DL (tomorrowland) to DTD (it drops you at the far end of DTD near the hotels), and then walk out through all of the shops/restaurants back toward the parking tram.

cmpeter · Apr 29, 2015

We pick where we want to eat when I plan our park days. I generally do one TS per day and CS the others. If we need to walk to get to the TS or CS that we have picked, we walk, it's generally not far. I usually have a back up list of CS options in case we get hungry earlier or later or something else sounds good.

At DCA, my favorite place to eat is Pacific Warf. Love their shrimp Louie in a bread bowl (although I get the bread bowl on the side because I don't like soggy bread).

If we do BB, I prefer lunch. Get an 11:30 reservation and ask for a seat by the water. Less expensive than dinner.

wisdomgiver · Apr 29, 2015

Only talking about DL here not CA: Partly it depends on when you're in the park. If it's a weekend evening, especially in the summer, and you want a proper sit-down meal experience, advance reservations are really the way to go. A couple of months ago I went from BB to Cafe Orleans to Carnation Cafe to Storyteller and they were totally booked for the evening and not accepting any walk-ins even if you were willing to wait. Plaza Inn and Rancho Del Zocalo are my go-to places for something really filling without a reservation (though Plaza does at times have up to a 20-min wait). For a hearty snack, I like the steak gumbo bowl from the Royal Street Veranda, the loaded baked potatoes at Harbour Gallery, or chicken nuggets from the Golden Horseshoe.

lalasmama · Apr 29, 2015

We do a little "what's nearby" and a little "can't be missed" dining.... We usually have a list of "can't be missed" places or items (DH loves the corn dogs, I love the 5-cheese ravioli, DD loves everything), so we will make sure that we eat at Boardwalk Pizza (or whatever it's called!) for me, the Red Wagon for DH, and whatever DD begs for. We're completely flexible on what we eat, when we eat, and where we eat, assuming we don't have ressies.

Chiomaca · Apr 30, 2015

Bubblegum1286 said:
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?

My brother, oldest nephew and I are foodies, mom, sister-in-law, and youngest nephew aren't so we try to balance. We ALWAYS eat at Napa Rose for at least one meal because it makes my brother and me happy. In the parks, it's really dictated by how close we are to something. At DCA we love the Boardwalk and Wharf areas because we can find something to please even the picky littlest one. At Disneyland, Jolly Holiday is our favorite, but sometimes we just grab a turkey leg or two and split it between the bunch of us. Often at midday the kids are overstimulated, so we'll leave the park and head into DTD. Uva bar, right next to Catal, is outside and they have a decent selection for kids and foodie adults. The Pizza place, Napoli is another good choice. We like the snacks from Cozy Cone, and we're always hungry at some point around Carsland.

jammyjam25 · Apr 30, 2015

We typically make one reservation per day (whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner), and then usually just play it by ear for the rest of the day. We are definitely "grazers" while we're at DL, so usually one real meal a day is all we need and have been enough times that we know where the things we like are so we tend to gravitate towards those places when we're hungry. That being said, I don't have kids with me on my trips so it's a lot easier to do that.

I'd say if you're more than 75% sure you're going to a specific restaurant, have a reservation (that you can always cancel later if your plans change). I know in December my group made reservations at Café Orleans and I'm glad we did because it was TINY! My aunt tried to go the same day and was turned away because they weren't accepting walk-ins due to how busy they were.

ldarcy · Apr 30, 2015

Bubblegum1286 said:
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?

With respect, I think you're overthinking it. It's just food & it's just Disney food. If there is something you are really looking forward to, & I think we all have a few Dis favorites, by all means go for it. But, if budget is driving your decision, then your options are automatically more defined. There are so many dining options within a few minutes' walk of wherever you are that you can suit your mood, your budget & your taste buds all at the same time without overthinking it.

HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME!!!

ehrawn · Apr 30, 2015

I avoid park food for a few reasons: 1) quality for the price is low, 2) it's less healthy than I normal eat and wrecks my "temperament" and 3) if I'm in the Park, I'm there to enjoy attractions. That last point is biggest for our family. The kids are still young enough that meal times are more stressful than enjoyable, relaxing affairs. Breakfast is usually a hurried affair, shoveling some fruit and yogurt in our mouths while we wait at the gate. Lunch is the perfect time to get out of the park to avoid crowds. Usually, we grab an early dinner before heading back to the park. Only if we're catching an evening show/parade and know that we will be sitting for a long while will we eat park food: i.e. CS and almost always Bengal Barbecue.

JadeDarkstar · Apr 30, 2015

We do more planed Lunches then dinners. We like a big meal in middle of the day and snack or share something like Plaza inn Chicken for dinner. We do not like to do a lot of sit down places. This trip besides the three chr meals my family must do, we will do two other sit down meals. BB Lunch or cafe Orleans still going back and forth for this( for my bday or the day after my bday lunch) and CC for lunch (woc)
We want to try the new place in dca and the rest are snacks.
We did like earl of sandwich it was good so we plan another one of those.

Bubblegum1286 · May 3, 2015

ldarcy said:
With respect, I think you're overthinking it. It's just food & it's just Disney food.

Ha! That wouldn't be the first time someone said that to me.

I probably am. DH and I are foodies. We try to find something unique to taste and try anytime we go somewhere new. Last time we visited DLR as a couple was in 2013 and it was a quick one day trip. We didn't get to try anything tasty or unique, so this time I'd like to try maybe some of the less expensive restaurants in the New Orleans area. Just want to see if there something I might be missing out on if we skip it, even if it's just a silly churro or corn dog. I'm all for the suggestions. Thanks for the suggestions and help! :flower3:

offwithyourhead · May 3, 2015

We ate almost all of our meals outside of the parks, or brought food in. We saved our money and got some decadent treats to share, like ice cream from Ghiradelli, or split a meal and supplemented it with our brought-in food (obviously we only ate counter-service). That way we could stretch one of those huge bread bowls of soup between two people and with a piece of fruit or carrots and dip (or chips, or whatever) and you feel like you've definitely eaten a whole meal but you're not thinning your wallet so much.

Heymy · May 4, 2015

Sounds like I may be in the minority...I love to plan around meals! I dream about our dinning adventures almost as much as the rides. We find that we make ressies for dinner, usually in Downtown Disney and the hotels after our afternoon swim/nap break, and go with the flow for lunch. More times that not I've gotten a churro and dole whip for myself and the girls while DH gets his Bengal BBQ fix. When we're in DCA the family loves Corn Dog Castle (hot link corn dogs and cheese on a stick) while I grab something at the wharf or Paradise Garden. We are also big fans of getting to Trader Sam's right when it opens and having heavy appetizers for lunch with a cocktail or two.

Bubblegum1286 · May 4, 2015

offwithyourhead said:
We ate almost all of our meals outside of the parks, or brought food in. We saved our money and got some decadent treats to share, like ice cream from Ghiradelli, or split a meal and supplemented it with our brought-in food (obviously we only ate counter-service). That way we could stretch one of those huge bread bowls of soup between two people and with a piece of fruit or carrots and dip (or chips, or whatever) and you feel like you've definitely eaten a whole meal but you're not thinning your wallet so much.

I thought you weren't allowed to bring in food at DLR?

agamble · May 4, 2015

Bubblegum1286 said:
I thought you weren't allowed to bring in food at DLR?

You can bring food in the park, they completely allow it. No hard coolers, but a small soft sided cooler is okay. They're not checking for food at the security checks. My mother-in-law brought in a bag of McDonald's for dinner one time. And I've seen people walking around with a big box of pizza.

Typically we bring in snacks like fruit and nuts, and of course our own water. I plan to bring the kids lunch a couple of days this next trip because I can buy my own yogurt and crackers (check ingredients too) for cheaper than I can buy that meal for them at the park.

Bubblegum1286 · May 4, 2015

Interesting!!! I thought you couldn't unless you rented out one of those lockers and ate it outside the park gates. If you can bring food in, that really helps with budgeting! I definitely want to eat some meals in the parks, but we can't afford to eat them all in the parks.

DznyPrnces · May 4, 2015

First, we never make reservations or eat at table service restaurants.

When we are in Disneyland, we usually end up eating wherever is nearby when we are hungry. We've got our favorites: Jolly Holiday, Village Haus, Tomorrowland Terrace, but those aren't the only places we eat.

In DCA, we generally don't like the food options as much, especially since they changed the menu at Flo's. Lately we've been eating in the wharf area, because there's enough variety for everyone. We also used to eat at Taste Pilots, we'll have to see if we still like it once it reopens.

lovebug33 · May 4, 2015

One thing you can't bring in is food you have to make. So, no fixings to make a sandwich. You can bring in the sandwich pre made, though.

How Do You Decide Where to Eat at Meal Time?

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