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One of the biggest (and costly) considerations you’ll make when planning a trip to the Disneyland Resort is where and what you’re going to eat.

Between the two theme parks, three resort hotels and Downtown Disney District, there are more than 130 dining options ranging from snack carts to fine dining establishments.

Additionally, there are aspects of Disney dining such as mobile order, mobile walk-up and dining reservations to consider.

Of course, you can save yourself a considerable amount of money by bringing your own food. Disney does allow you to bring snacks, cold sandwiches, fruit and the like into the park.

Just outside the Disneyland Park gate, behind tall greenery and underneath the Monorail track, is a private picnic area with tables and chairs that are free for all guests to use.

However, if you’re able to, I do recommend trying at least a couple of the resort’s restaurants. Some of which serve food you can’t get at most places and are actually VERY good.

So if you’re bringing kids, which restaurants have the biggest portions so you can split entrees? If you’re Disney adults, which restaurants serve cocktails? Which ones are the hardest to get into? I answer all of these questions and more below.

Let’s get into it.

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Table-Service Restaurants

Disney’s table service restaurants are akin to the type you usually visit in your everyday life. You are greeted by a host/hostess, are seated, you place your order with the waiter/waitress and are brought your food.

Nearly all restaurants under this classification accept dining reservations, which you can make up to 60-days in advance and can do so on the Disneyland website or app. The following restaurants are table service AND accept reservations:

Disneyland Park

Blue Bayou
Cafe Orleans
Carnation Cafe
Oga’s Cantina
River Belle Terrace

Disney California Adventure

Carthay Circle
Carthay Circle Alfresco Dining
Lamplight Lounge
Magic Key Terrace (Magic Key holders and their guests only)
Wine Country Trattoria

Downtown Disney District

Naples
Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio
Splitsville Luxury Lanes
Tortilla Jo’s (permanently closes March 31st)

*This list will expand further with the opening of several new restaurants in Downtown Disney throughout 2024/2025

Disneyland Resort Hotels

GCH Craftsman Bar
Great Maple Modern American Eatery
Napa Rose
Palm Breeze Bar
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar

As stated above, you can start making dining reservations 60-days in advance. You DO NOT need to have a theme park reservation in order to make one.

Many of the restaurants listed above are difficult to get into, even at the 60-day mark. It really boils down to the time of year you’re going. If you’re going in January - early March, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get your preferred date/time 60-days out.

Conversely, if you’re going in the summer or holiday seasons, the demand will be higher and thus, more competitive. When you’re 60-days out, be logged into your account on the Disneyland website or app as early as 6am (when reservations are rumored to be released).

A handful of the difficult-to-get reservations from the list above include; Lamplight Lounge, Napa Rose, Trader Sam’s, Blue Bayou and Carthay Circle.

If you’re unable to snag a reservation for one of those, you can typically always get a reservation at Wine Country Trattoria, River Belle Terrace, Cafe Orleans and GCH Craftsman Bar, all of which are solid options.

*NOTE: I discuss another detail about reservations at the end of this post. You DON’T want to skip it.

Another trick you can try if you weren’t able to get a reservation for your preferred restaurant is to try the mobile walk-up list. Just about every restaurant that accepts reservations offers this.

Lamplight Lounge, for example, has gone as far as to reserve an entire section of the restaurant for it. The boardwalk area of Lamplight, formally known and fondly remembered as ‘Cove Bar’ is reserved for mobile walk-up guests.

To do this, simply approach the restaurant and open the Disneyland app. Once the app detects you, you’ll be able to join the list. Keep in mind that, at least at Lamplight, you’re only able to join the walk-up list between the hours of 11:30am - 4:30pm.

Quick-Service Restaurants

Quick-service restaurants are comparable to fast causal places like Chipotle and MOD Pizza, in that they’re the type where you’ll walk up to the window, order/pay for your food and find yourself a seat.

They’re located throughout both theme parks and are typically the busiest as they’re built to serve thousands of people daily.

To make things even more convenient, many of these quick-service eateries offer mobile order, a feature in the Disneyland app that enables you to order and pay for your meals digitally.

While not all quick-service restaurants offer mobile order, many of them do. Especially the most popular ones. Those include:

Disneyland Park

Alien Pizza Planet
Bengal BBQ
Docking Bay 7
Galactic Grill
Gibson Girl Ice Cream
The Golden Horseshoe
Harbour Gallery
Hungry Bear
Jolly Holiday Bakery
Mint Julep Bar
Red Rose Taverne
Refreshment Corner
Ronto Roasters
Royal Street Veranda
Stage Door Cafe
Tiana’s Palace
Tiki Juice Bar
Troubadour Tavern

Disney California Adventure

Award Weiners
Flo’s V8 Cafe
Smokejumpers Grill
Bayside Brews
Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill
Rita’s Turbine Blenders
Sonoma Terrace
Aunt Cass Cafe
Corn Dog Castle
Hollywood Lounge
Lucky Fortune Cookery
Paradise Gardens Grill
Pym Test Kitchen
Schmoozies!
Studio Catering Co.

Disneyland Hotel

The Coffe House
Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill

As you can see, the list is extensive. Do note that currently, mobile order is not available at any restaurant in Downtown Disney, Pixar Place Hotel or the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.

Using mobile order is quick and easy. First, make sure you have the Disneyland app downloaded to your device and create an account before going to the parks. You’ll also want to add a credit or gift card as your payment method.

When you’re ready to order yourself lunch, simply open the app and select, “order food”. Then you’ll scroll through the list and select the restaurant you want to order from.

Next, you’ll select your pick up window. Unless it’s a brand new restaurant or a particularly busy day, you shouldn’t have issues with pick up times being too far out. If so, you’ll need to think ahead and submit your order earlier in the day.

Once you’ve chosen your pick up window, you’ll then be presented with the restaurant’s menu and from there, make your selections and select your payment method. You can pay with credit/debit/gift cards or Apple Pay. Paying cash on pick up is not an option.

When your pick up window approaches, make your way to the restaurant, find yourself a seat and open the app. Select “I’m Here” and patiently wait while the cast members get to work.

When your order is ready, you’ll be notified by the app and given a numbered pick up window (I don’t know who needs to hear this, but there’s no need to clog up the pick up windows by waiting there). Simply head to your assigned numbered window and pick up your food when you’re called.

As stated above, you may need to think ahead a bit when using mobile order. If it’s a slow(ish) day, you should be able to get pick up windows within thirty minutes or so.

If it’s busy (think Halloween, summer, etc), you’d be better served by playing it safe and placing your order earlier in the day. For example, select your pick up window for lunch while everyone else is eating breakfast. This way, you’re not caught off guard.

If the pick up windows are too far out or you’re paying cash, then you’ll need to utilize the stand-by queue. I always recommend mobile order, though. Every time I use it, I always end up with my food long before those in stand-by do.

Alcohol at the Disneyland Resort

If you’re a proud “Disney Adult” (or simply, a stressed out parent who wants to take the edge off), you’ll be happy to hear that alcohol is now served extensively throughout the resort.

Previously a mostly dry park, Disneyland Park now has a number of locations that serves beer, wine, cocktails or all the above. They are:

Blue Bayou
River Belle Terrace
Carnation Cafe
Cafe Orleans
Oga’s Cantina

Additionally, guests who can afford it and/or who’re members, can order drinks at 21 Royal and Club 33. At DCA, most restaurants, even quick-service locations, serve alcohol.

As far as the theme parks are concerned, the only two locations that could primarily be considered a bar/lounge would be Oga’s at Disneyland and Pym Test Lab at DCA. The former does sell small bites but is mostly a bar and the latter serves alcohol exclusively.

Essentially, every restaurant in the Downtown Disney District serves a combination of beer, wine and cocktails, and most locations in the three resort hotels do as well.

If you’re interested in having a drink at Oga’s, you’ll need to be on the ball by getting a reservation 60-days out as it’s a popular place. You could try getting on the mobile walk-up list, but securing a reservation would be preferable.

Other bars and lounges in the resort, such as Pym Test Lab in Avengers Campus and Hearthstone Lounge in the Grand Californian Hotel, do not offer reservations and are generally easy locations to get a seat at.

Specialty Dining

Specialty dining can mean many things at Disneyland but generally speaking, this includes things like character dining and dining packages for the nighttime shows such as Fantasmic and World of Color.

The following locations offer dining packages for Fantasmic! (returning May 24th):

Blue Bayou
River Belle Terrace
Hungry Bear Restaurant

I wrote an extensive post about my experience with the River Belle Terrace Fantasmic! dining package. You can read that here if you’re interested.

At Disney California Adventure, where World of Color show is shown, the following locations offer dining packages for that show:

Carthay Circle (temporarily unavailable)
Wine Country Trattoria
Magic Key Terrace (for Magic Key holders and their guests only)

Character dining has long been a favorite of Disneyland fans. If you don’t know, they’re experiences where some of your favorite Disney characters interact with you at your table while you dine. It’s a time-saver as you won’t have to queue up to meet them.

Character dining experiences are available at the following locations:

Minnie & Friends at Plaza Inn - Disneyland Park (breakfast only)
Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel (breakfast, lunch & dinner)
Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel (breakfast, lunch & dinner)
Disney Princess Adventure at Napa Rose (breakfast only)

The first three are all buffet, all-you-care-to-eat style meals. Disney Princess Adventure, though, is a prix fixe menu in which your selections are brought to you.

The three traditional character dining options are usually priced between $35 - $60 for adults and $25 - $35 for kids. The Disney Princess Adventure breakfast, however, commands an eye-watering $135 per person (yes, even kids).

You’ll typically get to meet, on average, 3-5 characters during your meal, dependent upon how busy it is. I was at the Plaza Inn on a slow day once and was bombarded with characters, multiple times over.

Conversely, at Goofy’s Kitchen, we only had a few characters come to our table throughout the entire meal. So your milage may vary. Just be understanding that the characters have to work their way through the whole restaurant and some parties are larger than others.

Additional Information About Reservations

In the Table-Service section at the beginning of this post, I briefly discussed making reservations for the more popular restaurants 60-days out.

There is another aspect of the reservation system I feel you should be aware of - the cancellation policy. For the most part, the cancellation policy is the same within the theme park eateries, but it varies throughout the rest of the resort.

When making a reservation, you’ll be asked to submit a credit or debit card number as a guarantee. If you fail to show up for your reservation or cancel outside the specified timeframe, your card will be charged a certain amount, per person.

This is done in order to prevent people from hoarding reservations and holding them for other people. It helps to ensure that the person making the reservation actually shows up or cancels in time for someone else to have a chance at getting it.

Cancellation policies at the following restaurants are:

Restaurants with a TWO HOUR cancellation window/$10 per person no-show charge:

All restaurants inside Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure
GCH Craftsman Bar at the Grand Californian Hotel
Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel
Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel
Palm Breeze Bar at the Disneyland Hotel
Great Maple at the Pixar Place Hotel
Blue Bayou Fantasmic! Dining Package

Restaurants with a ONE DAY cancellation window/$10 per person no-show charge:

Naples
Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio
Tortilla Jo’s
Splitsville Luxury Lanes
River Belle Terrace Fantasmic! Dining Package

Restaurants with a ONE DAY cancellation window/varying per person no-show charge:

Napa Rose - $25 per person
Disney Princess Adventure - $135 per person (full charge)
World of Color Dessert Party - full, per person charge (starts at $89)

Restaurants with a TWO DAY cancellation window/varying per person no-show charge:

Tomorrowland Skyline Terrace - full per person charge (starts at $60)

As you can see, the penalties for no-showing or simply not cancelling within the specified window can be steep. If you find yourself in a situation where you’re going to miss your reservation and you’re within that window, there are two things you can try to avoid being charged:

Speak with the cast member and plead your case. I’ve heard of instances where after politely asking, people were able to cancel their reservation without being charged, despite being minutes away from their reservation time.
You can “modify” your reservation in the app or website to a date that’s further out and then cancel said reservation (note that this will NOT work if you’re close to your reservation time. Option #1 would be best in that instance).

There’s no guarantee of either working to your advantage, but it’s worth a shot. It’s understandable that things come up, but the best thing you can do is make it to your reservation.

Another thing to note is, say you’ve made a reservation for a party of six at Blue Bayou. Let’s assume that two of those six aren’t going to make it for one reason or another. You will not be penalized for that. As long as the person who's name is on the reservation is present, you’re good.

*PRO TIP: If the person who’s name is on the reservation cannot make it but you can, just give that person’s name to the host/hostess. They don’t check ID’s.

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