If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff. -Remy
Pixar Fest is easily one of the best Disney Festivals I’ve yet to experience. I don’t say this lightly. Dear Lawd, the food was good. Disney, in general, has really stepped up their game on the food quality and it seems like every month they’re coming up with new creations. To get the most out of Pixar Fest, head to the Paradise Garden Grill, which is to the right of the Goofy’s Sky School in California Adventure. This is where they feature a lot of the unique food, a special character spot, and a Pixar themed band. There’s a picture of the full menu below as well.
After the first week of the festival, I wrote a little guide to entertainment and shows available during the festival, which you can read here. But now, I’m ready to cover the really serious stuff. Let’s talk sweets. My title says top 13 snacks, but there are loads more than I mentioned here. Pixar Fest runs now through September 2018.
Lots-O-Straw-Bear-Y Funnel Cake (Hungry Bear Restaurant-Disneyland): Layers of strawberries, blueberries, strawberry butter and pink sugary crumbles. This was really good, but honestly, the best part was the fried dough (duh!). I could only get through half of it, so try to share! They have another version called Jessie’s Berry Jubilee Funnel Cake served at the Stagedoor Cafe next to Hoop-de-Doo review. That one has oreo crumbles and creme anglaise, dusted with gold sugars.
Tres Leches Parfait (Paradise Garden Grill-California Adventure): If you’re one for rich desserts, this is the one to try! I had already eaten breakfast, so I didn’t think I’d get through all of it, but oh man, this is an amazing treat. It’s vanilla cake layered with a caramel cream and dark rum. Basically a caramel tiramisu. I will never stop dreaming about this treat.
Spicy Corn Dog (Corn Dog Castle-California Adventure): Let me try to paint a picture for you: This was a spicy hot link sausage, with a layer of pepper jack cheese, and then a cajun chicken sausage, dipped in housemade batter and fried to perfection. You start off eating a corndog, eat a fried cheese stick, then another corndog. It comes with a blackberry-serrano chile dipping sauce that is the right amount of spice and sweet. It’s a euphoric experience.
Agua de Jamaica (Paradise Garden Grill-California Adventure): It was too hot for the Mexican hot cocoa, so I opted for the hibiscus tea slush. In essence, it was a fruit slushy. This was nice and refreshing in the hot Cali sun, but doesn’t compare to the other treats I indulged in.
Cheeseburger Pizza and Alien Macarons (Pizza Planet – Overlay at Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port in Disneyland): I’m gonna get a little critical here because I had such high hopes for the Pizza Planet overlay. We all thought we were getting the Pizza Planet we deserve, but alas, all we got was a sign and some decals on the walls. The Alien Macarons seemed to have a weird, gooey blackberry filling and the pizza was their regular pizza with hamburger meat and pickles. Neither appealed to me, so I didn’t want to wait in the long line. The macarons looked super cute though! “Pizza Planet” was, unfortunately, one of those things where Disney builds a lot of hype and gives you minimal effort with low-quality results. Yikes. Maybe someday, Pizza Planet!
Confectionary Treats: Pixar Cake Pops and Candy Apples! The Pixar Ball cake pops are the treat that you’ve now seen in 1000 Instagram pics. Both treats are adorbs and worthy of a photo, so that’s all that really matters anyway, right? The Pixar themed treats can be found in most confectionaries around the park.
Mexican Hot Cocoa (Coco Inspired): The cutest Pixar Fest souvenir is the Coco jarrita ceramic mug which comes filled with delish Mexican hot cocoa. Imagine snuggling up with this Coco while enjoying the Paint the Night parade with your loved ones. Pure Disney-hygge bliss. These are sold at Paradise Garden Grill and you can see the whole menu here:
Other Food-Related Souvenirs: Throughout the parks, they are selling things like a Mike Wazowski Souvenir Sipper, the connecting Mike & Sulley Popcorn Buckets, and a reusable Pixar Luxo Lamp Straw that people are going crazy over. You can find these at places like Schmoozie’s, popcorn carts, and the Disneyland cappuccino cart (left of the castle) or California Adventure cappuccino cart (entrance to Pixar Pier). There are plenty of other Pixar exclusive souvenirs sold as well, which I cover in my entertainment post.
Honorable Mentions:
- Various Churros: Chocolate with Chocolate Dipping Sauce (Frontierland Cart), Strawberry (Tomorrowland), Lemon Dusted with Fruity Pebbles (Main Street-Near Mr. Lincoln), Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Dipping Sauce (Liberty Square), “Specialty” Churro with Frosting and Cocoa Pebbles, and OMG the Pineapple with Marshmallow Dipping Sauce (Sleeping Beauty’s Castle)
- Mike Wazowski Whoopie Pie (Schmoozie’s)
- Mint Chip Shake (Schmoozie’s)
- Pixar Layered Lemon & Raspberry Cake (Paradise Garden Grill, Plaza Inn, Pacific Wharf Cafe)
Some of the festival dishes I highly recommend due to their deliciousness. Other items just come with some extra toppings that are yummy, but not quite as unique. As always, don’t get discouraged if you can’t hit every single thing they have to offer! There will always be new Disney food trends, whether it’s the dole whip donut, millennial pink champagne, or the rainbow-unicorn churro. That last one doesn’t exist, but I wish. As mentioned before, the main hub for Pixar Fest celebrations and festival food is at the Paradise Garden Grill. They had a lot to offer back there! Also, be sure to read the rest of my guide to Pixar Fest here so you don’t miss anything awesome!
For a full list of the Pixar Fest foods, Disney Food Blog is always on top of things with their guides and reviews of Disney food. You’ll even see a picture of my funnel cake on there! 🙂
