Brief Review of Disneyland Resort’s New Restaurant: The Great Maple
A few months ago, my family took our bi-annual trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. We had loads of fun, including trying some of the restaurants! Typically when we go we pack our own lunches and each something cheap outside the park for dinner. But this year we decided to try a few of the Disney-specific restaurants, including their new one attached to the Pixar Pier Hotel: The Great Maple.
Photo courtesy of Disneyland® Official Site
The first thing I noticed upon entering was that the atmosphere was clean and bright. Our server was wonderful and attentive, and helped us coordinate a fictitious birthday celebration for my dad (a popular family gag we frequently pull on each other).
One of the things our family struggles with when finding places to eat is our various dietary restrictions and allergies. My dad is mostly vegetarian, my mom and sister are allergic to wheat, and I’m allergic to dairy, which typically means we don’t get to eat anything fun—or at least one of us is left out if we do. Luckily, the restaurant seemed prepared for this as they had several different menu options and were very accommodating for our various for different needs/preferences/allergies.
They have several cute drinks on their menu, I decided to try the Cinnamon Toast Cold Brew which came in an absolutely ADORABLE bear mug. The coffee was great and strong, the flavor was just right. I don’t like anything too sweet so I asked for it to be lightly flavored which it most certainly was. I’d recommend asking for more flavor if you’re someone who enjoys their coffee on the sweeter side. They were also able to substitute the milk for almond milk, which I appreciated. The cup came with a cute little piece of cinnamon toast on the rim.
For dinner, we all ordered something different, but all had the same reaction which was “Bite. Face of remark. ‘Wow.’” The food was delectable all around. I got the chicken which was tender and juicy. It came with a garden of veggies which were all cooked to perfection. I felt the seasonings meshed well together; it was umami filled and bursting with flavor and absolutely to die for. The portions were quite large and I was the only one at the table to finish my whole meal (so, bonus points?)
Although I enjoyed my meal so much, my sister got the seasonal salad with salmon and while it was good, it wasn’t the best. The salad was huge and topped with all kinds of fresh veggies, nuts, and dried cranberries. The salmon, however, was lacking. It was dry and a little fishy. Whether it was a bad batch or poorly prepared or a combination, it left quite a bit to be desired.
Coming from New York City, their menu prices seemed on par with the food received, both in quantity and quality.
We had an adventure getting to the restaurant from the park—the Monorail was shut down for a while, which we were expecting to take from Tomorrowland to Downtown Disney to save ourselves some time and walking distance—but I was able to call and let them know we would be late for the reservation and they held the table for us. The restaurant is a bit of a trek if you’re walking there from the park, so be warned.
The only downside, really, was to the Disneyland app: they don’t give you contact information for the restaurants outside the park, I had to find it on Google.
All in all, it was a fabulous experience and I would definitely eat there again!
