We shared a few inaugural images of the newly opened Disney World Starbucks in the Main Street Bakery in Magic Kingdom with you on Saturday. But I always LOVE seeing as many pics as I can of new Disney World spots, so I wanted to share a few more today!! (Don’t worry — we’ll have another great non-Starbucks food review this afternoon!)
Disney World Starbucks Window Display
Upon walking up to the shop, you’ll see both the familiar and the new. Starbucks coffee bean bags have joined the standard window display now, and Starbucks signage is prominent outside of the bakery.
Starbucks Signage is Prominent
Starbucks Window Signage Features the Older Starbucks Logo
But this newly refurbished facade still indicates the turn-of-the-century charm that we expect to see on Main Street USA.
Main Street Bakery Starbucks facade
Atmosphere
Inside the bakery, you’ll find that the dark woods and Victorian decor continues — reminiscent of the former incarnation of Main Street Bakery.
Cast members are still clad in Victorian costume, and chandeliers remain turn-of-the-century true.
Starbucks!
Main Street Bakery Starbucks ledge for coffee and new decor
Of course, there have been some changes. Example #1: the dishware has gotten a makeover!
Disney Parks Starbucks Cups
And the set-up has changed to offer better flow for a typical coffee shop…minus the indoor seating.
Main Street Bakery Starbucks
The menu features Starbucks coffees and drinks…note the Disney Dining Plan snack credit options!
Main Street Bakery Starbucks Menu -- click for larger image
When you get to the front of the line and are ready to make your selections, Cast Members dressed in Victorian costumes are ready and willing to take your order.
Main Street Bakery Starbucks
Baked goods here are now primarily Starbucks “brand,” but you will find a few Disney-made options, too.
Main Street Bakery Starbucks
Main Street Bakery Starbucks
Once you choose your eats and coffee, you’ll have the option to pick up some fresh fruit, grab-and-go items, or drinks from a refrigerated section.
Main Street Bakery Starbucks
Since the cinnamon rolls were not available, we chose another favorite classic Main Street Bakery treat — the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake!
Main Street Bakery Starbucks
Since seating is all outdoors now (and there’s not too much of it to go around, so plan accordingly), we took a seat outside to watch the goings-on of Main Street.
Main Street Bakery Starbucks
The cupcake hit the spot and we’re hoping it will continue to stick around! It really is one of my favorite Main Street Bakery treats!
Main Street Bakery Starbucks
I’m eagerly awaiting the official opening of the Bakery on June 18th! I’m sure there will be some changes in the first few weeks and months, so please drop us a line with your perceptions and experiences!
Will you frequent Main Street Bakery for coffee on your way to grab fastpasses? Let us know in the comments below!
Thanks Dave Manning for photos!
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I can’t wait to see the new MSB! I missed going there in March. I’ll miss the cinnamon rolls but you can get them in Gastons Tavern in New Fantasyland. At first with MSB being changed to include Starbucks I wasn’t happy along with a lot of people but now that its happened I guess we’ve gotta accept it lol. I do look forward to going to MSB on my next trip 🙂
This all seems a bit redundant, at the moment, given that the genie was let out of the bottle with Saturday’s article, which has to date garnered 114 comments and intense, often unhappy, debate regarding the new Main Street Starbucks. I’ll try not to repeat myself too much here (perhaps impossible); those few who might wish to know my views further can read my several voluminous earlier comments. Those who are uninterested can stop reading now (don’t say you weren’t warned). I will say up front that today’s article on the new venue has presented nothing that would change my mind.
I like Starbucks coffee just fine and have never opposed Disney selling it; I understand the role corporate sponsorships have always played in the parks; and I understand the need for Disney to experiment with new ways of doing things. None of that is at issue. The issue for me is summed up nicely on Starbuck’s own website, where a PR article touting Starbucks’ inclusion in the Disney parks is titled “The Starbucks Experience Comes to Disney Theme Parks.” The space, as pictured on the blog thus far, tips the balance too far away from the “Disney experience” and too far in the direction of the “Starbucks experience.” to make me feel comfortable Yes, there is a thin veneer of Victoriana added here, but it’s not much (see the Disneyland Paris bakery for a period interior that will blow you away). It’s certainly not anything that would inspire great admiration or awe at its artistry (and there was a time, dear friends, when everything in the Disney parks did that).
This is definitely the Starbucks experience. The pictures make it look like a Starbucks in an upscale mall where someone has decided a little “old-timey” theming would be nice. It’s clear that theming was never the central concern here. Though there are some period fixtures and a few period artifacts sprinkled around, this space retains first and foremost its identity as a Starbucks. The display cases, the menu boards, the set-up, most of the products, could have come from the Starbucks down the street–except the Starbucks down the street actually has places for people to sit. Even the cups display a Starbucks logo very much as prominent as the Disney logo.
Compare this with the Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe in Disney’s California Adventure. It also is a Starbucks venue, but it is beautifully themed. You don’t see the usual Starbucks paraphernalia in evidence, the usual Starbucks menu boards, display cases, layout, etc. The Starbucks experience is subsumed to the Buena Vista Street experience. That’s the way it should be. The Starbucks design elements are absorbed almost completely by the Disney-themed elements. Surely even people who want to consume Starbucks products don’t, while on Main Street, want to do it in a store that constantly reminds them they are in a Starbucks and not in a turn-of-the-last-century American town.
Many won’t care, of course, many are just happy to get their frappuccinos, and many have wished for a good cup of coffee in the Magic Kingdom for so long that they’ll happily patronize the store, regardless of how it may fall short in its thematic integrity. I will, however, stand with those who are disappointed, or, if you will, with the “crybabies,” which is what we were called on this blog two days ago. Just stand back and hear me cry!
Can you guys do a couple more posts specifically about the main street bakery goods that aren’t starbucks goods? I’ve been reading alot about people’s opinons about new starbucks and while I personally am not heartbroken about the loss of the cinnamon roll like everyone else is, it would be nice to see what else people can get that doesn’t come from the starbucks bakery. I know that most of the baked goods are starbucks but if people start to see more of how main street bakery has kept some of its uniqueness it might make people feel better. I heard that they will only have some non-starbucks goods after 11am. I’m not exactly sure why it will only be starbucks before then but whatever.
With that being said I do like the fact we will have a place to get starbucks in magic kingdom. I will definitely be stopping in for a coffee drink at some point in my trip. I just know I will miss getting those amazing chocolate chip cookies that were ten times better from MSB than anywhere else on property (although the contempo cafe has some pretty good chocolate chip cookies as well.)
Looks like Disney just gave me one less must-do eatery for my annual trip. So, thanks for the savings, Disney!
No more Nescrape, I’ll take it
What are the prices like? I know my standard pricing for a latte at my neighborhood Starbucks – but dare I ask what the “Disney markup” is? I guess nothing says “I love Mickey” quite like a $20 coffee 😉
And thanks Professor for your input. I enjoyed your post a while back with the links to the old sponsorship photos. I think you hit the nail on the head – I will patronize for sure but it would be nice if it was a little more “Disnified” and the Starbucks less noticeable. But thank goodness we can count on Disney to be ever changing. You never know how many important decision makers might be reading this blog as we speak 😉
And also – since it’s “officially” here – can the heated debates end now? Let’s talk FOOD!!
Colette — I hope you enjoy it! Do you have a beverage all picked out?
Prof. Brainard — I, too, agree that the Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe was a better execution of bring Starbucks to a Disney park. There’s TONS of seating there, along with a much more period/themed feel.
JennyC — Yes, we can…and we will! But we’re waiting until the bakery officially opens tomorrow before delving into anything too detailed. I have a feeling that what baked goods are offered might go through a few variations and incarnations before they settle, so we’ll do some more thorough food reviews soon.
Joshua — Ha ha! You’ll be getting your coffee elsewhere, eh?
@thehodge11 — And now that Joffrey’s is the “official” Disney coffee, you should be sans Nescafe for the rest of your Disney experiences.
Joy O — You can click on the menu photo above to see the prices.
No indoor seating?
Prices seem pretty normal compared to the NJ prices I pay daily. Maybe a $.25 – $.50 markup on some of the items. Granted, I live in a swanky area of NJ so these may be more than some less expensive to live states. Regardless, thank God for good coffee!!! I’d pay more for it any day of the week!
I can see you are trying to put a good spin on this. Nice try, but it didn’t work.
If you want Starbucks go to Starbucks but if you want Disney go to Disney. What a shame!
It’s too bad there is such negativity about the new MSB. I for one, can’t wait to check it out on my next trip to the World. The old MSB was tired.
Does anyone know if they honor the Starbucks secret menu? I only like a couple Starbucks drinks, and one is on the secret menu.
Wanted: decent coffee.
NOT wanted: boring Starbucks baked goods and themes that you can (almost literally) find anywhere. Those cake pops aren’t half bad, but I can run up to the TINY Starbucks in my KING SOOPERS grocery (Kroger) in Monument, CO and get the EXACT SAME THINGS. Ugh. Blah. Blah. BLAH. I cry with you, professor! What a MASSIVE bummer.
That is a weirdly shaped cupcake. Was there sufficient frosting? The cake:frosting ratio looks off.
Follow up question: the ice cream sundae cupcake didn’t make it did it? I never got to try that one.
I for one will never step foot in MSB again. I’m so disappointed…and I wholeheartedly agree with Joshua above…one less place to spend my money. Plenty of other, now better, options around! I hate Starbucks coffee too, so no loss for me. Good coffee is more readily available now anyway…
I love the cinnamon roll in Gaston’s…I love Maple anything, so I was hooked at first bite!
My hubby is devastated at the possible loss of the warm banana bread pudding. It is a must do (with an ala mode scoop of vanilla) every trip after Wishes. If anyone notices whether it made the cut or not I’d be grateful!
If the sales of the Starbucks baked goods stink (I wouldn’t buy them at Disney, although I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them at home), then Disney would eventually stop selling them. The best thing we can do now is voice our opinions with our dollars.
I’m with Darlene. Vote with your pocketbook.
I like the fact that you can now get Starbucks coffee inside the park. I mean seriously if you are a coffee drinker you know that the Nescafe stunk. I drank it because I had no other choice. The Starbucks pastries aren’t terribly bad, however, I do like those Starbucks cake pops. I think we have to see for ourselves and wait for AJ’s review to see the rest of the Disney pastries available. Also, it’s not like they got rid of the cinnamon roll all together, just walk over to Gaston’s no big deal.
I was very disappointed to hear about the Starbucks replacement of MSB in the first place but I was waiting until official pictures/news broke to say anything (which has been a while). Now that there is proof that this is LITERALLY just a Starbucks… this STINKS! My sister has worked at Starbucks for years and I can get that crappy food for free, and it’s still not good, even for free. MSB was great for unique, delicious, and FRESH baked goods. Gone are the piping hot serving trays holding all the warm treats. Even freshly prepared cold items and sandwhiches. To echo everyone else, I can buy this swill at every corner in my hometown, or in any town, in the entire world. It is sad that the seating is gone, but I don’t care because I am not gonna be sitting in that place, unless they revert back to the old food or better. If they were replacing just the coffee, that would be fine, even though I don’t like Starbucks… but why did they have to mess with the food? I definitely don’t frequent food blogs and frequent message boards about Starbucks food! Bring back Disney Treats!
I’ll step in and answer a few questions.
JoAnne – I’m afraid there’s no indoor seating. The nearest seating is the tables on Center Street or in front of the Plaza Restaurant.
Mary – No Idea, we were unable to actually order off the menu. All guests during the soft opening were given a voucher that allowed us one free pastry item, hence the cupcake.
V No Privacy — Most of the cupcakes at Main Street Bakery are varied, so they won’t be offered ALL the time. The return of the Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake is a good indication that the ice cream sundae cupcake might still be in the rotation. It just depends on when you’re there whether or not that will be on the menu during your visit.
I was disappointed when I heard Starbucks was coming to Disney. Looking at the pictures…and seeing the seating is gone too….I have to wonder….what were they thinking!!!
I gotta say, I can’t stand the coffee down there (who can?) and would gladly pay more for a cup of good coffee. But as others have hinted, I want escapism at WDW and going into a Starbucks will feel like my real-world routine. I don’t want that.
Mary, there is no secret menu, despite an annual media story somewhere to the contrary. Even if staff at some store did start to make something a customer ordered called “an Almond Joy frappuccino,” for instance, turnover is so high that in a few months there would very likely be no one left in that store who would even know what a customer ordering said drink was talking about. I was with the company for three years and the only time I ever heard any talk of a secret menu or was in a news story about it. No one ever ordered drinks from it either. If your Starbucks baristas know how to make something special for you, that’s great, but it’s unlikely another store’s will. So get the recipe from your store so you can tell the WDW baristas (ugh, I hated typing that) what’s in it.
Do they serve the blonde/veranda coffee???????
I was there on Saturday also. I was given a voucher for a “venti sized beverage.” Since I loathe Starbucks coffee, I wanted to try something different. I ordered a Mango Smoothie. In theory, it had 2% milk, a banana, and 2 scoops of protein powder, in addition to the mango. Unfortunately, it lacked only one thing: flavor. It had no taste whatsoever. (?!) I have been drinking coffee since I was a child, and have at least one cup every day. I have always liked Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. I never had a problem with the Nescafe. Starbucks is too bitter in my opinion. If Starbucks is the only choice, I get a latte. Also, (just my opinion now, don’t hurt me) the best thing about Starbucks is the seating and the free wi-fi. There’s already free wi-fi at WDW, so the chance to sit down would be the only reason to stop there. I looked at and took pictures of everything in the cases, and my husband who works across the street from a Starbucks confirmed that the only non-Starbucks item in the cases was the cupcakes. Sigh. I plan to vote with my pocketbook, as was suggested above.
Do you know if the ice cream cookie sandwiches will still be available somewhere at MK?
Jen — The ice cream cookie sandwiches have ALWAYS been available at Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square, and they are now also available at the Main Street Ice Cream Parlor.
As I said before: really, really bad idea.
I’ll continue to have my cup of Starbucks Via coffee in my room, and give this place a wide berth.
The cinnamon roll from MSB is vastly different from the one available at Gaston’s. Gaston’s has maple icing. 🙁
Thank you Christa! That is my objection too. A lot of people seem to be saying “Well don’t worry, you can get the roll at Gaston’s.”
No, you can get A roll at Gaston’s, it is not the MSB roll. That’s like saying “well we got rid of the Dole Whip but you can still get a citrus swirl.”
Thanks for the answer. I’m sure we won’t be stopping for breakfast anymore without the indoor seating. It was one of our favorite first stops at MK.
Since I don’t drink coffee, and there’s nothing I can do about the (lack of) theming, there is only one thing I care about:
Can I still get a Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at the Main Street Bakery?
(Yeah, I know it’s been years since they’ve been called that specifically, but that’s what they’ll always be to me.)
V – exactly – and I am a Citrus Swirl Lover! Also, I lament the loss of my favorite croissant with egg, cheese and ham. And I also lament the loss of indoor seating. I can get Sbux food at any store locally, so not having the MSB items with the Sbux coffee is a big “fail” in my book.
This makes me so sad. I loved walking into the bakery and having to take 10 minutes to choose because everything looked so good. I live in NYC and have literally four different Starbucks within walking distance of my apartment. And I hate their pastries. The rest doesn’t bother me as much as the major lack of Disney goodies that we all love. They went way overboard with the Starbucks-ification. Sad day.
I can’t even with all these complaints & yes you guys do sound like cry babies. If you don’t like go somewhere else, I don’t think you not spending money is going to hurt MSB as a matter of fact I’m sure it will always be packed. The Rolls at Gastons are actually WAY better than the originals at MSB.
The cinnamon roll at Gaston’s is EXACTLY the same as the one from Main Street Bakery. Same cinn buns, same maple smear, same white icing. Main Street Bakery was giving their cinn rolls to Gaston’s up until the day it closed. Not sure where anyone got the idea that they are at all different.
I’m surprised that its even still called the “MSB”. It seems as though that is the case in name only. I’m disappointed that there so far seem to be so few of the actual bakeries treats. My hubby LOVES Starbucks, but is not quite sure he go in the MK. It’s about what was taken away, a place that holds so much tradition and comfort. I would have been more for it had it been part of the new fantasyland, not taking away a place that meant so much to so many. Starbucks is not unique. It would seem odd carrying a Starbucks cup down Main Street and around the park. We go there to get away. And yes, I totally get that there are other brands well represented, but at least my cup of coke is in a Disney cup not plastered with COKE labels. I wish the bakery had been kept as it had and the SBucks added to a different location. The Tomorrowland Noodle Station would have been a great option, it’s empty the majority of the time. Oh well, I guess what is done is done and we’ll have to get used to it.
I don’t think I ever actually made it into the MSB before the conversion, but it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever set foot in there now. Starbucks is immensely overrated, with all of their beverages tasting charred and burnt (how on earth someone gets that “flavor” in hot chocolate is beyond me), and it’s a dime-a-dozen atmosphere that can be found anywhere. If I want the commonplace junk from a Starbucks (which I don’t), I’ll go to any of the dozens of locations by my house. I want the uniqueness of Disney, and I want something that I could see myself actively traveling hundreds of miles to get. In my opinion, this was a fail.
AJ- I’d probably try the Mocha frap or a refresher or iced coffee drink. I never go to Starbucks so I’m not familiar with their drinks. TBH I love the MSB for its food especially the cupcakes and cinnamon roll.
I agree with what others have put about the cinnamon roll at Gastons not being the same ad the MSB one but atleast there still doing them in MK.
Looking at the pics I gotta say the cinnamon swirl coffee cake looks pretty nice.
Hi AJ,
I’m unclear about the DDP credits for Starbucks drinks and pastries. Could either let us know what is considered a snack credit or perhaps talk about it in the next post about SB? It’s hard to figure out from the pictures. Thank you!
P.S. If you think Starbucks advertising is glaring, you should check out some of the restaurants that used to be in Disneyland. How about the Aunt Jemima Pancake House? I think there was also a restaurant with a coffee house name (I think it might have been Maxwell House). I think Starbucks is pretty understated compared to other sponsors that have been in Disney. Gotta know your Disney History. 🙂
I like Starbucks fine enough, it is the Mcdonalds of the coffee world, one on every corner and all the same. I even get wanting to serve Starbucks coffee, no problem with that. But selling Starbucks pastries in the bakery? No thanks. They may be good at coffees but their pastries are meh at best. I hope they toss that crap and keep thier own stuff or I guess I will not be stopping the MSB much any more.
I’m in agreement with Prof. Brainard on this one, so I won’t rewrite his musings so… ditto all of that.
I will say, the lack of “free seating” is one of those things that’s starting to effect my enjoyment of not only the Magic Kingdom’s “snacks”, but Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival booths as well. I don’t much like eating on top of garbage cans, outdoors… period… and that’s usually the only free space I can find when I have a food item in one hand, and a beverage in another. Then, if you need a fork and don’t want to engage in the “pig face chow down, lick the plate” style of eating… well good luck. You actually need a free hand to do that. If you have children or parents to look after, eating while standing up is almost impossible, and certainly not enjoyable.
If there’s four of us in a group, and the food/beverage cost is $30+, then it’s a honest to goodness “mini event”, and I want to sit down. I too am mourning the loss of the cinnamon buns, the apple turnovers, and the bread pudding… but once I get over that… I’m not even inclined to stop in and try any of the “freshly unfrozen semi-baked goods” because the only thing worse than a piece of Starbucks pound cake, is a piece of Starbucks pound cake that I have to eat over a garbage can.
If I can now get a decent cup of Joffrey’s ground after a legitimate meal at any Disney restaurant, I’m not sure why I’d need another cup of coffee anyhow. So yep… this is another one of those locations that was a “must do” that’s turned into a “pass”. I suspect they’ll be really busy in the morning, and right around park closing times, with 85% of their sales being beverage only. It’s just intended to be a drink stop.
I’m also really curious if the “no indoor seating” is going to carry over to the upcoming Epcot Starbucks location as well. There’s been a ton of large scale scrims from floor to rooftop at the old Fountain View. After seeing what they’ve done to the Bakery, I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up tearing out all the seating at the Fountain View (indoor AND outdoor), and just push the glass wall out another 15 feet to allow more indoor “line” space.
We agree with those who think this is TERRIBLE. Primarily because, as Prof Brainard said, this is hardly a “Disney experience” anymore, but basically a mall “Starbucks experience”.
Disney should have been thinking about re-establishing Main Street back to what Walt originally intended — a believable replica of an actual 1930s-1950s small town main street — and I mean INSIDE, not just the EXTERIOR facade. In my opinion, walking into many of the Main Street stores now is like walking inside a mall store — the illusion of “old” small town America and quaint shops is gone. This new Starbucks MSB is just the latest and worst example of this. Disney should have given free reign to their great Imagineers to do something wonderful with the MSB (as stated above by Prof Brainard for Fiddler…Cafe in California, you can do that and still incorporate/sell Starbucks products) — instead they let Starbucks do what THEY wanted and they turned it into a not so clever “Starbucks experience”. I can only imagine that the Imagineering group is not too happy that they were not given the responsibility to redo the MSB, but that Starbucks had their way with it. Like your company hiring an outside contractor to do something that should have been your job or responsibility.
When we went on a “backstage” tour of the Magic Kingdom several years ago, the Cast Member tour guide we had said that Disney placed great emphasis on their Cast Members realizing they were going “on stage” when they went out to the public areas, and “acting” appropriately in creating the Disney experience for all guests. In the case of the Starbucks takeover of the Main Street Bakery, it appears that upper management is more concerned with THEIR own “cash” experience, not in creating a better “Disney” experience for their “guests”. We can only hope that this is not a portent of things to come…
What I don’t get is Disney signs with Starbucks then a couple weeks later they announce Joffrey’s is coming to the parks. Why not simply swap out the Nescafe for Joffrey’s and keep the bakery as is. It’s not like the bakery wasn’t busy, lines used to be out the door at times.
I don’t drink coffee anyways but I always stopped at the Bakery for an apple turnover or muffin. Guess I will have to find somewhere else to do that. It just seems they took a location that you could get baked goods at and coffee and now it will only appeal to coffee drinkers.
I have to agree 100% with mealtrip.
There is never any place to sit, now adds to another one. I am not even complaining with indoor seating. There is no outdoor seating either. Hike all the way over to the People Mover and eat while you are riding.
I didn’t know there is also an Epcot Starbucks coming. At the England pavilion where I love to get the fish and chips or over at France where I love to get their crepes, you are juggling on top of a trash can and even though the meal is great, you rush through it because you can’t sit down. They have got to get a clue about this!
I’m not a coffee drinker, so I don’t care who’s coffee they serve at the parks. The pastries at Starbucks are barely edible. Main Street Bakery had some awesome choices, so this is very disappointing. Now I find out that I missed out on warm banana bread pudding with ice cream on top!!! Makes me even sadder…
I’m not sure why voicing disappointment makes us cry babies. I know I’m probably naive, but I like to think that someone at Disney actually cares how the true Disney fans feel about the changes they make! I say keep voicing your opinion and also vote with your wallet. If everyone is willing to settle for the Starbucks pastries we will never get the good stuff back!
The re-theming is awful, as is the lack of seating. I’m fine with the coffee, but please bring back MSB baked goods. The SB baked goods don’t even come close… Yuck!