As a kid, I only went to Disneyland a few times and then had a long gap before I went again as an adult. And I spent many years going to Disneyland without kids, so I never really had to think about where to eat that a kid would enjoy. But since I’ve had kids, I’ve had to be more aware of what options there are for kids at various restaurants we want to eat at to make sure there’s something that my kiddos will enjoy.
Going to Disneyland with kids does definitely take a little more planning than if you were to just go by yourself, so hopefully knowing which restaurants are more kid friendly will be helpful for you as you are planning your trip to the happiest place on Earth.
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Quick service restaurants are going to be your best bet with kids at Disneyland, but depending on how picky (or not picky) your kids are and how long they can sit for a meal without getting stir crazy, you may be able to do a nice table service meal. Character meals are also a great option, and I will go over all these options with you. My recommendations are based on what I feel like a typical kid would like, so if you have a child who is more picky or one who is more open minded to what they will eat, definitely check the menus of all of these spots before your trip to see if it is a good fit for your family. Now let’s get into it.
Quick Service Restaurants
Something important to know about quick service restaurants is that some will offer mobile order and some will not. When I say mobile order, that means that you can use the Disneyland app to place an order for the restaurant from your phone, select your pickup time frame which is about 30 minutes total, and then pick up your food at a later time. You will get into the app when you are in your return window and click the “I’m here prepare my order” button and when it’s ready, you go to the mobile order pickup window to get your meal. This is a great way to save time by skipping the long lines for food at many restaurants, and it secures the items you want so if they sell out, you will still get it because you previously ordered. If you don’t mobile order that’s okay, you can still go to the standby window and wait in line to order your food like you normally would, the line will just be longer.
Now, let me tell you my favorite quick service spots for kids and what you should get them. Keep in mind I am not covering all quick service spots because I don’t feel like all of them appeal to kids, so check out the Disneyland website for all of the offerings in the parks. Also check the menus for any places your planning to eat before you go to see if the menu has changed or if there are other options your kids may enjoy.
Alien Pizza Planet and Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta
Disneyland and California Adventure both has quick service spots that serve pizza. They have pepperoni and cheese, and sometimes other seasonal flavors as well, and each location also serves spaghetti and meatballs. All of these are pretty safe options for kids and if you want a more complete meal than just a slice of pizza, each location offers a cheese pizza kids meal that comes with a yogurt smoothie or carrots (depending on which location you’re at), a cutie, and milk or water. Plus each location has yummy options for adults as well like salads and pastas.
Alien Pizza Planet in Disneyland offers mobile order but Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta in California Adventure does not.
Aunt Cass Cafe
While most of the options here are aimed more toward adults, they do have a turkey sandwich kids meal that some kids may like, but my go to for kids here is their mac and cheese. You can get it in a kids meal that also comes with a cutie, applesauce, and a drink or you can get a sourdough bread bowl with mac and cheese. Depending on how hungry your kids are, this could feed one or two kids, if they will eat the bread then it definitely would feed 2.
You can find Aunt Cass Cafe in SanFransokyo Square in California Adventure and it does offer mobile order.
Cafe Daisy
This relatively new restaurant can be found in the newly reimagined Toontown in Disneyland. This spot has a few basic offerings like mac and cheese or pizza, but they also have pizza flop overs as well as mini corn dogs which would be a big hit for many kids.
This location also offers mobile order.
Corn Dog Castle & Little Red Wagon
If your kids like corn dogs, you can find them in both parks. Corn Dog Castle in California Adventure and the Little Red Wagon in Disneyland. The Corn Dog Castle offers normal or hot link corn dogs as well as cheese on a stick, all of which come with a cutie or bag of chips. The Little Red Wagon only offers a traditional corn dog but it also comes with a cutie or bag of chips. It may not sound like much, but the corn dogs are very large and will easily fill up most kids.
Corn dogs are a pretty safe bet for most kids so if you want to go with either of these options, you can mobile order at both locations.
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe
If you’re looking for breakfast for your kids, this is a great spot to stop while you’re in California Adventure. In the mornings they have several types of breakfast sandwiches but they also have various pastries to choose from like croissants, muffins, scones, etc. Their cinnamon rolls are really good too which I think is something a lot of kids would enjoy. If you’re heading here during lunch or dinner, they have an uncrustable sandwich meal with a cutie and grapes with a drink as well as a fruit and yogurt parfait.
These are options my kids would like for sure, so if that’s something your kids would enjoy too, check out Fiddler Fifer, but be prepared there is no mobile order at this location so you will have to wait in the standby line here.
Flo’s V8 Cafe
This is a great spot to stop and eat if your kids love Cars. Just like out of the movies, you can eat inside this ionic location in the middle of Radiator Springs. For kids they offer chicken tenders, a burger, or mac and cheese, all of which come with cuties, carrots, and a drink. You can also get a side of fries if you’d like. And if your kids like ice cream, this spot has yummy shakes as well. In my opinion, this would be one of your best bets of places to take your kids to eat in California Adventure.
This location offers mobile order.
Galactic Grill & Red Rose Tavern
While I wouldn’t say either of these locations will blow you out of the water, they’re kind of basic theme park food in my opinion, but if you’re kids aren’t picky they have some options that most kids would enjoy. Galactic Grill has hamburgers and mac & cheese while Red Rose has hamburgers and chicken tenders. Both locations also offer a power pack which is a yogurt smoothie, a cutie, carrots, and whole grain fish crackers with a drink, which I have found this option to be good for younger kids who maybe aren’t super hungry.
Both of these spots also serve breakfast, Red Rose is the only spot in the parks where you can get Mickey pancakes and Galactic Grill has a kids breakfast slider or they could choose something off the normal menu like the funnel cake fries with maple sauce.
If you choose to eat at either of these spots, they both offer mobile order.
Golden Horseshoe & Stage Door Cafe
If you find yourself in Frontierland, these locations are right next door to each other and have something for pretty much every kid. Golden Horseshoe is an indoor dining area which makes it a great spot to take a break on the hot days or escape the rain if needed, but it also has a live piano player that is fun to listen to. Golden Horseshoe has chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, fish and chips, and a power pack. They also have seasonal offerings to choose from as well like different flavored chicken tenders. And don’t miss their seasonal float offerings as well as their ice cream sundaes, this would be a huge hit with kids.
Stage Door Cafe is right past the Golden Horseshoe and has a lot of outdoor tables to sit at and look out over the Rivers of America. This spot also has chicken tenders, fish and chips, and power packs, but it also offers corn dogs. The chicken strips come with fries and could easily feed 2 kids and the corn dogs are also large and come with chips or a cutie, but you can order a side of fries. In terms of sweets, this restaurant offers funnel cake.
You can use mobile order at both of these spots.
Hungry Bear & Smokejumpers Grill
If your kids like hamburgers, Hungry Bear is the spot I would recommend you go. This is where we go on every trip and my kids always really enjoy it. Along with hamburgers, you can also get them chicken strips or mac and cheese that come with sides. This is also a good spot for adults as you can get burgers as well as a chicken sandwich or salad. They also have delicious seasonal funnel cake options to choose from. You can find Hungry Bear next to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
**NOTE: Hungry Bear has been rethemed to Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree and will offer various barbecue type dishes. I will update when I try it out later this year.
Now if you’re in California Adventure and can’t get over to Disneyland, check out Smokejumpers Grill next to Soarin’ for a similar experience. I don’t like this spot quite as much as I like Hungry Bear, but it’s still a decent option. There are similar options here except they don’t offer mac and cheese for kids.
Both spots offer mobile order.
Jolly Holiday
This is my favorite quick service spot in the parks and they also have some decent options for kids as well. This location is famous for their grilled cheese and tomato soup, which you can get that for your kids or just get a grilled cheese kids meal. They also have a turkey sandwich, you can order a side of fruit which is usually grapes, pineapple, and honeydew and is a huge hit with my kids, and they have cinnamon rolls all day long. Plus they have all sorts of yummy desserts you can choose from, so I definitely recommend this spot. This spot also serves breakfast so that may be worth looking into as well.
Mobile order is available here and it’s a very popular spot so you’ll want to place your order early in the day for pickup at whatever time you choose.
Plaza Inn
The thing I like about the Plaza Inn for kids is that even though they serve chicken tenders like a lot of places, these come with mashed potatoes instead of fries. Or you can get penne pasta with marinara sauce. But aside from the kids meal options, Plaza Inn has several adult entrees that kids would like and could be shared between 2 kids which would save your family money. Their fried chicken is my personal favorite and comes with mashed potatoes and gravy, beans, and a biscuit. They also offer pasta dishes with three different sauces to choose from and they are very large portions so easy to share. I also love their seasonal cake options which are also big enough for 2 kids to share.
Plaza Inn does not offer mobile order, it is set up cafeteria style where you get a tray and pick out what you want then pay at a register, so there usually isn’t a huge line to eat here because it moves quickly.
Pym Test Kitchen
My absolute favorite kids meal in the park can be found at Pym Test Kitchen. This is the PB&J Flavor Lab which has a make it yourself pb&j sandwich which is such a fun option for kids to make it on their own. It also comes with yogurt, a cutie, and a drink. Pym’s has other kids meal options like pasta and meatballs, a panini sandwich, and a chicken sandwich, but I highly recommend the PB&J option. You can find this restaurant in Avenger’s Campus.
Pym’s does offer mobile order.
Tropical Imports and Ship to Shore Marketplace
While these technically aren’t restaurants, one of my go to options for feeding kids in the parks is to stop by Tropical Imports across from the Jungle Cruise to get fresh fruit and veggies. This spot offers pineapple skewers, bananas, apples, grapes, strawberries and chocolate, veggie cups with ranch, hummus and pretzels, pickles, and more. The offerings can vary by day, but I love getting fresh options for my kids. Another spot I really like is Ship to Shore Marketplace across from Thunder Mountain, where you can get corn on the cob, watermelon, and other fruit.
Neither one of these spots offers mobile order, but it’s usually quick to go in and grab something with minimal wait.
Table Service Restaurants
Table service restaurants are a little trickier with little kids. Some kids will have no issue sitting for 45 minutes to an hour for a table service meal, but other kids may not sit still that long. It totally depends on the kids and is a case by case basis, but even if your kids can sit still long enough for a table service meal, some are more kid friendly than others.
Carnation Cafe
Of all the table service restaurants, I think Carnation Cafe is the best for kids, especially young kids. The atmosphere is more laid back and most of the seating is outside so they have things to look at, and the menu is more on par with what most kids would eat. They have pancakes and waffles for breakfast and for dinner they have chicken, mac and cheese, burgers, and a pb&j sandwich with your choice of sides so you can cater the meal to your child’s preferences. My kids really like the pb&j meal because they get to make it themselves.
Notes on other table service restaurants
As far as other table service restaurants, my kids have all been fine going to places to Blue Bayou, Carthay Circle, and other spots. So if you’re wanting to eat at one of the nicer sit down restaurants, don’t let having young kids stop you. Just check out the menu’s ahead of time to make sure there is something your kids will eat so you don’t waste a meal because they don’t offer something your kids like. Blue Bayou and Carthay Circle both offer pasta options, a chicken option, as well as a few other things. For my kids, they usually gravitate toward pasta so here are both of the pasta dishes from each of the restaurants for reference.
Related post: Top 10 Treats at Disneyland
Character Meals
Another great option for your kids is to do a character meal. This is a fun way to meet lots of characters without having to wait in the long lines that you find in the parks. If your kids are a little bit nervous around characters then maybe don’t go this route, but if characters are an interest of theirs then I cannot recommend these enough. Character meals are served buffet style so you and your kids can pick and choose what items you want to eat, so it offers ultimate flexibility in that way. And during your meal, the characters will circulate through the dining room and stop at your table to interact and take photos. Each character meal has different things to offer in terms of food as well as different characters you can meet, so let me summarize them for you.
Goofy’s Kitchen
This is the only location that does character meals for every meal of the day. This is where you can see Goofy, Chip and Dale, Pluto, and maybe one or two others. I have never done this character meal, but this is home to the famous pb&j pizza and many people love this dining option. This restaurant is located in the Disneyland Hotel and you do not need theme park tickets to do this experience. You will want to make your reservations 60 days in advance.
Napa Rose Princess Breakfast
If you have kids who love princesses, this is the character meal for you. This is a three course meal where you get to meet 7 different princesses while you enjoy an amazing selection of appetizers, main courses, and desserts. You will typically also get a little keepsake to take home as well. I have personally never done this but would definitely love to someday, but keep in mind, this is the most expensive character experience at $135 per person. This experience is located at Napa Rose inside the Grand Californian Hotel and you do not need to have theme park tickets to do this character meal, but you will need to make a reservation. Try to make it 60 days in advance to get a table.
Plaza Inn Minnie and Friends Breakfast
Plaza Inn is the only restaurant that offers a character meal inside the parks. This character meal is with Minnie and friends so you will get a photopass photo with Minnie and a button to take home. You then go in and help yourselves to whatever food options you want as the characters come around to meet you. When I did this breakfast, we met Tigger, the mice Perla and Suzy from Cinderella, Chip and Dale, and we also saw Pluto and Max Goof from across the restaurant but we finished before they made it to our table. Characters may change from time to time, but you’re sure to get a good selection here. If you are in Disneyland and want a character meal, this is the way to go. We enjoyed ourselves and the food was pretty good, plus this is the only spot that you can find Minnie waffles which are super cute.
Storyteller’s Cafe Brunch
This is my personal favorite character meal. You can find Storyteller’s inside the Grand Californian so you don’t need to be in the parks to enjoy this experience, so this is a great option for a non park day or even a day in DCA since it’s so close to the park. The only option to do a character meal at Storyteller’s is for breakfast or brunch and I absolutely love this option. The food here is delicious and this is the only character experience where you can meet Mickey. I think the food here was much better than at the Plaza and I really liked the variety they had. At this character meal, you will meet Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, and Dale, the characters here do not change. I thoroughly enjoyed this character meal and highly recommend it.
And there you have it, some of my favorite places to eat with kids at the Disneyland Resort. I hope you found this helpful and this makes planning your next trip just a little bit easier.
