Okay, you all gave me such fabulous input on my Thrifty Disney Tips post, that I'm back to ask for more of your favorite tips…this time about eating at Disneyland!
I've been reading forum after forum trying to plan our meals for our days at Disney and I've typed up everything I've learned. If you agree or disagree (or have advice not listed here), I would love for you to comment below! We are trying to stay within budget as much as possible, so we want the food that we splurge on in the park to be the very best (and not too expensive)!
Saving Money While Eating at Disneyland
Here are some Thrifty Tips for Eating at Disneyland:
At home with the kids? Instantly access any of these printable activity bundles to keep them learning!
- You can easily spend money on only one full meal in the park if you eat a good breakfast before you go, bring lots of snacks to cover another meal (and maybe share a fun snack at the park), and then use your money on the remaining meal.
- If you eat in one of the restaurants, skip desserts and buy it from one of the snack vendors instead. This will be much cheaper.
- You can usually order items ala carte to save money (even though they aren't listed that way on the menu).
- One of the best values is the bread and soup bowls. Huge portion, filling and the bread bowls are phenomenal (at the Royal Street Veranda). They are $9.95, but they can feed two.
- The Plaza Inn is known for their huge portions. You should be able to feed a family of 4 (sharing portions) for under $20 (I keep reading comments about the fried chicken being amazing).
- I had no idea until recently, but apparently you are not supposed to wait until your vacation to make a reservation at one of the restaurants. Get on Disney's site and make reservations a good amount of time before your trip.
- Ice water is free at most of the service counters (you can bring packets of Crystal Light if you wanna mix things up a bit).
- You can bring soft-sided coolers into the park with snacks (no glass). There are lockers you can store your cooler in.
- Kids meals are a good value with a side of fruit and veggies and either milk, water or soda. You can also easily share an adult meal between kids.
- I also read that the loaded baked potato is huge, tasty and can be shared, but I didn't write down where because I'm not a huge fan of baked potatoes. Anyone had them?
Disney Food Favorites
Here are some of the favorite snacks that I have seen repeatedly raved about:
- Chocolate-covered peanut butter sandwich bars (found at candy shops throughout the parks). Google a picture of this one. They look amazing.
- Dole Whips
- Churros
- Turkey legs. It's been said that these easily feed multiple people. This might make a good lunch.
- The Corn Dogs from the Little Red Wagon are amazing (and huge).
- The best fries in the whole park are the Pommes Frites in Cafe Orleans
- Disneyland Restaurants at a Glance
- Go here to read about each restaurant as well as their price ranges. You can also look up the Menus and prices for each Restaurant so that you have an idea what you will be paying. You can also visit the Disneyland Food Blog for detailed reviews and pictures of Disneyland restaurants.
GLUTEN-FREE @ Disneyland: Disney is amazing at catering to all kinds of dietary needs. Talk with the chef if you have dietary restrictions. If you need Gluten-Free, here is a list of Gluten-Free food items you can eat at Disneyland (there are TONS).
Character Dining
We booked our vacation through Getaway Today (read about what lead to that decision here). If you do decide to splurge on a character meal, DON'T pay the restaurant or you will pay a lot more.
Character Dining can seem expensive, but they allow your kids to get close up attention with the characters without having to wait in long lines in the park. You don't want to spend tons of money on park tickets and then spend more time in character lines than on the rides.
Get Away Today offers savings on both Regular and Premium Disney Character Dining so you can get the most out of your Disneyland vacation. If you wait to purchase Disney Character Dining when you get to theDisneyland ® Resort, you will pay more – especially if you're traveling during the summer, when Disney Character Dining restaurants raise their prices. When you book with Get Away Today, your meal (including your tax and gratuity) are prepaid – and discounted! When you don't purchase in advance and pay at the restaurant, you pay the regular price, plus 8.75% tax and up to 20% gratuity – yikes!
Because of our positive experience with Get Away Today, I asked if I could be an affiliate so that my readers can have a special discount. Use code MOTHERSNICHE for $10 off (and use it for something yummy in the park)!
What are YOUR best Disneyland Food Tips?
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Casey says
I love these tips! My son loves the clam chowder at the Royal Street Veranda. Just an fyi……dining reservations can only be made up to 60 days in advance at DLR. 180 days at WDW. Happy I found your site!
Ashley says
My hubby tried a turkey leg and said it was NOT GOOD, but everyone has their opinion. I tried the expensive corn on the cob and chimichanga and found it not too good either. Actually, we didn’t LOVE much of the food in the park, so we found it easy and economical to split meals between us and waste/spend less money on stuff we didn’t KNOW was awesome. The NOT TO BE MISSED snack was the Dole Whip, and if you researched as much as I did on Pinterest, you’ll have discovered the hidden “inside” line for it and bypass the constant line of 15 people “outside”. I have a whole new list of possibilities for my next trip, amongst them a Banana Split at Ghirardelli in DCA, the supposedly large portons at Rancho Del Zocalo for the Carnitas Burrito with Tomatillo Sauce dinner under the neon at Flo’s V8 Café in DCA, and the “all you care to enjoy” BBQ ribs, chicken, and sausage dinner at the Big Thunder Mountain Ranch. AND a Mickey Mouse caramel apple!
Rachel says
I wanna know where the hidden line is!!! Dish!! We go to the park in 2 weeks.
Becca says
Big Thunder Ranch restaurant is closing down this month.
Lisa says
We always take in our lunch and soft drinks as well as plenty of snacks and water. If you’re not up for a fancy meal the restaurant adjacent to the Frozen meet n greet is a good choice. We are at Disneyland atleast 6x a year and have never had a problem getting in for any disney dining… I can usually call the same day and still get in…. Occasionally restaurants close down so check the websites and make sure where you want to eat is open. Our fav not to be missed extras are dole Whips and Churros
Lydia says
Tried using your code and it is not working?
Tina M says
Lydia, thank you so much for letting me know! I double checked and the code is Niche14, not NICHE14. If you have already paid, shoot them an email and I’m sure they will apply the code still!
Lydia says
Thanks, will try to email route!!
Gina Guillotine says
Cloth diapering rocks. Just really does. Having done paper diapers for kid #1 and cloth for kid #2 there is no way I would do it any it her way.
Gina Guillotine says
Any other way… Goodness. Stupid autocorrect. I had a longer reply about GAT, etc., but it isn’t showing up. Only the 1st paragraph is visible.
Brandi says
I read under numerous websites before our most recent trip during the week of 4th of July that the reservations for Blue Bayou outside the Pirates ride exit had to be booked months in advance since seating is so limited. We had decided against it since we had a party of 7. We decided just to stop off and check after one of our many times on Pirates (our son’s fav ride) and we were able to make lunch reservations for the next day which was what we had wanted (we had read that the Monte Cristo was amazing and there was very much truth in that statement and was more than enough to feed two adults). It was well worth it just fpr the experience alone and the food was great but it’s Disneyland so it’ll put a nice little dent in the pocketbook. We were able to find menus for most all the food places using the Disneyland MouseWait app.
Tamela says
I tried using your code Niche14 and it didn’t work
Jenn says
We love taking the Monorail from Tomorrow land to Down Town Disney & going to Sandwich of Earl. So convenient, so good & VERY reasonably priced!!
robin says
I LOVE the cobb salad at French Market/New Orleans Square. I ALWAYS make a point to go there at least once for the salad. When I am not at Disneyland I always compare other salads to the one there.
Allie says
I was wondering, w buying in advance are you limited on what you order off the menu at any of the restaurants? Thank you for a wonderful post!
Tina M says
Hey Allie,
No, we received the same options as everyone else from what I could tell!