A staple for us at Disneyland are the Mickey shaped beignets. If we’re going to rope drop, we’re getting beignets. If we’re waiting for Fantasmic, we’re getting beignets. If we’re just in the mood, we’re getting BEIGNETS! You get it. When we saw that the Disney Parks Blog had released the recipe for these beignets, we couldn’t wait to try it and bring a little magic (and comfort) to our home… and kitchen!
If you want to try it yourself, you can find the recipe here!
It’s not news that Disneyland always delivers on themed celebrations ESPECIALLY when it comes to the food… but for Haunted Mansion’s 50th Anniversary they really outdid themselves. We’ve tried a lot of foods in the past but this particular celebration has to be our favorite one that we’ve seen tasted so far.
Let’s talk about souvenirs first. We originally were only going to get the popcorn bucket but then FOMO took over and we opted to complete the collection with the beignet holder and sipper cup. We’re crazy (we know) but these three hitchhiking ghosts make for the perfect Halloween decoration and we are very much our mother’s daughters when it comes to decorating the house for aaaallll the holidays. Now on to the food!
River Belle Terrace
The sliders were very tasty and packed with flavor but THAT CAKE…it is one of the most delicious things we’ve had in the parks. A bold statement but we stand by it. We went back again just for the cake and the cast member serving us said we weren’t the only ones there having cake for lunch. Breaks our hearts that this delicious treat is only here for a limited time.
Churros
Both churros were yummy but if we HAD to choose a side… we’d be team Bride!
Mint Julep Bar / Royal Street Veranda
These two are our top picks for drinks offered with this celebration. We’ve gone back maaaany times for these specialty drinks… we might have some separation anxiety when they finally depart from the parks…
Harbour Galley
The brew was good but the real star of the drink was the vanilla cream. We tried mixing it to get some of that flavor in the rest of the drink but it didn’t really work so we continued to drink off the top (hence the cream moustache). The Seafood Boil was flavorful and spicy and it was fun to see it come in a boiling bag but we thought that for the price, there should have been a little more.
Rancho del Zocalo
I don’t know why we haven’t spent more time eating at Rancho del Zocalo but it is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to go. These tacos were impossible to eat with your hands but the fry bread yuummm.
Pooh Corner / Hungry Bear Restaurant
There is nothing too complex about the first treat. It’s a chocolate-covered rice krispie treat. It’s cute AND it’s delicious. As for the Dead-Cadent Funnel Cake, it is a little more complex with its flavors and that’s why we love it. The brownie smothered with the white chocolate raspberry ice cream with whipped cream to top… we couldn’t think of a more perfectly dead-cadent sweet!
The French Market
How fun is this cake?!? and it tastes good too! Channeling our inner Mary Berry, this cake wins for great flavor and presentation.
If you’ve been keeping up with our Instagram, you already know how we feel about Galaxy’s Edge… spoiler alert: we LOVE it. While visiting the planet of Batuu, we got to taste a little (maybe a lot) of what the galaxy had to offer so we put together a list of all the food we tried while at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
DOCKING BAY 7
There was a lot to like at Docking Bay 7. We’ve eaten here for breakfast and lunch but haven’t had a chance to try the dinner menu yet so I guess we’ll just HAVE to go back! The breakfast here was delicious, the Bright Suns Morning consists of a three-cheese egg bite, pork sausage, purple potato hash and a mini mustafarian lava roll. The pork sausage gets a 10/10 from us, it was SO yummy. We enjoyed 2 out of 4 of our lunch plates. The Felucian Garden Spread and the Roasted Endorian Tip Yip Salad were in our favor, the Smoked Kaadu Ribs and Yobshrimp Noodle Salad were not. The ribs were difficult to eat and it was hard to see if there were bones in the meat (there were) and the Yobshrimp Noodle Salad left Cody hungry for churros. I know Cody’s always hungry for churros but he said the meal wasn’t great and we trust him. Our overall favorites; Moof Juice, Roasted Endorian Tip Yip Salad, Felucian Garden Spread, Bright Suns Morning, Batuu-Bon.
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dessert:
RONTO ROASTERS
When you have siblings, you’re expected to have some disagreements, we certainly do (Blue Milk vs. Green Milk) but something we can all agree on is that the Ronto Wrap and the Tatooine Sunset are the best things we tried in Galaxy’s Edge! The Moof Juice from Docking Bay 7 wasn’t far behind but there is just something about the Tatooine Sunset… it’s refreshing yet sweet and very delicious. The Ronto Wrap was filled with roasted pork, cole slaw and grilled pork sausage, what’s not to like??
MILK STAND
Like I mentioned before, we are not in agreeance about the milks from the Milk Stand. Courtney liked the Green Milk while Cody and I preferred the Blue Milk. Something we all preferred to these milks was the Blue Bantha drink from Oga’s Cantina… but more on that later! Despite this being a milk stand, there isn’t actually any dairy in these drinks. They are both plant-based using coconut and rice milk which we think gives it that sweet taste. These were fun to try but I don’t think we’ll be having a craving for them any time soon.
OGA’S CANTINA
We were lucky enough to be able to visit the cantina twice and while we thoroughly enjoyed the decor, music and drinks, it was very crowded and we felt rushed each time. Once you get into the cantina, there is a 45 min time LIMIT and a 2 drink MAXIMUM. As you can see, we tried a lot over our two visits. Our favorite drinks were the Outer Rim, Blue Bantha and the Cliff Dweller. Bonus is the Cliff Dweller comes in an adorable Porg mug and the Blue Bantha has a cookie on top!
There are two options for food during lunch and dinner. We loved Oga’s Obsession (Jello with popping pearls) but we couldn’t get on board with the Batuu Bits. While they looked the part, we thought it was a weird combination. Chocolate and fish in the same bite? No thank you!
Non-Alcoholic:
Alcoholic:
Snacks:
That’s about it for our food guide! ‘Til the Spires!
When we got wind that the Lamplight Lounge was going to start serving brunch (thanks DFB) we made a reservation ASAP. We shared our first experience at the Lamplight Lounge back in April and we really enjoyed it but this brunch…GAME CHANGER. I’m not sure if we’re just more of a breakfast family but all of us agree that we prefer the brunch menu… I mean look at all the deliciousness we consumed!!
What we ordered: Cinnamon Toast Cocktail, Sunrise Spectacular, Lamplight Chilaquiles, Indulgent French Toast, Brunch Burger.
*Brunch is only available on the weekends. You can book your reservation here or on the Disneyland App*
We finally made it to Walt Disney World! This all started with our Aunt asking if we wanted to fly with her to Orlando over a weekend and of course, we all said YES. A little background, our Aunt is a flight attendant and a lot of our childhood/youth was spent on planes with her. Most of our trips were spontaneous and last minute just like our trip to Walt Disney World. Since this was our first time to the Magic Kingdom and our time there was limited, Courtney made an itinerary. She also booked our hotel, made dining reservations, bought our tickets and booked our fast passes (our own little travel agent!). Since we bought our tickets ahead of time, we were able to pick them up at our hotel. We stayed at the World Swan which was conveniently located next to Disney’s Boardwalk with only a 10 min drive to the Magic Kingdom.
While picking up our tickets, we were helped by Brent. Brent was great. We loved Brent. We told him we would blog about him because of how great he was (Hi Brent!). But seriously, he was the best. He reassured us that our itinerary was top notch, shared some fun WDW facts and gave us advice on the best (and quickest) way into the park. Per Brent’s recommendation, we used the Lyft app to order a “Minnie Van” (cute right?) to take us to Magic Kingdom. Unlike regular rideshare services, when you use the Minnie Van selection in the app, you will be dropped off right in front of the park. If you use regular Ubers and Lyfts you will be dropped off at the Transportation and Ticket Center and then have to take the monorail or ferryboat to the front entrance of the park.
First in line! We’ve done many rope drop mornings at Disneyland so we knew what to expect or so we thought… We’ve seen it at Disneyland, the fast walking and slight jogging once the rope drops with everyone trying to get to their favorite ride but we were not prepared for the actual speed and running agility of some folks visiting the Magic Kingdom. We tried to keep our group together but realized we lost our Mom…she was already ahead of us as she too was running (never underestimate a Mom).
After rope drop and our first ride of the day (Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), we stopped in front of the castle for some photos because LOOK AT IT. It’s so beautiful.
After our castle photoshoot, we stopped in Liberty Square for some breakfast at Sleepy Hollow. This quick service restaurant was delicious, serving aaalll the waffles. We just ordered enough for the group and shared everything.
What we ordered:
Mom just couldn’t stop looking at the castle… we don’t blame her, it was UNREAL. Just wait until the firework pictures…
We loved Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion. It was big and grand and we loved the additional rooms with all the different details. We’re trying not to spoil the ride for those who haven’t been on it yet, but 10/10 must ride if you are at Magic Kingdom. We went on it twice!
We spent a lot of our time in Frontierland. First, we had to see the Country Bear Jamboree. This is something we miss dearly at Disneyland. The bears were out roaming so we just grabbed some popcorn sat on a bench and watched them cause some trouble.
Brent’s Fun Fact- Keep an eye out for artist Mary Blair in “It’s a Small World”! Mary is responsible for designing the magical and dazzling style of the iconic ride.
There was so much room for detail at the Magic Kingdom. We loved waiting in the lines so we could look at everything around us. We felt completely immersed in each world.
Courtney made a reservation for us at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant around the same time as the parade. She asked if we could be seated on the patio so we could watch it from our table (She’s just too good).
What we ordered:
Next up the Peoplemover! The best way to see Tomorrowland!
The sun was starting to set and we were starting to crash… so we decided to lay low and stake out our spot for fireworks. No one was as excited for the firework show as Courtney and we are so glad that she put this on the itinerary because this show was spectacular. It was definitely worth the wait and the crowds… Bravo!
Today is the last day to enjoy all the deliciousness at the Food & Wine Festival in DCA. We bought the Sip and Savor Pass ($49 with AP discount) which we love doing for all of the food events that take place at DCA. We were able to mosey along to each vendor, try what we wanted and come back at a later date to try some more! We really enjoy trying all the different foods – we’ve posted some of our favorites below!
It was a bit chilly when we first went to try some food so we decided to stop and get the Fiscalini White Cheddar Lager Soup from the Nuts About Cheese booth. The soup was served in a mini Boudin sourdough bowl so you could eat every last bite of this delicious dish.
Close by was the California Craft Brews booth where Cody got the Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Columbia Street, Amber Lager and Courtney got the Pepperoni Pizza Egg Rolls. I’ll say this now, us three siblings all have very different tastes in what we like and what we agree on. These egg rolls are something we will never agree on. I won’t name names but some thought it was amazing and others thought that that person was CRAZY.
Another glimpse into our disagreements of tastes… Kenzie was not sold on the Esquites Sweet Corn Nuggets but Courtney loved them so much she had them twice! Also, Cody loves Churros (not part of the Food & Wine Festival but worth noting).
Like I mentioned before, we love taking advantage of our Sip & Savor Pass. We went back to DCA on another weekend to eat more food!
These next few vendors had some of our favorite dishes from the festival.
Some honorable mentions:
Posting this made us hungry…Until next year Food & Wine Festival!!
We did it! We finally ate at the Lamplight Lounge on Pixar Pier. When this place first opened this past summer, the queues were INSANE. We tried a couple of times to put our name down as walk-ins but our hunger would always get the best of us. We may be late to the party with this one but it was only a matter of time that we book a reservation (a month in advance) for dinner.
The drink menu is colossal. We ordered two rounds because there were so many options! We tried boozy & non-boozy drinks and spoiler alert- they were all good.
What we ordered: 2319, Mint to Be, Infinity Fizz, Celctic Cure, Six Tentacles
There is an upstairs and downstairs for dining. The upstairs menu offers drinks and shared bites while the downstairs menu offers drinks, big bites and desserts. We made a reservation for downstairs.
Cody ordered the cheddar burger and we like to tease him over how particular he is about how he eats his food. He doesn’t like his food touching and he always eats his sides first and then the main part of the dish, is anyone else like this?
SO many Disney bloggers/influencers were raving about these lobster nachos so of course, we wanted to try them. Honestly, we were left scratching our heads…we all took a bite and then didn’t touch them for the rest of our meal (lives). Our sweet waitress noticed the full plate of nachos pushed aside and decided to take it off of our bill. In good conscious, we CANNOT recommend the lobster nachos but we CAN recommend the ratatouille! It was sooooo good. I could’ve added a few more “o” in so but I think you get it…it was good.
We ended our meal with these babies. We give it and the sauces that go with it a 10/10!
It’s the Year of the Pig and we celebrated with all the Lunar New Year food at DCA. We decided to head to the park on a day that had a 50% chance of rain…which in hindsight wasn’t the best idea but that didn’t stop us from enjoying all the yummy food. Because of the bad weather, most of the performances were canceled so we weren’t able to see Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession… I guess there is always next year!?
We purchased the Sip & Savor Pass ($39.00 before AP discount-$36.00 after AP discount) so we could try an assortment of goodies from all the different vendors. We still had some left over on our pass so we went back for seconds of our favorite foods.
Kenzie LOVED the Vegetable Egg Roll and Chilled Sesame-Garlic Noodles from Longevity Noodle Co. Courtney’s favorite was the Mandarin Orange-Green Tea Tart from the Lucky 8 Lantern. Also, what should be noted but is not pictured, the Vietnamese Iced Coffee from the Lucky 8 Lantern… SO delicious.
There was just so much good food! We spent the rest of the day trying to walk off everything we ate, but we ate A LOT.
Happy Valentine’s Day from the Happiest Place on Earth! This year, Disneyland did a scavenger hunt in search of Minnie’s secret Valentine’s Day cards that she’s hidden for Mickey and all of her friends. This was such a cute little activity to do in the parks…some were harder to find than others which let Kenzie’s competitive side really show but we had a lot of fun with it!
We celebrated our victory of finding all the Valentine’s Day cards with some Valentine’s Day desserts! A chocolate tamale and frozen strawberry horchata…YES PLEASE.
We LOVE visiting the parks during the holiday season, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until we’ve been to Disneyland! Every year we watch the Christmas Fantasy Parade… we typically grab a snack (popcorn, pretzel, churro. What’s your vice?) and mosey on down Main Street to find a spot for viewing. There were a lot of new foods to try this season, so we did our best and tried as much as we could! Lots of peppermint and eggnog treats were consumed… You can see more of our Christmas at the parks below!
The gingerbread cookies in the parade are just as cute as the ones at Red Rose Tavern!
The look of love…and an eggnog mustache. We weren’t kidding when we said that we consumed a lot of eggnog treats. We tried the Holiday Frozen Eggnog from Red Rose Tavern, the Eggnog Latte Cheesecake from the Jolly Holiday Bakery and these Churro Bites with Eggnog Gelato from Hungry Bear.
Now on to one of our favorite treats from this past holiday season. We found out about these Churro Sundaes from the Golden Horseshoe during their last run for Halloween. We were sad that we didn’t have more time together SO when we found out that they were making a comeback for the holidays, we were first in line. We loved this one so much that we decided to recreate it at home! (you can see how we did that here)
The best part about this sundae is the caramel filling inside of the churros. A very sweet surprise…as expressed by Courtney below.
Cody loves going into the Penny Arcade to look at all the sweets. Also, can anyone actually eat a beignet without getting it all over the place?? We loved these Candy Cane Beignets at the Mint Julep Bar.
Kenzie is an avid affogato consumer, so when we found out that schmoozies was putting a holiday twist on their affogato she HAD to get it…even if it was cold and raining.
Some of our favorites from the Festival of Holidays this year.
We’ll miss you Christmas!! Until next time…
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