Disneyland California Adventure’s food will blow you away. I am 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, I 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 I won’t even try to pretend that I am too classy to devour) – but more often than not, when I end up at an amusement park, the food isn’t so great.

And then I went on a girlfriends getaway to Disneyland’s California Adventure (can you believe as someone who grew up in California I 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 delicious- but California Adventure had such amazing foodie finds, I was totally blown away (and let’s just say you’ll always be able to trust me as a cook, especially after this trip)!

I’m not even kidding – the food was often gourmet quality – and not just 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 my picks for why YOU should be planning a trip to Disneyland – just 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 delicious food and brightly colored (and strong – yes, you CAN drink at Disney) drinks.

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

Tasty sliders,

Fun and funky quesadillas,

And of course, tons of delicious 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, I am not a big dessert girl. I like sweets, but they aren’t what I crave – and I’d normally not order some at a park – but I couldn’t resist the adorably decorated cake pops, marshmallows, and rice krispie treats at Trolley Treats! And the best part – they are super delicious – I could’ve eaten them all day long.

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 I’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 my biggest tips for Disney – it is seriously SO delicious, and should be considered a must-visit. Carthay’s food is top-notch, gourmet, and full of interesting and trendy spins on classics.

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?!?!)

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, delicious, and full of color and textures – I loved everything we tried.

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

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!)

This post contains affiliate links. I received product or payment from Get Away Today for this post – but all opinions are 100% my own!