Food festivals at Disneyland Paris: two events a year

The Disneyland Paris food festivals are temporary events that come back twice a year: a summer edition, Le Rendez-vous Gourmand, and a winter edition tied to the Christmas season, L’Hiver Gourmand. Each time, speciality food chalets are set up in the park for several weeks, then taken down once the edition is over. You buy dishes and drinks individually, both sweet and savoury.

The theme changes from one edition to the next: sometimes a tour of world cuisines, sometimes specialities from France and its different regions. The location has also moved over the years. Today, the chalets are by the Adventure Bay lake, along Adventure Way, in Disney Adventure World, formerly Walt Disney Studios Park. Before that, they were set up in Fantasyland (Disneyland Park) and in the Ratatouille area.

As everything changes with each edition, I recommend checking the dates, theme and location of the current edition before you go.

Here’s how it works. For a set period, Disneyland Paris puts up a row of small wooden chalets. Each chalet offers a selection of dishes and drinks inspired by a region or a country. You wander from one to the next, order whatever takes your fancy and pay per item, like at a food market.

These aren’t permanent restaurants. The chalets appear for the length of the edition, then disappear. There are two editions a year: one in summer and one in winter around Christmas.

The theme is never fixed. Some editions showcase world food, others French and regional specialities (Alsace, Savoie, Brittany and so on). That’s exactly what makes it worth coming back: what the chalets serve changes.

There are two food events in the year. They don’t cover the same dates and don’t have quite the same atmosphere. Here’s how to tell them apart.

Le Rendez-vous Gourmand is the summer edition. It usually runs for a good part of the warmer months, from spring to autumn depending on the year. It’s the longer of the two.

The atmosphere is that of a summer terrace: you enjoy the chalets during the day, often with cold drinks and seasonal desserts. The exact dates change with each edition, so check the current year’s calendar before planning your visit.

L’Hiver Gourmand is the winter edition, timed for Christmas and New Year. It usually starts in autumn and runs into the beginning of the following year.

The food is more comforting: hot dishes, seasonal specialities and hot drinks go with the festive season. It’s the edition to choose if you’re coming to see Disneyland Paris in its Christmas decorations. Here again, the exact dates vary from one year to the next.

This is the most confusing point, because the location has changed several times.

For the current summer edition, the food chalets are spread over two areas: along Adventure Way, by the Adventure Bay lake (Disney Adventure World), and in Fantasyland, in front of it’s a small world (Disneyland Park). The location moves from one edition to the next (L’Hiver Gourmand, linked to Christmas, may be held elsewhere).

In the past, they have also been in the Ratatouille area. Depending on the edition, the chalets are spread over one or more areas, sometimes across both parks at the same time.

As the set-up keeps changing with each edition, the safest option is to check the exact location when you visit, either in the official programme or on the park map at the entrance.

Each chalet has its own speciality. You’ll find both savoury and sweet food.

On the savoury side, expect regional dishes depending on the edition’s theme: specialities from Alsace, Savoie and Brittany, or dishes from around the world when the edition leans towards international food. On the sweet side, there are seasonal desserts, waffles, crêpes, pastries and other treats. Drinks follow the season: cold in summer, hot in winter.

What’s on offer changes with each edition, depending on the theme. That’s also what makes the event enjoyable to rediscover.

Good to know: these chalets are temporary. For the treats and snacks you’ll find in the parks all year round, outside the festivals, have a look at my dedicated guides (sweet snacks and savoury snacks).

To plan the rest of your meals in the parks, here are my other useful guides:

• All the dining options at the hotels and in the parks: the restaurant guide
• The sweet treats available all year round: sweet snacks
• Savoury snacks to nibble on site: savoury snacks
• Where to eat among the shops and bars: where to eat at Disney Village