I’m excited to present a guest review all about fellow blogger Beth Chaney’s exploration of street food and snacks during her recent visit to the Disneyland Paris resort.
Hi DFB readers! I’m excited to share a bit of my experience at the Disneyland Paris (DLP) resort. As a long time Disney fan and Disney park goer, I had to add a day at Disneyland Paris to the itinerary of my recent trip to France. And one of the things I was most excited to see at DLP was how Imagineers had transformed the American park experience for a European audience — especially the food!
Food is such a part of the Disney park experience — from popcorn to Mickey Bars to rice krispie treats; but how would that be captured for an international audience? Especially for an audience that is supposed to be a bunch of foodies? And what better place to explore than along the streets of the Disneyland Park!
Street Food
Street Food is big at Walt Disney World, and the same thing was true at DLP. Although not as numerous as at the Florida parks, there were lots of little carts on the street selling snacks and sweets. The most popular item? Candy apples, which seemed to be at just about every cart!
After candy apples, the next most popular item at the street carts were “hot dogs.” But these aren’t American hot dogs (although those are available at Casey’s on Main Street — which just happens to be in the exact same spot as the outpost at WDW!). These are more foot long sausages baked into french bread and sometimes topped with cheese. So more of a sandwich than an American hot dog.
Also popular at the street food stands — candy bars. Not Disney branded or labeled candy bars, but the standard good candy that you can buy at just about any store in Europe. Kinder bars, Milka, Mars bars, and Haribo.
In addition to these treats on the street, there was also a wide assortment of beverages available on the streets of the parks.
Cafe and cappuccino were available at every stand we visited — I couldn’t believe the number of Nestle espresso machines we saw in the park! Not that I’m complaining, because I always love a good cup of cappuccino.
There were also many stands that served all sorts of salty snacks. Popcorn and chips everywhere! These were the stands that actually reminded me the most of home, with the familiar Lays chips and Mickey lollipops.
Bakery Items
I have a real sweet tooth and I’m a baker myself, so some of my favorite items at Walt Disney World are always the fantastic bakery confections. Since France is the land of fantastic pastries and bakeries, I had very high expectations for the baked goods at Disneyland Paris.
Happily for me, the bakery goods were plentiful and they exceeded my expectations. There were lots of standard European style bakery items, but none of the more popular items in the US parks, like rice krispie treats and cupcakes.
My hands down favorite of the snack items was the Mickey Roll, which was a sweet roll filled with Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread. That is every bit as delicious as it sounds. These Mickey buns seem to be a signature item in the parks, and they’re carried at nearly every food stand. I wish I had stocked up!
Candy Shop
The food we found that reminded us the most of home were the candy shops, which were huge and full of delectable looking treats.
Candy is really taken to a whole other level in France, so it’s not surprising that there was a huge shop of American style pick your own candy displays where you could dish out jelly beans and other sweets.
The shop was themed to the Atlantic City Boardwalk, which reminded me of Disney’s Boardwalk in Florida! (Editor’s Note: You can read a full review of the Boardwalk Candy Palace in DLP here!)
There were huge displays of tinned chocolates, mostly in commemorative Disneyland Paris tins.
And last but not least, there was a huge selection of handmade candy as well. No sweet tooth unsatisfied!
As you can see, there’s quite the assortment of delectable treats at Disneyland Paris. Some try to capture the American themes of the parks, while others are wholly European and delicious. I’m still dreaming of those Mickey buns!
Beth is a frequent visitor to Walt Disney World and loves the culinary choices there, but this was her first foray outside of the Florida parks. See Beth’s other contribution to DFB — an awesome review of Walt’s, An American Restaurant, in Disneyland Paris — and read her work at her blog, 990 Square!
Gemma says
The Mickey buns are actually brioches, very common in Europe 🙂
Elizabeth says
Is that salt or sugar on the Mickey bun/brioche?
Alan says
Beth – How do the pastries and other baked goods compare with those available in the Boulangerie Patisserie in Epcot.
Beth @ 990 Square says
Gemma, the buns were very brioche like, but they were definitely labeled Mickey buns in English 🙂
Elizabeth, the topping was coarse sugar.
Elizabeth says
This nutella creation makes me want to go to DL-Paris even MORE now! LOL
Thanks for the reply, Beth!
Matt says
Donuts are one of my favorite food groups and I absolutely loved that they sold them at ODV carts at DLP. I hardly ever buy snack items at any of the parks, but when I saw donuts, I just had to. They were so tasty!
I also loved that they sold garlic bread at I believe Caseys Corner. It was delicious and perfect to sit and nosh while watching the world go by. I wish the parks here in the States sold garlic bread as a snack. Next to donuts, garlic bread is a HUGE favorite of mine.
Beth @ 990 Square says
Alan–the pastries are different than the stuff in Epcot at Paris. I would say the stuff at Epcot is like high end French bakery stuff (like a fine Patisserie would would find in Paris) why the stuff at DLP (at least what we sampled) is more like the stuff you would find in the corner Boulangeries that are all over France. This is sort of like the difference between a high end bakery and a Dunkin Donuts here in the US. It’s all quite tasty, but a little bit different stuff.
Diana says
I love those Mickey buns! I can’t wait until I can get to Disney Paris!
Alex says
I am always excited to read about foreign Disney Parks, particularly about the food there because it is often so different, and because I of course plan to visit most Disney Parks eventually.
I really hope there are more foreign food posts in the future.