I’m sure it will come as no surprise when I say that the first stop I make during every visit to the Magic Kingdom is the Main Street Confectionery. Just a whiff of the sweet smell inside lets me know that all is well in the universe.

One of my favorite pastimes is watching the cast members in the glass-walled kitchen create the specialties of the house: fudge, cake pops, chocolate-covered pretzels, candy apples, or Mickey-shaped krispie treats. I consider myself a bit of krispie artist, so the creation of these particular treats holds a special fascination for me.

I’ve stopped to watch the giant krispie Mickeys being made dozens of times. I love how they use the exact same Kellogg’s Rice Krispies and Jet-Puffed marshmallows that I use at home. And I’ve loved seeing those well-worn metal molds and wondering how many thousands of Mickeys have emerged from each one.

You can imagine my dismay when I made my usual Confectionery stop during a trip this past fall and saw — instead of the solid, practical metal Mickey pan being used to form krispie treats — a floppy red silicone pan. Quelle horreur!

Not long after I noticed the switch at the Confectionery, I started seeing the red pan for sale in the [Read more…]