DISNEYLAND UPDATE: Costly Cutbacks, Food Fumbles & After Dark Disappointment

Disneyland sells itself as a premium product, but lately the resort has been looking a little bargain-bin around the edges. From a shrinking Food & Wine Festival and underwhelming After Dark events to quiet downgrades in food quality and missing entertainment, the cutbacks are getting harder to ignore… and guests are noticing. The problem for Disney is that saving a little money in the short term may be costing a lot more in guest goodwill, repeat spending, and the resort’s carefully cultivated reputation. In this week’s Disneyland Update, we dig into where those corners seem to be getting cut, plus the latest construction, refurbishments, park photos, and more.

Food & Wine: What We’ve Tried So Far

The Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival kicked off on Friday, and we were there to try some of the new (and returning) bites and sips. The festival continues to contract, with just 8 marketplace booths this year, each offering 1 or 2 food items. But we are happy to report that we liked much of what we tried.  

Let’s start with the new dishes:

NEW Ramen Mac & Cheese at Peppers Cali-Ente: Furikake crumble, fish cakes, green onions, and chile crunch.

Although the name suggests a ramen dish, it’s a bit of a misnomer. Instead of ramen noodles, you’ll find more traditional mac & cheese noodles, but with ramen seasoning added into the cheese. The spirals you see in the image below are fish cakes. That may be unusual for some festival visitors, but we encourage you to give them a try. We actually enjoyed the fish cakes more than the mac & cheese itself.  

NEW Carbonara Pizzetta at L.A. Style: White sauce, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon, and black pepper drizzle.

We liked this one so much, we had it twice! The cheese was baked to crispy perfection, and the bacon adds just the right amount of fatty flavor and salt to complement the cheese. 

NEW Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese at Pym Test Kitchen (mobile order available): Spinach and artichoke on parmesan-crusted sourdough served with potato bites.

The cheese on the outside of the bread is perfectly toasted on the top (and Dusty said he’d take a side of the cheese toast all by itself if it were available). The inside will be a hit for some and a miss for others as the creamy artichoke filling of the sandwich won’t be popular with everyone, but it’s a great veggie-forward twist on a grilled cheese.

NOTE: This item is not available on the Sip & Savor Pass

We also tried a few repeat items:

Asa’DOS at Cluck-A-Doodle-Moo : Grilled skirt steak, chipotle chicken, Spanish rice, and salsa verde.

The steak was delicious, but a bit tough to cut. And the chicken drumstick has a kick to it. The Spanish rice was tasty, but overcooked. A good dish (and a good portion size), but skippable. 

Musubi Fried Rice from Golden Dreams : Aulani Resort-inspired steamed rice with egg, glazed spiced ham, umami mayo, and furikake. This is a tasty… but tiny… snack.  

Junior LA Street Dog at L.A. Style with jalapeño mayo, pepper and onion relish, and Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon. Another tiny offering. Be sure to check portion sizes before you order. 

Café de Olla Tres Leches Cake: Café de Olla-infused tres leches topped with piloncillo, chantilly, cinnamon, and a Mickey-shaped cookie.

We’ll be honest, this one felt a little too soggy and sweet to enjoy. There’s also a “booziness” we didn’t care for.

Plant-based Cherry Cobbler Pot de Crème from Golden Dreams: Vanilla custard, cherry filling, and oat crumble

We really enjoyed this returning dessert. The creamy custard balances the tart cherries well and the crumble adds a nice crunch. We’d definitely order this one again.

 

You can read our complete guide to this year’s Food & Wine Festival here:

UPDATED! Eat This: The 2026 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival Guide

It’s festival season. Knott’s launches their Boysenberry Festival this coming weekend. We recently previewed this year’s items and found them to be berry good. 

Women Who Make the Magic

The new Women Who Make the Magic guided tour started last Friday, and MiceChatter Monika Moore shared her thoughts (and photos) with us in the MiceChat Facebook Group.

The new guided tour honors the impact of legendary women who were instrumental in the creation of the original Disney theme park, including Harriet Burns, Alice Davis, Mary Blair, Ruth Shellhorn, Leota Toombs, Kim Irvine, Dorothea Redmond, and more.

The price of the tour is $110 per Person (plus tax). Disney Visa Member discount applies.

Here’s what Monika had to say about Disneyland’s newest tour:

Mabel’s Seek & Find

If you joined us on Thursday for the MiceChat Live @ Five, you already know about a fun new Mabel’s Seek & Find activity in Redwood Challenge Trail tied in to the new Pixar movie Hoppers. 

After receiving a keepsake map, guests choose which character they want to “become” as they complete challenges along the trail – King George, Ellen Bear, Insect Queen, or Tom Lizard. You’ll get a sticker for your character when you start so you can “bond” with others on your team as you play.

We saw the rangers engaging kids in a cute “storytelling” moment from the movie when they received their maps.

Additional animal characters from the movie can be found all along the trails.

On a side note, it’s nice to see California Poppies blooming in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. A sure sign of spring. 

Draw Characters from Hoppers at Animation Academy

Constructionland

Disneyland

Edelweiss Snacks has reopened, but there’s still a large construction wall, and the nearby boat dock is still hidden by scrims.

Jungle Cruise is still under refurbishment, but during last week’s Live @ Five, Dusty pointed out some fun artwork on the construction walls, including a map of the river.

We also commented on this massive eyesore on Main Street U.S.A.

But thanks to Santa Ana winds, the ugly tan scrims were down on Friday… and a hidden treasure was revealed.

A Carnation Company sign from 1955 has been hidden under newer signage, but due to the construction work on the building (and the removal of the scrim on Friday), the historic sign could be seen.

This is the Carnation Cafe sign we normally see:

We also noticed two missing trees on Main Street, but we aren’t sure whether that’s due to construction on that side of the street or to their replacement for another reason.

Currently, one lonely tree is holding down the entire west side of the street.

California Adventure

Have you noticed that the construction wall between Cars Land and Avengers Campus is adorned with posters of Marvel Superhero-themed cars?

This is a really clever way to explain the construction on the other side of the wall in Avengers Campus. 

And, just what’s happening on the other side of that wall? The expansion of Avengers stories with two new rides. 

Across from Guardians of the Galaxy, the former FastPass distribution area is being transformed into what we think will be a quick-service dining location.

And work continues on Grizzly River Run. This is a big annual maintenance project that always takes a long time, but with the weather heating up, we hope it reopens soon.

Downtown Disney

Since the scrims in Downtown Disney were also down for the wind, we got a good look at what’s happening at the new two-story Earl of Sandwich. Windows are now installed in much of the building. 

That’s what you can see from Downtown Disney. But we took a trip outside of the shopping district to see what the Earl looks like from behind as well.  

But, of course, the big Downtown Disney project is Porto’s, which is currently under construction. It’s also causing all sorts of disruption for guests as it completely pinches off access between the Esplanade and Downtown Disney. Guests are temporarily rerouted through the tram load area. It’s a messy solution that causes nightly bottlenecks when traffic increases. 

Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar (updated 3/8/26)

Jumpin’ Jellyfish has reopened, but Golden Zephyr starts its refurb today. Tom Sawyer Island reopened and new to the list this week is Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

Currently Under Refurbishment

• Grizzly River Run: January 5 – TBA
• Oga’s Cantina: January 20 – March 13
• Jungle Cruise: February 17 – TBA
• Golden Zephyr: March 9 – 17

Upcoming Refurbishments

• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin: March 30 – TBA
• Disneyland Monorail: March 30 – TBA
• Toy Story Midway Mania: April 6 – TBA
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: April 13 – TBA

This & That

Live @ Five

He’s back! Yes, it’s true. Dusty Sage returned from his travels to Walt Disney World and aboard the Disney Destiny just in time for Thursday’s MiceChat Live @ Five. Dusty, Sam, and Ando check out the new Hopper’s Seek & Find trail, visit the Food & Wine Festival, Journey through Disneyland, and even take us on a little journey at Galaxy’s Edge. You’ll love this one. Just hit play. And don’t forget to like, follow, and comment. We love hearing from you. 

Eggstravaganza 2026

The popular character-themed egg hunt is back from March 3 to April 6, 2026. 

How to Join the Fun:

1. Pick up a map and stickers at select merchandise locations for $11.99 (plus tax)
2. Search for hidden “eggs” based on Disney characters and place the corresponding stickers on the map
3. Return the map to a redemption location and receive one of 6 themed keepsake eggs themed to Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, the White Rabbit, and Thumper.

Maps differ between Disneyland Park, California Adventure Park, and Downtown Disney District, so be sure to search in your map’s designated location.

Pooh Popcorn Bucket

An adorable Winnie the Pooh & Piglet Spring Bucket will be available at Disneyland beginning this Wednesday, March 11 (Limit two per person, per transaction). 

Disneyland After Dark Ticket Tracker

All three dates are still available for Disneyland After Dark: Disney Channel Nite. Tickets for April 12 are $169 per person and tickets for April 14 and 16 are $159 per person.

Only two dates are still available for Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite, April 28 and May 6. Both dates are $174 per person.

Tickets for Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite on June 16 and 18 are expected to go on sale soon.

Disneyland After Dark: 70 Years of Favorites

While Disneyland’s after-hours events are not selling out as quickly as they have in the past, we did see plenty of people lining up for Disneyland After Dark: 70 Years of Favorites.

Unfortunately, what all these folks were waiting for wasn’t really worth the $159 ticket price in our opinion. 4 of our staff members attended the event across two separate nights and all came back with the same impression. 

The hot spot was definitely the 80s-themed Videopolis in Tomorrowland, where iconic LA DJ Richard Blade (of KROQ fame) held court.

And as fun as the return of Videopolis was… it wasn’t enough to hold an entire $160 event together. 

The tone was more subdued at the Royal Theatre, where a live swing band played standards while a few couples took to the dance floor.

In New Orleans Square, singers on a barge performed songs from bygone Disneyland shows on the Rivers of America. It drew small crowds, who didn’t linger long. Sadly, what would have been truly spectacular would have been for Disney to actually recreate scenes from beloved shows of yesteryear. In particular, Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee would have been an amazing and easy show for Disney to bring back for the night. 

Another show that should have been brought back for the night was Woody’s Roundup. But instead of producing a version of the show for the party, a set inspired by the show was placed on the stage of the Golden Horseshoe as the backdrop for a line-dancing party with yet another DJ. 

And with no big shows, parade, or fireworks for this event, there really wasn’t a lot for guests to do other than get in line for photo ops or ride attractions. 

 

And while attraction wait times were basically non-existent, queues to meet characters and pose at photo ops were surprisingly long, especially for the Pizza Planet truck (which we think should be parked outside its namesake restaurant all the time). 

Another long queue was to see a pair of critters from the Main Street Electrical Parade.

And Jungle Book characters were dancing with each other between posing for photos in Adventureland.

Mother and Father from the Carousel of Progress did not disappoint… Though their loud location just behind Videopolis left something to be desired. If they had been indoors in front of a photo backdrop from the original ride, it would have been a nice touch. 

…but the lackluster cardboard cut-out-style photo ops were cute, but didn’t feel worth waiting for.  

All in all, we found the event to be disappointing. There just didn’t feel like enough to do. The entertainment felt minimal, there weren’t enough rare characters, though Disney promoted a celebration of seven decades of Disneyland… the event just didn’t reflect that.

Perhaps if the event had taken place last year, when 70th-anniversary fever was still in full swing, we think it would have had a bigger impact, but at this point, much of what was being offered wasn’t new (and the few throwback experiences were underwhelming). 

However… if you’re looking at an After Dark event as a way to ride Disneyland attractions with no wait, that’s a different story. Several single park ticket price tiers are more than $159, and the allure of no crowds (and comfortable temperatures as we head into spring and summer) may be selling points for you. Then, any special entertainment and photo ops are just icing on the cake.

What do you think? Are Disneyland After Dark tickets priced too high for what they deliver, or is the value in accessing attractions without waiting? Let us know in the comments below.

Disneyland Blues

It’s been a while since we commented about light bulbs, but we just couldn’t ignore this nonsense. Fantasy Faire Gifts, located across from it’s a small world, is once again suffering from a profusion of burnt-out lightbulbs. 

We’re not sure why Disney has such a hard time keeping this rooftop lit, but if they can’t easily replace the bulbs, perhaps they should redesign the roof to avoid needing them.  No bulbs would look better than lots of obviously burnt-out ones. 

And we seriously hope you all pay attention to this next item, and protest loudly.

 

If the chocolaty treats at Disneyland’s candy kitchens don’t taste quite right starting today, there’s a reason. The candy kitchens have begun ordering a lower-quality chocolate for the dipped treats and candies. Of course, they’ll still be charging premium prices for the lesser quality product. A sorry sign of the times.

And just a reminder… if your favorite item doesn’t meet your standards, demand your money back, complain at City Hall, or simply shop for your chocolates outside the Disneyland Resort. As long as Disney thinks they can keep charging you more and deliver less… they will.

The cutbacks at the Food & Wine Festival, Disneyland After Dark events, and food quality declines across the resort haven’t gone unnoticed. Does it bother you that Disney positions itself as a premium service, but doesn’t always deliver the premium product? 

A Disturbance in The Force 

It was eerily quiet in Galaxy’s Edge last Thursday afternoon…

Perhaps the citizens of Black Spire Outpost already sense that Darth Vader will be arriving on April 20. 

The enhancement of Galaxy’s Edge to include more movie music, characters from across the timeline, and a new ride film for the Millennium Falcon couldn’t come soon enough… But we also don’t think they go far enough. On our MiceChat Live last Thursday, Dusty explained that this drab land should be given a festival overlay. And we couldn’t agree more that the addition of colorful banners, roaming musicians, stunt performers, storytelling, and a more upbeat vibe would be very welcome. We think most of you would also agree that a land this size also needs another attraction or two… and that a table-service dining experience was originally promised and feels long overdue (just think of the money Disney would make). For more info on the changes coming to Star Wars land, be sure to read our full article: 

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Timeline UNLOCKED at Disneyland: Characters, Music & More

Walt Disney Storybook Mansion Tours Return!

Step inside the Walt Disney Storybook Mansion in the Hollywood Hills for a rare opportunity to walk in Walt’s footsteps at one of his most storied homes.

This intimate, small-group tour, led by Dusty Sage, explores the rooms where Walt entertained friends, dreamed up projects, and lived during a pivotal chapter of his career. You’ll hear the history, the Hollywood connections, and the personal stories that make this house far more than just another celebrity address. Space is limited, and access to this home is exceptionally rare.

🎟️ Walt Disney Storybook Mansion Tour Tickets HERE

MiceShots

And before we wrap up this week’s update, let’s take a little stroll…

We caught the 70th anniversary cavalcade on Main Street. We are still scratching our heads as to why they added Duffy to the cavalcade… but didn’t bring any Duffy merchandise to the stores! 

It’s an exceptionally pretty time of year to visit the parks. Its not just the gardens in bloom, the trees are getting in on the act as well.  

We’re enjoying eating our way through the Food & Wine festival. But we do wish they’d take a cue from Epcot and focus more on Flowers and Garden in the spring and move Food and Wine to the fall.  

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