The 2023 Disney California Adventure Festival of Holidays is off and running, lasting through January 7th. Between all of the Festival Marketplaces and restaurants, there are plenty of specialty items to try. While I won’t be able to try them all, I have set down a path of stuffing my face with a number of food items from the festival. In this post, I’ll rank all of the items I’ve tried and will continue to update the post throughout the festival run as I eat more and more, all in the name of research!

All of the items I’ve tried are eligible as part of the Sip & Savor Pass. Guests pay a flat rate for a pass that will have 8 tabs. Those 8 tabs are redeemable for Festival Marketplaces, restaurant specialty dishes as well as non-alcoholic beverages. We recommend using the tabs on savory food items, as the drinks and desserts are cheaper and don’t offer the value.

There is a little bit of value in the Sip & Savor, especially if you qualify for one of the discounts. Focusing on the savory items means that the 8 chosen will likely end up over $54, considering they’re usually $7 or more. I recommend the Sip & Savor if you were going to spend the day trying some things you want or if you’ll make repeat trips, as the pass doesn’t have an expiration until the end of the festival. If you want some desserts instead though, just pay out of pocket.

That leads me to the bigger question on if the food is worth trying. There are several good, or even great dishes, but the prices are fairly high if paying for each one individually. I think two items would be enough for a meal and usually those totals would be around $16. That may be a little high for a light lunch or dinner but the quality is there for some dishes. As for what dishes are worth it, let’s get to the rankings!

9. Pumpkin Layered Cheesecake (Making Spirits Bright)

It’s hard for me to not love Pumpkin Cheesecake but this was only so-so. The dessert wasn’t so much Pumpkin Cheesecake as it was a New York-style Cheesecake, Pumpkin Gooey Cake and Graham Cracker, topped with Spiced Chantilly. All of it made for a sweet mess with no particular component elevating it. There are much better desserts throughout the resort.

8. Chicken Chile Verde Empanada (Festival Carts)

As a lover of Chile Verde, I was disappointed in these. The empanada ended up being a little bit dry and could have used more of an actual Chile Verde flavor. The chicken was okay and the whole item wasn’t terrible but definitely isn’t something I’d go back for. As a rule, the festival cart items are usually a bit worse than other places.

7. Barbacoa Tamal de Res (Grandma’s Recipes)

This tamal could move up in time but it came off as a little one note to me. The overpowering flavor was green chili and there was a decent amount of spice to it. I was hoping for a little more barbacoa to come through. I did like the crema on top and the actual tamal was cooked well, I was just hoping for a different flavor profile.

6. Tacos Gobernador (Paradise Garden Grill)

This dish consisted of a Chipotle-marinated shrimp taco with pepper Jack cheese. There was a lot of flavor here and a decent amount of spice. I enjoyed the shrimp, although I wish there was more in the taco. There’s also some grilled veggies in there that worked well, similar to fajita veggies. I thought the taco had a little too much chipotle mayo on it. Again, that had good flavor but it was a little overpowering. Otherwise, this was a nice dish!

5. Santa’s Milk and Cookies Hot Cocoa (Making Spirits Bright)

This drink consisted of Whole Milk with flavors of Cookies & Cream and White Chocolate with flavored Whipped Cream on top. I wouldn’t be mad if all Hot Cocoa tasted this way! The Cookies & Cream was the primary flavor and who doesn’t want a hot Oreo drink in their life? On the surprisingly chilly Disneyland Resort evenings, this is one of my favorite drinks to get.

4. Impossible Albondigas Soup (Paradise Garden Grill)

A strong contender from Paradise Garden Grill, this is a vegetable soup with Impossible meatballs. The broth tasted similar to a chicken noodle soup broth and there were carrots, onions and other veggies mixed in. As for the meatballs, they tasted like… Meatballs! I enjoyed them and they were very large. I was disappointed when all of the soup was gone. Good soup!

3. Impossible Chorizo Queso Fundido (Brews & Bites)

A dish this simple probably shouldn’t be so high on my list, but everything about this was delicious. Disney makes surprisingly good tortilla chips, good enough that I crave them! The queso had just enough heat behind it and was a perfect way to warm up on a cool evening. The standout here is the Impossible Chorizo though, as it had more flavor than any other Impossible meat I’ve found. That really elevated the dish and gave it more depth.

2. Pan Con Pollo (Sonoma Terrace)

This sandwich consists of braised chicken, spiced tomato sauce, mayonnaise, and mustard dressing in a French bread roll served with pickled vegetable slaw. The whole thing reminded me a bit of a Mexican take on a Banh Mi. Between the different sauces on the sandwich, there was a good amount of flavor albeit not overpowering. The braised chicken was my favorite part of the sandwich and all of the ingredients worked well together.

1. Holiday Turkey Empanada (Studio Catering Co.)

Our top spot on the list (so far) goes to this option at the food truck in Hollywood Land. This holiday themed empanada is made up of a fried empanada filled with turkey, stuffing and gravy with cranberry dipping sauce. If you close your eyes and picture the best of Thanksgiving meals wrapped in a warm, fried empanada then you get this. I ate this and then immediately wished it was part of most Thanksgiving meals. Or Christmas meals. Or any meals.

What’s your favorite item at the festival? Let us know in the comments below! Planning a trip to Disneyland? Check out our Planning Guide here. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!