Our last day at Disney - Monday January 6th, was the very last day that Disneyland & California Adventure were going to be celebrating Christmas. So we started off at Disneyland and then bounced between the two lands to hit our favorite rides for this last day. With the genie pass helping us schedule rides and the fact that it was a Monday - we went on TWICE as many rides as we did Saturday.
We stayed true to our advice and started the day off at Rope Drop so that we walked right onto our first ride. Today we chose to go on Thunder Mountain and then over to Pirates and the Haunted Mansion.
AND - if you have the genie pass, you have free photos so take advantage of the photographers standing around and have them get some great pictures of your group!
AND now for the FOOD:
There once was a time that you could only get Dole Whip in Hawaii and...Disneyland. That's now changed but Disneyland has now created a whole dining area right next to the Jungle Cruise where you can get a variety of Dole Whip creations.
It's a fun little seating area with shade and off to the side so it's quite! They also have their Dole Whip booth in front of The Tiki Room show.
You can't do online ordering here but there was no line. My daughter loves Tajin and Disney has created a Tajin/Dole Whip surprise. It was STRONG! My other daughter who loves spicy things didn't think it was too bad but I definitely didn't like it - and my youngest who ordered it....definitely didn't like it either. So if you get this one....proceed with caution!
This was my order and was much more my style.
Another yummy snack is a set of 6 or 12 WARM chocolate chip cookies. The Harbour Galley IS a restaurant you can do an online order for - and if you plan ahead, it will save you some time. We waited in a long line.
They have other options in addition to the cookies...but we just tried the cookies. As we were walking to our next ride we had a couple rush up to us and ask us where we got them. They are "stop people who are walking and ask them where they got that delicious food" good.
Put them on your list!
Lunch at Alien Pizza Planet, (over by Space Mountain) is also an online order, (you can also order inside as well). My kids LOVE their food and we usually end up going here twice during our stay. They love the pizza and their pasta. Easy, shareable AND you get refillable drinks during your dining time
Another delicious Disneyland choice is at Edelweiss Snacks which is right across from the Matterhorn ride.
They serve warm garlic cheese bread and it is absolutely delicious! My picky eater had one of these each of the days we were there. They are fantastic.
If you plan ahead, you will be able to get reservations at Cafe Orleans - which is in New Orleans square right between the Pirates ride and the Haunted Mansion. The food is really good, you sit at a reserved table and a waiter serves you. The experience we had this time was less than stellar on the service (ok - it was awful! But - they have a LINE of people waiting to come in so it is luck of the draw on your server) but the food is really good. This picture is of their Monte Cristo Sandwich.
My husband and I both got the ribeye and it was REALLY good - you didn't feel like you were inside an amusement park, eating overpriced, mediocre food.
My picky eater teenager is a fry connoisseur...and she thought these were pretty good.
Because it's Christmas they had so many incredible treats - this is a gingerbread cookie the size of my hand. If you like gingerbread - it is amazing.
And then we didn't order any of these, (ignore the $14.99 per apple price!?) but lets take a minute and appreciate the artistry on them! I love just looking at what creations are for sale.
These 2 themed deserts were at Jolly Holiday, (right at the end of Main Street in front of the Castle closest to Adventureland). They run out of their raspberry macaroon - so order early in the day for them to save you one! It is my favorite treat. The Mickey ornament was a chocolate ganache macaroon and was REALLY rich.
Heading over to California Adventure - one of our favorite lunch places is Smokejumpers Grill. It is right next door to Soarin Over California and they serve burgers, fries, chicken sandwiches and steak salads.
My picky eater LOVES this snack right by the Guardians of the Galaxy ride -
It's called a Cosmic Crème Orb - which is a raspberry cheesecake cream puff.
The Boudin bread is also awesome - you can buy a Mickey shaped sourdough loaf. We have done this before and snacked on bread in lines. It was great!
Another option when doing Disney is to eat at Downtown Disney - there are so many amazing restaurants that also take reservations. One of our favorites is Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill. It is fantastic southern food like this salmon on polenta, (my husband and I both got this dish).
My son got a spicy shrimp jambalaya that he liked and my daughter got:
a spicy mac and cheese chicken bowl. And then you finish off the meal with an order of delicious beignets.
There are lots of places to eat - and I hope this LONG post gave you just a few new ideas or suggestions of things to try next time you go to Disneyland!