Is there anyone who doesn't love a good Disneyland corn dog or a Mickey-shaped pretzel? How about a Mint Julep or a cold Dole Whip? You can't convince me they exist. Sometimes, however, it's so nice to sit in a charming dining room with a prix fixe menu and a bit of luxury to relax and nearly froget you're in a theme park at all! A good break is well deserved with all the steps you're putting in during your Disney vacation, and why not do it in style? Here's our guide for all things fine dining at Disneyland Resort.
Overview of Fine Dining at Disneyland
Of all the things Disney does so well, dining is at the top of our list. Whether you're looking for a quick snack, an easy meal or a whole dining experience, Disneyland has you covered. There are three fine dining restaurants at Disneyland — one in each park and one at the hotels. They are all on the pricey side, so make sure you pick the right one for you and your party before making a reservation. Keep reading for the location, atmosphere, menus and our overall thoughts.
Blue Bayou
Yo ho! Have you ever wanted to eat a steak while surveying passengers aboard the Pirates of the Caribbean ride? You might have noticed a romantically lit restaurant with colorful lanterns amidst the fireflies as you set sail down the bayou. Well, that enchanting eatery is called Blue Bayou and it's just as magical as it seems.
Although pirates don't exactly scream fine dining at Disneyland (usually arg actually), a candle-lit dinner on the Blue Bayou does. One of the most in-demand dining experiences at Disneyland, Blue Bayou offers a taste of the old New Orleans in the Louisiana bayou from a time when the steamboat ruled the mighty Mississippi. Dining at Blue Bayou is one of the most romantic things to do at Disneyland, but it's fun for the whole family.
Blue Bayou Location
Blue Bayou is located inside the Disneyland theme park, so you'll need a Disneyland ticket and theme park reservation to enter the park to dine at this location. You’ll find the entrance to Blue Bayou at 31 Royal Street in New Orleans Square. It is just to the right of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride exit. The indoor dining area is next to the water at the Pirates of the Caribbean. Once you check in (you can use mobile check-in through the Disneyland app), you may sit in the waiting area and they will text you when your table is ready.
Blue Bayou Atmosphere
The setting is what makes this dining location truly special. Is it outside or inside? It feels like you are dining on an outside patio at night along the mysterious water lands of the bayous. It is perpetually evening at Blue Bayou. Colorful lanterns are strung over the tables, wisteria hangs from the lattice and shooting stars streak across the dark skies. Your table is lit by candlelight. Listen for cricket chirps and rustling leaves while you dine under mossy trees.
Whether you come with a loved one or the whole family, it feels like romantic outdoor dining, but the weather is always perfect (because you are in an air-conditioned, indoor environment). We love to eat lunch here because it gets us out of the sun for a bit and allows us to rest our flippers and catch our breath before heading back into the bustling theme park.
While the food is more upscale than you might find elsewhere in the park, don't worry about dressing up unless that's how you like to dress in the park. Everyone arrives in their comfortable theme park clothes.
The atmosphere is always that of an elegant, candlelit evening on the Bayou no matter what time of day you come to dine. In fact, it is so dark in there that the menus have their own built-in lights!
Food and Beverage at Blue Bayou at Disneyland
While menus, of course, change quite frequently, let's take a look at some of the Blue Bayou's menu offerings.
This is a great place to celebrate a special occasion. You can enjoy wine, specialty beers and signature drinks, such as an orange martini, a melon margarita or the rum and passionfruit Hurricane cocktail. You can also enjoy a nonalcoholic Mint Julep, a seasonal Mint Julep and Louisiana lemonade. Spring for a glow cube in this dark restaurant to set a relaxing mood, especially for the tadpoles.
Crab cakes, chicken gumbo, strawberry and pistachio salad or a loaf of rosemary and sea salt brioche are offered as starters. We can't get enough of the bread!
For lunch, you'll find a Monte Cristo while dinner boasts a filet mignon served with lump crab. Both dining hours include a blackened ribeye, a market fish and a Creole roasted chicken with shrimp. There are two plant-based options as well. A full portion of the strawberry and pistachio spinach salad and a pistachio lemon basil pasta. Tadpoles have the option of roasted chicken, sautéed shrimp, petite steak or whole-grain pasta.
Desserts include a chocolate Basque cheesecake, a petite sundae, assorted macarons or a crème brûlée tart.
Dining Packages
Blue Bayou has a Fantasmic! Dining Package. You reserve lunch or dinner and request to upgrade to the Fantasmic! Dining Package from your server. It's $89 per adult and $35 per kid plus tax and gratuity. (We did the math and all the food we ordered actually came to about the same price as the package, so it's toadally worth it for the food and the viewing section.) You'll get a voucher for a reserved viewing area that is seated on the ground, front and center!
The four-course meal comes with bread, a starter, an entree, dessert and a nonalcoholic beverage. You can view the menu and reserve at the Fantasmic! dining packages page. Hop over to our Disneyland Fantasmic! tips post and the Disneyland Dining Reservations for the latest news and dining package information.
Carthay Circle
Amidst the glitz and glam of old Hollywood stands an iconic theater turned restaurant. One of our favorite table-service restaurants at Disney California Adventure is Carthay Circle. You might recognize the Carthay Circle Theater for which the restaurant is designed to resemble one particular historic movie premiere, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
If we don’t have reservations to eat here, we search for walk-up availability in the Disneyland app. But if we still can’t get in — or if we want a smaller meal or lunch— we will go for Alfresco Dining at Carthay Circle Lounge and order delicious bar bites.
Carthay Circle Location
It is easy to miss this gem near the entrance to Disney California Adventure. Located at the end of Buena Vista Street, the restaurant stands tall as the pinnacle of the park's hub. At the center of four park routes stands a fountain, a small stage and beautiful trees. Usually, you can catch Five and Dime performing old jazz hits or maybe even the Mouse himself greeting guests in his old Hollywood attire. The Red Trolley passes through and down to Hollywood Land. If you really want to feel immersed in the Golden Age, hop on the Trolley at the entrance of the park and ride down to the theater for your meal.
Because Carthay Circle is located inside Disney California Adventure, a Disney California Adventure park ticket and theme park reservation are required to access the restaurant.
Carthay Circle Atmosphere
This is the priciest restaurant at Disney California Adventure and by far away the nicest. (And it is home to the nicest bathroom in the theme park.) But normal theme park attire is acceptable here. It is dimly lit for a classy and more romantic ambiance. The crowds and heat stay outside and you enter another era: Hollywood’s Golden Age. The restaurant was designed after the glamorous theatre built in 1926 and sadly demolished in 1969. The Carthay Circle Theater was home to some of the most famous movie premieres such as "Gone With the Wind" and "Fantasia." The walls are adorned with pictures of stars at the Oscars and, of course, Walt himself.
The dining room is located upstairs and has an assortment of tables to accommodate parties of all sizes. Your server will come around and place your napkin on your lap for you. Now that's fine dining at Disneyland!
Food and Beverage at Carthay Circle
As of July 12, 2024, Carthay Circle is open for a prix fixe lunch once again. The meal is $59 per adult and $19 per child for two courses. Drinks and bread are not included.
Starters include garbanzo bean fritters, a stone fruit salad and a Greek-style salad. Pan-roasted shrimp, grilled chicken meatloaf, rigatoni pasta carbonara or a ginger and soy-glazed tri-tip are served as mains. Tadpoles have the choice of watermelon cubes or tempura green beans to start, and pasta, chicken empanadas or a classic grilled cheese for an entree. The warm cheddar Parker House Rolls with Calabrian chili-pine nut Romesco butter is an extra $14, but very worth the price. Yum!
Dinner is not a prix fixe menu and has many more options. Some of our favorites include the Peruvian Sashimi, the Mediterranean Mussels and Bay Scallops and the Squash Blossom filled with Braised Short Rib for starters. For entrées, we opt for the Grilled Angus Rib Eye, the Porcini Mushroom Raviolis or the Signature Thick Cut Pork Chop. Tadpoles can enjoy rigatoni pasta, a cheese quesadilla, a petite filet or chicken skewers. Although there is no dessert served for lunch, there are a few options for dinner. Warm blueberry honey cake, Valrhona chocolate s'mores bar or a seasonal orbet might satisfy that sweet tooth!
The cocktails at Carthay Circle are part of what makes this location truly feel like fine dining. They are lux and well crafted, and all help push you into the immersion of the Golden Age. The classic Carthay Martini, the Pimm's Punch, the Negroni and the Carthay Mai Tai are some of our favorites. With a full bar and well-trained mixologists behind it, you are able to order any cocktail off the menu as well. I always opt for an Espresso Martini.
There is an assortment of wines by the glass as well as more by the bottle and a few beers to choose from. Each table is set with wine glasses. There are, of course, nonalcoholic options as well, such as a Rose Petal Soda and a Wildberry Lemonade.
Napa Rose
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is inarguably one of the most beautiful themed hotels you'll stay at. It's only fitting that its dining coincides with the overall luxury. If you are looking for wine, this is your spot! Inspired by the bountiful vineyards in Napa Valley California, Napa Rose has an award-winning wine list. Whether you opt for the prix fixe Vintner Menu or the a la carte options each wine is paired delicately with foods that celebrate California's artisan farmers and rich culinary culture.
Napa Rose Location
Tucked away in a quiet corner at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, you'll find one of the most peaceful places to enjoy a fine dining meal at Disneyland. This is the only one of the three fine dining locations that does not require a theme park ticket or park reservation. Disney's Grand Californian is located in the Downtown Disney District and is accessible to the general public. With a validated ticket from Napa Rose, you'll get five hours of complimentary parking at the hotel itself. You can also park in either the Downtown Disney parking ($10 and make sure to get your ticket validated at the restaurant to cover the rest of the parking fee) or one of the theme park parking structures or lot ($35).
Napa Rose Atmosphere
Although there is no enforced dress code at Napa Rose, there is a requested one. Hats, tank tops, swimwear, cutoffs and distressed jeans are highly discouraged in an effort to maintain the eatery's wine country ambiance. As Grand Californian is a hotel and spa, the atmosphere throughout is that of relaxation and refinement. The restaurant is adorned with wood craftsman décor, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the trees that separate the hotel from Disney California Adventure.
Food and Beverage at Napa Rose
The menu items at Napa Rose are broken down into four categories: starters, seconds, main courses and desserts. Menus change quite often at the Disney parks.
The current starters include an Heirloom Tomato Salad, Sautéed Diver Scallop, and the "Smiling Tiger Salad." Seconds consist of Fazzoletti Pasta, Herb Potato Gnocchi and a Portabella Mushroom "Cappuccino." For a main course, you'll choose from Sautéed Fish, Lavender Lemon Roasted Chicken Ballotine, Maple Leaf Farms Duck Bread, Prime Eye of the Ribeye and a Black Angus Filet Mignon with fresh blackberries. Tadpoles have the option of a simple green salad, noodles and cheese, or a Petite Filet. And the offered desserts are Peaches and Cream, Namekala Chocolate Cloud, Cherry Pistachio Upside Down Buckle Cake and Valrhona Dark Milk Chocolate Crème Brûlée.
The other option is the four-course prix fixe menu, The Vintner's Table, curated by the executive chef, Andrew Sutton. There are two options per course and will total $150 per person. A flight of four wines to pair with each course is also available for $90.
On top of a hefty list of white and red wines, Napa Rose has a great selection of craft cocktails. Some are even made with wines! The Main Course is made with a fernet Branca, Campari, rye, John Taylor's Velvet Falernum, and mole bitters. The Provence Sour is made with gin, rosé wine, fresh lemon juice and egg white. There are also a few mocktails such as the Mint Julep and the Leonidas Rose.
Napa Rose is where you can find the most special character dining on the Disneyland property. The Princess Brunch is a really fun way for your princess-loving tadpoles to get up to 15 minutes with some of their favorite characters and even take home a little souvenir. This experience comes at a pretty penny, so make sure it is in your budget and important to you and your little ones before reserving it. Check out our tips on meeting princesses at Disneyland for other ways to see said characters.
Overall Thoughts
Whether you're into a full fine dining sit-down meal at the parks or not, these are inarguably some of the most beautiful eateries at Disneyland. We find ourselves eating our way around Disneyland at quick-service restaurants and food carts more often than not. The prices are high for these more formal restaurants, and for a large family, it can really add up. But on special days and for celebrations we love to plan out a nice meal at Disneyland. Blue Bayou is our favorite of the three because of its spectacular theming and atmosphere. Sitting inside of a Disney ride to eat is really exciting and special and we highly recommend this fine dining at Disneyland experience.
Where is your favorite place to dine at Disneyland? Do you have an upcoming visit to Disneyland? If you need a hotel for your visit, your froggy friends can help you find a hopping deal at one of the hotels near Disneyland as well as discount Disneyland tickets! For the latest information and what to expect at Disneyland Resort, hop over to our What's Coming to Disneyland post.
Related: The Insider Scoop on Every Downtown Disney Restaurant
Related: Get the Full Dish on Disneyland Character Dining
Hoppy planning!
