Jolly Holiday Restaurant

Mary Poppins themed restaurant in Disneyland

The Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe in Disneyland, CA is no ordinary restaurant. Why? Because it’s “practically perfect in every way.” This restaurant in Disneyland is loaded, and I mean loaded, with Mary Poppins references. From stained glass penguins on the windows, to Bert’s chalk drawings on the floor, to the weather vane on the roof and everything in between! And I don’t think I’ve seen HALF of what’s actually there. Let’s take a tour.

Penguin Waiters

Do you remember the animated scenes in the Mary Poppins movie where the penguin waiters do the “Penguin Dance?” Well the penguins sure make an appearance in a few places around the restaurant.

On the menu board inside the restaurant, it’s easy to miss the penguin cleverly positioned on the wall. How many more could there be?

Bert’s Chalk Drawing

As you wind your way through the queue to place your order, your last stop might very well be right on top of Bert’s chalk drawing. You know the one from the movie where Bert, Mary, and the Banks children all jump in, leaving behind a poof of chalk dust?

Figurines in Display cases

There are several-beautifully carved display cases in the restaurant with Mary Poppins figurines showcased. This is by no means all of them, but here’s a sampling.

Silhouette Artwork

Silhouette art pieces hang on the wall in the Jolly Holiday restaurant.

Here we see Mary and the two children – Jane and Michael Banks.

And who wouldn’t recognize Bert, the chimney sweep.

Mary Poppins Tree Mural

Some beautiful artwork here with classic lines from the movie and lyrics from the soundtrack. Why was this mural shaped in the form of a tree? Was it paying homage to a wall mural that may have been in this very restaurant when it was formerly the Plaza Pavilion?

The Jolly Holiday Restaurant opened its doors on January 5, 2012. Before that, this location was the site of the Plaza Pavilion and an Annual Passport processing center.

While it was operating as the Plaza Pavilion, there apparently was a very large wall mural in the shape of a tree behind the main cash registers. That mural depicted various foods and beverages from the US and Europe. Kevin Kidney wrote an excellent article about this, which you can see by clicking Disneyland’s Plaza Pavilion mural, 1962.

Weather vane on the roof

Again, the Disney imagineers work their magic in designing detail into every nook and cranny of Disneyland Park, including the weather vane on the roof of the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe.

“Wind’s in the east, mist coming in / Like somethin’ is brewin’ and bout to begin…”

Bonus Trivia Fact! You will not read this in many other places, if anywhere at all! Notice the carpetbag that Mary is holding. Disney Imagineering placed two pennies inside the carpetbag before installing it on the roof. One is dated 1955 for the year that Disneyland opened, and the other is dated 2012 for the year Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe opened!

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