Last week, I flew out to California from our temporary Salt Lake City home to attend A Touch of Disney at Disney California Adventure.  I had a ticket for the first Monday of the event (March 22) and it was a quick trip – I flew in Sunday afternoon and left Tuesday morning – but I had an incredible day at the event.  

This post is an overview of A Touch of Disney, in case you’re going in the next month or are interested in what the event was like since it was such a different experience from a typical day in the parks.

Getting to the event

Parking at the Mickey & Friends parking structure was included with the ticket to A Touch of Disney, but since I stayed at the Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort / Conference Center, I decided to just walk and enter the park area from the Harbor Blvd entrance. It was about a 12-minute walk to the temperature and security screening area of the esplanade, and it was nice to beat the main crowd coming in from the Mickey & Friends parking structure.  I saw people post on Instagram that they paid to park at the Anaheim Hotel to avoid the crowd since that’s also on the Harbor Blvd side.

I was probably at the temperature and security screenings by 11:15a, and if you’ve been to Disney World since it reopened last June, the temperature screening was very similar – they ask you to keep you party together, wait on the markers that are 6’ apart until it’s your turn, and remove hats – and then they use the temperature gun and send you through to security.  At security, they did not have the new security scanners that Disney World implemented last year; they still look through all bags manually and nothing goes with you through the metal detector.  Overall, both checks were easy and quick.

After temp and security, cast members directed us over to the Downtown Disney side of the esplanade to get in a line that fed into the actual DCA ticket lines.  By around 11:25a, they were letting people into the park.  Getting through the actual entrance was easy – I had the ticket barcode pulled up in the Disneyland app so the cast member at the entrance scanned it, gave me the $25 dining card, and told me to have fun.

Using the $25 dining card and Disneyland app

While I was in line on the esplanade, a cast member was giving us some helpful information on the dining card:

• Don’t throw away the card until after spending the whole $25 because the 16-digit code has to be re-entered for every mobile order made.  The app doesn’t remember the card for future orders so if you throw it away after entering it the first time and only use part of it, it would be an issue
• When using the dining card on a mobile order, there can’t be any alcohol in the order.  The dining card can only be applied to purely food orders; alcohol has to be in a separate order with a different payment method

I heard there were some issues on previous days with the Disneyland app and using the dining card, but I mobile ordered four times throughout the event and didn’t have any major issues.  For the first three orders, I entered the dining card code each time and all of my orders went through easily.  After my third mobile order I only had about $2 left on the card which I was able to use for part of my popcorn at a popcorn cart (not a mobile order). On my fourth mobile order I used Apple Pay without any issues. From the stories I’ve heard, it seems like Disney must have been able to push an update to it before the day I was there, or I got lucky with the booths I ordered from.

I did have one continuous issue with the Disneyland app – when I opened the app to click “I’m here, prepare my order” after mobile ordering, there was a banner at the top of the app that said I could check my order status, but the page never loaded for me on any of my orders.  I had to go to the full Disneyland menu (in the bottom right corner of the app) and click Mobile Food Orders to get back to my order and check in.  It wasn’t a big deal, but it took me a minute to realize I could get around the page-loading issue.

I was planning to use the marketplace cashiers to order my food for the whole day, but I ended up just hoping for the best with the app because the cashier lines were really long every time I passed them.  Again, I don’t know if I was just lucky with the app or if they made improvements by the fourth day of the event. It may be worth trying the cashier lines if there’s not a long line or you are having mobile order issues.

Food reviews

As an aggregate food review, everything I tried was really flavorful and I’d order all of it again.  I wasn’t lucky enough to get a dining reservation during the event for Lamplight Lounge and I wasn’t interested in Carthay Circle since they don’t have great vegetarian options (and when I walked up to Lamplight first thing in the day, they said they weren’t going to have walk-up availability) but it worked out for the best – I had a lot of fun just picking up / ordering whatever sounded good throughout the day from around the park. I did make a list on my phone before I went to the event of all of the food options / locations that I might want to try, which I would really recommend doing – it was nice to just look through my list and figure out what I wanted, rather than look through all of the menu options during the event.

One thing that always frustrates me a little about being at any of the Disney parks is that people are always complaining about the prices of the food.  When going to Disney, I know going into it that I’m going to be overpaying for pretty much anything I buy, but especially meals.  This is just a fact of Disney and other amusement / theme parks.

Despite this, it’s also true that some food options have better portion sizes for the price than others, so that’s what the price descriptions below are based on.  A good portion size does not mean it’s suddenly not overpriced; it’s just for comparison to the other things I tried.

Sanoma Terrace – Toasted Cheese Sandwich with Tomato Basil Soup (typically from Jolly Holiday Bakery Café)

Verdict: really flavorful and I would get it again

Price: $8.50; pretty average for the portion size

The event started at noon and I purposefully didn’t have anything for breakfast (besides coffee, of course) because I knew I’d be eating all afternoon and evening at the park.  I decided to mobile order to Sanoma Terrace early on in the event since I was over at Pixar Pier and pretty hungry.  This was the fastest time from mobile order to pickup for me, presumably since the event had just started so there hadn’t been time for the queue to build up; the line at Sanoma Terrace looked longer later in the day when I passed it.

To be honest, I thought I was going to be disappointed once I picked up the soup and sandwich.  Neither of them looked like anything special, but when I tasted it I was really surprised with how much flavor was in both of them.  I would recommend trying it, and it seemed like a good option for kids also.

Popcorn at Pixar Pier – Popcorn

Verdict: I’m a big Disney popcorn fan so I thought it was delicious, as usual

Price: $5.00; It’s enough for two people to split which is nice

Not really a review (it’s typical Disney park popcorn) but I originally planned to get popcorn from the Buena Vista Popcorn cart that was supposed to be open, but that cart didn’t have any popcorn – not sure if they were out or if something wasn’t working.  The line at Pixar Pier was sort of long since that meant it was the only place to get popcorn that day, but it wasn’t too bad.  I probably waited ten minutes.

This part of Pixar Pier was one of the areas that seemed to get a little crowded, between the lines for the Games of Pixar Pier, the popcorn stand, and the Buzz Lightyear backdrop for PhotoPass.  If you’re actively trying to stay away from busy areas, you may have to wait a while for a lull in the crowd.

Smokejumper’s Grill – Impossible Chili Waffle Fries

Verdict: Probably the most delicious thing I had all day

Price: $7.99; Very good portion size

The Impossible Chili Waffle Fries was something I planned to get as soon as I saw it was an option for the event.  It sounded like it was going to have some amazing flavors (the chili was topped with, spicy mayo, cheddar, and pico) and it did not disappoint.  Once I’d eaten half of it I was very tempted to order it again, but I resisted so I could try other things at the event. I really hope to have it again someday, though.

One thing that was kind of interesting about the mobile order experience at the event (that I specifically noticed when ordering the waffle fries) was that it didn’t seem like the food items were customizable in the app.  I would have expected an option to exclude certain toppings which I’ve done at Disney World when mobile ordering before, but I didn’t see a button for that.  I’m really glad that I didn’t take anything off because the flavors complimented each other really well, but it’s something to be aware of if you usually do that.  It could be that when you get up to the counter to pick it up you could ask for modifications.

Smokejumper’s Grill did have the longest wait between when I checked in to pick up my food and when I was notified that my order was ready – probably 15-20 minutes. It was around dinner time and since it seemed to be a really popular place to order from, I think they were just backed up on orders. Other orders I placed were ready pretty quickly once I had checked in, so the variation in wait times made it a little challenging to plan throughout the day.

LA Style Seasonal Marketplace – Impossible Cheeseburger Mac ‘n Cheese topped with Special Burger Sauce

Verdict: Good flavors but really rich; could have used less burger sauce

Price: $8.00; small portion for the price.  The waffle fries at Smokejumpers Grill were a cent cheaper (weird) and significantly more food

I liked the Impossible mac ‘n cheese; I had seen some negative reviews of it but it sounded good and since I’m a vegetarian, I wanted to try it out.  The flavor of the special burger sauce was a little overpowering at times so I wished it had been more of a hint instead of being so prominent, but overall it was still really good.

The only real issue I had with the mac ‘n cheese was the portion size; it was a very small amount of food for $8.  I don’t say that lightly because again, I know what I’m getting into when I order food at the Disney Parks.  However, compared to other $8 food items like the Impossible chili waffle fries at Smokejumpers, it was surprising.  On the other hand, since the Impossible mac was so rich it would have been difficult to eat much more of it than what they gave me.  Overall, if I had to choose between this and the waffle fries, the waffle fries 100% win.

Cozy Cone Motel: Ice Cream Cones – “Route” Beer Float

Verdict: a delicious and refreshing sweet treat; good in the afternoon once the temp warms up

Price: $5.49; Fair price; it was a lot of ice cream and root beer.

The Route Beer Float was really tasty and the Ice Cream Cones line moved pretty quickly compared to lines at the other Cozy Cones (Churros and Chili Cone Queso).  It was nice to sit and enjoy the float while taking in the ambiance of Cars Land.

Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff – Churro Toffee

Verdict: Amazing

Price: $6.49; Pretty pricey for a fairly small dessert, but also it’s a Disneyland specialty / delectable

I now understand what everyone was going on and on about: Churro Toffee is my new favorite Disney dessert.   I almost didn’t get it because of the price, but I’d heard such good things that I went for it and I’m really glad I did.  I saved half of the toffee for when I got home to split with Dom, and it still tasted just as good. It’s really rich so that’s another reason it’s not too bad that it’s pricey – it easily lasted two days.

Characters and photo spots

The characters throughout the day did a FANTASTIC job – I was very impressed with them.  

There were four rotating characters at the Silly Symphony Swings – Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Daisy.  They all did a great job of turning and waving to people all around Pixar Pier and Paradise Gardens Park; at one point I was really far away and a little girl near me yelled to Pluto; I thought there was no way he would hear her, but somehow he did and he turned to wave.  It was really cool because I’m sure that was a really special moment for her and her parents.  All of the characters at the Swings posed for so many photos and made the whole experience feel really personalized.  My personal favorite moment at the Swings was when Pluto was dancing to Zero to Hero from Hercules – he was really into it and it was a really happy few minutes. The only downside of the Silly Symphony Swings characters was that it was a little difficult to get good photos of them with all of the railings they were behind, but overall it was still great to see and interact with them.

I think the easiest characters to see were Goofy and Max from the balcony in Pacific Wharf since it’s a common walkway; I saw them several times when I was walking to and from Pixar Pier. They had a little more of a challenging time posing for pictures since they were also supposed to be fishing… albeit very poorly… but they were fun to watch.

I had heard that Chip and Dale were over near Soarin’ / the Grand Californian, but I never saw them which seems to be pretty typical – it seems like they’re difficult to catch.  I did pass someone that was talking about how they saw them so they were definitely out, I think I just didn’t spend enough time in that area.  I did see Donald from his balcony at the Grand Californian – he was cute but a little far away for great pictures.

I think my favorite character interaction was with Joy and Sadness at Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind – they switched out similarly to the characters at the Swings.  I had forgotten they would be there so it was a nice surprise and they posed for so many photos with me.  They also were really close to the walkway so it was easier to interact, take photos, and take selfies with them than some of the other characters.

Lightning McQueen and Mater were hanging out in Cars Land, of course – Lightning was next to the statue of Stanley by the entrance to Radiator Springs Racers, and Mater was between Flo’s / Ramone’s and the Pacific Wharf entrance to Cars Land.  It pretty much made my day when Mater told me he was hoping I would show up.

I missed seeing Miguel from Coco – he had a whole photo area set up in Paradise Gardens Park and I walked by several times, but never saw him.  I was still able to take pictures of the Coco-themed photo location he was supposed to be in – it was really detailed and was another classic example of Disney going above and beyond when theming something.

Regarding the PhotoPass locations – I stopped at a few of them throughout the day and it was a nice way to get some pictures of myself, since I went to the event alone.  I think my favorite spots were the Buzz Lightyear backdrop near Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff and the one with the Cars Land sign. There was one at the plane next to Soarin’ that was also good, but unfortunately at that point my sunburn was showing pretty bad so I will probably never post those.  There were a few other PhotoPass spots that were okay (Buena Vista street and on the street in Cars Land) but they ended up with a lot of people in the background, so might not be worth waiting in line for.  

There were several other Photo Locations that didn’t have PhotoPass photographers, which as someone who was there by myself was a little disappointing. There were several in Paradise Gardens Park and a few throughout the park that were sponsored by D23, H20+, and Disney Visa.

Other notes on the event

Water – I struggled to find a place to get a free cup of water for a while because a lot of the stands were selling bottled drinks, and the locations with fountain drinks had really long mobile pickup lines.  I eventually ended up at Award Weiners – it had a short line and moved quickly since it’s not a mobile order location.  Another plus was that they gave out large cups – I was expecting the small cups that Epcot gives out in the World Showcase quick service locations. As always I would recommend bringing a reusable water bottle and looking for the free water because there’s no reason to pay $4.25 for the bottled water.

Kids – I didn’t see many school-aged kids in the park, but there were a lot of toddlers and babies.  I’m not sure if it’s because it was a Monday so older kids were mostly in school or because it’s a $75/person food event where parents would have to buy food and merch for kids all day to keep them entertained.  Either way, it was fun to be in the park with so many other Disney adults.

Masks – Everyone did really well with wearing masks from what I saw.  I had wondered if it would be challenging for cast members to stay on top of enforcing masks since it was a food event and everyone is eating and drinking so often, but it didn’t seem to be an issue.  There were also signs all over the park stating that guests had to be stationary and actively eating or drinking in order to take masks off.

Seating and tables – Tables were everywhere around the park but the best places I found to stop and eat were at Pixar Pier overlooking the water (tons of tables and benches with a great view, but unfortunately directly in the sun) and on the path that leads by the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (not as great of a view but shaded with all of the trees). The only place I would have liked to see more tables was in Cars Land because Flo’s and the few tables at Cozy Cone filled up pretty quickly, and they didn’t let people around to the back patio of Flo’s.  There were a lot of benches around to sit at, but I saw several people waiting on tables to free up.

Music – I had seen people post about how the music loop was too short and I would agree.  It was a really great playlist and I hope to find most of the songs on Apple Music, but the songs repeated frequently.  Based on how many times I felt like I heard Grim Grinning Ghosts and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious I think the playlist was about an hour long, but I’m not certain.

People – There were a ton of people at the event taking photos presumably for Instagram / blogs / etc. and I’m generally not used to seeing that many people walking around with nice cameras and trying to get good shots.  I think it was a combination of the event being the ideal time to get photos with low crowds and the fact that the park has been closed for so long, but it was just something interesting that I haven’t really ever noticed before.

Things I missed at the event

Food – I stopped by Bing Bong’s Sweet stuff to try and get one of the Up themed cake pops early on in the event but they were sold out from the weekend (again, I was there on Monday).  I have a feeling they’ll adjust how many cake pops they’ll make for future weeks based on how quickly they sold out the first weekend.  The only other food place that I noticed was supposed to be an option but wasn’t was the popcorn cart on Buena Vista street like I mentioned earlier, so I had to walk over to Pixar Pier for it – not a big deal.  I also missed out on a churro – I think the only places that sold them were the stand near Carthay Circle and of course at the Cozy Cone – Churro Cone.

Dining Reservations – Like I mentioned earlier, I didn’t get a reservation at Lamplight Lounge or Carthay Circle, and when I asked about a walk-up list at Lamplight when I first got to the park, I was told they weren’t doing one and their reservations were completely booked for the day.  I didn’t circle back later in the day to find out if anything had changed since I was fine with all of the food booths, but if you’re really set on trying to get in that may be an option.  I don’t know anyone personally that went to Carthay Circle, but Mouse Park Insider talked about their experience at Lamplight on their podcast this week.

Photo ops – Like I mentioned, I skipped a few photo locations where there weren’t PhotoPass photographers.  One that I had planned to do but missed was the WandaVision photo op – I stood in line for probably 20 minutes to try and get it but the line was moving incredibly slowly.  I’m not sure what was going on because I couldn’t see the front of the line (I was still too far back by the time I gave up), but all of the other Photo Locations moved really quickly.

Character spottings – Like I mentioned, I missed Chip and Dale so if you want to see them, you have to put in more effort than some of the other characters.  I also missed Coco but the cast members were telling us when he would be back, so if you’re set on seeing a specific character, that’s something to take advantage of.

Drinks – I decided just to spend my money on food at the event since I wanted to try so many of the different options, so I didn’t try any drinks at the event.  I heard that the Mimosa flight at Uncorked was not good, but other than that I’m not sure how the drinks were at the event.

Games at Pixar Pier – I walked past the games a few times but the lines were always long and I wasn’t that interested in them since they weren’t doing prizes – that seems to have only been a thing for the first day of the event (March 19^th).  It looked like a really good thing to do with kids since the attractions are closed, though.

Hopefully this overview of A Touch of Disney is helpful if you’re planning to go in the upcoming weeks. The big question is always if it was worth the cost, and for me, it was worth the $75. I had some great food with the $25 dining card and I didn’t spend too much more on top of that, was able to take some really good pictures, and just generally enjoyed the entire eight hours I was there, even without any rides. I’m still really excited to go back later this year once rides are open and non-California residents are allowed at the park, but this was a great way to experience the park in the meantime.