Thanksgiving time advice?

PMGuernsey

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
98
We will be making our first trip over Thanksgiving this year and am looking for advice as to where to eat, and any other advice over Thanksgiving week. We wanted to eat at the buffet we had hear about several years ago that is at DL hotel, but I understand this isn't something they do anymore.

We are planning on being in the parks Monday through Thanksgiving day and returning home Friday the day after Thanksgiving.

Any help would be appreciated
 
Are you looking for a Thanksgiving dinner buffet or a buffet to eat at on the other days?

Storytellers in the Grand Californian Hotel has a buffet with characters in the morning and a buffet without characters for dinner.
 
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I believe you’re referring to the Thanksgiving dinner that was held in the Grand Ballroom at the DLH. It hasn’t been held since 2019 and likely won’t return. It was our family tradition and the best holiday dining experience that either DL or WDW has offered IMO but the price kept swelling in its final years. By 2019, it was $180 (including tax and tip) per adult. We went to Goofy’s Kitchen, which was less than $50 (including tax and tip) instead. Last year, Goofy’s Kitchen hid risen to $107 (including tax and tip) per adult. Think of what the Grand Ballroom dinner would cost it it were available…

Goofy’s Kitchen and Storyteller’s will be the two venues featuring a Thanksgiving dinner buffet. Both will feature characters and both will cost the same (I’d expect to pay about $120 per adult). Food is similar at both — Goofy’s has the larger selection, including the world famous P&J pizza - with an emphasis on children’s food. Storyteller’s has a more mature selection but the spread is very limited. You can order things like chicken tenders and sliders to your table, however (no additional charge).

I wrote a review on Goofy’s Kitchen last year. The food was way too spicy for our liking, and it seemed like there was an emphasis on traditional Mexican foods like tacos and tamales even as some classic American Thanksgiving staples were missing/ lacking. No big deal, they’re pandering to the local crowd, but this year we’ll do Thanksgiving at nearby Orange County Mining Co.
 
We were there last Thanksgiving, and I'm embarrassed to admit I've forgotten what food was available inside the park, but I vaguely recall seeing something at Carnation Cafe (I think a turkey and cranberry sandwich), and Flo's V8 had something. There were a couple pumpkin deserts (cupcakes?). Someone suggested turkey legs are available but that Really did not sound right for Thanksgiving lol.

The good news is the menus will be available a couple weeks before, I would probably just book a few different restaurant options under different names in your group, as soon as the menus come out you can cancel the ones you don't want. Add the Great Maple in Pixar Hotel to the menus to check in addition to ones others mentioned.

As a last ditch option, you could have someone prepare a fun Mickey Turkey Day desert to take into the park with you and just eat what hits your fancy, finishing with your own cool desert ;)
 

We ate Thanksgiving dinner last year at Wine Country Trattoria in DCA. We had never eaten there before because of mixed reviews but the special Thanksgiving meal was really good.

I don’t know if DL shares the exact menus for dinner ahead of time but if you google “Thanksgiving dinner Disneyland” you will find a bunch of sites that tell you what was available last year—the menus tend to stay about the same.

As for other advice, just be prepared for crowds. We were there Mon-Thurs and it was very busy, but doable with Genie+.
 




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