Made famous at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, Louisiana, beignets are a delicious, doughnut-like treat. And if you’re lucky enough to visit Sassagoula Floatworks food court at Port Orleans Resort, French Quarter, in Disney World, you can try some yourself!
Sassagoula Floatworks Food Court
In fact Sassagoula Floatworks, which is themed after a Mardi Gras float-building warehouse, is worth the trip. The spectacle of the partially constructed float decor is a photo-trip in itself!
Sassagoula Floatworks Food Court Decor
Sassagoula Floatworks Float Decor
On my recent WDW trip, I had my first taste of beignets, and I can safely say I’ll be back for more! What I find particularly interesting is that the beignets are not pre-made. In fact, when we ordered them, we had to wait 5-10 minutes while they were made.
First, raw dough was brought into the kitchen from the back and pounded thin.
Step 1 in making the beignets
Second, the beignets were put into the fryer.
Making Beignets Step 2
And third, the beignets were removed and dusted with scads of powdered sugar.
Beignet Making Step 3
They were as fresh and hot as can be — delicious!
Finished Beignets
Inside, the beignets are hollow
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Mmm… I love beignets!
I cannot stress enough that these are not real beignets!!!! From what I can tell they are actually sopapillas, or what I’m used to having as sopapillas in our local Mexican restaurants. Actual beignets are not hollow in the middle, but full of dough, which is why we say they are doughnut-like. Cafe du Monde actually sells beignet mix, so I’m baffled as to why Disney does not go for the real thing. If you want to know what a beignet actually tastes like, go get a funnel cake on the boardwalk or near American Adventure in Epcot. While stringy rather than in “pillow” form, the taste is much closer.
On a more positive note, all those float figures displayed around the Floatworks Factory are authentic. I’m guessing Disney bought them directly from Blaine Kerne himself.
WME: Me too!
Angie: Thank you for your comment! It’s great to hear from someone who really knows New Orleans’ beignets! I’ve never been to N.O., so the hollow vs. dough-filled quandry is good to know. Also, that’s really interesting info about the float figures. I’m so glad you stopped by the food blog to add your knowledge!
While the beignets at Disney aren’t terribly authentic (authentic isn’t always Disney’s goal), they do provide me my powdered sugar fix, which is largely why I eat beignets in the first place. They certainly don’t scratch my Cafe Du Monde itch, but at a food court in Disney World, they work well enough.
Now that’s my kind of breakfast! I do love the chocolate croissants that are served in most Disney Restaurants for breakfast as well.
Angie: I would love to have a Sopapilla for breakfast too drizzled with honey! Yummmie!
Mmmm….those look so good! Wish I was staying near there in a few weeks! I’m at Beach Club and may have to make a special trip to hunt those beignets down! Great article AJ!
Wow… way to help start a craving for those! 😉
I still think the ones served at Bonfamilias were better despite probably being the exact same recipe. In fact, that was one of my all-around favorite breakfast spots back in the day.
Van — thanks for jogging my memory! We’ll definitely have to do a post on Bonfamilias soon.
Well, they may not be authentic to a world traveller, but they are on our “Must Have” list for every World visit. (If I could wangle it, I would have them each and every day of our WDW visit, whether for BF, L, D or Dessert!) I’ve tried making them at home, but they never taste as delicious as at POFQ! Love ’em!!
Iheart — Agreed! 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
That is actually where I worked during WDW College Program 1996! I made those things on a daily basis! On our trip back to #DisneySMMoms, I took my kids and hubby there so they could try them and see where I worked. They loved them and enjoyed the fact that I used to be the “girl back there smooshing them”! I got the greatest pictures of them with powdered sugar ALL over their faces!
We are on our way to POR for the F&W Festival in 55 days! I can’t wait to try them.
I’m from Nawlins’ that’s New Orleans to you guys, and let me tell you they are the closest I have ever had! We now live in Florida, and we don’t get to Cafe Du Monde as much as I would like, but we do get to my man Mickey’s house a lot, and we always zip over to Sassagoula Floatworks for Beignets!!!!
I would also have to agree about those float figures displayed around the Floatworks Factory. We have been to more than I care to count Mardi Gras parades and these are Blaine Kerne floats! They sort of freak me out too!
We absolutely loved them..!! We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and walked over to the French Quarter just to try them, and of course it was our last day there, if we had tried them earlier in our stay, they would have been an every morning ritual!
I’m gonna try my best to replicate asap.. (;
allison — So fun!!
Coleen — I hope you enjoyed! 🙂
Leigh — Awesome! Thanks for authenticating the snack for us! 🙂
Julie — Yay!!! Send us pics when you recreate!
I don’t think they were supposed to be hollow. They may have been fried too long. The ones I get at Disneyland are doughy in the middle and are authentic beginets.
I was a bit confused about the hollow part too, but in any case I’m ready to try them!
I’m not searching for authenticity, I just want something that looks and tastes good (and
they DO look tasty); plus, I like the freshly made part.
As for the funnel cake advice (re: Angie), I may decide on trying that as well! It’s not part of a DDP, but I’m not worried about that, either. My only question about that item is if the funnel cake at Epcot is the same as the cart on the Boardwalk?
dre — Yep, funnel cakes are pretty much the same the world over! You can get different toppings in different places, though!
I live in New Orleans and want to say ALL Beignets are hollow inside. They puff as they are deep fried in the grease. My wife had some while we stayed at Port Orleans recently and while she said they were not bad, they were not authenic. Too much like a biscut and not enough like a donut.
Hello!
I have 2 questions about those beignets:
1. Are they flavored with cinammon? I hate cinammon and would not want to go all the way to this hotel, finding out that it tastes like cinammon. 😉
2. Does someone know if they are nut-free?
Thanks!
Maryse, here’s the link to a recipe from the Disney Parks Blog that says it’s the Sassagoula Float Works recipe. No cinnamon or nuts listed! But you can always double check with a cast member at the counter as well.