We had a great time, but....

[Mickey13]

OK, this is my first TR ever. We went to Disneyland/CA adventure during the memorial day weekend. We are a family of 4 and we stayed at the Best Western Pavilions which had a fridge and microwave, which came in handy. Before we went to the Disneyland, we had breakfast in our room at the hotel. That saved us some money. I also bought a box of Quaker granola bars from Sam's Club which contained 48 granola bars.

We had 3 day hoppers and had lunch at the parks everyday. My complaint is that food is so expensive at Disneyland/CA Adventure. I'm sure it has been brought up before, but if I'm going to pay that much money, the food should be of a higher quality. We ordered two adult meals and two child's meals. The price was usually around $30.00 to $35.00. And we never ordered drinks, we always had water. If I could of, I would have avoided eating there, but you can't survive on granola bars all day. (By the way, at the end of the 3 days, there were only 4 granola bars left). In my opinion, the quality of food and the price of the food is Disney's biggest flaw.

Other than over priced food, we had such a great time. It wasn't our first time there, and it won't be our last. The fast passes worked great for us. That saved us a lot of time.

During one of the days we were there, we went directly to fantasy land when the park opened. We got on the Mr Toad, Pinocchio, Snow White, Dumbo, Tea Cups, and the Ferris wheel in under 40 minutes. There were very few people there that early in the morning.

Just an FYI, while we were there, Peter Pan was closed and so were the spinning rockets at Tomorrow Land.

Other than that, it was a great time. I highly recommend that you take snacks. Lunch is the only meal we ate at Disney. We ate dinner outside the park which was usually at around 12:45 a.m. Talk about a late dinner. I hope this TR helps. Have a great time!!!!!

 

[DLR29]

It's true, the food is sooper expensive, but the prices and quality are on par if not slightly better than most amusement park foods. And I always laugh at the people who get there really early only to eat breakfast as soon as they enter the park. Like you, we always eat breakfast at the hotel. It's cheaper and it allows you to be heading for the rides in the crucial early morning hours.

 

[hurleysweety]

I'm glad you had a great time!

I know, the food prices really stink. Its been talked about a lot on the boards and its always an issue when anyone goes, "How can I save money on food??" I think that is great that you managed only one meal in the park! Also, eating dinner so late, does that mean you stayed in the park ALL day? If so, way to go! DH and I can't do that and we're in our early 20s! And A+ on the granola bars. Snacks are key to keeping food on budget!

I agree that the quality isn't the best - but like DLR29 mentioned, its better than most amusement park food. Plus, you have a lot of options which aren't available at most parks.

Its funny, when you get a meal for $7.99 (like chicken strips) at DLR counter service you think its a bargain (compared to $13 for the roast beef at French Market)! But then you come back home to a sit down restaurant and get a whole meal and table service experience for the same price. Its all perception. People continue to pay it, so Disney continues to serve it.

Also, if the quality was higher, I could be wrong here, but it might take longer to make, prepare, and give to the guest. This would cause longer lines, and probably even more inflated prices. It might include some extra people involved too. Believe me, I have some special words for some of the cooks there when it comes to the menu description and what arrives on my plate.

Also, the DTD restaurants can be a nice little break from the DL and DCA food. I find the food slightly better at some of those places.

So it may not be the best quality, but at the end of the day, you're still at Disney!!

 

[Sherry E]

Mickey13, out of curiosity, which restaurants did you eat at? The food prices are lofty (especially for the character meals such as my favorite restaurant in all of DLR, which is Goofy's Kitchen), but at DLR29 pointed out, the quality (at many of the table service places and even some of the counter service places now) is pretty good, depending on where you go. I think the DLR food is SO much better than stuff you would find at Universal Studios or other amusement parks. DLR food used to be bad, pre-1992 or so, but they have vastly improved the quality over the years. Of course, it all boils down to personal taste. In fact, we have our 'regular' places we like to eat whenever we go to DLR, and we may alternate where on one trip we do Naples and the next trip we do Wine Country Trattoria. One time we do ESPN Zone and the next trip it's Rainforest Cafe. Carnation Cafe is a good restaurant. Taste Pilots Grill (counter service) is good. River Belle Terrace (especially for breakfast) is good. Storytellers Cafe is usually a good place to eat. We really never have bad meals at any of the places we like, so I just wondered where you ate.

 

[Mickey13]

Sherry

We ate at the Hungry Bear twice. The other time we ate at CA adventures. I think the name of that restaurant was Pizza Port. What I did like about the restaurant at CA adventures was that during our visit, the food and wine festival event was going on. They had a pasta item on the menu that is normally not there. It was decent. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the pasta that I had.

We did have a characters meal at the storytellers cafe. I'm not complaining about that. Character meals are always great. Our main complaint is with the regular restaurants inside the parks.

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry

We ate at the Hungry Bear twice. The other time we ate at CA adventures. I think the name of that restaurant was Pizza Port. What I did like about the restaurant at CA adventures was that during our visit, the food and wine festival event was going on. They had a pasta item on the menu that is normally not there. It was decent. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the pasta that I had.

We did have a characters meal at the storytellers cafe. I'm not complaining about that. Character meals are always great. Our main complaint is with the regular restaurants inside the parks.

Okay, that makes sense! Hungry Bear is one I have not personally tried yet, but I have heard that the food is kind of mediocre counter service food. However, others seem to really like it, but more often than not I have heard it is bland. Pizza Port is in Disneyland (and it usually gets good reviews of its salads and chicken fusilli), so I am guessing that maybe the place you ate in California Adventure was Pizza Oom Mow Mow?? Could that be it? If so, I have never heard anything good about Pizza Oom Mow Mow so that would explain it if your meal was not good.

One of the better 'counter service' places to eat is Taste Pilots Grill in California Adventure, so hopefully if you make it back any time soon you can try that. Also, as far as table service meals (the non character meal variety), Carnation Cafe in Disneyland and Wine Country Trattoria in California Adventure are good, and Storytellers during the non-character meal hours is good for lunch or dinner. ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney is good as well. Naples gets mixed reviews, as does Rainforest Cafe. I am not sure if you have tried any of these places on your previous trips? If you haven't, and IF you make it back to Disneyland/California Adventure in the near future, make sure to try those! I know there are certain places that are not worth it to me, like Blue Bayou, but everyone else likes it!