Posted by on Apr 11, 2013 in Disney Dining | 14 comments

Carthay Circle Restaurant Review


Carthay Circle Restaurant in Disney California Adventure is Disneyland Resort’s top in-park dining experience. This review covers our experiences at both the bar & lounge and the table service restaurant located in Carthay Circle Theatre. Carthay Circle Restaurant’s menu consists of trendy modern cuisine with a diverse range of flavors and locally sourced ingredients. Many items on the menu are flavors of Southern California, but it’s not an overly “California” menu. Inside, it feels like an upscale old Hollywood place. Sort of like the Hollywood Tower Hotel, except without the lightning and stuff (although I did half expect to find Rod Serling inside).

Being an upscale restaurant inside a theme park is a tough balancing act–upscale dining requires a certain menu, level of service, and ambiance, whereas theme parks are bustling places often filled with sweaty tourists. Nailing the ambiance thus becomes a bit of a challenge, as the restaurant’s clientele is not typical of what you’d find in a comparable SoCal restaurant. In this sense, Carthay Circle Restaurant was a bit of a gamble for Disney. Napa Rose in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel has proven quite popular, but it benefits from locals being able to visit without paying park admission.

By contrast, Carthay Circle Restaurant caters only to the theme park crowd, and has to compete with attractions for the attention of this crowd. Unlike other restaurants that have gone “extinct” at Disney California Adventure in the past, Carthay Circle Restaurant is located prominently in Disney California Adventure’s wienie, making it more difficult for Disney to just shutter. On top of that, much of the dedicated Annual Passholder base at Disneyland was a bit perturbed when Carthay Circle Theatre was announced as the home of a restaurant and two lounges rather than an actual attraction. In other words, Carthay Circle Restaurant has had a lot of pressure on it since even before it opened to really offer an incredible experience. (more…)

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Posted by on Apr 8, 2013 in Disney Tips & Tricks | 40 comments

101 Great Disneyland Tips

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are generally considered “locals parks,” and there are a lot of things they do that you, too, can do to save time and money, or just improve the quality of your vacation. Here are 101 random tips based upon our visits to Disneyland as Annual Passholders, and based upon lessons we’ve learned while in the parks from locals we hang out with who have been visiting for years.

Our 101 Great Walt Disney World Tips list was so popular that we’ve decided to do this one for Disneyland! Not all of these tips will be applicable to everyone (not everyone is going to need to know about a Baby Care Center!), but there should be something for everyone here. Whether you’re a first time planner or a weathered veteran who still has nightmare-flashbacks to Light Magic, there are tips for you here!

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Let’s get started…

101 Disneyland Tips

  1. The Disneyland Dining Plan is nothing like the Walt Disney World Dining Plan. Very few Disneyland guests use it because, for most people, the Disneyland Dining Plan is not worth the hassle.
  2. Disneyland now enforces FastPass return times as of 2013, but there is a 15 minute grace period, so don’t discard your FastPasses if you’re only a bit late!
  3. Walt Disney World regulars fond of “Drinking Around the World” in Epcot can have a similar bar crawl experience at Disneyland Resort in Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney, and the Disney-owned hotels!
  4. If you are celebrating a special occasion, make sure to pin up a button reflecting the celebration at one of the Disney-owned hotels or in the parks from Guest Services (or at a restaurant if the line at Guest Services is long). You may receive special treatment if wearing the buttons. If you are not celebrating a special occasion but just want a free button, ask a Cast Member for one in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure.
  5. If planning your trip, you may encounter outdated resources suggesting that there’s little benefit to staying in on-site, Disney-owned hotels at Disneyland Resort. This changed in June 2012 with the opening of Cars Land, as early access to Radiator Springs Racers can be very valuable. Our on-site v. off-site hotel post reflects the current pros and cons of staying off-site and on-site.
  6. Guests may be able to ride in the Lilly Belle car on the Disneyland Railroad and the Mark Twain Riverboat Wheel House on a first-come, first-served basis. Just ask a Cast Member working either attraction or visit City Hall. If you strike out with one Cast Member or on one day, don’t be afraid to try again later.
  7. FastPass should be used to avoid long lines, but if you must wait in one long line, make it Indiana Jones Adventure. The queue is an experience in itself, and you can use this decoder to translate some Mara-glyphics in the queue.
  8. If you’re visiting on a night when Disney California Adventure has 2 or 3 World of Color performances, always go to the latest one for the lowest crowds. This means strategically pulling your World of Color FastPass later in the day so you don’t get “stuck” with an earlier show. If you do get a FastPass for an earlier show, see a Cast Member near the distribution and request to exchange it for a later show. If there are multiple showings of Fantasmic, the last one is also the least crowded.
  9. Mad Hatter plays “musical chairs” with kids at Coke Corner on Main Street in Disneyland once daily. This usually occurs at 2:30 p.m., but the time is subject to change and is not listed in the Times Guide. Ask a Cast Member at Coke Corner for the exact time it will be occurring during your visit.
  10. Due to the large population of Annual Passholders and how blockout dates redistribute them, the best time to visit Disneyland isn’t as simple as when school is in session. Some of the best times to go include late January and early February, April, and after Labor Day through early November (except weekends). (more…)
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Posted by on Mar 2, 2013 in Disney Dining, Disney Tips & Tricks | 10 comments

Disney Dining Reviews Index

Disney Parks Dining Reviews

Walt Disney World and Disneyland have hundreds of restaurant and dining options, which can be overwhelming for some people. To assist, we’re highlighting reviews of some fan-favorite Disney restaurants here. At the top of the page are our Walt Disney World restaurant reviews organized by location, followed by other helpful Walt Disney World dining resources. The lower portion of the page contains links to Disneyland Resort restaurant reviews and resources.

Click each restaurant name to read our full review of the restaurant, and see some photos of different items that each restaurant serves!

Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews:

Resorts

Epcot

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Magic Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Walt Disney World Dining Resources:

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Posted by on Jan 30, 2013 in Disney Dining | 8 comments

Corn Dog Castle Review

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Corn Dog Castle is a Disney California institution. Even during the dark days of Disney’s California Adventure 1.0, Corn Dog Castle was a beacon, demonstrating all that was right with the park. Legends still swirl that no less than 73.3% of first year Disney’s California Adventure visitors came solely to experience the delicious corn dogs, deemed by many to be a 21st century “fountain of youth.” Guests came on pilgrimages from around the world–one was rumored to have walked barefoot from Finland all the way to Corn Dog Castle–to bask in the youthful glow of Corn Dog Castle. One prominent swimmer even trained for the Olympics on a strict diet of Corn Dog Castle cuisine. Many described consuming one of their corn dogs as a spiritual experience.

Okay, so none of that is true. At least none of it is true to my knowledge. (I suppose there could be some folks out there who love Corn Dog Castle so much that they’d do those things.) But, this place is essentially just a corn dog stand and this review would be really short if I didn’t spice it up with some superfluous nonsense. In actuality, Corn Dog Castle does have its legion of fans, many of whom were quite frightened back when Corn Dog Castle went behind construction walls in 2009 as Disney’s California Adventure transitioned into Disney California Adventure. To the rejoicing of millions (or perhaps just thousands), it reopened in 2011. (more…)

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Posted by on Jan 24, 2013 in Disney Dining | 10 comments

Cozy Cone Motel Review

This Cozy Cone Motel review is actually not a review of a motel at all, but of a cluster of outdoor vending “cones.” So, if you opened this review hoping to learn about the latest hotel at Disneyland, you’re going to be disappointed. Although, I suppose you could take a nap at one of the picnic tables by the Cozy Cones. As far as food goes at the Cozy Cone Motel, the stands specialize in cone related foods and bad puns.

It’s not all bad at Cozy Cone Motel. Actually, depending upon how you view the Cozy Cone Motel, you might be pleasantly surprised..or very disappointed. As far as general theme goes, I think it’s fair to applaud Imagineering for its ambition on the Cozy Cone Motel. Instead of going the less authentic route of expanding the check-in/lobby/Sally’s office area to make a dedicated quick service restaurant with the individual cones serving as covered picnic table locations (or something), they decided to make things proportionately more accurate and have the lobby be smaller (and inaccessible to park guests) and have the cones more prominent. (more…)

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