With only days until Georgia faces Oklahoma in the 104th Rose Bowl No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs enjoyed the tradition of going to Disneyland before their game at the Rose Bowl.
Walt Disney created the tradition in 1959 and for decades teams have visited the Happiest Place on Earth prior to the famous bowl game.
Before meeting on the field for the first time ever, the teams met earlier today for their first official pregame appearance, in a ceremony at Disney California Adventure park, hosted by former all-pro and host of ESPN SportsNation, Marcellus Wiley. During the ceremony, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart were welcomed by Disney California Adventure Vice President Patrick Finnegan in front of the rocking new attraction, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! along with Tournament of Roses President Lance Tibbet.
Representing the University of Oklahoma were tight end Mark Andrews, offensive lineman Orlando Brown, defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and defensive back Steven Parker. Representing the University of Georgia were running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn and linebacker Roquan Smith.
Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield was sick and did not accompany the team on its visit to the Park on Wednesday. But coach Lincoln Riley said he wasn’t worried about his Heisman Trophy winner’s absence. “He’ll be ready to play”, he said.
After the ceremony, players and coaches from each team experienced Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! and went on to enjoy even more Disneyland Resort fun.
The teams will face off in the Rose Bowl Game on Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. Oklahoma finished the regular season with a record of 12-1 and claimed the Big 12 Conference title, while Georgia defeated Auburn to win the SEC Championship, also finishing with a 12-1 record.
For more portable versions, go to the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square, where an order of three comes in a paper bag and is dusted with plenty of powdered sugar. (Note: Those lime-and-mint beverages in question are non-alcoholic.) With the return of the Fantasmic evening pyrotechnics show in Frontierland, the Mint Julep Bar is now also serving purple-sprinkles-covered Blackberry Beignets.
This non-dairy frozen treat debuted at Disneyland in 1976, created exclusively for Adventureland by the folks at Dole Pineapple. It has developed a passionate cult following—it has been called “a work of art” and has a podcast named after it—and is now offered at other Disney parks, as well as a few other scattered locations. The original, though, is at the Tiki Juice Bar stand outside the Enchanted Tiki Room. Order yours as a soft-serve, a float with pineapple juice, or be a rebel and ask for the lone pineapple spear. A pleasant surprise: the classic Dole Whip soft serve has only about 100 calories.
These mountain-shaped coconut treats—covered with white-chocolate icing and sugary “snow”—are a rarity among Disney-themed goodies in that they’re based not on a character, but an actual ride. The classic Matterhorn coaster is even within view of the macaroons’ Main Street home, the Mary Poppins-themed Jolly Holiday Bakery Café (look for the telltale weather vane on top).
The jumbo drumsticks offered at hot-food carts around the two parks—like Edelweiss Snacks in Fantasyland and the hot-foods cart in Hollywood Land—have inspired so much awe that an urban legend once floated around that they actually came from ostriches (they don’t). Granted, the hickory-smoked legs look large, even for a turkey (they come from male Toms) and the salt curing gives them an almost ham-like flavor. To be sure, they are a commitment: Each one weighs 1.5 pounds.
There are more than a dozen churro carts dotting the parks—from outside The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland to A Bug’s Land in California Adventure—and the fried-dough treats have even inspired their own souvenir shirts over the years. Keep an eye out for limited-release variations, like golden-sugar-dusted churros in honor of Pirates of the Caribbean, or the Jedi-worthy, red- and blue-sugared “light-saber” churros in Tomorrowland.
In its cultural and culinary rendering of the Golden State, Disney California Adventure Park has embraced one key representative of San Francisco: Ghirardelli Chocolate. The Disney branch of the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop, located in the Pacific Wharf section, offers up scoops and chocolate-doused sundaes, as well as the clearly-meant-for-sharing Earthquake, with eight scoops of ice cream, eight toppings, bananas, whipped cream, and more. Don’t miss the mural of San Francisco in the shop, which reacts to your order: Buildings shake when you order an Earthquake, and a prospector pans for gold if you get the hot-fudge-and-peanut-butter Gold Rush.
In the Cars Land area of California Adventure, “refueling” takes on new meaning at the Cozy Cone Motel, a snack stand with five different cone-based treat options, from the chili-filled Chili Cone Queso to breakfast scrambles. Reviewers have especially loved the stand’s Chicken Verde Cone and the Red’s Apple Freeze, a slushy made with apple juice, passion fruit, toasted marshmallow syrup, and mango foam.
