Downtown Disney!

I blogged about Downtown Disney (DTD) on the main page so if you are planning a trip to DTD make sure you read the overall review. Here you will find my review of the restaurants, shops, and one hotel. Hopefully you will find the reviews helpful!

Travel Well!

Restaurants- 

Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen- By far the best place we ate while at DTD!

Why- One word; Cajun! Oh, man, does this place do it right! The food was fantastic and the portions were huge. My whole party loved their food so much, we actually went back to the restaurant a few days later. The customer service was superb and the atmosphere was cool. The place is loud enough to enjoy yourself, but not so loud you can't hear yourself think. Even though it was a little on the pricey side, about $20 a plate it was still a good eating experience.

What to watch out for- Go for the patio seating. There is more space between tables, and the kids will like the fountains nearby. Also, for any of us who have experienced the weaponization of french fries by our little ones, you will enjoy the mess being outside rather than in the dining room.

Secrets- The portions are big, so big in fact you could feed a family of four off two plates. Get there early as well, the place filled up fast after about three, and by five the wait for a table was about 45 minutes.


ESPN ZONE- This was the second best place I ate while at DTD, I recommend you stop in for a bite!

Why- It is a massive sports themed restaurant complete with an arcade and dozens of flat screen televisions. You have the choice upon entering in which dining room you would like to sit, and each one is unique. The place is loud enough to drown out the ambient "kid noise" so parents can relax. They have a semi varied menu, mostly focused on hamburgers, sandwiches, and the like. The food was well priced for the portion size and very tasty. The kids menu was pretty cool, with items like mini- hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, and chicken nuggets.

What to watch out for- The price. Most of the plates hovered around $20. The customer service was not the best either. The group I travel with typically tips well, but in this case we didn't tip at all. The waiter spent several minutes outside on a smoke break, hardly ever came to our table, and was generally disinterested in out dining experience.

Secrets- The portions are huge in the ESPN Zone, so you won't have a problem sharing with the kids if you do not want to buy them their own meal.


House of Blues Restaurant- The place with the lowest scores all week. In fact, most of us preferred conference food over this menu.

Why- How hard is it to make a Cobb Salad? To take it one step further, how hard is it mess up a Cobb Salad, or a Caesar Salad, or meatloaf? In our case, all three plates were substandard. I had the Caesar salad which was dry, bland, and contained no dressing. I asked for a side dish of dressing and after waiting nearly 15 minutes for it, decided I would never get it. I was halfway through my salad when the dressing finally showed up. Our drinks were filled once, but never again, and I don't even know if we had a waiter, or if others just felt sorry for us and occasionally stopped by.

What to watch out for- The food was not that great and the prices were very high. The service was atrocious.

Secrets- There are better places to eat in DTD.


Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria- This place fits nicely into the "average" category.

Why- Thin crust, wood fired pizzas are not easy to make. They require a certain dough, the right ingredients, and a steady baker's eye to know when they are done just right. Naples has the right dough, and the right ingredients, but they are missing that "something" that would make the pizzas just right. If you like thin crust, wood fired pizza, then you won't leave disappointed, but you also won't leave satisfied. You will leave full, and probably thinking, "I've had better..."

What to watch out for- Again, like with other restaurants in DTD, the prices are high. Otherwise there are no pitfalls that we saw at Naples.

Secrets- A little pizza goes a long way. If you go for the mid sized pizza you could easily feed four kids.


Shops-


The funnest place to shop in DTD has to be the Lego Imagination Center. Imagine a whole place filled with all of the newest Lego projects, giant Lego statues, a life sized Darth Vader, and buckets of Legos the kids can play with! Well, that is the Lego store.

What to watch out for- Little Legos fit nicely in your children's mouths...and the mouths of every other kid lucky enough to enter the Lego store in the last year (Take hand sanitizer).

Secrets- If you are on the hook for buying souvenirs for the little ones, the Lego store has a section where you can build personalized Lego people. How awesome is that?


Island Charters- Combine the thrill of flying with the "chill" of island life and you get this store. It is by far the oddest collection of airplane models, flips flops, and floppy hats I've ever seen. The one commonality is the high prices. I found one shirt for $112, which is about $100 dollars more than I will ever spend on a shirt.

What to watch out for- Not a kid safe store! When you have $100 shirts hanging low enough to be grabbed by stroller-bound munchkins, you will have problems. Save this store for the moms and dads.

Secrets- If you are on the hunt for model airplanes, you will find better deals on line. As for the shirts...well, they are pretty nice!

Marceline's Confectionary- Chocolate!

Why- A good place for chocolate covered everything! They have fresh, hand made candies, as well as a large variety of other sweets. It is a very fun chocolate store, and worth a stop before loading the family back in the car.

What to watch out for- It's chocolate...how bad can it be?

Secrets- One word...truffles.

Disney Vault 28- Concept toys, vintage clothing, and a strange cross between Ed Hardy and Mickey Mouse.

What to watch out for- It's just a strange store. Not for kids, or for the old school Disney fan.

Secrets- Nothing really, just prepare to be surprised by this place.


Hotel-


I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, located at the west end of DTD. It is the hotel of choice for Disneyland goers.

Why- Clean, super clean. Probably the cleanest hotel I have ever seen. The hotel's cleaning crew do an amazing job everyday to make sure you have a clean comfortable room to return to after your sojourn in the land of Disney. The kids will love the Mickey Mouse shampoo bottles and the Mickey lamp posts. Moms and Dads will love the kid proof rooms. Overall I was very impressed by the rooms.

What to watch out for- Customer service, of the lack thereof. The clerks at check-in were either new on the job, or simply did not care for my existence. I was not the only one who sensed attitude issues, my fellow travelers also reported being underwhelmed by the clerks. Even the gift shop clerk was less than pleasant.

Bring you own water!! I cannot stress this enough. The gift shop sells water bottles starting at $4.50. They are the same bottles you buy for half that price at Circle K. Also, the closest retail store where you can buy water is about 2 miles away, take a car even though it looks close on a map. We learned that the hard way.

That room was how much per night? Yea, be ready to drop a few bills on the rooms, they are not cheap. Also if you go to Disneyland between mid 2011 and mid 2012 be prepared for construction, a lot of it. The hotel, the pool, and the amusement park are all being renovated.

Secrets- Just to the left of Goofy's stake house there is a small coffee shop that opens at about 5:30 AM. They have fresh fruit, teas, and little breakfast cakes. It closes at 9 AM, so make sure you get there early.