Everything You Need to Know About Dining at the Disneyland Resort (Including How to get Tricky Reservations)

Updated March 1, 2024

I’ve written many posts on food at Disneyland, ranging from my favorite snacks in the park to fine dining. Today, I’m putting all of those posts in the same place for an easy reference.

I’m also going to share with you my estimated average budget for three levels of park guests:

  • Budget Friendly
  • Mid-Range Diners
  • Foodies

Finally, I’ll share with you some Off the Menu items that are fun to order, additional dining tips, and recipes.

Here we go!

Who to Book Your Trip With

Park reservations, dining reservations, MagicBand+, changes since Covid, Disney Genie, etc etc all require a decent amount of familiarity to get it right.

I can help you with many parts of planning, but I recommend booking your trip with an experienced agent who can handle some of these things for you and advise on all of them. Commission is built into every Disney package purchased, regardless of who you book with. So, you do not pay a penny more than if you book with Disney directly.

I recommend booking with Love of the Magic Vacations for many, many reasons. I share all about this agency in this post. And, you can get a free quote from them at this link.

Basic Scoop

  • Reservations are highly recommended and can be made up to 60 days in advance for most dining experiences. All reservations can be made online.
  • Disneyland does not use a Dining Plan like Walt Disney World.
  • When making reservations or ordering food, keep in mind that Disney considers children age 3-9 and adults are any age above that. Children age 2 and younger will not be included in your bill. However, do account for them when making your reservation so that the restaurant can prepare seating according to your party count.
  • Strollers cannot be taken in table service and many counter service restaurants in and outside of the Disneyland Resort. Stroller parking is available nearby.
  • There are two basic dining options: Quick Service – No waiter or waitress; Walk to the counter to order and retrieve food. Table Service – Waiter or waitress service; Some reservations needed or recommended.
  • Reservations must be cancelled within 24 hours of your dining time or the credit card placed on file when your reservation was made will be charged $10 per person on the reservation.
  • A reservation does not guarantee you entry into the park on capacity days – when the park closes due to it being at capacity. However, you will not be charged the $10 per person penalty on capacity days if your dining reservation falls within the time the park was temporarily closed.
  • Review Disneyland’s Dining FAQ for lots of info.
  • Passports are the only acceptable form of ID now for out-of-country visitors wanting to purchase an alcoholic beverage. Know those details before visiting if this is of interest to you.
  • Disney makes every effort to accommodate special diets and allergy sensitivities. Review the Disney website for more information on this and be sure to leave details of your needs when making reservations. In every counter service and table service restaurant I have visited, a chef has been available to speak to regarding special requests. Don’t hesitate to ask for allergy-related menus and/or to the chef to ensure your needs are met.
  • Official Disney policy states that outside food and beverage is not allowed into the park unless it’s designated for guests with specific dietary restrictions. Because this is such a gray area, security guards will allow most food and drinks into the park. Please be respectful if you choose to bring in outside food or beverage and only dine in locations not specifically serving guests who paid for meals in that area. Meaning, find a bench or table area that is not connected to a counter service or table service restaurant. Glass containers and alcohol are not permitted.
  • If you plan to pack a picnic to enjoy during your visit, please use the picnic area designed for such in the esplanade between the two parks. You can find a map with this location and other information in my Logistics of Disneyland post.

Reservations – My Advice 

As mentioned above, reservations are absolutely needed for several dining options. Disneyland aims to have all reservations available 60 days out. This doesn’t always happen, however, for a variety of reasons. Entertainment options (including Fantasmic! dining packages, WOC dining packages, etc) are often late.

Here’s my advice: Try at midnight PST the day you’re eligible. Then, try at 6:00am PST and 7:00am PST.

I’ve had the most success with this approach, but reservations at Disneyland are a mystery right now. And, the dining line we used to rely on (714.781.DINE) hasn’t reopened since Covid.

If you are past the 60 mark and don’t see what you want available, don’t assume that everyone else trying for your reservation got it and you didn’t. It’s very likely they just haven’t opened up.

Mobile Ordering

Understanding how Mobile Ordering works will change so much about your visit.

This post explains everything.

Character Dining

Everything you need to know about the options for dining with characters in the parks and at the three DLR Hotels can be found in my character dining post. I’ve shared pricing and details on each, which characters you’re most likely to see when you dine, how a character meal can save you time in the park, how to make reservations and more.

My personal favorite is Minnie’s in the Park at The Plaza Inn at Disneyland. The character interaction is best here and you will likely see the most characters out of all of your options. I recommend a 10:30am reservation so that you can enjoy the less crowded hours in the morning and then break when everyone else finally rolls into the park.

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Dining Packages

There are a lot of options at the Disneyland Resort.

Consider these:

Downtown Disney

As listed in my Downtown Disney post, there is a huge variety of what you can find to eat. A few examples include ice cream, pretzels, pizza-by-the-slice, table service restaurants, themed restaurants, snack kiosks and more.

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Cocktails

Cocktails can be found in all parts of the Disneyland Resort now.

There are plenty more opportunities within California Adventure, the Disneyland Resort Hotels, and Downtown Disney.

Find 7 of the best places to get drinks in my post on Cocktails at the Disneyland Resort.

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Snacks

Snacks at the parks are relatively easy to find, as most are sold from carts and kiosks throughout the park. In my post on Disneyland snacks, I share my top 5 favorites with some honorable mentions.

I could expand on that over and over again, but I have to stop somewhere, or all I would write about is food. All the time.

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Your Dining Budget

Because everyone enters Disneyland with a different budget in mind, it’s often hard for me to answer this question that I receive quite often: “How much should I budget per day for food?”

This all depends on what you want to spend, what your preference of dining style is and if you’re interested in attending any of the special dining events.

To simplify my budget estimates, I created 3 categories:

Budget Friendly: Really wants to watch expenses; elaborate dining isn’t a priority.

Mid-Range: Interested in some table service, maybe a character meal; nothing totally extravagant.

Foodies: Definitely wants the best dining options; expense isn’t an issue.

With those categories in mind, I’ve estimated the following for what each category could expect to spend on food. Note: None of these include alcohol or sodas, however most kids’ meals include a drink.

Budget Friendly:

Adults $12-$15 a meal

Kids $8-$10 a meal

Adults and Kids $5 for a snack x 2 per person = $10 a person

***If you eat breakfast at the hotel, (whether it’s provided by the hotel for free or if you bring muffins or oatmeal from home), you can expect a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) to spend $130 a day on lunch, dinner and 2 snacks per person. Add in money for alcohol/soda if desired. 

Formula used: I came to $130 by including the lowest range for lunch and the highest for dinner for both adults and kids. For example: Adult $12 lunch + $15 dinner + $10 snacks = $37 for an adult for the day.

Mid-Range:

Adults $20-$35 a meal

Kids $10-$15 a meal

Adults and Kids $5 for a snack x 2 snacks per person = $10 a person

***If you eat breakfast at the hotel (whether it’s provided by the hotel for free or if you bring muffins or oatmeal from home), you can expect a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) to spend $200 a day on lunch, dinner and 2 snacks per person. Add in money for alcohol/soda if desired.

Formula used: I came to the $200 by including the lowest range for lunch and the highest for dinner for both adults and kids. For example: Adult $20 lunch + $35 dinner + $10 snacks = $65 for an adult for the day. *You can estimate about $35 for a character meal, so substitute that for the dinner I included and have a $20 lunch to stay within this budget.

Foodies:

Adults $40-$60

Kids $16-$22

Adults and Kids $5 for a snack x 2 snacks per person = $10 a person

***If you eat three meals on site, you can expect a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) to spend $428 on breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks per person. Add in money for alcohol if desired.

Formula used: I came to the $428 by including the lowest range for breakfast and lunch and the highest for dinner for both adults and kids. For example: Adult $40 breakfast + $40 lunch + $60 dinner + $ 10 snacks = $150 for an adult for the day.

Club 33

It was everything you’re thinking of and more.

So much more on my experiences there and at 1901 in this post. 

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Other Dining Tips

*There are three restaurants in Disneyland and one in California adventure that most guests believe allow free refills, simply because you fill your cup yourself. Technically, Disneyland Resort Restaurants do not allow refills due to county-controlled restrictions. Guests refilling their own cups brings in germs and can cause illness. Cast members may stop you from refilling. Those restaurants include (at DLR): Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port, The Plaza Inn, and Rancho del Zocalo; (at DCA): Boardwalk Pizza.

*My favorite family snack to feed many people all at once can be found at the Pacific Wharf Cafe in California Adventure. For around $14, you can purchase a Mickey shaped sourdough bread bigger than a Frisbee. The restaurant will give you all the butter you want. We often sit down on the patio near the cafe to enjoy some of the bread and then pack it up to share later. It’s easy to break off pieces for little ones in strollers, too. It’s sold to you already wrapped in a bag for easy storage. Here is what it looks like:

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*I consider a few meals in the parks to be easily shared between two people. They include:

  • French Market in New Orleans Square, Disneyland: French Market Chicken – Oven roasted half chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies and bread.
  • Cafe Orleans in New Orleans Square, Disneyland: Monte Cristo Sandwich – Turkey, Ham and Swiss (or the cheese only variation) Sandwich fried in a light batter and dusted with powdered sugar. Served with a berry puree for dipping. Order this sandwich with the Pommes Frites.

Recipes

From Big Thunder Mountain BBQ (RIP):

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Goofy’s Kitchen favorites:

From Annual Passholder hand outs:


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Take a look at how Get Away Today can help with your vacation

19 thoughts on “Everything You Need to Know About Dining at the Disneyland Resort (Including How to get Tricky Reservations)

  1. I’m taking my 2 year old in May she’ll be 2 the end of Feb do I need to bring in a copy of her birth certificate cause she’s taller then most 3 year olds? And can we bring in lunches like sandwiches and chips and our own soda? Probably not soda! And can I bring in juices for my daughter? I really love all the info you provided you already answered more then 1/2 my questions!? thanks

    1. Aladdin’s Oasis is not currently hosting any dining events. They come and go at that location.

      The recipes at the bottom of this post have been collected from around the parks over the years. You can go to City Hall and ask the cast members to look up recipes from the restaurants on site, too. It’s fun. Enjoy!

  2. Thanks for the great info! I’m planning a trip for a large, multi-generation group next February and wanted to schedule a character breakfast at the Plaza Inn. At Disney World we did a character breakfast before the park opened, and we were able to get pictures in front of the castle and get in line for rides before everyone else got in. Is that something you can do at the Plaza Inn at Disneyland?

  3. Hey,
    just FYI your first link under the one time you went to club 33 is currently just leading to a dead end. Can’t wait to see the pics when it’s fixed! 🙂

  4. Thanks for the recipes from Big Thunder Ranch! That was my favorite spot. I’ll definitely be trying out this recipe.

  5. This will be our first time to Dl and we are bringing my daughter who will be 2 1/2 at the time and I am a bit confused how it will worknat restaurants for her. I understand she can eat off my plate at buffet and family style restaurants, but howndoes it work at character dinjng such as Ariel’s grotto? Do I make the reservation for 3 and not order her a meal? Does the same apply for World of Color and Paint the Night dining packages? Thank you so much for your amazing posts and info

    1. Yes. Make the reservation to include your child so that the restaurant can account for seating. But you won’t have to pay for a child under 3. She can attend all the dining events and eat off your plate. She will not get a plate at any meal you don’t pay for her at, but she can attend the meal and then join you in the reserved seating sections.

      1. I realize these are old comments and things may have changed, but when we dined at Ariel’s Grotto (Jan ’16) our two year old was served a full kids meal, including a huge dessert plate. There was no charge for her, we only paid for our two adult meals.

        1. Thank you, Ashley. I have heard Ariel’s Grotto is one of the few exceptions where little ones – below age 3 – are served a plate without payment. I don’t share it in case it’s not a constant. But, I appreciate your input very much!

  6. Great post! Has Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta replaced their open-area soda fountains (free refills)? We have always filled our water bottles with ice and water there from the drink machines. I think that’s the only place in DCA with free-access soda machines, etc. Thanks! 🙂

    1. I’m going to confirm this week. I had a cast member call and check on my visit Friday and she said they didn’t allow refills. I’ll up day with what I find. Thank you!

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