1st trip to Disneyland in October

[Californian Elitist]

This is a copy and paste from an old post of mine:

My absolute favorite spot to eat at at Disneyland is the Plaza Inn at the end of Main Street. It's a beautiful restaurant and the food is really good, specifically the fried chicken.

I also really enjoy Rancho Del Zocalo in Frontierland. The area is beautiful and the Mexican is decent for theme park food.

Hungry Bear also makes my list, due to its location. It's in Critter Country (a land not found at WDW) and it sits right across from Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. It's got a woodsy/backyard picnic-type feel. Their onion rings are so good, as well as their burgers and chicken sandwiches.

French Market. Great ambiance and good food. There's usually a band that plays right out front. Cafe Orleans is great, too.

Cafe Orleans:

The counter service spot at the Disneyland Resort with arguably the best ambiance is Flo's V8 Cafe at California Adventure in Cars Land. Its location is perfect. It's smack dab in the middle of Cars Land, and, depending where you sit, you can see the cars from Radiator Springs Racers driving by you. The restaurant plays themed, Motown music and serves classic, American comfort food.

Cocina Cucamonga at DCA is also really good. It's kind of like Rancho Del Zocalo.

I've yet to eat at Paradise Garden Grill, but I've never heard a negative comment about the place. Might want to check it out.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Paradise Garden Grill is the best quick service in the parks for my money. The steak and tsatsiki skewers are fabulous and the portion is huge. It's hard to believe it's theme park food.

DLR does quick service really well, something WDW has majorly faltered with. Table service is far less prevalent or important at DLR, which is great for the pocketbook.

 

[TP2000]

What are the best quick service places to eat in DLR?

This two minute clip from Paradise Gardens at California Adventure sums it all up for Disneyland Resort "quick service" dining facilities. People wandered in wihout a 60 day reservation, chose pizza and pasta made to order and served on real china and with real silverware, then wandered out to the patio with a live band playing while you rest and eat a pleasant meal. No MagicBands, no ADR's, no Dining Plans, no cloned menus, no plastic forks.



My votes for quick service...

In Disneyland:
French Market - New Orleans Square
Plaza Inn - Main Street USA (on the central plaza)
Pizza Port - Tomorrowland
Hungry Bear Restaurant - Critter Country

In California Adventure:
Flo's V8 Café - Cars Land
Paradise Garden Grill - Paradise Pier
Boudin Bakery Café - Pacific Wharf

In Downtown Disney:
Uva Bar
sandwich counter at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen

 

[JillC LI]

DD and I nearly ate the plates holding that delicious broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl from Boudin Bakery at Pacific Wharf in DCA! I also loved the corndog we got at Corndog Castle.

 

[mgpan]

I didn't see where anyone had mentioned it but that week will have separately ticketed Halloween parties going on at Disneyland some night(s) while you're there. Don't know if your after 4 ticket would allow you to stay past (I believe) 7 when the party starts. If not your options would be to go another night or go to DCA on a night of the party. Dates for the parties are on the Dland website now.

 

[PacNWTigger]

What are the best quick service places to eat in DLR?

Our favorite place is the French Market Restaurant whenever we go to DLR. If you love Cajun style food this is the place to be. Their red beans and andouille sausage is AMAZING. My DH always goes for the cajun meatloaf. We have never been disappointed with the entrees OR their yummy desserts which change seasonally.

Now my tummy is growling...*sighs*...*starts to plan another DLR trip*

 

[JamieD]

Our favorite place is the French Market Restaurant whenever we go to DLR. If you love Cajun style food this is the place to be. Their red beans and andouille sausage is AMAZING. My DH always goes for the cajun meatloaf. We have never been disappointed with the entrees OR their yummy desserts which change seasonally.

Now my tummy is growling...*sighs*...*starts to plan another DLR trip*

The food is great at FM. Heck, even watching them lower the band equipment into the ground for the night memorized my kids!

 

[bebert]

Well just got back from my first (and too short) trip to DLR.
All I can say is for the folks who live of the west coast you have something really cool. I thought WDW was clean but, they dont hold a candle to DLR. It was cleaner if that was possible. I stayed at the DL Hotel and that is by far the cleanest hotel room I have ever been in and it was also really spacious. I am not used to that coming from WDW. The head board that lights up was one of the coolest things I have ever seen, I cant wait for my kids to see that. The food was very good and very fresh, I did not feel like I was eating Disney park food. Trader Sams bar was very fun and I took home a Krakotoa with me. The atmosphere was great and the staff was fun. The entire staff at DL Hotel was great and something that WDW needs to focus on again.
Downtown Disney was nice to walk around but, pretty much reminded me of Florida just smaller.
I went to DL on Tuesday night and while the hotel was very clean the park was not, weird. Popcorn all over the ground and overflowing garbage cans. I can honestly say I have never seen that in WDW and in fact I can only recall seeing one "man in the white" suit the entire night and I was there for 5 hours. I also noticed I saw very little "management" types walking aroung, you usually see them everywhere in WDW.
The park was smaller than I even thought but, it was nice to be a short walk from any ride. I actually found my self chuckling when I walked under the railroad station onto mainstream, I couldn't believe how small everything seemed. Again, actually kind of nice. I was also shocked how few fall decorations there were, MK in WDW is covered with them but, maybe fall means something different in CA. I am by no means knocking DL for that, just noticed the difference.
Hit Innoventions first to see Ironman and the other Avengers. Very cool and reminded me of EPCOT a little.

 

[bebert]

Next was Haunted Mansion. I was very excited to ride HM as it is one of my favorites in WDW. Boy was that a disappointment. I dont understand the whole Jack Skellington thing. Still very cool to see.

 

[bebert]

After that was Pirates. Again one of my favorites from WDW. The DL version is better, I loved this ride. I liked the extra details and everything seemed closer to the boat than in WDW. The restaurant in POC was really interesting to see, set up much like the Mexican pavillion in EPCOT. I have to eat there next time. A added benefit of being a single rider, front seat both times I rode.

 

[bebert]

Finished up POTC and headed to Star Tours as I had a fast pass. I liked this version a little better becuase Leia gives you the secret message and not Yoda like in WDW. Let there and made a dual light saber for my son. Headed to Tommorrow Land Terrace for a quick bite to eat. Food here was the same as FL and they hooked me on the mug to bring home.

 

[bebert]

Next was Small World. Wow this version maked WDW look foolish. The WDW regulars dont know what they are missing. I really liked the outdoor que and the addition of some Disney characters was a treat. It also seemed like the colors were better on this version. This ride was so good, I dont even want to ride SW in WDW anymore.

 

[bebert]

 

[bebert]

After Small World I headed back to POTC as everything else was a long wait. Headed out after that to Labrea Bakery for a late night snack.

 

[bebert]

 

[bebert]

As I was exiting the park I made sure to get a pic of the light on in Walt's apartment. While I have seen this many times at WDW, this was different. It actually gave me chills when I saw it, very cool piece of Disney history.

 

[bebert]

Hopefully this will not be my last chance to see DL. This is a must do for my family now just to show them how special this place is. I thought I could never enjoy a park more than I have WDW but, DLR really blew me away. To any WDW regular, you have not experienced Disney unless to experience DLR.