Walt Disney World has been open since last summer but Disneyland Resort in California has remained almost entirely closed for close to a full year. Only the Downtown Disney shopping and dining district has welcomed back guests. But very soon a special event will reopen Disney California Adventure Park, celebrating its 20th anniversary. While the attractions will all remain closed, the park itself will welcome back guests for a special food and beverage event. Disney announced previously that the event would be coming next month, but now we have a lot more details about what the event is, and how much it will cost. It also finally has an official name: A Touch of Disney.
A Touch of Disney will begin March 18, just over one year after Disney California Adventure had to close. It will run every Thursday through Monday, from noon to 8 PM. Tickets will go on sale March 4 for dates between March 18 and April 5, and more tickets will be released on a rolling basis from there. Meaning that at some future date tickets for dates past April 5 will be released. While the event will begin March 18, no official end date was released. Tickets will cost $75, but you actually get a decent amount for your money. The ticket will include parking, park access, give visitors unlimited downloads of PhotoPass pictures taken inside the park, and will also provide a $25 dining card for use on the various food options and non-alcoholic drinks.
Several of the theme's park's food locations will be open for guests, including Smokejumpers Grill, Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats, Award Wieners, and Cocina Cucamonga. Reservations will also be available, beginning March 11, at Lamplight Lounge and Carthay Circle Lounge – Alfresco Dining. In addition to those locations there will be additional food options, likely in booths set along the old parade route, that will offer even more. Most interestingly, some signature food options that are traditionally only found at Disneyland Park will be available, including the Enchanted Tiki Room's famous Dole Whip, and the New Orleans Square Monte Cristo sandwich.
Back in November Buena Vista Street reopened to guests for shopping and dining as an extension of Downtown Disney. It will remain open for those guests through March 14, but beginning March 15 the extension will be closed as it gets ready for the Touch of Disney event.
With attractions closed the food will be the main star of the show, but there will be small options for entertainment. Some characters will be out and about for guests to see, though traditional photo ops with the characters will likely not be available. However, some of these "photo worthy spots" are being touted as being only available to those that attend this events, implying that some of them are outside what guests would normally have access to. Disney is also touting a brand new special soundtrack for the event that will be played throughout the park.
It won't be quite the Disneyland experience that many have been waiting for, but until the day comes that such an experience is possible again, it will certainly satiate fans. For many of those fans the food is a huge part of what makes Disneyland special, and so being able to experience that again will be enough. Hopefully this event will last long enough so that everybody that wants to will be able to attend. With social distancing still the norm tickets to this event will be more limited than your normal Disneyland ticketed event.
