Disneyland has snack carts throughout the park, so you can pick up a little something to satisfy your appetite without waiting in long lines at one of the restaurants. These carts have sodas, fruits, churros, popcorn, sports drinks, water, cotton candy, ice cream and other drinks and snacks. The majority of these carts do not show up around the park until around eleven and usually are put away at around five or six.

Some carts stay around by the Fantasmic! viewing areas and elsewhere in the park, but the majority of them are put away. Most of the food on the carts does not run more than three dollars. Sodas run around two dollars and fifty cents for a 20oz. bottle. Please note with the snacks: all rides do not allow the food inside the ride, and some queues do not allow food in them. Be sure to finish your food before visiting most attractions.

Even though outside food is technically not allowed inside the park you can still bring your own drinks and snacks. This is a good idea to help keep food costs down. Just throw the food in a backpack to carry it around with you or rent a locker to put it in. There is also a picnic area to the left of the Main Gate to eat outside food. I would definitely bring some smaller snacks and drinks to keep you filled all day. Many of the parks snacks are overpriced and bringing your own will help keep group members from getting hungry in the middle of the day.

If the food in the park is a little too expensive for your pocket book, there are many places to eat outside the park. If you came to Disneyland by car you can leave the parking lot and reenter without paying for parking again, as long as you have your parking voucher you received when you entered the parking lot. The following are some places where you can eat around Disneyland.

• Directly across Harbor Blvd. from Disneyland, there is a McDonald's and an International House of Pancakes. Anaheim has just installed a new intersection on Harbor Blvd. that allows guests to easily get to these restaurants safely and without jaywalking.
   
• Turn right on Ball Rd. off of Harbor or West St., and drive until Anaheim Blvd. Here you will find a McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, Kentucky Fried Chicken and El Pollo Loco. A little further down the road at State College, you will find an El Torito and a Benih ana. If you make a right on State College and travel south until you get to Katella on your right you will find an El Torito and Charley Browns.

There is only one restaurant in the park that requires that you have reservations and that is the Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square. It is recommended that you get your reservations early in the morning. On busy days this is probably the first thing you'll want to do. On days when there are not too many people in the park you may be able to walk right up without a reservation but you should still try to get the reservation as early as possible. Reservations can be made at the stand at the entrance to the Blue Bayou.

Guest can also make reservations for the Fantasmic! desert buffet. This is an all you can eat desert buffet, where you sit along the river in an area in front of the Haunted Mansion. The cost is $59 per adult and $49 per child. 
 

Currently four restaurants in the park offer Breakfast. They Plaza Inn, which is located on the right hand side at the end of Main Street. Breakfast is served here on days the park is open at 8 am or earlier until about 10:45 am. Here you can have breakfast with your favorite characters for around $8 for an adult and $6 for a child. Mickey and Minnie don't make an appearance at this restaurant though.

The River Belle Terrace also serves breakfast until 10:45 am and is a nice place to go to sit and watch the traffic on the Rivers of America. Note: The River Belle Terrace is also a little bit cheaper than the Plaza Inn. The Tomorrowland Terrace and Carnation Café also offer breakfast. The Terrace, as with the Plaza Inn, offers a character breakfast for the kids. Carnation Café is the only sit down restaurant in the park that is open for breakfast.

There are many restaurants throughout the park to choose from for your dinning experience at Disneyland. You can choose from outdoor fast-food restaurants to the indoor Blue Bayou. You will want to eat early or late, since there are very large crowds during the lunch and dinner hours. The busiest lunch crowds are from about noon to two in the afternoon. If you eat around eleven or later at three there won't be too large of crowds.

For dinner many people eat while waiting for Fantasmic! and others eat around five or six. Eating about seven or eight should get you shorter lines. You don't have to eat at the restaurant that you bought the food at. If your family wants different things than send them to that restaurant and meet at a less crowded restaurant to eat, like Carnation Plaza Gardens. The only downfall of this is the food may be a little cold.

• Coffee has free refills if you keep your cup
   
• Clam Chowder in a bread bowl is good for a cheap meal that you can find at the Royal Street Veranda, Café Orleans and the Harbor Galley. You get the benefit of eating the soup and the bread bowl, so it is actually quite a large meal.
   
• Kids meals are good for adults too and they don't check to see if you are age 11 or under. Prices for the kids meals are about $4.
   
• The Harbor Galley offers some of the largest servings for the cheapest prices. Unfortunately it is only open during the busier times of the year. The fries are large enough for at least two people, if not more. Combine that with the Clam Chowder in a bread bowl and a drink and you've got the most food for the money at any restaurant.
   
• If you want pizza I'd suggest the Village Haus restaurant in Fantasyland. It offers the largest size personal pizza for the price. Redd Rocket's is quite a large piece, but not as large as the personal pizza's. Combining the pizza with fries and a drink is also a very good meal for the price.