The 2026 Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival is underway, and we’ve reviewed all the new menu items. Here are the 7 best and 7 worst items from this year’s festival.
The Worst 7
#7 — Torta Ahogada – $9.25
Braised pork carnitas, frijoles charros, pickled onion, and salsa
This is my most perplexing item of the festival. The meat is moist and well-cooked, and we get a lot of it. Carnitas usually aren’t my favorite, but I was pleasantly surprised by this version and am a pretty big fan. The salsa is fresh, flavorful, and very tomato-heavy, with a good spice level, so again, a warning to those spice sensitive. The carnitas, the veggies, and the salsa were super fresh. Unfortunately, this dish was very hard to eat, mostly due to the fact that the bread was pretty soggy because it was sitting in a bowl of salsa. The dish would be much more enjoyable if served on a plate with the salsa in a ramekin, so you could drizzle or dip the sandwich to maintain the integrity of the bread. Because I ended up having to eat this with a fork, and that’s not ideal. This item could have been great because taste-wise, I was impressed. However, the delivery method fell short, making it lose out on a high score.
Rating out of 7: 4
#6 — Mickey-shaped Banana-Hazelnut Waffles
Mickey-shaped waffles with chocolate-hazelnut filling topped with banana whipped topping and powdered sugar
Fake banana, there is no way around that, but probably one of the best fake bananas we’ve had. The Hazelnut Mickey Waffles are exactly what you would expect, nothing fancy or spectacular, but solid and yummy. The banana cream is typical Disney fresh-made thick whipped cream, and the flavor is subtler by itself but amplified by the hazelnut when eaten together. Not for everyone, and not a must-get, better than average, but neither of our favorites. If you’re a Banana lover, give it a try!
Rating out of 7: 4
#5 — Chicken and Waffle Mole Taco – $7.99
Waffle taco shell filled with chicken in spicy mole sauce, white rice, pepitas, and sesame seeds
The mole is the star of the show, good chicken, and ingredients. The complete dish was Spicier than you would expect and also sweeter due to the waffle cone. This was a confusing one and divisive for us. We had some good things to say flavor-wise, but the stark texture and flavor contrast of plain white rice, mole, and waffle cone shell just didn’t add up for us. All good individually, but together definitely interesting. The score was a compromise, with creativity and uniqueness considered for sure, and we both agreed this was better than average, but weird enough to keep it out of the top spots.
Rating out of 7: 4
#4 —Blue Raspberry Pineapple Mimosa – $21.50
Sparkling Wine, Blue Raspberry Syrup, and Pineapple Juice
Smells more blue raspberry than it tastes. Very little pineapple. Wine is less acidic in flavor than the Strawberry but still not my favorite.
Rating out of 7: 4
#3 — Pizza Slider – $8.99
Slider beef patty with mozzarella cheese, fried pepperoni, bell peppers and onions, sautéed mushrooms, and marinara sauce served on a brioche bun and garnished with pepperoncini
My biggest disappointment of the festival. This smelled better than it tasted. This is a lot of ingredients that all gave us nothing. This was bland, and the burger was overcooked. And I am mad because it had all the possibilities of being a delicious take on a fancy meatball grinder. All the components are there, all the ingredients are fresh, sans the burger, and the bread is great. It’s a good size, lots of toppings, and a great idea. This is a three because it is unique and not inherently bad or off-putting, it’s just disappointing, and I hope it gets better as the festival goes on, because this could’ve been a top item.
Rating out of 7: 3
#2 — Pandan Latte Churro – $7.50
Coffee sugar, pandan whipped cream, and toasted coconut shavings
We wanted to like this so bad, but we could not get over the coffee sugar. It tasted like they mixed burnt coffee grounds and sugar together. The Pandan whipped cream was very good, sweet, subtle, and the toasted coconut added texture and a tiny bit of flavor in a great way. It is still a 3 for those toppings and the fact that it’s still a Disney churro, but the burnt bitter coffee sugar tanked it on the whole. We wouldn’t get this again, and it doesn’t stack up against past festival churros. Even if you drink black coffee, this isn’t it.
Rating out of 7: 3
#1 — Strawberry Punch Mimosa – $21.50
Sparkling Wine, Strawberry Purée, and Simply Fruit Punch
A bit puckery. Kind of a bitter, unripe strawberry flavor, the fruit punch is almost non-existent. The wine is by far the strongest flavor, and it’s not a great one.
Rating out of 7: 3
The Best 7
#7 — Bulgogi Bowl – $15.99
Bulgogi beef and gochugaru-marinated cucumbers over rice garnished with spicy mayo, crispy shallots, and sesame seeds
The bulgogi beef was wonderfully prepared — moist, tender, marinated, but the star of this dish was the Gochugaru-marinated cucumbers. All the veggies were fresh, and the spicy mayo had the perfect amount of kick. The savory meat balanced perfectly with the fluffy rice, while the spicy heat of the mayo balanced with the fresh, tangy veggies in a four-way combo we really enjoyed. But it lacked a bit of the wow factor to make this a 7, but the combination of flavors and textures makes this a solid 6.
Rating out of 7: 6
#6 — Strawberry Guava Lemonade – $8.50
Simply Lemonade, strawberry purée, and guava syrup topped with vanilla cream and freeze-dried strawberries (Non-alcoholic)
Very Yummy. Perfectly balanced, though the guava flavor is the strongest. No unpleasant texture. Not as tart as typical Simply lemonade. Wish there were less ice because I finished this quickly. Thick cream on top. Freeze-dried strawberries are a nice touch for a burst of flavor and texture difference. Not too sweet, very natural and fresh tasting. It loses a point for not being very unique or special. Crowd pleasers for sure!
Rating out of 7: 6
#5 — Chicken Spinach Artichoke Dip Pizza – $9.49 per slice
Herb roasted chicken with spinach artichoke creamy cheese sauce (Available by slice or whole pie)
A high-quality pizza for a theme park. Significantly less Spinach Artichoke dip than the grilled cheese and than the typical dip. It’s more of a white pizza with chicken, veggies, and artichoke. Big pieces of well-seasoned chicken and soft chunks of artichoke, with just the right tanginess. We praised the freshness of the ingredients and the mix of flavors that would be very tasty hot or, in our case, cold. A big reason for this score is the uniqueness and appreciation for pizza of this level in a theme park, that is, comparing it to theme park food and not all pizza. If you were to go for this kind of pizza in everyday life, I think you will be happily surprised at this solid take on it.
Rating out of 7: 6
#4 — Cherry Cola Cold Brew – $7.75
70th Anniversary Blend, oat milk, vanilla crème and cherry syrups topped with a cherry cola cold foam and a maraschino cherry (Non-alcoholic)
Quality medium-roast cold brew that avoids being overly bitter, while the drink is sweeter than a typical cold brew, it is not super sweet or cloying. The cola flavor is very subtle and is most noticeable at the end of a sip. The cherry flavoring is more luxurious and rich, rather than having a medicinal cold medicine flavor. Very enjoyable, a more unique take on a solid cold brew. Nostalgic in the best way. If you like a creamier, sweeter cold brew and cherry, you are in the right place.
Rating out of 7: 7
#3 — Mango Melon Mimosa – $21.50
Boudin sourdough pull-apart bread (Plant-based)
This mimosa was very enjoyable right off the bat. The melon flavor is more present than the mango. Wine was crisp, light, and refreshing.
Rating out of 7: 7
#2 — Frozen Banoffee Banana – $7.99
Milk Chocolate-dipped Frozen Banana with Toffee Pieces, Caramel Sauce, and White Chocolate Drizzle
This was a delicious way to end the festival. A perfect theme park desert. The frozen banana was ripe and the right temperature for eating, not too hard. The toppings were the best balance of flavors with good ratios of everything. The toffee was less present than expected and subtle unless you got a big piece in your bite. The drizzles weren’t too sweet or sticky, and on the whole tasted and presented like elevated high-quality park food. This lost a single point for how hard it was to eat, but gave nothing away for taste.
Rating out of 7: 6
#1 — Green Pozole – $8.49
Traditional Mexican stew with chicken and hominy served with chips
This was delicious. Our favorite so far. Every ingredient was so fresh. The hominy and chicken were perfectly cooked, the cabbage, jalepeño, and radish toppings were crispy and the perfect textural addition. The broth was flavorful with a subtle spice and was so well-balanced. Served with chips was a nice touch, and I enjoyed dipping them. This was way better than one would expect for theme park pozole, and we had not a single negative thing to say about it. A must try for sure.
Rating out of 7: 7
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Dining and Cooking