After visiting Disneyland Paris 7 times over the course of 27 months while we had our annual passes, I am having serious withdrawal symptoms having not set foot onto Main Street in 7 months!
As we're heading for our first visit to Walt Disney World Florida next year, we've been saving our money for that and spending time getting familiar with First Timer Tips for Visiting Walt Disney World. But I really miss my regular Disney fix!
So to ease those Disney blues a little, I thought I'd do a series of posts all about our DLP favourites - from snacks to hotels and everything in between!
It's been a little while since I last wrote a post about our favorite places to eat at Disneyland Paris and since then, we've visited lots more times and tried out tons more eateries - so it felt like a good time to write a whole new post about that!
Disneyland Paris, unlike it's American counterpart, isn't really all that impressive on the whole when it comes to food - at least that's my opinion! But that doesn't mean there aren't some culinary delights to be had - and it IS trying it's best to catch up, so there's hope! I do notice the snack options improving there all the time.
Today though, I want to focus on my Top 5 Places To Eat Dinner … rather than focusing on the snacks! (Although if you want to hear my drink and snack recommendations....Pineapple Whip from the cart by Agrabah Cafe, Mickey Waffles from Victorias, Nutella Crepe from the hut in Fantasyland, Light up candy floss from the stalls in the Disney village and Glowtinis from any of the Disney hotels! You're welcome!)
So here are my top choices....in reverse order!
5) Auberge De Cendrillon, Fantasyland
Also known as Cinderella's house, this is Disneyland Paris's Princess Dining Experience.
The theming in the restaurant is beautiful, and throughout your meal you are joined by Cinderella's mice friends Suzy and Perla as well as a surprise selection of 4 or 5 Princesses.
During our visit, we got the chance to meet Rapunzel, Snow White, Belle, Aurora and, of course, Cinderella herself! We had plenty of time to chat and take lots of photos with each princess, and never felt rushed which was a lovely experience - the service here was also pleasant, and my little Princess-fan adored every second of our time here making it totally worthwhile!
Having said that, we didn't think the food itself was all that impressive! Our amuse-bouche of fairy nibbles and Princes Cocktails were lovely and very well presented, but it was all downhill from there with a mediocre starter and a very disappointing main course.
We also found the menu to be a little too fussy for our tastes and certainly for our childrens tastes, they barely ate anything at all - desserts were delicious and well presented though!
But given the high price tag on this dining experience, I would say to check the menu options and keep in mind that I feel you're paying for the Princess experience here rather than the quality of food.
I'm very keen to try the new Princess Breakfast experience at this restaurant, as I feel like this would offer better food options for our families tastes!
4) La Bella Notte, Fantasyland
This is a quick service restaurant located in the heart of Fantasyland, styled after the restaurant of the same name from Lady & The Tramp!
I love the theming here, and the fact that you can order Spaghetti & Meatballs just like in the movie too - a very romantic lunch date option for sure!
The other food options here are reasonably priced and perfectly nice, not really any different from any other Disneyland Paris quick service pizza restaurant (Our favorite options are the star shaped adult pizzas which is big enough for 2 to share, and the mickey-shaped childrens pizzas too!) - but the appeal of this restaurant is its theming, and location along the parade route - if you time it right and sit outside, you can watch the parade go by as you enjoy your lunch! Perfect!
3) Fuente Del Oro, Frontierland
This was a restaurant we discovered two trips ago and has now become a firm favorite. It's location in Frontierland just in front of Big Thunder Mountain means that can often be pretty quiet and it's usually easy enough to get a nice table.
The restaurant's Mexican theming is pretty authentic, and the menu offers a nice change from the usual burgers and pizza too with things such as fajitas, loaded fries and enchiladas.
The churros from here are delicious too, and it's worth paying a visit for those alone! There's often a mariachi band playing outside which really adds to the Mexican ambience.
2) Cape Cod @ Newport Bay Hotel
This is the buffet restaurant at the Newport Bay Hotel, and having experienced other Disneyland Hotel buffets I wasn't too excited for our visit here - but I was very pleasantly surprised! Infact it has become a firm favourite!
The restaurant isn't huge and I do feel that some seating areas are a little over crowded, but if you can get one of the booths then great!
The buffet features a great selection of fresh and healthy food options rather than the usual fries and chicken nuggets (though there are these options available for those who might want them). We loved it here as our kids were able to have their favourites such as nuggets, pizza and pasta while the adults could be a bit more adventurous with nice cuts of meat, fish dishes, fresh soups and clam chowder, and an amazing selection of desserts!
There's even help yourself soft serve ice creams and sometimes candy floss for the children, too.
We loved it here and felt it was really good value for money by Disney standards, and very clean too1
1) Inventions Buffet @ Disneyland Hotel
I don't think Inventions will ever cease to be my ultimate favorite place at Disneyland Paris!
I actually put off eating here for our first couple of visits because the price was just too high and, going by Café Mickey standards, I just didn't believe that it would live up to the hype.
But we decided to give it a try eventually and we were SOLD! Now we visit every single time we go to Disneyland Paris, it is always our first evening treat!
The Disneyland Hotel itself is stunning and it's ideally located right at the park gates, making it a perfect stop off for an end-of-day dinner.
The restaurant is large enough not to feel too crowded, and the selection of food is really impressive both in variety and quality. I never have a bad meal here, everything is always delicious - and believe me, I am a FUSSY eater!
The dessert selection is also fantastic, and the character interaction is second to none. There are usually 5 or 6 characters here, and we always get plenty of time with them - with each character usually visiting our table 3 or 4 times during the course of our meal.
We never feel rushed, the children absolutely adore it and always seem to end up playing with a couple of the characters too (We usually visit toward the end of the night when its emptying out and this works well as there aren't many other children about!), and the food is fantastic. What's not to love?!
Next on my Disney Goals list is to try their Themed Character Brunch on Sunday Afternoons!
So there we have it! My top choices for a Disney kinda dinner! If you're a vegetarian family heading to DLP then my friend Alex's post on where to eat as a vegetarian at Disneyland Paris is well worth a read.
Next week I'll be sharing my top choices for Disney Quick service/take out meals so don't forget to check back or click HERE to see all of my Disneyland Paris posts in one place!
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