My husband and I decided to hire a babysitter through the Fullerton Agency so we can have a "date night". I'm looking for suggestions on what to do. We will be staying at the DL hotel so we have a lot of options. I was thinking a nice dinner and something else (which is where I need help). We'll have about a 5-6 hour window.

Any restaurant/activity suggestions would be much appreciated!

You have plenty of restaurant choices: Nape Rose, Blue Bayou etc.
If the date night in question haapens to fall on a Friday or Saturday, there
is live music at Carnation Plaza Gardens, (by the castle) usually swing.

It does:) I planned it for a Friday night! Thanks for the idea.

Napa Rose will always be my date nite restaurant of choice.

I do not know how old your kids are but if they are to young/short for some of the rides why not grab fast passes and get to ride with your honey for a change!

Fantasmic! priority seating is another option. Always fun and you can bring desserts back to share with the kids - since they always give you too much;)

Another vote for buying the reserved seats for Fantasmic, pick up fast passes for all the big kid rides early in the day so you can use them that evening...do all the stuff that you can't do with two small ones...and have a great time.

Napa.Rose.

Adrienne

Napa.Rose.

Adrienne

I concur.

Elizabeth

Thanks everyone! I think we'll do Napa Rose and then hit some rides. It will be nice to enjoy the rides without worrying about the kids. They're 3 and 5 yr old boys and I think we'll need a break!

What a great idea to have a "date night" for you and your husband while on vacation. :)

Room Service :eek:

hahaha..that would be a great idea if the kids were being watched elsewhere! I think we're going to do a restaurant at Downtown Disney instead of Napa Rose...the date night could add up quickly! Does anyone have any opinions of good DD restaurants? One's you wouldn't normally take kids too? Thanks again!

hahaha..that would be a great idea if the kids were being watched elsewhere! I think we're going to do a restaurant at Downtown Disney instead of Napa Rose...the date night could add up quickly! Does anyone have any opinions of good DD restaurants? One's you wouldn't normally take kids too? Thanks again!

Catal usually ends up costing us as much as NR would.

Adrienne

Does anyone have any opinions of good DD restaurants? One's you wouldn't normally take kids too? Thanks again!

It's actually a family friendly restaurant, but I really like Tortilla Jo's. There are several seating options (indoors, outdoors, upstairs), so I'm certain you could ask for a cozy, intimate booth somewhere.

The margaritas are good and the last time I was there I had an excellent meal. I had the Chipotle Red Currant Pork Chop - Porterhouse pork chop topped with red currant chipotle demi-glace, Yukon Gold mashed potatos with chives and sauteed spinach. This was one of the best pork chops I have ever eaten. Friends had the burritos which were huge!

I found the service to be great. Once seated, we immediately got chips and salsa and our drink orders were quickly taken. They were very attentive, replenishing chips, water, sodas, etc. without ever asking. Yet they were not overbearing at all.

The prices are moderate and I think are a really good value for the quality of the food. I will definitely go back on another trip and try a different house speciality, although it will be hard not to order the pork chop again.

Anyway, check out their menu (here on MousePlanet) and make a PS reservation. I think you'll be very pleased!

When are you going? You might also consider a concert at the House of Blues.

Among DTD restaurants, I really love Catal. It's a little on the expensive side (not as $$$ as Napa Rose, though) and the food is really good -- definitely a "fine dining" experience.

I went to catal for my birthday and had one of the best steaks I have ever had in my life. This was about 3 years ago, but I always remember it. The meal was outstanding.

We've really enjoyed our dinners at Catal. For the DD restaurants, I think it's maybe the most romantic.

We haven't been to the Jazz Kitchen in a couple years, but when we used to go, we LOVED it. (We liked to sit upstairs where it was quieter and more intimate). The bananas foster prepared table-side is a real treat.

If you get your fast passes early enough in the day, you can do quite a bit in just a few hours. Have fun. Personally, I'd skip the fancy dinner and just enjoy the park. You can hire a babysitter and go to a fancy restaurant anytime. You can't be kids at Disneyland as easily. When my husband and I last visited DL, we were with our family, including 2 wonderful nephews (4 and 8). We had a lovely visit, but the most "fun" time was one afternoon after the rest of the family had left, and my husband and I could just be "kids" ourselves.

Thanks everyone! I think we'll do Napa Rose and then hit some rides. It will be nice to enjoy the rides without worrying about the kids. They're 3 and 5 yr old boys and I think we'll need a break!

You can hire a babysitter and go to a fancy restaurant anytime.

Usually I totally agree with Diane on this but I want to put in one last plug for Napa Rose. It really was the highlight of our last trip. If you can swing it I would spend the $$, really.

You have plenty of restaurant choices: Nape Rose, Blue Bayou etc.
If the date night in question haapens to fall on a Friday or Saturday, there
is live music at Carnation Plaza Gardens, (by the castle) usually swing.

The Swing dance/music at Carnation Plaza Gardens is only on Saturday. I know because we always have to buy a blockout day ticket to attend this to use our Deluxe AP's in June!

Update

Thank you everyone for your advice. We used the Fullerton Childcare Agency which turned out wonderfully. We ended up going to DL on a few rides that we couldn't go on with the kids and then spent some time on Main Street (which is hard to enjoy with 2 little ones). We had 9pm dinner reservations at Catal and that was the best part of the whole trip. We ate on the balcony overlooking DD and had a welcome surprise while waiting for our food. We had a perfect view of the DL fireworks! If anyone wants a romantic dinner, this is the perfect place. Just make sure it's on a night the fireworks happen. Then we dragged ourselves back to the hotel:(