Disney California Adventure’s Food & Wine Festival runs from March 3 to April 25, 2023! This information provides a listing of market cubicles, suggestions & methods for having fun with DCA’s foodie particular occasion, what to order, what not to order, good worth menu gadgets, and suggestions for benefiting from this occasion, which has free and upcharge parts. (Updated January 8, 2023.)
The 2023 DCA Food & Wine Festival returns for the second straight yr, seeking to construct on momentum from final yr after a 2-year hiatus previous to that. DCA’s Food & Wine Festival had actually been rising into its personal, extra intently resembling its cousin at Epcot with every passing yr.
That will as soon as once more be the case, because the 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival won’t simply characteristic 12 meals sales space marketplaces with a smorgasbord of candy and savory snacks plus inventive cocktails, beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks. For 2023, the DCA Food & Wine Festival may even provide dishes at choose eating places all through Disney California Adventure and the Downtown Disney District plus the Hotels of Disneyland Resort.
Family-friendly leisure additionally returns to the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival with appearances by the Jammin’ Chefs, Chef Goofy, and the “Alice’s Wonderland Bakery Unbirthday Party” present. In addition, there shall be much more thrilling leisure to take a look at on the Palisades Stage and the Paradise Gardens bandstand.
Guests of all ages may even get pleasure from crafts, complimentary weekend culinary demonstrations, and artist occasions and signings on the 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. It’ll additionally characteristic the return of ticketed occasions, together with culinary demonstrations by a combination of Disneyland Resort and visiting cooks, wine receptions, mixology seminars, and extra.
Another non-culinary spotlight is that Soarin’ Over California will return for a restricted time throughout the 2023 DCA Food & Wine Festival! This beloved attraction celebrates the wonder and surprise of the Golden State, from San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge to the crashing waves in Malibu.
We’ll have extra details about the 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival as soon as the occasion begins. For now, listed here are some suggestions and an summary primarily based on what Disneyland Resort has revealed up to now.
One factor you’ll observe that this information doesn’t cowl is saving cash. While we had a variety of enjoyable spending time grazing the marketplaces on the DCA Food & Wine Festival, it’s a expensive expertise. There aren’t any “secret hacks” for parlaying a few filling snacks right into a meal that winds up being cheaper than counter service choices.
The parts are comparatively small, and the costs comparatively excessive. This ought to come as no shock to anybody who has spent the day wandering across the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. It’s the very same thought.
While Disney California Adventure has improved dramatically in the previous couple of years, it looks like the park’s theme has shifted manner from “California” extra in direction of a generic catch-all park with free California ties to shoehorn every thing in. It’s Disneyland’s “studios” park.
That’s not essentially problematic in lots of instances–issues like Cars Land are distinctive even when the Route 66 connection is tenuous. Still, it’s good to see a return to the park’s purported theme with the Food & Wine Festival. After experiencing this and some different particular occasions like Lunar New Year at DCA, I believe it is a nice option to maintain the “California” in DCA. Now, the place is my Parade of Whales down Buena Vista Street, Disney?!
Irrespective of all that, the DCA Food & Wine Festival has the potential to be a enjoyable occasion that emphasizes the park’s theme. We’ll begin our protection with menus for the marketplaces, then some opinions of particular issues we tried, adopted by our general impressions of the occasion. Let’s get began…
Marketplace Booths
For the 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival there are 12 market cubicles, a rise from Lunar New Year earlier than it, however down from the 15 cubicles that appeared on the pre-closure occasion since staffing shortages nonetheless plague the parks.
Here’s the listing of final yr’s DCA Food & Wine Festival cubicles:
- Avocado Time – Indulge in flavorful medleys that make your mouth sing.
- Berry Patch – Hail the massive berry for high billing!
- California Craft Brews – Cheers to a spherical from California’s greatest native breweries.
- Cluck-a-Doodle-Moo – Rally for these sliders, wings ‘n’ beer—a sports activities fan’s dream!
- D•Lish – Enjoy scrumptious candy and savory dishes certain to thrill!
- Garlic Kissed – Stop by to savor mouthwatering dishes and specialty drinks.
- Golden Dreams – Tempt style buds with well-seasoned eats and nectarous drinks.
- I Heart Artichokes – Partake within the thistle—ready in 2 other ways!
- LA Style – Feast on favourite southland food-truck flavors.
- Nuts About Cheese – Let us introduce you to wine’s greatest associates.
- Peppers Cali-Ente – Snack on scorching ‘n’ spicy fare with a Cali twist!
- Uncork California – Sip vino by the glass or attempt a flight.
We’ll have meals sales space opinions beginning the primary week of March 2023, so keep tuned for that!
Sip & Savor Pass
During the 2023 DCA Food & Wine Festival, the Sip and Savor Pass shall be obtainable for buy by all company. The go offers a commemorative credential, lanyard and eight handy entitlement tabs which you can redeem for choose meals and nonalcoholic drinks at taking part areas throughout the 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival.
We’ve accomplished this a number of instances, and strategically order the costliest savory gadgets on every menu (and pay out of pocket for desserts), which finally ends up saving us a good amount of cash. This cuts prices a bit and makes a few of the costlier gadgets a bit extra consistent with actuality.
Family Entertainment
The Hollywood Backlot in Hollywood Land shall be dwelling to an assortment of leisure and displays throughout the 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. Guests might meet Chef Goofy or dance together with Chip ‘n’ Dale because the Jammin’ Chefs serve up tasty new rhythms utilizing pots and pans.
Disney Junior’s new animated sequence “Alice’s Wonderland Bakery” is the inspiration behind a limited-time pageant expertise for junior cooks on the Hollywood Backlot Stage. During “Alice’s Wonderland Bakery Unbirthday Party,” stay host Rolly Pin and two animated characters from the sequence, Alice and Princess Rosa, invite company ages 3 by 11 to precise their creativity by hands-on cupcake adorning with a particular go to from Minnie Mouse, who arrives to admire their skills. Space is proscribed for this expertise, and participant sign-ups start 45 minutes earlier than every present time.
Throughout DCA, there shall be stay musical performances, artwork shows, family-friendly leisure and craft stations for youths.
Seminars & Signature Events
On Saturdays and Sundays on the Hollywood Backlot Stage, company of all ages can watch culinary demonstrations from a various mixture of Disney and visiting cooks, who will put together their favourite dishes whereas sharing insider cooking suggestions. Notable presenters this yr embrace Disneyland Resort Executive Chef Chris Maggetti, Pastry Sous Chef Gracie Gomez, Chef Jet Tila, Chef Shachi Mehra, Chef Kevin Bludso, and plenty of others.
Here’s the schedule of free culinary demonstrations from final yr’s Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival:
Culinary Demonstrations with Disney Chefs
- March 5: Stephanie Yee, Pastry Sous Chef
- March 6: Toby Hollis, Disney California Adventure Park Chef
- March 12: Brenden Neumayr, Elena Aranda, Alexander Fuentz Cardenas, Angie Arenas; Festivals Beverage Team
- March 19: Marcel St. Pierre, Chef de Cuisine
- March 20: Marcel St. Pierre, Chef de Cuisine
- March 26: Chris Maggetti, Executive Chef
- March 27: Moises Carranza, Festivals Chef
- April 2: Alex Flores, Chef de Cuisine
- April 3: Gracie Gomez, Pastry Sous Chef
- April 9: Markus Meza, Candy Maker
- April 10: Markus Meza, Candy Maker
- April 23: John State, Culinary Director
- April 24: Christina Orejel, Pastry Sous Chef
Culinary Demonstrations with Visiting Chefs
- March 5: Chef Steve Kling
- March 6: Chef Soon Teoh & Khim Teoh
- March 12: Chef Wing Lam
- March 13: Chef Jamie Gwen
- March 13: Rafael Molina
- March 19: Chef Bret Thompson
- March 20: Chef Shaun O’Neale
- March 26: Chef Alejandra Tapia
- March 27: Chef Omar Fierro
- April 2: Chef Michael Rossi
- April 3: Chef Rich Sweeney
- April 9: Chef Shachi Mehra
- April 10: Chef Justin Warner
- April 16: Chef Ernie Alvarado
- April 16: Chef Paolo Dungca
- April 17: Chef Jet Tila
- April 17: Chef Paolo Dungca
- April 23: Chef Kevin Bludso
- April 24: Chef Nyesha Arrington
Culinary Demonstrations with Festival Sponsors
Cooking demonstrations and academic farm-to-table displays by DCA Food & Wine Festival sponsors concerned in rising the meals shall be provided on Saturdays and Sundays. Fridays by Sundays on the Paradise Beer Garden, company can get pleasure from chats with visiting breweries. Again, final yr’s schedule is beneath for reference.
- March 12 – 13: California Milk Advisory Board
- April 2 – 3: California Milk Advisory Board
- April 16 – 17: Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co.
- April 23 – 24: National Geographic
All of this shall be up to date with 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival schedules as soon as they’re launched.
In addition, there are upcharge choices that may be booked prematurely for many who need a extra elaborate and indulgent expertise on the 2023 DCA Food & Wine Festival. These are as follows:
Bookable Experiences
- Carthay Circle Winemaker Receptions – Enjoy hand-selected California wines, masterfully paired with an array of small plates.
- Wine, Beer and Mixology Education & Tasting Seminars – Discover one thing particular when sommeliers, brew masters and mixologists expose their business experience throughout these fascinating 45-minute classes.
- Hotels Education and Tasting Seminars, Winemaker Reception & Mixology Class Experiences – Enjoy particular tasting seminars, a Winemaker Reception and Trader Sam’s Tiki Mixology Class.
Impressions
In evaluating the lineups, the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival has grown as in comparison with final yr, however remains to be considerably scaled again as in comparison with its predecessors from the sooner years of DCA. There was once much more free displays & tastings, plus paid dinners, tasting walks, and even a Festival Showplace. It sounded much more like Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival earlier than its hiatus.
In equity, the flowery occasion was earlier than Cars Land, earlier than World of Color, and even earlier than the Little Mermaid darkish journey. Those have been the times when Mali was booming, the park was combating off an invasion of burger proportions, and sunglass-wearing dinosaurs roamed the park absorbing the rays. Ahh…the not-so-good ole days. Basically, Disney was doing something it might to lure unsuspecting prey into DCA persuade company to go to DCA, so a bigger occasion made sense.
I’m happy that there are some free displays along with the paid seminars and expensive marketplaces. The occasion was introduced proper across the similar time as a number of upcharge choices at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, so I used to be a bit apprehensive that it was being introduced again in identify however not spirit with solely the “best” income streams surviving.
Although there are methods to blow cash and costs are excessive, the return of the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival doesn’t appear to be a money seize–at the least not completely. Although it does really feel much less like a celebration of California’s culinary scene because it could possibly be if extra effort was made with displays, shows, and many others.
Aside from the displays and marketplaces, we have been happy that Blue Sky Cellar was open as a lounge for Annual Passholders, with Cast Members handing out free buttons, plus free telephone charging, and Seasons of the Vine taking part in inside.
If you’ve by no means seen it, Seasons of the Vine is a high-quality (one of many few DCA 1.0 issues about which that may be mentioned!) quick movie about wine rising with an distinctive rating.
There are additionally Food & Wine Festival-inspired menu gadgets on the eating places round Disney California Adventure. I attempted the Dungeness Crab Corn Chowder in a Boudin sourdough boule, and it was phenomenal. Lump crap meat in a wealthy soup plus filling (contemporary!) bread for less than about $10 after my AP low cost.
Basically, the takeaway right here is that at Disney California Adventure’s Food & Wine Festival, costs are excessive and parts are small, however the meals is sweet. After some hiccups opening the cubicles, issues went easy operationally, and it was simple to hit the cubicles whereas wandering the park, however I wouldn’t name this a enjoyable “experience” like could possibly be mentioned of Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival. That positively has an ideal experiential ingredient, possible partly since you’re wandering the international locations of the world whereas grazing the cubicles.
For us, that’s what makes the excessive costs there palatable. Yeah, you’re paying an excessive amount of, however it may be such an pleasing occasion that you simply don’t thoughts an excessive amount of. By distinction, I don’t suppose the DCA Festival has that going for it, at the least to not the identical diploma. It’s a change of tempo and one thing totally different to do, however not a motive to go to the park in itself. It’s a pleasant diversion in case you’re already within the park, however in case you can’t make it, you’re not lacking a lot.
Planning a Southern California trip? For park admission offers, learn Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site accommodations in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For the place to eat, try our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For distinctive concepts of issues that’ll enhance your journey, try What to Pack for Disney. For complete recommendation, seek the advice of our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides past Disney, try our Southern California Itineraries for day journeys to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of different locations!
Your Thoughts
Will you be attending the 2023 DCA Food & Wine Festival? Any new or returning cubicles you’re excited to attempt? Booking any of the particular seminars, or sticking to the free ones? Do you agree or disagree with ideas on the 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival? Any further ideas on particular samples? Share any questions, suggestions, or further ideas you have got within the feedback!