Earl of Sandwich is returning to the Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort

DLR9220 hours ago

I would expect Garden Walk to gain more casual eateries. I had always head there to eat there over Disney.

PiratesMansion1 day ago

Counterpoint: a lot of people would rather get something that they can't get in their hometown. Something that is, or at least appears to be, distinctive or novel. While there will always be some people unwilling to stray from their old reliable chain restaurants for whatever reason, I think a lot of people over the age of twelve have finally realized that it's dumb to travel somewhere only to eat at the exact same restaurants they could at home. As more and more businesses/restaurants/aesthetic trends neutralize and become indistinguishable from each other, many are being drawn to the new, novel, or distinctive, especially when on vacation. Why travel all the way to a place that's ostensibly trying to be a worldwide tourist destination just to go to Applebee's? Or Cracker Barrel or Bdubs or Wingstop or whatever? Wouldn't you want to experience a new place that is ostensibly trying to serve more interesting/unique/high quality cuisine? Even at CityWalk, there are some known quantity fast food restaurants (Burger King and so on), but none of the sitdown places are places that have tons and tons of locations. CityWalk also doesn't have Harbor right there with McDonald's, Starbucks, Panera, and lots of other middlebrow chains competing for business; arguably the need for such restaurants is filled by the ones on Harbor.

Consumer1 day ago

I believe my family used to go to the one in Santa Clarita when I was a lot younger. It was situated atop a hill with a view overlooking the 5. I remember being seated next to a window and seeing the red and white car lights zooming by as the sky turned to dusk. Super comfy memory.

Ismael Flores1 day ago

I hadn’t heard that name in a while. The company that owns claim jumpers pretty much closed most of them There only a few left. I think Disney wants to avoid adding diners that might compete with its own theme park comfort food. Aside from that, Disney has a much more limited space therefore higher lease prices than universal and a completely different vibe. Disney is shooting to attract convention goers with the more finer sit down food adding a claim jumpers would not do that because there are several comfort eateries in area

mickEblu1 day ago

Never went to the Monrovia of City of Industry locations even though they were the closest locations to us for quite a few years. The OG location and first one I went to was the one off the 15 freeway in Ontario. We had some family friends that lived out there. I remember the San Bernardino location being pretty good too but that was many years ago.

Consumer1 day ago

That's how I felt when I went to the Burbank location a while back. I think the last time I went was in Monrovia. Both restaurants are now closed. Seems they only have 5 locations left in CA. Pretty disappointing.

mickEblu1 day ago

Last time I went a few years ago it was not as good. But I’m not sure that location was ever great.

Consumer1 day ago

Agreed. I absolutely loved Claim Jumper growing up. I remember always wanting to go there for my birthday. I haven’t had it in probably a decade at this point, though. I’m afraid the quality won’t be as good as I remember.

mickEblu1 day ago

Claim Jumper was my favorite restaurant when I was kid. Because it was themed and reminded me of Frontierland. And because Ive always loved BBQ. It wasn't really my parents thing so we didn't go to a whole lot of BBQ joints. Unfortunately they seem to be closing down or at least the one closest to me in Northridge did recently.

MarvelCharacterNerd3 days ago

I haven't gotten the cake one, but a mini-cupcake one I had was unimpressive. I do however like the one with the brownie pieces on it. Though as with everything, the portions seem to get smaller as the prices rise... :/

DrAlice4 days ago

That's the perfect description! You are correct, the Anaheim location was just Chuck E. Cheese in the jungle. *shudder* My husband and I once visited the Las Vegas location many years prior, and I don't remember having the same reaction. I don't remember much about the experience, but have the impression that it was just a fun place to eat. 🤷‍♀️

Ne'er-Do-Well Cad4 days ago

I assume some suit came across market research indicating that tourists say they want health-conscious food options, and misguidedly decreed that a Cajun restaurant will be more profitable with "coastal California] grill" branding. Interestingly, the words "Coastal Grill" are not visible in your photo. It clearly says "JAZZ KITCHEN" in big letters. And yet the name has stuck in my mind.

Ne'er-Do-Well Cad4 days ago

Haha I'm envious, given how much I loved it that one time as a kid. We are fortunate to have grown up during a fantastic era for theme/amusement parks! I was lucky to experience Animal Kingdom, Islands of Adventure, Millennium Force, etc. when they were more or less brand new. Eisner stuff like Splash and Tower of Terror were still pretty fresh. Just felt like an exciting time; like these fantastical places would continue to rapidly grow and open new attractions forever. In hindsight I must attribute some of my passion for this silly hobby to having been a kid (who went on a couple family vacations) during that era. That's hilarious. In my imagination it'd be cool and serene in there, dimly lit with rainforest "storms" happening from time to time, Paul Simon's Rhythm of the Saints would be playing, etc. In reality I know it's Chuck E. Cheese set in the jungle. And yeah I've heard the food (at the Anaheim location, at least) was shockingly bad.

TP20004 days ago

I had a similar experience with my nephews almost 25 years ago, when it first opened. We were seated by an animatronic gorilla who would spring to life every 15 minutes and make grunting noises and beat his chest. Then he'd power himself down and go back to frozen silence for another 15 minutes. Needless to say, I was not quite immersed. I remember the food being horrendously bad. Some of the components had clearly been microwaved to pep them up just before they were brought to the table. Everything was just sort of goopy. Microwaved goop. The boys loved the animatronic gorilla, and the fish tanks in the lobby. And we bought them little bicycle license plates with their names on them in the gift shop. Thank God my sister went with regular Christian names for them both, or they would have cried if they didn't have their names for sale. But I never went back. I don't like goop.