ParkMagic Podcast: Insider Tips To Plan Your Disneyland Adventure

Amazing Food at Disneyland, Hold the Reservations with Celina

December 14, 2023 Robyn from ParkMagic Season 1 Episode 21
Amazing Food at Disneyland, Hold the Reservations with Celina
ParkMagic Podcast: Insider Tips To Plan Your Disneyland Adventure
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ParkMagic Podcast: Insider Tips To Plan Your Disneyland Adventure
Amazing Food at Disneyland, Hold the Reservations with Celina
Dec 14, 2023 Season 1 Episode 21
Robyn from ParkMagic

You don't have to get dining reservations to have your taste buds tickled at Disneyland and California Adventure.  Don't limit yourself to hamburgers and pizza!  You can get everything from tacos, gumbo, lobster rolls, and soup in bread bowls at quick service locations around both parks.

Celina and Robyn walk through some of their favorite options including some places in the park they recommend you avoid!

Links:
ParkMagic Picky Mickey App

Right now, our tools are just for Disneyland, but we hope to expand to other parks soon. Disney changes policies, prices, and shows often. Be sure to visit our website at Parkmagic.com or Disneyland's Website for more information.

Park Magic is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc. Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Mickey Mouse are all registered trademarks of Disney Enterprises, Inc. Any use of third-party names or trademarks is for identification purposes only and does not imply, nor is it intended to imply, any affiliation with, endorsement from, or business relationship with any third party, including with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

You don't have to get dining reservations to have your taste buds tickled at Disneyland and California Adventure.  Don't limit yourself to hamburgers and pizza!  You can get everything from tacos, gumbo, lobster rolls, and soup in bread bowls at quick service locations around both parks.

Celina and Robyn walk through some of their favorite options including some places in the park they recommend you avoid!

Links:
ParkMagic Picky Mickey App

Right now, our tools are just for Disneyland, but we hope to expand to other parks soon. Disney changes policies, prices, and shows often. Be sure to visit our website at Parkmagic.com or Disneyland's Website for more information.

Park Magic is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc. Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Mickey Mouse are all registered trademarks of Disney Enterprises, Inc. Any use of third-party names or trademarks is for identification purposes only and does not imply, nor is it intended to imply, any affiliation with, endorsement from, or business relationship with any third party, including with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Park Magic podcast, your place for insider tips for your next Disneyland adventure. Whether you're a first-timer or first-time in a while visitor, we're here to unwrap the secrets to creating and simplifying your dream Disneyland vacation.

Speaker 2:

Since my first trip I've been doing scene effects. I love my qualidade in your kids, like Disney is like a part of who you are, and one of the biggest things that I want this podcast to be about is that people will come to us and say I'm going to Disneyland, tell me what to do. I think that there's some amazing sit-down restaurants at both Disneyland and California Adventure, but there are also some really, really good food that is available without a reservation and is a lot less money.

Speaker 3:

There is, yes, and I get so frustrated when people talk about Disneyland and they talk about the food as though it's oh another amusement park or state fair food. And if anyone goes to Disneyland and says that they just had burgers and fries the whole time, you did it wrong. There are so many choices and there are some stellar burgers there too. So if you do burgers and fries the whole time, I hope you went to the right place and I'll tell you where to go.

Speaker 2:

But there are so many wonderful options and you don't have to do the reservation 60 day in advance to get that really good food, especially in California Adventure, but in both parks there's food that you can order from the counter that is very unique, very delicious, and there's some things that are like really great creature comforts. And we were talking about how, like, the only place to get grilled cheese is Jolly Holiday, but there are most things in the park. Yes, there's pizza. Yes, there's pasta. I feel like some of the hamburgers are pretty darn good, but, like the pizza and the pasta, it quick serve is going to be kind of meh. I don't know, I haven't had the regular pasta in a while, so you correct me if I'm wrong there.

Speaker 3:

No, you're caught on. So the alien pizza planet is the first thing that comes to my mind, where, if you can steer away from that, please do. I encourage it. That's usually one of my top 10 pieces of advice that I give.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because it's been sitting there for a bit. It's kind of like buffet or golden corral pasta. It's not great.

Speaker 3:

It's really not. Yeah, the texture is off, and if you're at all a texture person, you are not going to enjoy the pasta in Tomorrowland.

Speaker 2:

And they're going to have kids menus at each location, and one of the benefits of quick serve is if you're somebody that likes smaller portions, you can order the kids menu. Or if you've got somebody who's really going to only eat chicken nuggets in your party, and that's OK, they have some of those kids items and you can order those. Just beware anything that's marked as a toddler meal is basically like three bites, so it looks cheap. It's not a value.

Speaker 3:

And you know what, though it's food a toddler would eat. My son's first trip he was 15 months old and that's what we got at nearly every quick service, because it was guaranteed to be something that he was going to eat if we had exhaust our own snacks at that point, because I had absolutely no idea how he was going to fare. But yeah, that yummy, cheesy macaroni. There's some goldfish crackers at a part of that, and lately it's been the go-go squeeze applesauce couches. So it's always a hit with my kids.

Speaker 2:

I accidentally ordered my 15-year-old a toddler mini slider and it was literally like an inch and a half and he was like what is this? And I was like that was me making the wrong order. I'm sorry.

Speaker 3:

Do you remember which location that was at?

Speaker 2:

It was actually Tengaro Terrace. Oh OK, it was especially funny because I ordered on a gluten-free bun, right? So it was this big adult-sized bun with this ee-ee-ee-ee-ee like little tiny size. So if you have a toddler, they are great meals and there are some meals that are quick-served that are really, really shareable. So if you're trying to keep costs down for me, I usually will split a turkey leg in a couple of corns. You don't need a reservation for that. I feel like Rancho de Zacalo has a lot of things that are really shareable as well.

Speaker 3:

They do, and here's what I'm going to talk about my two favorite places in Disneyland that are very, very shareable tropical hideaway it is so easy to grab a couple of the buns there, which, again very unique, to have this Asian-style dumpling in Disneyland Park, so there's something that's not fried right there. You can get a dull whip and if you want to ride a cauldron, someone can go to Tropical Hideaway and someone else can go over to Bengal Barbecue and get a few of those skewers also very shareable and you've got a really delicious meal. Now they've got that expanded seating next to Bengal Barbecue so you can grab a table. Don't need a reservation, but that's my favorite shareable spot.

Speaker 2:

And I think the skewers at Bengal Barbecue are really good for you, like really good food. They're really tasty. I think if you're really on a tight budget and you've got teenagers, probably not the best option money-wise but I think as far as tasty piece they're pretty darn good.

Speaker 3:

Oh yes, I agree Teenagers though I'm not. It's been a while since I've been one, but where did your kid?

Speaker 2:

So you know, at Disneyland we'll get like the half chicken at Rancho de Zacallo and then we'll get extra tortillas and then usually we can get one of those and like a side of tacos and then if we're gonna like pre and post snack, then that's a good meal and that's like you know, 40 bucks for like four of us. I really like Jolly Holiday. I really loved the grilled cheese and tomato soup. I don't know why it's such a simple thing, but their Berea grilled cheese. She gave me a little bit of the Berea from the inside because I'm gluten free, so they won't make it gluten free Berea, but it was really good.

Speaker 3:

I didn't know that they were doing that at Jolly Holiday. But that is another very good shareable one, because the sandwiches are massive and the last time I went there I got that and my husband got a Caprese sandwich and we just kind of swapped and we got a side of soup as well and it was almost too much food.

Speaker 2:

Let's talk about the burgers because there are places, especially in Disneyland, to get burgers and to not get burgers.

Speaker 3:

I know what you're talking about.

Speaker 2:

Like you and I are on a mission, so if you're Disneyland and you really want a burger, I would highly recommend that you not go to Galactic.

Speaker 3:

Grill. If you want a burger in Disneyland, go to the Hungry Bear. Do not go to the Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland. Don't eat in Tomorrowland unless it's the Churro cart that's over there. That's my general recommendation.

Speaker 2:

I'll go over to Galactic Grill just because I like the inner military, but usually it's with a Churro or corn.

Speaker 3:

Yes, yes, but Hungry Bear is definitely the way to go. Their burger is really good, so are their fries, and they also have chicken, chicken sandwich options which are also really tasty, and that could be another shareable one. And if you're doing a mobile order, which I do recommend for Hungry Bear, because that one tends to get- really crowded. If you get the kids size burger, that's enough food for an adult right there.

Speaker 2:

And there are some things that are not shareable but are, like, really well renowned, and I think that we can't do a thing on quick service at Disneyland without talking about it. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 3:

The corn dogs, the infamous corn dog. Yes, it's a must. It's a must for my family. We always have to do the little red wagon, but that's one. I don't know if mobile order always makes it faster. I think it depends on the time of day. But what's been your experience with that one lately?

Speaker 2:

So I can't do little red wagon because they don't have a gluten free option. I remember it being fantastic and I like look longingly. Will people enjoy it? My daughter really likes the corn dog there as well and she's pretty darn picky. But I do want to say that the corn dog there is different than the corn dogs that are in California adventure. So if you're only going to get one corn dog, I think it's better to get it at the little red wagon.

Speaker 3:

Yes, they are different, but I will say, if the line at little red wagon is too long and maybe you missed the boat on the mobile order, if you pop around to Frontierland at the stage door cafe, that corn dog over there is nearly as good.

Speaker 2:

How do you feel about the turkey legs?

Speaker 3:

Team turkey leg. I never have been happy.

Speaker 2:

I go through phases where we like, love it, and then my son is, he's 16, now right, and so he eats like a garbage, can I mean? He's just like a never ending pit. And so the turkey leg is really good. I don't want to eat a whole one, but he really likes them. And I do like them as long as I've got something else, because they are kind of salty.

Speaker 2:

I remember that the last time I did have one, which was many, many, many months ago, yeah, I mean I don't know if I'd want to eat one by myself, but I think it's a good shareable food. I think the alternate at California adventure is poultry palace, the three chicken leg meal, and those are gluten free and they have just like a bunch of spices on them and they come with a little coleslaw and those are pretty good if you're looking for something. And then I don't know why the corn is 529, which is kind of expensive for a corn on the cob, but I love the roasted corn, me too.

Speaker 3:

No, that's a staple for me as well, for as far as quick service at the cart, yeah, They've got all sorts of things Like.

Speaker 2:

so there's a place over by where the Lion King show is kind of over by Small World. It has like a baked potatoes.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I was going to bring that up next. Troubadour Tavern that is one of my favorites for quick, different kind of snack that ends up being pretty shareable. They have these stuffed big potatoes that are surprisingly delicious.

Speaker 2:

Now, because I'm gluten-free, I haven't eaten at Harbor Gallery in a long time. Is that one good? I mean I know people talk about the lobster roll a lot, but I haven't. I mean I found I would been gluten-free so long I haven't had that.

Speaker 3:

It's good. That's another one of my favorites. It's so funny because I'm thinking like oh, there's only one quick service that I recommend to everyone Big O Barbecue. And as we're going through this, I remember oh yeah, I love Truman. Or Tavern, oh yeah, I love Harbor Gallery.

Speaker 3:

It is usually a fairly quick line. I actually really like to sit there for the atmosphere as well, which you wouldn't necessarily think of a quick service location. But it's right there on the Rivers of America. It's just outside of that, the exit for Haunted Mansion. So, depending on where you sit, you can get a view of Haunted Mansion, which Halloween and holiday time. It's super fun, and then you get to do all of the boat watching off of the Rivers of America. But as for the food itself, yeah, there's the lobster roll, which is very good I have had before but you can also get some of the soups over there. If the line is too long over at Royal Veranda, then you can get the chowder over there, and I believe from time to time they offer the mac and cheese in a bread bowl. One time a seasonal thing they did was a lobster mac and cheese.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that was delicious and the mac and cheese bowls always available at Aunt Cass's over in San Francisco. So if you're looking for carbs on carbs on carbs, macaroni in a bread bowl is available over there Before I was going for you. I love the place where the bread bowls are over by Pirates of the Caribbean Royal.

Speaker 3:

Veranda yeah yeah they've got gumbo, I think there's a steak version and a vegetarian version, and then the clam chowder in a bread bowl and that's pretty much all that they have to offer over there, with some fountain drinks. But the line can get so long. It's become this really infamous bread bowl spots in Disneyland. But that's another really good quick service one again, something that's not fine if you want your soup.

Speaker 2:

And share a bowl? Very sure, because that bread bowl fills you up. It's massive, yeah, it's the size of a five year old's head.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I have a five year old. Yes, it's about the size of his head and he has a big head.

Speaker 2:

So let's talk about the lines at quick service, because if you go right at noon or right around lunchtime to some of the more popular locations, you might end up spending 30 minutes in line and then the additional time for them to make your food. If it's gluten-free, you know you should plan on it being an extra 10 or 15 minutes. For most people it comes out pretty quick, but there are a couple of ways that you can avoid those lines, and I think the most important thing if you have kids is to make sure you do not wait until you are hungry to go eat.

Speaker 3:

Yes, what I did on the last trip with my two kiddos, who at the time were five and two. I knew their routine at the time. Both went to preschool so I knew when they would eat lunch at school and I was anticipating when they would get hungry, and so I knew around 10 30 was about the time that I had to put in my mobile order if we were gonna do something really popular, and there was one day we ended up eating a hungry bear.

Speaker 3:

So I was walking into the line at Smuggler's Run and while I was waiting in line, putting in our mobile order at 10 30 because I knew they weren't gonna do well if they had to wait. So, either anticipating it a little bit early if you don't have kids, if you can wait a little bit, get yourself a snack, a nice mid-morning snack, and then wait till after the lunch rush nothing wrong with having a late lunch after the peak rush and there's kind of two benefits in doing your lunch a little earlier, a little late.

Speaker 2:

The first is that you'll spend less time in line. The second is that there'll be more seating available and so you will not have people like standing over you while you're eating trying to get your table. So if you can try to eat kind of off times. But just a warning, after about nine o'clock, especially at Disneyland, the food options dramatically drop down. There's a lot of places closed. So if you're somebody that eats dinner really late, just make sure that the restaurant that you're looking at doing for quick service open.

Speaker 2:

Still, I usually tell people know what you want for lunch at one or two places and then when you get into the park the first time you have a little downtime, do your mobile order for lunch, even if it's like nine or ten. And the reason for that is because mobile order is a little bit different than like a virtual queue. They have only so many spots available for a specific time period because they can only make so many whatever they're making at a restaurant. So if you wait until like 11 30 to try to get a sandwich at Jolly Holiday, they might say, great, you can mobile order but you can't come pick up your food until one o'clock and that can be very frustrating, and then you end up being very grouchy standing in line trying to wait for your sandwich.

Speaker 3:

Yes, and there are a few places that right now are very, very, very popular for lunch, jolly Holiday being one of them. We were just trying to get a coffee order around a 9 30 in the park and the only available pickup times were after 1 pm, so that's one that fills up right away. So back to your point about having a couple of different options in mind for lunch. If Jolly Holiday is your top and you've missed that spot, yeah, have a backup ready to go. And, if I could recommend a couple, red Rose Tavern I have not seen a ton of crazy lines there. Especially if it's a weekday versus a weekend, that's a really good option. They do have burgers. They have some salad and they're open late.

Speaker 3:

They're open past nine yes, and then the refreshment corner right next to Jolly Holiday. It's mostly hot dogs, but they also have the mac and cheese bread bowls over there too, so you get your carbs on carbs also open late.

Speaker 2:

Let's talk about coffee, because if you have not gone to Disneyland before, you might be like I'm just gonna stroll into the park and grab me a cup of coffee. That's not gonna go the way that you anticipated. No, it's really not. So if you are somebody that needs coffee in the morning one, you might want to grab one from the hotel, if they have it. If you want to grab it inside the park, there are some. First, there are two places to get your coffee that are pretty close to the entrance to Disneyland. Should we talk about market house first, which is basically Starbucks?

Speaker 3:

It's great, and I'm a Starbucks person through and through. If you cut my veins open, there's cold brew coffee in there. That's an attraction level line, and then of itself. And then mobile order is Next to impossible to try to get within the timeframe if you want, if you don't care about when you get coffee, you just need Starbucks at some point in the day. Sure, roll the dice, but I didn't think that they did mobile order at Market House.

Speaker 2:

They've taken it on and off. Okay, I know that they do take mobile order at downtown Disney, so you could order it there. Yes.

Speaker 3:

I have seen it come on and off, but yeah, market house, it's a very long line and it doesn't move fast.

Speaker 2:

So you should expect to be in that line for 30 minutes or more, first thing in the morning.

Speaker 2:

Yes, so you need to really want your Starbucks now there's another option and if I want coffee when I come into the parks what I do as soon as I get up I will place a mobile order before we even start walking to the parks. If I'm staying close by what, we'll place our mobile order at Jolly holiday, because they do take mobile order. It's not Starbucks, it's Jaffrey's, but it's delicious and it's such a cute little location. I love it and they've got some great breakfast items. I like to get a bunch of rides out of the way when we first get there, so I usually will maybe get a coffee for the first line or two, but we kind of save breakfast until a little bit later. So this way we're off everybody else's schedule for the rest of the day. But I really like Jolly holiday quite a bit. It's one of my favorites.

Speaker 3:

I love Jolly holiday and they have a lot of similar style espresso drinks that you're gonna find at your Starbucks. They often have special seasonal items too. Sometimes it's a coffee drink and sometimes it's a pastry, but there's usually something yummy and special that you can get from Jolly holiday.

Speaker 2:

And you know, jolly holiday doesn't have those mobile orders. If you're okay with black coffee like regular normal people coffee and not a latte, then there's a lot of places that serve just regular coffee with mobile order. So if you just need a cup of coffee and not a caramel macchiato, then there's gonna be more options for you.

Speaker 3:

Yes, definitely, and some of them will do a mocha if you need just a little bit of sweetness but you don't want to wait in that line.

Speaker 2:

I'm thinking specifically of the mint and julep bar and then the Starbucks coffee, the black calf, which is really, really popular and is so good. They don't start serving, I think, until 10 30, which is when breakfast cut off time. As for Disneyland, for California adventure, I feel like there's three to four main places, but for coffee specifically, there's fiddler, pfeiffer and practical, which is also Starbucks. I don't know why they can't just call them Starbucks.

Speaker 3:

I think it has something to do with the licensing, but it's a very similar experience to Market House. The line is sometimes a little bit quicker. I don't know why the space is slightly larger or why it's slightly more efficient in there, but I've had better luck and filler, pfeiffer and practical then I have at Market House. But again, it's your standard Starbucks. But I feel like there are a couple of other more convenient options in California adventure than Disneyland for your espresso style drinks.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sometimes I'll do schmoozies. You can mobile order there. They have some of those coffee drinks as well, and if you're heading towards the Avengers campus, then that's gonna be on the way. If you're heading more towards the back of the park where, like in, credit, coaster is, then I think the better coffee is probably gonna be the Cappuccino cart.

Speaker 3:

Yes, the Cappuccino cart. I think it's technically listed as being in San Francisco, but it's right in that little hub can be a little bit of a line depending on the time of day, but I believe they do mobile order as well. They do they've got your espresso options. I think they sometimes do have a seasonal drink as well I know schmoozies does but it's a little more spread out so you can get away from the crush of the main entrance and Especially first thing in the morning.

Speaker 2:

You're gonna find that those lines are pretty short and if you're trying to like take notes on this, I'm just gonna do a little shameless plug. Park Magic has an app where you can look through the menu, save the things that you want, and it will tell you at the top if it needs reservations or if you can Mobile order. And then when you pull that up on your phone, if you go to your favorites, that mobile order button takes you directly into the Disneyland app where you can place those mobile orders. And then there's also walking directions, which I don't know why. But Disneyland's app they just give you a map, they don't really provide walking directions.

Speaker 3:

And if you've never been there before, that can be really hard. Yeah, it can be really hard.

Speaker 2:

I think there's some really good food at California Adventure, san Frans Occhio, which, if you've been a while ago, it was Pacific Wharf before. I think that some of the best quick service food in the park is in that location.

Speaker 3:

Agreed and a lot of different styles of food. If you're looking to kind of mix up your genres, my favorite one over there is Lucky Fortune Cookery. They have a lot of different Asian inspired fusion dishes, some rice bowls and they've got some new stuff on there. You've been there more recently than I have, robin.

Speaker 2:

It's really great because I'm gluten-free but my husband is not and when I go with my sister she really likes the soup and the bread bowls, so we can go all sit together. There's lots of tables there and if you're mobile order, you can mobile order all of those things and kind of have them ready all around the same time, so you don't have to wait in three lines.

Speaker 3:

It's really convenient and, yes, there's a lot of seating, and then there are sometimes entertainment options while you eat over there, so it can be a nice little place to take a break. I've seen the mariachi bands over there, particularly around the holidays, because that's when I tend to go the most often, but they really have gone out of their way to make it a good pit stop for your day.

Speaker 2:

Other big favorites for me in California Adventure are going to be Smoke Jumpers. I really like their hamburgers there. And then PIMS Test Kitchen has some really great, really fun food, but their breakfast, I really like their breakfast and there's not a lot of quick serve breakfast options in either park and they have vegan options. They have just egg if you're vegan and they also have impossible meats.

Speaker 3:

Oh, impossible meats. I didn't know that about PIMS, that's really cool.

Speaker 2:

You want more shameless plug about park magic. You can filter in picky Mickey for all the plant based options, so that will pull up all of the like impossible meats.

Speaker 3:

I'm going to piggyback on Smoke Jumpers. It is an excellent burger. They also have some chicken options and they have a toppings bar. They have a toppings bar at Smoke Jumpers which they don't have at Hungry Bear, so you can get some extras for your chicken sandwich or your burger. There's a ton of seating at Smoke Jumpers too, which is really nice and really handy. One of my other favorites is actually Paradise Garden Grill. Their menu rotates pretty heavily seasonally, but I can count on that place to have a quesadilla for my kids. So no matter what's on the menu, if it's something that's a little more Mediterranean or something that's leading a little more Latino, depending on the time of year or the season or what they're trying to promote they've got the quesadilla there for my kids, so I'm happy about that.

Speaker 2:

And then Flo's has some burger options. I heard the turkey club is pretty good. They have fried chicken kind of like plaza, but it's just not one of my favorites. I haven't had a lot of good luck there. And then Boardwalk pizza and pasta is kind of similar to Alien Pizza Planet. If you're looking for some pastas and salads, they have them there, but don't expect to have your taste buds tickled in an extraordinary way. You know it's pasta and salad, but nothing to write home about.

Speaker 3:

It's really not and I will say if pasta is a must, like, you need to have some good pasta while you are at Disneyland, that's where you go. Table service as opposed to quick service. Quick service could probably answer every one of your other culinary needs, but not pasta.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So if you're Italian, don't go over there because you will be very sad. So there's lots of different options for quick serve. I think the biggest tips are avoid galactic grill. I've never had a good meal there no, never. Maybe if you've done something will change, but right now I wouldn't recommend that. There are a couple of places that don't accept mobile order. But if you can mobile order early in the morning for lunch and if you're going to eat at a popular time for dinner, try to mobile order for that. And then I think the last one would be bring some snacks with you, and there are some things that are more shareable. If you really like pizza and hamburgers, there's nothing wrong with just having that in the parks, but there are a lot of other options that are really tasty and you can't get in a few places else in the world.

Speaker 3:

This is true, and we didn't talk about the churros, which are must, and no matter what people tell you I don't know if you disagree with me on this, robin they are better than the churros in Disney World.

Speaker 2:

Well, and they have some really fun ones. Now that you're like I've had a churro, I don't need another churro. They always have these seasonal ones where they have, you know, nutella on it, or like you can search in Park Magic for the churros. They have a whole bunch of different kinds. And then the dull web. I know that you might not want to be friends with me, but I don't really love the dull web.

Speaker 3:

I've heard you say that before and I block it out every time because I just don't see how that's possible. In case you guys don't know what dull web is, it is an ice cream like soft serve pineapple flavored delight that you can find outside of the Tiki room or you can order it at the Tropical Hideaway in Disneyland Delicious. There's also a couple of other pineapple options. You can get some pineapple juice, you can get a dull whip float, which is the dull whip in pineapple juice, or you can just get like a pineapple spear. If you need some fruit, if you really need a quick snack, there are fruit options. There are a few different fruit carts in both parts that come in handy for my toddlers more than one occasion grabbing some bananas.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and people will be like the fruit so expensive. I actually went to the CVS at the corner of Harbor and Catella and the fruit was more expensive there than it was cold at some of the market. So they have these little places where they have like ice chests and they have pineapple and pickles and grapes and stuff. They can be really great if you're like I just need to have something and I know my kid will eat and the pickles are like really juicy and delicious.

Speaker 3:

I'm not a team pickle, but they're very popular and, yeah, like you said, they have them on ice, so they look like they're juicy and delicious and cold.

Speaker 2:

So I think those are the big things for a quick serve. You know, I think the biggest benefit to a quick serve is it's less expensive and it will take a lot less time out of your day. You know, if you're gonna do a sit-down dining, you probably should plan on one to two, sometimes up to three hours. I've gotten stuck at Blue Bayou before, but for the most part it's gonna be like one and a half hours, I would say on average, yes, and the table service.

Speaker 3:

If you really need to have that experience, can absolutely be done, but it's gonna be a little bit of a chore. All of the table service restaurants are very highly themed because of course it is, it's Disneyland. But for my kiddos who can be, you know, really they get sensory overload very quickly, being somewhere like Blue Bayou where the lighting is dim, there's a lot of noise, there's boats going by, it's a very, very crowded. It is not their favorite place and it's actually something that we're gonna continue to skip until they get a little bit older. So if you have to do it, you can. If it's like must do, but it will be a challenge.

Speaker 2:

And right now, if you want to have an alcoholic beverage, sit-down dining is the only way to do it. In Disneyland. There's so many options. In California Adventure it used to be just Blue Bayou and Uga's Quintina, but now Carnation Cafe, riverbell Terrace and Cafe Orleans will be serving alcohol. I'm looking forward to that.

Speaker 2:

Selena, let's go through a couple of lightning questions. What is your favorite attraction? Let's do Disneyland. Pirates of the Caribbean hands down, but you do need to warn your little that there's a drop, but then there's just one. And then, what is your favorite? Quick service like menu item?

Speaker 3:

My favorite quick service menu item is the Banyan Beef Skewer from Bengal BBQ. It is a beef skewer with a spicy sauce that I have tried many times to replicate at home and have not been successful. It's so good I will usually get tiger tail breadsticks at my side just so I can mop up every drop of that sauce.

Speaker 2:

You know, I had Bengal BBQ for the first time with your mom, I think. And then what's your favorite meet and greet? Because your kids are in that prime meet and greet stage.

Speaker 3:

They are, they are. I've got to go. Classic Mickey Mouse. That's one of the things that I've always loved about Toon Town that I'm glad that they've kept, and their renovation is that that's the one place where you are guaranteed to have an interaction and a photo op with the face of the magic.

Speaker 2:

I'm going for the first time with a little that is just getting into Mickey and Minnie, and so she was pretty excited to potentially be going to Mickey and Minnie's house.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I can't wait to get back there. It's been so long.

Speaker 2:

When people ask you for a tip for Disneyland, what is your like most important tip?

Speaker 3:

Don't eat at Tomorrowland. No, truly, I've been saying this. So my very first trip to Disneyland I was about five years old been going annually. Since then, you guys, the food into Tomorrowland has not improved. It's not worth it, guys, don't do it.

Speaker 2:

If you wanted to look through the menus, they're available at Disneylandcom to kind of get an idea of what's available. If you're looking to kind of search those menus, go to parkmagiccom for Picky Mickey. We have lots of searchable menus and you can filter by a lot of different things and we hope that you have a magical day.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Park Magic podcast. For more tips and planning tools designed to help simplify your Disneyland adventure, visit parkmagiccom. If you enjoyed today's episode and want to hear more tips, be sure to subscribe to the Park Magic podcast, and don't forget to leave us a review. Your feedback helps us spread the magic even further. Leaving a review could also help you. Each month, we will be selecting one reviewer to win a one-hour planning session with Robin. Winners will be announced at the end of the first episode of every month. Thanks for tuning in and remember that we are here to help you have a less stressful and more magical trip to Disneyland.

Intro
Celina and Dining without a Reservation at Disneyland
For Those That Like Small Servings
Shareable Meals at Disneyland
Where to and Where NOT to Get Burgers At Disneyland
Corndogs at Disneyland and California Adventure
Talking Turkey Legs
Baked Potatoes
Harbour Galley and the Lobster Rolls
Soup and Mac and Cheese in Bread Bowls
When to Dine to Avoid the Lines
Mobile Order Tips
Red Rose Tavern
Refreshment Corner
Coffee Talk
San Fransokyo Delights
Pym's Test Kitchen for All Day Yums
Smoke Jumpers for Great Burgers
Paradise Garden Grill
Try the Churros
Dole Whips
Lightning