Need Advice on where to take picky eater for food at DL and DCA

[kittyklawz]

My son who will be turning 6 is autistic and because of this he is a very picky eater. His favorite things are pasta or spaghetti with meat sauce/marinara (not whole wheat pasta, just regular) McDonalds or Wendy's chicken nuggets, plain hamburgers with just pickles and ketchup/mustard, French fries, cheese pizza lol. Where are the best places to take him to eat at each park?

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I've definitely been there, done that with my son. He's almost 28 and still a picky eater! My advice is to look over all the menus and make a list of restaurants that have foods he will eat. You won't have much problem finding nuggets, fries, burgers and pizza. Allears.net has a list of menus that are kept updated. Just click on Disneyland on the home page and then on Menus.

 

[wendlle]

My eldest is VERY picky, she enjoyed the very plain food at Alien Pizza in Tomorrowland and the grilled cheese at Jolly Holiday.
In DCA she liked the plain burger at Flo's.

Take a look over the menus on the Disneyland website, they are very accommodating so will try their best to help you.

 

[Vala]

Smokejumpers Grill in DCA maybe? Otherwise I second Flos and Tomorrowland for pizza.

 

[StormyCA]

Pull up the Disneyland Dining Page and you can scan all the menus. I'm a picky eater (+ have Celiac Disease) and that's what I do.

You can get a plain burger just about anywhere. Pasta at Pizza Planet or Wine Country Trattoria. I'm pretty sure they have nuggets at Golden Horseshoe, but since I can't eat them I don't really pay attention. I just know that everything at GH is basically deep fried, so it'd make sense that they have nuggets lol.

I have a feeling that any pasta will be whole wheat/whole grain pasta, especially if ordered off the kid's menu. Can he tell the difference? I'm asking because I haven't had wheat pasta in 20 years and I really don't remember if they look or taste different. If he can, you could try the gluten free pasta. It's made of rice and is white in color. But there is a difference in 'mouth feel' so I'm not sure if that would work for him. I also can't remember if the GF pasta is spaghetti or a different pasta, like rotini or rigatoni.

Another thing, the table service restaurants are better able to accommodate dietary needs as they have more fresh ingredients at hand and are more able to cook 'off menu'. The quick and counter service places don't have that flexibility. All they can do is adjust their menu items to add/delete things (this is not always possible) plus a few random substitutions (like allergy friendly buns/bread).

You can email Special.Diets@Disneyland.com and ask them about the pasta.

 

[LKing]

Pyms Test Kitchen?

 

[DLgal]

They are no longer using whole wheat pasta anywhere at Disneyland, so you should be good there. Note, they don't have the kind of chicken nuggets that are chunked and formed style. It's all chicken breast strips.

Bookmark these restaurants with those food preferences:

At DL:

Alien Pizza Planet
Red Rose Tavern
Galactic Grill
Hungry Bear
Stage Door Cafe
Golden Horseshoe

At DCA:
Smokejumpers Gril
Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta
Flos V8 Cafe
Pacific Wharf (Aunt Cass) Cafe

 

[monkeypat83]

One more to add that no one has mentioned yet is Carthay Circle Lounge has the best pasta according to my 3.5 year old. It is pasta shells with either marinara or just butter and comes with a side of fruit (it is usually grapes and oranges slices). I love the food and cocktails there so we always eat there at least once a trip.

 

[goooof1]

Our picky Wendy's chicken nugget eater loves Hungry Bear chicken nuggets every time.

 

[Lisa24jks]

No one has mentioned Plaza Inn yet?

They have both chicken fingers kids meals and a penne marinara kids meal. (They also have an adult meal with penne marinara & penne bolognese, if someone wants to split a bigger meal with him.) Food at Plaza Inn is consistently good, IMO, and the adults will have plenty to choose from too. (And it has indoor seating which is helpful if you need a break from whatever the weather is that day.)

 

[DLgal]

No one has mentioned Plaza Inn yet?

They have both chicken fingers kids meals and a penne marinara kids meal. (They also have an adult meal with penne marinara & penne bolognese, if someone wants to split a bigger meal with him.) Food at Plaza Inn is consistently good, IMO, and the adults will have plenty to choose from too. (And it has indoor seating which is helpful if you need a break from whatever the weather is that day.)

I keep forgetting Plaza has chicken tenders now. They didn't always. They also don't have fries, just mashed potatoes. But yes, they do have pasta with marinara.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

You’ll have lots of options. Our kids survive on the chicken strip and fries diet when we go.

 

[Foxhound3857]

I'm the pickiest eater in the world and I absolutely love Bengal Barbecue. Banyan Skewers and Safari Skewers are chefs kiss.

 

[Mamato4boys]

I'm in the same boat with my 9 year old. He only eats a handful of different foods, and rejects liked foods if they aren't the right shape, size, texture, etc. I planned out all of our meals to make sure they all serve hamburgers, hot dogs, cheese pizza, or corn dogs (his favorites are meatballs, fish sticks, breaded chicken bites, scrambled eggs- all of which are available, but not in the "right" shape/size/texture). I'm planning on trying to get him to eat Uncrustables before our trip (he will eat PB&J, but doesn't like that the Uncrustables are circles ). It would be nice to have a few on hand in case he isn't feeling whatever else is available.

I think we are doing: Hungry Bear, Alien Pizza Planet, Stage Door Cafe, Refreshment Corner, Flo's V8 Cafe, Smokejumpers, Award Weiners.

 

[TheLyinKing]

If your kiddo likes corndogs Disneyland has some realllllly good ones.

Edit: California Adventure does too. That one also has more variety (i.e. cheese stick)

 

[chezcurrie]

My middle is a picky eater (with tree nut allergies, oh joy) and magically enough he is a fan of the meat sauce at Dland (not meatballs, meat sauce aka bolognese style.)

His fave meat sauce is the adult bolognese at Plaza Inn at DL and again the adult bolognese at Wine Country (table service) at DCA a close second. Alien Pizza planet has a plant based bolognese and spaghetti and meatballs if your son can’t tell the difference (also have cheese pizza and good salads for you if you are so inclined.) I really wish mine would accept cut up meatballs as meat sauce!!!

Kids Burgers are are at many/several QS locations (Hungry Bear, Galactic Grill, Red Rose, Carnation Cafe (table service) @ DL, Flo’s, Smokejumpers, Lamplight (table service) @ DCA). Any of the kids menu burgers usually are very accommodating to be served plain. You may need to order in person vs mobile order to make this happen.

Cheese Pizza (as in mozzarella and sauce, not margherita style) at both parks - as mentioned Alien Pizza Planet at DL and Cafe Daisy has a cheese “flop over” we haven’t yet tried but plan to. Boardwalk Pizza at DCA (can also order a whole pizza for the group which is a nice option.) Hearthstone Lounge at the Grand is a great sit down restaurant that has great selection for the rest of your party as well as a plain cheese pizza.

Alas, no nuggets anywhere on property anymore - the Hungry Bear ones were gone last time. Will he accept chicken tenders cut up? They are fairly plentiful as well.

There definitely are enough options that you won’t be eating at the same 2-3 restaurants your entire stay, and if you mix up your places should be plenty of variety for the other members of your party.

EDIT: I just did a search on the Dland site for marinara (missed that in your post, mine won’t touch it,LOL) and it looks like Carthay Circle has a kids marinara with regular pasta and not whole wheat. So there are some nice sit down options for your party as well as QS.

 

[kittyklawz]

They are no longer using whole wheat pasta anywhere at Disneyland, so you should be good there. Note, they don't have the kind of chicken nuggets that are chunked and formed style. It's all chicken breast strips.

Bookmark these restaurants with those food preferences:

At DL:

Alien Pizza Planet
Red Rose Tavern
Galactic Grill
Hungry Bear
Stage Door Cafe
Golden Horseshoe

At DCA:
Smokejumpers Gril
Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta
Flos V8 Cafe
Pacific Wharf (Aunt Cass) Cafe

Thank you this is perfect. He will eat chicken strips/chicken tenders so it’s okay if they don’t have nuggets.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Thank you this is perfect. He will eat chicken strips/chicken tenders so it’s okay if they don’t have nuggets.

Chicken strips/tenders abound at Disney. But read menus carefully because some chicken strips/tenders are grilled and not fried … entirely different things!

 

[tink89]

My son who will be turning 6 is autistic and because of this he is a very picky eater. His favorite things are pasta or spaghetti with meat sauce/marinara (not whole wheat pasta, just regular) McDonalds or Wendy's chicken nuggets, plain hamburgers with just pickles and ketchup/mustard, French fries, cheese pizza lol. Where are the best places to take him to eat at each park?

these all have basic nuggets, pizza, or Cheeseburgers on their menu. My picky eater has eaten at all of them but she did not like Boardwalk pizza and pasta.

DL
Golden Horseshoe
stage door Cafe
Red rose Tavern
Galactic Grill
Alien Pizza Port

DCA
Flos V8
Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta,
Smokejumpers

 

[NorCalFanatic]

Our kids like all the tenders but vote FloV8 the best! They also love the fish at Golden Horseshoe.