Disneyland First Timers! Dining Question....

[pixhappymom]

So we are Disney World Veterans but this will be our first time taking in Disneyland. We are spending one day there in the summer and only going to Disneyland (not California Adventure). Looking for thoughts on plan to
A) Eat a late morning breakfast at the Plaza Inn
B) Eat a late morning Breakfast at Plaza Inn and then an evening sit down meal at say Blue Bayou or Cafe Orleans
C) Because we are only spending a day, skip sit down meals all together

I am assuming hours will be 8 am to midnight. Our kids are 11 and 13 so not worried about keeping them up and we will be there before opening to take advantage of all we can in those early hours. I just want to make sure we are best utilizing our time...but we need to eat and figure some rest time will be crucial if we are going 8 am to midnight
Thanks for any feedback for all you "expert" Disneyland peeps!

 

[BrianL]

For one day I would only do one sit-down meal. If you are planning to do Fantasmic! you might consider one of the dining packages for that since the viewing area does get crowded, especially if you were planning to eat at one of the restaurants anyway (Blue Bayou is one). I do think Cafe Orleans has great food, and is a better value than Blue Bayou if not doing the package.

One thing about DL is that I find the QS food to generally be better than WDW. There are some good options including French Market, Rancho del Zocalo, or even Pizza Port. I'm sure you can find something you'll like.

Have fun!

 

[hlbtimes2]

If Characters and a character meal is important to you, then yes, do the Plaza in. If you don't care about Characters, then skip the Plaza and do Blue Bayou. The food at the Plaza is ok, but not worth it if you don't care about the character interaction. If you are in it for the characters, they tend to have a good mix here! Minnie is always there. We've seen: Chip and Dale, Hook, the fairy Godmother, Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Max, and I cant recall who else! But always a mix.

 

[DLgal]

Skip a sit down meal. Disneyland counter service food is far better than the TS food.

My suggestion is eat a light breakfast, go to Plaza Inn for LUNCH (fried chicken!) and then do another QS for dinner. My favorites are Red Rose Tavern, Rancho del Zocalo, and Bengal BBQ.

Then just enjoy snacks between meals, and head to Jolly Holiday for dessert at some point.

 

[agamble]

First, what day of the week? If you're doing just one day I suggest avoiding Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday due to the Magic Morning.

Personally I wouldn't do breakfast in the park. I suggest a portable breakfast you can eat while waiting at the turnstiles early. Or eat something quick in your room.

If you plan to see any parades or Mickey and the Magical Map then eating during the time you are waiting could maximize time.

Rancho Zocalo has pretty good Mexican food. The portions are good and the sitting area is nice. That would be my suggestion for dinner if you don't go with a sit down reservation.

 

[figment_jii]

Unless characters are really important to you, I would also forgo the character breakfast. I've found that the first few hours of the day are the best for doing attractions with fairly short lines. Then grab lunch at one of the CS locations (I like Plaza Inn for the fried chicken, Jolly Holiday for the salads, Red Rose Tavern for the poutine, French Market for the chicken or french dip, and Alien's Pizza Planet for the salads).

Personally, I would probably aim for a sit down dinner if you wanted to do two things at the same time (a rest and eat). I would probably lean towards Cafe Orleans (nice outdoor seating, good views of New Orleans Square, good food). Blue Bayou is iconic, but a bit more pricey. If you only order one or two courses, you can probably finish a TS meal in about 60 to 75 minutes. CS would be faster, but it can still take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes depending on lines and how fast you eat.

 

[limace]

I would skip sit down but I would absolutely park hop. If you come from WDW and haven’t been to DL before, you’ll think we are crazy for suggesting this-but think of it like going to Epcot and being restricted to only world showcase-that’s how close these parks are to each other. And you don’t want to miss Carsland and GOTg-amazing and nothing like them at WDW.

 

[DLgal]

I would skip sit down but I would absolutely park hop. If you come from WDW and haven’t been to DL before, you’ll think we are crazy for suggesting this-but think of it like going to Epcot and being restricted to only world showcase-that’s how close these parks are to each other. And you don’t want to miss Carsland and GOTg-amazing and nothing like them at WDW.

I kind of agree. If you do park open to park close, that's a LONG day. Plenty of time to hit the highlights of each park.

 

[pixhappymom]

First, what day of the week? If you're doing just one day I suggest avoiding Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday due to the Magic Morning.

Personally I wouldn't do breakfast in the park. I suggest a portable breakfast you can eat while waiting at the turnstiles early. Or eat something quick in your room.

If you plan to see any parades or Mickey and the Magical Map then eating during the time you are waiting could maximize time.

Rancho Zocalo has pretty good Mexican food. The portions are good and the sitting area is nice. That would be my suggestion for dinner if you don't go with a sit down reservation.

Thanks for your help! Yes, we are going on a Monday as I knew we wanted to avoid the EMH park I am just wanting to find a good balance between taking it all in and not running around like crazy people!!!!

 

[pixhappymom]

I kind of agree. If you do park open to park close, that's a LONG day. Plenty of time to hit the highlights of each park.

Thanks for this advice. We really did weight the park hopping option but 1) want to save the money and 2) my husband and I have been to both and feel the kids will enjoy Disneyland more so that California Adventure. We are really coming to Southern California for more of a beach vacation (we are from Iowa) but also decided it had been a while since our kids experienced Disney so didn't want to pass up the opportunity when in the Southern California area!

 

[DizneyMommy]

For those ages, I would skip. My older kids are 10 and 13 right now and they would 100% choose ride more rides over a character meal, or any sit down meal. If you had more time, I would say do it, but for one day, I would skip.

 

[DLgal]

Thanks for this advice. We really did weight the park hopping option but 1) want to save the money and 2) my husband and I have been to both and feel the kids will enjoy Disneyland more so that California Adventure. We are really coming to Southern California for more of a beach vacation (we are from Iowa) but also decided it had been a while since our kids experienced Disney so didn't want to pass up the opportunity when in the Southern California area!

So the new Pixar Pier area doesn't interest any of you at all? Nor Paint the Night (arguably the BEST EVER Disney nighttime parade)? Or Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout?

Just want to make sure you know all you'd be missing.

This summer..DCA is THE place to be.

 

[pixhappymom]

So the new Pixar Pier area doesn't interest any of you at all? Nor Paint the Night (arguably the BEST EVER Disney nighttime parade)? Or Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout?

Just want to make sure you know all you'd be missing.

This summer..DCA is THE place to be.

Yeah, I have read a lot to make the decision we have (and they were in on that decision too!). So far they are split on the character meal...13 year old said no and 11 year old said yes. I also figured if we did the character meal, then we probably wouldn't have to wait in line to see characters? Again trying to make best use of our time, have some down time/not run crazy for 16 hours, and get the best experience we can. My kids won't ride Tower of Terror at DW so they wouldn't ride Guardians either Am a bit bummed about the Paint the Night parade but we will have too many choices for the night time at Disneyland not to pull in all the options at CA as well

 

[DLgal]

Yeah, I have read a lot to make the decision we have (and they were in on that decision too!). So far they are split on the character meal...13 year old said no and 11 year old said yes. I also figured if we did the character meal, then we probably wouldn't have to wait in line to see characters? Again trying to make best use of our time, have some down time/not run crazy for 16 hours, and get the best experience we can. My kids won't ride Tower of Terror at DW so they wouldn't ride Guardians either Am a bit bummed about the Paint the Night parade but we will have too many choices for the night time at Disneyland not to pull in all the options at CA as well

The Characters at Plaza Inn are really random. They are not the same characters you can see in the park and wait in line for. Lines for characters at DL don't tend to be more than 5-10 minutes long, max. If you want to see the MAJOR characters, you need to head to Goofy' Kitchen or Storyteller's Cafe or the Surf's Up breakfast at PPH.

 

[maltdizzy]

I vote to graze through the day and keep moving. Skip the sit-down meals, optimize corn dogs.

While park hopping at DL is damn easy, it makes one day WAY too hectic. DL by itself will easy fill up an entire day, DL has more attractions than any two WDW parks. If you try and force DCA in, you'll get overwhelmed fast.

 

[DizneyMommy]

You can always see Mickey and Minnie in their houses in Toontown. Mickey’s gives you a nice little air conditioned break while you wait and Minnie usually moves fast and isn’t too long of a wait.
When the kids get tired or you want to slow down, hop on the Railroad for a nice slow spin around the park, or jump on the Monorail if it’s not super hot out. Both are great ways to put your feet up so to speak. Also you can take a ride around the river, that’s always a nice slow quiet ride!

 

[agamble]

I'm with you on the no park hopping for one day. We absolutely LOVE DCA, but a one day parkhopper is so expensive it'd be more cost and time effective to do two days. I say enjoy Disneyland with your kids. There is so much to see and do that you'll need to optimize your time to do as much as possible. No need to park hop.

We enjoy Mickey and the Magical Map. It is a fun show. You won't get pictures with the characters, but you'll see a bunch of them. Have a fun trip.

 

[Disney_Alli]

I’d 100% skip the character meal and book a Fantasmic dinner at Blue Bayou

 

[AustinTink]

I would skip the time and money involved with sit-down meals and put that money toward park hoppers. Radiator Springs Racers, Guardians, Screamin' (aka Incredicoaster), TSM and too many others in DCA to miss. If the new Pixar Pier is up and running during your dates, it's worth a park hopper.