The Frozen Dining Package at Disney's California Adventure

I made a reservation for lunch, which came with fastpasses to the 3:30p.m. Frozen-Live at the Hyperion show. On the day of our reservation, we excitedly made our way to Carthay Circle, a restaurant we had eaten at and loved on a previous visit. As soon as we walked into the downstairs lounge and restaurant check-in area, we were transformed to old Hollywood. The jazzy, instrumental versions of familiar Disney songs that were playing on the overhead are from the fabulous “Circle Sessions” album and are available through iTunes.

After checking in, we waited for a few minutes downstairs, then were escorted upstairs to our table. The cast member that seated us took a few minutes to explain about our prix-fixe package meal, and also gave us an unexpected surprise-a Frozen lanyard and pin for each of us! As we started to look at our menus and choose our entree, our server came and took our drink orders; a non-alcoholic beverage is included with your meal. We also received bread and butter to start our meal, as well as our “Overture”, an amuse bouche that was a bite of smoked salmon on pumpernickel bread with lingonberry jam. While I would generally shy away from smoked salmon, I enjoyed being able to try my bite of this.

“Act One” of our meal was a soup and salad duo. The soup, a tasty Spanish white bean soup that had chorizo and spinach in it, was a favorite of all three of us, and was served in a cute mug-style bowl. The salad was a perfect accompaniment to the soup; it included tomatoes, and corn tortilla strips in a cilantro lime vinaigrette. This first course was a great way to start our meal!

For our main entree, “Act Two,” we had a choice of three entrees: chicken, fish, or filet of beef. The description of each entree made it very hard to choose just one, but we all decided to enjoy the beef. This was, again, an entree that took me out of my comfort zone, as it had a blue cheese risotto, and blue cheese isn’t my favorite, but the flavors all worked together so well and I was part of the clean plate club!

The desserts soon arrived at our table, and it was a showstopper. Only called “Olaf’s Summer Dream Vacation” on the menu, what was delivered to each of us was a visual stunner and palate pleasing. The cream puff Olaf, with chocolate sauce, a white chocolate Olaf head, and meringue “snow” was a fabulous end to a wonderful meal.

After settling our bill, we had about 30 minutes until we had to line up for the show, so we enjoyed meandering around Hollywoodland. Per the instructions we received with our FastPasses, we lined up behind the Coke truck, on the opposite side of the Hyperion Theater from everyone else. We were escorted into an empty theater and had our choice of any seat in the house. We picked seats dead center, just behind the walkway, in the first floor of the mezzanine. These were great seats, and we loved the show. It jumped right onto our list of must-do attractions for every trip.

The Frozen Dining Package is $89.00 per person, and no discounts are available, so it is a pricier lunch option, but in my opinion, it is a fabulous splurge. You get to enjoy a delicious lunch, as well as receiving a FastPass for reserved seating for the Frozen-Live at the Hyperion show, and you can’t beat going into an empty theater, settling into your seats, and smiling at all the other guests as they walk in behind you. While this isn’t an experience I will be planning on doing during each Disneyland trip, it’s a worthwhile occasional treat. Please note that the menu does change seasonally. My parents enjoyed the Frozen Dining Package at Carthay Circle a few weeks later and had several different menu items compared to our meal. I’ve had several great meals at Carthay Circle now; if you’ve never eaten at Carthay Circle before, do it!

Carthay Circle Frozen Dining Package Menu

Menu at Carthay Circle in April 2017 for the Frozen Dining Package

About the Author: Sarah is Disneyland veteran and annual passholder who has well over 100 trips to the original park under her belt.  She comes by her love of the Mouse honestly, as her parents and family have been traveling to Disneyland since she was young.  She is always plotting and planning her next visit to a Disney park.