Goodbye, King Cupcake… Hello, King Whoopie Pie!
Yep, you read that correctly. You’d better believe that when we started hearing rumors that our beloved King Cupcake was no longer available at one of our favorite counter service spots, Everything Pop, we buzzed over to Disney’s Pop Century Resort ASAP to scope out the situation.
Much as it breaks my heart to say it… the rumors are true!
It was love at first bite for me with the King Cupcake. What first struck me as an odd flavor combo of peanut butter, banana, and candied bacon (a twist on Elvis Presley’s favorite sandwich ingredients, hence the name) quickly became one of my go-to favorites upon trying it. In fact, it was one of the first items I placed on my Disney Food Bucket List.
Everything Pop has not left us entirely without a tribute to Elvis, though. Allow me to introduce you to the King Cupcake’s official replacement (as it stands for now, anyway): the King Whoopie Pie.
King Whoopie Pie
Now, you may recall that we were JUST at Everything Pop, checking out the new selection of Mini Tarts. Well, on my recon mission to find out what happen to the King Cupcake, I saw that they had also added the same Whoopie Pies that recently debuted at the Art of Animation’s Landscape of Flavors.
Choices at Everything Pop on the day of my visit included the Carrot Cake and Chocolate Whoopie Pies, like those at Landscape of Flavors.
Mini Carrot Cake Whoopie Pie
Mini Chocolate Whoopie Pie
But there were some new flavors as well, like Chocolate Chip (ok, yum) and Red Velvet.
Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
And this new option we certainly hadn’t seen before…
King Whoopie Pies
… the King Whoopie Pie.
King Whoopie Pie
Of course, even while this confirmed my fears of the missing King Cupcake, I still scanned every inch of those bakery cases for THIS:
King Cupcake
But there were none to be found. Nothing left to do but grab myself a King Whoopie Pie, and try to keep an open mind.
Just like the other whoopie pies up for grabs, the cake pieces were perfectly soft in the rich, dark chocolate form.
King Cupcake Center
The previous peanut butter flavor of icing from the cupcake was replicated in the whoopee pie’s filling. Here it tastes more like peanut butter fluff — light and airy, but still really flavorful.
Cross-Section of the King Whoopie Pie
The least changed element was the crumbled bacon bits on top, offering that hint of candied saltiness to the whole thing.
Bacon Bits
Remember the banana pudding filling inside the cupcake, though? Well, upon tasting the peanut butter center of the whoopie pie, I was expecting the icing on top to lend some of that ol’ banana flavor… Nope! It’s more of the peanut butter icing. Sadly, the only banana flavor came from the dried banana slice on top.
King Cupcake Top
Sure, it looks cute, but I miss my banana pudding center!
Taken on its own, the King Whoopie Pie is… well, it’s pretty good. I mean, heaven knows I’ve got nothing against Whoopie Pies. But the absence of the King Cupcake carries a sting. I miss that banana flavor, and, frankly, the larger overall portion of the King Cupcake. The Whoopie Pie is fine, but the King Cupcake was its own kind of epic. You know?
I can’t help but wonder if Elvis would agree…
Are you sad to see the King Cupcake go? Please let us know with a comment below!
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Hmmm. Not-very-thick icing? Hard pass.
…
Oh, who am I kidding; I’ll probably try it anyway.
Sigh….I will be visiting Pop for the first time in May for a few nights before heading to AKL. I was soooo looking forward to trying the King cupcake as it reminds me of the Peanut butter banana tart at Boardwalk Bakery which I LOVE. I’ll still give the whoopie pie a try, but it definitely doesn’t look as good.
Noooo! I know I shouldn’t admit it being from Pennsylvania, but I’m not a big fan of whoopie pies. Cupcakes are far superior and I will miss this one very much.
I first tried the King Cupcake last year when I went down with my parents for F&W, and honestly I wasn’t too impressed with the filling. The rest of the cupcake totally lived up to the hype but the banana filling was just… meh. I’m sad to see the King Cupcake go for sure, but in terms of flavor combos this sounds more up my alley. Either that or banana frosting on top.
I just don’t understand the Whoopie Pie craze. Are they cheaper or easier to make than cupcakes?
I tried the king cupcake a few years ago. I’m really glad I tried it but it wasn’t a “must have” ever again. It was different and I liked it well enough but nothing awesome in my opinion.
Banana pudding and Banana flavoring seems to be a love it or hate it kind of flavor. I wonder if that’s why they chose to go with a PB filling instead. I never got to try the cupcake, but I hope I get to try a few of these whoopie pies. Especially the carrot cake and red velvet!
Looks like a fun try! Pop Century is one of a few resorts that I still haven’t visited, so now I have a great excuse.
I’m sad that I missed out on the cupcake, though. Have you tried the monkey cupcake at Caribbean Beach? I prefer the chocolate over the vanilla. It has chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and a banana filling. Quite possibly the best combination of flavors ever. It sounds similar to the King Cupcake (minus the bacon)!
I never tried the King cupcake because the banana filling turned me off. But this seems more up my alley since I can easily just take that banana chip off!
I had my first King cupcakes at my 2 week stay at Pop Century in 2015. I was so in love with them that I had one almost every day. I went back last year and although I wasn’t staying at Pop, I made a special trip out there, just to be told I was out of luck. No more King cupcakes for me. I couldn’t even get a recipe. Bah! on Disney chefs!