The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (56 page)

Located at the nexus of
Adventureland
,
New Orleans Square
, and
Frontierland
, the
River Belle Terrace
is a visual embodiment of the civilizing influences that eventually transformed the rough-and-tumble southern frontier into a more genteel world.

The menu is decidedly American, but gone is the fried chicken that so many Guests craved; despite the retro atmosphere,
Disney Theme Parks
’ modern, healthier approach to cuisine means that fried chicken has been eased out of most park menus.

You can enter the
River Belle Terrace
from either the
Frontierland
or
Adventureland
doors.  Avoid the rookie
faux pas
that many first-time
River Belle
diners make (including the author!):  don’t get in line until you’ve grabbed your tray, napkins, and utensils.  You don’t want to have to press all the way back through a crowded line to get them.

There are usually two separate lines open, switch-backing along railings until they reach
one of the grill counters.  Lines look long and are crowded at peak meal times, but Cast Members are typically efficient and everything moves along smoothly.  Place your food and hot beverage order at one end of the grill, and the items you order will be presented to you at the other end.  Then you simply grab the cold beverages and extra fixings of your choice from the cold cabinet, and pay at the register.

Choose a seat inside (recommended for particularly cold or hot days) or out on the patio.  Dining outside gives you those incredible scenic views, plus a lot of people-watching opportunities as Guests
amble up and down the
Esplanade
along the
Rivers of America
.

Whether you eat inside or outside, if you’re dining during a crowded meal rush, send someone from your party to claim and hold an empty table
while everyone else is ordering and picking up the food.  Salt, pepper, and small pitchers of maple syrup used to be available on the tables, but now you’ll find them in packets at the condiment bars just past the cash registers.

Breakfast is the
River Belle Terrace
’s best meal and best deal, in this author’s opinion.  If you want a hearty jump start to your day, order up a
Steamboat
(scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, and three pancakes) or
Mark Twain
(scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, and country potatoes) for $8 - $8.50.  Health-conscious or vegan?  Order
Becky Thatcher’s Fresh Fruit Plate
which is $8 - $8.50 as well.  The
Mickey Mouse Pancakes
make a fun and filling breakfast for kids of all ages at $7.50 per plate.  Just watch your kids’ faces light up while they watch the
Mickey
pancakes cooking on the spotless griddle!

You can purchase one of these breakfasts plus a beverage for about
$10, and less if you present your
Annual Pass
–a breakfast deal that’s hard to beat in the park!  But if you’re budget’s extra tight, order a dish
a la carte
: 
Bacon
or
Sausage
($3.50),
Cinnamon Roll
($3.50),
Country Style Potatoes
($2.75),
Fresh Fruit
($3), and
Pancakes
($5.50).

Lunch
and dinner are winners too, with American sandwiches:
Mississippi Turkey Breast
($13),
River Belle’s Roast New
York
($13),
Tennessee BBQ Pork
($13), and
Vegetable Po’ Boy
($12), all served on baguettes with sides like
Southern Baked Beans
.  Appealing salads are also available: 
Aunt Polly’s Harvest Medley
($12),
Plantation Roast
New York Salad
($13), and
Rosemary Turkey Breast Salad
($13).

Children can order
Kid’s Pasta
,
Little Carver’s Roast New York Sandwich
,
Little Carver’s Turkey Sandwich
, or a
PB&J
for $6.99 each; kids’ meals include apples, carrots, and a choice of beverage.

Expect prices to rise slightly during 2014.

Whether you’re enjoying a full meal or a snack and beverage, find time in your schedule to pop into the
River Belle Terrace
and spend a few moments sitting on the patio.  If you’re breakfasting before 9 am you’ll find the atmosphere serene and lovely, perfect for tranquil conversation with loved ones, gathering your thoughts and setting your itinerary for the day. 
Did You Know?
  The
River Belle Terrace
is one of the best places to view the
Fantasmic!
extravaganza; there are decent views from tables inside in front of the river-facing windows, and better views from the patio outside.  If you want to view
Fantasmic!
from here, it’s just good Guest etiquette to be considerate of other diners.  Arrive before the show, purchase a meal and beverage, and claim a table.  Don’t stake out a table if you’re not eating or drinking anything from the restaurant.  Similarly, don’t hold a table for hours; it’s not considerate to other Guests who are dining and want to sit down.  I discovered this vantage point by accident on Thanksgiving 2008, having ducked into the
River Belle Terrace
to warm up and enjoy a late supper. 
Did You Also Know?
  This eatery was originally known as the
Aunt Jemima Pancake House
(1955 to 1962) and later as
Aunt Jemima’s Kitchen
(1962 to 1970) after it expanded to include the site formerly occupied by
Don DeFore’s Silver Banjo Barbecue
(1957 – 1962). 
Aunt Jemima’s
was sponsored by Quaker Oats, the manufacturer of Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix.  Female Cast Members wore pale blue dresses with crisp white aprons, caps, and collars.  Male Cast Members wore summer-light blazers, white shirts, and black bow ties.  Performer
Aylene Lewis
portrayed
Aunt Jemima
, the iconic character from the Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix box.  In a red-and-white-checked blouse, golden-yellow skirt, and headdress,
Lewis
served as a gracious hostess, welcoming Guests, singing to them and posing for photos.  Character appearances by Aunt Jemima seem odd, even insensitive to modern eyes.  However,
Lewis
was carrying on a tradition that began with spokeswoman Nancy Green, the original portrayer of Aunt Jemima.  Green sang, performed and flipped pancakes as Aunt Jemima at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The civil rights
zeitgeist
of the 1950’s and 1960’s led to Quaker Oats finally eradicating actress portrayals of the famous character. 
Lewis
was the last actress to interpret Aunt Jemima for Quaker Oats, and
Disneyland
was the last place she appeared.  (Aunt Jemima’s image still appears on packages, but in increasingly modern attire as the years pass; in the new millennium, Jemima looks like a modern great-aunt rather than an antebellum figure.)  In 1970, Quaker Oats ceased its sponsorship of the
Frontierland
restaurant. From 1970 to 1971 it was renamed the
Magnolia Tree Terrace
, finally becoming the
River Belle Terrace
in 1971.
Kid’s Eye View:
  I love this place!  It’s so pretty inside and has the most delicious food ever.  You can sit outside too and watch the river.  I recommend the
Steamboat
because you get eggs and bacon and pancakes.  It’s so good!

Stage Door Café
(L, D, S)

[
FastView:
 
Slow-ish service but good eats.  River view seating.  Order mozzarella sticks off the menu, and try the decadent funnel cakes.
]

If you like
Chicken Breast Nuggets
($8.50),
Fish & Chips
($9.50), or
Hand-Dipped Corn Dogs
($7.19), queue up at this counter-service restaurant between the
Golden Horseshoe
and
River Belle Terrace
.  Meals come with apple slices or fries and one of the
Stage Door Café
’s dipping sauces.  The menu is similar to–although more limited than–the
Golden Horseshoe
’s, since it originates in the
Horseshoe
’s kitchen.

Mozzarella Sticks
vanished from the menu, but they didn’t really vanish from the
Stage Door
.  Instread,
Stage Door Café Mozzarella Sticks
became one of
Disneyland
’s many secrets.  Since vegetarians can’t consume chicken bites, fish, or corn dogs, there
has
to be a non-meat alternative—it’s just off-the-menu (although it’s still listed in the park guide).  So go ahead and order gooey, golden, yummy mozzarella sticks.  Just be prepared to wait fifteen-to-twenty minutes, since they’re now a special order.

Not gone and not forgotten:  The
Stage Door Café
is still a place where you can order
Fantasy Funnel Cake
, a fried treat with brownie, powdered sugar, or strawberry topping, all for about $6 (order chocolate milk or water to wash down this sweet, doughy confection)!

Kids dine on
Chicken Breast Nuggets
and apple slices ($6.49) or the
Kid’s Power Pack
(apple slices, crackers, and yogurt) for $6; juice, milk, or water is included with their meal.

Beverages like cocoa, coffee, tea, milk
, and soda cost from $3 to $3.50, and snacks like cookies, brownies, and crispy treats are on sale near the register for $3 to $5.  And keep your eyes open for seasonal and limited edition treats, like the
Lone Ranger Root Beer Float
which was rolled out in the summer of 2013 in honor of
Disney
’s
Lone Ranger
film (2013), or special holiday treats.

Lines can be confusing and the wait long
.  Still, when the
Golden Horseshoe
and the
River Belle Terrace
are crazy-busy, the
Stage Door Café
is your ticket to faster, if not better, service.

O
nce you have your grub and beverages, you can grab an
al fresco
table overlooking the beautiful
Rivers of America
.  One confusing aspect of this restaurant: 
Where
are the napkins and condiments (salt and pepper packets, etc.)?  They’re located against the fence between the
Stage Door Café
and the
River Belle Terrace
.  Can you spot the “punny” fireworks sign nearby? 
Did You Know?
  Most
Frontierland
and
Adventureland
Guests don’t realize that there’s a secret, off-limits area in their midst.  There’s a narrow triangle between the
Adventureland
shops and restaurants on one side and the
Frontierland
shops and restaurants on the other that only Cast Members are allowed to access.  What’s in there?  Nothing glamorous, just store rooms, garbage bins, etc.  Concealing the workaday areas of
Disneyland
helps keep the
magic
alive for all Guests! 
Kid’s Eye
View:
  The best mozzarella sticks and fries, but a huge wait and it can be hard to find tables unless you go early.

Frontierland Character Meetings and Performers

Frontierland
is more about the flavors, sounds and vistas of the old west than specific
Disney
characters, especially since
Davy Crockett
and
Zorro
no longer ride these trails.  However,
Frontierland
does offer some character meeting opportunities.  (And nowadays you can meet Zorro at nearby Universal Park Hollywood in Universal City, California.)

Who in the park is more of a
character than
Billy Hill
, not to mention his
Hillbillie
brethren?  You can catch the very entertaining musical comedy shows of
Billy Hill & the Hillbillies
throughout the day at the
Golden Horseshoe
(see the park
Entertainment Times Guide
for their schedule during your visit).  And since the
Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree
area just north of the petting zoo was reopened in 2012, you can catch
Billy Hill & the Hillbillies
there from time-to-time for holiday fun; around Halloween, you’ll see
Billy Hill & the Haunted Hillbillies
; around Christmas, you’ll see
Billy Hill & the Holiday Hillbillies
.