From the World to the Land... A Duo of Dining Reports! Updated 1/28

Do they take reservations here? Those lobster nachos are definitely on my must try list!


Oh I so can't wait to try this. I haven't had a Monte Cristo since Benigans went out of business like 20 years ago. It's been a long wait.


Because you are now my official Disneyland food guide, do they sell alcohol inside the DL park? I thought they didn't for some reason

They do take reservations at Lamplight Lounge! I think you're really going to enjoy it.

The Monte Cristo was easily my favorite thing I ate at DLR. Again, get excited to eat it!

This was a non-alcoholic mint julep since they only serve alcohol at Oga's Cantina in DLR; the really nice thing about the California parks is that the security perimeter is around the parks/Downtown Disney area, so it's really easy to park hop between the two since you don't have to go through security again. There is PLENTIFUL alcohol in California Adventure!
 
Do they take reservations here? Those lobster nachos are definitely on my must try list!


Oh I so can't wait to try this. I haven't had a Monte Cristo since Benigans went out of business like 20 years ago. It's been a long wait.


Because you are now my official Disneyland food guide, do they sell alcohol inside the DL park? I thought they didn't for some reason
Sorry to barge in but we go to DL every year (grew up on the west coast, visit family in SoCal every year) and eating at DL is so different! Enjoyable in its own way though so do your research. No booze at DL but booze at California Adventure so plan to park hop! Also blue bayou has the same monte cristo and it’s goooood. So if dining in pirates and eating a monte cristo is a life goal then you can knock them both out!
 
Last edited:
All your food this day does look great! I'm with Kari on the monte cristo, the first one I ever had and so far best ever was at Bennigan's so this is something I would absolutely go for

Oh I so can't wait to try this. I haven't had a Monte Cristo since Benigans went out of business like 20 years ago. It's been a long wait.
Great minds lady, great minds ::yes:: :love2:
 
Going to try to knock out a few more meals today because we're heading back to WDW from Dec 7-10th for a quick trip to see the Christmas decorations! We have some pretty great dining planned for that trip too, including dining at the Festival of the Holidays booths, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Jiko, Citrico's, Skipper Canteen, and California Grill brunch again. I want to have this trip report done before I go, so let's see how much I can get done today!

Our first meal of the next day was at In n Out! We took a Lyft to get there since there wasn't one super close to the hotel. I had tried In n Out before, but my husband hadn't, so he was really excited to try it. I didn't take any pictures so here's a stock photo. He ordered the grilled cheese and the animal style fries. I ordered regular fries and a Double Double. My opinion of the food was basically the same as the first time I went - I didn't really care for the fries and found them kind of bland, and I do like the burgers quite a bit, even though they lean a little salty. My husband liked his grilled cheese, and really liked the animal style fries. I'm guessing all the toppings hide the blandness of the fries. I would go back to In n Out, but I wouldn't make a special trip to do so.

tmg-article_default_mobile.jpg

For dinner that night, we headed into Disneyland to eat at the Plaza Inn. I ordered the famous fried chicken (three pieces of Chicken fried to a golden brown and seasoned with distinctive Herbs and Spices, served with Mashed Potatoes, Buttermilk Biscuit and a mixture of Vegetables). I got extra mashed potatoes because I knew my husband wasn't getting mashed potatoes and would try to snatch some of mine! This was very good. It wasn't the best fried chicken I've ever eaten, but it was surprisingly delicious for quick service. The mashed potatoes were also very good, nice and creamy. The biscuit was pretty dry and tasteless.

IMG_0138.JPG

My husband ordered the Chipotle-Pineapple Glazed Salmon (topped with a Kiwi-Mango Relish served with Rice Pilaf and seasonal Vegetables). He says this was fine. Pretty healthy for a quick service meal. Where Disneyland food really shines to me is the variety of quick service meals they have.

IMG_2138.JPG

My husband loves the Main Street Electrical Parade and was so excited that it was going to be performed while we were there, so we HAD to get the speciality cake. This was berry-flavored, and it didn't taste as chemical-y as I expected from the brightness of the colors. It was very moist and delicious.

IMG_9493.JPG

The next day, we pregamed our lunch with the Lemon Dole Whip from Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats in DCA. I loved this, just like I've loved every Dole Whip variation I've tried. My husband said that it was probably his least favorite Dole Whip, which is still a high compliment! It was very fresh tasting and lemony.

IMG_4789.JPG

For lunch, we went to Carthay Circle, which was a meal I was very excited for. We had the World of Color dining package, so we didn't get to choose our selections from the full menu, but spoiler: everything we ordered was amazing. I started with the Chicken Tortilla Soup (Poblano Chilies, Avocado, Citrus Crème, fresh Coriander). This was delicious! It was very spicy and flavorful. I loved the crunch from the tortillas on top, and the citrus crema added a little brightness to it.

IMG_0275.JPG

We added another appetizer of the Artichoke Meyer Lemon Fritters (with Yellow Bell Pepper Coulis). These were incredible. You could taste both the brightness of the lemon and the richness of the artichoke and they were very crispy and fresh. The pepper coulis was also very good.

IMG_9661.JPG

My husband got the Carthay Salad (Farmers Market figs, candied almonds, charred orange vinaigrette). He really enjoyed this, and especially loved the figs.

IMG_0611.JPG

I ordered the Chicken Meatballs with Tagliatelle Pasta (Sun Gold Tomato Sauce, Fresh Basil, Grana Padana Parmigiana). I sound like a broken record, but this was also amazing. The pasta was clearly fresh, the sauce was so good, and the chicken meatballs were very flavorful. I normally don't even like chicken meatballs that much! I would happily get this again.

IMG_8293.JPG

My husband ordered the Baja White Shrimp (Bok Choy, Garnet Yams, Thai Basil Coconut-Jalapeno Broth). Again, he really liked this and was surprised by the amount of shrimp he got. He really liked the flavors of the broth.

IMG_5547.JPG

I've hit the picture limit, so I'll cover the rest in another post!
 


While we were enjoying our meal at Carthay Circle, our initially attentive and wonderful server started to visibly get run a little ragged. He had a large party come in right after us, and the table next to us had food allergies and a lot of questions. They would ask him one question, he would say he had to check with the chef, and when he would return they would ask another question he would have to check, so they really had him on the hop! While he was gone, they would very loudly complain about how he didn't know the answers and how him having to check made them feel less confident in the food. I can understand their frustration, but they were also being very rude to the server when they asked questions, and he was obviously bending over backwards trying to help them. I know at WDW the chef normally comes out to talk about what people with allergies can eat, but we witnessed several people asking about allergies at DLR and we never saw the chef, so I'm not sure what the normal procedure is at DLR. Anyway, all of this combined with his regular tables meant that we had a very slight wait for our table to be cleared from the entrees and our desserts to be brought. Honestly, if we hadn't seen how visibly stressed our server was, we probably wouldn't have noticed the wait. However, when our desserts did arrive, he brought all three options! We called in a cast compliment for him later, because it really wasn't much of an issue at all but he tried to make it up anyway. Of course, in my surprise, I didn't take pictures of the desserts, but I found pictures of some of them online.

The one I couldn't find a picture of was the Fresh Blueberry Meyer Lemon "Posset" (Summer Blueberries, Meyer Lemon Creme, Honey Croutons). This was very good. The lemon creme was so fresh and bright tasting, and the blueberries were very fresh. This was my husband's favorite of the three desserts, so it's good that we got a bonus dessert!

I ordered Chocolate S'mores Popsicle (Felchlin Dark Chocolate Semifreddo, Toasted Marshmallow, Graham Crackers), which was great. The chocolate was so rich, and the marshmallow was a delicious touch.

download.jpg

My husband ordered the peach pecan butter cake (markets best peaches, warm butter pecan cake, pecan ice cream, caramel sauce). This was delicious. Here's a picture of the butter cake with blueberries, but ours had peaches. I like peaches more than blueberries, so I'm glad we got peaches! The pecan and peach flavors blended together well.

348s.jpg

For dinner that night, we went to Corn Dog Castle before World of Color. Once again, I forgot to take a picture in the overwhelm of trying to find our World of Color spot, so here's a picture from Google.

CurGRhEWEAAKDaA.jpg

My husband ordered the cheddar cheese stick corndog, and I ordered the regular corndog. These were so good. You CANNOT go to Disneyland without getting a corndog from Corn Dog Castle in DCA or the Little Red Wagon in Disneyland. I don't even like corn dogs that much, but these were amazing. The batter was so fresh and crispy, and the hot dog was nice and juicy. My husband liked his cheesy corn dog as well. I wish I had another one while I was writing this!
 
- I didn't really care for the fries and found them kind of bland

Same!

I would go back to In n Out, but I wouldn't make a special trip to do so.

We felt the same way after we went.

I know at WDW the chef normally comes out to talk about what people with allergies can eat, but we witnessed several people asking about allergies at DLR and we never saw the chef, so I'm not sure what the normal procedure is at DLR

So they've kind of changed it. I think they try not to bring the chef out for something that can be relayed by the waiter. We've seen it in both WDW and DL, and I think it just kind of depends because at Storyteller's Cafe we did have the chef come, but in other places we didn't.
 


Sorry to barge in but we go to DL every year (grew up on the west coast, visit family in SoCal every year) and eating at DL is so different! Enjoyable in its own way though so do your research. No booze at DL but booze at California Adventure so plan to park hop! Also blue bayou has the same monte cristo and it’s goooood. So if dining in pirates and eating a monte cristo is a life goal then you can knock them both out!
No barging at all, I appreciate the insight. Being very un-me and trying to do some research so we have a better idea of what we want to do. Monte Cristo is most definitely on the list of must haves. We haven't been in 10+ years so will be a bit strange to be in a land so familiar and unknown all at the same time.

Our first meal of the next day was at In n Out!
Oh I so love in and out and totally forgot we'd be so close to them in CA!

The next day, we pregamed our lunch with the Lemon Dole Whip from Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats in DCA. I loved this, just like I've loved every Dole Whip variation I've tried. My husband said that it was probably his least favorite Dole Whip, which is still a high compliment! It was very fresh tasting and lemony.

IMG_4789.JPG
This sounds delicious! I wasn't a huge fan of the raspberry dole whip but I love, love, love all things lemon so I'd be all over this.

For lunch, we went to Carthay Circle, which was a meal I was very excited for. We had the World of Color dining package, so we didn't get to choose our selections from the full menu, but spoiler: everything we ordered was amazing.
I'm on the fence on if we should do the World of Color Dessert Party or a lunch/dinner dining package. Not sure how we feel about having a predetermined menu, but glad to hear the food was worth it.

We added another appetizer of the Artichoke Meyer Lemon Fritters (with Yellow Bell Pepper Coulis). These were incredible. You could taste both the brightness of the lemon and the richness of the artichoke and they were very crispy and fresh. The pepper coulis was also very good.

IMG_9661.JPG
Oh artichoke how do I love thee. Think we may need to eat here for the fritter alone. Artichokes are some of our favorite foods.

You CANNOT go to Disneyland without getting a corndog from Corn Dog Castle in DCA or the Little Red Wagon in Disneyland.
Noted. I'll be sure to stop. Oddly my daughter who is a hot dog fiend has never had a corn dog. We'll have to change that when we get to DL
 
I'm really enjoying your reviews! Members of my family have boatloads of food allergies, and we really appreciate it when a server does not want to rely on what he or she thinks, but double checks with the chef. We try to ask our questions in bulk, so the poor server doesn't have to run back to the kitchen umpteen times. We already know that we are probably going to be "that table" so we try to minimize the amount of "pain-in-the-neck-iness" and tired servers we create.

Your entire Carthay Circle meal looks delicious! I also love all things lemon, and the Lemon Dole Whip would be for me! And I agree. Corn dogs are a must when in Disneyland.
 
So they've kind of changed it. I think they try not to bring the chef out for something that can be relayed by the waiter. We've seen it in both WDW and DL, and I think it just kind of depends because at Storyteller's Cafe we did have the chef come, but in other places we didn't.

Ah, after all those questions I was surprised that the chef didn't come out!

I'm one of the lucky ones who has a In N Out where I live and even those of us who love it can't stand the fries lol

Glad to know I'm not alone!
 
No barging at all, I appreciate the insight. Being very un-me and trying to do some research so we have a better idea of what we want to do. Monte Cristo is most definitely on the list of must haves. We haven't been in 10+ years so will be a bit strange to be in a land so familiar and unknown all at the same time.


Oh I so love in and out and totally forgot we'd be so close to them in CA!


This sounds delicious! I wasn't a huge fan of the raspberry dole whip but I love, love, love all things lemon so I'd be all over this.


I'm on the fence on if we should do the World of Color Dessert Party or a lunch/dinner dining package. Not sure how we feel about having a predetermined menu, but glad to hear the food was worth it.


Oh artichoke how do I love thee. Think we may need to eat here for the fritter alone. Artichokes are some of our favorite foods.


Noted. I'll be sure to stop. Oddly my daughter who is a hot dog fiend has never had a corn dog. We'll have to change that when we get to DL

You can get monte cristos at both Blue Bayou and Cafe Orleans, but the cheese one is only at Cafe Orleans!

If you love lemon, you will love the lemon Dole Whip!

IMG_5150.JPG

Here's the menu for the World of Color dining package. It's missing a few of the entrees from the main menu, but there's still a lot of choices! I have heard the WOC dessert party has an even better spot plus they get to sit, as opposed to the Carthay Circle dining package, but I thought we had a great spot for the viewing. I don't think you can go wrong either way!

The artichoke fritters were one of my favorite things I ate in DL! Definitely worth going to Carthay Circle for!
 
I'm really enjoying your reviews! Members of my family have boatloads of food allergies, and we really appreciate it when a server does not want to rely on what he or she thinks, but double checks with the chef. We try to ask our questions in bulk, so the poor server doesn't have to run back to the kitchen umpteen times. We already know that we are probably going to be "that table" so we try to minimize the amount of "pain-in-the-neck-iness" and tired servers we create.

Your entire Carthay Circle meal looks delicious! I also love all things lemon, and the Lemon Dole Whip would be for me! And I agree. Corn dogs are a must when in Disneyland.

Thank you! Yeah, it was a weird situation. I think that would have been a difficult table with or without allergies. I can be a pain a restaurants too so I always try to be nice.

The Carthay Circle meal was so good! I want to go back!
 
Well it's been an awful long time since I've updated this! With my last Disney trip plus the holidays, then grad school starting back up, my poor little trip report got put on the back burner. I'm so close to done though, so I'm going to try to get this knocked out and then do a mini-update on our December trip.

The next day, we had a morning snack at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe. My husband really wanted to try the Matterhorn Macaroon, and I of course had to get this Halloween macaron.

IMG_1954.JPG

IMG_2561.JPG

We paired our treats with an espresso for my husband and a Practically Perfect Punch for me.
IMG_5541.JPG

The macaron was a little overwhelmingly sweet, but the macaroon was amazing! The punch was delicious as well. One thing I really enjoyed about Disneyland was eating outside and people watching. I never eat outside or at least look for a shaded place in WDW, so it was a nice change to enjoy the sunshine!

We park hopped over to California Adventure for lunch. I got a hot dog from Award Wieners, which was very good. Not the most interesting selection, but my husband had a meal planned at an establishment where I didn't like anything on the menu, so a quick hot dog it was!

IMG_2332.JPG

We then headed over to Cars Land for one of my husband's most anticipated food items: the Slow Burnin' Mac n Cheese Cone from the Cozy Cone Motel. Did he like it, after all that buildup?

IMG_1159.JPG

Reader, he LOVED it. He still talks about it to this day The mac and cheese was apparently deliciously creamy, and the bread cone wasn't too doughy. He is OBSESSED with this. He paired it with a pomegrante limeade, which was so fruity and delicious.

IMG_6314.JPG

After lunch, we decided that we couldn't leave Disneyland without some Dole Whip, so we headed over to the Tropical Hideaway! My husband, lover of all things spicy, got the Chile-Mango Whip.
IMG_2690.JPG

I tried a tiny bit of this to add mango to the list of Dole Whips I tried, and it was SO spicy! My husband enjoyed it but this was definitely not for me. I got a standard Dole Whip. You know about Dole Whip. It's perfect and magical, I don't need to say anything else.

IMG_4140.JPG

For our last meal in the park, we decided to go to Carnation Cafe. Eating our last meal on Main Street seemed like the perfect thing to do! My husband ordered the Chef's Vegan Burger (House-made Bean and Vegetable Patty, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Pickled Red Onions, and Vegan Chipotle-Mayonnaise on a Wheat Roll with your choice of fresh Fruit or Seasoned French Fries) while I got the Chicken-fried Chicken.

IMG_1135.JPG

IMG_5190.JPG

These were both pretty good! The mayo helped keep the burger from being too dry, while the chicken was delicious! I do rank the chicken at the Plaza Inn as being better though. All in all, it was a great last food day and a perfect ending to our trip!

We had two great, food-filled trips back to back! I think our favorite meal overall was Victoria and Albert's, with honorable mentions for Chef Art Smith's Homecomin', Sanaa, California Grill brunch, Cafe Orleans, and Carthay Circle. Stick around and I'll upload the pics and mini reports for our December trip over the next few days!
 
Well it's been an awful long time since I've updated this! With my last Disney trip plus the holidays, then grad school starting back up, my poor little trip report got put on the back burner. I'm so close to done though, so I'm going to try to get this knocked out and then do a mini-update on our December trip.
Happy New Year! Hope all is well!

The macaron was a little overwhelmingly sweet, but the macaroon was amazing!
I had to go back and look to see which was the macaron and which was the macaroon. Happy to hear the macaroon was the winner because I so want to try that

IMG_1159.JPG


Reader, he LOVED it. He still talks about it to this day The mac and cheese was apparently deliciously creamy, and the bread cone wasn't too doughy. He is OBSESSED with this. He paired it with a pomegrante limeade, which was so fruity and delicious.
Yum! These are definitely on my list too. Nothing like carbs in carbs to fill ya up

My husband, lover of all things spicy, got the Chile-Mango Whip.
IMG_2690.JPG
A chili mango whip? I didn't even know such a thing existed.

We had two great, food-filled trips back to back! I think our favorite meal overall was Victoria and Albert's, with honorable mentions for Chef Art Smith's Homecomin', Sanaa, California Grill brunch, Cafe Orleans, and Carthay Circle. Stick around and I'll upload the pics and mini reports for our December trip over the next few days!
Thanks so much for sharing both coasts
 
Quick December reviews: we went for just three days with the Deluxe Dining Plan, which is an absolutely immense amount of food. The first thing we did was go to the food booths at the Festival of the Holidays, where we snacked around the world and took almost no pictures. Thankfully, you are spared from pictures of my least favorite thing, the ham at the American Holiday Table (it was GREY!! I threw it in the trash.), but you are also missing pictures of my favorite thing, the Bouchée à la Reine Traditionnelle: Turkey and Mushrooms in a Veloute Cream Sauce served in a Light Puff Pastry at Le Marche de Noel in France. I did take these two beautiful pictures of two items.

Here's the Smoked Salmon Potato Latkes, which were so fresh and good!

IMG_5872.JPG

Along with the Chirashi Sushi Tree, which my husband enjoyed even though it was heavy on the rice and light on the fish.

IMG_8187.JPG

We also did the Cookie Stroll, which was not photographed but I do recommend as it was very fun! I managed to snag a same day FOP FP, so we park hopped over to AK before heading to Jiko for dinner. This did not get off to a good start. We waited at least 20-30 minutes for our table even though the restaurant was over half empty. When we were seated the service was pretty slow. However, the bread here was amazing. Why does no one talk about how good the bread here is? It texturally resembled a deep dish pizza crust, with tomatoes and spices to make it interesting. It was so good dipped into the oil!

IMG_6380.JPG

For appetizers my husband ordered the Mushroom Flatbread (Trio of Mushrooms, Duxelle, Maize-crusted Pickled Mushrooms, Curried Ricotta, Midnight Moon Goat Cheese) and I ordered the North African-spiced Scallops. My husband really liked the flatbread, and said it could have been filling as a meal on its own (he ended up taking the rest back to the room and eating it for breakfast). He said the goat cheese flavor was pretty mild. The scallops were pretty good as well; I really liked the herb-y sauce.

IMG_5353.JPG

IMG_0965.JPG

For our entrees, I ordered the Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon while my husband ordered the Sustainable Vulcan-Spiced Fish. He found the sauce very creamy, almost red-peppery, although the fish was fairly standard. I thought the filet was pretty disappointing after reading so many great reviews of it. We waited for our food for a very long time and my steak was fairly cold, and I thought it tasted a little bland. I don't like macaroni and cheese, and my husband ate it instead. He said it tasted like a box mac and cheese, but not in a bad way, in a satisfying way.

IMG_0889.JPG

IMG_3164.JPG

For dessert, my husband ordered the African Drum 'Beets' (Coconut-Strawberry-Beet Mousse, Chocolate Cake, Candied Beets, Balsamic Strawberries) and I ordered the Angel Food Cake (White Chocolate Panna Cotta, Seasonal Fruit Compote, and Citrus Gel). My husband thought the candied beets tasted like fruit leather, and he didn't really pick up on the beet flavor in the mousse. The mousse was also served like a hard ice cream and not really a mousse. He did like it though. I love an angel food cake, so I enjoyed this cake. The apple compote was a little weird and didn't really go with the lightness of the cake, so I just didn't eat it!

IMG_7042.JPG

IMG_7915.JPG

Overall, I was a little disappointed by Jiko. I had heard so many great things, and it just wasn't great for us. Part of that was the slow service, but I didn't find the food to be anything to write home about either. I would definitely try again, as it's possible we just came at an off night, but we had some GREAT meals this trip that would likely be prioritized over heading to Jiko again.
 
Happy New Year! Hope all is well!


I had to go back and look to see which was the macaron and which was the macaroon. Happy to hear the macaroon was the winner because I so want to try that


Yum! These are definitely on my list too. Nothing like carbs in carbs to fill ya up


A chili mango whip? I didn't even know such a thing existed.


Thanks so much for sharing both coasts

My husband was talking about how good the Matterhorn macaroon was just the other day! The macaron, not so much, but I am often enticed by cute things, even if I know they won't be very good. The mac and cheese bread cone is apparently a must if you like mac and cheese! I personally hate it, so not my thing. Thanks for reading!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!










Top