You can smell the gingerbread as pastry chefs all across Walt Disney World Resort crank up the ovens to bake thousands of pieces of gingerbread to craft spectacular holiday creations. From a Gingerbread Holiday Castle at Disney’s Contemporary Resort to the life-size gingerbread house in the lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, here’s what you’ll find beginning Nov. 23:
Already on display is the Gingerbread Holiday Castle at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, nestled in the Grand Canyon Concourse on the fourth floor, inspired by Disney’s blockbuster “Frozen” and a touch of Disney artist Mary Blair’s it’s a small world. Adorned with sugar snowflakes, gingerbread shingles and chocolate-coated trees, guests can spot Anna, Elsa, Olaf and more.
The biggest creation is the life-size gingerbread house in the lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, made with a classic gingerbread recipe from Austria. Every day, except Sunday, there are gingerbread house decorating demonstrations in the lobby and a gingerbread house collectible pin featuring “Alice in Wonderland.”The gargantuan creation is 16 feet high and uses 1,050 pounds of honey, 800 pounds of flour and takes more than 400 hours just to bake the gingerbread, according to Disney Parks Blog.
The American Adventure pavilion at Epcot is an intricate re-creation of the United States Capitol Building, debuting Nov. 25. New this year, the Lincoln Memorial joins the vignette. Look for five Hidden Mickeys in the 50 pounds of gingerbread and 20 pounds of icing.
New at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort is the “Gingerbread Academy” that lets guests build gingerbread houses to take home, along with complimentary hot chocolate and apple cider for sipping.
A 3-foot-long African-inspired Marketplace graces the lobby starting Nov. 23 at Tusker House Restaurant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, a creation made with 23 pounds of flour, 8 pounds of honey, 25 pounds of dark chocolate and 5 pounds of white chocolate, just for starters.
The Holiday Carousel is back at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts in the “Beach-side” lobby. Again this year, the team of chefs has crafted a life-size spinning carousel with 36 pounds of honey, 96 pounds of flour, 100 pounds of icing and more.
