In order to relieve myself of the inescapable end-of-the-quarter stress, I did what any responsible college student would: I spent the day at Disneyland as an act of self care. My main goals for the day were to first ride Haunted Mansion and see the Nightmare Before Christmas-themed decorations and secondly, try the holiday foods that have been endlessly taunting me on my Instagram feed.

Aiko Delos Reyes / Daily Nexus

My first seasonal treat of the day was the Burnt Ends Grilled Cheese at the River Belle Terrace. Although this sandwich was on the pricier side for amusement park food, it was worth it. The sandwich was packed with Kansas City-style burnt brisket ends, tossed in Coca Cola barbecue sauce that cut through all the melted cheese, all topped with fried onions and pickled pepperoncini. Apparently, the relish tastes exactly like that of the famous Disneyland pickles. If you’re a fan of that taste, this is definitely something worth trying. I ordered it with the River Belle Terrace’s signature baked beans and a side of tater tots. The tater tots were an especially pleasant surprise — they’re fried to perfection and coated in a barbecue seasoning. Overall, this is the perfect meal to chow down on after a morning of exploring the park.

Aiko Delos Reyes / Daily Nexus

For a mid-afternoon snack, I decided to try out the Hot Chocolate Beignets served at Café Orleans. The beignets are dusted with a light coating of chocolate powder and served with a velvety chocolate dipping sauce, as well as a heaping serving of marshmallow whipped cream. I was a little hesitant with ordering this one since all the photos online made the dessert look sickeningly sweet. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the chocolate powder taste was subtle and the dipping sauce had a rich cacao flavor rather than the syrupy taste I expected. In the end, I used every last drop of the dipping sauce because it was that good. This was definitely my favorite holiday treat.

Towards the end of my day, I headed over to California Adventures and got Luigi’s Chicken Pesto Cone from Cozy Cone Motel. The cone is comprised of creamy pesto alfredo pasta, marinated chicken, balsamic reduction, tomato bruschetta and romano cheese. I don’t usually tend to eat the regular bread cones since they’re pretty heavy, but I’m a sucker for tomato bruschetta and I had to give this seasonal offering a try. The tomatoes and pasta paired nicely together, and the flavors were well balanced. The bread cones are pretty big and they give you a decent serving of pasta. At $9, I’d say that this meal is a bang for your buck. 

Aiko Delos Reyes / Daily Nexus

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try everything I wanted to since the park was so packed. But I’ll definitely be back before the end of the holiday season to try more of Disneyland’s seasonal items!