Death by Chocolate at The Ganachery Disney Springs

Calling all chocoholics, connoiseurs, lover of all things chocolate? You have come to the right place!

You’ll find the brand new Ganachery in The Landing of Disney Springs — that’s the same general area as many of the recent dining and shopping additions that have opened in Disney Springs over the past year such as Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar, Vivoli il Gelato, and The Boathouse.

While there is no shortage of sweet stops and candy shops all over Disney World, The Ganachery is set to deliver its own unique experience. The name stems from the star product: house-made ganache — a rich, decadent mix of chocolate and cream. Sixteen different flavors of chocolate are made in house.

But that’s not all that’s in store…

Atmosphere

You’ll find The Ganachery tucked in amidst the new retail options in The Landing (it’s the next door neighbor to Sound Lion), with the same brick storefront as its counterparts.

Inside, however, this boutique-style shop has a look all its own. The decor is cozy and classic.

Golds, coppers, and browns in the decor set the stage for the main event — lots and LOTS of chocolate.

And you know Disney… with the look comes a story! “Like all the buildings at Disney Springs, there is a history – the shop used to be an apothecary where residents of the springs came for medicinal needs. Then, as the story goes, the space was taken over by a South American couple who turned their love for the cocoa bean into a fantastic chocolate shop. ” (Fitting, as cocoa beans for The Ganachery are sourced from Brazil, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.)

In homage to the backstory, framed quotes like “There’s NOTHING Chocolate Can’t Fix,” and “Chocolate is Good Medicine,” urge customers to self-medicate.

Along with the sights and scents of chocolate in the air, a big part of the atmosphere of The Ganachery lies in the experience. We were told that the opening team for The Ganachery is made up of only 14 cast members who are specially trained to provide a totally personalized experience for each customer.

To your left when you walk inside, you will see the open kitchen where chocolatiers create the signature ganache squares right in front of you! They make one type of chocolate each day so it alternates between milk and dark chocolate. (They do sell white chocolate pearls and bars as well.)

The ganache is made from scratch on the premises and the entire kitchen is viewable to the customers.

When we walked by Amanda, the head chocolatier, she was preparing the ganache to be cut with a guitar cutter, which uses actual guitar strings! Amanda came to The Ganachery after working at The Grand Floridian’s wedding cake department and gingerbread displays.

After all that, I’ll bet you’re ready to do some tasting, aren’t you?

Eats

CHOCOLATE. And LOTS of it! THAT’S what’s on the menu at The Ganachery.

After the kitchen is a small merchandise area where you can find the pre-packaged goodies.

For sale you will find Crispy Chocolate Pearls, which come in white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel and strawberry.

Also for sale are Chocolate Pops in both milk and dark chocolate.

In addition to the ganache, what are sure to become signature items for The Ganachery are nine “distinctively Disney” chocolate bars. Each are created in honor of various characters and Disney Destinations across the globe.

First, let’s go over the milk chocolate options. And who better to start us off than the one who started it all, The Mickey Mouse!

The Mickey Mouse is simply just milk chocolate, which we throughout was perfectly simple for the classic character.

Next is Mickey’s only gal, The Minnie Mouse!

Perfectly pink, this one is made with dried strawberries.

Next is Mickey’s best pal, The Pluto!

Once we saw the words “peanut butter,” you know we had to try it!

The chocolate bars come wrapped in a silver wrapper and are made up of 8 squares of amazingness.

The Pluto is 41% cacao and very rich.

Unfortunately (at least I think so) the peanut butter is more of a flavor mixed with the chocolate rather than an actual filling. There are roasted peanuts throughout the bar.

Finishing up the milk chocolate options is The Disneyland.

This one comes with a hint of California — zante currant raisins and almonds. Yum!

Next up are the dark chocolates! Let’s start with The Disneyland Paris!

This one is made with fleur de sal (salted) caramel filling. Sounds delicieux!

Next up, The Walt Disney World.

Perfect for it’s Florida location, The Walt Disney World is made with natural orange (Florida oranges, of course!) and fruit tea flavors.

Also in the dark chocolates is The Goofy!

Made with POPPING CANDY!

The dark chocolate on this one is 58% cacao and was very creamy.

At first glance you don’t see the popping candy, but don’t worry — it’s in there!

Between the dark chocolate and the popping candy, this one is a very unique find.

Don’t worry white chocolate lovers, you have some options too! First let’s look at The Aulani, Hawaii!

Perfect for the Hawaiian Disney resort, this is made with tropical flavors of coconut and pineapple.

And last but not least is our favorite duck, The Donald Duck!

We loved the theming behind this one because it perfectly matches one of our favorite Disney characters. Along with the white chocolate (like his white feathers) are blueberries (for his shirt) and habanero chili (for his temper)!

Along with being the coolest looking chocolate bar we tried, the flavors were also our favorite of the bunch!

 

The blueberry carries a fruity sweetness that compliments the white chocolate.

The spice of the habanero chili comes and goes while you’re eating the bar, so you get that unexpected combo of sweet and spicy.

After the merchandise area you’ll arrive to the real stars of the shop: The Ganache!

16 flavors of house-made ganache are available to choose from. You’ll find two glass cases, each with a cast member ready to assist you with sampling and asking you questions to make sure you pick out the best ones for you!

Our Cast Member/Ganache expert was Akira!

When purchasing ganache, you have the option of a box of six, nine or twelve pieces. You can buy the pieces individually as well. (Note that like other premium chocolates, these aren’t cheap. $3 per piece, $15 for six, or $27 for twelve.)

Each of the 16 flavors fall into one of four flavor categories: Spices, Classic, Trendy, and Fruity/Floral.

The first four are the Mint (Fruity/Floral), Pistachio (Classic), Vanilla (Fruity/Floral) and Dark 65% (Trendy).

The next window is Mango-Curry (Spice), Matcha-Yuzu (Trendy), Passion Fruit (Fruity/Floral) and Raspberry (Fruity/Floral).

The third case is Gianduja (Classic Chocolate Hazelnut), Coffee (Classic), Egyptian Sea Salt ( Trendy) and Cinnamon (Spice).

And the final four are Chipotle Pepper (Spice), Calamansi (Trendy), Orange (Fruity/Floral) and Caramel Fleur de Sel (Classic).

Your ganache expert will ask you questions about your favorite flavors, if you like sweet or semi-sweet, etc., to give your chocolate shopping experience a personalized feel.

Once you make your selections, your ganache squares are packed up and put into a custom brown and blue shopping bag.

We decided to go with a box of six. The beautiful packaging really goes above and beyond our expectations!

The box has a magnetic lid, and inside you’ll find a sweet little card, beautiful tissue paper and most importantly: YOUR CHOCOLATE!

Okay we can’t wait any longer! Let’s try these!

We were told to never eat the sqaures all at once. Ganache is meant to be eaten one small bite at a time so that the flavor comes through gradually. (Kind of like a wine and cheese tasting.)

First is the Orange.

Orange Ganache

Cross-section of the Orange Ganache

Matcha-Yuzu Ganache

Cross-section of the Matcha-Yuzu

Egyptian Sea Salt Ganache

Cross-section of the Egyptian Sea Salt Ganache

Pistachio Ganache

Cross-section of the Pistachio Ganache

Calamansi Ganache