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37: Hosts Ariel and Stefanie embark on a journey through Disney’s culinary delights, from the treats at the Food and Wine Festival at California Adventure, unexpected finds at Disney Channel Nite, to the surprising food merchandise. They navigate the rising prices, sustainability efforts, and the art of indulging at Disney parks. This episode invites listeners to a broader conversation on food and fandom.
Summary
Summary of HPOE37
- Introduction (0:11): Stef and Ariel set the stage for a delicious discussion on Disney food, touching on its cultural and social impact.
- Disney’s Food and Wine Festival (2:03): They dive into the Food and Wine Festival at California Adventure, expressing surprise over the lack of avocado-themed dishes despite the event’s theme.
- Favorite Festival Foods (6:04): The hosts share their top picks and experiences from the festival, including standout dishes.
- Merchandise and Marketing (43:46): Discussion shifts to Disney’s strategic merchandising of food-themed products, highlighting the new “Disney Eats” monthly release strategy.
- Educational and Therapeutic Use of Food (32:13): They explore how food can be integrated into educational settings and therapy to foster learning, healing, and a deeper understanding of cultural identity.
- Closing Thoughts (45:49): The episode wraps up with details on an upcoming panel discussion at WonderCon and an invitation for listeners to share their favorite Disney foods and food fandoms.
Transcription
00:11 – 00:17
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Happiest Pod On Earth. I’m Stef. I’m an educator who uses passions and fandoms to help my
00:17 – 00:20
students grow and learn about themselves and the world around them.
00:20 – 00:27
And I’m Ariel, a licensed therapist who uses clients’ passions and fandoms to help them grow and heal from trauma and mental illness.
00:27 – 00:31
Here at Happiest Pod, we dissect Disney mediums with a critical lens.
00:31 – 00:37
Why? Because we’re more than just Stefanie, and we expect more from the mediums we consume. Speaking of consuming, what are
00:37 – 00:38
we discussing today, Steph?
00:38 – 00:46
What a perfect word to describe what we are talking about today. We are talking about food, specifically Disney food, obviously.
00:46 – 00:52
But I feel like this is a long time coming. We have not touched upon this. Despite the fact that we’ve done multiple panels
00:52 – 01:02
at Comic Con about food and its impact culturally, socially, mentally, physically, I mean, everything. Food is life. Right?
01:02 – 01:03
That’s the saying. Yes.
01:03 – 01:10
And then we did a presentation at Geek Therapy’s tags on using food in the classroom and using food in the therapy and talking
01:10 – 01:18
about ways to address individuals who might have various forms of eating disorders or individuals who want to embrace the
01:18 – 01:19
culture of their food, but they don’t know how.
01:19 – 01:27
Mhmm. Food itself has many different dimensions. I mean, people love it. They make livings around it. We love to consume it.
01:27 – 01:35
It brings people together. I mean, as you said, I talked about how food in the classroom and food when it comes to translating
01:35 – 01:41
what it means for kids is so important as they grow and develop, and their relationship with food too. So I think it is fitting
01:41 – 01:47
as we are coming into the spring season now here in California, and specifically
01:54 – 02:03
in in as, like, something to drive people to get to the parks, which has definitely worked on me. Yes. Okay. So starting with
02:03 – 02:10
the park specifically, right now we are during the middle or just starting food and wine festival, which I don’t think we’ve
02:10 – 02:12
talked about on the show before. Correct?
02:12 – 02:19
No. We haven’t. We’ve done many different events that are very similar to Food and Wine, but correct me if I’m wrong, everyone
02:19 – 02:26
out there, and, you know, my to my cohost as well. I feel like food and wine festival was kind of like the genesis of people
02:26 – 02:33
coming to the park specifically to have specialty foods, specialty wine and beverage, especially since California Adventure
02:33 – 02:40
in itself. I think going with the theme of California and how we are, what, the largest in the United States of America, and
02:40 – 02:46
that we have such a large culinary scene. We have many celebrity chefs who live out here and make a living out here. They
02:46 – 02:52
really wanted to capitalize that with the California theme. So, you know, you see there’s a winery in the middle of the park.
02:52 – 03:00
You can drink alcohol in the park. There’s specialty restaurants like the Trattoria, which is Italian inspired. You have different
03:00 – 03:05
areas of the park where you can get different sorts of regional foods that you wouldn’t otherwise find at Disneyland.
03:05 – 03:14
And this year’s theme is it’s avocado time, avocado shaped like clock. Interestingly, though, there are not many avocado items
03:14 – 03:21
or that that’s not the main ingredient in most of the dishes, at least what we saw on the menu and what we tried. I don’t
03:21 – 03:27
remember, like, avocado being so featured, and yet that is the theme and that is the merchandise. Which yeah.
03:27 – 03:32
I think this is the first time they had a hard theme for Food and Wine Festival. Normally, it’s just, here, come try regional
03:32 – 03:37
foods. It’s happening. And for all of you who don’t know about the Food food and wine festival, basically, every single year,
03:37 – 03:44
they line the main veranda, the main street of California Adventure Park. They line them up with these little booths that
03:44 – 03:50
you can purchase small kind of tapas like items, very small. You can share them if you want. But, yeah, the food and wine
03:50 – 03:57
festival gets you certain dishes that you can use the little tabs to redeem. It does exclude alcohol, and it does exclude
03:58 – 04:04
some other dishes that you would have to go to the restaurant to get. So it’s not just the little booths that have themed
04:04 – 04:11
items, but also the restaurants that already serve things like in San Fransokyo or the plaza in the back, the garden plaza,
04:11 – 04:16
I think, but not necessarily with the little sip and saver pests. A lot of rules.
04:16 – 04:33
Yeah. Which I think is a a little the marketing, is I feel like this year, it’s expanded even more in more tiny booths. I
04:33 – 04:39
think last year, I don’t remember as many booths. You can correct me if I’m wrong, but I just feel like it it’s grown in the
04:39 – 04:46
amount of options. It’s that you don’t have to go up to the booth to order your, like, each individual item. You can just
04:46 – 04:52
find 1 booth, order them all there, take your tickets, and go retrieve them, which is such a time saver. Because when I first
04:52 – 04:57
did food and wine fast with you, I remember waiting in each line to try and get our food.
04:57 – 05:03
Yeah. Like, you would basically be hungry by the time you got to the next thing. And you would keep just getting hungry and
05:03 – 05:10
then being satiated and then hungry again. But that comes with a disclaimer too because as I learned during lunar new year,
05:10 – 05:18
you can only get certain things pre ordered. And some things are excluded from that, which I unfortunately had not the best
05:18 – 05:23
interaction with a cast member when it came to that. I think because it was so busy, this was during lunar new year, and I
05:23 – 05:30
did not know the rules. And the little booklet that they give you kind of explains it, but I think they did a better job explaining
05:30 – 05:35
it this time for food and wine festival. But, yeah, you have to look for the little there’s like an icon that says where you
05:35 – 05:42
can pre order things. And if that item doesn’t have an icon, you’re most likely gonna have to stand in line. But I think it
05:42 – 05:51
is a, a step forward in trying to save people money and time. Because not only are you foregoing writing things and foregoing
05:52 – 05:59
other experiences to do this, but you are also, you know, if you have a park hopper, this is like the majority of your time
05:59 – 06:04
just trying to figure out what you’re gonna eat and where you’re gonna eat it at. Mhmm.
06:04 – 06:11
So in the Food and Wine Fest, maybe, like, in the past now, what comes up to your mind as, like, the top eats that you’ve
06:11 – 06:14
had or maybe, like, the different kiosks or booths that you prefer to
06:16 – 06:22
stop at? So I think they have organized it, like, consistently over the years. I always know there’s a spicy booth, which
06:22 – 06:29
I avoid at all costs. I know that there is one that’s dedicated to like a beer flight and a wine flight, which back then I’d
06:29 – 06:36
be like, let’s get it all. But now I’m like, okay, I’m gonna choose between the 2. But there’s also one that always has, like,
06:36 – 06:43
the most savory dishes. I think before they’ve had, like, Filipino pork belly over garlic rice. That’s one of my favorites.
06:43 – 06:50
Only because I was so surprised that they were doing cultural foods in addition to just, you know, California cuisine, which
06:50 – 06:57
I can never define myself being from California. They always California cuisine. Okay. But that’s one of my favorites. I know
06:57 – 07:04
they’ve also had a, I’ve also had, like, a burrito. I think it’s also pork belly. Clearly eat a lot of pork. My favorite dishes
07:04 – 07:10
are the ones that you get the most bang for your buck, which comes with, you know, like, a good protein and, like, a good
07:10 – 07:12
side. How about you?
07:13 – 07:18
I always like anything with the mac and cheese. I’ve so far, I’ve never not enjoyed a mac and cheese. Well, that’s what we
07:18 – 07:25
tried in this most recent Food and Wine Fest. And then, usually, the desserts are good, but there’s always, like, a cream
07:25 – 07:32
type dessert. There’s always a, I would say, like, a cookie type dessert. I remember, like, the macaroons being, like, the
07:32 – 07:38
things that I enjoy the most, and they’re huge. They’re always huge Mickey shaped macaroons. However, I think we tried a dessert
07:38 – 07:46
this year that was just sub par. So when we go back for dapper day, we’re gonna have to reclaim the dessert section, go through
07:46 – 07:51
it. I think there was like a passion fruit one that someone said that they liked, so we might try that, I think, this year.
07:51 – 07:58
Yeah. Definitely. And if you would like to know what that was, if you are going to Food and Wine Festival, we did try the
07:58 – 08:07
lemon olive oil cake. It was lemony. It wasn’t very olive oily. It was kinda dry, to be honest. And it pales in comparisons
08:07 – 08:09
to all the other Disney desserts that we’ve had. And I think that’s
08:10 – 08:15
Can you explain, like, what an olive oil cake is? Because I don’t know if some people might know what that is. They might
08:15 – 08:17
think olive oil only with cooking.
08:17 – 08:23
Right. Yeah. So olive oil cake is something specifically in Italian cooking because they use olive oil so much in their baking
08:23 – 08:30
and cooking that they add olive oil to a traditional cake mix to make it more moist. So if you imagine, like, the most moist
08:30 – 08:36
cake you’ve ever had. Even the like, if it’s like a birthday cake or even, you know, like a small layered cake. Imagine that,
08:36 – 08:44
but more savory because it has the olive oil in it. So I’ve had olive oil cake in Italian re delectable, and every bite is
08:44 – 08:52
just it’s full. It’s like very rich. And normally, I see it in chocolate cakes. I’ve never really had an olive oil cake that
08:52 – 08:58
wasn’t chocolate. I’ve seen them, but I’ve haven’t had them personally. But it brings out so many more notes of the chocolate
08:58 – 09:03
because chocolate is so multidimensional. But, yeah, I thought that I was gonna get the same experience with this lemon olive
09:03 – 09:11
oil cake, and I was thirsty after the first bite. I’m like, what is going on? It was cute, though. It was cute.
09:11 – 09:18
It was very photogenic, very worthy. And I think that was I think, like, back to other food and wine fests that we’ve had
09:18 – 09:24
or other events at the park that had food featured in them, there’s always, like, a hit or a miss. Right? And I remember the
09:24 – 09:28
last food and wine fest, a bread thing that had hot dogs in it was not it.
09:28 – 09:32
I was thinking I wanna say it was the Chinese sausage one, but I’m not sure.
09:32 – 09:39
Yes. Yes. That was it. That was it. It was okay. Yeah. I just I remember not liking that. And then it’s new in the park now,
09:39 – 09:46
but we tried it at Disney Channel night. It was the Mickey shaped pretzel pepperoni thing. I don’t know if the pepperoni pretzel.
09:46 – 10:02
It’s cute. It’s not it didn’t taste, like, amazing or wonderful. I I I you’re supposed for me. But on Disney Channel night,
10:02 – 10:07
we definitely tried unreal, really good item. That was a surprise that we didn’t even expect.
10:07 – 10:14
Delicious things I’ve ever had in my history of going to Disneyland. So much so that I am determined now to make it myself.
10:14 – 10:19
So I know we’re gonna talk about Disney Channel night on another episode, but I do have to mention this because it was just
10:19 – 10:21
it blew us all away.
10:21 – 10:21
Yes.
10:21 – 10:28
So everything that night had a nineties theme to it. So like Ariel said, the pepperoni pizza kind of like eating pizza bagels
10:28 – 10:31
after school. Yeah. That’s what I likened it to. Yeah.
10:31 – 10:37
And they had a cosmic brownie, you know, adult cosmic brownie, which does not mean there’s cannabis in
10:38 – 10:45
it. It’s not what made it a little. I think it is, because okay. So that’s really funny that you mentioned that. Because Cosmic
10:45 – 10:51
Brownie is a little Debbie Brownie and but because it was Disney Channel night and everything’s basically like late nineties
10:51 – 10:58
early 2 the y two k thing. So no. It did not have fun stuff in it and I don’t think Disney’s ever gonna do that for us. But
10:58 – 11:04
No. They had that. They had a version of TV dinners. Things that you would basically watch if you were watching Disney Channel
11:04 – 11:08
after school. Yeah. Things you would eat. They yeah. Things you would eat. And then they would theme some of them after some
11:08 – 11:16
of the movies. And because not every movie was represented, either with like a backdrop or with, you know, an, like an experience,
11:17 – 11:24
they made some of the food themes. So what we had was the Johnny Tsunami hot dog. And basically, what it was, was it was Hawaiian
11:24 – 11:32
rolls as the bread. It was Portuguese sausage, which is very popular and very common to find in Hawaii. And it also had chopped
11:32 – 11:40
up macaroni salad, which is a very Hawaiian thing, and chopped up pineapples. And I’m gonna refrain from any but it was so
11:40 – 11:43
delicious. I think we all looked at each other like, what? What?
11:43 – 11:49
We were shocked. And it was not something that we were thinking of getting originally because all the top items were at the
11:49 – 11:55
Hungry Hungry Bear, restaurant, and everyone was ordering on the app. That was pretty much the only way you were gonna get
11:55 – 12:02
your food. And so I wanted to try and find something, and I saw that the refreshments cafe had the Johnny tsunami sandwich,
12:02 – 12:09
and I was like, that sounds cool. So it wasn’t even on our list and it of, like, high items to get. It on the when I was looking
12:09 – 12:14
at the map that we were given, it wasn’t pictured. There were, like, food items they were highlighting. It wasn’t one that
12:14 – 12:19
they were highlighting. But I was just like, okay. This will be for us to all have something different when we sit down and
12:19 – 12:23
eat. And I’m so glad we got it because it was the best thing.
12:23 – 12:30
It was the best thing. And, I mean, we were just hungry at this point because we had been lighting up for all sorts of, like,
12:30 – 12:36
photo ops and nonsense. It was already, like, getting into the night, and we were there watching Perry the Platypus just,
12:36 – 12:41
like, rile up this crowd, and we’re just like we need to eat. And we’re all just on our apps, the 4 of us, and we’re just
12:41 – 12:48
like what can we order like right now? And then so Ariel split up and went over to the refreshment corner. We got stuff from the Tomorrowland Terrace.
12:48 – 12:49
Galactic Grill?
12:49 – 12:54
And Galactic Grill. Yep. Yep. Yep. And, yeah, like, when we all put all of our food together, that was literally, like, I
12:54 – 12:57
could have fought somebody for that. Yes.
12:57 – 13:00
Yes. That’s so good. Totally. Be a staple.
13:00 – 13:07
Absolutely. And Johnny Tsunami is one of my favorite Disney Channel movies of all time and underrated, obviously, but they
13:07 – 13:11
really redeemed it at Disney Channel night with this hot dog. It was so good.
13:11 – 13:18
Well, and speaking of, like, the park foods, what I mean, there are popular snacks that people go to get regularly. So when
13:18 – 13:22
you go to Disneyland, what do you immediately think I have to eat?
13:22 – 13:30
I mean, I have to have a corn dog. And now I know that you and I get corn dogs at different places. We do. We do. So, Ariel,
13:30 – 13:33
where do you get your corn dogs? Because I know you’re a corn dog fan.
13:33 – 13:41
Oh, I get it at the stage door. Yes. Yes. Yes. I get it at the stage door, and I don’t sit in I used to sit inside and watch
13:41 – 13:47
the show. Now I’m just, like, at their mobile pickup area, and I’m grabbing it and going. I and I honestly thought that was
13:47 – 13:50
the only place that you could get a corn dog and then I talked to you.
13:50 – 13:56
So I get mine from the little red cart before it was called the little red cart. It was just literally the corn dog cart because
13:56 – 14:03
they have the best breading and it’s always fresh, but there’s always a line. Now there used to not be a line back when I
14:03 – 14:10
would get it as a kid. But, yeah, it’s literally they only have corn dogs. And I also get the fried chicken right behind it.
14:10 – 14:17
Because that fried chicken is so good, and it’s like the best meal for, like, when you’re probably more than halfway through
14:17 – 14:25
your day at the park, and you just need the most hearty thing. And you get 2 pieces of fried chicken with a side of veggies,
14:25 – 14:32
mashed potatoes. And it is so good for families because you can share. And in the morning, I think is a buffet, but later
14:32 – 14:39
on you can walk up cafeteria style. And those are like my two favorite things to eat at the park for like the morning and
14:39 – 14:46
the afternoon time. But the clam chowder is also one of my staples. I have to get clam chowder if I can hack it. Even if it’s
14:46 – 14:53
a hot day. I’ll wait until, like, midnight to right before they close to get clam chowder over at the Royal Street Veranda
14:53 – 14:55
right next to Pirates of the Caribbean.
14:56 – 15:04
Okay. I’m less meal oriented and more, like, snack oriented, so I always get a mint julep and beignets. And I’ll try the seasonal
15:04 – 15:12
ones, but I really always just like a regular beignet and a mint julep. And always pop corn. Sometimes sometimes I’m buying
15:12 – 15:18
the popcorn buckets. Right? And that’s an extension of, like, food fandom is buying, like, themed popcorn buckets, but I’m
15:18 – 15:25
pretty much always eating a popcorn. Used to always eat a churro. Now I really like more of the salty flavor. And if I get
15:25 – 15:27
a churro, it’s because someone’s splitting with me. Mhmm.
15:27 – 15:36
Yeah. I have a good friend. He is the churro connoisseur. Every time he goes to Disneyland, I think we had to it was either
15:36 – 15:42
a challenge that that he was gonna eat, like, all the churros, but I think it was at the time where they were raising churro
15:42 – 15:45
prices. Because once upon a time, churros used to only be 3.75.
15:46 – 15:47
And now it’s what?
15:47 – 15:55
Up to $7 now, I think. Is that right? Mhmm. Mhmm. That is wild to me. And I think because now they have themed churros. Right?
15:55 – 16:02
Well and I I think with the corn dog and the churros, something that you have shared with me is that your sister-in-law talks
16:02 – 16:08
about sustainability at the parks. And so if you are somebody who doesn’t want to have, like, high waste, that would those
16:08 – 16:14
would be good items to get because the corn dog is just on a stick and the churro is just in a little flimsy paper. Right?
16:14 – 16:21
Yeah. Definitely. And they’re portable, so you’re really, like, consuming these things as you’re waiting in line for a ride
16:21 – 16:28
or if you’re waiting for the parade, or, you know, some sort of attraction that requires you just standing around, it’s very
16:28 – 16:35
convenient. So I think Stefanie with managing expectations, as we’ve talked about before, you really wanna put that in the
16:35 – 16:41
forefront of your mind before you figure out your food route. I would just reserve days to just eat and not do anything else.
16:41 – 16:48
I would just have Disney food days, where, like, we would go over to Trader Sam’s over at the Disneyland Hotel, and we would
16:48 – 16:57
get a reservation there. And Trader Sam’s is a really cool tiki bar that’s interactive and you can get not just, you know,
16:57 – 17:05
very good alcoholic drinks, but they do have a lot of Polynesian food that you can get only there and not at the park. So
17:05 – 17:10
I would go over there, and then we would just go up and down main street and just try food. But I know if you are just going
17:10 – 17:16
for like a 3 day trip or maybe just a one day trip, it’s really hard to do all of that stuff. You really have to be mindful
17:16 – 17:18
of where you’re going.
17:18 – 17:24
And I think that portability you talked about is important because it also depends on the type of theme park attendee you
17:24 – 17:31
are. If you are not an annual pass holder and this is about the only time you’re gonna make it to the park or if you are flying
17:31 – 17:38
in, you may not want to do a reservation. It might be good if you wanna take a break, but if you’re trying to get on as many
17:38 – 17:44
rides as you can, you might want to bring your own snacks or get some of the snacks that you can walk around with, or split
17:44 – 17:50
up your party depending on how big it is and have some sit down and have some wait in line and do a switch.
17:50 – 17:56
Yeah. And I do like how you mentioned that because, yes, the food prices have changed drastically in the past couple years.
17:56 – 18:04
So if you are on a budget, which I have been, I remember going to Disneyland with just $20 to spend, grabbing snacks and,
18:04 – 18:12
you know, packing your own meal. That’s totally doable. I’ve seen many people on social media even bring their own rice to
18:12 – 18:19
a company with their food because some food just tastes better with rice and even condiments, their own tortillas, fried chick
18:19 – 18:25
yeah. All of that stuff. I think, you know, Disney is not a big stickler for bringing in snacks, obviously, because there
18:25 – 18:31
are lots of kids that go to the park and, you know, they would like specific snacks that you might not find. And also milk
18:31 – 18:37
and juice is very expensive at the park. So I always bring my own for my kids and, you know, little things for them to snack
18:37 – 18:43
on while they’re waiting for a ride or a parade or something. You know, really being mindful of how much you wanna spend at
18:43 – 18:51
the park, knowing that a churro is 6 to $7 now. If you’re getting a meal and you are spending at least $20 for yourself for
18:51 – 19:00
a meal. And if you are so lucky to get a dinner reservation at the Blue Bayou or, you know, somewhere really fancy like Carthay
19:00 – 19:07
Circle, you would need to factor that into your culinary day. Not to say that none of it is worth it because it’s all worth
19:07 – 19:12
it. But, you know, just just so that you know what you’re getting into is the biggest thing.
19:12 – 19:19
Yeah. I I think when it comes to specifically planning the parks and making sure that you have both the time, but also the
19:19 – 19:26
energy. One of the things that was is always surprising to me is how much I can eat when I’m at Disneyland compared to at
19:26 – 19:32
home. Because of all the walking I’m doing, I need to sort of make sure that I’m always putting something in my system to
19:32 – 19:38
be able to have the energy to do all of the park things. The thing is if you go on the app and you look at the reservations,
19:38 – 19:46
it will list vegetarian or vegan options. It will list allergy friendly options, but it’ll also list the, restaurants that
19:46 – 19:53
have cross contamination. So if your allergy is very severe, that’s another reason why people will also bring in their own
19:53 – 19:59
food to ensure safety, and why Disney isn’t going to say, like, no to other people bringing in their own snacks and food.
19:59 – 20:05
So you could pretty much bring your own. I know that Steph, you have brought, like, a cooler and put it into with ice in it
20:05 – 20:12
and put it into the lockers before, keep, like, licking drinks cold, and then had, like, a designated time to go and grab
20:12 – 20:13
the food and picnic.
20:13 – 20:20
Yeah. Way back when I was younger. Obviously, Disneyland was cheaper. But, you know, as, you know, my mom was very frugal,
20:20 – 20:26
she would pack us lunch and we would keep it in a locker. And right next to Disneyland entrance and the lockers is a picnic
20:26 – 20:33
area. And we would bring like, you know, any sorts of food. I remember one time we brought even El Pollo Loco to the parks.
20:33 – 20:38
And, we would take it out and then we would eat it for lunch so that we didn’t have to buy food there at the park and then
20:38 – 20:44
we would just reenter. I was no stranger to that other when I was younger. I still see people do it now, especially if they’re
20:44 – 20:50
going on like a school group or, you know, like a like a small organization where, like, the kids are going for, like, a certain
20:50 – 20:55
thing. Girl scouts, boy scouts, I’ve seen them all use that picnic area. And, you know, you don’t need to reserve it. It’s
20:55 – 21:00
just kinda like a park, like an actual park. And you you could just chill there and then eat and then just put your stuff
21:00 – 21:06
right back in the locker. And they won’t ask you for, you know, any sort of time limit or anything like that. They still have
21:06 – 21:08
it to this day, which is really cool.
21:08 – 21:14
Yeah. So we’ve talked about food in the park. It’s bringing your own and then special foods. We’ve talked about food events
21:14 – 21:21
in the park. And as we mentioned that food is more than, like, fandom wise, more than just the food. There’s also the food
21:21 – 21:29
that is themed and food that we wanna try that is in our favorite shows and movies. Mhmm. So I’m curious for you. In the parks,
21:29 – 21:35
when there are themed foods based off of stuff, like, what comes to your mind when you think of that? Because I think of,
21:35 – 21:38
like, going into the the the pizza place in
21:38 – 21:39
What is it called? It
21:39 – 21:46
called? Yeah. Pizza Planet. Yeah. I think of Pizza Planet when I think of, like, a food that was from a movie or show that
21:46 – 21:54
now I might have access to or the shawarma cart in Avengers. In Avengers campus over at California Adventure. Like, those
21:54 – 21:57
are are, like, places that now I’m getting to actually visit.
21:57 – 22:05
Mhmm. I immediately think of the blue bantha milk. That’s the first thing that comes to mind. Because, I mean, when they made
22:05 – 22:12
Galaxy’s Edge, it was so immersive and that was so different from everything. Because when I went to, you know, my idea of
22:12 – 22:17
going to Disneyland is going to different regions of the world. So if I were in New Orleans Square, I knew I was gonna get
22:17 – 22:23
like gumbo or jambalaya or something beignets that I don’t normally get here in LA. Or even if I went to like adventure land,
22:23 – 22:31
I’ll get like, you know, Dole whip because I don’t normally have Dole whip back home. So when blue bantha milk came up at
22:31 – 22:38
Galaxy’s Edge, I was like, this is like a Star Wars food that is now in my hand. Like, that’s wild. Like, it’s crazy to me.
22:38 – 22:45
And I was like, what is it even made of? Do I even care at this point? I don’t care. It’s golden. It tastes delicious. I Tastes
22:45 – 22:50
like a Jolly Rancher. Looks like. It tastes like a Jolly Rancher. And I love that it has, like, almond milk options. Like,
22:50 – 22:57
it’s nondairy. And it’s super refreshing because I remember it being so hot when Galaxy’s Edge opened that I was constantly
22:57 – 23:04
just, like, thirsty and sweaty. But, yeah, I think they did a really great job with not just the Bantha milk at Galaxy’s Edge,
23:04 – 23:11
but also the ronto wraps there, because it really takes you out out of you know, this is regular food that we find here, obviously,
23:11 – 23:17
because I can make it in a kitchen and the world that we live in. But I can think I’m eating something else, and I don’t attune
23:17 – 23:23
it to a specific culture. This is purely fantastical, and I thought that was really cool. Yes.
23:23 – 23:39
Yeah. I think fantastical for me would also spoon. It was hilarious. And, again, even though it was real food, it was the
23:39 – 23:43
thought that it might have been, like, expanded or shrunk down.
23:43 – 23:49
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I have a little bone to pick with that tiny, tiny egg. Being so hungry in the morning, I’m like, I want
23:49 – 23:55
breakfast. And of course, you’re going for the novelty of it. Right? But like when I got this quarter size of an egg, I’m
23:55 – 24:01
pretty sure it’s a quail egg because there is no way that you got that from a chicken. I was like, what is this? What how
24:01 – 24:08
much did I pay for this? But then you see the gigantic pretzel and how it’s like hanging off of like a hook and it’s like
24:08 – 24:11
the size of my torso. And you’re like, alright. This is worth
24:11 – 24:12
it. Yeah.
24:12 – 24:13
Yeah. There’s a lot of pretzels.
24:13 – 24:17
And the ridiculously large chicken patty. That was my best.
24:17 – 24:22
I think yeah. It’s as big as your head. I’m pretty sure whatever chicken that came from was like the largest chicken in the
24:22 – 24:29
country. But, yeah, you’re right. PIMS test get I think they got really creative with that. And, I mean, the novelty of it,
24:29 – 24:36
it just it stuck because it was so cool. I know that there’s the Pizza Planet’s really good too, but I wish they had an arcade
24:36 – 24:43
in there because Pizza Planet in my mind was like a Chuck E. Cheese almost or, you know, an amusement center. So I think if
24:43 – 24:47
they had that, that would definitely, like, create the whole entire scenario for myself.
24:47 – 24:55
I still and maybe this is over in Paris Disney, but I wish that they had a Remy’s kitchen of some kind for, like, French cuisine
24:55 – 24:58
from rats at doing in in our park.
25:00 – 25:01
No. They do in Paris.
25:01 – 25:10
I think of Disney and food, that’s that Tiana and Remy are what come up in my mind as, like, the movies for Disney and food. Yes.
25:10 – 25:16
I have had the privilege to go to land Paris and yes, they do have a restaurant that you have to reserve for. It’s at the
25:16 – 25:24
end of the Ratatouille ride. But I haven’t been, but I will try to go this time when I go to Disney World. But now that they
25:24 – 25:30
have the ratatouille ride in the Paris part of Epcot, I know that they have food as well right next to it because they’ve
25:30 – 25:36
always had Parisian food there, and I’ve had it there. But I just don’t know if they do Tatooi or, like, something from the
25:36 – 25:43
movie. But I will find out, and I will report back to you. Yes. But, yes, Tiana’s Kitchen. Okay. I’m gonna get a little I’m
25:43 – 25:46
gonna get a little critical now because
25:46 – 25:49
Oh, well, we did say we examined with a critical lens.
25:49 – 25:58
Yes. I was so excited for Tiana’s kitchen. I mean, it just made sense to make that area in front of haunted mansion into her
25:58 – 26:05
place. And now that they’re doing Tiana’s Bayou ride, which is formally Splash Mountain, I was so excited for the food. However,
26:05 – 26:07
I took a trip to New Orleans earlier
26:08 – 26:08
at the
26:08 – 26:09
end of last year.
26:09 – 26:10
A bad move.
26:11 – 26:17
Bad move. But I’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans, and it is a beautiful city. If you ever get to go, oh my gosh. It is
26:17 – 26:24
full of culture, full of life. The food is out of this world. Just everything that you imagine that you saw while you were
26:24 – 26:31
watching princess and the frog, that’s literally what it comes with with the music and the spices and just their use of seafood
26:31 – 26:40
and everything. It was so good. And then I tried Tiana’s kitchen. And man, I was like, this is not as good as what I wanted
26:40 – 26:47
it to be. I know that Disney tries its best to represent regional food and they’ve done that very successfully. In many ways,
26:47 – 26:54
we just mentioned the Polynesian Johnny tsunami dog, which hit it out of the park. But I think to pay homage to New Orleans,
26:54 – 27:00
which is such a huge culinary city, I think they definitely need to step it up a little bit. I get it. There’s demand out
27:00 – 27:07
there. It’s always busy. You can only churn out so many beignets and so much gumbo and so much shrimp and grits at once. But
27:07 – 27:13
Yeah. Because they’ve done such a good job at California Food and Wine Festival, I definitely think that they can do a little
27:13 – 27:21
bit more improvement because my shrimp and grits were okay. I ate it, but it was lacking seasoning. It was lacking depth.
27:21 – 27:27
It was, you you know, the portion was good. But I think the one thing that I the only thing that I liked was probably the
27:27 – 27:36
vegetable gumbo because kinda can’t go wrong with that. And I know, Ariel, you had this was the lemon icebox beignet, which
27:36 – 27:43
ended up being kinda sloppy and wet by the end of it because of all of the, you know, icing. But I know you had it. So Yes.
27:44 – 27:45
What was your opinion on it?
27:45 – 27:50
It tasted good, but you would have to eat it right away. I would say that’s something that you should order second, like,
27:50 – 27:57
go back and get it versus ordering it with your meal unless your meal is that dessert or you eat fast. A beignet is just as
27:57 – 28:03
good as warm as it can be. Like, that that’s pretty much it. And then when you have a liquid, like, if it’s stuffed with something
28:03 – 28:10
or has a cream of some kind, that’s going to detract from, like, the fried part of the beignet. I would say Tiana’s place
28:10 – 28:18
is where you want to go if you want to meet a princess and you cannot wait in line. So it’s a great for accommodations, especially
28:18 – 28:24
if you’re, like, a wheelchair user or if you are a walker user. That’s gonna be a place where you can sit down because Tiana
28:24 – 28:30
comes to your table, and she comes to every table. She will talk to you. She will take pictures with you. And if she asks
28:30 – 28:36
you about the food, she’ll joke with you. Like, that’s the immersive part of that environment. The food and I have seen, some
28:36 – 28:44
cast members who are, who work in the kitchens, who are chefs or sous chefs or, cooks in the kitchen, and they have said that
28:44 – 28:51
they cannot make the buy spicy simply because they get so many complaints about it. So if you’re looking for, like, authentic
28:51 – 28:58
Creole New Orleans cuisine, don’t go to Disneyland. Like, that’s the fantasy. If you are looking for just something that will
28:59 – 29:04
satiate you, that tastes fine, it’s not bad, and you can meet a Disney princess without having to leave your seat, that’s
29:04 – 29:10
what you’re gonna wanna do with Tiana’s place. And and you talked about, like, the spicy cart over. I think the other thing
29:10 – 29:17
what, people have said online is because more people, if they have to choose to visit a park, will choose Disneyland only,
29:17 – 29:23
that they cater to a general audience. Whereas the California Adventure does have the opportunity to cater really towards
29:23 – 29:31
California natives and people in the West Coast, which means that their food gets to be more expansive. And when you have
29:31 – 29:37
when you have an event of some kind, like you said, it’s limited in how much they’re gonna make. Whereas a kitchen that is
29:37 – 29:43
going to stay has to keep churning out the same thing, and it has to taste the same every single time. So Absolutely. It’s
29:43 – 29:49
a worthwhile criticism. If you’ve never been to New Orleans, you’re not gonna know the difference. If you have been to New
29:49 – 29:51
Orleans, you’re gonna know the difference.
29:51 – 30:05
Right. You are definitely right. I think the experience of meeting Tiana there, unfortunately, started coming down and like
30:05 – 30:10
many normally when rain happens, many of the characters, many of those experiences just go away. And so we really wanted to
30:10 – 30:17
try it because last time when we were to try it, which is funny enough before I went to New Orleans, I missed the closing
30:17 – 30:23
of the restaurant because it was still new. And it closed at 8, and we had gotten over there at, like, 9. And I’m like, oh,
30:23 – 30:30
dang. It’s closed now. So, I mean, that would have definitely been a different experience. But at the same time, I think that
30:30 – 30:36
you’re right. Disneyland catering to a general audience is what they’re there for, because they are the ones this is the original.
30:36 – 30:42
There’s only so much that Disneyland can do, which is why they have specialty places like California Adventure or mainly even
30:42 – 30:50
EPCOT. I know that I’ve had such great regional food over at EPCOT at Disney World because they have chefs from that specific
30:50 – 30:56
country. They have people who work there from that specific country that are on, like, a Disney college program or, you know,
30:56 – 31:03
through Disney so that they can share their culture with the world. So there are different ways that Disney is trying to represent
31:03 – 31:11
different countries in very respectable ways. But I think Stefanie this would probably be a gateway into, let me see what
31:11 – 31:18
creole food is actually like. But I think that little voice in the back of my head knowing that Tiana was a chef and that
31:18 – 31:25
she was very proud of her food and the whole movie was her trying to achieve her dreams of making that restaurant. If I knew
31:25 – 31:28
Tiana, maybe she wouldn’t have approved some of these dishes.
31:29 – 31:35
Yes. Yeah. I think if we’re talking about bringing the movie to life, that was not it, and that’s that’s fair.
31:35 – 31:41
The outside is gorgeous, though. The outside is absolutely gorgeous, especially at night. It’s so pretty.
31:41 – 31:45
Yes. We can agree on that. And there’s room for improvement. Right? It’s still technically new.
31:45 – 31:45
Absolutely. Yes.
31:45 – 31:52
That’s I think that’s gonna be the saving graces. We’ll probably see the food evolve and get hopefully better. And I I do
31:52 – 31:58
think you also highlight, like, even though the foods at the parks are expensive, even if you go to, you know, Epcot in Walt
31:58 – 32:04
Disney World, like, you may not have the money to travel to another country. This may be the only time you get to experience
32:04 – 32:09
other cultures. So even if it isn’t quote unquote authentic, which really hard to be if you’re not if you don’t even have
32:09 – 32:11
access to the food that your region would
32:11 – 32:13
have. Absolutely.
32:13 – 32:19
For the most part, this is a great way to introduce, like, students, to introduce people to different cultures and different
32:19 – 32:26
cultural cuisines and talk about, you know, acceptance and diversity. I know that we’ve talked about this on the panel. Can
32:26 – 32:32
you share, like, your experience in the classroom and with students when it comes to diverse foods or trying to celebrate
32:32 – 32:35
different cultures and through their cuisine? Cuisine.
32:35 – 32:42
Yeah. Definitely. I know that whenever you introduce food that is not school lunch into your classroom And really, like for
32:42 – 32:50
the campus, it’s always a special occasion. I’m so lucky that I work for a school that highlights diversity, inclusion, and
32:50 – 32:58
just, embracing the different cultures that make up Los Angeles. And I did want to note that too, because California is such
32:58 – 33:05
a great place to its populations of cultures that have enclaves that have been here for decades, 100 of years, that, you know,
33:05 – 33:14
we can get authentic Oaxacan food just down the street. So I always tell my students that, you know, food is a part of not
33:14 – 33:21
just everyday life, but a part of your identity. So whenever we have cultural events, we normally have festivals that highlight
33:21 – 33:29
Asian American foods, traditionally black foods. We do a good job, I think, in making that effort. So, yeah, I think that
33:29 – 33:36
introducing students to that is really important. And any sort of way that I can do that, whether it be making guacamole in
33:36 – 33:42
the classroom or trying out different types of bread, incorporating that into, like, a history or social science lesson, because
33:42 – 33:48
food is just a part of history. And if we’re, you know, if we’re losing some of those history lessons, at least we get to
33:48 – 33:54
do it in the everyday things that we eat. So, yeah, I mean, I’m pretty thankful that I get to do that. I know not other schools,
33:54 – 34:00
some of them don’t get to do that. But, I mean, for you and your practice, do you ever get to talk about what food means to
34:00 – 34:04
them and the relationship that people have with food in regards to their mental health?
34:04 – 34:11
Yes. So, I know that a lot of my clients have experienced, like, grief and loss. And one of the ways that they will reconnect
34:11 – 34:18
with the individual that has passed is they will make favorite dishes that either were significant to that person or significant
34:18 – 34:25
to, like, the family and their tradition and passing down recipes. I have some clients who have some difficult experiences.
34:25 – 34:32
And so trying to reclaim, like, a positive relationship with the food is not only highlighting how it does connect to your
34:32 – 34:41
culture, but making it, like, fun, play based. Kitchen where my coffee area is, I have a funko of Deadpool as a barista. Like,
34:41 – 34:47
that’s how I’ve, like, made the kitchen fun and silly. And then I used to watch Gilmore Girls, so I have a funko of Suki.
34:47 – 34:56
And I have, a toadstool as a chef. And so they’re over by my by my stove. They’re helping me cook. And so I do that with my
34:56 – 35:01
my clients. It’s, like, we talk about ways to, like, a little bit more exciting. We talk about, you know I don’t give nutritional
35:01 – 35:07
advice. It’s not within my scope, but we talk about how they can enjoy, like, the food that they’re eating. Maybe it’s, like,
35:07 – 35:14
put more colors on the plate. Maybe it’s I think the common phrasing nutritionalists use is have what you like, add what you
35:14 – 35:20
need. So we you know, I’ll have them talk to their nutritionalists and see, like, what could we say that we like and then
35:20 – 35:26
add what we need. And maybe some of the things we like is, like, I will change the peanut butter and jelly sandwich to the
35:26 – 35:35
shape of, like, a Mario star or, like, the the, castle at Disneyland so that I’m still eating enough protein with the peanut
35:35 – 35:40
butter, but I don’t want the crust. And it’s like, okay. You don’t have to have the crust. And I’ve noticed that that is the
35:40 – 36:06
best way to reincorporate food as not just nutritional you actually appreciate it and not just the fact that it is something
36:06 – 36:11
you put, like, in your body, and it’s just the something you check off the box of, like, how you stay alive. But instead,
36:11 – 36:17
like, you are looking forward to it. You’re savoring it. A lot of the work we do is also mindfulness based. I don’t know how
36:17 – 36:23
many times I’ve, like, had clients, like, stop and pause and, like, really smell their coffee, hold the warmth in their hand,
36:23 – 36:30
like, hold the flavor in their mouth, see if they can describe it. Those are the ways in which slowing down and accessing
36:30 – 36:36
more language makes it easier in the long run when it comes to healing and and working through trauma and talk therapy.
36:36 – 36:43
Yeah. I love that you mentioned slowing down and enjoying your food just to enjoy it, because not many people do that. I know
36:43 – 36:50
for me as a mom, I I stopped sitting down to eat. I I eat standing up all the time. And many other moms can relate because
36:50 – 36:55
you just the minute you sit down, somebody will ask you for something, somebody needs someone someone starts crying or somebody
36:55 – 37:02
gets hurt. So I it’s been a while since I’ve done that. And lucky for me, when I go to Disneyland, because it’s either I’m
37:02 – 37:09
with friends or with other people. I mean, when my husband’s there with me, I can enjoy my food. And it’s fun for me because
37:09 – 37:16
these are foods that make me happy. Whether, you know, it’s eating a themed food or eating something that’s very nostalgic
37:16 – 37:23
for myself, I can stop and enjoy it because that’s really what being at the theme park is about. Right? It’s just enjoying
37:23 – 37:28
yourself in anything that you do. No matter the stress that comes along with getting there, or ordering the food, or waiting
37:28 – 37:36
in line for food, you’re still enjoying something that has happiness and joy in it. And so that is all a part of the park
37:36 – 37:43
experience with, you know, the theme food and the types of food that they have at Disneyland. It’s there to make us generally just happy.
37:43 – 37:52
Yeah. And I I think even, like, expanding that, joy of food, like, we know that now there’s merchandising and lining just
37:52 – 38:01
for food. You talked about Right. The munchlings, and I bought a pizza backpack, headband like Mickey ears, and a shirt from
38:01 – 38:03
their Disney Eats collection. So let’s talk
38:03 – 38:10
let’s talk a little bit about the merchandising and the marketing that is now absolutely a thing at Disneyland. Because in
38:10 – 38:17
the past years, there were no influencers. There were no theme nights. There were it was just going to the park and enjoying
38:17 – 38:25
the park as a theme park. Now there’s an element of niche fandoms within the park. And obviously, food is one of those niches.
38:25 – 38:32
And I don’t know about you, but this whole munchlings, like, little plushies that are Disney characters mashed up with food
38:32 – 38:38
items. I feel like it came out of nowhere. Like absolute it’s like that meme that says no one, absolutely no one. Disney parks,
38:38 – 38:43
let’s come out with, you know, a blind of plushies that look like food. That’s kind of how it happened in my
38:43 – 38:49
Yes. Perception of it. And, like, that just shows you about, like, food and fandom taking over because I didn’t know that
38:49 – 38:57
I needed a Donald Duck cupcake plushie until they showed me that I could have a Donald Duck cupcake plushie. And then I’m like, yeah. Oh
38:57 – 39:03
my gosh. I saw all of the stitch related ones. There’s like a stitch Dole Whip. There’s a stitch macarot. I’m like still at
39:03 – 39:09
that point in denial that I need it. I’m like spongebob or like, I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t
39:09 – 39:14
need it. If I’m gonna get it, I’m gonna get the actual thing and I’m gonna consume it so that I can get something out of it.
39:14 – 39:22
But they are so cute. And yes, spirit jerseys, ears. Ariel, you just bought the most beautiful set. This is so cute. And I
39:22 – 39:27
think I remember when we were at the park, you were like, I’m getting it. There was just like no questions asked. Right?
39:27 – 39:36
No. No. Yeah. So Disney Eats is a merchandising line that Disney is releasing every month a new food themed item. And the,
39:37 – 39:45
February was pizza. And I saw it and I was like, yes. I cannot not live without this. I will buy it before the end of this
39:45 – 39:51
convention. And I did. I bought the ears. I bought the jersey. I bought the lounge fly backpack. You know? I’m walking away
39:51 – 39:58
with pure joy. Like, I looked up when it was international pizza day, so I could, like, wear this again. I really love pizza
39:58 – 40:04
as a food. And then just to see the hidden Mickey’s, like, pepperonis as hidden Mickey’s, was it was clever. They got me.
40:04 – 40:09
They really got me with the merchandising. I looked at some of the other foods. I may do s’mores. Like, they have that in
40:09 – 40:16
December as one of the food items. That may be one that I also like as well. And and it’s interesting. If you go on the website,
40:16 – 40:24
it’ll list the food items, and they are in, like, a tan, image. And then when they release the item, they actually replace
40:24 – 40:31
that image with the actual item. So we’ll we’ll start to I see. Yeah. They’re they’re doing drops. They’re doing drops of
40:31 – 40:38
their line. And it’s merchandising that involves kitchenware, it’s merchandising that involves clothing, sipper cups, like,
40:38 – 40:42
it’s the whole gamut of ways to, like, engage with the food as a product
40:42 – 40:43
and not just as a consumable, but, like, a product.
40:43 – 40:46
It’s as if they thought, oh, consumable, but, like, a product.
40:46 – 40:54
It’s as if they thought, oh, these millennials that now have kitchens and have incomes, let me see what they like. And let
40:54 – 41:01
me just make this huge line about it so that every month in the year of 20 we get them in one way or another. Do they have
41:01 – 41:06
a preview of the type of food it’s gonna be, or is it just like a silhouette of an image or something?
41:06 – 41:15
Oh, it is a preview, but Okay. Even the preview is just a, like, a cartooned image of that food item. It isn’t of, like, the
41:15 – 41:22
merchandise. So if you go on our Instagram, you will see the most recent drop with the pizza ears. But if you swipe swipe
41:22 – 41:27
all the way to the end, you’ll see what it looked like before. We have the whole list for the whole month, so you can or or
41:27 – 41:30
for every month this year, so you can see what those drops will look like.
41:30 – 41:33
So when is coffee month? Because they have to do that. Right?
41:34 – 41:43
Oh, that is a good question. This January was just Disney Eats collection, so That was introducing the collection. February
41:43 – 41:50
was pizza. March is macaron. April is lollipop. May is ice cream. So some of these matching sort of what you would eat in
41:50 – 41:58
those those months. June is doughnuts. July is shaved ice. August is pineapple swirl. September is caramel apple. October
41:58 – 42:04
is churro. Umbers is gingerbread, and December is s’mores. So all foods, no drinks.
42:04 – 42:07
So they’re all they’re all desserts except for pizza.
42:07 – 42:10
Wait a minute. Except for pizza. Let’s pizza put them in the laundry detergent.
42:10 – 42:16
They’re all desserts except for pizza. Okay. So the theme is they’re going for handheld. They’re going for childlike items
42:17 – 42:23
that kids can also partake in, which is probably why they don’t have coffee. And I feel like I’ve seen I mean, before we’ve
42:23 – 42:29
seen Disney donut ears, and some of the munchlings have been s’mores and, you know, macarons and other things. So I think
42:29 – 42:34
they’re just now maybe expanding upon what the merchandising has worked for them in the past.
42:34 – 42:42
Yes. Yes. And all the imagery is Mickey shaped items with the exception of the pineapple swirl, unless there’s a hidden mickey
42:42 – 42:58
that I can’t see. But I think you’re hitting on like some of the way that food is being merchandised, Find a food you can
42:58 – 43:04
eat with your hands. A messy food like spaghetti or food that you’re used to eating in your hands like pizza or fries. Because
43:04 – 43:10
that’s that is one of the first ways we, like, explore our body is touching our mouth and putting things in our mouth. You
43:10 – 43:14
have an infant. I’m pretty sure she puts everything in her mouth. Right? All the things.
43:14 – 43:15
So Every of the things.
43:15 – 43:23
When we’re talking about, like, nostalgia marketing, having handheld foods, wonderful. Having it be sweet, go to treats, having
43:23 – 43:31
it sort of match the theme of the month. I think that Disney’s on brand with this marketing. And I think really shows why
43:31 – 43:39
our panel, when we first did our food panel, why it was accepted at Comic Con. That was the first panel that we had ever accepted
43:39 – 43:46
at Comic Con. It was and it’s because food is a niche culture of fandom in so many different ways.
43:46 – 43:53
Mhmm. And just as you’re listing all of those foods, you could essentially say there’s a fandom for every type of food that
43:53 – 43:59
you just listed. Mhmm. We have pizza lovers, macaron lovers. I was surprised they didn’t have cookies. Just like regular cookies?
43:59 – 44:00
No chocolate chip cookies?
44:00 – 44:06
Just gingerbread, but definitely Just gingerbread. I think the other thing is that these are also foods you can access in
44:06 – 44:13
the park. So they’re, like, doubling down on the fact that these are favorite foods that are to go Mhmm. That are park foods as well. Right?
44:13 – 44:19
Yeah. But yeah. Absolutely. People are fans of these food. I know that we didn’t really dive too deep into it, but there are
44:19 – 44:24
fans of the different types of cold brew in the parks. Because now that they’ve realized that cold brew is a thing that people
44:24 – 44:30
need at the parks, whether you’re a parent, whether you’re just, like, trying to get through the day. There’s different variations
44:30 – 44:36
of cold brew that you can get in the parks, just like how you can get different variations of churros. So when you have followings
44:36 – 44:42
of people who will, like, repost any sort of video that has to do with that food item, that is essentially creating a fandom
44:42 – 44:50
of that item. That Disney now is looking at that as, hey, you know, we not only have Disney fans, but we have Disney foodies.
44:50 – 44:56
We have food fans and for specific things. So it was very smart on their part to hone in on that.
44:56 – 45:04
Yeah. I think this will be our our part 1 in a series of food as a subtopic on our Disney fandom, podcast.
45:05 – 45:07
We have lots to say about it. So, you know.
45:07 – 45:17
Now if you are going to be at WonderCon this year, we will have our panel on March 31st. That’s a Sunday from 4 to 5 PM. It’ll
45:17 – 45:24
be in room 2. And I do understand this is also Easter, so if we don’t see you, that is totally fine. But if we do, you know,
45:24 – 45:33
say hi, ask a question. We will have a variety of people on our panel, an actor, a producer, a restaurant owner, chef, a sous
45:33 – 45:40
chef. So come and learn about food and fandom. It won’t just be Disney related. It will be the whole gamut of food and fandom
45:40 – 45:48
and the experience. And, you know, if you have any questions, please follow us and message, like, and follow at happiestpodgt
45:49 – 45:56
for Instagram and happiestpodgt for and, yeah. Like, let us know. What do you eat at the parks? What are your favorite foods?
45:56 – 46:04
Yes. And what foods are you fans of? Because as we are going to be diving into that topic at the panel, we always love hearing
46:04 – 46:11
stories of people and their relationship to their favorite foods. It’s always so great to hear because we’ve all had that
46:11 – 46:19
experience of loving food and getting joy from it that is unmatched when you eat something that brings you so much happiness
46:19 – 46:26
that you just have to stop everything and realize that. So we’re very excited, the panel. But if not, we will see you on the next episode.
46:26 – 46:27
Alright. Bye, everybody.
46:28 – 46:29
Bye.
Media/Characters Mentioned
- Tiana
- Princess and the Frog
- Remy
- Ratatouille
- Deadpool
- Suki
- Gilmore Girls
- Toadstool
- Funko Figures
Topics/Themes Mentioned
- Disney Food Culture
- Food and Wine Festival at California Adventure
- Disney Merchandising and Marketing Strategies
- Using Food in Education and Therapy
- Disney Eats Collection
- Panel Discussion on Food and Fandom
Website: happy.geektherapy.com
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