The macaron (not macaroon, its oft-mistaken coconut friend) is a staple on many dessert menus, and for good reason. Given the delivery system of an almond flour & powdered sugar base, the flavour comes from the interior and the decoration, which means that you can have macarons in basically every colour and flavour, no matter what you enjoy. That said, when you’re somewhere like Disneyland where you can find macarons around every corner, there has to be a best, right? I didn’t set out to figure that out on purpose, but during my visit in October 2023, Disneyland macarons were a highlight of the experience because it truly is one of my favourite desserts.

For your benefit and to make sure you’re getting the best macaron you can, here’s a rating and ranking of the ones I tried, in case you’re also a lover of the classic French treat.

---

Pizza Planet

The macaron here was themed to the aliens from Toy Story, with a Halloween twist, and it was absolutely adorable. As with most Disney macarons, it’s the size of roughly four normal ones, and it was certainly filling. My one qualm was that the chocolate filling was too rich given the size of the macaron, and it was overly sweet. Since it was such a hot day, it wasn’t as good as some of the other versions I tried because the primary flavour was the chocolate and that meant the richness made me feel heavy and a little sluggish.

---

Jolly Holiday

Now we’re going in the opposite direction. The raspberry macaron at Jolly Holiday (which also has the best grilled cheese & tomato soup combo) located at the end of Main Street had real raspberries inside and was a refreshing and amazing treat. It, too, was large enough to split with a friend. My only qualms about this one is that because it’s so large, the taste does begin to get one-note at a certain point and if you’re in the California heat, it starts to get runny before you can finish it off. Still, it was sweet, yet fresh with the fruit, and was a great end-cap on lunch.

---

Kayla’s

This is a stall located in Downtown Disney, near to the entrances of the parks. These are more your typical macaron size and boast a huge variety of flavours, which means that you can purchase an array and nibble on them as you like (they’re still plenty rich!). These were incredible. Every flavour purchased tasted exactly as described in a way that was almost uncanny. The pumpkin pie macaron genuinely tasted like a slice of pumpkin pie — a huge feat for something so small. The packaging for these was also super unique and fantastic, making the quality truly impressive.

---

World of Color: One

This was only one piece of the dessert platter that you receive when you’re purchasing guaranteed seats at the dessert party for World of Color. There’s a few of them on the plate and they are impressive with the additional branding, however, they’re pretty bland. It’s clear that they’re mass produced and while they’re a good treat, they weren’t the star of the plate (the mousse and even the rice treat were tastier).

---

It’s likely not very suspenseful then to understand which of the macarons were my favourite if you look at the rating system. Despite the smaller size and the cost, the true winner has to be KAYLA’S. It really is impressive how much flavour got packed into those small bites, and they were a true treat, no matter what macaron I was eating.

Kayla’s Cake is open from 10AM – 10PM in Downtown Disney, quite close to the entrance of both parks. Do like we did and buy some on your way in, and then snack as you wait in line, between meals, and whenever you’re craving an incredible bite.

---