5 Things Not to Eat at Disneyland

1. Hamburger, $2.75 -- Tomorrowland Terrace, other park locations. Except for one huge concession at Walt Disney World, Tomorrowland Terrace cooks more burgers at peak hours--around 1,800--than any other burger stand in the world. These quarter-pounders slide off a huge conveyor, where they are cooked at ultra-high temperatures for what are now obvious reasons to anyone watching the beef industry. Like ‘em red in the middle? Don’t even think about it.

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2. Clam chowder in a bread bowl, $4.25 -- Royal Street Veranda in New Orleans Square, other park locations. Judging from the ecstatic nods and winks of parents, this huge bowl of starch is a convenient way to feed a couple of kids for under $5. Some adults may even like it, but to a native New Englander, and I’m not naming names, this pasty soup borders on sacrilege.

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3. Hercules-sized coke, $4 -- Various locations throughout the park. The 12 labors of Hercules couldn’t be any more difficult than marketing this concept: a 64-ounce Coke at four bucks a pop. Don’t look now, but the AM/PM market chain offered a 44-ounce soft drink and a corn dog for only 49 cents.

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4. Corn dog, $3.75 -- Little Red Wagon, Main Street, adjacent to Plaza Inn. Michael Berry is quick to volunteer how park regulars head right over to the quaint steam wagon for one of these retro American classics the minute they pass through the main gate. I’m stumped. What I tasted was a low-quality beef frank wrapped by deep-fried cornmeal sodden in grease. Ecchh!

5. Dinner rolls free with meals -- Blue Bayou and Club 33, in New Orleans Square. Blue Bayou dishes up mainstream Cajun such as crab cakes and blackened prime rib. Club 33 specializes in formal Continental cuisine. Both restaurants have their moments, but there is no excuse for these rolls, tough, rubbery spheroids with cottony insides. Why hasn’t the bread revolution hit Disneyland? Heard of Il Fornaio, anybody?