It’s Gingerbread Time at Walt Disney World Resort

[Disney4me]

The delicious aroma of gingerbread is in the air all across Walt Disney World Resort, signaling the start of the winter holidays. Here’s a first look at the fantastical creations of the Disney pastry chefs.

Let’s start with the classic Gingerbread House at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, debuting November 19 (through January 1) in the hotel lobby. Celebrating 17 years, the life-size house is 16 feet high with 40 window panes, made with 1,050 pounds of honey and 700 pounds of chocolate – the team spends more than 400 hours just baking the fresh gingerbread with Chef Erich Herbitschek’s classic gingerbread recipe from Austria. The houses, ornaments and cookies are almost too pretty to eat. And Herbitschek’s stollen bread recipe is the real deal.

You can watch free gingerbread house decorating demos every day except Sundays in front of the house. And this year’s collectible pin features Minnie Mouse as Mary Poppins.

Over at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, the fourth floor Gingerbread Holiday Ice Castle is on display November 12-January 6, the 17-foot-high Gingerbread Ice Castle is a nod to blockbuster Disney film “Frozen.” Nestled in the hotel’s Grand Canyon Concourse, you might note also note the influence of famed Disney artist Mary Blair’s “it’s a small world” (inspired by the massive concourse mural).

The Ice Castle is adorned with sugar snowflakes, 1,500 gingerbread shingles and chocolate-coated trees – there’s 423 pounds of chocolate in all. And sweet likenesses of Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and his sidekick Sven are decorated with sugar, chocolate and candies. They’ve even included fun elements from the “Frozen Fever” short. This year’s collectible pin features everyone’s favorite frozen friend, Olaf. (And look for 15 “Hidden Olafs” in the display!)

You can take home a build-your-own snowman marshmallow kit, snowflake cookies and ornaments and gingerbread goodies.

New this year, the lobby of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn features an old-fashioned Ginger’s Bread & Cookie Shoppe from November 18-January 4. The sweet shoppe is made with over 800 gingerbread shingles, 63 pounds of honey and over 350 pounds of gingerbread. Look for 11 Hidden Mickeys – 124 Mickeys on the display in all, including a gingerbread Mickey weather vane on top of the shoppe. There’s lots of gingerbread sweets, peppermint bark, sugar cookies and candy cane gelato. Take home a gingerbread kit and make your own house.

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort features a Holiday Village with a Miniature Train from November 18-January 3. In the lobby of the Yacht Club Resort, the intricate scene is surrounded with sugar rock mountains. At Disney’s Beach Club Resort, the Gingerbread Carousel is returning, made with 36 pounds of honey, 96 pounds of flour, 10 pounds of spices, 100 pounds of icing and 50 pounds of dark chocolate. Look for goodies to carry home like mini gingerbread houses, gingerbread cupcakes and shingles, sugar cookies and more, plus gingerbread kits to make your own edible house. And there’s a limited edition collectible pin featuring Chef Donald Duck.

More Disney gingerbread details from the theme parks to come!

It’s Gingerbread Time at Walt Disney World Resort by Pam Brandon: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog

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