Disneyland California Adventure Food

Disneyland California Adventure's food will blow you away. We are not generally a fan of amusement park food, but they have perfected it and made it an art!

You know that old saying, “never trust a skinny cook”? Well, we like to add to it with “Never trust someone who likes amusement park food.”

—because it is SO. TRUE. (or at least, it USED to be!)

Sure, there are the amusement park staples of funnel cakes, corn dogs, hot dogs, and fries (which we won't even try to pretend that we are too classy to devour) – but more often than not, when we end up at an amusement park, the food isn't so great.

And then we went on a girlfriends getaway to Disneyland's California Adventure (can you believe as someone who grew up in California we had NEVER been?), and armed with some park hopper passes from Get Away Today, we tried all the foods we could at Disneyland and California Adventure.

And they were seriously ALL so good- but California Adventure had such good foodie finds, we were totally blown away (and let's say you'll always be able to trust us as a cook, especially after this trip)!

We're not even kidding – the food was often gourmet quality – and not at sit-down restaurants. (ESPECIALLY the Christmas-time Festival of Holidays food at California Adventure – that is a gourmet getaway in itself!!)

So what did we eat? EVERYTHING. Let's check out some of our picks for why YOU should be planning a trip to Disneyland – for the food in itself!

Drinks, Appetizers, and Unique dishes – The Cove Bar near Paradise Pier

The Cove Bar overlooks Paradise Pier, and has tons of good food and brightly colored (and strong – yes, you CAN drink at Disney) drinks.

Melrose Place, The Cove Bar California Adventure

There are American classics on the menu, as well as some fun and funky twists- like lobster nachos

Lobster Nachos, The Cove Bar Disneyland

Tasty sliders

Fun and funky quesadillas

And of course, tons of good drinks!

Hot tips: The Cove Bar is above Ariels Grotto, and often has a line. Come early and grab a table right when they open at 11 for your best bet – or be flexible with your waiting time.

Ask for the secret menu! Your server will have one full of tasty drinks that change more often than regular standards.

Cake Pops, Rice Krispie Treats, Caramel Apples – Trolley Treats, Main Street

Oddly enough, we are not a big dessert girl. We like sweets, but they aren't what we crave – and we'd normally not order some at a park – but we couldn't resist the adorably decorated cake pops, marshmallows, and rice krispie treats at Trolley Treats! And the best part – they are good – we could've eaten them all day long.

Jack Skellington Cake Pop, Disneyland OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Banana Bread Pudding Breakfast – Flo's V8 Cafe, Carsland

The banana bread pudding at Flo's V8 Cafe was hands down one of the tastiest things we've ever had for breakfast – it was covered in caramel, soft, moist, and had a ton of flavor.

It was so good we almost went back for seconds, but decided to save up room for the Festival of Holidays food!

Gourmet meals and cocktails – Carthay Circle, main street

Carthay Circle is one of our biggest tips for Disney – it is seriously SO good, and should be considered a must-visit. Carthay's food is top-notch, gourmet, and full of interesting and trendy spins on classics.

Mocktail, Carthay Circle, California Adventure

Carthay Circle has its own bar where they serve tons of tasty retro classics, holiday hits, and creative mocktails – and the drinks are perfectly balanced and well crafted (who'd have thought, at Disneyland of all places?!?!)

Manhattan at Carthay Circle California Adventure

Festival of Holidays – around the park, seasonal

Festival of Holidays is an attraction big enough to visit alone – there are tons of small-scale food huts (think food truck, without the mobility) serving up seasonal treats and specialties from all sorts of holiday festivals and traditions from all over the world.

Festival of Holidays seriously knocks the food-truck idea out of the park – delivering tons of tasty options from a number of different religious celebrations.

It's a fun way to check out other traditions through food – and a great way to celebrate the holidays!

The options are so bright, good, and full of color and textures – we loved everything we tried.

Creme Brulee and brlueed shortbead, disney's california adventure

For a full lineup of the Festival of Holidays foods, follow our next post (coming tomorrow!!) and check out Disney's page detailing their selections here.

Street Tacos, Festival of Holidays

And to schedule YOUR own gourmet Disney holiday, you should use Get Away Today like we did!!!

The Get Away Today team are awesome at helping make your ultimate vacation dreams come true – no matter your budget or location (though they rock Disney vacations like nobody else!)

Noodle Kuegel, Festival of Holidays Disney Chocolate Cake, Disney Festival of Holidays Salsa, Disney California Adventure Festival of Holidays