Food & Wine Festival season is one of my favorite times of year at Disneyland. The food, the weather, the long days – it’s perfect.
And did I mention the food? 😁 It’s really the star of the show.
Every year, Disney goes all out for their food festivals and this year is no different.
We used to turn the first weekend of the Food & Wine festival into a whole weekend extravaganza and book a hotel and stay all day. We really made a moment out of it.
But as the years have gone by and our bodies have turned on us and started aging – we can’t sustain long weekends of food, drinks, rides, and tons of walking.
So now, we’ve opted for short trips filled with food, sitting, and maybe a ride or two.
Let’s check out everything I’ve been able to try this year at Disney’s Food & Wine Festival at the Disneyland Resort.
2024 Food & Wine Festival Review – Disneyland Resort
I didn’t purchase the tasting card this year because it doesn’t include alcohol or dishes at the participating restaurants and I don’t love to buy all of the food cart food.
I’m not always impressed with the food cart food and it’s usually very small portions for how much you’re paying.
However, I had to try a handful of items from the carts and of course from the participating restaurants.
Full reviews are below.
Festival Marketplace Carts
Spicy Strawberry Cocktail – (Cart 2) LA Style
This drink wasn’t too sweet, but still sweeter than I’m used to drinking. I usually stick to a vodka soda because I crash easily from sugar. But these mixed drinks are always fun and yummy to enjoy once in a while!
While the drink itself wasn’t amazing, it was strong. And I loved that it came with a tajin/chamoy straw. You can never have enough tajin.
If you love mixed cocktails and sweeter drinks, this one is for you. If you know you’re more of a simple drink person, I would skip it.
Overall, I’d give the drink an 8/10.
Carnitas Style Pork Belly and Macaroni Salad – (Cart 2) LA Style
I picked this up at the same cart as the Strawberry Cocktail. I was very hesitant to order pork belly from a Disney food cart but it was so freaking good!
I thought it was going to be chewy and tasteless but I was wrong. The pork belly was so tender and seasoned perfectly. I ate the whole thing in two bites.
I read the description incorrectly for the macaroni. I assumed it was a baked (hot) cheesy macaroni but once again, I was wrong.
This was the best macaroni salad ever. It reminded me of the Hawaiian macaroni salad you get with chicken katsu. It had a bit of a kick to it too.
This dish is a 10/10 for me!
Chile Relleno Empanada – (Cart 8) Peppers Cali-Ente
I know this is a returning item but I didn’t try it last year and I definitely missed out. The chile relleno empanada was my absolute favorite it this year.
I don’t know how they made it so freaking good. It wasn’t dry inside or outside. It was hearty and filled with cheese and green chiles. It was perfect. And the sauce on top was so good.
All I can say is 10/10 and I need this as a year-round item.
Cantarito-style Paloma – (Cart 8) Peppers Cali-Ente
You can find this drink at the same cart as the Chile Rellon Empanada. This drink was fabulous. I love a good strong and spicy drink. It was sweet but when it comes to also being spicy, this was perfect.
This was a pineapple and tequila drink with a kick. I would have loved to enjoy two of these but I knew the headache was going to kick in a few minutes after enjoying the first one – sugar crash.
If you love a spicy tequila drink, this one is for you! 10/10
Snickers Macaron – (Cart 4) Nuts About Cheese
I have to be honest, I ordered this mostly for my husband because he loves sweets. If it’s not a cake with cream cheese frosting or a chocolate chip cookie, I usually stay away.
But I have to admit this was a damn good macaron. And I do love macarons but this one is huge!! It’s worth the price.
It’s full of Snickers (my favorite) plus a chocolate macaron on the outside. It was too sweet for me to have more than two bites but it was still amazing.
I would say 9/10 but some may say 10/10.
Participating Food & Wine Festival Locations
Pastrami Fries – Smokejumpers Grill
I watched a ton of videos of this on Instagram and knew I had to have it! I mobile ordered this item from Smokejumpers and it came out hot and fresh!
You could see the steam rising off the pastrami and hot cheese sauce. This dish was perfect. The pastrami was shaved nicely and not too salty.
The cheese sauce was perfect, it was different than the regular plastic cheese sauce. This had a mustard taste to it, not overwhelming though. I really don’t like mustard and I loved this sauce.
The chopped pickles were my favorite part because they mixed so well with everything else and added a nice juicy crunch to each bite.
The fries stayed crispy and didn’t get soggy with the sauce and all of the ingredients worked together nicely.
If you didn’t already guess, I give this 10/10.
Pineapple Upsidedown Cake – Aunt Cass Cafe
I saw one of my favorite creators try this and I feel like my review aligns with theirs. This was a fabulous pineapple upside-down cake, warm and gooey and not overly sweet.
But I really don’t feel like it was amazing or something I would tell people they need to try. It was good, no complaints, I ate the entire thing 😂 but I don’t think I would get this again. It didn’t wow me.
I give this an 8/10.
Heading to the Food & Wine Festival?
As you can see I gave out some pretty high ratings and that’s because I’m picky about what I order. I hate being let down by food that looks or sounds good – it’s the worst.
I curate my menu to items I know are popular or I know I will love based on the ingredients.
I’m not a huge risk-taker with ordering food. 😆 I don’t like wasting food, so I only order what I’m going to like unless I know my husband is there to finish off the snack.
How did you like all the tasty treats at this years’ festival? Let me know your favorites down below in the comments.
See you at the Parks!
XOXO,
Julia
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