I don’t know if you know this about me yet – but I love breakfast. Which is weird, because I distinctly remember HATING breakfast food growing up.
Regardless of my random change of heart in college regarding breakfast food, going out for breakfast is one of my favorite things. It’s even better on vacation, because I can stuff my face as much as I want and use the excuse “but I’m on vacation!” to justify the enormous amount of calories I eat at Disney resorts. Disney has some of the best breakfast dining experiences around, and one of our favorite places to dine first thing in the morning is the Carnation Cafe breakfast in Disneyland park.
Carnation Cafe is located right off of Main Street USA, and one of the best values we’ve found to start our day before we head to the rides. Here’s a quick recap of our experiences there (I think we’ve gone every time we’ve been to Disneyland the last few years!) and why I highly recommend this restaurant!
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Wait Time
Personally, I’m a planner and love making reservations – nothing is more comforting to me than knowing I DEFINITELY have a table waiting for me at a restaurant. However, the last few times we have headed to Disneyland, we’ve been able to basically walk right in to Carnation Cafe as long as we go first thing in the morning. This has been during the SUMMER as well! At most, we’ve had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated.
The amazing location of Carnation Cafe also allows us to get our first Fastpasses early in the day. Because Disneyland still operates on the old Fastpass system (for now, at least) you can put in your name for a table or get seated, place your order, and then send one member of your party off with the park tickets to get Fastpasses for one of the high ticket attractions! My family and I personally ALWAYS go for Splash Mountain or Indiana Jones right off the bat while my parents usually keep the table at the cafe.
Service
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever had terrible service at a Disney restaurant. The Carnation Cafe is no different. In fact, we’ve even had the chef come out and introduce himself, which I don’t think we’ve experienced at ANY other restaurant at Disney! The wait time for food is often very quick as well – we’re usually out of there within 45 minutes!
Food
NOW for the important part – FOOD! If the food is no good, what’s the point, right?
Carnation Cafe offers all the traditional dishes you’d expect from a breakfast restaurant. Omelets and pancakes, traditional breakfast platters and of course, MICKEY WAFFLES, can all be found on the menu. My personal favorites are the All American Breakfast and the Mickey Waffles with fruit toppings. Similar dishes can be found on the children’s menu.
In addition, they have all sorts of breakfast juices and coffee with flavored creamers available. Much cheaper than stopping by Starbucks before you start the day! They even have some fancier coffee drinks like lattes available!
As far as prices go, they’re probably a few dollars more expensive than the breakfast cafe you’re used to going to at home. By Disney standards, however, it’s definitely on the cheaper side! You can fill up before hitting the parks and hopefully save money on lunch (because you’ll definitely still be full by the time lunch rolls around!) In case you were wondering, the most expensive breakfast item on the menu is the $15 Country Fried Steak.
There you have it! Carnation Cafe may not be the most popular restaurant at Disneyland resort, but for my family, it’s a must do.
Have you been to Carnation Cafe for other meals? Or do you have another breakfast spot that you MUST swing by at Disneyland resort? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter! You’ll get my FREE WDW Prep Checklist as a thank you!
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