Disneyland chefs have come up with another stellar lineup of food mashups and fantastic flavors for this year’s Festival of Holidays food festival that brings together familiar and unusual tastes from Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Navidad.
I taste-tested several menu items at the Disney Festival of Holidays on Friday, Nov. 15 during the kickoff of the seasonal event that runs through Jan. 6 at Disney California Adventure.
The 2024 Festival of Holidays features seven festival marketplace booths offering small plates highlighting winter holiday eats and drinks. Several other DCA eateries and food stands also serve festival fare.
The Disney Festival of Holidays specialty menu includes more than 40 food and drink options to choose from this winter holiday season.
ALSO SEE: Disneyland adds a few new surprises this Christmas holiday season
California Adventure is once again offering two versions of the Sip and Savor pass — one good for four food or drink items at $32 and the other good for eight items at $63 ($58 for Magic Keyholders).
That works out to $7.25 to $8 per item — an important factor to keep in mind when you’re weighing the relative value of each dish or drink.
Here are the eight best things I ate at Disney Festival of Holidays using the Sip and Savor Pass.
Chilaquiles Carnitas Torta available at Paradise Garden Grill during Disney Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)
1) Chilaquiles Carnitas Torta
Paradise Garden Grill
Made with red chilaquiles, refried beans, avocado spread, queso fresco, pickled onions and a fried egg served with chips
As the name suggests, the Disneyland chefs have taken the traditional Mexican breakfast dish and served it on a bun — and they nailed it.
Disneyland’s culinary team has raised expectations about what theme park food can be in recent years — and the chilaquiles sandwich sets the bar for excellence at this year’s festival and going forward.
Chorizo Queso Fundido Mac & Cheese available at the Holiday Duets festival marketplace booth during Disney Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)
2) Chorizo Queso Fundido Mac & Cheese
Holiday Duets marketplace booth
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The Disneyland chefs always include a couple Mac & Cheese dishes in every food festival — and the Chorizo Queso Fundido combo is another winner.
The Mac & Cheese masterpiece tasted like Chili Mac with the chorizo filling in for the chili con carne.
The menu described this as a vegetarian dish without specifying the “chorizo” was plant-based — but I wouldn’t have noticed the fake meat if the next table hadn’t mentioned it.
The Holiday Duets booth also offers a Holiday Duet option with a half-and-half portion of the two Mac & Cheeses on the menu ∞ the new Chorizo Queso Fundido and the returning Savory Kugel.
Turkey Galantine Croissant Muffin Slider available at A Twist on Tradition festival marketplace booth during Disney Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)
3) Turkey Galantine Croissant Muffin Slider
A Twist on Tradition marketplace booth
Made with herb mayo and cranberry marmalade
I had to look up what “Galantine” meant — a French technique of rolling and stuffing poultry.
In this case, it’s a fancy way of saying turkey sandwich.
But this was much more than that. The Disney chef’s served the turkey and cranberry piled high atop a croissant muffin.
Not the ideal way to present a sandwich at a theme park — especially when you’re trying to navigate through crowds on DCA’s bustling parade route. The cast member told me to be careful as I left the booth because the towering “sandwich” could easily topple over.
But the best part of a food festival is always trying something new — and the Turkey Galantine Croissant Muffin Slider fits the bill at this year’s event.
Fortunately, it was also delicious — which is always the most important part. And a fun riff on a Black Friday leftover sandwich.
Al Pastor Pork & Pineapple Slider available at the Winter Sliderland festival marketplace booth during Disney Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)
4) Al Pastor Pork & Pineapple Slider
Winter Sliderland marketplace booth
Served on corn brioche bun
This smoky, tangy and sweet sandwich with just a little bit of spice was close to perfect. The bun was the only downside.
It’s easy to say the slider was too small. But that’s just another way of saying I could have eaten a lot more. But then I wouldn’t have had any room left for the rest of the items on the festival menu.
Barbecue Pulled Pork Cornbread Bake available at A Twist on Tradition festival marketplace booth during Disney Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)
5) Barbecue Pulled Pork Cornbread Bake
A Twist on Tradition marketplace booth
Served with a side of creamy slaw
This is another wonderful mash-up from the Disneyland culinary team — burying the juicy pulled pork inside a cornbread muffin. The two tastes go perfectly together and tasted even better the more they blended together.
I would have been happier if “barbecue” was dropped from the name — there was nothing smoky about the meat. But those are semantics and what matters here is that the cute little dish was tender and tasty.
The cole slaw wasn’t creamy or worth the time — simply a little color to fill out the plate.
Jelly Donut Punch available at the Winter Sliderland festival marketplace booth during Disney Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)
6) Jelly Donut Punch
Winter Sliderland marketplace booth
Made with apricot nectar, house-made raspberry and strawberry jam syrup, cookie butter and lemon juice garnished with a skewered powdered sugar donut hole
Disneyland drinks always tend to be way too sweet — so I was both intrigued and terrified by the Jelly Donut Punch.
I’ve never thought about drinking a jelly donut, but as soon as you mention it I have to try it. I’m a sucker that way.
The punch definitely tasted like drinking a jelly donut — jammy, fruity and juicy.
But mercifully, it wasn’t overly sweet. On the contrary, it was refreshing and flavorful.
It tasted like an over-liquified version of a strawberry smoothie.
Jelly donuts, also known as sufganiyot, are a traditional part of Hanukkah celebrations.
Holiday Mash Bowl available at the Merry Mashups festival marketplace booth during Disney Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)
7) Holiday Mash Bowl
Merry Mashups marketplace booth
Made with fried chicken, cheddar mashed potatoes and turkey gravy with cranberry stuffing crunch
I approached this dish as Thanksgiving dinner in a bowl — but the fried chicken threw me for a loop.
The cheddar mashed potatoes were so creamy that they were almost like potato soup — but in a deliciously cheesy way. Almost like liquid mac and cheese coating the seasoned stuffing and tiny cranberries.
The kids meal fried chicken was the worst part of the dish. Clearly, turkey would have been the obvious option. But I would have rather seen the Disneyland chefs sprinkle fried onions or fried green beans into the mash to provide the necessary crunch to offset the whipped creamy goodness.
Cookie Dough Yule Log available at the Grandma’s Recipes festival marketplace booth during Disney Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)
8) Cookie Dough Yule Log
Grandma’s Recipes marketplace booth
Filled with chocolate chip cookie dough and white chocolate mousse, covered with chocolate buttercream
I was hoping for a rich chocolate explosion here, but got a mix of creamy flavors rolled in overly dry cake.
Chocolate chip cookie dough was prominent in the title, but hard to find in the dessert — buried deep inside and in sparse supply.
I wanted this one to be great, but it let me down.
That’s OK though, because there are plenty of other sweets and treats to try the next time I hit Disney’s holiday food festival. Based on what I tried, I have high hopes for the rest of the menu.