Is it time consuming to get to Whitewater Snacks?

[mermaidwannabe]

I'm trying to figure out where we should eat on one of the days we are at DCA around lunchtime, and I'm looking at Baker's Field Bakery for the sandwiches, but Whitewater Snacks always gets good reviews. I'm just wondering how much of a pain is it to leave the park by GRR to then try to find it at the GC and whether it's worth it? Thanks!

 

[jenpace]

It's not a pain at all. You walk in the GCH entrance right by GRR and hang a left at the end of the corridor/breezeway. It's actually super convenient

 

[mermaidwannabe]

It's not a pain at all. You walk in the GCH entrance right by GRR and hang a left at the end of the corridor/breezeway. It's actually super convenient

Oh yay! Glad to hear that, thank you!

 

[Huff]

I find it very quick and easy. Also, we often use the same gate to cut through GCH to DTD and eat at Jazz Kitchen Express (great burgers and other items), Wetzels pretzels (great preztel dogs!), or several other restaurants that are close to GCH without the long walk. We find the food better at these places than inside DCA.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

I find it very quick and easy. Also, we often use the same gate to cut through GCH to DTD and eat at Jazz Kitchen Express (great burgers and other items), Wetzels pretzels (great preztel dogs!), or several other restaurants that are close to GCH without the long walk. We find the food better at these places than inside DCA.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I have a gift card to HOB in DD. If we ate there, then we could get back into DCA through GCH? I'm going to have to look at a map now! Always looking for time savers and with my youngest being 8, the less walking, the better since we go go go all day.

 

[lapdwife]

We've walked from DL, into DCA just to cut through to WWS. That's how easy it is I wasn't impressed the last few times with whomever was back there cooking, but he must be gone- the food has improved 110% in the last couple weeks

 

[wbl2745]

They also have a reasonable breakfast. It is certainly cheaper than Storyteller's Cafe for breakfast. By the way, we often use Storyteller's Cafe as a nice lunch break. The food is reasonable, you're away from the crowds in DCA, and you have a nice air conditioned place to sit down and let someone serve you. WWS is cheaper, though.

 

[jernysgirl]

Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I have a gift card to HOB in DD. If we ate there, then we could get back into DCA through GCH? I'm going to have to look at a map now! Always looking for time savers and with my youngest being 8, the less walking, the better since we go go go all day.

The last thing that I heard was that you cannot get back into DCA through GCH unless you are an on-site guest or have eaten at one of the restaurants in the GCH. They will ask you for either your room key or a receipt for your meal) to verify. Otherwise, you are free to exit through that gate but will need to re-enter at the main gate.

HTH!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

The last thing that I heard was that you cannot get back into DCA through GCH unless you are an on-site guest or have eaten at one of the restaurants in the GCH. They will ask you for either your room key or a receipt for your meal) to verify. Otherwise, you are free to exit through that gate but will need to re-enter at the main gate.

HTH!

I think this is a "your mileage may vary" type of thing. There is a permanent sign at that entrance stating that it is for hotel guests only. However, prior to the opening of the World of Color show, this rule was enforced only the first hour or so after DCA opened for the day. When World of Color was new, this rule started getting enforced even at later times of the day. Now that the hoopla has died down a bit, it sounds like enforcement is once again more lax. When summer comes and Little Mermaid opens, things may change again. It doesn't hurt to ask though. If, for example, it's 1 PM, you just ate lunch at WWS and you're standing right there by the DCA entrance and there's not a crazy line, you might as well try to go in. Chances are you will get in and not need to walk all the way back around.

To share our most most recent experiences with the DCA entrance as examples:
Ate breakfast at Storyteller's on a Tuesday in February. We were near the DCA entrance at 9:20. They were having guests form a line until 9:30 early opening. We asked if our Storyteller's receipt would allow us to use that entrance even though we weren't hotel guests. The CM we asked did not know but went to ask her lead. The lead said yes.

In April, it was around 1 or 2 PM when we were coming back from DtD and decided to give the DCA "private" entrance a shot. Strolled right through bag check and the turnstile with our APs with only a "Welcome back".

 

[skiingfast]

The last thing that I heard was that you cannot get back into DCA through GCH unless you are an on-site guest or have eaten at one of the restaurants in the GCH. They will ask you for either your room key or a receipt for your meal) to verify. Otherwise, you are free to exit through that gate but will need to re-enter at the main gate.

HTH!

As far as I know only in the morning is that true. It was due to WoC FP distribution that it became stronly enforced and I'm not sure it is still true.

 

[Hound 109]

I'm one of the few who is pretty underwhelmed by Whitewater (been there twice). I much prefer the Trattoria or the CS on the Pier....or even Award Wieners (all in DCA) over Whitewater.

But i do like walking into the GCH & it's easy to do from the side entrance from DCA.

 

[Huff]

We have never stayed at GCH but use the gate there every trip. We've never entered DCA from there in the morning but am told they only allow GCH guests to use it the first hour or so of park opening. When going in/out from DCA thru GCH to DTD for lunch or dinner we have not been stopped once, most recently this past March during spring break. All of the times we've gone thru there has not been any line at all.

My guess is that if there is some sort of event which would cause a bad line they may restrict enterance to DCA to GCH hotel guests but otherwise its open to anyone.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I'm one of the few who is pretty underwhelmed by Whitewater (been there twice).

I'm with you on this one Hound. We tried it twice too; I thought maybe the first time was an anomaly after reading all the rave reviews here on the board. Nope. Too many other better places where I'd prefer to spend my food dollars.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Ok, thanks, so I won't count on getting back into DCA from GCH, but I think I would try it. It's good to know what to expect though, so thanks for the input. Thanks for the recommendations to the other places. I just don't want to splurge on a sit down meal for lunch, nor do I want to spend the time. They'll have plenty of time to rest when we break in the afternoon at CCI.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

I'm with you on this one Hound. We tried it twice too; I thought maybe the first time was an anomaly after reading all the rave reviews here on the board. Nope. Too many other better places where I'd prefer to spend my food dollars.

Hmmmm....not sure now. Is it worth the effort for food that is possibly just okay? Of course, I haven't really seen any one DCA place loved by all. I'm not sure it's a good idea for my kids to see what that GCH looks like inside since I want them to be happy with CCI, lol.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Hmmmm....not sure now. Is it worth the effort for food that is possibly just okay? Of course, I haven't really seen any one DCA place loved by all. I'm not sure it's a good idea for my kids to see what that GCH looks like inside since I want them to be happy with CCI, lol.

Honestly, if you're in DCA and just want counter service, there are decent options without hoofing it over to Whitewater. The stuff at the Pier is pretty good. I like the bread bowls at Pacific Wharf Cafe. There are also sandwiches and bakery items there. DH tried one of the rice bowls at Lucky Fortune Cookery directly across from Pacific Wharf Cafe and thought it was tasty and filling. I haven't tried Cocina Cucamonga yet, but many say it's decent. If you just want a hot dog, there's Award Wieners. I have found all Disney burgers unexceptional, although I have been reading about the improvements at Disneyland and may have to give one a go again, so I probably wouldn't bother with a burger at Taste Pilot's or Whitewater. Some people like the ribs at Taste Pilot's though and the onion rings are fine. If you want burgers and/or fried stuff and/or are determined to leave DCA for some eats, you'd probably get more bang for your buck by heading straight out of the GCH to DtD and eating at the Jazz Kitchen Express where you can also get yummy beignets, or trying one of the other quick-service DtD places.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Honestly, if you're in DCA and just want counter service, there are decent options without hoofing it over to Whitewater. The stuff at the Pier is pretty good. I like the bread bowls at Pacific Wharf Cafe. There are also sandwiches and bakery items there. DH tried one of the rice bowls at Lucky Fortune Cookery directly across from Pacific Wharf Cafe and thought it was tasty and filling. I haven't tried Cocina Cucamonga yet, but many say it's decent. If you just want a hot dog, there's Award Wieners. I have found all Disney burgers unexceptional, although I have been reading about the improvements at Disneyland and may have to give one a go again, so I probably wouldn't bother with a burger at Taste Pilot's or Whitewater. Some people like the ribs at Taste Pilot's though and the onion rings are fine. If you want burgers and/or fried stuff and/or are determined to leave DCA for some eats, you'd probably get more bang for your buck by heading straight out of the GCH to DtD and eating at the Jazz Kitchen Express where you can also get yummy beignets, or trying one of the other quick-service DtD places.

The rice bowl and soup bowl sounds good to me, but the trick is finding something for my whole family. My family loves Mexican, so Cocina might be an option. I really just wanted a place that had sandwiches! The day we will be there around lunchtime is a day that we start in DL and then head to DCA, and I'd hate to have to go back to DL just to eat. At that point, DD would be better. Or maybe I could just get everyone something that will tide them over until we get back to the CCI.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

The rice bowl and soup bowl sounds good to me, but the trick is finding something for my whole family. My family loves Mexican, so Cocina might be an option. I really just wanted a place that had sandwiches! The day we will be there around lunchtime is a day that we start in DL and then head to DCA, and I'd hate to have to go back to DL just to eat. At that point, DD would be better. Or maybe I could just get everyone something that will tide them over until we get back to the CCI.

Pacific Wharf Cafe does have a couple sandwich options in addition to the bread bowls and salads. The rice bowl place is only steps away. The Mexican place is right in the same area. If you split the adults in your party up, you can actually get the food from these different locations and then eat all together in the large seating area between these three restaurants. If you're looking for a respite from the parks, then DtD is good for that.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Pacific Wharf Cafe does have a couple sandwich options in addition to the bread bowls and salads. The rice bowl place is only steps away. The Mexican place is right in the same area. If you split the adults in your party up, you can actually get the food from these different locations and then eat all together in the large seating area between these three restaurants. If you're looking for a respite from the parks, then DtD is good for that.

Wonderful idea!! It seems we all want different things, so what a good way to go!! For some reason, I never noticed these places when we've been there, so I'm off to look at the DCA map online. Thank you for telling me they are all close to one another and there is seating for all of us.

 

[PinkBudgie]

One reason we like WWS is for the quiet, uncrowded break it provides. Even at noon time in summer, it was very peaceful in there. We go there every trip and have always liked it. Our favorite is the chicken sandwhich. Usually, DH and I will split one. It is much bigger than the one at Taste Pilots. We always save our reciept to show when we go back in, but never had to show it in the afternoon.