It’s that time of
year again, when the Disney
California Adventure Food & Wine Festival—a celebration of all things
edible and drinkable—returns to the Disneyland
Resort. The special event, which kicked off on March 1 and runs through
April 22, 2024, introduces a plethora of limited-time food and beverage items, and entertainment
offerings scattered throughout the park.
This year’s festival
experience sees more than 100 flavor-packed drinks and dishes appearing across Disney
California Adventure park, inspired by the state’s diverse cultures and
cuisines. An assortment of these inventive concoctions
are on offer at 10 different dedicated festival marketplace stalls, select snack
carts and participating permanent dining locations. Even select locations in
the Downtown Disney District
are featuring festival-inspired menu items this year.
Tapas-style food
items, each conceived and expertly executed by Disneyland Resort’s talented
culinary team, celebrate the highlights of California’s diverse culinary
landscape with a distinctly Disney twist. A varied menu of alcoholic beverages
also spotlights the Golden State’s honored wine-making heritage and
beer-brewing scene. The vast assortment of drinks available to guests 21 and older features
a carefully curated list of vintages and draughts from California-based craft breweries and wineries.
Guests enjoying the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. (Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort)
The Sip and
Savor Pass
While alcoholic
selections must be purchased individually or as part of pre-booked tasting
sessions, guests can use a ‘Sip
and Savor Pass’ to sample an assortment of festival menu items throughout
their day at the park, or over the course of multiple visits. Each passport contains
a set number of coupons, which can be individually redeemed for select food and
non-alcoholic drink offerings as part of the festival fun. They can be found
for purchase at various locations throughout Disney California Adventure
park.
This year, in
addition to the returning eight-coupon
option, guests have a new option to purchase a four-coupon Sip and Savor Pass. If you’re visiting
for just one day, this could be a good choice for a single holder, since it’s
easy to fill up after sampling a few of the sumptuous food offerings. The good
news is that Sip and Savor Pass coupons can be shared among friends and family,
so you might buy the eight-coupon variety and split the coupons up between group
members.
Notably, this year
also sees the launch of a new sort of Sip and Savor Pass. Whereas, in the past,
the commemorative credential had tear-able coupon tabs, it now features a
scannable barcode and unique pin number, which guests present to Cast Members in
lieu of monetary exchange at the register. The collectible passport document itself
is issued on the end of a special lanyard, which makes it easy to keep handy
for when you spot something tasty you simply must order. It also comes with a
booklet detailing all festival locations and the menu items that can be found
at each, so you can plan out where you want to spend your entitlements.
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival merchandise. (Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort)
A Feast of
Flavors
In a testament to
the ingenuity of Disneyland Resort’s culinary and mixology teams, more than 80
of the over 100 dishes and drinks on offer across this year’s Disney California
Adventure Food & Wine Festival are brand-new. And these bites and sips aren’t
what you typically think of as theme park fare—they’re of a quality that will
impress even the most discerning foodie. For the full menu of offerings edible
and imbibe-able offerings, check out the Disney
Eats: Foodie Guide on Disneyland Resort’s official blog.
A new marketplace
has been added this year: Earth Eats, where you’ll find flavorsome
plant-forward dishes featuring IMPOSSIBLE products, which honestly can’t be discerned
from their meat-based counterparts. Try the IMPOSSIBLE Chicken Parm Bites, smothered
in zesty tomato and creamy cheese sauces and topped with grated parmesan or IMPOSSIBLE
Beef Stroganoff, consisting of beef substitute tossed with egg noodles in a
mushroom cream sauce. Next door, at LA Style, you’ll find another incredible plant-based
option: the new Baja-style Fish Taco, with all the flavor you’d expect from a
fresh fish taco covered in cabbage slaw, cilantro-lime crema and pico de gallo.
IMPOSSIBLE Chicken Parm Bites at the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. (Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort)
Other new
must-taste fresh additions to this year’s menu include Shrimp Papas Locas: cheddar-bacon
potatoes with jalapeno-cheese sauce and chipotle shrimp; the Cheeseburger Bao: ground
beef with thousand island dressing, grilled onions, pickles and tomato relish; Carnitas-style
Pork Belly with esquites corn mac salad featuring Tajín Habanero; Carbonara Garlic
Mac and Cheese featuring Nueske’s peppered bacon; and the Loaded Baked Potato
from Paradise Garden Grill: plant-based seasoned steak tips and BBQ baked beans
topped with cheese sauce, tangy slaw and green onions.
When it comes to
dessert, there’s also a wide selection of sweet treats to choose from,
including the decadent S’mores Caramel Tart: a graham cracker outer shell
filled with smooth caramel and chocolate ganache, topped with a toasted
marshmallow; the Frozen Old-Fashioned: non-alcoholic bourbon-flavored ice
cream, bitters crema, orange zest glaze and cherry spheres; Raspberry Almond Cake:
an almond sponge cake with fresh raspberries topped with a raspberry mousse;
and returning favorite, the generously-sized Chocolate Mickey-shaped Macaron, filled
with caramel ganache and made with SNICKERS bar pieces.
“Cookin’ with the Jammin’ Chefs” at Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. (Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort)
Special
Festival Entertainment
In addition to all
the tasty experiences you can have at the Disney California Adventure Food
& Wine Festival, family-friendly entertainment also abounds, from live
bands to complimentary crafting sessions. “Cookin’ with the Jammin’ Chefs”
returns this year with performances throughout the day, featuring a talented
drumming band who play on an assortment of kitchen paraphernalia and a head “chef”,
along with characters like Chip and Dale, Daisy Duck and Clarabelle Cow dancing
their little shoes off. Other daily musical performances across the park
feature a rotating roster of 14 live bands, who can mainly be heard at the
Palisades Stage and Paradise Gardens Bandstand.
The park’s youngest
guests will also find some new entertainment crafted just for them. A new,
interactive kids’ offering is making its debut over in Hollywood Land, called ‘Confection
Purrfection with the SuperKitties’. Inspired by Disney Junior’s hit animated
series “SuperKitties”, this show features special on-screen appearances by the
SuperKitties cast themselves. Built on the premise that Pickles’ birthday cake
has been stolen, the show invites junior chefs ages three through 11 to decorate
a set of cupcakes and discover how food can save the day.
"Confection Purrfection with the SuperKitties" at Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. (Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort)
A Culinary
Education
Besides being fun
and flavorful, the Food & Wine Festival can also be educational, if you’re
a more hard-core gourmand, or wine and beer connoisseur. On weekends, park
guests can convene at the Hollywood Backlot Stage to learn from local, celebrity
and Disney chefs during engaging cooking demonstrations. Scheduled presenters
include Michelin-starred chef Carlos Gaytán; Food Network’s Jet Tila; Claudia
Sandoval, winner of Master Chef Season 6; and Paul Cao of Burnt Crumbs in
Irvine, California.
For an additional fee,
you can also participate in special, limited-time bookable culinary experiences at the resort, where you’ll
hear from industry experts about California’s wealth of cuisine and libations.
Over at the Disneyland Hotels, Trader Sam’s Tiki Mixology Seminar’ will
teach you to make one of its tropical concoctions and send you home with a souvenir
mug; and Hearthstone Lounge will host ‘A Walk on the Silverado Trail’, where
guests will sample delectable small bites and beverages, including some of
California’s finest vintages.
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