February is Black History Month, and to celebrate Disneyland Resort is hosting “Celebrate Gospel” concerts at Disneyland Park as well as offering a limited-time Celebrate Soulfully feast of delicious eats and sips honoring Black heritage and culture.
From February 1 through 29, the soulful celebration expands during Black History Month with special tribute display to Disney Legend Floyd Norman in Disney California Adventure Park. Norman first started working at Walt Disney Animation Studios as an in-betweener and animator for Sleeping Beauty, The Sword and the Stone, and The Jungle Book. After Walt Disney’s death in 1966, Floyd left Disney to co-found the AfroKids animation studio with animator and director Leo Sullivan. He would later return to Disney in the 1970s to work on Robin Hood. He would also contribute his talents at Pixar where he would work on films like Toy Story 2 and Monster Inc. He would during the Disney Renaissance on features such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mulan.
Other celebratory events include arts, crafts, and live music at the Downtown Disney District, as well as live performances on select nights at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Guests can also find specialty menu items, such as the fried chicken bowl and sweet potato pie casserole from Troubadour Tavern.
A resort tradition for more than a decade, the “Celebrate Gospel” concerts return to the Fantasyland Theatre at Disneyland Park, headlined by Marvin Sapp on Saturday, February 17, and Tasha Cobbs Leonard on Saturday, February 24. This annual tribute to Gospel music brings together award-winning artists and community choirs from across Southern California.
For those looking to have a culinary adventure, Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, and Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort has Banana Pudding Cheesecake: Banana cheesecake with vanilla pudding and vanilla wafer crust. Created by Assistant Sous Chef Janell Wright, this sweet treat draws from her Jamaican Roots and time living in the U.S., where she developed a fondness for banana pudding. Janell took these classic dessert flavors and infused them into a special cheesecake topped with a Mickey garnish, a special nod to Janell’s dream of working for Disney coming true.
Over at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter at the Walt Disney World Resort, guests can take a bite out of the Berry Beignet, another sweet offering that has mixed berry compote, house-made Uncle Nearest Whiskey caramel sauce, and powdered sugar served with a pipette of Uncle Nearest Whiskey.
For something a little more savory, head on over to Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa where you will find the Soulful Sunday Pork Cutlet. This new item is a smoked pork chop, collard greens, black-eyed peas, and house-made sweet cornbread. But act fast as it is only available from February 1 through 29.
For guests heading to Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA, they might want to consider Tiana’s Palace, a New Orleans-inspired quick service restaurant that offers house-filled Beignet featuring lemon ice box pie filling topped with lemon glaze, 7 Greens Gumbo with Chicken & Andouille Sausage along with white beans, sweet potatoes, yams, and more. There’s also a plant-based version of the dish without the chicken and andouille sausage. Be sure to check out our thoughts on most of the menu items from Tiana’s Palace.
Over at the Troubadour Tavern, guests can have a helping of Fried Chicken Bowl, which is a Spicy honey-glazed fried chicken served with four cheese mac ‘n cheese, smoked turkey collard greens, and sweet potato corn bread. And for something sweeter, there’s the Sweet Potato Pie Casserole, which is a new item that’s simply a sweet potato-pecan pie. However, there’s a limited availability on this as you can only get these on February 16-18 and 23-25.
Menu items from both park have different availabilities as some run from February 1 to 29, while others are available from February 1 to March 31. Head over to the official Disney Parks Blog for a full list of menu items and their respective availabilities.