Ah, the Disneyland restaurants we love so dear. So many places to eat, so few days on a multi day passport.

s time goes on and our “favorites” list grows to include the entire Disneyland Resort, we find it difficult to squeeze all the favorites in on one trip.  Our readers recall their own favorites, many now gone:

y family basically grew up with Disneyland and we would go every year on our Summer Vacation.  Staring in 1957, the first stop at DL was Aunt Jemima’s Pancake house for breakfast.  They had the very best pancakes (Mickey shaped) and the food was cooked right in front of you while you waited. 

nother great place was the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship in Fantasyland, they had the best tuna sandwiches and great places to sit and watch the day go by. Also, the “ship” was the best place to view the nightly fireworks totally unobstructed and with no crowds at all (it must have been our secret because no one was ever there).  There was a Welch’s Grape Juice stand in Fantasyland that had the best juice; it really hit the spot on a hot day!” 

—G

Can’t you just taste it?

can always remember eating Mickey Mouse Pancakes every time in the Oscar Meyer restaurant on the border of New Orleans Square and Frontierland.  Eating Teriyaki chicken in the Tahitian Terrace was another.” 

—DLH

y favorite long gone tradition was a late dinner at the Monorail Café.  We began this tradition in my family at our first stay at the Disneyland Hotel. We would have a “little something” around dinner-time while we were in the Park and then have our “real” dinner back at the Café around 8 or 9pm, have a little walk, and then go to bed.  The atmosphere was so fun and relaxed.  The food and service was always superb! 

e had fun each time, staring at the little placemat maps of Disneyland and pointing out all the things we did that day.   We then somehow were able to maneuver the ear holes on the Mickey Mask Kids Menus to make them stay on and stare at each other and laugh.  

feel fortunate that I was able to share that fun with my daughter before the Café closed.   She had her first ice cream soda there. It was also a tradition somebody fall asleep right before their food arrived, and she experienced that one too.

Another writes:

e go to Disneyland 2 to 3 times a year and we make sure that at one of those visits we go and have tea with Mary Poppins.   It is so delightful!   My daughter and I get all dressed up.   Mary is wonderful and really takes her time with each child.  She amazed me when she came to our table and said to my daughter, “Now you’ve been here before, haven’t you?  I believe you were celebrating a birthday last time.”  Mary may have been just making it up, but she was dead on accurate and very convincing.   My daughter was wide-eyed with disbelief that Mary would remember her and the delight in her face brought tears to my eyes.”

It seems though that nothing compares (in reality or memory) to the Blue Bayou. 

y first visit there was a great occasion.   The Blue Bayou was a bit pricey compared to other places you could eat, so going there was a special treat.   I remember floating into the Pirates of the Caribbean, gliding through the dim light past fireflies and chirping crickets, then looking to the right at the lovely veranda and all the people enjoying the beautiful view.  It looked like a place that only famous or important people could go, especially since our boat didn’t stop there (you know how things get in a kid’s head).

hen my family decided to try the Blue Bayou, I remember my Dad having to go all the way to New Orleans Square to stand in line to get a reservation.  It seemed so far to go for the first thing in the morning.  Sometimes you waited and didn’t get one, but he did!  I was very excited because it didn’t remember being famous or important and he still pulled it off!

y brother and I enjoyed our meal and the pretty surroundings so much.  We loved the pirate hat menus and being “important” as we sat on the Plantation terrace watching the boats go by.  It certainly was magical.

hen my husband and I took our first “couple” trip to Disneyland, we had lunch at this lovely romantic haven.  I bought a Blue Bayou cap for my father, as a way of saying thank you for waiting in line so long that morning so many years ago. 

n Valentine’s Day this year, we took our daughter and my brother to the Blue Bayou for dinner and I was so happy to see the Pirate hat menus had survived over the years.

eader CDH calls the Blue Bayou “enchanting” which is why it is a tradition for so many.  K.F. remembers “sitting and eating in the shaded and different world of the Blue Bayou.  I always got the spaghetti and meatballs.”

ast month I was in a little shop in the town where I live, and talking to one of the staff about her latest trip to Disneyland and about What Would Walt Do.  I asked if she had any traditions and she said, without hesitating, “Blue Bayou, 5:30!”

I would love to hear your family's Disney traditions, please drop me a line,

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— Allison