It is the classic night-out formula: dinner and a show! And, with the Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration underway, Disneyland has debuted some stellar dining packages with food and a special viewing area for 70th entertainment. If these dining packages fit your budget, they are a unique way to experience “dinner (or lunch or dessert) and a show” in a very Disney way! Still, these packages will not appeal to all guests or fit within everyone’s vacation budget. That is why we are sharing some alternative options for entertainment while you eat at Disneyland.
Some of these pairings involve elaborate shows (all the birds sing words and the flowers croon…) and others are more about immersive atmosphere while dining. Our first entry covers one of Disneyland Park’s fanciest restaurants, and our last entry is for a restaurant in Disney California Adventure Park that specializes in classic diner food like milkshakes. It’s a smorgasbord of options! We hope you will find a dinner and a show combo at Disneyland that works for your group.
We have also included some helpful suggestions around things like reservations and menu options. So let’s start this list with fine dining Disneyland style.
Blue Bayou Restaurant and Pirates of Caribbean
in New Orleans Square, Disneyland Park
Blue Bayou Restaurant is the crown jewel of Disneyland Park dining. It is the shining, well, sapphire INSIDE the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
When you eat at Blue Bayou, you are seated on the restaurant’s waterside patio beneath lanterns and stars. Boats drift through the bayou and jazz wafts from the surrounding buildings as you enjoy your “Louisiana-inspired cuisine.” Only… you are actually inside the giant show building for Pirates of the Caribbean, and those boats are filled with guests experiencing the attraction.
Do not worry, there are no cannonballs flying in the portion of the ride that houses the Blue Bayou Restaurant. You will be dining in the sleepy bayou portion of the ride. We have had good meals here, but the real treat is getting to eat inside this beautiful space inside an attraction that has Walt Disney‘s fingerprints all over it. Dining at Blue Bayou is a unique and special experience.
How to Experience Dinner and a Show at Blue Bayou in Disneyland
As for the food: take a look at the menu and order what looks good to you. Like several other spots on this list, we find the food here to be very good but not particularly memorable. I have had good luck with the Market Fish entree, and many consider the Monte Cristo sandwich to be a Disneyland classic. Blue Bayou is also one of the spots in Disneyland Park where you can order alcoholic beverages.
Something to note: Blue Bayou Restaurant is sometimes included as an option for dining packages. Recently, you could buy a dining package that included a meal at Blue Bayou and later reserved seating for Fantasmic! We are including the Blue Bayou Restaurant here as being a show unto itself, but you could certainly double-up and do one of these conventional dining packages.
Blue Bayou Restaurant is one of the more popular reservations at Disneyland Resort (and that was especially true for those Fantasmic! dining packages). You can start booking reservations sixty days out. There is also a walk-up list. At the time of writing Blue Bayou is open for lunch and dinner.
The Golden Horseshoe
in Frontierland, Disneyland Park
The Golden Horseshoe is another Disneyland Park icon with strong ties to Walt Disney. Located in Frontierland, this Disney take on an Old West saloon has a quick service menu and plentiful seating throughout its ornate interior. Seriously, this is a beautiful and impressive space: Walt Disney and his wife Lillian event celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary here.
For most of the Golden Horseshoe’s history, you could drop-in and watch a lively show on the large stage. Today, the entertainment schedule is much leaner, but we are including the Golden Horseshoe on this list in the hopes that we will see more in the future.
How to Dine at The Golden Horseshoe
The Golden Horseshoe is currently open for lunch and dinner. This is a quick service restaurant, and you can use mobile ordering here. Frankly, the menu here is not our favorite, so we usually get some ice cream here rather than ordering a meal: it is a lovely place to rest and cool off. Do note that—despite this being styled as a saloon—no alcohol is served at the Golden Horseshoe. You will have to settle for a classic Roy Rogers or root beer float instead.
Again, we hope to see some entertainment returning to this space, and there have been some shows during special celebrations. Check the schedule for your visit to see if anything is happening.
Oga’s Cantina
in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disneyland Park
Oga’s is the answer to many Star Wars fans’ dreams: the chance to step into a cantina in a galaxy far, far away. Oga’s Cantina is the popular Star Wars themed bar in the heart of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (Disneyland’s Star Wars themed land). You can get both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages here along with some light snacks. All of the menu items have names and origin stories true to the Star Wars galaxy.
Though it certainly pays tribute to the Star Wars films, Oga’s Cantina is not a replica of any movie set. This is in keeping with the Imagineer’s vision for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge; Oga’s Cantina was created just for the Disney parks. You do not sit back and watch a show here. Rather, Oga’s Cantina itself is the show and you are a character in it. As with other areas of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you decide how deep you want to go.
Our Tips for Enjoying Oga’s Cantina
We are casual Star Wars fans who have seen all of the movies and some of the shows. We like Oga’s Cantina for the clever details and immersive theming. The drinks are memorable more for being visually arresting and narratively clever than they are tasty.
Our top advice is to take some time to look around. Wherever you are seated (or stood) by the host, make a point of also taking a slow stroll around the room. And keep your ears tuned to the musical stylings of droid DJ R-3X (formerly of Star Tours).
Finally, be aware that things can get cozy in Oga’s Cantina. This is a popular place. You will need have a reservation or put your name on the wait list just to enter. If you do get a seat, there is a good chance you will be sharing your table with other patrons.
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar
at the Disneyland Hotel
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar has the distinction of being the one restaurant on this list that you do not need a ticket to enjoy! Trader Sam’s is located on the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel, but you do not need to be a hotel guest to dine here.
The story behind this Enchanted Tiki Bar is that Trader Sam, of Jungle Cruise fame, traveled the world collecting ingredients and trinkets. He then brought his collection back to Anaheim and set up shop at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar.
What that means for you is a lively bar and restaurant with curiosities in every nook and cranny. Imagine Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room if it actually became the restaurant Walt Disney imagined. The Imagineers brought their creative ideas to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar: there’s immersive tiki theming and clever surprises. Various elements in the bar come to life and are even activated by the ordering of particular menu items. The show is all around you.
How to Enjoy the Immersive Entertainment at Trader Sam’s
We have a few practical notes on this highly impractical (and wonderful) restaurant. Kids can visit Trader Sam’s until 8pm. After that, the indoor venue is for patrons 21 and over.
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar is possibly the hardest reservation to score in all of Disneyland Resort. Reservations open sixty days in advance, usually around 6am PST. You can also add your party to a walk-up list on the day you plan to dine with Sam.
There is outdoor seating at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. If you sit outside, you will still get the same menu, some nice tiki ambience and possibly some live music. However, you will miss the more whimsical “enchanted” elements outside.
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room and Tiki Juice Bar
in Adventureland, Disneyland Park
We are not done with tiki yet! The birds and flowers of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room host what is probably our favorite snack-and-show combo in Disneyland Resort.
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room is a special attraction, because the delightfully unexpected characters are all around and above you, and the music is undeniably catchy. It is also a special attraction because you can eat while you are enjoying it!
Most attractions—especially elaborate ones like this—require you to leave your food and drink outside. At Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, there is no rule against bringing a snack into the show. In fact, the Tiki Juice Bar adjoins the waiting area for the attraction.
How to Eat Inside Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
We love to use mobile order to snag a Dole Whip just before the show starts at the Enchanted Tiki Room. We bring it inside and find a seat on one of the benches. Enjoying the show while we also enjoy our pineapple soft serve is one of our favorite ways to cool off and reenergize at Disneyland. Actually, we have been known to enjoy this combo on rainy days or anytime we need to take a little rest.
This entertainment while you eat combo is probably the cheapest of all of the options on this list. (Well, if you ignore the price of admission to Disneyland.) Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room also makes our list of 5 Wonderful Attractions for All-Ages at Disneyland Park. For all of these reasons, we have a Dole Whip with José, Michael, Pierre and Fritz most every time we visit Disneyland.
Pym Test Kitchen and Pym Tasting Lab
in Avengers Campus, Disney California Adventure Park
These next two entries on our list have shows that take place just outside our recommend restaurants. We will start by flying over to Pym Test Kitchen and Pym Tasting Lab at Disney California Adventure Park. The former is a quick service restaurant, and the latter is the attached bar.
For the purposes of this post, we are going to be treating them as one establishment. Just keep in mind that one has mostly food and the other has mostly alcoholic drinks. Both are themed to the concept that Pym Technologies (of the Marvel Universe) is conducting shrink and grow tests on food. This means that, as a diner, you can enjoy things like a massive “Quantum Pretzel” as well as on-theme props (look up!) that are just good silly fun.
However, these props—as clever as they are—are not the show we are recommending for this entry. As we said, that show happens outside the restaurant. That is fortunate, because all of the restaurant seating is also outdoors.
Spot Some Avengers from Pym Test Kitchen and Tasting Lab
Pick-up your food and find some seating that offers a decent view of the courtyard between you and the large building with a jet on the roof, i.e. “Avengers Headquarters.”
Until just this April last, you could watch a rooftop stunt show featuring the Avengers climbing, flipping and fighting around their headquarters. This show is not currently happening, but we are mentioning it here, because we hope to see it return as the Avengers Campus develops. The show was awesome and fun to watch while dining.
We are still recommending Pym as a “dinner and a show” location for now, because you are very likely to see various superheroes cross through this adjacent courtyard: Black Panther, Shang-Chi, Black Widow and more. All of these little character moments are our favorite part of Avengers Campus, so we think it is worth pausing to enjoy them.
Plus, if you time it right, you can finish your meal and stroll over to WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-man Adventure to catch the rooftop show that is still happening there: The Amazing Spider-Man!
Looking Ahead
Do keep in mind that Avengers Campus is the focus of a lot of development in the coming years at Disney California Adventure Park. Accordingly, we expect this whole area to be in a state of flux for some time. Both the landscape and entertainment will change.
You can grab your food at Pym Test Kitchen and Tasting Lab and see what happens. However, if you have your heart set on a good show, you may want to scope out your sight-lines and check with a cast member about entertainment happening during your particular visit.
Flo’s V8 Cafe
in Cars Land, Disney California Adventure Park
Like the last entry, the show at Flo’s V8 Cafe happens outside the restaurant. For this combo, zoom on south from Avengers Campus to Cars Land where you can enjoy some fuel and a great view at Flo’s V8 Cafe. Here, find a table that looks out over the beautiful canyons of the Radiator Springs Racers attraction.
When to Dine at Flo’s V8 Cafe
We like to visit Flo’s for dinner and watch the racers zip through twilight shadows. The way the ride is lit at night is absolutely gorgeous, and this view is somehow relaxing and invigorating at the same time. If you can make it work, hang-out in front of Flo’s for “act one” of the show: “Sh-Boom Time” on the main drag. Then, grab your food and find your table to enjoy those racers.
Not interested in the “comfort food” Flo is serving? Look for the pathway that crosses between Radiator Springs Racers and Flo’s V8 Cafe. If you head west on this pathway, you will cross under a rock archway and directly into San Fransokyo Square. Despite being two very different lands, the distance between the two areas is minimal. All of our favorite quick service meals at Disney California Adventure Park are in San Fransokyo Square (which is basically an elaborate food court), and there is no problem with you taking food from one Disney-run quick service restaurant to another. We use mobile ordering to make it easy to grab food from multiple restaurants.
Conventional Dining Packages and Character Meals at Disneyland for Entertainment While You Eat
All of the entries on our list have been for “dinner and a show” options at Disneyland Resort that are not marketed as dining packages. Instead of going with our DIY type suggestions, remember that you can always book dining packages or character meals at Disneyland.
We have not covered these on our list, because they are more conventional options, and you can find plenty of information about them from the Disneyland website. In addition to being conventional, they are also great, so we are in no way discouraging you from checking them out. As we mentioned earlier, there are even some great new offerings for the 70th anniversary festivities at Disneyland Resort.
Thanks for reading this post on finding entertainment while you eat at Disneyland Resort.
We hope you have found these suggestions helpful. For more advice on dining at Disneyland, see How to Save Money & Eat Well with Disneyland Dining Tips. That is part of our free and complete Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. Please also consider subscribing to our newsletter below to get future tips in your email inbox. Thanks again for reading!
