PS - What is the "do not miss" dining experience?

[libpetersen]

We are going for DD 4th birthday, and are confused as to the best places to eat (we are WDW vets). Thanks!

 

[rentayenta]

Unfortuneatly Disneyland does not offer anywhere near the same dining experiences as WDW. However there are a few good places.

The Blue Bayou. It's inside the POTC. Score a water seat and it's super cool.

Yamabuki inside the PPH hotel. Delish.

The Napa Rose, inside DCA or GCH hotel. I haven't been there but everything I have read is fabulous.

 

[DLR29]

A really good place is the Blue Bayou. A lantern lit restaurant right next to Pirates so that you can actually watch the boats float by while you eat. The food is pretty good too, especially the Monte Cristo sandwich at lunch. But the price is pretty high.

 

[Bread&Butterflies]

We did Blue Bayou ($$$) for dinner and Breakfast with Minnie and Friends.

Both were nice and YUMMY... but the Minnie and Friends Breakfast was the most fun with a little one.

 

[BillyFan]

Blue Bayou is like the restaurant in Epcot's Mexico, where the ride passes you by. It is not cheap, but it is a nice experience. We also like Cafe Orleans in NOS for B,L or D, as well as Carnation Cafe on MS. If your DD likes Princesses, I'd go to Ariel's Grotto in DCA.

 

[DangerMouse]

I'm going to disagree with everyone because I am not a fan of the Blue Bayou. I thought the food was overpriced and not very good. And we had pretty rotton service on top of it. The best two meals I have had in DLR have been at Carnation Cafe and Storyteller's Character breakfast.

 

[Bread&Butterflies]

I'm going to disagree with everyone because I am not a fan of the Blue Bayou. I thought the food was overpriced and not very good. And we had pretty rotton service on top of it. The best two meals I have had in DLR have been at Carnation Cafe and Storyteller's Character breakfast.

I wanted to go to storytellers! The prices seemed a bit better when I did my research But my ds(21)insisted on Blue Bayou.
We had PS at 9pm and waited about 40 minutes for our seats at Blue Bayou, so I was less than thrilled with that as was my toddler... bah!
The food was good, but I will likely not do dinner there again in the future.
It was nice to do it once.

 

[audrabolster]

I'm going to disagree with everyone because I am not a fan of the Blue Bayou. I thought the food was overpriced and not very good. And we had pretty rotton service on top of it. The best two meals I have had in DLR have been at Carnation Cafe and Storyteller's Character breakfast.

I had the same experience. If it weren't for the people we went with, it would have been downright horrible.

I don't think I'll ever go again.

 

[SunBunny23]

I'm going to disagree with everyone because I am not a fan of the Blue Bayou. I thought the food was overpriced and not very good. And we had pretty rotton service on top of it. The best two meals I have had in DLR have been at Carnation Cafe and Storyteller's Character breakfast.

I agree. I went to the Blue Bayou on our trip in October and my friend and I were both dissapointed. The service was bad on top of that.

 

[ReninDetroit]

I'm going to disagree with everyone because I am not a fan of the Blue Bayou. I thought the food was overpriced and not very good. And we had pretty rotton service on top of it. The best two meals I have had in DLR have been at Carnation Cafe and Storyteller's Character breakfast.

I totally agree. The food at Blue Bayou was pretty gross, ridiculously expensive for what it is (the touted Monte Cristo is $22, and I believe that's the cheapest entree), and the service is mediocre.

Maybe I'm just not into greasy food, but I thought the Monte Cristo was really disgusting. I literally picked the meat and cheese out of it, and left the doughnut-like fried egg bread on the plate. It was literally dripping with grease, I could feel a headache coming just from the smell.

NAPA ROSE, on the other hand, was wonderful, and I want to try Carnation Cafe. I also recommend the bakery next to Gibson's Ice Cream; there's hardly ever a line and the pastries are quite tasty. I had a Matterhorn-shaped macaroon.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We did Blue Bayou last summer. The atmosphere is pretty cool. But the food is expensive. We all had the steak, so that helped make up for it.

We ate at Storytellers several years back and wasn't impressed. We had dinner and for what we ordered it was QUITE expensive. Practically a $100 meal, for the 3 of us, and all I had was a sandwhich and fries! Food was okay.

I'd like to try Napa Rose and the steak house at the DLH.

There are also a lot of restuarants in DTD, we like the Rainforest Cafe. We plan on trying the ESPN zone this time.

 

[ballarinamom]

Since OP is asking for the benefit of her DD4, I would say the character meals are a don't misses. All of the menus can be found on allears.net.

In case you don't know much about these-
Ariel's Grotto has an all princess meal in DCA, Minnie and Friend's are in the Plaza Inn which is like the Pooh meal at the Crystal Palace at WDW. Storytellers Breakfast is at the Grand Californian and has Chip and Dale and more of the "woodsy" characters. We saw Miko the racoon from Pocahontas and Kodah from Brother Bear. Lilo and Stitch at the Paradise Pier and Goofy's Kitchen at DLH has a variety of characters.

When we take DD who is now 6 to DLR, she loves to get autographs but DH and I are not very patient waiting for characters. So we do all of the character meals. We get a breather while she gets all of the autographs.

We love the Blue Bayou and never miss it. But it is pricey and it does lack in kid's food choices.
Have a great trip

 

[audrabolster]

I totally agree. The food at Blue Bayou was pretty gross, ridiculously expensive for what it is (the touted Monte Cristo is $22, and I believe that's the cheapest entree), and the service is mediocre.

Maybe I'm just not into greasy food, but I thought the Monte Cristo was really disgusting. I literally picked the meat and cheese out of it, and left the doughnut-like fried egg bread on the plate. It was literally dripping with grease, I could feel a headache coming just from the smell.

NAPA ROSE, on the other hand, was wonderful, and I want to try Carnation Cafe. I also recommend the bakery next to Gibson's Ice Cream; there's hardly ever a line and the pastries are quite tasty. I had a Matterhorn-shaped macaroon.

I had the same experience with the monte cristo.

I think your 4 year old would enjoy a character meal much, much more.

 

[JDBlair]

I also vote for Carnation Cafe. It's outside so our 2 1/2 year old had many things to watch and keep her entertained. The food was good. The dessert we shared was yummy! I can't wait to go back in October and eat here again.

 

[Pinkstarblm]

I'm going to disagree with everyone because I am not a fan of the Blue Bayou. I thought the food was overpriced and not very good. And we had pretty rotton service on top of it. The best two meals I have had in DLR have been at Carnation Cafe and Storyteller's Character breakfast.

When I was there in Sept our service was HORRIBLE! My mom complained and the manager gave us our money back. Food was ok but way too overpriced!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We're having brunch with Minnie & Friends the 1st day of our trip next month, 3rd day we have the 1st PS at BB our plan is to only get desert ~ we have a reservation at Rainforest Cafe @ 5pm this day as well!

 

[KerTggr]

I suggest lunch at the Happiest Birthday on Earth place (across from Carnation Cafe). Esp for you daughter. They have 2 characters show up at the end (usually Mickey & Minnie, but they are not guaranteed). And everyone in the group gets to decorate their own cake in a Mickey plate. Compared to the other character meals, it's not expensive.

More info: http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dis...cialOccasions/detail?name=BirthdaysDetailPage

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I suggest lunch at the Happiest Birthday on Earth place (across from Carnation Cafe). Esp for you daughter. They have 2 characters show up at the end (usually Mickey & Minnie, but they are not guaranteed). And everyone in the group gets to decorate their own cake in a Mickey plate. Compared to the other character meals, it's not expensive.

More info: http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dis...cialOccasions/detail?name=BirthdaysDetailPage

But it's not a meal it's a cake that you decorate ~ I think it's expensive for just that. Character meals cost less for children ~ more characters and an actual meal.

 

[sand2270]

I haven't really seen these places mentioned.

I like Goofy's Kitchen breakfast buffet. There are also many lunch items available. We were there for a 9am ADR last week and I noticed many breakfast and lunch type items during that time. What's nice is the characters visit you at your table. You can also get a mimosa (overpriced but still nice) if you like. I always look forward to the PBJ pizza. They also have a cook to order omelet station.

I love the atmosphere at Blue Bayou. I do like the Monte Crisco but it is a lot of food for lunch considering it comes with a side of scalloped potatoes and vegetable. I think you can get a smaller, cheaper serving at Cafe Orleans. But I definitely go to Blue Bayou because it is just such a cool place to take a break and see the pirate boats.

Some firsts for us last week that had good food were the restaurants in Pacific Wharf (mmm breadbowls), the chicken skewers at Bengal BBQ, and the Dole Float. My DD8 and I made a dinner out of chicken skewers and Dole Floats and it was an extremely satisfying meal (and less expensive than a table service dinner). My DD gets sick of chicken and mac and cheese, and was able to get a burrito at the mexican food place in Pacific Wharf.

 

[disneychrista]

For a 4yo I would say Goofy's Kitchen.