Splitsville at Disneyland Review
Splitsville is an upscale bowling alley and restaurant serving American bar food. This review covers Splitsville’s newest location at Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney. We share food photos, offer our take on the ambiance of Splitsville at Disneyland, and discuss whether it’s worth your time & money.
In terms of basics, Splitsville is about a 10 minute walk from the Esplanade between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. It’s closer to the three Disney-owned hotels than it is the parks, but isn’t a particularly long or unpleasant walk from anywhere at the resort.
From Disneyland and DCA, Splitsville is inside the security perimeter, so you don’t have to go through security again to access Splitsville or when you return to the parks. If you’re trying to access Splitsville from one of the off-site hotels in Anaheim, you’ll have to go through security, which instantly makes Splitsville less attractive of an option.
Thematically, Splitsville at Disneyland Resort is significantly different than its Florida cousin. In fact, it’s even different than the rest of Downtown Disney in Anaheim. Here, the aesthetic is clean, with lines and a style reminiscent of a mid-century modern home.
This is evident from the architecture, and there is some mid-century modern stylization inside, too. It’s not the most pronounced theme, but it’s inviting and feels somewhat like stepping into a home you might find in Palm Springs (except much larger…and with bowling lanes).
Beyond that, there are nods to California found via murals on the walls that line the bowling alley lanes. You don’t see any retro-inspired furniture or anything else to strongly reinforce theme, and there’s not a ton of depth to the design. We still think it’s a step in the right direction for Downtown Disney, which has felt like a dated hodgepodge for several years now.
Ultimately, Downtown Disney’s Splitsville feels like a chic and upscale bowling alley. It’s a comfortable space, and I’d go as far as to say that the vibe is nicer than the Florida version. It’s just nothing special in terms of theme. It’d be nice if there were something (say, a rug?) to really tie the rooms together. (Actually, the rug is fairly nice–I just couldn’t resist.)
Given the long term plans for Downtown Disney, I’m guessing that Disney dictated that the exterior have a mid-century modern design to make Splitsville fit better with the luxury hotel to be added to Downtown Disney. It seems the area is in the early stages of a facelift that will transform its aesthetics by 2021.
The bowling rates at Disneyland’s Splitsville vary depending upon when you visit. Monday through Friday, from open until 4 p.m., it’s $19/bowler. After that, it’s $24/bowler. On Saturday and Sunday, it’s $24/bowler the entire day.
We don’t bowl, so we have absolutely zero clue as to how these rates stack up as compared to other luxury bowling alleys. We’re guessing there’s some degree of premium pricing, because that’s the case with the food menu…
We were eager to dine at Splitsville, as we enjoyed our experience at the Florida version, finding it to be solid bar/comfort food at fair prices. Obviously, we had to dine here with famed golfer, Guy Selga.
For our appetizer, we started with the Macho Nachos; these are loaded with seasoned ground beef, shredded cheddar jack cheese, queso, black bean corn salsa and pickled jalapeños drizzled with avocado ranch and served with a side of sour cream.
These were fine. Not something I’d order again, but I don’t regret getting them. Although you can’t tell from the photo, the toppings were too sparse, and the price was too high for the (relatively low) quality.
For his entree, Guy ordered the Fish and Chips; hand-battered and golden-fried fish filet served with seasoned French fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
Literally, fish (singular) and chips. At least the chips were plural, I guess? Guy thought the fish was fresh in this, and it was nicely breaded. He also thought it wasn’t worth the price.
For one of our entrees, we got the Margherita Pizza.
This was about as bland as could be, and vastly inferior to the pizzas we had at the new Blaze on Harbor Boulevard the night before. We didn’t even finish it. Even if this were good, it wouldn’t have been worth the price.
We also ordered the Foghorn Burger. This is smothered in pepper jack cheese and topped with a fried egg, fried jalapeños, sriracha and cilantro-lime sauce served with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and fries.
This burger was okay…in theory. Everything seemed to be of moderately high quality, and it could’ve been a good burger…if someone in the kitchen didn’t empty an entire salt shaker into the meat patty. It was seriously bad and, again, overpriced.
After our poor experiences with entrees, Sarah and I were perfectly willing to punt on desserts and just grab more cupcakes at Sprinkles.
Guy, the ever-diligent Disneyland researcher, and with the entire weight of the TouringPlans empire behind him, felt compelled to make it rain. He ordered the Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie, topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and sprinkles.
Despite the attractive Ghirardelli name, this was a “what you see is what you get” dessert. Very basic–not bad, but nothing to write home about.
If you’re interested in seeing other food photos, consult our Splitsville Review for Disney Springs in Florida. Same menu, different location…and higher prices by $3-5 per item.
Even if the food were significantly better, those prices would discourage us from revisiting Splitsville. We understand that everything is more expensive in California, and Disneyland has premium pricing, but this is on par with Cafe Orleans and more expensive than Carnation Cafe.
Heck, our burger was only a couple dollars cheaper than the excellent one at Carthay Circle Restaurant. There’s no excuse for food of this quality costing so much, even with Disney/California inflation factored into the mix.
We’ve passed by Splitsville a few times since it opened, and we’ve yet to see it even remotely busy. How it’s performing now in the off-season is hardly indicative of its ultimate popularity, but we are surprised that Splitsville would start out with such aggressive price points. Slightly “surprising” given all those rave “reviews” even before Splitsville opened!
Raising prices once Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is drawing hordes of tourists or once the new luxury hotel is built, increasing the foot traffic in Downtown Disney is one thing. Starting with inflated prices at a time when Downtown Disney is in a transition mode is another. We’re guessing Splitsville will be successful in the long term as it’s a unique form of entertainment at Disneyland Resort, but in the short term, the prices are simply too high for the local, non-captive audience.
Ultimately, that’s sort of where this review stands. In theory, Splitsville is a nice addition to Downtown Disney when considering the future of Disneyland as a destination resort. It’s something potentially fun to do on-site on a day when you don’t go to the parks. For locals, we see little appeal. The food is too expensive, the taste is mediocre at best, and bowling options abound in Orange County. Nearby options such as Bowlmor Anaheim and Lucky Strike should offer the same caliber of experience and better value for money.
If you’re preparing for a Disneyland trip, check out our other planning posts, including how to save money on Disneyland tickets, our Disney packing tips, tips for booking a hotel (off-site or on-site), where to dine, and a number of other things, check out our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide!
Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of the Downtown Disney Splitsville? Any questions? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
We went to Splitsville last night. Your review is spot on. In fact, the food was even more generic than you experienced.
For over $80 we got one very bland sparsely topped pizza made with tasteless dough, 3 small “slider” cheeseburgers (our one “no pickles please special request” was ignored), and a California Roll which was adequate. I would descibe the food as bowling alley/theater level food. Nowhere near worth what they were charging.
Adding in the cost to bowl and tip we spent over $180. We didn’t eat 1/4 of the pizza.
Yes it was relaxing and unique but I can’t see how this place survives. Folks who expect quality food at that price will be appalled… and I imagine the bowling crowd will be shocked by the pricing.
I propose they tear down Splitsville and keep Earl Of Sandwich when they tear down for the new hotel!
Thank you for the reviews. It’s nothing more than a trendy overpriced hotspot pretending to be a bowling alley. I’ll just stick with the old school bowling alleys that don’t over charge, don’t force you to dress up, and you can bring your own equipment.
I laughed when you mentioned how close in price it was to the Carthay Circle hamburger. The past few DL vacations, my husband and I have pretty much compared every meal to CC, in terms of quality vs price difference. It’s gotten to the point where we can’t do a TS meal without going, “well, for $15 more, we could’ve had Carthay…” On our last trip, we just scheduled Carthay twice for our in-park dinners and then ate off-site or in our hotel room for everything else. I understand that there’s going to be an upcharge for “Disney magic, ” but if I’m going to pay out the nose for a sandwich, I’d at least like it to not taste like cardboard!
To note Tom, I went to splitsville on Super Bowl Sunday during the big game and got 2 seats instantly. I didn’t think much of it until now, but I’m guessing it’s underperforming. A shame since I enjoyed my pizza (but the fries did suck.)
We also visited Splitsville on Super Sunday & really enjoyed our sushi & Philly Cheesesteak pizza (to honor the EAGLES). It certainly was pricey, but we expected that.
The atmosphere, while nice, did disappoint us a bit. Just didn’t have the character of it’s Disney World cousin.
The Best word for splits Ville is underwhelming.
My family and I have dined at Splitsville twice.
Our feelings have been solidified after our second visit.
The splits Ville venue at downtown Disney is a big “Strike!“ Not in the good bowling way, but in the “in the batters box” baseball way.
This is a brand new building that replaced the house of blues.
So my question, why did they disguise the inside of this brand building as a late 1970s early 1980s dump?
The food was “good”…
The service was friendly.
If I visit downtown Disney I expect to pay premium prices — that’s what you sign up for down there.
I certainly wasn’t prepared for a poorly themed boring experience at a brand new downtown Disney location.
Thanks for a thoughtful great review! My Family ate at Splitsville last night and the food was awful! It was way too salty and we couldn’t even finish our meals. We were starving when we arrived and starving when we left… The Splitsville architecture is beautiful but we won’t be back for the food.
Thought the review was a bit bland, the reference to The Big Lebowski was old and tired. The fact the reviewer enjoys Sprinkles cupcakes when they too are overpriced and bland seems as if they are contradicting themselves. Also, how can you compare one bowling alley to another when you said in the review, we don’t bowl or go to bowling alley. Terrible. Skip this review
I went a couple of weeks ago during their soft opening and it was so good! Im wondeing if there are some inconsistencies since they’re new. I got the bacon cheeseburger and It was very flavorful – I’d definitely get it again. My nephew had the fish and chips – he said it was very good but not the best he’s ever had. It was super expensive though. For both of us, it was over $50! So although I thought it was great enough to go back, I won’t be going very often with those prices. I do love the mid century look of the building and decor – it’s right up my alley.
Recently visited DLR and dined here twice. Two very different experiences. First was lunch–and we bowled as well. Prior, if you were to tell me that I would “waste time” bowling on my Disney vacation, I would laugh in you face. But my daughter wanted to bowl, so we bowled. It was fantastic! We had a blast. And the buffalo chicken sandwich was amazing. We had such a good time, we revisited for dinner on a busy Friday night. Not nearly as nice of an experience. But manager and staff were trying. I agree the pricing is pretty insane. But all in all, I think it’s a nice addition.
I suspect the prices will only get higher after Star Wars Land opens. They don’t distinguish between a transition period that is slated to last 4 years when the new luxury hotel opens in 2021. I do think these entertainment bowling alleys are precisely designed for the captive audience since bowling has declined as a recreational activity. The cost to maintain these bowling alleys is just unaffordable without high prices for food and drink. Of course the food sucks. They aren’t any better at actual bowling alleys.
You sum up the architecture nicely, it looks like a Palm Springs Mod Home and not a themed retro bowling alley like I would have expected. A little bit of googie could have gone a long way towards theme and still been elegant. All it would have taken was some angled walls and roof planes to liven it up.
These are the most expensive rates in SoCal, there are exclusive lanes (the place literally has 2 lanes period.) that is cheaper per person (with a full party)
Thanks for the info on pricing!
Just one clarification: there are two lanes up front, but several more in the side and back of the restaurant. I don’t recall how many, but I’d hazard a guess that it’s at least a dozen.