Fifty pounds of icing, 402 sugary flowers, 301 pounds of chocolate and 2,012 pieces of gingerbread – those are the ingredients for just one gingerbread display at Walt Disney World Resort: the life-size, edible, holiday gazebo in the lobby of Disney’s Boardwalk Resort.
Like Santa’s elves, the Disney chefs work many, many hours to create these spectacular sugary showpieces. Along with the gazebo at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort, there’s Stitch’s Bakery Storefront, an-8-foot-tall replica of the Boardwalk Bakery that Stitch has taken over (you’ll see Lilo too) – where you can buy miniature gingerbread houses, stollen bread, gingerbread shingles and a limited edition pin featuring Stitch. You can see the gazebo and bakery through January 5.
Across the water at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, the spinning holiday carousel is a holiday tradition, with life-size ponies made of chocolate and fondant, hand-painted Disney characters surrounded by snowflakes and a miniature Magic Kingdom Castle made out of gingerbread. This display took 96 pounds of bread flour, 36 pounds of honey, 100 pounds of eggs, 10 quarts of simple syrups, 50 pounds of dark chocolate and 100 pounds of confectioner’s sugar to make. And you can take home cookies, gingerbread houses, stollen and chocolate-covered cookie lollipops.
Next door at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, there’s a holiday village with a miniature train surrounded by sugar rock mountains. All sorts of sweets are for sale, from miniature gingerbread houses to gingerbread cupcakes, cookies, stollen bread and gingerbread men. Limited edition pins feature Ariel and the carousel or Ariel and the resort’s lighthouse. Both displays are in the lobbies until January 4.
Check out the video of the 17-foot-tall gingerbread holiday tree at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, featuring ornaments, candy canes and gifts. Inspired by the art of Disney legend Mary Blair (who designed the mural in the Contemporary concourse), it took 136 pounds of honey, 211 pounds of flour, 101 eggs, 1 pound of sugar syrup, 98 pounds of icing, 151 pounds of chocolate and more than 2,000 gingerbread shingles to create the tree. Guests can purchase sweet treats such as cookies, gingerbread houses, pretzel toffee crunch and a housemade gingerbread granola. The tree is up ‘til January 2.
Over at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, the life-size gingerbread house is back, made with 1,050 pounds of honey, 700 pounds of chocolate, 600 pounds of powdered sugar…it takes about 400 hours to bake the gingerbread and another 160 hours to decorate! Guests can learn how to decorate a gingerbread house with the pros every day (except Sunday) in the lobby, and buy all sorts of goodies, from cookies to peppermint bark and lollipops, all made in the Grand’s bakery. You can see it until New Year’s Day.
There’s just one lavish display in the theme parks – Santa’s Bakeshop at Liberty Inn Restaurant at the American Adventure Pavilion at Epcot. Made entirely of gingerbread, the life-sized structure took more than 800 pounds of sugar and more than 1,000 eggs. Guests can buy cookies, peppermint bark and hot and cold beverages from the gingerbread house. Check it out through December 30.
