If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that Toby and I are basically obsessed with Disneyland, and go there constantly. We also tend to eat quite a lot while we’re there. So today, I wanted to share some of our favorites with you, in case you’re hitting the park and didn’t bring your own snacks. (Please don’t attempt to eat these all in one day, though!)

Plaza Inn: If you’re going to the park for the first time, or for a special occasion, I would definitely recommend making a reservation at the Plaza Inn for the character breakfast buffet. They have Mickey waffles (which I am partial to), an omelet station, cold cereals and pastries, coffee and juice — nothing super fancy, but enough to get your day started off on the right foot. Plus, tons of Disney characters roam around and stop by the tables as you’re eating, so you can take tons of photos without having to wait in line.

 

If you aren’t in the mood for a big (or expensive) breakfast, there’s a Starbucks on Main Street (and another inside California Adventure Park). Both are always slammed, but they move people through pretty quickly and have Disney-themed food as well as the normal Starbucks fare. The Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe also has muffins and coffee and other breakfast-type items, if you want to grab something quickly.

For lunch or dinner, there are tons of options… but we aren’t in love with a lot of them. The Blue Bayou restaurant is supposed to be one of the best restaurants there, and it’s inside Pirates of the Caribbean, so it has a gorgeous atmosphere. But it is really expensive and we thought the food was meh (we also hated the non-alcoholic “mint julep”). The Carthay Circle restaurant (and the bar area downstairs) at California Adventure Park is very good and pretty fancy, but also very pricey. You also will probably need a reservation for the restaurant, though.

The Golden Horseshoe: If you’re looking for more casual food in Disneyland, as we normally are, I’d recommend popping over to the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland. You can go and eat while watching live entertainment, or just enjoy the cute atmosphere without the entertainment, but we like the chicken tenders, chili-cheese fries and (not-on-the-menu) mozzarella sticks.

Refreshment Corner: Tucked away between the gift shops and Jolly Holiday Cafe on Main Street is the not-very-excitingly-named Refreshment Corner. They also have live entertainment at times, but the draw for us are the hot dogs topped with chili and cheese, or with macaroni and cheese and bacon. They also have various types of pretzels and sourdough bowls of chili.

For something a tiny bit more refined, Rancho del Zocalo is not too bad for Mexican food, and Cafe Orleans is a nice place to sit and have someone wait on you, though the Monte Cristo sandwich is not for the faint-hearted. I’m not sure I was even able to finish half of it! We still haven’t tried Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, but it looks like a fun option for the carnivorously inclined.

While eating actual meals is all fine and good, our favorite things at Disneyland are really the snacks. I love the Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich, pictured above, because it has cookies and cream ice cream in the middle. Those are available at kiosks throughout the park.

The ice cream sundaes at Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street are delicious, enormous and completely over-the-top. My favorite is the mint chocolate chip ice cream.

The Tigger tails, available at the Winnie the Pooh store near the Splash Mountain exit, are gorgeous but a little too sweet for me — they’re marshmallows dipped in caramel and then white chocolate, covered in orange sprinkles and dark chocolate stripes. I think I’d prefer one of the types of marshmallows-on-a-stick that is dipped in dark or milk chocolate, sans the white chocolate.

We feel it is basically heresy to watch the fireworks without a churro. The Disney churros are always hot, freshly dipped in cinnamon sugar and the perfect combination of crispy-sweet outside and soft inside. Do it.

If you’re more of a salt fiend than a sugar addict, definitely check out the garlic-cheese bagel twists at the kiosk next to the Royal Theater. We like those much better than the Mickey Mouse pretzels, even if they’re not as cute.

But my can’t-miss, have-to-have it Disneyland treat is, what else? A Dole whip float.

Toby is not quite as obsessed with it as I am, but I can’t resist the dairy free, pineapple flavored magic of the soft-serve-style Dole whip, and added to a float with pineapple juice is even better.

One more note for those going to both parks: I think California Adventure Park generally has better food than Disneyland, and they also have several places that serve alcohol (including a surprisingly good frozen margarita!). But I think I need to sample more of their cuisine before I can tell you which are the best things to eat at that park, other than Carthay Circle.