10 Favorite Downtown Disney Stops

The Bakery comes first because it's the ideal place to start a Disneyland Resort day. You plan on rushing to Radiator Springs Racers the minute California Adventure opens? You're going to need caffeine and carbs—and La Brea Bakery offers superior coffee and first-class croissants. You can't go wrong stopping there for lunch, either. Their burgers, fries, and pizzas are great ways to fuel up for more fun in the park.

Nice of Disney to give props to the competing theme park down I-5. If you have Lego fans in your family, this is an essential stop: you'll find nearly every possible Lego item, from Star Wars-themed spacecraft to castles for Disney princesses.

There's no shortage of Disney-themed shopping ops at Downtown Disney. (That explains why so many grown-ups are wandering around wearing mouse ears.) Vault 28 is a little different–it's Disney-themed (and other) clothing, accessories, and beauty products for fashion-forward teens and young women. Think Minnie Mouse meets Ariana Grande.

The most luxurious of the Disneyland hotels rises alongside Downtown Disney—take the side entrance near Sephora. You don't have to be a guest to enjoy the Californian's magnificent lobby with its timbered ceiling and massive stone fireplace.

It's a splurge, but the restaurant at the Grand Californian Hotel is the most elegant place for dinner in Disneyland—and among the best restaurants in Southern California. Beautiful setting, sophisticated menu, good wine list.

Spanish-accented food and wines in an outdoor bar in the middle of Downtown Disney. Great tapas and people-watching.

You won't hear "It's a Small World," here–just blues, R&B, gospel and maybe some old-school hip-hop.

Catfish and shrimp etouffee, beignets, and New Orleans jazz. Heaven, Crescent City-style.

No theme park visit is complete without a sugar rush, and this is the place to acquire one. Named after Walt Disney's Missouri hometown, Marceline's will sell you enough toffee, chocolates, and caramel apples to get you through the line for Indiana Jones.

Disney took a classic—Adventureland's Enchanted Tiki Room—and made it even better by adding alcohol. Just outside the Disneyland Hotel, Trader Sam's will thrill anybody who likes their tropical rainstorms accompanied by a rum Shrunken Zombie Head.