Like many others, we were really excited when we first learned that a Disney Starbucks would be opening at California Adventure. During a recent visit, we stopped by the Starbucks inside Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe about five times and had a range of experiences, both good and bad.
A Unique Starbucks Design
The Disney Starbucks operates as a licensed store, which means it doesn’t have to adhere to the same look and feel as a typical Starbucks owned location. The most obvious sign of this difference is the design of the interior and lack of the standard Starbucks signs outside.
The outside of the Starbucks is absent of any of the store’s signature green umbrellas or window signs. Instead, the location uses the older looking brown siren logo that was created for the company’s anniversary in 2008. The strange thing is that the modern, green siren logo is used on the actual coffee cups. Considering how much Disney prides itself on attention to detail, it feels strange to see inconsistent elements like this.
The interior is also far different than any Starbucks you have ever seen. The location does not sell newspapers, souvenir coffee cups and does not have free WiFi. The typical comfy couches and chairs you’d find in a Starbucks are replaced with an abundance of wood tables and chairs, along with some booths. The interior is beautiful and is well themed to Buena Vista Street, but it is far from any typical Starbucks you might have expected.
Limited Coffee Menu
Of course, coffee is the main reason people visit Starbucks. The Disney Starbucks offers most of the typical drink options. The exception we noticed was that some of the tea beverages and fruit drink beverages weren’t on the menu. But the common lattes, mochas, drip coffees and frappuccinos are all offered.
In addition to the standard Starbucks pastry items, the store sells a variety of Disney sandwiches, soups and desserts. It seemed a little odd to see a Mickey Mouse cookie sold alongside some of the typical Starbucks fare. But the addition of these items is a plus in our book.
The Drinks are the Same, but the Prices are Higher
Starbucks already is the target of complaints because of the cost of its coffee, which is why we were surprised to see a significant price hike inside the parks. On average, we noticed that the Disney Starbucks drinks cost a dollar more than at the Starbucks at our hotel, just two miles away.
- One of the biggest price differences is for a tall (Starbucks’ smallest size) coffee: The cup costs $1.65 outside the park and $2.69 at California Adventure.
- Smoothies are $1.04 more at Disney, where they cost $4.99.
- The difference for hot chocolate was 34 cents for the smallest and largest (venti) sizes.
- Frappuccinos run 54 to 74 cents more.
Annual pass holders can get a 10 percent or 15 percent discount, depending on the type of pass. With the 15 percent discount, for example, the price of a tall iced vanilla latte is about the same in and out of the park.
The disappointing part is that while Annual Passholders get a discount, the restaurant will not honor the benefits of the My Starbucks Rewards program. We were able to use our Starbucks gold card to pay for our purchases throughout our stay (we didn’t try using the iPhone app though), but we did not get the benefit of free syrups and refills like we would at a traditional Starbucks location. We also did not earn any stars for these Starbucks visits.
It has the Starbucks name, but not the same quality
We visited the Disney Starbucks several times during our vacation, but had very inconsistent quality with the beverages we received. It was obvious that the Disney employees were still learning how to make Starbucks drinks. On one occasion, we watched as three cast members discussed what codes to write on the side of the cup to identify the drink. Two times, the cast members asked us how Starbucks typically made our drink, as they were unsure if the child’s steamed milk should come with whipped cream.
During one visit, the cast members forgot to include the syrup in our drink so we asked if they could remake the beverage. At a normal Starbucks, the employees are quick to correct any issues and rush to make things right. At the Disney Starbucks, the employee argued that the drink had been made correctly because the syrup was not written on the side of the cup. She then asked us to pay the cost difference for the syrup if we wanted her to remake the beverage. We gave the employee our receipt, which showed that we had paid for the syrup. Only then would they remake our beverage – a five minute process.
In the mornings, we found that the Disney Starbucks often had a 15 minute wait and in the evenings, the wait was around 5 minutes to place an order. In the mornings, Disney stations a cast member at the front of the queue and she types in orders on a tablet before handing you a receipt. The tablet approach didn’t speed things along in any way because the employees don’t start making your beverage until you pay for it at the actual register. The only efficiency was that all of your drink orders were on a piece of paper, which made it easier for the employee to enter into the register.
If you want a “real Starbucks” experience, go to the store in your hotel lobby
We had high hopes for the Disney Starbucks, but with the higher prices and inconsistent experience we can’t recommend visiting the location for your morning caffeine fix. Most of the hotels in the Anaheim Resort area have Starbucks locations in the hotel lobby. We visited the Starbucks inside the Marriott lobby and found the typical Starbucks customer service, quality beverages and speedy service. The Disney Starbucks will likely improve in time, but for now, this die hard Starbucks fan recommends grabbing a cup of coffee elsewhere.
We went last week and the employees seemed like they were all fresh from training class. They took a long time to make the drinks and goofed on one of our beverages. It was really nice to finally have a starbucks at disney, but they do have some quality control issues to work out.