Disneyland Guests Are Spending $100s & Getting Dangerously Sick–What’s Happening?

Disneyland Resort‘s Lunar New Year festival is supposed to be a time for celebration, but for some Southern California theme park guests, it’s turning into a costly nightmare. Reports are surfacing that visitors who spent hundreds of dollars to try limited-time food items have fallen ill after dining at Disney California Adventure Park. While some believe they suffered from food poisoning, others suspect a particularly strong beverage may be to blame.

Disneyland Guests Complain of Stomach Issues After Lunar New Year Treats

Each year, Disney California Adventure Park hosts a special Lunar New Year event with unique food, entertainment, and character experiences. But in addition to lifelong memories, some Disney Park guests are walking away with severe stomach issues.

One Disney Park guest, u/teamrocket, took to Reddit after their entire group experienced symptoms following a visit to the festival.

“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 also pointed out the financial burden of getting sick at Disneyland Resort, explaining that they had already spent $35 on parking and $48 on a tasting card they couldn’t even finish using:

“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. 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 Behind the Illness?

Although some believe food poisoning could be responsible for the illnesses, many Disneyland Resort guests have pointed to the Taro Vietnamese-Style Iced Coffee menu item as a possible cause.

“A lot of people have posted they the taro coffee upsets their stomach,” u/gregorydudeson wrote. “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.”

Other Disneyland Resort guests reported similar issues and suggested that Disney California Adventure Park warn visitors about the intensity of the drink.

“The Taro Coffee has been a plague for many guests for this year and last,” u/Red-Fire19 said. “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 California Remains Silent on Guest Complaints

Despite multiple reports of guests falling ill after consuming festival food and drinks, Disneyland Resort has yet to issue a statement regarding the situation. While the illnesses may be linked to individual sensitivities or food combinations, some guests believe the park should take responsibility for informing visitors about potential risks.

Until Disneyland Resort addresses the concerns, guests planning to visit Disney California Adventure Park’s Lunar New Year festival may want to be mindful of what they eat and drink.

Has a Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort food item ever made you sick? Share your story with Disney Dining 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 Dining’s personal views on Disney Park operations.