Food and Beverage and Storytelling
- Since 1955, Disney Parks have been where guests connect with the Disney stories and characters they cherish most, and the food and beverage offerings play an integral role in those stories.
- Food and beverage is one of the key elements that make up a Disney theme park experience, with unique restaurants and cuisine that put guests inside the story. Blue Bayou Restaurant has been immersing guests in the story of Pirates of the Caribbean since 1967 at Disneyland Park, and Cars Land in Disney California Adventure Park invites guests to dine in Flo’s V8 Cafe from the Disney•Pixar movie “Cars.”
Innovation of Disney Dining
- In recent years, Disney has transformed the theme park dining experience, and has been recognized by both consumers and industry experts for exceptional, innovative, fun and healthy dining experiences.
- Innovation is at the core of the Disney dining experience. From immersive dining that brings guests into the stories they love to the broad range of options, varying from five-star restaurants to quick-service choices, Disney Parks are moving the culinary industry forward.
Meeting the Needs of Guests with Special Dietary Requirements
- Disney Parks is recognized as an industry leader in meeting the special dietary needs of its guests. In 2011, Food Allergy Research and Education, or FARE, honored Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a “hero of food-allergy awareness.” Along with allergy accommodations, Disney Parks has pushed the boundaries on immersive dining experiences and healthy options.
- The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network also honored Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in 2011 for its commitment to allergy awareness.
Dining for Guests with Food Allergies
- At the Disneyland Resort, guests and families have choices that make it easy to enjoy a worry-free vacation.
- Allergy-friendly menus identify the most common allergens (gluten/wheat, milk, peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish and soy) and allow guests to self-select menu choices to meet their individual needs, ensuring a fun and effortless Disney experience for all.
- Disney Parks has allergy-friendly menus at approximately 155 quick-service and table-service locations, extending legendary Disney service and dining options to guests with allergies. The menus provide more convenience and readily available options for guests with special dietary requests.
- Signature restaurants across Disneyland Resort began offering allergy-friendly menus in April 2015. The menus are available at Disney-operated table-service and select quick-service restaurants with online menus also available at Disneyland.com.
- Guests may consult directly with a restaurant chef or specially trained cast member. Guests are encouraged to communicate special dietary needs to restaurant cast members, to allow the culinary team to take extra measures during preparation to prevent the introduction of the allergen.
Healthy Options at the Disneyland Resort
- Disney’s commitment to healthy living is evident in Disney Magic of Healthy Living, an initiative that partners with parents to inspire kids to lead healthier lifestyles. At Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, nutritious food and beverage options continue to be added, making healthier dining alternatives easily accessible.
- With special enhancements like the “Disney Check” on kids’ menus – a tool to help families easily identify healthier dining options that meet Disney Nutrition Guidelines – Disney makes it easy to spot healthy food and beverage options.
Mobile Ordering through the Disneyland app
- To save time in the parks, guests may choose to order meals in advance from select quick-service restaurants using Mobile Order through the Disneyland app from their mobile device.
- This new feature allows guests to choose a participating location, select an arrival time window for pickup, choose items and place an order. When guests arrive at the chosen location within their arrival time window, they simply hit “I’m here” and food will be prepared. More information can be found at com/MobileOrder.
Fun Facts
- The Disneyland Resort continues to hire and help train some of the top chefs in the culinary industry. More than 50 chefs work in culinary management, and many are graduates of prestigious culinary schools. In addition, the resort employs nearly 200 restaurant and catering managers and nearly 9,000 food and beverage cast members overall.
- With more than 155 food and beverage locations, the Disneyland Resort offers more than 15,000 different food items sold across the property.
- More than 24 million meals are served annually across the Disneyland Resort.
- Mickey-themed eats and treats are always popular items, including: fresh Mickey beignets at the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square, Mickey-shaped pretzels at carts throughout both parks, Mickey macarons at Jolly Holliday Bakery & Café, Mickey Mouse waffles at character dining locations including Goofy’s Kitchen, Storytellers Café, PCH Grill and Plaza Inn, Mickey caramel apples and cake pops at Candy Palace and Trolley Treats, and so many more.
- Disneyland Resort guests consume approximately 236,000 apples each year. If Maximus from “Tangled” ate an apple a day, it would take him 630 years to eat all of the apples consumed annually at the Disneyland Resort.
- If the 4,400,000 churros that are consumed each year at the Disneyland Resort were laid end-to-end, they would stretch 1,111 miles. That’s enough churros to line the Disneyland Resort monorail track 444 times.
- Disneyland Resort guests consume 890,000 Mickey-shaped pretzels annually. That’s enough to give one to every person in the state of New Mexico.
- If the 2,500,000 hot dogs that are served each year were laid end-to-end, it would take Buzz Lightyear 237 miles to pass them flying on his way to infinity and beyond.
- The pounds of tomatoes consumed annually at the Disneyland Resort would be equivalent to the weight of 233 Lightning McQueens from “Cars.”
- If Disneyland Resort was a restaurant chain, it would rank the 84th largest restaurant chain in America in food and beverage sales.
- In any given year, guests purchase more than 12 million kids meals, and parents typically choose the nutritious sides and beverages that Disney offers as the menu default option. Typically, six out of 10 kids meals are served with the healthy options.
