A couple of days ago we took the kids to Disneyland. We were going just for a day and I spent a fair amount of time researching what the best place to eat at Disneyland would be. In our previous visit, we had eaten at the Blue Bayou and, while we had enjoyed it, it wasn’t an experience worth repeating. What I wanted this time was good food for a reasonable price, and I have to say that I found it at the Plaza Inn.
The Plaza Inn is located in what looks like a fancy Victorian restaurant, at the end of Main Street near the Disney/Mickey statue. It’s actually a cafeteria with a couple of stations selling broasted chicken, penne pasta & pot roast ($13-$15), salads ($7) and desserts ($5). They have chicken or pasta kids meals for $7. You can chose to eat inside one of the ostentatiously decorated dining rooms, or outside on the veranda, under an umbrella, with a view to all the Disneyland action. The outside spots are good for people watching and for catching parades. Mika loved how fancy it looked inside, so that’s where we ate.
I had read that the chicken was actually good at the Plaza Inn so that’s what we had. We ordered two plates of chicken (each came with 1 half breast, 1 thigh and 1 drumstick, mashed potatoes and green beans), and two child pasta dishes for three adults and three kids. We had plenty of food. The broasted chicken had a crispy skin, was perfectly herbed/spiced and very moist. It was very tasty. The pieces were rather large. The mashed potatoes were also good, though the green beans were sad and wimpy and rejected by all. The kids were happy with their pasta (which comes in a Micky Mouse shaped tray), but they aren’t picky. They didn’t like the herbed breadstick it came with, and ate the bagged carrots later as a snack.
Fountain soft drinks at the Plaza Inn are ~$3, as elsewhere in Disneyland, but here you get free refills. You can also get iced water for free, and because it’s the water that comes from the soda machines it’s purified already. It tasted fine.
We were in Disneyland on a Tuesday in May and the park was as non-crowded as it gets. We had lunch around 12:45 PM, and there we no lines at all at the Plaza Inn and only a few tables were occupied.
I’m not planning a return trip to Disneyland any time soon, but I’m sure I’ll head here next time. I can’t imagine you can have a better meal for the money anywhere in the park.
The broasted chicken at the Plaza Inn Restaurant. Picture courtesy of LA Foodie
Plaza Inn Restaurant
Disneyland
Annaheim, CA
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/plaza-inn/
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