Restaurants we have chosen

[Cara]

Here are the sit-down restaurants we have chosen for our October trip to Disneyland.

Dinner first night: Goofy's Kitchen. Reservations are at 6:15 PM, and we hope to catch the Electrical Parade at 8:00.

Lunch second day: Blue Bayou. I have heard a lot about the Monte Cristo. Any other entree suggestions?

Lunch third day: Avalon Cove. I tried to book dinner here, but it is only open for lunch in October, per the reservationist. What do you suggest at this restaurant?

No sit-down meals for fourth day.

Counter service suggestions I have read about include Taste Pilot's Grill and Red Rocket's Pizza. Any other good suggestions? We are SO excited!!!

Cara

 

[mickey4ver]

To answer one of your questions from experience: the Monte Cristo at Blue Bayou......YUM.....

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I've had the Jambalaya at Blue Bayou, and really enjoyed it.

If you're looking for another sit-down restaurant, I recommend Storyteller's Cafe @ Grand Californian Hotel (has an entrance from DCA to the hotel) - I've had pasta there, their chicken quesadilla (which filled me up), and buffet - it's good.

Countertop: At Disneyland, there is a place in Adventureland called Bengal's Barbecue - if you want something to munch on and aren't very hungry, you might try the teriyaki sticks that they serve there. My favorite is the bacon wrapped asparagus spears - yum. This is located right across from Indiana Jones/Jungle Cruise.

For something light for breakfast, I recommend La Brea Bakery for bagels, oatmeal, etc., or the Main Street Bakery for a cinnamon roll (that they'll heat up for you), muffin, etc. We especially like going to the bakery when the park first opens up and watch the people come in the park and the Main Street Band march down the street.

 

[Michelle]

The Blackened Chicken Cajun Salad at the Blue Bayou is delicious too.

At Redd Rockett's we love the Pizza Salad, it's huge and has all sorts of yummy stuff in it.

I did not care for Taste Pilot's Grill at ALL, I had a terrible salad there, but then it's not really a salad place. The burgers were okay, according to my family.

I agree with Mary Jo about Storyteller's, that seems to be an all-around favorite with the family and we often end up leaving the park to eat there. And don't forget about Downtown Disney either, my favorite restaurants there are Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, ESPN Zone and Naples Ristorante.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[honeymom]

We just went to DL and did first night dinner at Goofy's Kitchen and next dinner at Avalon Cove. The food was good at Avalon Cove. However, we really did it to see Ariel the Little Mermaid and she wasn't there. They needed her more at Disneyland. So it was another evening with many of the same characters that we'd just seen the night before. And, while the kids seemed to have fun it took a long time for dinner - over 1 1/2 hours. I am not saying this to discourage your visit since I don't know your motivation, but I did want to share our experience with you.

 

[mickey4ver]

Would you say your dinner at Goofy's Kitchen took so long because it was crowded, or just poor service? What type of characters if any were at the dinner?

I'm sorry for all the questions, just trying to judge if we should do this with a 2 year old.

Thanks

 

[hookedup]

Hello,
We are taking our 2 year old son in a couple of weeks and this is what I have planned: late lunch a BB (Monte Cristo is aweswome but really rich) if your little one does not like dark places be warned it is very dark in there. I have not found it to be a problem for my family. I have had the prime rib there too and it was good, dh always gets a salad. Breakfast at Goofys, and breakfast with Minnie and Friends, and dinner at AC. I have never eaten there before but I have read a bunch of reviews of it on laughingplace.com or mouseinfo.com in their dining sections. It sounds like the service there can be really slow at times.
We also like Rancho del Zacolo (sp?) in Frontierland and the Bengal BBQ in Adventureland is good too. I often treat myself to it while waiting for dh to go on Indy.
Have fun!!!!

 

[Peter Pan Fan]

I like Rancho del Zocalo too. They have a large selection of BBQ and Mexican foods. It is 'scatter service' like the Plaza and Redd Rockets, so each person just lines up for what they want and meet back at the checkout to pay (although I think its the smallest of the scatter service type restaurants, it can get crowded in there). I also really like the seating area here, pretty tiles and lanterns. If you get a seat toward the outside you can people-watch as you eat.

 

[honeymom]

mickey4ver - It wasn't our meal at Goofy's that took so long. It was our meal at Avalon's Cove. I would totally recommend GK with a 2 year old. The food was good at GK, plenty of choices for kids and you can probably get out in under an hour. We took about an hour there so we could see all of the characters.

 

[Cara]

Originally posted by honeymom
We just went to DL and did first night dinner at Goofy's Kitchen and next dinner at Avalon Cove. The food was good at Avalon Cove. However, we really did it to see Ariel the Little Mermaid and she wasn't there. They needed her more at Disneyland. So it was another evening with many of the same characters that we'd just seen the night before. And, while the kids seemed to have fun it took a long time for dinner - over 1 1/2 hours. I am not saying this to discourage your visit since I don't know your motivation, but I did want to share our experience with you.

Oh, no! That is the ONLY reason we are doing Avalon Cove; to see Ariel! Does anyone have an idea of how often she is *not* at this restaurant?

Thanks for the great suggestions, everyone! I am taking notes.

Cara

 

[honeymom]

Cara - we were there Aug. 19-23 which is peak season. Each day I saw her in Disneyland so she probably wasn't at Avalon Cove on any of those days. You are probably going off season, so it might be different. We went to Avalon Cove on a Tuesday night. They seemed to indicate that Disneyland took priority over AC for her appearances. I would see if there is a way through dining reservations to find out for certain if she will be there and I definitely would not mention anything to your child about her being there.

 

[cinderellakh20]

Hi Cara - we also are going in October and want to eat at the Blue Bayou...I did years ago but can't remember how good it was Let us know which entree you enjoyed!!!

 

[honeymom]

I haven't eaten in Blue Bayou in years. I don't think people go so much for the food as the atmosphere. It is a pretty cool place.

 

[Planogirl]

We visited Avalon Cove for lunch in August on a Sunday and the Little Mermaid was there. It sounds like we were lucky!

 

[Pixie glitter]

Cara,

I had read several rave reviews of the hamburgers at Taste Pilot's Grill on discussion boards prior to my trip, so I made a point of eating there (this was this past May). The hamburgers were TERRIBLE!!!!! In fact, my first one was so incredibly bad that I thought there must be something horribly wrong with that particular one (i.e. it had accidentally been left sitting under a warming lamp for hours), so I returned it. The CM very politely got me a new burger "fresh off the grill," and it was equally ghastly. Mind you, I am not terribly picky about hamburgers--I tend to love them all. But these were simply inedible. . . dry, nasty-tasting, very un-hamburgerlike. So I'd avoid Taste Pilot's if I were you, unless you're planning on something other than a burger (I have no idea how their other food is; after the Hamburger Incident, I had no desire to give them a second chance).

 

[mareed]

I agree with the bad hamburgers at Taste Pilot's Grill. I shared one with my DH, and couldn't even choke down my 1/2.