Get a comfy chair, my friends, ’cause this is a long one! Lots of great photos of the Walt Disney World Gingerbread Houses, including some fantastic detail shots that I can’t wait to share with you. Tuck yourself into your snuggie, get a cup of hot chocolate, and off we go to tour the WDW Gingerbread Houses!
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
One of my favorite parts of Disney World is Mary Blair’s gorgeous mural on the Grand Canyon Concourse, and this 17-foot-high tree fits perfectly within the look and feel of her masterpiece.
And, as is common in Disney’s gingerbread displays, there’s a hidden Mickey!
Here are the stats on this Gingerbread display:
Contemporary Gingerbread Display Ingredient fun facts:
136 lbs. of honey
101 lbs. of flour
50 eggs
75 lbs. of icing
5 lbs. of spices
5 pounds of sugar syrup
And there are even a few beautifully designed character cookies for sale, so you can take a piece of this work of art home with you.
Here’s a close-up of my very favorite one:
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Over to the Epcot resorts to visit the traditional gingerbread carousel at the Beach Club! According to Disney, this holiday season marks the 10th anniversary of the carousel, a “fully detailed, life-sized carousel in the resort’s lobby that is created from a recipe that uses gingerbread, chocolate and sugar paste, and tons of enthusiasm, energy and talent.” Remember if you’re visiting: once a day, a guest is chosen for a photo with pastry chef Stefan Riemer!
There are always gorgeous details and intricate additions to the carousel; here are a few of this year’s special additions:
This year, 10 “hidden Mickeys,” one for each year, can be found on the carousel! There are also a few additional gingerbread structures flanking the spinning masterpiece: A princess castle, Chip and Dale’s Tree House, and a “What Will You Celebrate?” carousel horse, complete with an invitation list!
Beach Club Carousel Ingredient fun facts:
36 lbs. of honey
96 lbs. of bread flour
100 pints of eggs
10 lbs. of spices
10 quarts of simple syrup
100 lbs. of icing
50 lbs. of dark chocolate
10 quarts of egg whites
100 lbs. of confectioner sugar
If staring at all of this gingerbread makes you hungry, head over to the merchandise center nearby to get your own gingerbread treats:
Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
I love the Boardwalk Inn’s display this year! It’s funny, joyful, bright, and packed with detail. This year, the lobby of Disney’s Boardwalk showcases a gazebo made of gingerbread and chocolate — and one Donald Duck in quite a predicament!
Look out Donald!
Luckily, Daisy and Stitch are prepared to step in…kind of…
And here are some incredible details found in and around the gazebo:
And, of course, the Ingredient list:
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
The biggest and most famous of the gingerbread displays, the Grand Floridian’s life-sized gingerbread house is a classic tradition at Walt Disney World.
The gingerbread house is so large, it doubles as a bake shop selling cookies, gingerbread ornaments, stollen bread, chocolate-peppermint bark, lollipops, and Grand Floridian logo boxes filled with truffles. Demonstrations of how to decorate a gingerbread house take place in front of the gingerbread house daily except Sundays.
Of course, this gingerbread house has plenty of detail as well:
Can you find Timon and Puumba?
Cool view from above! Check out that footprint!
And on the other side…some friendly Cast Members waiting to share their wares!
Gingerbread house fun facts:
Chefs spend 400 hours baking the gingerbread and 160 hours decorating the house.
Structure Composition:
16 feet high
17 feet wide
1,000 board feet of trim
60 sheets of plywood
40 window panes
80 square feet of retail space
100 square feet of display
10,000 pieces of gingerbread used
Gingerbread Ingredients:
1,050 lbs. honey
600 lbs. powdered sugar
35 lbs. spices
800 lbs. flour
140 pints egg whites
180 lbs. apricot glaze
Here’s a Jeff Lange video of this phenomenal display:
American Adventure and Italy Displays at Epcot’s World Showcase
Finally, we head back over to Epcot to visit some lesser-known gingerbread displays!
Santa’s Bake Shop at Liberty Inn at the American Adventure pavilion is another life-sized gingerbread house made entirely of gingerbread, cookies, and icing. Stop by to purchase drinks and goodies here, too!
Here are the costs for the goodies inside!
Italy has its own intricate gingerbread display. Can you see a hidden Disney character?
Even the detail here, on this smaller display, is amazing. Check out Santa as he heads out into the canal!
And here’s that Disney character I mentioned — it’s Luigi from Cars!
Heading Home
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed our Gingerbread Display tour through Walt Disney World! I am grateful to Disney Moms Panelist Erin Foster, DisneyFotoBlog.com’s James Chapman, and GD Pinvestigation Blog’s Pinvestigator Cody for contributing their fantastic photos for this collection.
And our Disney Holiday Foods week at the Food Blog will continue, too. On Wednesday, we take a gander at even more holiday treats; then on Thursday, we’ll take a look at how Disney Gingerbread and Disney Collectibles collide!
Note: Thanks to StitchKingdom.com for forwarding along Disney’s press release with ingredients info!
Bobbie Womer says
I haven’t been there yet but am going on a tour tomorrow and it looks like it will be quite an impressive tour. Thanks so much>
AJ says
You bet, Bobbie! I hope you have wonderful time. I’d love to hear what you think about the displays!
Pat says
Love the posts and the blog. I intent to refer to your blog often since you have so much great information. Happy Holidays!
AJ says
Thanks, Pat! I look forward to keeping up with your blog as well. 😀
Ralph Hackle says
We loved the gingerbread cookies. We bought some to bring home. Can we order some online? If so, where?