Celebrate Soulfully at Disneyland New Food Items & Music For Black History Month

Disneyland celebrates Black History Month in February and Black Music Month in June, with live entertainment, specialty foods, and art that honor Black heritage. The limited-time offerings expand on Celebrate Soulfully, which “aims to elevate guests’ experiences in empowering and impactful ways.”

There are a variety of exciting experiences that you can participate in to celebrate Black music and culture, so keep reading for more information on what to expect during the celebration of Black History Month and Black Music Month at Disneyland!

Disneyland Black History Month 2025

Disneyland celebrates Black History Month in February of each year with limited-time performances, specialty food items, and character interactions.

Celebrate Gospel 2025 Events

The annual concert will return on February 8 and 15, 2025 with performances by community choirs from across Southern California and award-winning artists.

DOE- February 8, 2025

The 6-time GRAMMY nominated, 2-time Dove Awad-winning singer, DOE, will perform with gospel music that “transcends traditional perceptions.

Melvin Crispell, III- February 15, 2025

The 2025 food guide will be released as the event draws soon, for now you can look at last year's food guide for an idea of what to expect. 

Various locations across Downtown Disney, Disney California Adventure, and Disneyland Park will be serving limited-time specialty menu items in honor of Celebrate Soulfully.

New items this year include traditional favorites like fried chicken, sweet potato casserole, and shrimp and grits. The food guide does advertise Tiana's Palace but that menu is the same year round so no special offerings were added there. It is interesting to see special wine blends and cocktails added to the line up which is not something we always see with food guides. Also of note is the new breakfast platter added to River Belle Terrace which is always nice to see more options for Disneyland breakfast.

While we don't have the offerings for 2025 quite yet, you can look at the 2024 offerings for an idea of what to expect.

Disneyland Resort

Troubadour Tavern (Available Feb. 16-18 and 23-25; mobile order available)

• Fried Chicken Bowl: Spicy honey-glazed fried chicken served with four cheese mac ‘n cheese, smoked turkey collard greens, and sweet potato corn bread
• Sweet Potato Pie Casserole: Sweet potato-pecan pie (New)

River Belle Terrace (Available Feb. 1 through April 1)

• Brunch Platter: Pancakes, scrambled eggs, biscuit and gravy, and house slaw
• Dinner Platter: BBQ brisket, fried chicken, buttery mashed potatoes, and biscuit and gravy

Cafe Orleans (Available Feb. 1 through April 1)

• Prix-Fixe Meal with choice of appetizer, deviled eggs and pickled vegetables, gumbo, or Caesar salad with cornmeal fried fish and turtle cheesecake

Tiana’s Palace

• House-filled Beignet featuring lemon ice box pie filling topped with lemon glaze
• 7 Greens Gumbo with Chicken & Andouille Sausage: White beans, okra, yams, sweet potatoes, and heirloom rice
• 7 Greens Gumbo: White beans, okra, yams, sweet potatoes, and heirloom rice (Plant-based)
• Beef Po’boy Sandwich: Slow-cooked beef in gravy dressed with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayonnaise on a toasted New Orleans French bread and served with red beans and rice and house-made pickles

Disney California Adventure Park

Lamplight Lounge and Lamplight Lounge – Boardwalk Dining (Currently available)

• Brown Estate Chaos Theory Red Wine Blend (New)

Disneyland Hotel

Lobby Lounge (Available Feb. 1 through 29)

• Shrimp and Grits (New)
• Sweet Potato Fries Poutine: Sweet potato fries, gravy, and cheese curds (New)
• Barrel Aged Smoked : Uncle Nearest 1884 Bourbon, turbinado sugar, Angostura Bitters, Peychaud’s Bitters, and a luxury ice cube (New)
• McBride Sisters Sparkling Rosé (New)
• Crowns & Hops Pilsner (New)

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

GCH Craftsman Bar, Hearthstone Lounge, and Storytellers Cafe (Available Feb. 1 through March 1)

• Golden Soul: Uncle Nearest 1884, ginger liqueur, creme de cassis, lime juice, and raspberries
• Crowns & Hops 8 Trill Pills

Downtown Disney District

Salt & Straw (Available Feb. 1 through 29)

• Cinnamon & Honey Fried Chicken Ice Cream: In partnership and support of Black-owned business, Ezell’s Famous Chicken out of Washington State, this savory and spicy ice cream is made with fresh croissants, torn into bits, that are then deep-fried with chicken fat until crispy and then churned into salted vanilla ice cream. A touch of cinnamon, splash of honey, and a shake of secret spices gives you a sweet Cajun heat with pleasant pops and crackles

Disney Princess and Character Experiences

Character experiences are also available as part of Celebrate Soulfully, celebrating the live action The Little Mermaid movie and Princess Tiana from the Princess and the Frog.

Princess Tiana

Princess and the Frog plays a big role at the park with Tiana's Palace and Tiana's Bayou Adventure! Princess Tiana meets guests in New Orleans Square throughout the day.

Live-Action Ariel

The live-action Little Mermaid Ariel greets guests at the promenade near Disneyland's “it’s a small world.”

Discount Disneyland Tickets

Our favorite Disney-approved re-seller, Get Away Today, offers the best Disneyland discount tickets around. In addition to great discount prices, their customer service and easy support is absolutely fantastic. They have an entire department dedicated to making sure every order has a wonderful experience and they are on-call to help you during your vacation if you need them!

Buying tickets from Get Away Today is easy and convenient since all their tickets are sent electronically, so you can take their vouchers and head straight to the gate without needing to wait in any ticket booth lines. They also offer layaway plans so you can pay off your vacation over time!

Year-Round Celebrate Soulfully Events at Disneyland

In addition to the limited-time offerings for Black History & Music Month, several Celebrate Soulfully experiences are offered year-round, including the Frederick Douglass exhibit at Main Street Opera House and more!

Frederick Douglass at the Main Street Opera House

In the the lobby of the Main Street Opera House, there is a Frederick Douglass exhibit that explores the relationship between President Lincoln and Douglass in their fight against slavery. This tribute to the abolitionist orator and writer includes a bust and portrait of Douglass along with a special video presentation. Be sure to include this on your next trip to honor and recognize this great leader in American history!

Tale of the Lion King

At Fantasyland Theatre, you can see Tale of the Lion King, a captivating retelling of Simba’s journey inspired by the “cultural roots of this timeless story.” In this performance, the Storytellers of the Pride Lands tell the tale through dialogue, song, dance, and percussion. The show is a little under 30 minutes long, and it features favorite songs such as “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” “Hakuna Matata,” and “Circle of Life” alongside original arrangements and choreography.

Tale of the Lion King ended its run in January 2024 at Disneyland. It may return in the future, check back here for updates. 

Tiana's Palace in New Orleans Square

Experience the spirit of New Orleans Square with Creole and Cajun inspired foods at Tiana's Palace. This newer quick service restaurant has been a hit with guests since its opening. Read our full review of Tiana's Palace. 

Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band

On select evenings, guests can enjoy the music of New Orleans with Queenie performing with the Jambalaya Jazz Band on the Rivers of America.

Black Panther Experiences in Avengers Campus

In Avengers Campus, guests can meet Black Panther or engage in a training exercise with Dora Milaje, Black Panther's royal guard of elite warriors, in “The Warriors of Wakanda: The Disciplines of the Dora Milaje.”

Five & Dime

On Buena Vista Street, you can find the quintet Five & Dime, who performs jazz hits of the 1920s and 1930s.

Black Music Month Disneyland Celebration

Disneyland will also celebrate Black Music Month throughout the month of June. While we do not know the 2025 lineup quite yet, you can look back at the 2024 offerings to get an idea of what to expect for this year.

Live Music in Celebration of Black Music Month

To celebrate Black Music Month, there will be live performances across Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, and Downtown Disney featuring several Black music genres and talented artists. Be sure to visit the Disneyland website for the full performance schedule!

Concerts at Hollywood Backlot Stage

At Disney California Adventure, summer concerts will be hosted at the Hollywood Backlot Stage. Three bands will be featured on a rotating basis:

Midnight Hour (Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays), who will perform the 1960s Motown hits of The Supremes, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations and more.

Finesse (Sundays and Mondays), a group who will feature popular songs “across the decades,” from Bruno Mars to Stevie Wonder.

The Rhythm & Blues Brothas (Tuesdays and Wednesdays), singers who will perform R&B and Soul

Live Band Performances in Downtown Disney

In honor of Black Music Month, there will be live performances at the Downtown Disney LIVE! Stage.

Artists will perform live music featuring various Black music genres in Downtown Disney. Ten groups will be featured, including the The Singers of Soul and Forward Motion Band, starting at 6:30pm each night. From 1-4pm on Saturdays, a DJ will play hip hop songs to celebrate the genre's 50th anniversary in 2023. Here is the schedule per weekday below:

Monday: Jazz Fusion
Tuesday: Caribbean
Wednesday: Mid-Century Jazz
Thursday: Top 40
Friday: Vintage R&B
Saturday: Top 40
Sunday: Gospel

Live Music at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

At Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, there will be five live performances daily in the afternoons at the northside pool deck featuring Jamaican, Afro-Cuban, and reggae music. Performers will include Island Reggae Duo, da-light and DJ Quami.

Art Experiences to Celebrate Black Music Month at Disneyland

Artist Signing Events

In the Downtown Disney District and Eudora’s Chic Boutique Featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets, WonderGround Gallery will be featuring artist signing events where guests can meet artists Ryan Riller or Larissa Marantz, purchase their artwork, and have merchandise signed by them. Ryan Riller is scheduled to meet guests on June 10th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, and Larissa Marantz is scheduled for June 17, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Crafts Inspired by Black Artists

Kids can create a craft inspired by iconic Black musicians in honor of their contributions to Black music! Guests will have the opportunity to color a Vinyl-shaped craft or make a contribution to the Celebrate Soulfully wall from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

There is an exciting assortment of offerings to explore for Black History & Music Month, so make sure to check out both the limited-time and year-round experiences this June!

Plan Your Disney Vacation Today

To get started planning your Disney vacation, make sure you subscribe to our FREE Deals newsletter​. Here, you will receive helpful​ information to plan your trip, including exclusive Disney deals, Disney news, and access to the lowest priced Disney tickets anywhere. Be sure to read our other planning guides here:

• Character Meet and Greets at the Disneyland Resort: Ultimate Guide to Characters
• How to do Disneyland in Summer 2023 | Tips for a cool, magical adventure
• Top 10 Shows at the Disneyland Resort You Shouldn’t Miss on Your Trip