Hello, all! I know it's a little premature, but I'm sketching out the itinerary and thinking about dining for my family's upcoming first (and very likely only) visit to Disneyland, at the end of August 2019. For those who are familiar with Disneyland's dining venues, please help me with the following:
Fantasmic!: Although my family has been to WDW several times, we've never seen Fantasmic!. (We've planned to a couple of times, but we could never fill a whole day at HS, and returning to the park for it always seemed like too much of a hassle.) Since we know we'll be spending a couple of evenings in Disneyland, we thought this would be a perfect time to finally see it.
Can you tell me:
(1) is the DL version equal to, or better than, the one at WDW, or do you otherwise consider it a "must do"?
(2) Is it necessary to purchase a dining package to get a good seat, or can we just utilize a Fastpass for it? I've seen diagrams of the various seating areas, so I know Fantasmic! seating is more toward the side, so I guess what I'm asking is, does that significantly diminish the expereince?
(3) If a dining package is recommended, which one? I'm equally galled by spending $30/pp for a takeout box at Hungry Bear, by the idea of spending $45/pp at River Belle Terrace (well over $200 for my family to eat fancy sandwiches), or $72/pp at Blue Bayou ($350 for my family of four by the time tax and gratuity are added!!!), so the dining package pricing seems nuts to me - but then again, I don't know how much one's seating for Fantasmic matters, so maybe I'm just not understanding the value of what is offered. What would you do?
Table Service Restaurants: What table service restaurants do you recommend for Disneyland/California Adventure/Downtown Disney/offsite-walking-distance guests? Specifically, I'm looking for restaurants that are well-reviewed for their food, have a diverse or interesting menu, and offer something unique - either in terms of cuisine type, or theming. I'm also avoiding character meals, truly upscale restaurants that are likely to bore the kids (11 and 13) like Carthay Circle, Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55, as well as chains we have at home, like The Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's.
We'll have four evenings where we'll be looking for a TS dinner, and so far I'm looking at: (1) Carnation Cafe, which seems to garner really terrific reviews and happens to have a couple of menu items I know my family loves (fried pickles, baked potato soup, malts), although this could easily become a lunch meal instead; (2) Blue Bayou, which has a beautiful and unique atmosphere -- however, due to its prices, this would likely be a late-evening reservation for desserts, coffee and appetizer munchies only, and not for a full dinner; and (3) House of Blues, which is off property but in easy walking distance, seems to get great reviews both for the food and the entertainment, and will have live music if we time it right. Do these sound like decent choices? Any other places you recommend? We're also intrigued by Catal (DTD), Ralph Brennan's (DTD), and FiRE+iCE (offsite, Anaheim Garden Walk). I'd also love to add a great Japanese or Indian restaurant (or just something with some Asian fusion or inspiration, like Yak & Yeti over at WDW) but I haven't seen anything well-recommended in the area. We're also planning on going over to Trader Joe's before opening time one morning so we can have some small plates and fun drinks for lunch.
Please share your thoughts, and thank you in advance! I know this probably seems like too much ado about dining, but for my family, food is a huge part of our vacation experience, and offers a chance to dine out far more often, and far more generously (for example, ordering appetizers and desserts, which is not our usual m.o.), than we ever do at home.
Fantasmic!: Although my family has been to WDW several times, we've never seen Fantasmic!. (We've planned to a couple of times, but we could never fill a whole day at HS, and returning to the park for it always seemed like too much of a hassle.) Since we know we'll be spending a couple of evenings in Disneyland, we thought this would be a perfect time to finally see it.
Can you tell me:
(1) is the DL version equal to, or better than, the one at WDW, or do you otherwise consider it a "must do"?
(2) Is it necessary to purchase a dining package to get a good seat, or can we just utilize a Fastpass for it? I've seen diagrams of the various seating areas, so I know Fantasmic! seating is more toward the side, so I guess what I'm asking is, does that significantly diminish the expereince?
(3) If a dining package is recommended, which one? I'm equally galled by spending $30/pp for a takeout box at Hungry Bear, by the idea of spending $45/pp at River Belle Terrace (well over $200 for my family to eat fancy sandwiches), or $72/pp at Blue Bayou ($350 for my family of four by the time tax and gratuity are added!!!), so the dining package pricing seems nuts to me - but then again, I don't know how much one's seating for Fantasmic matters, so maybe I'm just not understanding the value of what is offered. What would you do?
Table Service Restaurants: What table service restaurants do you recommend for Disneyland/California Adventure/Downtown Disney/offsite-walking-distance guests? Specifically, I'm looking for restaurants that are well-reviewed for their food, have a diverse or interesting menu, and offer something unique - either in terms of cuisine type, or theming. I'm also avoiding character meals, truly upscale restaurants that are likely to bore the kids (11 and 13) like Carthay Circle, Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55, as well as chains we have at home, like The Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's.
We'll have four evenings where we'll be looking for a TS dinner, and so far I'm looking at: (1) Carnation Cafe, which seems to garner really terrific reviews and happens to have a couple of menu items I know my family loves (fried pickles, baked potato soup, malts), although this could easily become a lunch meal instead; (2) Blue Bayou, which has a beautiful and unique atmosphere -- however, due to its prices, this would likely be a late-evening reservation for desserts, coffee and appetizer munchies only, and not for a full dinner; and (3) House of Blues, which is off property but in easy walking distance, seems to get great reviews both for the food and the entertainment, and will have live music if we time it right. Do these sound like decent choices? Any other places you recommend? We're also intrigued by Catal (DTD), Ralph Brennan's (DTD), and FiRE+iCE (offsite, Anaheim Garden Walk). I'd also love to add a great Japanese or Indian restaurant (or just something with some Asian fusion or inspiration, like Yak & Yeti over at WDW) but I haven't seen anything well-recommended in the area. We're also planning on going over to Trader Joe's before opening time one morning so we can have some small plates and fun drinks for lunch.
Please share your thoughts, and thank you in advance! I know this probably seems like too much ado about dining, but for my family, food is a huge part of our vacation experience, and offers a chance to dine out far more often, and far more generously (for example, ordering appetizers and desserts, which is not our usual m.o.), than we ever do at home.