The Ultimate Guide to the Disneyland Food and Wine Festival

Planning a trip to the Disneyland Food and Wine Festival at Disney California Adventure? Use this guide to figure out when to go, what to eat, and even what to do with your kids if you bring them! Everything from ways to save money to tips to save time standing in lines! I’ve been there and want to make sure it easier for you to enjoy your visit! 

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Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival

I’m headed to the Disneyland Food and Wine Festival this weekend and wanted to put together this guide for anyone else who will be attending this year!

This past weekend I checked out the Food and Wine Festival with my husband and extended family and tried pretty much every dish possible!

After checking out everything, I’ve put together tips, tricks, and reviews so you don’t waste your money, time, or Disney magic on something that isn’t worth it!

And don’t forget to check out this Disney packing list for everything you need to bring with you!

Note: The Disneyland Food and Wine as of right now is not happening for 2021.

Disneyland Food and Wine Festival Index

To make it easier to navigate this crazy long post, I’ve put together a menu here to help you click around. Just click on the topic you’re looking for to be taken directly to that topic. And when you’re done with the topic, click the “Return to Menu” button at the bottom of the section to hop back up here. Hope it makes it a bit easier than having to scroll up and down!

If you’re just looking for the best food options, click here to skip everything else! 

Festival Info – Dates and Hours
Annual Passholder Perks
Festival Entertainment
Visiting the Festival With Kids
Tips & Tricks
Guide to All Food & Drinks
The Best Food & Drinks
Printable Must-Eat List

Disneyland Food and Wine Festival Dates and Hours

The Disneyland Food & Wine Festival is being held at Disney California Adventure Park from February 28 to April 21, 2020.

The hours of the festival are typically from 10:30AM to 8:00PM but like with anything are subject to change per week so make sure to check the Disneyland website and the Food & Wine Festival guide you can pick up when you get into the park!

One thing to note is that the festival typically doesn’t open until a couple of hours after the park. The park may open at 8AM (or even earlier with magic hours) and the food booths don’t open until 10:30AM. The booths also close before the park closes, typically a few hours before.

In order to enjoy the Disneyland Food and Wine Festival, you must have a valid ticket to enter Disney California Adventure. You can’t just go into the park to enjoy the festival, you must purchase a ticket. I recommend purchasing tickets through Get Away Today for the best deals!

Food and Wine Festival Annual Passholder Perks

At most of their events, Disneyland offers some sort of exclusive perks that are available only to annual passholders. As an annual pass holder I was able to check out this year’s perks! Make sure to stop by the AP Corner at the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar for special perks as well as enjoy other benefits throughout the park!

• Special photo opps with props and Disney PhotoPass photographers
• Special character meet and greets
• Complimentary collectible art buttons – one per passholder

In addition to the AP Corner, pass holders also get these exclusive benefits!

• Discounted price on the Sip and Savor pass
• Exclusive festival merchandise available to purchase (examples of this year’s fun merchandise included below)

Disneyland Food and Wine Festival Entertainment

In addition to the food and all the fun things I talked about for kids above, the Food and Wine Festival is jam packed with festival specifics shows and performances! We didn’t actually get the chance to watch any of these in their entirety during our visit but from what we saw, they all looked fun! Check your festival guide for specific times when you get to the park.

These are just a few of the free, no-reservations entertainment options to look out for:

• Culinary demonstrations where celebrity chefs prepare mouth-watering dishes (Backlot Stage, Hollywood Land)
• Seminars celebrating life’s simple joys (and family!) including presentations on Farm to Table, Family Time, and Festival Favorites (Hollywood Backlot)
• Jammin’ Chefs performing musical hits on just pots and pans, they may even have a few surprise guests join their band (Paradise Gardens Park)
• Live festival music (Paradise Garden Bandstand)

There are also a handful of additional fee, need reservation options you can take advantage of as well. You can find more information on these on the Food and Wine Festival website as well. These sell out quick so if you’re interested in doing them, I recommend booking in advance.

Things for Kids at the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival

The Food and Wine Festival isn’t just for adults! Disney has made sure to include a couple of kid specific activities to keep the fun family-friendly!

Jr. Chef

My favorite is the Jr. Chef activity where kids from ages 3-11 can actually participate in a hands on cooking experience and who knows, maybe even get to cook with Chef Goofy himself! They get to actually swirl together a special recipe and each child receives a wrapped ready to eat baked treat!

Jr. Chef activity only happens on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the number of participants is limited so make sure to check your festival guide to see how to sign up.

Other Fun for Kids

• Meeting Chef Goofy (Hollywood Backlot)
• Wearing the Food and Wine Festival hats you can get during the Jr. Chef activity.
• Listening to the Jammin’ Chefs perform music on pots and pans!
• Getting their tasting passport stamped as they try different things at the food booths. If you try all of the booths and get your passport stamped, you can take it back for a stamp of completion. Not quite as fun as the stickers provided in the Epcot food and wine festival but still fun!
• Enjoying all of the kid-friendly food – especially the desserts! There’s an entire section of “kid-friendly” food options listed in the Food and Wine Festival tasting passport for your reference.
• Watching the family-friendly seminars

Tips and Tricks for Your Food and Wine Festival Visit

These are just a couple of tricks we picked up during our two-day adventure to make your festival visit even better!

1 – Get a 2020 sip and savor pass

Sip and Savor passes are back and available to all guests (not just annual passholders) this year! If you use them wisely, they’re a great way to save a bit of money while you’re enjoying all the food in the park! 

Sip and Savor passes are $56 or $51 for annual passholders. The pass allows guests to try 8 food items or non-alcoholic drinks at kiosks throughout the festival. Items at the booths range from $5-$8.50 so plan carefully which items you’ll use your sip and savor pass coupons on so that you can make the most of it!

Also, if you want to buy things that are good value for sip and savor + ones that are not, I recommend doing two transactions so you can pick and choose which ones to use your coupons on. Otherwise, the cast member will just pick or grab them in order (never sure which) so you may be out of luck.

Get a Sip & Savor Pass at the Sip & Savor Cart, Seaside Souvenirs, Elias & Co, Kingswell Camera Shop, Rushin’ River Outfitters, Studio Store, and all the festival marketplaces.

I’ve included notes in my foodie guide below indicating which food and drinks are the best use of your sip and savor pass!

Just one additional note – the Sip and Savor pass coupons are not eligible to be used on festival offerings everywhere in the park – just the festival specific kiosks.

2 – Avoid peak hours.

Try to avoid eating at the booths during peak eating hours (11:30-1PM) and (6PM-8PM). The lines seemed much longer during these times. The lines were shortest first thing in the morning when the booths opened around 10:30.

Also, you see a short line at a booth you want to try, take advantage of it. You never know when that line will be long again!

And if you have flexibility, check out the festival on a weekday rather than the weekend. Not only are weekends at Disney California Adventure just busier in general but there are also special events happening only on the weekends, so they’re going to be busier festival wise as well.

3 – Plan ahead and buy once.

New this year, you can buy everything you want for the festival at one kiosk then pick it up throughout the festival. So go through the passport (or this post) and plan out what you want to try then pay for it all at once.

You’ll get one big receipt that you can then use to pick things up at kiosks throughout the festival – no more standing in line to order at every single booth. I literally ordered 15 different things at one cash register then just hopped around picking things up when I was ready.

Just make sure you don’t order more than you actually want because the receipt with your orders is only good for the day you order.

4 – Work together to shorten the wait.

If you’re visiting with multiple people and want to try food at multiple booths, split lines. As mentioned above, you’ll only need to stand in line to pay once but some of the pickup lines were pretty long too. Have one person (or multiple people) stand in each pickup line then meet back up to try the food.

5 – Sharing is caring!

Share items so you can try more without having to buy everything yourself. You can buy another one later if it’s that good you want your own!

If there’s an annual passholder in your group, take advantage of their ability to buy a less expensive Sip & Savor pass. Split the cost of the pass and share the food.

6 – Save money on tickets.

Save money on tickets by purchasing through Get Away Today and use that money to enjoy more of the food and drink offerings! Right now Get Away Today has a few amazing ticket deals going on including one specifically for kids where you can save up to $111 off a 3-day park hopper for kids and one where you can get a fifth day free with a 4-day ticket.

Check out all of the current Get Away Ticket Sales right here!

7 – Drop it off.

If you buy merchandise you don’t want to carry around, you can leave it at the package check at Elias & Co on Buena Vista for free. They can’t take food but were able to hold our other purchased merchandise.

Or if you want to be able to take it in and out, the lockers at the front right by the bathrooms and fruit stand were $7 for all day and hold a lot of stuff!

8 – Ask about allergies.

If someone in your group has allergies, check the back of the Food and Wine Festival tasting passport for a list of foods that work for common dietary lifestyles like gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, etc. I also highly recommend asking at the cashier about any allergens before you purchase any food.

While some of the food items can be customized for allergies like not putting whipped cream on top of a juice, it seems like most things are at least somewhat pre-assembled, which would make it harder to customize.

I can’t eat onions and found that a lot of the items had onions but in some cases, they were able to leave them off for me. It’s definitely worth asking!

But don’t worry, if you can’t eat all the food and wine festival food, here’s a list of the best Disneyland food to check out instead! There is something for everyone!

A Food Guide to the Disneyland Food and Wine Festival

Okay, now here’s what you’ve all probably been waiting for – what to eat and drink at the Food and Wine Festival! I actually explored the Food and Wine Festival with my extended family this year, so we tried a lot of the food and drinks. Really there were only a couple of things we didn’t try, and I’ve noted those in the list below – mainly things that included coffee, alcohol, or impossible meat.

I’ve included an opinion (either mine or the consensus of the group) on all of the food offered, a best of list, and a printable what to get list below. I hope this helps you make the most of your money at the Food and Wine Festival!

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t drink wine or any alcohol for that matter. If you want recommendations on alcoholic drinks, you’ll want to check out someone else’s post. But if you want to know about the best non-alcoholic speciality drinks, I am your girl!

I’ve broken the initial guide out by booth to make it easier for you! And I’ve ordered my booths to match what’s in the tasting passport as well as which booths you’ll hit first starting from Buena Vista Street to the back of the park, all about making things simple for you all!

I’ve also included the prices in the list below so you can see what’s going to be the best use of your Sip & Savor Pass ($8+), what’s an okay use ($7+), and what you should just pay for out of pocket because it’s not a good deal (under $7).

Nuts About Cheese

Fiscalini White Cheddar Lager Soup – $6.75

Pretty sure this is the same thing that was previously served at the Craft Brews kiosk a few years back. I’m not sure how you can go wrong with a cheese soup in a bread bowl so it’s a good thing Disneyland didn’t.

This is better eaten as cheese fondue with the bread dipped in than as a soup, but it’s yummy either way.

Oikos Greek Yogurt Banoffee Tart- $6.25

This was one of those desserts that really surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, but it was delicious! It was like a banana cream pie with the addition of dulce de leche and a little crunch on top. Easily one of the best desserts I tried.

Impossible Cheeseburger Mac & Cheese – $8.00

Impossible™ Meat made from plants, topped with Special Burger Sauce – this is one of the few things we didn’t try since we’re not big fans of impossible meat.

Uncork California

California Artisan Cheese Selection – $8.50

A basic cheese plate that included a few pretty mild cheeses as well as a pretty strong vintage cheese cabernet cheddar. The portion size was decent, so if you want a little cheese to go with your drinks – this is a good value buy but not a must-try by any means.

Golden Dreams

Brunch Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich – $8.00

A waffle topped with a piece of fried chicken, citrus slaw, and some orange juice bubbles. I wanted to love this dish but it just wasn’t as good as it sounded. The waffle was pretty soggy and too thin to really enjoy as a waffle sandwich.

The slaw was fine but there were literally only four orange juice bubbles on top of ours, unlike the media sample that was topped with a heaping dose of bubbles. This one is a popular option so if you are going for it, go early as they kept selling out throughout the day.

But I personally think there are better executed dishes out there. If you want chicken, go with the ranch chicken wings instead.

Seared Verlasso Salmon – $7.75

There’s not much that worked well about this dish. The salmon was dry and overcooked – collateral damage from being served in bulk. The rice was dry and clumpy and the pea puree just didn’t complement the other flavors very well.

The one bright spot in this dish was the meyer lemon relish, just wish there was more of it. If you’re looking for seafood, the grilled shrimp tacos are a better bet.

Strawberry Rose Lemonade – $6.00

The strawberry rose lemonade was easily the best of the non-alcoholic drinks available as part of the festival. It was bright, not too sweet, and had a unique hint of rose flavor to it. Definitely a good one for anyone looking for a refreshing drink without the alcohol.

California Craft Brews (just past Buena Vista Street toward Cars Land)

Pepperoni Pizza Egg Rolls- $7.00

At first I thought these would be like the pepperoni egg rolls served in the Disney World egg roll cart in Magic Kingdom. Those were a little too greasy for my taste.

Luckily, these were way better than those ones. They were crisp, flavorful, and not that greasy at all. Dipped in one of the two sauces – pesto or marinara – and topped with parmesan and these were one of my personal favorites of the festival! Definitely in the top 10 must eats!

One in a Melon

Compressed Watermelon and Tomato with Whipped Ricotta and Lemon Olive Oil – $7.00

This dish was just okay. It was refreshing but lacked in flavor and needed more salt and crunch. If you want to try one of the watermelon dishes, try the other one.

Poke-Style Watermelon with Cucumber – $6.75

This was a yummy refreshing dish that was well seasoned and put together! The flavors of the watermelon worked really well with the fried onions on top – definitely the better watermelon dish of the two.

Pabana Cream Puff – $5.50

This is pretty much an exotic passion fruit cream puff – good if you like passion fruit, not so good if you don’t. The flavors were strong but not overpowering and the actual puff itself was tasty.

Make sure to eat with the fresh fruit served in the dish, that helped add a little sweetness to the dish!

Housemade Watermelon Agua Fresca – $6.00

While mango agua fresca is one of the best drinks at Disneyland, the watermelon agua fresca at One in a Melon was not. Watermelon isn’t ever really a strong flavor but in this case, it almost just tasted like water with a hint of watermelon instead of actual watermelon agua fresca.

Out of all of the non-alcoholic drinks we tried, this was our least favorite.

Peppers Cal-iente

Creamy Poblano Pepper Pasta – $7.75

This one is definitely a skip dish. It might’ve just been an execution issue but the pasta was mushy and the sauce was too spicy to be able to taste much else. There are definitely much better dishes to try!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos – $8.00

When I asked my husband to pick his favorite dish of the day, he kept coming back to the grilled shrimp tacos. They were bright, refreshing, and well seasoned. The citrus added a nice bit of flavor and the jicama tortilla added the crunch you want from tacos.

Definitely a winner on a warm day or really any day!

LA Style

Asian-Style Beef Barbacoa Street Tacos – $8.00

The street tacos were good but not amazing or as my husband put it, they just weren’t that memorable. The best part of the dish was the picked ginger and onions on top and there just wasn’t enough of it so you ended up eating barbacoa without the toppings for half the tacos.

Still a yummy dish and a good value use of the Sip & Savor pass but didn’t make our top 10!

Smoked Bacon Barbecue Beef Loco Moco – $7.50

The loco moco was an interesting dish, definitely not what I was expecting. It ended up being kind of like a burger, and a kind of tough one, on top of rice topped with some hard boiled eggs. The flavor of both the meat and sauce were good but overall but not the tastiest dish we tried and definitely not the prettiest.

Monkey Bread – $6.00

I can’t give you a good review of this because I ordered it without the whiskey glaze that normally comes on top and that means they took off pretty much everything but the bread. So if someone tries this, let me know how it is! It sounded yummy but couldn’t do the trace amounts of alcohol sauce.

Avocado Time

Petite Impossible Burger – $8.00

Impossible burger topped with Melted Pepper Jack Cheese, fresh Guacamole and Tomato, on a Toasted mini Brioche Bun – another impossible meat menu item we didn’t try.

Tortilla-Crusted Fried Guacamole with Carne Asada – $8.25

Cluck-A-Doodle-Moo (just past Little Mermaid)

Ranch Fried Chicken Wings – $8.00

The ranch fried chicken wings were a hot ticket item with a long pickup line and for good reason. They were crispy, flavorful, and the little drizzle of buffalo sauce on top added a nice kick without being too overpowering like some buffalo wings.

These are definitely worth getting. And if you don’t like buffalo sauce, still get them without the drizzle. Yum!

French Onion Grilled Beef Tenderloin Slider – $8.50

If you know me, you know I didn’t personally try this French Onion slider. Caramelized onions, onion roll – yeah I’m out. But luckily my husband does love a good onion and tried this one for me!

Instead of this being a tender slider, the slider we got was like 1 1/2 inches thick and dense more like a steak than a slider. The flavor, especially with the caramelized onions, was really good but it just didn’t work well to bite through as a slider.

Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch – $6.50

Out of all of the desserts we tried, this was my personal favorite. It looked and tasted like a big fresh Ferrero Roche – one of my favorite chocolates ever!

The outside had that nice crunch, the middle was smooth and creamy, and the center was one big crunch. So good!

Berry Patch (Near the Golden Zephyr)

Oikos Greek Yogurt California Berries Summer Pudding – $5.50

The flavor of this one was okay but the dish altogether just tasted mushy. It might’ve been from sitting around waiting to be ordered, but there just wasn’t any texture at all. And the fruit inside was super tart – definitely not our favorite.

Raspberry-Lychee-Rose Custard – $6.00

So the berry patch desserts were both skips. The raspberry rose custard seemed like it could’ve been a good idea but the execution was terrible. It was mushy and the only texture in the dish – the freeze dried strawberries on top – were actually more annoying than anything. They got stuck in our teeth and didn’t add anything helpful to the dish. Definitely another one to skip.

Ruby Citrus Sparkler – $5.00

This drink was definitely a case of split opinions. I loved it once I swirled in the bottom flavorful portion with the actual sparkling water on the top. My husband thought it was gross, but he doesn’t like grapefruit. So if you like grapefruit, try it. If you don’t, probably best to skip.

Garlic Kissed (Near the Golden Zephyr)

Carbonara Garlic Mac and Cheese with Bacon – $8.00

This was one of the few dishes that everyone loved. I mean it’s mac and cheese so it’s hard to screw up, but they really elevated this dish with the panko crumbs on top, the crispy bacon, and the light garlic flavor. Kids and adults both wanted more of this!

Black Garlic Soy-Braised Pork Belly Banh Mi – $8.00

This one was as my husband put it, nice. Not spectacular but nice. The bread was crunchy, the pork belly was a good portion, and the flavoring on the bahn mi was good without being too spicy.

One to try if you like pork belly – otherwise you won’t miss it.

Other Food at Disneyland Food & Wine Festival

While these are technically listed in the festival passport, here are some other festival specific offerings to try around the park!

Paradise Garden Grill

Impossible Meatball Submarine

Another impossible meat one that we skipped.

Beer-Battered Fish Tacos

These were pretty standard fried fish tacos. Tasty but nothing amazing.

Buffalo-Style Roasted Turkey Leg

So funny story. I ordered this without green onions, and they gave it to me piled with green onions. Instead of sending it back to have it remade, I just went with it. I was taking a picture of it and some guy came up and asked me where I got it. I told him I was just taking a picture and that if he was okay with me just taking a little piece of it, he could have it.

Most of the time people say no but this guy was all for it. So I took a little piece off and handed it over.

The buffalo flavor was good but I’m not sure I (or anyone for that matter) need a whole turkey leg full of it. But if you want to get this one to share, go for it!

Brisket Sliders and Brisket Fries 

I put these two together because the brisket on them was the same, and the brisket on them was good. The brisket sliders were tasty but the real star was the brisket fries. Topped high with brisket, cheese sauce, and a crema – these are definitely a snack to try!

Black Forest Parfait

The black forest parfait is as my husband put it, something you’d get on a cruise buffet. It was a standard parfait, and there are way better things out there to eat instead.

Outdoor Vending Carts

Savory Empanada with Chipotle Crema Sauce

The savory beef empanada was pretty blah. Neither of us really liked it much – if you really want an empanada go with the sweet caramel apple one instead. But really neither were showstoppers and must-trys.

Sweet Empanada with Caramel Sauce

The sweet caramel apple empanada was definitely the better of the two. The outside was flaky, sweet, and yummy and the inside was kind of like a warm apple pie. All together it was a good bite but nothing that special.

Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

The chocolate hazelnut cheesecake was another one with mixed reviews. I thought the flavor was good but the crust was so light that it ended up being a little bit one-note, but I guess that’s what cheesecake normally is.

My husband and his brother both loved it, thought it was the best dessert of the day. We all agreed it needed more crust but definitely worth seeking out if you’re in the pier area.

Hollywood Lounge

Supporting Role Lavender Lemonade

This lemonade reminded me of the lavender lemonade they served at Schmoozies a few years ago, honestly it may be the same thing. It was bright, refreshing, and sweet. We all thoroughly enjoyed it, especially when combined with the backlot nachos!

Schmoozies

There are two festival specialities are Schmoozies right now but because of their coffee flavor/contents, I didn’t try either. Let me know if you try either the almond mocha shake or the almond mocha affogato!

Sonoma Terrace

There are also a handful of festival options at Sonoma Terrace that I didn’t get to. Next time! Here’s what is available at Sonoma Terrace.

• California Cheesesteak
• Italian Meatball Sandwich
• Bavarian Pretzel with Cheese Sauce
• Triple Chocolate Brownie

Pacific Wharf Coffee Cart

There are also a couple of speciality teas available at the coffee cart that I personally didn’t try. But if you like tea, the fruitful green tea and tea with berry, pineapple, and orange juices sound like they could be yummy!

Kayla’s Cake Macarons

This place isn’t in your tasting passport and to be honest, I’m not 100% sure it’s part of the festival. But I don’t remember seeing it when I was trying to find the best things to eat at Disneyland in January, so I’m going with it being part of the festival.

There were too many flavors of macarons to list here, but all of the ones I tried other than Cookie Monster were good. And where else can you get a unicorn macaron?

Don’t forget to pin this post for when you go to the Disneyland Food and Wine Festival! 

The Disneyland Food & Wine Festival Top 15

If you’re only going to try a few things at the Disney California Food and Wine Festival, try these!

Based on a group consensus and my own personal opinions, these were the top things at the Food and Wine Festival this year. And as a disclaimer, these are just our opinions. Everyone feels differently about food and drinks, so if you disagree – sorry!

These are not in order of best to worst, just things we recommend trying!

• White cheddar lager soup at Nuts About Cheese
• Pepperoni Pizza Egg Rolls at California Craft Brews
• Grilled Shrimp Tacos at Peppers Cal-iente
• Tortilla-Crusted Fried Guacamole with Carne Asada at Avocado Time
• Artichoke Toast from I Love Artichokes
• Ranch Fried Chicken Wings from Cluck A Doodle Moo
• Carbonara Garlic Mac and Cheese with Bacon from Garlic Kissed
• Brisket Fries from Paradise Garden Grill
• Oikos Greek Yogurt Banoffee Tart at Nuts About Cheese
• Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch from Cluck A Doodle Moo
• Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake from Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta
• Milk Chocolate Caramel Peanut Mickey Macaron from Off the Cob

And if you want to try some of the non-alcoholic drinks, these were our top three favorites!

• Farmstand Punch from Off the Cob
• Strawberry Rose Lemonade from Golden Dreams
• Supporting Role Lavender Lemonade from Hollywood Lounge

Printable Foodie Guide to the Disneyland Food & Wine Festival

I’ve created a little printable food and drink guide that’s perfectly sized to fit into your tasting passport with a quick guide on what you have to try, what you can skip, and what’s a good value using the same ** scale! There’s also a few blanks where you can write in some of your own favorites if there are other things that sound good you want to try!

Enter your name and email address in the form below to get a printable copy. If you don’t see the form below, click here to get to it. Once you submit the form, you’ll be taken directly to the printable PDF and you’ll receive an email version as well for later reference.

More Helpful Disney Planning Tips

• Best food at Disneyland
• Renting a car at Disney World
• Best Disney character meals
• Best Disney World snacks
• Disney Cruise Tips
• Things to do at Disney World outside the parks

Don’t forget to pin this 2020 Disneyland Food and Wine Festival guide for later!