There’s not a lot that I love better on a hot day in Florida than a little ice cream. But leave it to Disney World to kick ice cream up a notch by offering Gelato!
And we’re seeing it in a lot of different spots across Walt Disney World, and even in Disneyland. If you are a fan of this richer, more dense version of that snack we all scream for, then you’re in luck.
Today, we thought it was high-time to offer some inspiration for another DFB Food Challenge, and so we are going in search of all things gelato we can get our hands on with the Walt Disney World Gelato Crawl!
Since you can only enjoy so many desserts in a 24 hour period, feel free to bring along friends to split all the goodies, or pace yourself on the crawl by spreading out the stops over several days.
I hope you came hungry. Let’s get started!
Gelato Bars
Since our very first visit, Landscape of Flavors at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort has been one of our favorite counter service destinations. And one of the biggest reasons for that is their killer Gelato Bar!
If you’re lucky enough to be staying at Art of Animation, this first stop on the Gelato Crawl will be a snap! Check ’em out!
Gelato at Landscape of Flavors in Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
But my favorite thing about the Gelato Bar here — aside from the variety of flavors — is that you can also add toppings for a perfectly customized treat.
Toppings! Woo!
Pick your scoops, pick your sprinkles, and off you go!
My Favorite Combo — Raspberry and Chocolate
A couple of other Disney resorts also have gelato available. If you’re staying at Disney’s Coronado Resort, feel free to amend your crawl and start your gelato journey at Cafe Rix.
Gelato Flavors and Pricing at Cafe Rix
You can also check out a pretty awesome selection at End Zone Food Court over at All Star Sports!
End Zone Gelato Bar
Ahhhh…don’t you just love having options??
Gelato Cookie Sandwiches in Epcot’s Italy Pavilion
After polishing off your first gelato of the day, head straight for Epcot, where you’ll have lots of different ways to enjoy your frozen favorite! Next stop: the Italy Pavilion.
View from Epcot’s Italy Pavilion
For your next foray into gelato, stop by the little Tutto Italia Stand. It’s easy to miss, as it tends to look like so many other kiosks! So be sure to keep your eyes peeled.
When you get there, order what will be your first of two treats from this spot: a Gelato Cookie Sandwich!
Think about it — I lurve ice cream cookie sandwiches. And I can’t ever get enough gelato. So how in the world could this even get any better?
You have some options here as well. You can choose a pre-made sandwich. They usually have a few made with different gelato flavors already in the cooler. These are great if you like both your cookie and your gelato extra cold!
Pre-Made Gelato Cookie Sandwiches
Me? I prefer that contrast between warm cookie and just-scooped gelato. So I’ll go for the custom-made version every time.
Custom-Made Gelato Cookie Sandwich — Up Close
And since it’s a sandwich and this is vacation, it could serve as lunch. Right?
Gelato Frizzante at Via Napoli
Once you’ve polished off that sandwich, you may want to stop for a real lunch. Since we’re in an Italian state of mind, I suggest you head off to Via Napoli. One of my most favorite restaurants in all of Walt Disney World, I’ve never had a meal here that I didn’t enjoy immensely!
But while you should totally go for an order of arancini or one of their amazing pizzas, be sure to leave some room for dessert. Because this is another stop on the gelato trail, of course!
Here, you’ll have the sublime pleasure of experiencing a Gelato Frizzante. This delicious Italian version of an ice cream soda is orange-y heaven.
Gelato Frizzante at Via Napoli
Seriously. Ya gotta try this!
Coppa Delizia in Epcot’s Italy Pavilion
And now, after a walk (or two or three) around World Showcase Lagoon, it’s time to head back to Italy once more. (You really shouldn’t be shocked. We are after the Italian version of ice cream, after all. 🙂 )
Take yourself back to the Tutto Italia kiosk again. And this time, you’ll definitely want to bring reinforcements to help you tackle the glory that is the Coppa Delizia.
Gelato Perfection! The Coppa Delizia in Epcot’s Italy Pavilion
Scoops of that yummy gelato — cookies & cream and fior di latte — layered with a beautiful strawberry sauce and topped with whipped cream. This is the fantasy vacay dessert that you’ve been dreaming about for ages. So go ahead — indulge!
No-Sugar-Added Gelato at Cosmic Ray’s
Finally, once you have exhausted all of the gelato at Epcot, you’ll probably want to see some fireworks, right? Board the monorail for Magic Kingdom in time to catch Wishes — and to have one last serving of the dreamy treat while you do it. But this time, it’s totally guiltless!
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the pre-packaged, No-Sugar-Added Mango Gelato at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. (Well. It’s actually sorbet. But since it’s listed as gelato, we’ll run with it.) Creamy and refreshing, it’s the perfect, light way to end the evening.
No-Sugar-Added Mango Gelato at Cosmic Ray’s
And with that, I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely counting the days until my next Walt Disney World trip!
If you love gelato like I love gelato, then I can’t wait to hear how you fare with this latest DFB Snack Crawl that we’ve put together for you!
And if tackling Disney one food group at a time is the way you love to tour, then be sure to check out our DFB Snack Guides in the DFB Store!
We’ve included color photos and reviews of over 500 snacks in all of our Snack Guides. With individual volumes covering Epcot and Magic Kingdom, plus a book combining all of the snack deliciousness of Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, there’s something for everyone! Better yet, bundle them all and save!
And don’t forget — there’s a 30-day, money-back guarantee on all of our Disney Food Blog e-Books.
Will you be taking on the Gelato Crawl during your next Walt Disney World Visit? Let us know below in comments!
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I’m surprised you didn’t include the Coppa di Brutti Ma Buoni at Via Napoli (vanilla gelato with amaretto cherries and cookies). It’s my favorite WDW dessert – delicious!
Leslie — It’s a gorgeous dessert, isn’t it? That one is on and off the menu, so it can be tough to find depending on your visit dates! 🙂
When we ate at Art of Animation’s food court right after it opened, we were surprised to see the gelato bar, which was lovely. My son enjoyed his chocolate gelato, straight. Since we usually stay at Music, its nice to know that a gelato bar is a short stroll away at Sports, although with any luck, they’ll redo Music’s food court and add gelato there too. We first encountered the sugar-free mango at Pinocchio’s in MK as a dessert with our CS meals. I liken the taste to tropical fruit Lifesavers; very refreshing indeed and a not too heavy ending for your meal.
I’ve stayed at the AoA resort and the food court is wonderful, but look at those pans of gelato. They’re almost too pretty to scoop into….almost. They really do some nice artwork on them. The orange gelato drink looks quite refreshing; I’ll have to try that sometime on a future trip. Thanks for coming up with these crawls; I appreciate the work you put into them and I seriously feel that it’s my job to do everyone of them. 🙂
On my last WDW vacation in October, those little pre-packed tubs of mango gelato from Cosmic Ray’s were for sale in the Pop Century food court “snack options” freezer, along with the Mickey bars etc. I had assumed that because I found it there when there’s no gelato bar at Pop that all the foodcourts were now stocking the mango gelato pots? (It was the freezer on the wall to the left of the pizza station in the food court). Or is this something quite unusual?
I’m never totally convinced I can tell the difference between gelato and ice cream so I tend to just choose mint choc chip ice cream. Am I missing out?