The Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure is back once more bringing the flavors of the season to life with noshable nibbles, sips, and tastes from around the world to tempt every palate. Although the amount of festival samplings are smaller than in previous years, there’s still a lot of flavor packed into the event.
Here’s a first taste of some of the treats to warm your heart and fill your belly for the 2023 Disney Holidays! ENJOY!
Sip and Savor
The 2023 Festival of Holidays Sip & Savor Tasting Passport is available to ALL guests giving you the opportunity to taste through your choice of eight different dishes or non-alcoholic beverages from participating Festival Marketplace kiosks.
Redemptions for the Sip & Savor Tasting Passport can also be redeemed at participating locations where smaller portions of main dishes are offered.
Prices:
- Regular ($61)
- Magic Key passholders ($56)
VALUE ALERT: To get the most bang for your buck out of the passport, you’ll just want to make sure you don’t get any of the items that cost less than $7.63 (regular) or $7 (Magic Key holder). Considering the prices, that shouldn’t be terribly difficult as long as you avoid desserts and drinks!
Save Time!
Festival Marketplace kiosks are equipped to sell you items from ANY of the kiosks. So if you find a kiosk with a shorter line you can jump in that one to order your food from another kiosk. Just take your receipt to the appropriate kiosks to get your items!
What We Tried at Festival Marketplaces
A Twist on Tradition
Savory Kugel Mac & Cheese
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
Savory Kugel Mac & Cheese ($8.50) features herb breadcrumbs, sour cream and chives. We tend to prefer sweet kugel vs savory but this dish is perfectly balanced and completely satisfying.
More to Try:
- Glacier Margarita: Blanco tequila, blue curaçao, coconut and rosemary syrups, and white cranberry and lime juices garnished with champagne bubbles candy (New)
- Guava-Melon Lassi: Guava nectar, rock melon syrup, yogurt, and honey garnished with cinnamon whipped cream and honey-flavored cereal (Non-alcoholic beverage)
Brews & Bites
IMPOSSIBLE Chorizo Queso Fundido
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
IMPOSSIBLE Chorizo Queso Fundido ($7.50) with house-made tortilla chips is a nice salty compliment to your brew du jour. There is a good kick of heat from the chorizo and the cheese sauce is creamy and delicious but also has a good bit of cheese pull to it. A solid choice.
More to Try:
- Churro Ale with Frozen Beer Slush: Churro ale with a frozen slush of beer, butterscotch, gingerbread, and house-made churro toffee syrups (New)
- Garage Brewing Co. Churro Ale (New)
- Boulevard Brewing Company Quirk Hard Seltzer – Cranberry Apple Cinnamon (New)
- Two Coast Brewing Co. Saint Father Authentic Oktoberfest Festbier
- Unsung Brewing Co. Agents of Anaheim Vienna Lager (New)
- Golden Road Brewing Christmas Cart Wheat Ale
- Eureka Brewing Co. Hibiscus Bloom Blonde Ale (New)
- Ballast Point Brewing Co. Grunion Pale Ale (New)
- Dust Bowl Brewing Co. Mouthful of Miracles Cold IPA (New)
- Brewery X Feliz Guavidad IPA (New)
- Rogue Brewing Co. Hazelnut Brown Nectar Brown Ale (New)
- Allagash Brewing Curieux Bourbon Barrel-Aged Golden Ale
- Bottle Logic Brewing Co. Study Break Sweet Stout (New)
- Holiday Flight (New)
- Festive Favorites (New)
- Brewed Traditions (New)
Favorite Things
Braised Pork Belly Adobo
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
Braised Pork Belly Adobo with Garlic Fried Rice ($8.50) we’ve had in previous years and found it to be strong contender for best of the fest with wonderful balance of delicious garlic fried rice, tender braised pork belly, and lightly crispy pork rind. This thing is magical. There is a reason it is one of the only items on the menu that has never been removed.
Churro Toffee Cold Brew Latte
RATING: ❄❄❄⚫⚫
Churro Toffee Cold Brew Latte ($7.25) we’ve had in previous years and it features Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co. Mexico Origin Coffee, cinnamon sugar, vanilla bean, and almond milk garnished with churro syrup-flavored whipped cream and toffee crumble. Ours was pretty coffee-forward but still sweet.
More to Try:
- Mad Santa Macaron Inspired by the Disney+ series “The Santa Clauses”: Chocolate macaron filled with ganache, peanut butter mousse, and salted pretzels (New)
- Cherry Mango Punch: Mango purée, cherry and peach syrups, and lemon juice garnished with a frozen peach (Non-alcoholic beverage)
Grandma’s Recipes
Barbacoa Tamal
RATING: ❄❄⚫⚫⚫
Barbacoa Tamal de Res ($9) features Oaxaca cheese, tomatillo salsa, and crema. We wanted to love this but the meat was dry and so was the masa. The green salsa helped tie everything together but this was not the winner we were hoping for. Perhaps a fresh batch could make the difference here.
More to Try:
- Berry Pomegranate Paloma: Blanco Tequila, blueberry purée, lime, cranberry, and pomegranate juices, and agave syrup topped with fresca mixed vodka spritz and garnished with an orange wheel and chile lime seasoned rim (New)
- Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc
- Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon
- McBride Sisters Sparkling Brut Rosé (New)
- Winter Wineries Flight (New)
- Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc
- Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon
- McBride Sisters Sparkling Brut Rosé
Holiday Duets
Esquites Carnitas Mac & Cheese
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
Esquites Carnitas Mac & Cheese ($9.00) we’ve had in previous years and is an esquites-inspired dish with a creamy mac & cheese topped with carnitas, salsa macha, spiced puffed rice, freeze-dried corn, and chopped cilantro. One of the best of the fest for us.
Twix Chocolate Tart
RATING: ❄❄❄❄⚫
Twix Chocolate Tart ($7.50) is a sugar tart filled with caramel and chocolate mousse, topped with TWIX cookie bar pieces and holiday sprinkles. It’s a large portion and tastes great. The toppings were a little dry and chalky (like they’d dried out sitting in a refrigerator) but still a good choice.
More to Try:
- Cuban Parranda Cocktail: White rum, falernum and maraschino liqueurs, soursop nectar, grapefruit juice, and mint syrup garnished with a dried grapefruit wheel (New)
- Cantaritos Pineapple (New)
Making Spirits Bright
IMPOSSIBLE Chicken Curry Bites
RATING: ❄❄❄⚫⚫
IMPOSSIBLE Chicken Curry Bites ($7.50) features lemon raita and coriander chutney. The IMPOSSIBLE plant-based meat never disappoints but at the end of the day these are chicken nuggets and they have a chutney that almost reads more as pesto. It was good but it’s hard to call it a must-try. It also needed a side.
More to Try:
- Pumpkin Layered Cheesecake: Layers of New York-style cheesecake, pumpkin gooey cake, and graham cracker topped with spiced Chantilly and a chocolate decoration
- Tiramisu Yule Log Cocktail: Vodka, hazelnut liqueur, oat milk, tiramisu syrup, and chocolate bitters garnished with chocolate shavings
- Chocolate Mint Stout Shake: Garage Brewing Marshmallow Milk Stout, coffee liqueur, crème de menthe, horchata cream liqueur, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate syrup garnished with cookie crumbles (New)
Merry Mashups
Southern Mac ‘n Cheese
RATING: ❄❄❄⚫⚫
Southern Mac ‘n Cheese ($9.00) we’ve had in previous years and features Cajun-style mac & cheese with andouille sausage and spiced panko crunch. The flavors here are spot on, a nice level of heat and saltiness. But the dish is very oily which you can see from our picture.
More to Try:
- Santa’s Milk & Cookies Hot Cocoa Inspired by the Disney+ series “The Santa Clauses”: Whole milk, cookies and cream powder, and white chocolate with whipped cream
- Maple Hazelnut Hot Buttered Rum: Dark rum, butter, hazelnut paste, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove with a salted caramel whipped cream
Winter Sliderland
Togarashi Karaage Chicken Slider
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
Togarashi Karaage Chicken Slider ($9) features furikake mayo slaw on a Hawaiian roll is a really great choice. The chicken was crispy and all the flavors working together made this a really surprising and delicious combo. With San Fransokyo Square just across the way this fusion of flavors is a welcomed addition to the lineup.
Brisket Slider
RATING: ❄❄❄❄⚫
Brisket Slider ($9) we’ve had in previous years and is filled with smoked onions and horseradish ketchup on a pretzel roll. While not particularly very holiday-ey, the flavors are great. Only complaint was a very soggy bottom bun.
More to Try:
- Spiced Pear Mule: Pear vodka, gin, apricot liqueur, house-made spice syrup, pear nectar, and lemon juice garnished with a white orchid (New)
What We Tried at Other Sip and Savor Locations
Beyond the Festival Marketplace kiosks, there’s a bunch of options all around the park that will offer Sip and Savor taste-size portions instead of the full-size entrees.
Paradise Garden Grill
Tacos Gobernador
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
Tacos Gobernador ($12.49 for a full size portion that includes rice and beans) — which is also available as a Sip and Savor portion — features Chipotle-marinated shrimp tacos with pepper Jack cheese. These are incredibly satisfying with some nice heat, salt, and tang. One of the better of the new dishes this year.
IMPOSSIBLE Albondigas Soup
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
IMPOSSIBLE Albondigas Soup ($12.99 for a full size portion) but seen here as a Sip and Savor portion — it features IMPOSSIBLE meatballs in a vegetable soup. We’ve had this in previous years and this one hits it out of the park with big pieces of veggies, it tastes just like a homemade bowl and you would never know it’s not made without beef.
More to Try:
- Achiote-marinated Half Chicken ($17.99) with Spanish rice and refried beans topped with a nopal salad (New)
- Shareable Loaded Torta ($49.99) with chicken milanesa, carnitas, sliced ham, chorizo beans, panela cheese, onions, avocado spread, and tomatoes on telera bread served with chips, chorizo beans, and a wedge of street-style watermelon (Serves two to four guests) (New)
- Street-style Watermelon ($6.99) with lime juice, chile-lime seasoning, and chamoy (New)
- Chocolate Cake Flan ($7.49) Layer of flan on chocolate cake with caramel (New)
- Mango Candy Cocktail ($18) Tequila and mango with a chamoy and chile-lime seasoned rim (New)
- Modelo Especial ($10.75)
- Dos Equis Ambar ($10.75)
Smokejumpers
Kielbasa with Pierogi
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
Kielbasa with Pierogi ($8.99) features Kielbasa served with Potato and Cheese Pierogis, Sautéed Peppers & Onions and Dijon-Sour Cream. This is a wonderful combination of textures and flavors, deconstructed on the plate allowing you to mix and match your flavor adventure.
Studio Catering Co.
Holiday Turkey Empanada
RATING: ❄❄❄❄❄
Holiday Turkey Empanada ($7.99) features a Fried Empanada filled with Turkey, Stuffing and Gravy with Cranberry Dipping Sauce. It tastes a bit like box stuffing but that’s not a bad thing, the flaky crust combined with the familiar savory filling paired with that zesty cranberry is a delightful holiday bite.
Sonoma Terrace
Pan con Pollo
RATING: ❄❄❄❄⚫
Pan con Pollo ($9) features Braised Chicken, Spiced Tomato Sauce, Mayonnaise and Mustard Dressing in a French Bread Roll, served with Pickled Vegetable Slaw. Top marks for presentation and high marks on flavor. This is the type dish we expect from these kiosks, good flavors, slightly elevated but not pretentious.
Cappuccino Cart
More to Try:
- Café de Olla Cold Brew (Sip and Savor Pass portion) features Piloncillo-sweetened Coffee spiced with Star Anise, Clove and Cinnamon, with a Hot Chocolate Cream Cold Foam.
Churros from various locations including
More to Try:
- Hollywood Land: Yule Log Churro (Sip and Savor Pass portion) Crème filled Chocolate Churro with Berry Drizzle and Powdered Sugar.
- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: Chocolate Peppermint Churro: Churro coated with Crushed Candy Canes, Drizzled with Chocolate and Vanilla Sauce. (Sip and Savor Pass portion)
Festival Food and Beverage Cart
More to Try:
- Chicken Chile Verde Empanada (Sip and Savor Pass portion) served with a side of Slaw and Salsa Roja
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Cake (Sip and Savor Pass portion) features a Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Streusel finished with Icing and Sprinkles
Pym’s Test Kitchen
More to Try:
- Cold Brew Infusion (Sip and Savor Pass portion) Cinnamon & Spice Cinnamon-Caramel Cold Brew with Cardamom Cream Foam
Terran Treats
More to Try:
- Hot Chocolate Churro ($7.25) Hazelnut Chocolate, Spicy Chocolate Streusel and Mini Marshmallows
Festival of Holidays Map
Here’s a complete look at the full event including all the shopping, dining, and entertainment options!
Novelty Souvenirs
The 2023 Disney Holidays are here and it’s truly the most wonderful time of year at the Disneyland Resort with seasonal cheer around every corner. Many fans are going to be braving long lines for a slew of new and returning novelty items including popcorn buckets, sippers, glow cubes, straw clips, and more.
MORE INFO: Disneyland 2023 holiday novelty items are here including buckets, sippers, and more!
See it for Yourself
Disney Holidays take place at the Disneyland Resort from November 10, 2023 – January 7, 2024.
MORE INFO: Check out all of our coverage for Disney Holidays
