Lookout Disneyland Here We Come Four

Are You Ready For Dinner?

It may sound a little glutenous with all the food we have consumed already but it's time for dinner.  Over the years we have eaten dinner almost everywhere.  We have had dinners in all areas of the Disneyland Resort.  We have eaten dinner at both Disney theme parks, Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure.  On many occasions we have had phenomenal meals in Downtown Disney restaurants.  Let's not forget the dinners at the resorts hotels.  This includes my daughter's favorite, room service.

Room service seems like a cop out but after watching the fireworks sometimes you just want to go back to your hotel room.  But I have that bottomless pit, my son, and my daughter who was trained at a young age by her Nonna to enjoy the finer things in life.  Room service being one of them.  When I was a kid, my Mom and I traveled to hotels and on trains.  The dining cars on those old trains were so elegant.  I may have been young but I always ordered the salmon.  Years later my Mother told me that she could barely afford to pay for the meal, but she wanted me to have it.  No matter what.  Well, I like to keep this tradition in tact no matter the cost.  So salmon for my son from room service, no problem.  Chicken for my daughter, a cinch.  This may have been costly, but giving them the best and lettting them know that they were part of a tradition that they have to carry it on, makes it all worth it.

All the hotels have great restaurants.  They ate at Goofy's Kitchen at 18 months for the first time.  They were so cute interacting with their first Disney Characters.

However, the best dinner I ever had was at the Granville Steakhouse in the Disneyland Hotel.  They have changed the name of this restaurant to Steakhouse 55.  The food and the service did not changed when the name did.  The name change was a loss for history.  The Granvilles were the family that first built the hotel on that property.  But times change and once it was in Disney's control they wanted it to reflect their history.  1955 was the year that Disneyland opened. We've had dinner there several times, I'm a carnivore.  So perfectly cooked steaks and prime rib with all the trimmings suits me fine.

Downtown Disney offers many scrumptious dinner choices.  The icon Rainforest Cafe offers great food with a unique jungle atmosphere.  A third restaurant often overlooked is the Naples Ristorante E Pizzaria.  When my son was 5 years old, we went to Monterey Bay Aquarium.  We went to lunch there in a nice dining room.  The waiter came over and asked my son, "What would the young man like?"
My son said, "I'll have the calamari."
The waiter questioned, "Do you know what that is?"
"Yes, it's a Cephalopod." proudly my son said.
The waiter stood there shocked and said, "I guess he can have it then."
So we had to go to Nalpes Ristorante just to try the calamari.  It was really tasty.  I guess calamari is what salmon was to me.

Finally there is the ESPN Zone. Sometimes while you are on vacation you want to catch a sporting event on television.  The ESPN Zone makes this possible.  You can sit with your family and watch one of the many games being broadcast.  Upstairs there is a paradise for people who like to play sports related video games.

This brings us to the two theme parks, Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure.  At DCA, there is one place we enjoy for dinner. It is Ariel's Grotto.  This is a character dining experience.  This was my daughters favorite spot because she loved Ariel.  She got her picture taken with Ariel and all the other characters.  When she was young she collected autographs of all the characters.

Now let's cross the Esplanade and go to Disneyland and go to the best themed restaurant in the park the Blue Bayou Restaurant.  Here in New Orleans Square tucked on a side street is the restaurant. Once you're inside you are immersed in a different world.  Day and night the restaurant has the outside setting of a Southern evening.  You sit on a veranda lit dimly by decorative lanterns.  You look out over the quiet bayou.  Fireflies dance in the cypress tree.  The Moon is rising through misty low hanging clouds. You hear the gators croaking in the distance.  As you scan the bayou and the boats and shacks that adorn the levee, you see flat bottom boats carrying people to the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.  You feel removed from your ordinary life.  You have become part of attraction not just a family having dinner.  For years, we would to go there for the clam chowder.  It was thick and rich. We also always had the prime rib.  My Mother, who we use to call the sponsor, always had her favorite the Monte Cristo Sandwich.  Sadly, over the years the menu has changed and the clam chowder and the Monte Cristo Sandwich have been moved out to other restaurants in New Orleans Square.  The menu now is a little more Cajun inspired, but you can have them cut back on the spice a little if you ask.

Well, we have eaten our way through the Disney Parks.  We have all meal possibilities covered. Looking forward to Disneyland to be open for twenty-four hours.  You all better rest up and we will see you there. Unpack those sweatshirt and dust off your Mickey Ears.  We all know the more Disney stuff you wear the more you feel like part of the Cast.  So next time, we'll tell you how single-handedly our family changed Disneyland.