Happy Ice is known for serving a special frozen treat that is not quite Italian ice, not quite sorbet, but rather a dairy-free, nut-free, vegan dessert known as \u201cwater ice\u201d in Philadelphia, where Mitchell grew up. <\/p>\n
Its texture is highly specific, like a snow cone but with a creamy mouthfeel like ice cream. When Mitchell moved to California, he couldn\u2019t find anything comparable.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782712942_22_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The Time Machine flavor blends cherry mango and pineapple for a taste that is similar to a Big Stick.<\/p>\n
(Sarah Mosqueda)<\/p>\n
\u201cI always tell people that I selfishly started Happy Ice for myself,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s for me, so I can eat it all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
His brightly branded trucks and the rainbow-colored shop on Melrose kept Mitchell busy. As business was booming, he began studying Disney\u2019s distinct approach to hospitality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI basically decided in 2021 [that] I wanted Happy Ice to be the Disney of ice cream,\u201d said Mitchell. \u201cAnd at the time, that didn\u2019t let me be in Disneyland; it was more like it let me be the ice cream brand that spreads joy and gives you an experience, like Disney.\u201d<\/p>\n
He dived into texts like \u201cBe Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service\u201d from the Disney Institute and Robert Iger\u2019s book, \u201cThe Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company.\u201d Mitchell was determined to make his water ice business stand out as more than just a place to get a cool treat.<\/p>\n
Not long after he began his crash course in Disney-style customer service, he received an email from Downtown Disney. By 2022, the Happy Ice truck was locked into a month-long pop-up at the Anaheim dining and shopping destination, a gig that eventually stretched into three months.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom there, every summer we came back. In 2023 we came for three months, in 2024 we were back for three months. In 2025, we didn\u2019t do it, but that was because they asked us to become permanent,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cSo we have been working on this location for the last year-and-a-half.\u201d<\/p>\n
Operating a pop-up at Downtown Disney was like an internship, in a way. Mitchell said he used the gig as an opportunity to put in the work to show Disney what Happy Ice, an independent, Black-owned business, was capable of achieving.<\/p>\n
![\"Lemeir](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782712943_701_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Lemeir Mitchell in a cap and gown for the official opening of Happy Ice in Anaheim on June 19, 2026. <\/p>\n
(Courtesy of Happy Ice)<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely took my partnership with Disney as a responsibility to Black culture. If I go inside Disneyland and I crush it, I am professional and I create great experiences that add to the value that Disney brings to the world, then that will most likely open more doors for other people like me, that look like me,\u201d said Mitchell.<\/p>\n
Happy Ice\u2019s opening on June 19 in Anaheim was the culmination of years of studying and preparation.<\/p>\n
The concept of the shop\u2019s opening having been a commencement also hold special significance for Mitchell\u2019s family. In 2019, his older brother, Kevin, was killed in a motorcycle accident a week shy of his graduation from Penn State University. Mitchell has the initials \u201cCBK\u201d for \u201cCollege Boy Kevin\u201d tattooed on his body, and you can find the letters on a small heart with wings on the shop\u2019s window.<\/p>\n
For Happy Ice Anaheim\u2019s official ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mitchell even wore a cap and gown.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom and family never got to see Kevin walk in his cap and gown,\u201d said Mitchell. \u201cSo I wore the cap and gown so my Mom could see me walking in it, in this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782712945_632_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
A Joy-lati banana pudding, layered with banana ice and Nilla Wafers at Happy Ice in Anaheim. <\/p>\n
(Courtesy of Happy Ice)<\/p>\n
The Happy Ice menu features flavors like Time Machine, which blends cherry, mango and pineapple flavors for a retro scoop reminiscent of a Big Stick and a red, white and blue All-Star that mixes cherry and blue raspberry.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Disney, we also launched an all-natural line, so parents don\u2019t have to worry about red dye 40 and high fructose corn syrup,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n
The bestseller so far as been off the Joy-lati menu, which features sundae style Happy Ice treats with fresh fruit and ice cream.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most popular Joy-lati, is our banana pudding,\u201d said Mitchell. \u201cIt comes with banana pudding we make from scratch, layered with our house made banana ice. We add Nilla wafers for crumble and top it off with a banana slice.\u201d<\/p>\n
On opening day, the line for Happy Ice stretched through Downtown Disney. Mitchell said he is still processing the emotions of celebrating his accomplishment, the memory of his brother and the significance of opening a Black-owned business on Juneteenth. He is also proud that he was able to forge a partnership with the very company he worked hard to emulate.<\/p>\n
![\"Happy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782712946_585_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Happy Ice is open at Downtown Disney daily, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of Happy Ice)<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I am successful at Disney not only because of the work I put in, but because of the Disney partners and the support I received. They treated me like a cast member, and I really could feel that that wanted me to successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words, Mitchell couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n
Happy Ice is located near Parkside Market at the Downtown Disney District at 1569 Disneyland Drive, Anaheim. It\u2019s open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Happy Ice location just outside the \u201cHappiest Place on Earth\u201d at Downtown Disney seems like a natural…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":900169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[20680,64,1582,276,25133,7299,265093,917,364552,364550,133653,2961,224,5337,2868,50806,364551,364553,6620,1628],"class_list":["post-900168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-anaheim","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-cap","tag-disney","tag-downtown-disney","tag-earth","tag-happiest-place","tag-happy-ice","tag-ice-cream-truck","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-mitchell","tag-opening-day","tag-rainbow-colored-shop","tag-special-significance","tag-time","tag-year"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116831883624273530","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}