The pumpkins are gone and the ornaments and wreaths are out in Disneyland! It’s CHRISTMAS TIME, everybody!!

We’ve made it through the soft opening of the Festival of Holidays in Disney California Adventure and we got ALL THE THINGS!!! (Yay!!) Now through January 6th, 2020, the festival creates a merry atmosphere so guests can get in the holiday spirit. And, we’re ready to tell you about the eats, treats, and drinks you can’t miss this year in our Best of the Fest recommendations!
If you’re hopping in your sleigh to visit the Festival of Holidays, you’ll want to start making your must eat list and checking it twice. And, the team at DFB has got you covered! We’ve tried EVERYTHING at this year’s festival so we can give you the deets on the best items at the booths.

Be sure to check out our Marketplace Booth Page for a lil sneak peek at the food and drinks! Click the links for Photos of EVERY SINGLE FOOD ITEM AT THE FESTIVAL!

We hope you’re hungry ‘cause we’re about to rock around the Best of the Fest!

Cranberry Sangria at Holiday Duets

Our first stop is at Holiday Duets with the Cranberry Sangria, which has come back for another year of fun at Festival of the Holidays! If you’re looking to start your holiday stroll off with a boozy beverage, this is definitely the drink to sip on!

The fruity flavors of the cranberry are balanced with the bitterness that comes from the red wine. Plus, adding that final spritz of lime gives the drink a hint of tartness that is delicious. I mean, you can’t go wrong with a sangria in Disney! (;

Chorizo Fundido at Brews & Bites

Cheese ANYTHING already scores some major DFB points. (We just really love cheese!!)

We’ve seen different quesos come and go over the years at Brews & Bites. This year, the Chorizo Fundido is a white queso served with house-made tortilla chips. While there isn’t anything too unique about the flavors, all that cheesy goodness goes so well with the salty chips!

Fried Turkey Slider at Winter Sliderland

Winter Sliderland is back again with a taste of a good ole’ Christmas turkey!

While there was a Roasted Turkey Slider last year, the Fried Turkey Slider has made its debut this year with cranberry sauce and cole slaw. Although we thought the roasted version was great, the fried turkey has an extra crunch to the sandwich from the breading that was so satisfying. Can we make fried turkey a Christmas staple??

Shepherd’s Upside-Down Pie at Grandma’s Recipes

Plant-based options have been a norm at the festivals in California Adventure. We’ve saw the Impossible Burger at the Food & Wine Festival earlier this year, and veggie lovers are getting another treat at the Festival of Holidays!

Grandma’s Recipes is cooking up the Shepherd’s Upside-down Pie! The deconstructed pie is made with mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, plant-based “meat,” and a Mickey-shaped biscuit. We might pick this over our own grandma’s recipe for shepherd’s pie tbh!!

Caramelized Apple Cake at Making Spirits Bright

Apple and caramel just happens to be one of the BEST dessert combos! (You know we’re right!)

The Caramelized Apple Cake is topped with crème anglaise and salted caramel sauce (YUM) at Making Spirits Bright this year. And, let us tell you, it made our day at Festival of Holidays even brighter. The sauces melt into the apple cake, making it incredibly moist with each bite. We kinda want one giant Caramelized Apple Cake to bring to our DFB family Christmas party!

Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Macaron at Making Spirits Bright

Hot Cocoa Flights can be spotted around the Festival of Holidays, but we keep coming back to the returning Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Macaron at Making Spirits Bright!

The chocolate flavored cookies have a chocolate filling with a hint of marshmallow. Honestly, each bite reminded us of sitting around a campfire with our friends, eating s’mores and drinking hot chocolate in the cold. And, what’s even better — the macaron is gluten friendly!! Sooo, does that mean we can eat as many as we want now?

Pork al Pastor Naan Taco at Merry Mashups

Merry Mashups surprises us with something new and exciting each year by combining a bunch of ingredients for a delicious mashup!

This year, the Pork al Pastor Naan Taco is the PERFECT afternoon snack to satisfy your stomach. The naan bread is filled with tender pork, pineapple pico de gallo, and cilantro-lime Greek yogurt crema. Although the savory, sweet, and tangy flavors seem like they might not mix, they team up to make one GREAT taco. You might want to get 2 more to make it a full meal!!

EVERYTHING at Favorite Things

It’s only fitting that Favorite Things is carrying some of our…favorite things…from the festival this year! We also look forward to trying a twist on some classic mac at Disney food festivals, and the Holiday Stuffing Mac and Cheese doesn’t disappoint! We were all about this returning favorite, especially with that stuffing mix sprinkled on top!

You can use the mac as an appetizer to the Glazed Ham Shanks. Yeah, Christmas ham might be the norm for the holidays, these bbs practically fall apart with every bite!

And, you can finish your cheesy and savory meal off with the HUGE Gingerbread Mickey Cookie for dessert! The spicy gingerbread tastes like the classic treat but the light coating of flood icing, holiday sprinkles, and fondant leaves gives the dessert some extra sweetness (and crunch!). We could have an ENTIRE PLATE of these cookies to ourselves. Sorry, Santa!

Even though there are many drinks to try at the Favorite Things booth, the Warm Bourbon Cider had balanced notes of alcohol and apple cider that made us want to finish it all in one gulp! Plus, the warmth from the cider gave us a little boost to grab seconds from the booths! (;

Returning Favorites

Sometimes you take a bite of an item, fall in love with it, and cross your fingers that it comes back again for the following year’s festival! And, we’re SO happy that these snacks are back! At A Twist on Tradition, the Reuben Potato Tots have come back again with their Russian dressing and rye toast. Crunchy, messy, salty, and savory — yeah, we can’t recommend these enough!

The Braised Pork Belly Adobo with that incredibly good garlic fried rice is back at Holiday Duets! If you want to have some great pork belly, you’ll want to grab this dish (and maybe even share it with a friend).

Christmas turkey is making another round at the Merry Mashups booth with the Turkey and Stuffing Tamale! We LOVED this treat before since it was like eating a mini Thanksgiving dinner all neatly wrapped up like a Christmas gift.

Part of the fun every year at Festival of Holidays is seeing what the Mickey and Minnie Cookies at Holiday Duets will look like! The iced sugar cookies for 2019 are a Minnie Snowwoman and Christmas lights on a Mickey Cookie Tree. They are TOO CUTE!!

There are so many other treats that have returned as well as BRAND NEW items that will make your tastebuds sing some Christmas carols. That’s all for this year’s Best of the Fest! Thanks for snacking with us!

Festival Map

While you can always pick up a map at Disney California Adventure’s park entrance, you can start planning out what booths to visit ahead of time by checking out the Festival of Holidays map! (Click the image to enlarge for easier reading.)

Still hungry for more??

Don’t worry!! We’ve got all the photos and prices for EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. from the Festival of Holidays!

Just remember to check out the Disneyland Festival of Holidays FOOD BOOTHS AND PHOTOS page, where you can see EVERY SINGLE FOOD PHOTO!

Check out more Disneyland Food Reviews Here!!

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Heather Sievers is DisneyFoodBlog’s Dining in Disneyland columnist! Check out more of her adventures at @DininginDisney on Instagram!

What is your favorite item at the Festival of Holidays this year? Let us know in the comments below!