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Our family has been making yearly trips to Disneyland for over 8 years now and we have used research and trial and error to figure out the best places to eat at Disneyland (we’ve also found some places to avoid). When it comes to vacations I love to plan and I will even plan where we will eat most days. I do this for a couple of reasons, I want to make sure we are eating at a place that has good food and I want to avoid the “I don’t know where do you want to eat” that everyone seems to say when we ask. We have 7 people in our family so that is a lot of indecision.
Before our trips I read Disney message boards, check reviews and prices to find the best places to eat. I’ve compiled this list of 10 of the best places we have found to eat breakfast at Disneyland (lunch, dinner & snacks are coming too). You will find these locations in the parks, at the hotels and in Downtown Disney. Enjoy!
Goofy’s Kitchen (Disneyland hotel) – Goofy’s Kitchen is a character breakfast and is ridiculously expensive. How is that for a selling point? While the character meals are expensive I also think it’s worth every penny (at least once). There is a buffet which should please absolutely everyone in your family. The characters will come around to your table and visit with you while you eat. It’s great fun! Many of the character meals we have enjoyed have been because we booked our trip through Costco Travel and it included a character meal for each person.
Steakhouse 55 (Disneyland hotel) – Steakhouse 55 is located right next door to Goofy’s Kitchen, so while everyone is waiting in the long line to eat with characters you can enjoy a great breakfast without the crowd. This is one of our favorite places for a sit down breakfast. The service here is top notch.
Tangaroa Terrace (Disneyland hotel) – The Disneyland hotel has lots of great options when it comes to breakfast and if you are looking for something quick and delicious this is the place. The Tangaroa Terrace is the most inexpensive option at the Disneyland hotel and a most of the menu item have a twist on the classics to give them an “island flavor” to them.
Plaza Inn (Disneyland) – Plaza Inn is another character meal and while we generally like to plan our character meals for days we aren’t in the park I had to give this one a try. We loved the cast of characters and the food is great. Plus, you can’t beat the atmosphere since you are right there at the end of main street.
Carnation Cafe (Disneyland) – There is something special about eating breakfast right there on Main Street! There are some great selections here that should pleases everyone in your party like the All-American breakfast or Apple-Granola Pancakes.
River Belle Terrace (Disneyland) – Lots of places service Mickey Mouse waffles, but this is the one place you can find Mickey Mouse pancakes! We recommend trying the Cinnamon Roll French Toast or my husbands favorite Country-style Biscuits n’ Gravy.
White Water Snacks (Grand Californian hotel) – This is a great place to pick up a quick breakfast. They offer breakfast burritos, buttermilk biscuit sandwiches, Mickey waffles and more. For those that like something smaller they also offer croissants and pastries. You will find something for everyone in the family. Plus, the prices are reasonable too.
Flo’s V8 Cafe (Disney California Adventure) – I plan on making a lists of the 10 best places for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I am pretty sure Flo’s V8 Cafe will make the list for every meal . It’s one of our faves for sure! They don’t have an extensive breakfast menu, but what they do have is good. Give the Brioche French Toast with Salted Caramel Sauce and Bananas a try!
Earl of Sandwich (Downtown Disney) – I am thrilled that Earl of Sandwich is now at Disneyland (we have loved it at Disney World). Breakfast here is inexpensive, tasty and quick. You can grab something and eat it on your way to the parks (especially if you are staying at the Disneyland Hotel, you will walk right past it). Choose from hot egg sandwiches, omelets or yogurt parfaits. When we have a big lunch or dinner planned we really like to start our day here with a smaller breakfast.
Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express (Downtown Disney) – It’s totally okay to start your day with Beignets (French-style donuts dusted with powdered sugar) for breakfast and this is the place to do it! If you prefer a more traditional breakfast they have several options too. Seriously, just go for the Beignets!
If you are looking to book a vacation to Disneyland, I highly recommend using Get Away Today for hotel packages and tickets. I have used them numerous times and have always been pleased with the prices and service.
I was provided (2) one-day Park Hoppers to help facilitate my list. My opinions and love for Disney (and it’s food) are honest and true.
If you plan to visit Disney in the near future, make sure you check out all of my other Disney posts:
- Check out our Ultimate Guide to Disneyland Snacks
- Food recommendations and guide for the Get Your Ears on Celebration
- Your complete guide to Pixar Pier
- I share honest reviews of all the hotels we’ve used near Disneyland
- 10 of the BEST places to each lunch at Disneyland
- Great tips that will help you to do Disneyland (and California Adventure) in a day.
- Another great way to save on Disneyland package deals is through Costco Travel
my husband isn’t a big breakfast eater, so we usually grab something quick at the little coffee shop right next to goof’s Kitchen. I agree that Flo’s Cafe, Earl of sandwich and Goofy’s are all great places to eat any time of the day. if you book thru costco you can get goofy’s for free!!
I really need lunch and dinner options for Disneyland, we are also a BIG family so price is very important to us.. We leave for Disneyland Jan 27-Feb 2…. Any help would be great… Thanks Vicki
I took my oldest daughter and her husband, along with my 6 yr old youngest daughter & her 2 cousins to Disneyland last week. We were just there at Disneyland Jan 4-8th but it was pouring down rain so bring rain coats and cover socks in plastic before putting your shoes on to keep them dry. Wet feet was not fun so we ended up at the hotel more than at the park.
We stayed at the Best Western Inn plus mini suite with free continental breakfadt. (It is directly across the Disneyland entrance.) Next door were lots of places to eat. Ihop offers free kids meals per each paying adult. The coupons are in the “Visitors guide” in your room or at the front desk where all other brochures are. There is also a 24 hr Dennys but we were not impressed there with the high price and food quality was 4/10, 10 being the best. Coffee was warm & fries were cold.
We booked our vacation package with getawaytoday.com, they are great at booking most of your vacation park tickets & hotel deals and we booked our flights separately since it was cheaper. What we did was spend most of our money on food, Starbucks, & souvenirs at Downton Disney since we didnt really have a plan. Churo stands were everywhere and they cost $4.25 i think and sodas && bottled water were $3.25 just to give you an idea.
Our favorite place to eat was at Goofys Kitchen and met a lot of characters there so we didnt have to stand in line to meet them.
We also plan on returning during Halloween and we will try the ither places you suggested to eat. Also, since we have an idea of how things are at Disneyland.
We just booked through Costco and did Ariels Grotto. Thoughts on it?
We’ve booked through Costco before and I love that the package includes a character meal! I’ve had dinner at Ariel’s Grotto and was not all that impressed. The character meals at Ariel’s Grotto I believe are either breakfast or lunch (I think the lunch menu is the same as dinner though). The difference between this one and Goofy’s Kitchen is there are set meals where Goofy’s Kitchen is a buffet. My kids would do much better with the buffet, but then I have a couple of picky kids). If I personally had to choose between the 2 I would go for Goofy’s Kitchen. Having said that the menu for breakfast at Ariel’s Grotto looks like it should be good though.
I should also mention that when we received our vouchers they stated the following: “Voucher may be applied up to it’s retail price of $45 at any food and beverage location”, so we didn’t have to use them at the character meals. This helped us stretch the vouchers even further. You won’t get partial money back, so if you meal comes to $56, you will only want to use one voucher to cover the cost ($45 worth) and then save the other vouchers for a different meal. Just another option if they are still state that on voucher.
For character breakfasts, I like Minnie’s at Plaza Inn best overall. You can get reservations for BEFORE the park opens. There is the typical breakfast buffet fare, but the characters are your classic faves. Storytellers is best for food, but the critters aren’t always the most well-known. Goofy’s is pretty out of the way and more kid-oriented food (like pb and j pizza and hot dogs), but it’s a good option if you have little ones and you’re not going into the park.
Steakhouse 55 would be my non-character choice at the hotels. I don’t usually have trouble getting reservations and the food is great. Whitewater isn’t bad if you’re in a hurry or on a budget.
In the park, I used to favor Carnation Cafe, but after the took the eggs Benedict off the menu, I haven’t been back. Riverbelle Terrace is good if you like pancakes, but the rest of the offerings remind me of a McDonalds. I guess Flo’s would be my choice now.
I don’t often have breakfast because I’m a local, but I “vacation” there at least once a year (sometimes several times a year), and I think I’ve had breakfast everywhere at least once, lol! If it’s any indication…I had my last birthday breakfast at Steakhouse 55. ?