Do you take your sandwiches with you every time you go to an amusement park? Or do you prefer to enjoy a snack, some fast food or a quiet meal?
For us, it depends a lot on the park, is it our first or thousandth visit or does the park have that one snack or meal you HAVE to try out.
Therefore, we collected some of our favourite eats in the parks we visit most often.
Snacks
We start off with the snacks and although it is difficult to pick just a few, we limited ourselves to our three top favourites.
Fresh waffles from den Suykerbuyk at de Efteling
We’ve talked about this one before, but this is without exception the snack we look forward the most on every visit to the Efteling.
Each time, the waffles are fresh, tasty and you can spice them up with different toppings.
Besides, den Suykerbuyk is located on the extremely cosy Anton Pieck square!
Tacos at Walibi Belgium
As season pass holders at Walibi Belgium, we often arrive at the park later and thus do not have to eat lunch in the park. Therefore, we more often eat a small snack at one of the many outlets on offer.
One of the better savoury snacks from the park are the tacos. There is a choice of pork or chicken and different sauces.
The perfect little snack to enjoy on an afternoon visit.
Those who also want to try one can find them at various outlets throughout the park.
American Chili Fries from Hollywood Snack at Movie Park Germany
The next snack is one we queue up for at pretty much every visit to Movie Park.
The American Chili Fries consist of a good portion of fries topped with chilli con carne (this version is not very spicy but still spicy) topped with grated cheese.
It doesn’t sound appetising to everyone but we absolutely love it and it’s the ideal snack to munch on between haunted houses on a Halloween Festival night at Movie Park!
You can get this snack at Hollywood Snack. Diagonally opposite the entrance to the stunt theatre just before the entrance to Nickland.
Quick Service restaurants
Sometimes we eat a meal anyway, both in parks we frequent and those we visit once.
These are our favourite quick service restaurants:
Cowboy Cookout in Disneyland Paris
As with Walibi Belgium, we visit Disneyland Paris quite often. So there is no rush to do all the rides, catch every show or parade or meet that one character. So there is more time for our favourite thing to do in a park, EAT!
When we opt for quick service at Disneyland Park, we often go for Cowboy Cookout.
This restaurant is located at the back of Frontierland which is therefore away from the crowds at the attractions and for quick service, the restaurant is really nicely decorated and very cosy to sit. There is even entertainment provided from time to time in the form of a mariachi band with songs from the film Coco or characters such as Goofy and Woody.
Food wise, you will find several grilled meat dishes such as burgers, sausages, half chicken or ribs as well as a sampler of those few dishes. The latter is therefore the choice we make most often.
You get a basket of chips or salad, a sausage, some ribs and a piece of chicken. As a menu deal, you also get a soft drink or water and a dessert.
In the cold winter months, we recommended taking a seat on the left side of the restaurant. There you can cosily devour your meal around a fireplace.
On a nice spring or hot summer day, you can also take a seat outside and sit neatly among the many greenery of Frontierland.
Highly recommended!
Dheli’cious at Karma World in Walibi Belgium
Since 2018, Walibi Belgium has been transforming the entire park.
This involves dividing Walibi into different Worlds with new attractions, theming and, of course, more extensive food offering.
One of the latest additions in the field of catering is Dheli’cious in Karma World. A Bollywood-inspired area with attractions such as Cobra, Radja River and Popcorn Revenge.
In this World, Dheli’cious is the quick-service restaurant with an indoor dining room and a large terrace that gives out onto Walibi’s central lake.
We go there time and again for the tikka massala. An Indian curry dish with chicken where you can choose between rice or sweet potato fries as a side dish. It also comes with a drink and, in the early years, a dessert. Furthermore, in those early days, you also had an additional choice of steppe fries. Those are extra fine fries.
Those last choices are no longer there, or at least were there during our last visit in 2022.
Nevertheless, we still often take this dish, because for an amusement park restaurant, it is very tasty! Although, in our opinion, the portion could be just a little bigger.
Canada Bar at Nigloland
Nigloland is pretty much called a French mini Europa Park. Both parks have a lot of Mack attractions in their park, they both have an atmospheric Swiss village (and generally nice theming) and although Europa Park has a leg up on catering, Nigloland can offer some unique choices.
You can enjoy raclette in the Swiss village, French cuisine near the entrance and otherwise typical fast food like pizza and fries.
In the visits we made to the park, we were always tempted by the “Poélée du Bûcheron”. Freely translated to Lumberjack casserole. It is a meat dish best compared to gyros in a creamy sauce.
You can get this dish at the Canadabar. And just seeing the pan or smelling the aroma of this dish as you race by on the nearby “Mine Train” is enough to stop here to try this local speciality.
Other Dining Experiences
Besides the delicious snacks we can enjoy on a park bench and quick-service restaurants where you usually get your meal a little quicker, there are also themed restaurants or places where we like to take a little more of our time to dine and enjoy the unique setting, the excellent service and/or the delicious food they offer.
Lucky Nugget in Frontierland at Disneyland Paris
This restaurant, which immediately takes you into an unfalsified Western atmosphere as soon as you swing open the doors, is halfway between a quick service and table-service restaurant.
You make your choice in advance and pay before entering and then choose one of the many tables in this restaurant where a waiter brings your meal.
Over the years, the Lucky Nugget has seen many iterations. From a Cowboy cabaret to a puppet show and from all-you-can-eat buffet or table service to dessert experience complete with show.
And although there is currently no more of that entertainment, you can still enjoy a nice two-course meal in a restaurant decorated to perfection.
We chose the birthday menu there last time (a special burger with loaded fries and a golden nugget for dessert) as well as the menu with ribs, onion rings and a sundae.
By the way, you get all this served in a plate with cutlery and your drink in a glass.
Of course,it comes at a higher cost than at quick service, but the portions are bigger and the food is served in a nicer way.By the way, the service during our last visit was exceptionally friendly and also very fast.
Le Temple des Delices
Pairi Daiza is known for its immersive experience. With beautifully designed animal enclosures, authentically constructed buildings, neatly laid out gardens and also a number of gastronomic experiences.
In recent years, the park has become one of our favourite parks for an afternoon stroll or a delicious meal.
The restaurant where we most often put our feet under the table is “Le Temple des Delices”. An Asian buffet restaurant with a wide range of cold and hot starters, hot main courses, sushi, dumplings and desserts (including lots of fresh fruit).
The buffet has an all you care to enjoy formula where drinks are not included. You can get those from your waiters or at the bar near to the buffet.
Highly recommended for those who want to dine quietly in a fantastic setting when visiting The Enchanted Kingdom of Animals.
Aqua Bistro Bellewaerde Aquapark
We close off with one of the newest theme park restaurants in this list. Aqua Bistro opened along with the Aquapark in the summer of 2019.
Aqua Bistro’s offerings are reminiscent of those of Carousel self-service at the neighboring Bellewaerde Park, though Aqua Bistro is our preferred option.
The restaurant has a terrace and a spacious indoor area and serves typical Flemish dishes such as cheese and shrimp croquettes, Meatballs in tomato sauce, vol-au-vent, steak(with frying method of your choice), burgers, different types of grilled cheese and pasta dishes. With all main dishes, you also have the choice of fries, mashed potatoes, potato croquettes or pasta as a side dish. The dishes are also served with a fresh salad and mayonnaise or ketchup.
There is also a wide choice of desserts and ice cream sundaes.
Everything is available at reasonable prices and the employees are always very friendly and serve with a smile.
We always come back satisfied!
Conclusion
Whether it’s a snack or quick meal or we choose to dine elaborately, in our home parks we know what to choose every time. Of course, we still have many favorites but we are going to describe them in small, bite-sized articles in the coming weeks.
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