Hi Rick! Wow, I must say that if you can't stay at Disney, you made the next-best choice by staying at Candy Cane Inn. That was the place I stayed at my first trip to Disney more than 14 years ago, and it remains just as fantastic to this day.
That is simply wonderful that you are taking the boys to Disney!!
As for my restaurant suggestions...having lived in the area as well as worked at DLR this summer, I have A LOT of experience eating at the nearby restaurants.
Denny's is your best deal. Their prices are best when it comes to the amount & quality of food you get. Now that's not saying a whole lot (LOL
) but I found that IHOP was significantly more expensive for not as much food. McDonald's is a little further down Harbor, and for fast fixes that is your best bet. You also have a nice little mini-mall across & just down the street slightly, with a Chinese restaurant as well as a pizza place with pretty good pizza. Next door to your hotel you will have a 7 Eleven, where you can pick up snacks, and just around the corner at your neighboring Desert Palm Inn & Suites there is a Quizno's Subs. They are not open very late, but are a good lunch option.
WARNING: If there is one place you should NOT eat during your stay, it is Captain Kidd's. Captain Kidd's gets a lot of business because it is directly across the main crosswalk to Disneyland, and "next door" to IHOP. But in all of my many experiences there, I was NEVER impressed. They are as expensive or more expensive than IHOP, and the food quality is awful. The only thing that I felt "safe" eating there was scrambled eggs! LOL. Even the virgin raspberry daiquiri tasted like a half-melted cherry Slurpee from 7-Eleven. The "buffet" is barely as long as I am laying down (and I'm NOT tall!) and contained not much more than some deep-fried meats and salad swimming in water. The staff must have a lot of people walk out without paying, because one time after eating there I had a server chase me all the way down to the crosswalk, yelling after me because she thought I hadn't paid!!
Captain Kidd's is probably really appealing to a lot of people because of its decor...they've done a nice job in the seating area with a very tropical/pirate theme. But it doesn't carry over into the food or prices! I also found it funny, because in the ladies' room there were pictures hanging on the walls of Anne Geddes kids, Casper, some girl with a sunflower hat, and Lady & The Tramp. It looked like they'd picked up their prints from a dollar store down the street!
Anyway, sorry to blab. I lived off of those restaurants this summer, so I'm very opinionated I guess. Good luck and have a GREAT trip!
