I just took my first ever trip to Disneyland! Well not just me; I went with Meg and my Disney College Program BFF (whoop, whoop, welcome to the blog Jamie!). My sister and I had talked about it and planned the trip for well over six months. We spent many hours reading blogs, watching YouTube videos, and scrolling through Instagram all in the name of “research.” From the data we gathered, we were able to compile a master list of the absolute MUST EATS at Disneyland. While this wasn’t a do or die situation (we didn’t even carry our list around with us), we found we stayed pretty faithful to the “must eat” list with very minimal effort.
So without further ado… the Myers Sisters present…. “What I ate at Disneyland: June 2019”
Watermelon Mint Julep
Our very first purchase was the seasonal offering at the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans square. I had read about this online and knew I had to try it. It was so nice, we drank it twice! I read that the regular mint julep was great and super refreshing. This summer spin, added in some watermelon flavor with a seasoned watermelon spear as garnish. It lived up to its reputation; incredibly refreshing, perfectly sweet, and the ideal cool-down during the midday sun.
Cozy Cones
Let me tell you about my all time favorite Disney food! The Cozy Cones were, by far, my favorite eatery of the whole trip. We loved the Cones so much, we made at least one stop a day (even if it was just for a cup of water). We made our first visit for dinner our first day. Meg got the Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese Cone, Jamie opted for the Chili Cone Queso, and I tried the seasonal offering: Red’s Hot Chicken Cone (grilled chicken chunks tossed in a buffalo/ranch sauce, topped with celery, a carrot, and blue cheese crumbles). We LOVED this meal. We could have eaten a cone every single night during the trip!
A few nights later, I returned to the Cozy Cones to get myself some popcorn to enjoy during our nightly viewing of Fantasmic! (we watched it three out of the four nights we were there). I really like seasoned popcorn, Meg really does not. Knowing Meg wouldn’t touch it, I opted for a flavor only I would enjoy: Buffalo Ranch, and boy did I enjoy it! It was spicy, yet somehow slightly sweet, though a cup of water was definitely necessary.
I desperately wanted to try the Cozy Corn (seasoned corn on the cob rolled in cheese puffs), but every time we stopped I either wasn’t in the mood, or the line was too long. I guess it just gives me a reason to plan another trip!
Churros
You can’t go to Disneyland without getting a churro! Recently, Disneyland has been all into their specialty churros, but when we showed up, all we could find were the regular old cinnamon sugar sticks. Which were, of course, DELICIOUS! But we were bummed that we didn’t have access to any chocolate churros (sad face). Fortunately, we did track down a single s’mores churro that was covered in graham cracker dust and served with marshmallow dipping sauce. It did not disappoint!
Corn Dogs
Disney World may have the best corn dog nuggets, but Disneyland boasts HAND DIPPED CORN DOGS! These are the real deal folks, they tasted just like the Minnesota State Fair. They’re served hot and fresh and so perfectly imperfect. It’s like each corn dog has it’s own personality wrapped up in its perfectly sweet and savory breaded blanket. We felt like kings as we dined on Pixar Pier with our meals from the Corn Dog Castle. We loved these dogs so much, we got them again the next night to enjoy while watching Fantasmic! Take a look at this corny meal….
Corn on the Cob
Speaking of corn… you have got to try the corn on the cob! At first I thought, it’s just corn, I know what it tastes like. Then, Jamie got a cob with her dinner one night, and she could not stop raving about it! The corn can be found at a variety of food carts scattered around the park. Jamie got the plain ol’ buttered corn, I opted for the Chili-Lime Corn. SO good! Not too spicy, just enough flavor, highly recommend. I’m so consumed with thoughts of the deliciousness, I can’t even write in full sentences! Be warned! You may want to throw some dental floss in your park bag, because you’re going to need it after this. Now, take a look at these gross pictures of me enjoying the corn, probably too much.
Honey-Spiced Chicken Sandwich
And now for a restaurant-specific item. Meg and I were starving when we stumbled upon this chicken sandwich at the Hungry Bear in Critter Country. The chicken is sweet, yet spiked with a little spicy flavor and served with a delicious mystery mayo-type sauce that I think had pickles(?) in it. I don’t know what it was, but it tasted gooood.
Seasonal Funnel Cake
We tried yet another seasonal offering, this one wasn’t even on the menu yet! Meg saw a picture of this deliciousness on Instagram and decided she had to have it. This Funnel Cake from the Hungry Bear Restaurant was topped with chocolate hazelnut spread (aka: nutella), java chip ice cream, and whipped cream. Ahhhhhmazing! There’s really not much else to say about it! We snapped the subpar picture above and approximately three minutes later the plate looked like this:
Clarabelle’s
CLARABELLE’S!!! Coming from a dairy sensitive human, please know that Clarabelle’s is worth every bit of future discomfort you will experience. At Clarabelle’s you get to build your own ice cream bar: pick your ice cream, dipping chocolate, and toppings and the wonderful ice cream artists will assemble it for in seconds. Predictably, I chose chocolate ice cream dipped in dark chocolate. I couldn’t decide on a topping, so I took a risk and went with “the whole herd.” I ended up with every topping offered: chocolate chips, Mickey sprinkles, and blue raspberry pop-rocks. It looks questionable, but it tasted amazing! This place offers top-notch ice cream and deliciously smooth dipping chocolate. The pop-rocks, though they appear iffy, turn this ice cream bar into an unforgettable dessert experience that will linger on your tongue long after the ice cream is melted.
Schmoozies and Film Strip Fries
The Sorcerer Mickey Shake from Schmoozies! was an absolute must on our list. There’s really nothing better than a cookies ‘n’ cream shake, am I right? And this one is so stinking cute! We were surprised (but not put off) by its thin consistency. This shake went down like juice! Which was a bit of a blessing considering paper straws only last a few minutes!
While waiting for my travel buddies to use the bathroom, I saw some people on the street enjoying these weird looking potato chunks. I couldn’t resist, so I walked over to Award Wieners and mobile ordered a plate of the seasonal Lava Fries. First off, I had never heard of ‘filmstrip’ fries before, but they’re akin to spiral cut potato wedges. These fries were topped with pulled pork, teriyaki sauce, and pineapple salsa. I’m going to be honest, this wasn’t our favorite treat of the trip. The salsa had a bit of a kick and were just weren’t into the teriyaki flavor. But, I would definitely order a plate of filmstrip fries as a side with a hot dog.
Red Rose Tavern
On our last park day, we swung by Red Rose Tavern for a late (2 pm) lunch. Stumbling into this place was a happy accident that only occurred because we were in the area and it had mobile order. I ordered the poutine and the flatbread because I saw it on other peoples trays and they looked good.
This is possibly the best poutine I have ever eaten! Let’s start off with the perfectly crunchy waffle fries (which are far superior to any regular old straight fries), and then its topped with this melt-in-your-mouth slow cooked beef and warm gravy, and then perfectly seasoned squeaky cheese curds, and then the pickled onions bring it all together like a cherry on top! (my companions didn’t eat the onions, but I devoured them).
I also highly recommend the flatbread. All of the ingredients were unbelievably fresh, splendidly flavorful, and cooked to perfection. And a big A+ for the balsamic glaze that delivered the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness.
BONUS PRO TIP: You’ll notice that many of our pictures feature those red cups filled with ice water. Water cups are always free at anyplace that has fountain drinks. We drank buckets of park water during our week at Disneyland. It saved us both money and the effort of lugging water bottles through the park. It’s totally worth a few detours to quick service counters to enjoy a fresh cup of ice water.
Ramone’s Serve-Ice
This was our favorite snack of the whole trip. All three of us have said “man I could go for a Carsland Slushy right now” in some way or another since we got home. Meg found out about Ramone’s Serve-Ice Station on Instagram a couple weeks prior to our trip. Now I’m not usually one to go for a slushy, but MAN these were sooooo good! Maybe it was the heat… or our unsatisfiable thirst… or the high sugar content… but nothing quite hit the spot in the same way as the Dinoco Blue and the Groovy Glacier.
Food and friends are two of the greatest charms of life. To get to experience both while in DISNEYLAND… well, that is just a recipe for the ultimate charm of life. Have you ever been to Disneyland? What were your favorite eats? Are you planning a trip… what are you most looking forward to trying??
1 thought on “What I ate at Disneyland”
Comments are closed.