Newbie to Disneyland

[minnie1852]

Semi WDW Vet here... just signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon in September. I need any and all advice. Mainly focusing on hotels and food.

1. Does Disneyland have Advanced Dining Reservations?
2. What is your favorite off-site hotel to stay at (close to parks)?
3. What is your favorite table service and counter service restaurants at Disneyland or DCA?


Looking forward to it but discovering learning a new place is daunting!

Thanks!

 

[chickapin parterre]

Need some info on your lodging needs, how much do you want to spend, cleanliness, crowded elevators, noise, etc. not uncommon for a single poster here to use three or more different lodgings depending on specific trip needs.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

1. Yes, DLR has ADR, however it is available 60 days out rather than months in advance. It's also not entirely necessary for most places, you can walk up to several restaurants with little to no wait. However, it's always a good idea to plan ahead and make reservations anyway, especially if it will be busy while you're there.

2. I prefer to stay at the Desert Inn & Suites or the Camelot Inn, both directly across the street on Harbor Blvd. Very short walk to the parks, clean, affordable, and include a fridge and microwave (very important to me). However if the price was right, I'd try the hotels next door as well.

3. DLR: Favorite table service is the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. All-you-can-eat BBQ chicken, ribs, cornbread, baked beans, and coleslaw. Usually I go there for an early lunch and don't have to eat for the rest of the day! Favorite counter service is Red Rockett's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, as they serve pasta and I love Italian food. DCA: Don't have a favorite table service...I've only tried Wine Country Trattoria and it was good, but nothing outstanding and not worth the price to me. As for counter service, any of the Cozy Cones in Carsland! I especially like the chili cone queso and the mac and cheese cone.

 

[GatorChris]

I feel your pain. I was doing this about 18 months ago. 7 trips to WDW - I'm an expert for that place. But the family is too big for moderates other than POR, so we decided to do DL for the time being. While DL is smaller (including the castle), it has a lot of cool things vs WDW. Cars Land, Indiana Jones, World of Color. Also better at DL than it is at WDW: Pirates, Space Mt, Big Thunder Mt, Fantasmic! (even though you have to sit on the ground), Small World.

Onto your questions.

1. Yes, they do. They begin accepting about 60 days out. But other than the Blue Bayou, you can usually get good reservations as little as 10 days out. A lot different from WDW, but that's because there's no DDP here.

2. I've only stayed at HoJo and that was a good hotel. Not as close as about 8 or 9 others, but good rooms with a mini-waterpark for the kids, so it's sorta like a WDW moderate.

3. Favorite Table Service is Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. It's outdoors and has great BBQ and cornbread. Favorite counter service....hard to say which one. I like the Village Haus for the Pretzel Sausage Kraut Dog, but Flo's has good ambiance (OK food only), and Pacific Wharf Cafe has awesome clam chowder bread bowls.

 

[CaliforniaAllie]

Hotel: I like the Best Western Stovalls. A nice room that is close to the parks and affordable.

Favorite Table Service: Big Thunder Ranch BBQ is excellent. Favorite Counter Service: Pacific Wharf Cafe in DCA (love the bread bowls!) and French Market Restaurant for the red beans and rice. A must eat treat is a Dole Whip from outside the Tiki Room. To die for!!!

 

[figment_jii]

I highly recommend taking a quick look at HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets. It helps put some things in perspective and will (hopefully) help you get a sense of things.

1. As everyone has said, yes, DLR does allow guests to make dining reservations up to 60-days in advance online and over the phone. Just like WDW, DLR has a $10 per person no show penalty if you do not cancel your ADR at least one day in advance (most folks take this to mean 11:59 pm the day before the ADR). Unlike WDW, being online or on the phones right when the new day rolls is not really as critical. As PPs mentioned, you can often make prime ADRs with less than a week or so to go. You can try walking up (things seem to work better at DLR than it does at WDW), but it does not mean that will always work or that you'll have a short wait. I've been there when they were turning away guests at Cafe Orleans, Blue Bayou, Carthay Circle, and other locations. So if you know you want to eat at a specific place and/or a specific time, I would make an ADR.

2. My family usually stays at the Best Western Park Place Inn, which is directly across from the Harbor Blvd pedestrian entrance to DLR. We've also stayed at the Ramada and Fairfield. They are all motels, which different pros and cons. We settled in on the BWPPI because of it's location. It's a motel, so it's nothing fancy, but we haven't had any major problems either.

3. There are lots of great dining options in DLR. I'd check out the Disneyland Dining Reviews and Photo thread to see what folks have been eating lately.
DL: I have three TS locations that I like equally, Blue Bayou, Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, and Cafe Orleans. For the CS locations, my favorites are the Plaza Inn and French Market for full meals and Jolly Holiday for snacks.
DCA: My favorite TS is Carthay Circle. My favorite CS is probably Flo's, but in truth I'm not a huge fan of any of the CS offerings in DCA.
DTD: My favorite TS is Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, with Rainforest Cafe as the runner up. My favorite CS is Earl of Sandwich.

 

[cindernat]

Quick question, do you need reservations at the Big Thunder Ranch?

 

[figment_jii]

No one can say for certain if you need it or not, but if you think you want to eat there then I would go ahead and make an ADR. I can't recall any time when I've been there and they weren't taking walk-ups, but I do recall hearing very long wait times for those guests (e.g., 45 minutes to over an hour). I can imagine that on high crowd days (e.g., 4th of July, Christmas, etc.), they may not have the capacity to accept walk-ups.

 

[mmmears]

It's so much easier to get a dining reservation at DL than it is at WDW. But if you really want to dine somewhere, I would suggest making your reservations in advance (but it generally doesn't need to be done the day they open the window to make them). DTD is right there, by both parks, so when looking at menus/getting dining ideas, take a look at the restaurants there, too.

For theme dining, Blue Bayou is pretty cool since there is nothing like it at WDW.

 

[figment_jii]

For theme dining, Blue Bayou is pretty cool since there is nothing like it at WDW.

It's funny you say this, because San Angel Inn in Epcot's Mexico pavilion always reminds me of the Blue Bayou in terms of the boats floating by while you dine.

 

[dugthetalkingdog]

The off-site hotel my daughter and I stayed in was the Marriott Fairfield Inn which is located right across the street from the park. The room was clean and comfy and
everyone was polite and helpful.

 

[grammakelly]

Quick question, do you need reservations at the Big Thunder Ranch?
I tried to get a reservation a month out for next week, and Friday night was the ONLY availabililty. (Of course it was for 8 people...)
But I would definitely make a reservation.

 

[figment_jii]

It's worth noting that during the non-peak times of the year and the winter, Big Thunder BBQ is only open from Friday to Sunday.

 

[grammakelly]

Oh figment, that explains it! I thought it was just crazy busy...Thanks!