Disneyland Eats

Something I let myself do in 2011 was go to Disneyland twice.

Yes, twice.

The last time I went to Disneyland was back in 2003, so going there twice in one year after eight years of not going is a big deal. I could go to Disneyland every month because you cannot possibly discover everything there in one visit.

Visit 1 - September - Labor Day Weekend

The first time I went in September, I came with my family. It was my neice Jayla's, first time so we wanted to make sure she met some of the characters. For breakfast, we went to Goofy's Kitchen, which is located at the Paradise Pier Hotel.

What I really liked about this place was that even before they seat you, you get to take a picture with Goofy:



Goofy's Kitchen is an all-you-can eat buffet restaurant, so you have a wide selection of entrees. Since we came at brunch, we had eggs, bacon, roasted chicken...but to get the full Disney effect, we had to have some Mickey pancakes and waffles! The Disney characters also came to each table to sign autographs and take pix.

So much fun!



When we were at the actual park, I didn't really have a sit-down meal. We ate on the go. All my friends told me to hit up the corn dog stand which is just off of Main Street. These must be the heaviest corn dogs I have ever had. I loved the crispness the batter had and the steam the hot dog gave off once bitten into. Keaton says these are a definite must-have when visiting the park.



We definitely went for those [in]famous giant turkey legs everyone was looking forward to. This stand is right by the entrance of Adventureland. These legs are a battle to eat. The skin is really thick and the meat requires a lot of chewing. You can also get chimichangas and chile lime corn on the cob from the same stand. To beat the heat from the spices, a Mickey ice cream bar is perfect!

Visit 2 - December 17 - Anniversary Weekend



This was a very special visit because we were celebrating our 8-year relationship anniversary and our 1-year wedding anniversary. I accomplished my goal of getting our bride and groom ears with our married names stitched on the back of them. The gentlemen who stitched them was kind enough to upgrade us from the $3 simple stitch to the $7 special stitch for free.ninety-nine after he saw our anniversary buttons! These free buttons can be picked up at City Hall. They're great because the cast members congratulate you when they see them! It just makes the visit that much more special.

This visit, we concentrated on Adventureland because we did not the last time. Before we hit up the Jungle Cruise, we made a quick stop at The Bengal Barbeque. They served skewers, pretzels and even bacon-wrapped asparagus. Of course we had to order a Mickey-shaped pretzel! The skewers were decent. We got both chicken and beef. While the sauces were tasty, the price was a bit high for the size of the skewers. Then again this IS Disneyland. Gotta expect to pay DL prices. I was a bit thrown off the stalk of scallion they threw on with the meat. I assumed you take a bite of the meat and the scallion alerternately...what a pleasant surprise that it totally worked flavor-wise.

We bought park hopper tickets, so we had to make a trip to Disney's California Adventure...but before exiting Disneyland, we visited the corn dog stand. Again. They're too good!

Okay, just kidding.

Before going to California Adventure, we made our way to Downtown Disney for some dinner. After walking around (and feeling raindrops), we settled into Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar, a Mediterranean spot which served alcohol! ftw!



Catal Restaurant does have a higher price point than the other restaurants on the strip, but the place was perfect for us. It had a nice ambiance special enough for our dinner, and there was a vibe of happiness in the air. Must have been the magic of Disney, yes?! To whet our appetites, a nice portion of bread came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Keaton had a beer and i had champagne. Bubbles are perfect for anniversary dinners!



For appetizer, we had the "Coca" which was a Spanish flatbread topped with house made cheese, butternut squash, and honey bacon. This app ate like a dessert. You had the sweet from both the squash and the bacon - not that I'm complaining. It was delicious.

My entree course was the "Paella Pollo" which consisted on roast chicken, chorizo de Bilbao, asparagus, piquillo peppers, saffron bomba rice, and lemon garlic aioli. This was some of the best paella I have ever had. The rice had a nice texture and that aioli they added was awesome with the chicken. There was a lot going on, as far as flavors and textures, but they all made sense together.

Keat's entree was a fancy version of spaghetti and meatballs - bucatini pasta, piquillo pepper-tomato sauce, albondigas meatballs, and shaved Mahon cheese. Don't get me wrong, we loved it. Bucatini is a long pasta but if you look closely at it, you will find a whole running through it. If the sauce used is a but on the soupy side or if a sauce is being reduced into the bucatini, this would be perfect to utilize as the sauce can actually get inside of the pasta.

One thing I loved about this restaurant was that we could watch the fireworks from where we were sitting - which we didn't plan, so it was a treat!



During dinner, it started. I know...it rained on our wedding also. Call it double luck? So we headed to California Adventure in our shnazzy ponchos. It was surprisingly cold that weekend. I suppose we brought Bay Area weather with us? Since it was getting late, we headed back to Disneyland to ride the Indiana Jones ride which we got Fast Passes for earlier. On our way there, Keaton got his second box of popcorn. I admit, it was really good popcorn! Uh, nice picture Keaton. Heads were in the gutter, folks. Before we left, we stopped by the sweets shop on Main Street for snacks to take home for the kids.

There are so many other restaurants that I want to try out like Blue Bayou and Ariel's Grotto. just today, my sister and I were planning to go there in May with the fam. Maybe that will be our chance to sample some new places. I was such a Disney kid growing up and it surprises me that even when I am nearing 30 years old, I still feel the same giddiness as I felt when I was a child.

I love Disneyland and I cannot wait to go back!

Hope you're having a great 2012 thus far!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Please forgive any spacing issues. This is my first time using an iPad app to post, so I hope it doesn't look too bad! If it does, please drop be a line! Thanks!

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