As part of the lead up to D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the Anaheim Packing District celebrated D23 Night on Tuesday, August 6th. Coinciding with the District’s World Taste event, the evening also featured a DJ, game demos from Ravensburger, trivia, and more.
First, if you’re not familiar with the Anaheim Packing District, the area is home to a long list of restaurants. This includes several locations inside of the Anaheim Packing House itself as well as in the Farmer’s Park area, Make Building, and Packard Building — all of which are conveniently located next to each other.
Starting with the World Taste offering, guests could purchase tickets that would entitle them to try up to 8 sample dishes at a variety of participating restaurants. The folks at the Anaheim Packing District were nice enough to supply me with a complimentary pass, allowing me to try a couple of items. My first stop was Le Parfait Paris, where my pass scored me two adorable tarts that clearly evoke the iconic Mickey and Minnie. Naturally, both were also delicious.
My other sample came from Black Sheep Grilled Cheese Bar, which channeled a Disneyland classic dish for its “Mozzy” Cristo. This sandwich included turkey, ham and melty mozzarella cheese, with the bread being topped with powdered sugar. A blueberry compote was also served on the side from dipping. As much as I enjoy the monte cristos in the park, I have to say that I preferred this version as it had all the same great flavor but didn’t feel nearly as heavy. In other words, I enjoyed this sample quite a bit and even considered going back for a second (although the location was quite popular so it would have taken some time to get that additional sandwich).
Having only two samples myself, I would hope that those who purchased the full pass came hungry — or shared with a friend. As for some of the other dishes that caught my eye but I didn’t have a chance to get included the Leaping Beignets and Honey from Georgia’s, Birria Egg Rolls from The Kroft, the Wagyu Carne Asada Taco at En Familia, and the Mini Pad Thai Chicken Bowl from White Elephant.
Moving on, over in the Farmer’s Park area of the District, Ravensburger set up tents offering demonstrations of Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition) — a game that I absolutely loved, by the way. Additional tents also saw fans playing the hit game Disney Lorcana. Then, over at Unsung Brewing Co., the Villains Lair area invited gamers to play various versions of Disney Villainous. Inside the brewery, different Disney trivia sessions also happened throughout the night. While I didn’t participate, I did happen to listen in while trying Unsung’s “No Fun NA IPA.”
Seeing as this was my first time visiting the Anaheim Packing District, I was definitely impressed with all the area had to offer. Not only does the District ‘pack’ in an astronomical number of diverse eateries but it’s also just a nice place to hang out. That remained true even as D23 Night clearly brought out the crowds. When the Packing House got a little full, it was nice to take a step outside to enjoy my samples and relax on the deck area. Similarly, there were plenty of places around Farmer’s Park to sit and chill.
All that is to say that, whether you’re headed to D23 this weekend or are looking for something different to do outside of the Parks on your next Disneyland visit, be sure to check out the Anaheim Packing District.