Disneyland Resort is currently hosting its annual Lunar New Year celebration at Disney California Adventure Park, but for some guests, the festival is leaving them with more than just delicious food and cultural entertainment. Reports have surfaced of guests experiencing severe stomach issues after consuming specific festival foods, with some pointing to a particular beverage as the culprit. Despite growing concerns, Disneyland Resort has yet to acknowledge or respond to the situation.
Mystery Illness Strikes Disneyland California Guests
Every year, thousands of visitors flock to Disney California Adventure Park for its exclusive Lunar New Year festivities, a limited-time event featuring specialty food, live entertainment, and unique merchandise. However, some guests claim their festival experience took a painful turn after sampling select menu items.
Reddit user u/teamrocket took to social media to share their unfortunate experience, reporting that multiple people in their group fell ill after consuming certain Lunar New Year dishes.
“4 of us purchased the lunar new year tasting cards and we all ended up feeling unwell and experienced vomiting/diarrhea after consuming some of the same items (birria eggroll, pork over rice dish and taro coffee),” they wrote. “I would also like to note 4 others in our group DID NOT purchase the tasting card nor eat the same foods we did and they were completely fine.”
The Disney Park guest emphasized that no one in their group had eaten before arriving at Disneyland Resort, leading them to believe the sickness originated from food served at Disney California Adventure Park.
“I paid $35 for parking, $48 for the tasting card I didn’t even get to fully use because I felt so unwell and left the park early,” they continued. “This visit used 1 of my 3 socal resident pass tickets…Basically I spent a lot of money to be miserable at the park, have a ROUGH hour drive home and be sick all night and into Sunday. I’m [pretty] upset with this experience but also willing to cut my losses because Disney just doesn’t seem like the company to offer refunds.”
Is the Taro Vietnamese-Style Iced Coffee to Blame?
While many guests attribute their illness to possible food poisoning, some Disney Parks fans believe the real culprit may be the Taro Vietnamese-Style Iced Coffee.
“A lot of people have posted they the taro coffee upsets their stomach,” Reddit user u/gregorydudeson commented. “One person said they had to go home. I told my brother and his gf about it, and they actually chose to buy it to see what was up…His girlfriend drinks Vietnamese coffee pretty much every day and has a very high caffeine tolerance. In her opinion, it is just extremely high caffeine content with condensed milk + people are drinking it really fast without thinking. My brother had a very low caffeine tolerance and he took a couple sips + said his stomach was already bubbling.”
Another guest, u/lisamariesa33, agreed, writing: “[It] seemed to rough up some people.”
Some Disneyland Resort regulars argue that the Taro Vietnamese-Style Iced Coffee has a history of causing issues and believe Disney should be warning guests about its high caffeine content.
“The Taro Coffee has been a plague for many guests for this year and last,” u/Red-Fire19 wrote. “I don’t know why DCA still brings this drink knowing well that it upsets many guests’ stomachs. Not saying Taro Coffee is bad, just what Disney is offering is.”
“The taro coffee should come with a warning label on it,” u/North-Drink-7250 added. “Caution high caffeine content…”
Disneyland’s Silence Raises Concerns
While multiple reports of guests falling ill after consuming festival foods have surfaced, Disneyland Resort has not released an official statement addressing the complaints. Whether these cases are due to foodborne illness, caffeine sensitivity, or another unknown factor remains unclear.
For now, guests planning to visit Disney California Adventure Park’s Lunar New Year festival may want to exercise caution when selecting their food and beverage choices.
Has your Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort vacation ever taken a turn for the worse? Share your experience with Disney Fanatic in the comments.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks guest experience. No two guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Disney Fanatic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.
I’ve been going to the DCA festival events since the beginning and always buy a tasting card. I have never ever experienced any stomach issues from any of the offering. I am pretty picky and watch which offerings I taste. If people seem to know which offerings are supposedly making people sick, then maybe they should start plastering social media with the information!