How To Eat Your Way Through Disneyland! #travel

With so many options for snacks, meals, treats, drinks and more, how can you try them all at Disneyland? Join us as we snack our way through Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure Park, trying as much as we can and eating more then we should!

Join guest writer Madison Etmanski as she and her mom walked and ate their way through The Happiest Place on Earth last past summer and then shared it with us!

First, breakfast. Our trip included three mornings, but we wanted to just get going on the day, in the parks. So, we spent two of those mornings grabbing coffee and a loaf of some sort from one of the Starbucks located inside Downtown Disney on the way into the park. We wanted to save room for all the delicious snacks we would enjoy throughout the day! One of the mornings, we decided to try a quick breakfast inside Disneyland at Galactic Grill, located in Tomorrowland. There, we enjoyed hot coffee and a large fresh fruit cup.  I got French toast sticks with powdered sugar and syrup and my mom tried their loaded breakfast sandwich which had sausage, egg, cheese, bacon and a hash brown on a burger bun. Both were hot, delicious and very generous in size. We were served quickly and enjoyed our breakfast in the shade before we got a start on our day!

We spent two full days there – and two mostly full days when we were travelling. While we were there it was Pixar Fest, so we got to try some special treats and snacks that were Pixar themed as well as the usual, classic Disney snacks and treats that you can’t pass up while enjoying the parks. We spent most of our meals snacking and sharing food throughout the day and spent a few meals at sit down restaurants to enjoy some other iconic meals and experiences. Our first of those meals was the day we arrived – Mother’s Day! My mom and I enjoyed Classic Afternoon Tea at the Disneyland Hotel. We had our own choice of tea with champagne, a light salad, raspberry jam, lemon curd and devon cream to enjoy with the current scones and scones with strawberries and almonds, tea sandwiches with chicken salad, salmon mousse, pimento cheese and cucumber and pea with mint. All were absolutely amazing and had very distinct flavors, on delicious fresh bread. We finished with chocolate covered strawberries and mini lemon and raspberry tarts.

Our next meal was that night, at Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria in Downtown Disney. If you have been to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, particularly EPCOT, this pizza restaurant is practically equal to Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria in the Italy Pavilion. We were seated right away, ordered quickly and were served drinks, appetizers and our meals within 10 minutes. It was crazy! To drink, we both had the Naples Blush, which was pomegranate, blood orange and lemon  juice with sparkling soda. It was served with a sprig of fresh rosemary and was very refreshing and not too sweet; a perfect drink to end the day! We each got a salad of our choice; I got a Caesar and my mom got a Caprese salad. We shared an individual sized pizza, with our own toppings on each half. I had fresh mozzarella with pepperoni and my mom had the same mozzarella with fresh basil. The pizza was huge for an “individual size” so it was just the right size to share after having a salad each. They also offer 20″ and half a meter long pizza for families and large parties. We saw a few around us – they were GIANT. It was delicious and very authentic, tasted just like the pizza we had had at Via Napoli at WDW before.

Another delicious dinner we had was at Wine Country Trattoria in Disney’s California Adventure Park for the Paint the Night Parade Dining Package. We had a three course pre-set menu, with soup or salad to start, nine options for the entrée and a choice of Tiramisu or Panna Cotta for dessert. It also included reserved seating for the Paint the Night Electrical Parade. I had the Italian Insalata salad, which was iceberg with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, shaved parmesan and red wine vinaigrette. My mom opted to upgrade to a Caprese salad.

For the entrée, I had the Fettuccine Shrimp Alfredo, which was absolutely amazing. I don’t normally go for sea food, but this was so creamy and light with a generous amount of shrimp! My mom had the salmon, which came with roasted potatoes, an arugula salad and a creamy dill butter sauce. She said the sauce was to die for and almost asked for more!

We finished off the meal by getting one of each of the two desserts to share ( Tiramisu & Panna Cotta) and they were perfection, period. 🙂 

Last but not least of the meal packages we tried was the Pixar Play Parade Preferred Viewing at the Plaza Inn for lunch. We were given a few choices for the main dish, but the dessert and sides were set. We completely forget what the other options were because it was suggested to us by many friends that we try the fried chicken and nothing else. So, we both got the fried chicken and the hype was right! The chicken was moist and crunchy, not greasy at all and seasoned to perfection! The sides were watermelon salad with feta, broccoli salad with bacon, cheddar, cranberries and a light vinigarette, a gooey, cheesey mac and cheese, a chocolate cake with caramel and choice of fountain drink. Everything was fresh, perfect temperature and very generous in size for a lunch meal and it was a nice combination of interesting flavors and dishes. We later had preferred viewing for the Pixar Play Parade. This meant we had the perfect spot to see all of the parade without being stuck in a crowd. The package was definitely worth it!

Now onto the best part of any food you can have at any Disney park, the snacks!

I will separate them into savoury and sweet snacks, starting with the savoury. We only had three savoury snacks on this trip and the first one we got was a Cheddar Garlic Bagel Twist from Maurice’s Treats located inside Fantasyland. It was served warm, the inside was cheesy and the dough was nice and soft. It was the perfect snack for in-between our early lunch and late dinner.

We also tried a few Pixar Fest snacks, one of which was at the Cozy Cone Motel. Called the Champion Corn Cup, it was a cup of fresh hot corn, a lightly spiced mayonnaise, cotija cheese, chile-lime spice and a fresh wedge of lime. This was probably the best snack of the whole trip, it was so fresh and delicious but definitely spicy enough that a drink on the side is needed. The last savoury snack we had during the trip was a Mickey Pretzel with cheese dip which can be found all throughout both parks and at other Disney parks. It is such a classic snack to get, is warm, chewy and is even better dipped in some cheese sauce!

Finally, the sweet stuff! There are many of these in this post because we both love sweets and with so many to choose from at Disney along with the fun Pixar treats for Pixar Fest, we had to try as many as we could! We had several beverages and the first one was the Frozen Grape Soda Slush from the Main Street Coffee Cart near Central Plaza by Sleeping Beauty Castle. The grape flavor was very much like grape medicine flavour, so it was still delicious and refreshing. Another drink we tried was the Golden Horseshoe Ice Cream Float from The Golden Horseshoe located inside Frontierland. This was a classic ice-cream float with root beer and scooped vanilla ice-cream, deliciously refreshing on a hot day in the park.

Of course we had to have the DOLE WHIP Float from the Tiki Juice Bar inside Adventureland. A trip to Disneyland is not complete without one of these! At the Cozy Cone Motel, we also tried the Red’s Apple Freeze which was an apple slushie with a fruity foam topping. If you have ever had LeFou’s Brew at Gaston’s Tavern, in Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, it is essentially the same, which means it is absolutely delicious!

Another fun Pixar Fest themed drink was at Schmoozies in Disney’s California Adventure Park. We had the Monster Mint Shake, a minty thick milkshake that was coloured to look like Sulley! It was delicious and cute. 🙂 The  last of the drinks was the best one ever. We waited in such a long line for it but it was absolutely worth it. It was found at the Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats on Pixar Pier and was another Pixar Fest specialty treat. Called the Pixar Pier Frosty Parfait, it is a non-dairy lemon soft-serve with blue raspberry slush swirled inside. It was so refreshing and delicious, a perfect sweet treat on a hot afternoon!

Now, for the sweet treats we had more Disney classics, like the Mickey Cookie Sandwich and a Mickey Rice Krispie Treat on a stick with M&M’s. Both are such fun snacks and can be found just about everywhere.

Another classic treat that can be found at Walt Disney World Resort and inside Disneyland Park, are the Mickey Beignets. These are doughy mickey shaped beignets served warm and absolutely covered in powdered sugar. When you eat these, you must lean forward and you can’t breathe out when taking a bite or else the large amounts of powdered sugar clouds get on you or the people around you! Cake pops are something that can be found all throughout any of the Disney Resorts and their decorations change constantly depending on the time of year for holidays, special events, specific areas of the park where they are located or recent movies. When we were there, it was Pixar Fest so there were many cake pops that were all Pixar themed throughout both parks and Downtown Disney. We only tried one of them and it was a vanilla cake pop that looked like the red, blue and yellow Pixar ball. It was delicious and perfect for a Pixar Fest photo op!

Another Pixar Fest treat we tried was found at Award Wieners and it was called the Pipers Nest Funnel Cake Fries. It was warmed funnel cake fries piled into a nest, with whipped cream, icing sugar sauce and fruity cereal. It was a small serving but a nice snack after lunch! Last but not least is a little bit of a secret snack you can get in Downtown Disney at Sprinkles and while it is not on their menu, it can be ordered. All you have to ask for is a “frosting shot” and what you will get is any of their available frostings with any of their toppings in a small paper cup for only a dollar. This is a perfect late night treat if you are craving something sweet but don’t want an entire cupcake or a large treat, a little shot of sugary frosting will do just the trick.

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If this post doesn’t have you drooling for a Disney themed snack or two, than I don’t know what will. 😉 Thank you to Madison for sharing with us what must have been one deliciously decadent vacation.  And if you are thinking about planning a trip to The Happiest Place on Earth anytime soon (or any of the other amazing Disney Resorts and yes, even Disney Cruise Line) make sure you pay her mom Kirsten, at Pure Magic Vacations, a visit. Kirsten can help you plan just as amazing a trip as this one! 

Now, tell me which of all these amazing items (there are more than 25 photos to choose from) you would want to try first? I am so torn, but the Frozen Grape Soda Slush looks wondEARful!

FT&PD

Suz

**If you would like me to review your product, service, restaurant or travel destination, please send me an email at rudges2@gmail.com or tweet me at @MapleMouseMama.