Visiting Disneyland for the first time with 3.5yo, 5.5yo girls residing in the Disney hotels.
1. Meals. For regular meals (not special character or fine dining) do we need to plan / reserver ahead? either in-park or hotel (Disney hotels) meals. How much time reserve before: weeks, days or same day ok?
2. Which special meals are recommended? Honestly my daughters are not big eaters and it's only for the atmosphere.
3. It seems if we take one of the character breakfast we lose precious times in the park when it is less crowded... is it worth it or better lunch / dinner with characters?
4. What are our options for breakfast in the days we want to be in the park in 7:30?
5. We couldn't find any tickets for princess breakfast for the next 60 days... is it that busy or not operating or only opens for reservation the day before?
Thanks
1. If it is a sit down restaurant you typically need a reservation to get in unless there are cancellations (you can always check in person the morning of). What Hotel are you staying at? One of the "Disney Hotels" (Paradise Pier) doesn't even have any dining options.
2. The most atmospheric are Blue Bayou and Carthay Circle but if they are not big eaters those would probably not be your best bet. The Lamplight Lounge in California Adventure and Cafe Orleans in Disneyland are really nice restaraunts without being too pricey, Cafe Orleans has a great vintage Design from Walt Disney. Both it and Lamplight Lounge have outdoor seating overlooking the water. Carnation Cafe is really fun as it is on Main Street.
For snacks the Tropical Hideaway is really fun and atmospheric.
For quick service the Stage Door Cafe (fast food type stuff) overlooks the water or you could bring it inside the Golden Horseshoe which is a cool western saloon that sometimes has shows going on. The Golden Horseshoe also has its own menu with icecream and hot dogs.
Rancho Del Zocolo? (quick service Mexican restaraunt by big thunder) is big and very relaxing with lots of nice shaded outdoor seating.
3. Not sure what day you are going but I am always about showing up before opening and getting as much rides down before the crowds arrive. I would argue that especially with little kids this is even more important so they can see a lot of the park before it gets overwhelming.
If I had kids and they wanted character dining I would be in the gates 15 minutes or so before the park opened, get on a lot of the must do rides that are kid friendly, and do the last Plaza Inn character breakfast timeslot (1030 or 11 I believe).
This way the experience is more relaxing and enjoyable. Once it hits 11 the park is crowded anyways so you don't miss out on the lack of crowds by having a 1030 or 11 dining reservation. And all the characters are still there, they don't leave because it's close to the end of the shift or anything like that.
4. A lot of places don't open till 9 in the parks or downtown Disney. I'd honestly bring food in the Hotel so you can at least eat something before going to the parks, especially with kids. Check if the hotel has a minifridge and maybe get yogurt or milk and cereal from a nearby drug store like CVS or Walgreens. Or maybe your hotel has a quick service option?
Surprisingly the Galactic Grill in Tommorowland which has probably the worst lunch and dinner has one of the best breakfast menus (they open at 8).
5. Disney Dining is weird and unpredictable these days. A lot of dining seems to come out closer than 60 days. I paid for a service called MouseWait to text me when reservations came up for the time slots/days/restaurants I wanted. It seems this is sadly the only way to get dining reservations these days. There was also a discord server called "Walt Dining"? that someone on reddit made that did the same thing.
