Author Marcy Carriker Smothers held a special panel on the final day of the D23 Expo 2017 that highlighted topics in her upcoming book, Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food. While a lot of Disneyland’s culinary history has been covered before, Smothers goes ALL IN here for an exhaustive look at all the munchins and crunchins surrounding the life of Walt Disney.

Disneyland’s food transports us as much as it satiates us, or as Walt declared, “The food is as fabulous as the fun, too.” From humble beginnings to becoming one of the most famous men on the planet, Walt was more of an everyman than a pampered celebrity when it came to eating. With food as the lens, Walt’s private and work life are explored – including recipes from his home, his studio and his Magic Kingdom – ensuring that anyone can Eat Like Walt.

Although Disneyland opened in 1955, its culinary history dates back to 1923 when Walt first arrived in Hollywood. Walt was a simple eater yet a big dreamer. By 1934, four years before his first feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would be released, Mickey Mouse had made him famous enough to have a recipe published in Better Homes & Gardens magazine. And although Walt never set out to be a restaurateur, he became one, with four restaurants opening at his state of the art Walt Disney Studios in 1940.

Check out just a small sampling of the photos shared during the panel which will be found in the upcoming book: Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food.

Walt had simple tastes. Check out this list of preferred food items:

The Disney Family live-in housekeeper and cook Thelma “Foo-Foo” Howard had a big influence in Walt’s life.

Walt loved coffee and insisted on ten cent cups in the park. This practice stayed in effect for many years after his death. Up until a few years ago when Starbucks came in, Disneyland honored a free coffee refill policy at all coffee vending locations if you brought the original cup.

Smothers believes she has found the actual definitive reason why Club 33 is named with a 33. There’s lots of stories but she confident she has THE reason.

Walt’s apartment on Main Street. Notice the ice for his favorite beverage… Scotch Mist.

Without having an actual confirmation, Smothers is certain that this building in the Blue Bayou (painting by Dorothea Redmond) is an homage to the former Chicken Plantation which the Pirates of the Caribbean replaced.

Before the Enchanted Tiki Room, Walt had an idea for a restaurant with an Animatronic Confucius who would entertain diners. It would have been located on Main Street.