My Disneyland dining reviews, with pictures

[Sherry E]

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as someone who has visited both resorts, Didneyland falls very short in the food category, especially when being compared to the world. I would descibe the food in the parks at the Dineyland resort as medocre quality, greatly over priced, fast food. Dinseyland food makes McDonald's look like a five star restaurant.
When my wife and I went to Disneyworld about 2 1/2 years ago, we were not expecting to really enjoy meal times that much. This was because of our disappointing dining experiences after several trips to our home state Disneyland resort. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the Disneyworld resort really specialized in food and each meal was an enjoyable adventure. You can actually plan your trip to DinseyWorld around the food because it is really that good! You can plan on enjoying the food just as much if not more than the attractions.
You won't find Epcot style eateries at Disneyland, nor will you find themed places like the 50's prime time diner, nor will you find character dining after breakfast hours.
The best places I have eaten at the Disneyland resort are chain restaurants in the Downtown Disney area such as House of Blues and ESPN Zone. My favorite thing to eat in the Disneyland park is the pre made, previously frozen, chimchangas off of the cart between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. The nachos in California Adventure are decent. Sorry, I don't have pictures. While these places are decent, they are really inferior when compared to the cusine of Disneyworld. Disney Land's attitude towards food appears to be, you have paid to come into the parks, so you will be forced to eat here, so it doesn't have to be good, or reasonable. It is amazing to me how two resorts owned by the same company could have such different dining services.
As a discalimer, I will add that I have not eaten in the Disney Land Hotel since 1983, and I have never eaten at the Paradise Pier or Grand Californian hotels, so hopefully you can find some decent eats there. Also, I have not been to Disney land since December 2005, so I'm hoping that maybe it has improved slightly. We are planning a trip to Disneyland in July of 09, so if you go and find some amazing food between now and then, please let me know.

I am sorry you were disappointed by your DLR dining experiences. I know the food at DLR used to be what you're describing pre-1992, but it has steadily improved in quality since then. I mean, it is all a matter of personal taste, though, and I think that this whole dining thread shows that many, many people enjoy the food (if they didn't, they wouldn't take such great photos of it!). We can't change your mind. Some of the food is not great, some of it IS great! And we certainly cannot blame DLR for not having Epcot-types of food (I assume you mean the international choices) or the variety of choices that WDW has - because we simply don't have an Epcot or all the room for the restaurants that WDW has in Anaheim. We don't have the space for all of those restaurants when we barely have the space to add another park. DLR is its own park, with its own personality, its own magic and dining experiences.

By the way, Goofy's Kitchen (which is in the DLH) is a character buffet that serves breakfast, brunch and dinner, with characters at every meal. It is pretty much all day and night, with only a short break between brunch and dinner so they can prepare the food. It is probably my favorite restaurant in DLR

Anyway, I hope you give the food at DLR another try in the future. Keep an open mind and try not to compare it to WDW, and I think you will find some things you enjoy.

Oh, and I agree - ESPN Zone has great food!

Now back to those great pictures, everyone!!!!

 

[Jennifer03]

Wow, that cippino looked REALLY GOOD!

The kids turkey sandwhich in the other post looks a bit dry but very healthy!

The turkey itself was dry, but when I ate it with lettuce, tomato, and the bun it was very good.

 

[ballarinamom]

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as someone who has visited both resorts, Didneyland falls very short in the food category, especially when being compared to the world. I would descibe the food in the parks at the Dineyland resort as medocre quality, greatly over priced, fast food. Dinseyland food makes McDonald's look like a five star restaurant.
When my wife and I went to Disneyworld about 2 1/2 years ago, we were not expecting to really enjoy meal times that much. This was because of our disappointing dining experiences after several trips to our home state Disneyland resort. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the Disneyworld resort really specialized in food and each meal was an enjoyable adventure. You can actually plan your trip to DinseyWorld around the food because it is really that good! You can plan on enjoying the food just as much if not more than the attractions.
You won't find Epcot style eateries at Disneyland, nor will you find themed places like the 50's prime time diner, nor will you find character dining after breakfast hours.
The best places I have eaten at the Disneyland resort are chain restaurants in the Downtown Disney area such as House of Blues and ESPN Zone. My favorite thing to eat in the Disneyland park is the pre made, previously frozen, chimchangas off of the cart between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. The nachos in California Adventure are decent. Sorry, I don't have pictures. While these places are decent, they are really inferior when compared to the cusine of Disneyworld. Disney Land's attitude towards food appears to be, you have paid to come into the parks, so you will be forced to eat here, so it doesn't have to be good, or reasonable. It is amazing to me how two resorts owned by the same company could have such different dining services.
As a discalimer, I will add that I have not eaten in the Disney Land Hotel since 1983, and I have never eaten at the Paradise Pier or Grand Californian hotels, so hopefully you can find some decent eats there. Also, I have not been to Disney land since December 2005, so I'm hoping that maybe it has improved slightly. We are planning a trip to Disneyland in July of 09, so if you go and find some amazing food between now and then, please let me know.

I know there are always comparisons between Land and World. But what you have to look at is not DL to WDW but DL vs Magic Kingdom on side by side comparisons. When you look at it that way, it is apples to apples. In that case, IMO, DL wins. Blue Bayou and Rancho del Zachalo are DL exclusives. IMHO, both are very good. Now there is also Cafe Orleans. AS WDW does not have New Orleans Square, it has nothing similar. AS for evening character meals, the Stoufers sponsored Liberty Inn at WDW was of no interest to my family and I would rather do Plaza Inn for breakfast and hop on the monorail and do Goofy's kitchen for dinner at DL. I know at WDW Crystal Palace has a character lunch and dinner but we felt Goofy's at DL was much better.
To each his own as far as food opinions. But I don't feel that DL is as bad as you remember. We are actually looking forward to our meal plans for our DL trip in 10 days.
Hope your next trip is better!

 

[sammons70]

I want to thank Sherry E and Ballarinamom. I wrote my post as a comparison of WDW and DLR dining, because the original author that started this post mentioned having been to Disney World, and was looking forward to a first visit to Disney Land in respect to the food. I felt compelled to inform him of the fact that the two resorts have very different food, but I may have come across as too negative. I was careful to state that I have not eaten everywhere in these resorts, so my opinion should not be taken as one of great expertise, just one based on the experiences that I have had. While I stand behind the detail and honesty of my post, Sherry E and Ballarinamom make good points. Of particular truth is the fact that preferences in food is a matter of opinion. I also want to thank them for the info on Goofy's kitchen. I hope to give it a try when I'm there in July. Whether you enjoy the food or not, a visit to Disneyland will guarantee you a good time everytime.

 

[Sherry E]

I want to thank Sherry E and Ballarinamom. I wrote my post as a comparison of WDW and DLR dining, because the original author that started this post mentioned having been to Disney World, and was looking forward to a first visit to Disney Land in respect to the food. I felt compelled to inform him of the fact that the two resorts have very different food, but I may have come across as too negative. I was careful to state that I have not eaten everywhere in these resorts, so my opinion should not be taken as one of great expertise, just one based on the experiences that I have had. While I stand behind the detail and honesty of my post, Sherry E and Ballarinamom make good points. Of particular truth is the fact that preferences in food is a matter of opinion. I also want to thank them for the info on Goofy's kitchen. I hope to give it a try when I'm there in July. Whether you enjoy the food or not, a visit to Disneyland will guarantee you a good time everytime.

Hopefully you will like Goofy's Kitchen the next time you are able to go to DLR! I am a big champion of it! For the record, some of the other restaurants I like sometimes have 'off days'. Recently I had a less than wonderful meal at Carnation Cafe, which usually bats 1000 for us. So we do every so often run into meals that are not that great, but usually we have pretty good luck with dining. Let us know what happens the next time you go to DLR and where exactly you eat! Better yet, take PICTURES!!!

One of the many reasons I would most want to go to WDW is because of the vast food choices. I actually think I might be overwhelmed by all the options because there is so much to choose from! In a way, I am almost glad that DLR cannot geographically expand to those proportions because it is manageable the way it is now! It is not so intimidating! However, as DCA makes its gradual transformation over the next few years, and a possible new DLR hotel or two is built, I DO look forward to having a few more dining options to choose from!

 

[Lights_Out]

Let's not forget the Napa Rose!
That place probably beats out every WDW restaurant

I've seen people (who have no interest in Disneyland) talk about how amazing the Napa Rose is...

 

[ballarinamom]

Hopefully you will like Goofy's Kitchen the next time you are able to go to DLR! I am a big champion of it! For the record, some of the other restaurants I like sometimes have 'off days'. Recently I had a less than wonderful meal at Carnation Cafe, which usually bats 1000 for us. So we do every so often run into meals that are not that great, but usually we have pretty good luck with dining. Let us know what happens the next time you go to DLR and where exactly you eat! Better yet, take PICTURES!!!

One of the many reasons I would most want to go to WDW is because of the vast food choices. I actually think I might be overwhelmed by all the options because there is so much to choose from! In a way, I am almost glad that DLR cannot geographically expand to those proportions because it is manageable the way it is now! It is not so intimidating! However, as DCA makes its gradual transformation over the next few years, and a possible new DLR hotel or two is built, I DO look forward to having a few more dining options to choose from!

I agree about being overwhelmed with WDW. We were there for 8 days and were on the Dining plan but we still paid for some out of pocket meals. EPCOT was the hardest as DD HAD to eat with the princesses and we had a diver bring a special message at the Corral Reef. So for our day and a half there, we only had one more meal to be had and we jsut happened to be in Marraco and ate there. It was good but with DD who was 5 at the time, we had to limit our options to accomodate her and her chicken strip/ cheese pizza palate! We are at DL for 7 days and have all of meals planned and there's not a bad place in the bunch- WCT, Ariel's for lunch, Goofy's for dinner, BB twice, Storytellers. Minnies, Lilo's, Cafe Orleans. We're really ready for our trip and the dining!

 

[Sherry E]

I agree about being overwhelmed with WDW. We were there for 8 days and were on the Dining plan but we still paid for some out of pocket meals. EPCOT was the hardest as DD HAD to eat with the princesses and we had a diver bring a special message at the Corral Reef. So for our day and a half there, we only had one more meal to be had and we jsut happened to be in Marraco and ate there. It was good but with DD who was 5 at the time, we had to limit our options to accomodate her and her chicken strip/ cheese pizza palate! We are at DL for 7 days and have all of meals planned and there's not a bad place in the bunch- WCT, Ariel's for lunch, Goofy's for dinner, BB twice, Storytellers. Minnies, Lilo's, Cafe Orleans. We're really ready for our trip and the dining!

Woo hoo! You have a lot of good eating ahead of you! I think I am going to do about 4 of those from your list, and then add in some other tried and true favorites. I really like WCT. We skipped it last trip but I may try to work in a meal on the next one. Good meatball sandwich AND I have to try that orange sorbet!

 

[goofycathy]

I was just at DL for the last 6 days and the food I had was alright. We went to Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen one night and my dinner was good, it was blackened chicken breast, which came with a pumpkin creme soup (I dont remember exactly what it was called) but tasted like pumpkin pie, was so delish! One night we ate at pirates and I had braised ribs that were awesome....all in all the food was alright, I went expecting to pay a pretty penny so it wasnt really a big shock when the bill came! Sorry I didnt get any pics, totally forgot!

 

[Raivyn]

I like Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen alot. We went there for a friend's b-day, and all 8 of us liked our dinner, our drinks, and our desserts.

DH and I went on Sunday and ate at French Quarter...the roast beef was very good! Had ressies for Blue Bayou, so only had coffee and dessert there. Again very good!

Had dinner at Trattoria at CA....my chicken alfredo lasagna was worse than a Souffer's dinner. While I understand it is priced reasonably, we were extremely disappointed. We won't eat there again; it was that bad.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Okay, here goes. These are from Napa Rose on my birthday, November 1, 2008. It was me, DH & DD. We stayed at the Grand Californian and had a wonderful three days.

Outside the Restaurant and then onto the appetizers...

Breast of Somona Quail
with oven roasted roots, portobello mushrooms and black tuscan kale

"Fritto Misto di Mare"
Crispy fried snow crab claws and diver scallop with apple, lemon & lobster "tarter sauce"

Duck Meat Balls with pumpkin fettuccini and roasted shallots in a sage duck sauce

Pumpkin Raviolis in sage brown butter with roasted free range turkey & chanterelle mushroom ragu

Wow, that food looks great. Makes me wish I had gone ahead & booked Napa Rose for us for our trip in Dec.
And off thread a bit, I love your Mickey shirt.....I've never seen anything like that. Where did you get it?

 

[lulubelle]

Thanks
I got it last month at the store in DL across the street from the big store on Main St. As you walk down the street, it is on the right hand side. I am really bad with names, sorry. It was the only store I saw it in, too. It was new (the CM told me) and I had a hard time deciding which color I wanted as they had a great selection of dark winter colors (black, navy, burgundy and the one I picked, dark green). I had to have it once I saw it.

And yes, you should try to make it to Napa Rose. It is such a treat. We go to DL several times a year, but NR only once a year as it is pricey and special.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Thanks for the info on the shirt. I will be on the lookout for that in Dec.

 

[TheAXIOM]

DD & I as we enter the restaurant - they take your pic with Ariel. She was so sweet and pretty.

Appetizer Tower
There were so many yummy things on this. We really enjoyed the variety of items. And the bread was soft, warm and fresh. Sorry the pic is kind of crummy, there was a lot more food on top.

Cioppino - DD & DH both had this, nice variety of seafood, quite tasty

Redfish with Pineapple chutney. I had this, it was very good, the fish was moist, favorful and cooked perfectly.

Dessert Tray. DD & I do not eat chocolate, so we were disappointed as the only thing we could eat was the lowfat mini cheesecake bites. But they were good. I noticed some kids at a nearby table eating some sorbet and I asked about it and the waiter said it was free if you have food allergies to the mass of chocolate and before I could make up my mind whether I was going to lie and say "yes, I am allergic to chocolate" or not, he dashed off and brought some to DD & I. It was YUMMO! (but I forgot a pic, sorry)

All the princesses that came out (4) stopped at each table, chatted a bit, posed for pix and were very nice. Here is DH with his crush. Hee Hee!

We enjoyed this meal a lot and felt it was worth it.

Wow, that all looks absolutely DELICIOUS!!
I had no idea this was the quality of food to be expected at Ariel's!

 

[DizneyDogs]

This next one is Strawberry Shortcake from the Blue Ribbon Bakery on Main Street. This thing was so good, I was dreaming of it before I went, and was worth having for breakfast two mornings in a row.

Ok I am quoting myself - I am going back to DLR in a few weeks so I need to know if I can start dreaming about the strawberry shortcake again or do they no longer have it as I have read conflicting reports. Anyway can someone who has been there in the last few days confirm one way or the other???

 

[Krissy Marissy]

Mmmmmm that looks so yummy!!!

 

[Sherry E]

I WISH that strawberry shortcake were still available, but according to the reports I got from people on DISboards, it seems to be gone. Maybe it is something they just sell seasonally, but I think it was already gone in summer! I don't recall seeing it at the Blue Ribbon last year when I went in. I probably would have snapped it up, along with my muffin and my cinnamon roll and my blended mocha!

 

[Pinkstarblm]

Yeah they are no more... My mom asked the blue ribbon and they no longer serve them there. They do have a strawberry shortcake at riverbelle but it's in a dinky little parfait cup. Didn't look very good

 

[Sherry E]

Yeah they are no more... My mom asked the blue ribbon and they no longer serve them there. They do have a strawberry shortcake at riverbelle but it's in a dinky little parfait cup. Didn't look very good

Drat! That shortcake from Blue Ribbon Bakery looks SO good. I cannot believe I missed it and never got to sample it! Why would they stop making it, I wonder, unless it was just too costly to keep buying fresh strawberries year round? It MUST have been popular unless it just tasted like dreck! But somethig that looks that good couldn't possibly taste too bad!

 

[Krissy Marissy]

Ashlie hearing that makes me want to cry...such a shame. Ah well.