It’s 8 a.m, and you’re rope-dropping at Disneyland. Depending on how far away you live, you got up roughly three hours before getting to the gate, probably at something like 5 a.m. to make it to Disneyland’s opening moments. Even if you made coffee to drink in the car, that cup is long gone.
You walk up to Market House, the storefront on Main Street U.S.A. that’s actually a Starbucks, only to be confronted with a terrible sight: a line out the door. But even worse, every person is going to order multiple — usually complicated — drinks, for the other members of their party who are already in a ride queue. Expect about 100 frozen drinks and TikTok-inspired “hacked” orders in front of you. It could take an hour to get that cup of coffee, an hour you could be using to get your money’s worth out of that expensive park ticket.
But there’s only one coffee shop in all of Disneyland, and only one in all of Disney California Adventure, right? Well, kind of. There’s only one Starbucks in each park (plus one in Downtown Disney and one hidden backstage for cast members only).
There are, though, a lot of other places to get coffee in the parks, if you know where to look.
Cold Brew Black Caf at Docking Bay 7.
Julie TremaineWhere to get hot coffee at Disneyland
This is going to be the toughest find in the parks outside of Starbucks, at least if you want really good coffee. Jolly Holiday Bakery offers espresso beverages. (Pro tip: The morning mobile orders fill up quickly, so place yours while you’re on the tram from the parking garage.)
In Disney California Adventure, you can find good hot coffee at the Cappuccino Cart by the bridge to Pixar Pier.
Otherwise, most of the quick-service restaurants like Golden Horseshoe and Paradise Garden Grill offer hot tea and hot coffee on their menus.
Horchata Cold Brew from Rancho del Zocalo.
Julie TremaineFinding the best iced coffee and cold brew
There has been a bona fide revolution when it comes to nitro cold brew, a richer, smoother iced coffee that uses nitrogen in the brewing process. Most of the nitro cold brews at Disneyland have fancy syrups and toppings built into them, but you can order them plain, too.
One of the best in the parks is at Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy’s Edge. The Cold Brew Blak Caf is “cold brew coffee topped with sweet cream cheese and chocolate puffs,” according to the outer rim menu, and it’s truly excellent. I usually drink my coffee black, but I’ll make an exception for this one.
The revamped Cafe Daisy in Mickey’s Toontown offers a Specialty Cold Brrr-ew, which is Joffrey’s Caramel Mudslide iced coffee with sea salt-caramel-toffee sauce and whipped cream. It’s also one of the few places that offer regular nitro cold brew on the menu, rather than requiring that you specifically ask for it plain. A cart by Storybook Land Canal Boats also serves nitro cold brew.
Troubadour Tavern, near the Fantasyland Theatre, now serves some African-inspired offerings because of its location next to the Festival of the Lion King show. It has a Savannah Sweet Potato Cold Brew, with what the menu describes as a “sweet potato cream topper.”
Rancho del Zocalo in Frontierland has a tasty Horchata Cold Brew that doubles as a caffeinated dessert you can take with you when you’re done eating.
In Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure, Pym Test Kitchen has some excellent coffee options, including Experiment 7290: Cookies & Cream Cold Brew and regular nitro cold brew.
Schmoozies in Hollywoodland serves an affogato, espresso poured over vanilla ice cream. It’s a lifesaver when you’re overheated and your energy is lagging.
Lucky Fortune Cookery in Pacific Wharf (soon to be San Fransokyo Square) serves Black Milk Tea with sea salt cream and brown sugar boba.
Coffee with Baileys and a cinnamon roll from the Coffee House in the Disneyland Hotel.
Julie TremaineCoffee in Downtown Disney and the hotels
The Downtown Disney Starbucks is the only one in the entirety of the Disneyland Resort where you can mobile order in advance (again, order on the tram and it will be ready when you arrive).
The Coffee House, tucked away in the Disneyland Hotel, serves a cinnamon roll bigger than your head to go with hot and iced coffees and espresso beverages. A seating area outside is a nice place for a breather from the parks — but the downside is that the coffee shop closes at 4 p.m.
The festivals at Disney California Adventure often have spiked coffee, like this Churro Toffee Cold Brew Latte Cocktail from the 2022 Festival of the Holidays.
Julie TremaineWhere to get spiked coffee at Disneyland
In Disneyland Park, you can’t. But in Disney California Adventure, the options are bountiful. Pym Tasting Lab has an R&D Martini the menu describes as an “espresso martini with cereal-infused milk, dark chocolate espresso beans and cereal crumbles.”
The Cappuccino Cart serves hot coffee, iced coffee and hot chocolate that can all be spiked with your choice of whiskey, Kahlua, Baileys or hazelnut cream — but don’t ask them to mix two to make an Irish coffee, because they definitely aren’t allowed to.
Carthay Circle, both upstairs in the fine dining restaurant and downstairs in the al fresco tasting terrace, has an entire section on the cocktail menu devoted to “Curtain Call” coffee cocktails, like a B-52, described as “Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Baileys Irish Cream, and hot coffee topped with fresh house-made whipped cream.” They’re all presented as made with hot coffee, but the bartender can make them iced, too.
Disneyland has many more coffee offerings than just these, including seasonal beverages that change out every few months. If you don’t want to wait in the long line for Starbucks, these are worth checking out.