With all the thrill rides, waiting in lines and battling the crowds, a day of exploring at Disneyland and California Adventure can be downright exhausting. That’s why we like to kick off our visit with a stop by one of our favorite Disneyland restaurants for breakfast.
And also because, well, we love breakfast. Savory or sweet, simple or extravagant; bacon or pancakes, scrambled eggs or eggs benedict – it doesn’t matter. It’s all delicious.
Fortunately, there are plenty of places around the Disneyland Resort to fuel up for your adventures and get your morning started, whether it’s a grab-and-go sandwich from one of the quick-service spots or an all-you-can-eat character buffet. So, grab your cup of coffee and fire up your note taking app as we round up the tasty possibilities.
Where to Find the Best Disneyland Breakfast & Brunch
When it comes to figuring out how to start your day, you have a few different Disneyland food options to choose from. Quick-service restaurants are perfect if you’re looking for lighter, often handheld items you can eat on the go. While Disneyland table-service restaurants are great for those wanting a slower meal with heartier fare, and if you’re going to one of the buffets, sometimes a lot of it.
Plus, don’t forget about Disney character meals! For those wanting a quintessential start for their trip to Disneyland, breakfast with Mickey Mouse – or Minnie, Goofy or the princesses – is hard to beat.
But, how do you know which one to choose? The answer is in your plans for the day – and your stomach. Consider how you want the rest of your day to go.
Are you planning on going on Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission: BREAKOUT! or Space Mountain right away after eating? Or, do you already have Disneyland dining reservations for a buffet or other sit-down restaurant later on that day?
Perhaps you don’t have long to visit and you’re hoping the maximize what time you have. Whatever the case, a quick, easy and light meal from one of the Disneyland counter-service restaurants is probably best for you.
What if you like to start your day with a big breakfast? Then you’ll want to book a table at one of Disneyland’s table-service outlets. And bonus, since this morning meal tends to be cheaper than lunch or dinner, it’s a smart way to sample the resort’s spendier dining experiences, including Disney character dining.
If you do decide to try one of the sit-down restaurants at Disneyland, be sure to make a dining reservation in advance, especially for character breakfasts or weekend-only brunch. And as for quick-service restaurants, remember to take advantage of mobile ordering to save time if you’re planning to eat on the go.
Best Disneyland Quick-Service Restaurants for Breakfast
When entering Disneyland Park in the morning, one of the first things many guests do is make a beeline for breakfast. But, if you’re anything like us, you like to take advantage of the AM’s low wait times and knock out as many of the park’s most popular rides as possible.
That means finding something speedy to get yet satisfying to eat that’s filling without weighing us down (or getting us sick on thrill rides), like the famous Disneyland breakfast chimichanga. Luckily, there are several places to grab a quick breakfast at Disneyland Park.
While many people will stop at Market House, AKA Starbucks, for their caffeine fix and a pastry, these Disneyland quick-service restaurants also dish up a delicious start to the day:
Galactic Grill | Tomorrowland
Blast off into a day of fun with something yummy from Galactic Grill. For the ultimate portable breakfast, opt for the fully-loaded American Breakfast Burrito with all the AM staples – cheesy eggs, bacon, sausage and hashbrowns – all conveniently wrapped up in a flour tortilla. Want more carbs? Get the Loaded Breakfast Sandwich for the goods on a bun instead. Or, try the French Toast Sticks.
Jolly Holiday Bakery Café | Main Street, U.S.A.
If the line is too long at Market House, or you simply want something more *Disney* to jumpstart your day, keep walking right up the middle of Main Street, U.S.A., then hang a left towards the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café. Here you’ll find a similar assortment of coffee drinks and breakfast pastries, as well as an Egg Bacon Croissant drizzled with hollandaise sauce.
Maurice’s Treats | Fantasyland
Coffee and donuts are a classic for a reason. While you can get coffee here (as well as the refreshing Boysen Apple Freeze), the real highlight when it comes to breakfast is the donuts. Choose between either the cheekily named Maurice’s Pieces (donut holes rolled in your chocolate, milk & cookies or cinnamon sugar) or Churro Gears (cinnamon sugar donuts).
Red Rose Taverne | Fantasyland
In the age-old battle for breakfast supremacy that is sweet versus savory, you’ll find two mouthwatering contenders at the Red Rose Taverne in Fantasyland. On team sweet, a Mickey-shaped Pancake topped with berry compote is a tempting choice. Or, if you’re in a savory mood (with just a hint of sweet), try Beast’s Breakfast Burger, an Angus patty topped with an egg and bacon-orange marmalade.
Ronto Roasters | Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
While Ronto Roasters in Galaxy’s Edge is a great pick for lunch and dinner, don’t miss out on breakfast at this tasty spot. The Ronto Morning Wrap – a pita stuffed with scrambled eggs, grilled pork sausage, cheddar cheese and a drizzle of peppercorn sauce – is a handheld treat. Wash it all down with a Bloody Rancor from Oga’s Cantina, the Star Wars bar’s take on a Bloody Mary.
Ship to Shore Marketplace | Frontierland
For a buzz-worthy way to start the head, head to this unsuspecting snack stand across from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for one of the most famous breakfasts at Disneyland: Breakfast Chimichangas. So popular that they tend to sell out early, go here first thing in the morning if you want to give one a try. Be sure to grab some napkins once you’ve got one in your hot little hands – they can get greasy. And remember the salsa, too.
Best Disneyland Sit-Down Restaurants for Breakfast & Brunch
Rather start things slow? Book a reservation for a Disneyland table-service restaurant instead. Breakfast is served at two opening-day originals down on Main Street, U.S.A.: the Carnation Café and Plaza Inn.
Carnation Café | Main Street, U.S.A.
Opening its doors way back on Disneyland Park’s opening day, the Carnation Café is a true institution with an appropriately nostalgic menu to match. Here you’ll find a selection of AM favorites, from pancakes and overnight oats to breakfast skillets and sandwiches laden with eggs and bacon. Or, for a morning meal as classic as the restaurant itself, order the giant Mickey-shaped Waffle.
Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park at the Plaza Inn | Main Street, U.S.A.
While going on rides at Disneyland is fun (ok, a lot of fun), there’s something about meeting your favorite Disney characters that makes a vacation to The Happiest Place on Earth magical. Unfortunately, if you’re trying to see a bunch of them, it can also take a lot of time.
That is unless you go for the Breakfast in the Park with Minnie & Friends at the Plaza Inn. With all-you-can-eat breakfast classics and, typically, a rare line-up of characters in attendance alongside Minnie, it’s one of the best character breakfasts at Disneyland.
Best California Adventure Quick-Service Restaurants for Breakfast
Craving a quick, delicious breakfast while visiting Disney’s California Adventure Park? Unfortunately, one of our favorite Disneyland counter-service breakfasts at California Adventure Park, Flo’s V8 Café, is no longer being offered. However, along with Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café on Buena Vista Street, the park’s Starbucks location, you can still fuel up for the day on some super AM favorites at Avengers Campus.
Pym Test Kitchen | Avengers Campus
Make your morning epic with breakfast at Pym Test Kitchen. This inventive eatery cooks up some of the coolest dishes at Disneyland. For breakfast, the Ever-expanding Cinna-Pym Toast makes for a yummy and fun start to the day or the Calculated Breakfast for AM favorites with flair.
Shawarma Palace | Avengers Campus
A food cart slinging shawarma might not seem like a great place to go for breakfast. However, you might change your mind once you try the handheld, sweet-and-savory taste sensation that is the Impossible Breakfast Sha-warm-up: an omelet wrap stuffed with veggie sausage, dairy-free cheese and potato bites and served with spiced maple syrup for dunking.
Best California Adventure Table-Service Restaurant for Brunch
When it comes to sit-down places to grab a bite to eat for breakfast in Disney’s California Adventure Park, you don’t have *too* many choices. In fact, you have precisely one option, and it isn’t even available every day of the week: weekend brunch at the Lamplight Lounge.
Lamplight Lounge | Pixar Pier
Only available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, the Lamplight Lounge is one of the best (and only) places to go for a Disneyland brunch. Come here for an assortment of brunch-y classics with a sophisticated twist, including everything from Crab and Potato Cake Benedict and Lamplight Chilaquiles to a Brunch Burger and New York Avocado Toast topped with steak. Yum!
Best Downtown Disney Restaurants for Breakfast & Brunch
Prefer to pick up breakfast before you even enter the park? Snag something from one of Downtown Disney’s quick-service locations, including Starbucks, to munch on as you enter the park or, on the weekends, ease into your day with a boozy brunch.
Catal Restaurant
Available on Saturday and Sunday mornings only, brunch at Catal Restaurant is an elevated affair with a collection of upscale favorites. Choose from breakfast-y dishes like pancakes, chilaquiles or Skirt Steak & Eggs. Or lean into lunchtime and try their salmon, burger, Monte Cristo sandwich or Mary’s Fried Chicken with cornbread madeleines, maple bacon and blackberry maple syrup.
Jamba Juice
When craving a sweet breakfast on the go, nothing hits the spot quite like a smoothie. Whether spiked with hidden veggies or pumped up with protein, Jamba Juice knows how to blend them right.
Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express
If there’s one food item that New Orleans is known for, it’s beignets. And since beignet is basically a fancy French word for donut, you know you need to give the ones from Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express a try for breakfast. Opt for a four-pack of their specialty Snickerdoodle Glazed Beignets or upgrade to a six or ten-count of their original powdered-sugar variety.
Best Disneyland Dining Options for Breakfast & Brunch at the Disneyland Hotels
Unless you’re staying in one of the Disneyland hotels, you may not think to venture into the likes of the Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel – and that would be a mistake, especially when it comes to breakfast. From Disney character breakfasts to an absolute unit of a not-so-French toast, you’ll find it all at these Disneyland hotel restaurants.
Goofy’s Kitchen | Disneyland Hotel
There are character meals that take over a restaurant for a few hours and then there’s Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel, an all-day outpost of silliness and family-friendly flavors dishing up both breakfast and dinner. With Goofy as chef, count on a couple of lighthearted additions to an otherwise standard breakfast buffet (think Mickey waffles and pancakes and an omelet station), like his Famous Peanut Butter Pizza.
Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast & Brunch at Storyteller’s Café | Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
If you’re hoping to have breakfast with Mickey Mouse, set your sights on Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast and Brunch at Storyteller’s Café. What’s more, while you will find the usual spread of breakfast classics on this all-you-can-enjoy buffet, it’s also stocked with upgraded AM favorites like the veggie-loaded Egg White Frittata, Chili Verde Chilaquiles and Eggs Benedict with Spiced Hollandaise.
Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures at Napa Rose | Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Remember how we said that breakfast tends to be cheaper, especially when Disney characters are involved? Well, Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures at Napa Rose is an exception to that rule. Starting out at a pricey $125 per person, this regal dining experience doesn’t come cheap. However, what you get is a memorable three-course breakfast inspired by and starring some of your favorite Disney princesses, along with a special souvenir.
Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill | Disneyland Hotel
Loco moco is a Hawaiian culinary institution, and a fried egg its crowning glory. So, it’s no wonder you can find it (in burrito form) and other breakfast favorites with a tropical twist at Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill. We’re talking Thick and Fluffy Japanese Pancakes, Avocado Toast with furikake hollandaise and Tangaroa Toast, a tower of carbs loaded with bananas foster, whipped cream and toasted coconut.
Well, Mickey waffle fans, that’s all of our favorite Disneyland restaurants for breakfast and brunch. Do you like having breakfast at Disneyland? Let us know in the comments!
Then, learn how to get the most out of your day with our 1-Day Disneyland Park Plan. Trying to save some cash instead? Don’t miss our discount Disneyland tickets.
