CASTLEHOPPERS QUICK REVIEW
⭐ Our Rating: 2/5
🍽️ Type: Table-service dining
📍 Location: New Orleans Square, Disneyland
👨👩👧👦 Family-friendly: Yes
💰 Price: $$$
🔁 Would we return? Based off most recent experience? Probably not
The Quick Take
Cafe Orleans is a Disneyland restaurant that sounds like an easy win:
✔️ Great location
✔️ Beautiful setting
✔️ Famous Monte Cristo
It basically checks all the boxes for a sit-down meal inside Disneyland, and we’ve actually dined here before and loved it.
But this most recent visit left us wondering: Is Cafe Orleans actually worth the money?
For our family, the answer was no.
This time around, we didn’t feel that the atmosphere, food and overall experience lived up to the price.
What We Liked
📍 The Location
You can’t beat the setting. Definitely one of the nicest spots to dine in Disneyland.
Cafe Orleans is located in New Orleans Square. It’s a convenient place to have a nice sit down meal without leaving Disneyland. The restaurant has a classic Disneyland atmosphere that makes the meal feel like part of the experience.
French Quarter-inspired restaurant, and the outdoor patio offers views of the Rivers of America.
🍽️ It’s a Nice Break From the Park
One of the biggest advantages of a table-service meal at Disneyland is getting to get away from the crowds, sit down, and slow down.
If you’re spending a full day in the park with kids, that break can be a huge win.
👧 There Are Kid-Friendly Options
Kid-Friendly Options: Chicken Strips, Ham & Cheese, Mac & Cheese.
We didn’t order anything from the kid’s menu this time around, our kids shared the Monte Cristo. Overall, relatively easy to find something for younger kids or selective eaters.
What We Didn’t Love
🍴 The Food Was Not Good
Cafe Orleans has some very popular dishes, particularly the Monte Cristo, which we were excited to try since we’ve LOVED it in the past. It’s essentially one of the restaurant’s signature experiences. But sadly, everything we ordered came barely warm.
💰 The Value
This was the biggest issue for us.
Cafe Orleans isn’t a quick-service meal where you’re paying a premium for convenience. You’re paying for a table-service experience, and that means our expectations were higher.
The current menu has adult entrées ranging from roughly $26 to $35, before drinks, tax and gratuity.
We ordered 3 dishes and with our Disney Magic Key Discount, before tip, our meal was nearly $90 dollars!
For our family, the food simply didn’t make us feel like we were getting enough value for what we spent.
🤔 Is the Experience Worth the Splurge?
If you’re already spending a day at Disneyland, a table-service meal can be a fun experience. But if your primary goal is simply getting a good meal, we aren’t convinced Cafe Orleans offers enough of a difference to justify the price for our family.
Who We Think Cafe Orleans Is Best For
Cafe Orleans might be a good choice if you:
- Want a sit-down break inside Disneyland
- Love the atmosphere of New Orleans Square
- Want to try the famous Monte Cristo
- Prefer table service over quick service
- Don’t mind paying more for the overall Disneyland dining experience
We’d probably skip it if you:
- Are trying to maximize your food budget
- Have picky eaters
- Want a lot of menu variety
- Expect restaurant-quality food that matches the price
- Would rather spend your Disneyland time on attractions
So… Is Cafe Orleans Worth It?
Our verdict: 👎🏼 Probably not for us
We enjoyed being able to sit down and take a break in New Orleans Square, and there’s no denying that Cafe Orleans has a great Disneyland atmosphere.
But when we look at the food, price and overall experience together, it wasn’t a restaurant that made us think, “We have to come back here.”
There are plenty of places at Disneyland that are worth spending your vacation dollars on. Cafe Orleans just wasn’t one of those places for our family.
Would we tell you not to go? No.
If the atmosphere, location or Monte Cristo are high on your Disneyland list, you may have a completely different experience. (but pro-tip, they also offer the Monte Cristo at Blue Bayou for lunch and I personally thought it was better there)
But if you’re asking us, “Should I spend part of my Disneyland dining budget here?”
We’d probably choose somewhere else.
⭐ CastleHoppers Quick Verdict
Food: ⭐⭐
Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐
Family-friendly: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Value: ⭐
Would we return? Probably not
Bottom line: A fun Disneyland setting and a famous menu item, but the food quality and our overall experience didn’t justify the price.
Want to see exactly what we ordered and how our experience went? Watch our Cafe Orleans Review on Youtube!
