This Girl Travels

To Explore, Inform & Inspire!

  • Travel
    • Family Travel
    • Hotels
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Girlfriend Getaways
    • Adventure
    • Theme Parks
  • Destinations
    • USA
    • Disney
    • Caribbean
    • Canada
    • Mexico
    • Europe
    • Asia
  • Cruises
  • Weddings/Honeymoons
    • Destination Weddings
    • Honeymoons
  • Product Reviews
    • Car Reviews
    • Travel Gear
    • Travel Apparel
  • Blog
  • 100 Things to Do in the North Georgia Mountains
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • About Karon
    • Contributing Writers
  • Media Kit

Top 5 Foodie Favorites During My Magical Visit to the Disneyland Resort

By Paula Schmitt

Entrance to Disneyland Resort

I’m a Florida girl at heart. I grew up in the 70’s in south Florida where me, my brother and my parents frequented what is now one of the most visited theme park attractions in the world, Walt Disney World. There was just something about the man and the mouse that kept us intrigued and coming back for more and more and more.

I lived and breathed Disney World and fantasized as a young girl that I was Snow White with seven little followers and that some day my prince would come. I think every young girl has a favorite Disney princess that she dreams about, every young boy a Disney hero. It’s part of what makes Disney so magical, not only for little ones, but for grownups as well.

One year when I was around 9-years-old, my parents decided to take us to Disneyland in California for a week’s vacation. Wait…what? There’s another one of these fantasy lands that exists? As you might suspect, it was awesome. They had princesses, too. And Snow White hung out in California? This place was A-OK with me. I was happy to stay a while, and we did just that.

Sadly, that was our only trip to Disneyland when I was a kid, however, fast forward about 40 years and I’m at “The Happiest Place on Earth” once more.

Paula at Walt Disney statue

DSMMC badgeRecently, I was invited with my family to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration at the Disneyland Resort. I was going back to Disneyland and boy was I thrilled! As expected, Disneyland had grown over the years. There was now a park called Disney California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney. This was cool. All the more places to eat, and for those of you who know me, I’m a foodie to the extreme. I love trying new restaurants and experimenting with different foods.

 

Over the years I’ve eaten tons (OK maybe not tons) of fabulous food at the Walt Disney World Resort and have been very happy with their dining options. Now it was time to check out what Disneyland had to offer. I have to admit, I was just a little bit excited to try all the tasty looking eats throughout the parks.

So here are my top 5 foodie favorites during my stay at the Disneyland Resort. There were so many restaurants that I would have loved to try, but they’ll have to wait for my next visit.

1.  Goofy’s Kitchen – Located at the Disneyland Hotel, we totally enjoyed this character dining, buffet/family style restaurant. Breakfast and dinner is served daily and advance reservations are highly recommended. The food was outstanding and I guess this must be one of Snow White’s hang outs as well. She was happy to see me again…

Goofy’s Kitchen sign

Paula, Snow White and Anna

2. Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue – Located in the Disneyland Park in Frontierland, we had such a good time this evening at this family fun outdoors restaurant, and the chow was finger-lickin’ good. Again advance reservations are highly recommended and I understand why.

Big Thunder Ranch

3. Blue Bayou Restaurant – Located in the Disneyland Park in New Orleans Square, this restaurant was really nice. A little dark for those who don’t care for dim lighting, but I enjoyed the atmosphere, very romantic. And what’s really cool about this venue is while you are dining, boats with passengers go floating by on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Advance reservations highly recommended.

Blue Bayou Restaurant - Photo Credit Disney

Photo Credit: Disney.com

4. Hungry Bear Restaurant – Located in the Disneyland Park in Critter Country, this quick serve, casual dining was perfect for lunch. A rustic retreat, nestled in the shadows of Splash Mountain, we sat out by the banks of the Rivers of America with alovely waterfront view. Very relaxing.

Mark Twain Riverboat

5. Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria – Located in the Downtown Disney District, this casual dining restaurant offers magnifico Italian Cuisine, and I am a sucker for la buona cucina (good cuisine). I would highly recommend this spot for dining and reservations are taken for lunch and dinner.

Naples Restaurant - Photo Credit Disney

Photo Credit: Disney.com

Overall, I didn’t want my visit to end. I enjoyed my time immensely at the Disneyland Resort and will always have wonderful, magical memories of this time. Oh, and I also had my first Dole Whip! Well, I had one every day actually, but who’s counting?

Paula with Dole Whip
Next visit to the Disneyland Resort: The CHURRO!

 

Share this Post!

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share on Pinterest Feed

Filed Under: Disney Tagged With: Big Thunder Park Barbecue, Blue Bayou Restaurant, California, Churro, Critter Country, Disney, Disney California Adventure Park, Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, Disneyland Resort, Dole Whip, Downtown Disney, Florida, Frontierland, Goofy's Kitchen, Happiest Place on Earth, Hungry Bear Restaurant, Mark Twain Riverboat, Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria, Paula Schmitt, Pirates of the Caribbean, Snow White, Splash Mountain, Top 5 Foodie Favorites During My Visit to the Magical Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World

About Paula Schmitt

The founder of This Girl Travels, Paula is a devoted mother of five, wife, and award-winning author and writer. Paula says she feels like she’s been writing all her life… and it shows! She is the author of the award-winning book Living in a Locker Room: A Mom’s Tale of Survival in a Houseful of Boys (2005, Wyatt-MacKenzie), available on Amazon. Paula and her family recently moved to Vermont, where they are embarking on yet another new adventure. Stay tuned for more news as that journey unfolds!

Comments

  1. Nanette ~ A Mom Blog says

    June 9, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    🙂 You can’t have just one Dole Whip can you? Makes me want to go back and have another one.

    • Paula Schmitt says

      June 30, 2014 at 12:04 pm

      Absolutely! Sounds like a perfect excuse to go back 😉

    • Paula says

      June 30, 2014 at 12:10 pm

      Absolutely! Perfect excuse to go back 🙂

    • Paula says

      July 30, 2014 at 10:03 am

      The perfect excuse to return!

Follow This Girl!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Post Archives

Join TGT & Don’t Miss a Thing!

Enter your email address to receive weekly updates from our blog.

We will never spam you or share your email address.

Twitter: thisgrltravels

  • Thankful to @ChereCoen for this fantastic profile of me & “100 Things to Do in the North Georgia Mountains Before Y… https://t.co/FB53W0lsxY 09:30:10 AM March 22, 2023 from Twitter for iPhone ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • TODAY! Get 30% off “100 Things to Do in the North Georgia Mountains Before You Die” by ordering direct from… https://t.co/Wsl3QbJSM0 01:48:45 PM March 14, 2023 from Twitter for iPhone ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • RT @karonwarren: Today is #ReadAcrossAmerica Day, making it a great time to order & read “100 Things to Do in the North Georgia Mountains B… 05:08:04 PM March 02, 2023 from Twitter for iPhone ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • RT @CarnivalPR: Carnival Cruise Line Expands Popular Europe Offerings in 2024: https://t.co/ikvfO0QUOp https://t.co/cWRrSJ4UTF 03:16:20 PM March 02, 2023 from TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • RT @CarnivalPR: Carnival Cruise Line Adding Fourth Ship to Galveston, Offering Longer Cruises With Carnival Miracle: https://t.co/ngVIml5ki… 03:15:20 PM March 02, 2023 from TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite
@thisgrltravels

This Girl Travels Copyright © 2023