From Dole Whip to Blue Milk: How Disney has used food to elevate its theme parks

A sample of cocktails available onboard the Halcyon.

The thrill-seekers of all ages are excited to return to theme parks, but they also have an appetite for other things.

Food and beverage offerings have become an important part of the amusements business. The Walt Disney Co. led the charge in delivering innovative and delicious meals, snacks and drinks to parkgoers.

For decades, Disney has pushed the boundaries of food and beverage innovation, developing unique park favorites like Mickey Mouse-shaped ice cream bars and pretzels as well as Dole Whips and themed candied apples and cookies.

Caramel-Peanut Milk Chocolate Mickey Macaron found at Disney California Adventure’s Food & Wine Festival which runs from March 4 - April 26, 2022

The president of International Theme Parks Services said that rides and attractions are the number one reason people go to the parks. In the last 20 years, parks have built new attractions around areas that serve food and drink.

Disney has taken it a step further with its new experience. The Halcyon is a two-day experience unlike its themed lands. Guests are living a Star Wars story for 48 hours, not strolling in for a bite or a drink.

The chef and his team had to create an all-inclusive program of food that would be delivered to guests over the course of two days.

Disney is showing off some of its more ambitious and delicious food and beverage creations.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes were created that were accessible to guests but also upscale. The lunch buffets feature familiar dishes, such as grilled cheese and tomato soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and salads, but with a distinctly Star Wars spin.

A glimpse at menu items available during the breakfast buffet onboard the Halcyon.

The food trays used for the breakfast and lunch buffets are shaped so that dishes can slide into place and not move when being carried into the Crown of Corellia Dining Room, the main eating hall onboard the Halcyon. They have a distinct sci-fi aesthetic, but are also incredibly functional, especially for those who want to try a little bit of everything.

It is important to the experience and it is something that is under the microscope in our industry. I think that will be with us forever.

Disney has long used food design as a way of elevating its traditional fare, but it entered a new phase of innovation when it launched its theme park land based on the planet Pandora from James Cameron's film "Avatar."

Disney was able to create its own cuisine with the new land. Taking inspiration from a film about an alien planet, it was taking foreign dishes and recreating them at the park. Chefs used spices from different countries to bring out the flavors in their food.

Bill Coan said that Disney is playing it up to advance the visitor experience and at the same time generate revenue.

Coan said that guests tend to be less strict about their diet while on vacation and will try out menu items that they can't get anywhere else.

Guests can choose between a base of quinoa and vegetable salad, red and sweet potato hash, mixed whole grain and rice or romaine and kale salad. They add either grilled chicken, roasted beef, shrimp or chili-spiced tofu on top as well as a variety of dressing options.

The steamed cheeseburger pod meal from Satu’li Canteen in the Pandora land at Animal Kingdom.

The bao buns are on the menu. There is either a cheeseburger or vegetable curry in these steamed buns.

The desserts were designed for the themed land. There is a chocolate cake with cookie crumbs and banana cream topping.

Blueberry cream cheese mousse dessert with passion fruit curd found at Satu’li Canteen in the Pandora land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

They have been designed to have an out-of-this-world look that is both appetizing and photographable. Parkgoers use social media to share their food experiences at the parks with others and to get ideas of what they should try in the future.

There is an array of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks at the Pongu Pongu bar located near the canteen.

Disney opened two new locations in 2019: one in Florida and one in California.

There is a main dining location. Guests can sample the Braised Shaak Roast (beef with pasta) or the Felucian Garden Spread.

The famed Ronto Wrap is located at Ronto Roasters. It is a grilled sausage and roasted pork wrap. If you bite into this one, make sure you have a drink.

Pictured left to right, are the Meiloorun Juice, the Turkey Jerky and the Ronto Wrap filled with spiced grilled sausage and roasted pork found at Ronto Roasters, located in the Black Spire Outpost market inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

You can wash it down with a glass from the bay. A dash of pear juice is included in the drink, which is a play on half lemonade, half iced tea drink.

Oga's Cantina is a place where Star Wars fans can meet their friends. Guests can order alcoholic drinks that are both familiar and foreign with names like Fuzzy Tauntaun and Jedi Mind Trick.

The Carbon Freeze and Hyperdrive are drinks that feature fruit juices, popping pearls and dry ice.

Specialty drink mugs are out of stock because reservations fill up quickly.

The guests will buy what you serve if you do it right, and Disney understands that.

From left to right, alcoholic beverages: The Outer Rim, Bespin Fizz, Yub Nub, and Fuzzy Tauntaun can be found at Oga’s Cantina in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California and at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Special bottles of Coca-Cola can be purchased throughout the themed land park. The company worked with Disney to create bottles that fit into the world of Batuu. The sodas are similar to thermal detonators from the Star Wars films and feature the name of each brand in the fictional language of Star Wars.

Disneyland faced a new challenge when it came to innovating traditional American food.

Disney decided to use its superhero theme to create unique menu items, which were created by the team of ants and the ape.

The main dining area is called Pym Test Kitchen. Scientists use growing and shrinking technology to make large and small creations. Chicken sandwiches with massive chicken patties, spaghetti and meatballs with one large meatball, and soft pretzels that are the size of a head can be enjoyed by guests.

At Pym Test Kitchen in Avengers Campus inside Disney California Adventure Park, Ant-Man and The Wasp use shrinking and growing technology to innovative food. Pictured: The Not So Little Chicken Sandwich.

Adults can enjoy craft beers and signature cocktails at Pym Tasting Lab. The mixologists offer a variety of ingredients that include habanero and mango.

Pym Tasting Lab, adjacent to the Pym Test Kitchen in Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure Park, features alcoholic drinks for adults, including: X-Periment, Molecular Meltdown, Honey Buzz and Particle Fizz.

There are two carts. Shawarma Palace is a nod to the mid-credits scene from The Avengers.

Terran treats is the other one. There are items that play on traditional human foods in this booth. Circular rainbow churros and bright purple cream puffs are just a few of the delicacies available.

Disney set the bar higher in creating the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser experience because it took everything it had learned from other places.

All meals are included in the total cost of the experience. Breakfast and lunch are buffet-style. They can eat as much or as little as they want.

It fills you up and you have fun eating it.

Breakfast bento box onboard the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser.

There is a traditional soda fountain in the dining room, as well as free Blue Milk and Green Milk, which can be found in the park land. Special alcoholic beverages are the only menu items that need to be purchased separately.

A bubble waffle grilled cheese served with a creamy tomato bisque soup onboard the Halcyon.

There is a set menu for dinner. Dinner on the first night of the Halcyon is a show. Gaya begins her performance with a mix of pop, jazz, and rhythm and blues, while guests are enjoying colorful bao buns and noodles.

The different-colored bao buns reflect the colors in Gaya's outfit.

Dinner served during Gaya’s performance aboard the Halcyon.

The second course consisted of Bantha Beef Tenderloin, Tip Yip Chicken, Stewed Shrimp, Green Herbed Fluffy Rice and Surabat spiced flora.

The beef was glazed with tamarind and 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611

The second night of dinner featured dishes from different planets in the Star Wars universe. Disney's cooking was on full display during this meal.

A bread and cheese plate inspired by the molton planet of Mustafar.

Dozens of crew members descended into the dining room at the same time to deliver plates for each course. There was a dish of cheese and bread inspired by the molten planet Mustafar, as well as blue shrimp from the jungles of Felucia, and a beef and seafood plate from the Wookie home world of Kashyyyk.

There are other options on the menu for those with less adventurous tastes.

Alcoholic beverages can be purchased in both the Sublight Lounge and the Crown of Corellia Dining Room. Many of the signature cocktails are based on traditional drinks, but they have been elevated.

The Hoth Icebreaker is similar to a lemon drop martini but is served in a blue glass with a lemon foam and isomalt sugar.

I think that Disney has done a great job with the starcruiser and the menu, and that will trickle down to the rest of the industry.