First Time: Best Places to Eat

[cjlong88]

We are WDW vets who will be visitng DL and DCA on July 9th and 10th. Where/what should we eat?? Snacks, quick service, table service...we are open for anything.

 

[Matrixleos]

Since you're visit is less than 2 weeks away, guessing you missed out on table service reservations.

I'd recommend doing some quick service mobile orders early on for times you'd like to eat, fairly early on your park days.

In Disneyland, check out Hungry Bear and Docking Bay 7. Also if you want stuff on the go, check out Bengal BBQ and Ronto Roasters.

In DCA, check out Pym Test Kitchen, Smokejumpers Grill, Flo's. Also if you want stuff on the go, check out the Shawarma Palace in Avengers Campus or Cozy Cones in Cars land.

Although honestly, even though most these places are on limited menus. Check out some YouTube videos on some of these places to see if they have items you'd be interested in eating.

 

[Kit Jackson]

I'm a big fan of the Mint Julip Bar in Disneyland. Maybe see if you can get a reservation at Blue Bayou if someone cancels an existing reservation. At DCA, Flo's V8 Cafe is great for atmosphere (the portions are huge, so you may want to split something),

 

[Piglet99645]

Our favorites:

Beignets at Mint Julep first thing in the morning.

Plaza Inn character breakfast

Pizza Planet in Tomorrowland.

Ronto wrap at SWGE.

Hungry Bear burgers are better than any others in either park for some reason.

Smokejumpers (by Soarin in DCA) - monte cristo, brisket Mac and cheese, s’more shake.
Lucky Fortune potstickers at DCA

FLOS is fun.

 

[Piglet99645]

Red Rose also had good breakfast before covid. Not sure if they are offering it yet.

 

[DLRExpert]

Disneyland: Churros and Popcorn. For popcorn wait for them to be freshly popped and then get in line.
Main Street: Corn Dog truck, Carnation (okay food but feels magical cause it has Walts chili), Plaza Inn (Chicken Plate), Jolly Holiday (Grilled Cheese with tomato soup)
Adventureland: Bengal BBQ, Dole Whip, Tropical Hideaway (Baos, with the sauce)
New Orleans Square: Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans for Monte Cristo and Fries
Frontierland: Zocalo, but request something different, like sauce on the side. This way the plate is fresh
Galaxy Edge: Ronto Roaster, Docking Bay (Chicken Salad, may be best CS I have ever had). Ogas Cantina (Oga Obsession)
Fantasyland: I heard the food is good at the Rose Tavern but never had it. Probably due to the atmosphere.
Tomorrowland: Nope

DCA
Buena Vista Street: Ice Cream, Churros
Avengers Campus: Shwarma, Honey Buzz drink
Cars Land: Love the breakfast cones, Chicken Plate at Flos, people say it is the same as the Plaza Inn at Disneyland
Paradise Pier: Corn Dog Castle, Chicken Box

not at DCA but my favorite place for lunch is the GCH Craftsman Grill, food is all good and the nachos are AWESOME. Really close to the GCH entry for DCA so it is easy to stop by instead of eating at DCA.
GCH: Napa Rose
DLH: Steakhouse 55, Dinner is good but I think the breakfast there is even better (nevermind Disney just announced that it is permanently closing). Trader Sams Panko Crusted Long Beans with the sauce. Hawaiian Burger. Zombie drink

ME

 

[Linkura]

This is the stuff that lived up to the hype for me:
-Fried Chicken at Plaza Inn (DL)
-Beignets at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen (DTD)
-Dole Whip (DL- not really hyped up for me because I always like Dole Whip at WDW too)
-Matterhorn Macaroon at Jolly Holiday (DL)
-Monte Cristo sandwich at Cafe Orleans, Blue Bayou (DL), or Smokejumpers Grill (DCA)
-Jolly Holiday Combo (grilled Cheese + tomato soup) at Jolly Holiday (DL- now this is nothing INCREDIBLE but it was a nice little meal that I think will satisfy just about anyone)
-If you want a big snack to share with your entire party, whatever seasonal funnel cake they have at Hungry Bear. My husband and I split the tres leches funnel cake they had when we went and while it was delicious, we still could only eat half before calling it quits!

I love cinnamon, but the churros did not taste very fresh to me and were a disappointment.

Trying some more places next week and hope to add some new favorites.

 

[Epicnemesis]

Food isn’t as good at DL compared to WDW.
You’ll want a churro and a corn dog at some point on your trip.

Otherwise, plaza inn is solid and historic. Monte Cristo wherever you can grab it.

There is good food at downtown Disney.

Pacific Wharf in CA for good sourdough and bread bowls. Award Weiners is also good for hot dogs in CA.

We typically get black tap when we wanted a burger on property. Napolini if we wanted pizza.

Everything else in the parks is passable but won’t knock your socks off.

 

[Linkura]

Food isn’t as good at DL compared to WDW.

What

 

[Epicnemesis]

What

Disneyworld has so many options it’s inevitable, but you can’t compare DL quick service to world showcase quick service or flame Tree, or the chicken and waffle place in magic kingdom.

And then on sit down restaurants it’s not even close.

 

[goodshepherd]

the best place to eat is closed down and starwars land now sits on it hahahha

its that little bbq country place where they bring the bbq in buckets hahhahaha

man i loved that little area too much

 

[ten6mom]

I hope they're still doing the freshly made caramel corn at the popcorn cart on Buena Vista Street!

 

[disneycat321]

Well, I was going to say Blue Bayou until I saw when your trip is. Next time!

I'm going to be repeating what other people said, but here's some stuff I personally love that isn't at WDW:
- Bengal Barbecue
- Tropical Hideaway (LOVE the bao and lumpia there, and it's a nice little area to sit)
- Matterhorn macaroon from Jolly Holiday
- Plaza Inn fried chicken
- Pym Test Kitchen - we liked the french toast, the pretzel, and the crazy chicken sandwich
- Beignets from the Mint Julep Bar or Jazz Kitchen at DTD (they're Mickey shaped inside the park, regular shape outside)
- Lamplight Lounge at DCA is great as well, and I think they do take walk ups (with a wait). I had a reservation though, so I'm not sure what the process is.
- I love the DLR churros. Haven't had them at WDW to compare.

As far as WDW vs. DLR food, WDW wins for TS because of Epcot and the resort restaurants and because there are so many more options. It's not even a fair comparison, really. TS food is a huge part of our WDW trips and not so much of our DLR trips. I actually find that I like the QS options much better at DLR, overall. Yes, there are great QS options at Epcot WS and a couple at AK, but overall, I really think DLR does QS better. We tend to avoid QS in MK and HS at WDW.

 

[cjlong88]

Thanks, everyone, for the input. We usually don't book TS places at WDW since we don't eat bigger meals, particularly at a theme park after being in the heat all day. We would much rather eat many smaller items as we walk around the park and soak in the atmosphere. We snagged a Lamplight Lounge reservation the evening of our first day and a Carthay Circle reservation on our second day, mostly because we want to try a libation or two at each lounge just to see what they have to offer.

I did see a lot reservations open up in the last 24-48 hours, but because this is such a short visit we really want to focus on riding the attractions we don't get to experience at WDW. On second thought...I'm pretty stoked about trying a hand-dipped corn dog and DL churro!

We fly out tonight! Very excited for our visit.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Food isn’t as good at DL compared to WDW.
You’ll want a churro and a corn dog at some point on your trip.

Im with you on this one....accept this fact right now so you won't be disappointed...Churros and corn dogs at DL are far better than at wdw....and you HAVE to have one of each...if you can do Minnie and Friends breakfast at Plaza Inn or Surfs Up! at PPC I would go for it....Blue Bayou is great for the ambiance as it is inside POTC but the food is mediocre with a huge price tag attached....Carnation Cafe if it is open is a great option but honestly, there are so many other great places right on Harbor with way better food options and prices...