After landing from your flight around the world on Soarin’ just next door, you might be a bit parched from the journey! Fortunately the nearby Smokejumpers Grill in Grizzly Peak Airfield is ready with some new drinks to quench your thirst, and a new Bacon Cheeseburger Loaded Fries plate as well if you need a nibble. So let’s give them all a try and see how these new offerings hold up!
Bacon Cheeseburger Loaded Fries – $12.99
Fries topped with Ground Beef, Bacon, Cheddar, Onions, Pickles, Burger Sauce and Tomatoes
This dish never quite came together. It’s a collection of toppings and crumbled hamburger patty pieces all together on top of fries that are saturated in liquid cheese sauce. It’s not particularly pleasant, but neither is it wholly inedible, we couldn’t quite figure it out. It has very little character as a dish on its own, but all of the component parts are decent. That being said, we kept eating them longer than we thought we would and weren’t displeased by the experience, but we still can’t decide whether or not we liked it. Overall, we probably won’t revisit them as they weren’t good enough to be recognized as good but neither were they bad enough to get the thumbs down. Aggressively mediocre is probably the best description.
Blue Raspberry Lemonade – $6.49
Blend of Blue Raspberry, Lemonade, Limeade and Blue Cotton Candy Syrup, with swimming Gummi Fish
We can sum up our review of this drink in one simple yet effective word: nope. Just all over unpleasant. It’s sickly sweet, way too syrupy, and while we can pick out the blue flavor and the cotton candy flavor somewhat, the whole thing just tastes like a melted popsicle.
We did not enjoy this one at all. Pass.
Blue Raspberry Cocktail – $16.50
Vodka, Blue Raspberry, Lemonade, Limeade and Blue Cotton Candy Syrup, with swimming Gummi Fish
This was the same base as the blue raspberry lemonade, just with an added shot of vodka. If it’s not good before the vodka, it won’t be saved by becoming a cocktail. We can’t taste the vodka in there, which is not uncommon in a theme park cocktail. But it also didn’t bring any flavors that would help save the drink. So overall, it’s still a bust.
Sweet Lemonade Tea – $4.89
Sweet Gold Peak® Black Tea, Lemonade and Honey with a Lemon Wedge
Whereas the Blue lemonade was a one-note-song of sweet on sweet on sweet, this essentially Arnold Palmer drink is still sweet but has more flavor notes and complexity to keep it interesting. This is just enough sweet without blasting your head off. And squeezing the included lemon wedge brings a bright pop of citrus acidity that further helps to mellow out this drink.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed it and finished the entire thing quickly, it’s no wonder people love to drink these!
Bourbon Sweet Lemonade Tea – $15.50
Jack Daniels, Sweet Gold Peak® Black Tea, Lemonade and Honey with a Lemon Wedge
Similar to the other drink here, this is the same drink base used for both a non-alcoholic and alcoholic version. This one includes a shot of Jack Daniels, which is more present in the flavor profile than we would expect, a welcome surprise. It’s certainly a toss up as to whether the cocktail or non-alcoholic version is preferable, they both have their own strengths.
The whiskey flavor helps with the sweet tea side, but the citrus flavor in the non-alcoholic brings a different character that we enjoyed on both occasions. Overall, we could definitely see ourselves returning for either the non-alcoholic or cocktail version of this drink, and you can’t go wrong either way.
Strawberry Shortcake Shake – $11.99
Strawberry Shake topped with Pound Cake, Strawberry Sauce, Whipped Cream and a Strawberry
So this is a strawberry shortcake shake which makes very little effort to actually be anything other than a normal strawberry shake. The strawberry shake base combines with strawberry sauce and fresh strawberries to be an explosion of sweet strawberry flavor. The addition of a slice of pound cake nestled in the top is welcome and delicious, though it doesn’t mix within the drink. If it were blended into the ice cream or even crumbled so that it could be mixed in, it may be something to set apart from the norm.
But as it stands, it’s just a strawberry shake with three bites of pound cake to dip in it. That being said, it’s not unpleasant but neither is it spectacular. We probably wouldn’t revisit this one only because there are so many better options here at DCA, especially over at Schmoozies.
But if you’re a real strawberry lover and don’t want to trek all the way over the Hollywood Land, this will satisfy your sweet tooth for sure.
All in all, there’s a bit of a mixed bag in this season’s offerings from Smokejumpers Grill, but it still is worth visiting to enjoy other delicious food available here perennially. What will you be trying from this season’s menu? Let us know in the comments below!
For more Disneyland Resort news and info, follow Disneyland News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news worldwide, visit WDWNT.