Hi there, Katherine! Welcome to planDisney and thank you for sharing your question with us. I just returned from the
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival and am thrilled to help.
Hooray! Get your taste buds ready to embark on a delectable journey. I have great news for you, Katherine. All you need to enjoy the festivities of the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival are a valid
theme park ticket and
theme park reservation for Disney California Adventure Park. After that, all that's left is to decide what to do, and more importantly, what to eat.
My favorite way to enjoy the
Festival Marketplaces is with a
Sip and Savor Pass. You can use this pass to sample many of the mouthwatering eats at the festival booths. You can even split and share the pass with a friend and you don't have to use it all in one day. You can also come back and use your remaining tabs throughout the duration of the festival. Two of my favorite dishes this year were the Bulgolgi Fried Rice and the IMPOSSIBLE Gyro Fries. Check out the
Disney Eats Foodie Guide for a list of all the eats and start making your list of must-haves.
Here's a fun quick tip for you. You can order all of your eats at one Festival Marketplace booth (I like to find the shortest ordering line) and then use your receipt to pick up your items at their respective booths. Less time waiting in line means more time to eat and enjoy the entertainment! Just be sure that you only purchase the handful of items that you can collect and eat for the day. This feature is also not always available, but check with a Cast Member when you're ready to order.
The food is fantastic, however, it's not the only star of the festival. There are culinary demonstrations that you can watch (check the
Disneyland app for showtimes) and even live music on the Palisades Stage. When I recently visited, I enjoyed the music of "Phat Cat Swinger" on the stage with the backdrop of Pixar Pier. I would also be remiss if I didn't recommend taking a flight on
Soarin' Over California. It's only available for a limited time during the festival and is my favorite version of this attraction.
Katherine, I hope I was able to answer your question and give you some things to think about for your upcoming visit. I'm so excited for you and am actually getting hungry myself. Your visit will be here before you know it - let the countdown begin! As Remy says, "If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff." I can personally say there's no shortage of good stuff to eat at the Food & Wine Festival. Here's wishing you a magical visit to the Happiest Place on Earth.
Happy eating!
Michelle