New and returning gingerbread houses at Disney World this year

Some of our old favorites are returning, and a few NEW displays will make their debut this year!

Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Let’s start with the grandest of the gingerbread displays: the Grand Floridian! This amazing gingerbread house is a must-see if you are spending the holidays at Disney World.

Beginning November 9, you can view clouds of cinnamon billowing out of the chimney of this life-sized storybook gingerbread house made from a classic Austrian recipe. This house is adorned with white chocolate, candy canes, edible snowflakes, sugar poinsettias, and 25 – yes, 25 – hidden Mickeys!

Along the porches, you’ll find an 85-pound chocolate Santa, nutcrackers, toy soldiers, and snowmen that have all been hand-painted by the Grand Floridian Bakery team.

As the 50th Anniversary celebration at Walt Disney World Resort continues, this year’s displays will feature colors and accents inspired by the signature EARidescent look. You can even get limited edition pins, mugs, holiday ornaments, and treats! Some of the goodies you can purchase from the Gingerbread House include:

Freshly baked, homemade items, such as Gingerbread Mickeys and Shingles, Stollen Bread, Brownie Christmas Tree, and Chocolate Peppermint Bark
House-made Gingerbread Ornaments and Gingerbread Houses
New items like the Gingerbread Latte Whoopie Pie and Hot Cocoa Bombs
Assorted Gingerbread Cookie Bags, Marshmallow Pops, and Caramel Pecan Fudge Bar
Gluten-friendly, plant-based, and no sugar added treats
Grand Floridian Combo Box featuring assorted fan favorite treats, including the Chocolate Mickey Ornament, exclusive to the Combo Box

Contemporary Resort

This year is very exciting for Disney’s Contemporary Resort because its display is back! This is the 11th year the Contemporary Bakery team has created a masterpiece so how appropriate that it will open on November 11 at 11:00 a.m.

The 50th Anniversary Themed Castle Display is a Mary Blair-inspired castle designed by Walt Disney Imagineers and will feature a brand-new 50th anniversary overlay… and 11 hidden 5-legged goats! Don’t forget to check out the limited-edition pins, mugs, and holiday ornaments to remember the season. There are also plenty of treats you can get, including:

50th Anniversary Gingerbread Castle Brick (New)
Family Tradition Cookie Box featuring a Coconut Macaroon from Chef Jeff’s family, a Sugar Cookie from Chef Kelly’s family, a Butterball from Chef Amber’s family, and a Kitchen Sink Cookie representing all the Cast in the Bakery coming together to bring this display back! (New)
Chocolate Peppermint Cookie
Linzer Cookie
Gluten-friendly 5-Legged Goat Sugar Cookie (New)
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Holiday Bar (New)
Hot Cocoa Bombs (New)
Frozen drinks with optional alcohol floaters:
- Frozen Coquito with a rum floater
- Frozen Hot Chocolate with peppermint schnapps
- Frozen Apple Cider with a fireball floater

Animal Kingdom Lodge

Let’s take an adventure over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, which on November 23 will be home to a wild display – a life-sized Baby Gingerbread Giraffe and Baby Zebra. This year continues the new tradition begun last year with a life-sized baby giraffe, or should we say gingeraffe!

In addition to this gingerbread guest, there’s a new animal grazing into the lobby. You’ll soon be able to see an adorable life-sized baby zebra – made of gingerbread, of course. Starting December 6, you can even purchase a Gingeraffe Cookie to enjoy!

Beach Club

Over in the lobby of Disney’s Beach Club Resort, a holiday classic has returned. Since 1999, this resort has been home to the life-sized carousel. It actually spins! This carousel and its horses are masterfully created with chocolate, sugar, and fondant along with hand-painted characters and hand-crafted gingerbread shingles and snowflakes decorating the display.

What makes this year even more special is that all the horses celebrate a different Disney princess. Commemorate your holiday viewing with limited edition pins, mugs, holiday ornaments and treats including:

Signature Stollen Bread
Candied Pecans (Plant-based)
Trio of Fudge
Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Snowman
Crispy Rice Treat
Chocolate Mickey Cookie (New)
Peppermint Bark
Gingerbread Shingle
Chocolate Gingerbread Cookie (Gluten-Friendly)
Gingerbread Cookie (Gluten-Friendly)

Boardwalk

We have missed the Boardwalk display for the past few years! It returns on November 17.

This incredible gingerbread creation is a miniature, edible version of your favorite spot along Crescent Lake – the BoardWalk Deli! Before leaving, be sure to check out some of the treats you can take home with you, like:

Mickey and Minnie Sugar Cookies
BoardWalk Mickey Sugar Cookie (New)
Giant Gingerbread Mickey Cookie (New)
Gluten-Friendly & Plant-based Gingerbread Mickey Cookie
Artisan Peppermint Marshmallows (New)
Carnival Bark (New)
Gingerbread Frost Cocktail

Other Resorts

In addition, several spots across Resorts will feature a new Gingerbread Martini with Absolut Elyx Vodka, Rumchata Cream Liqueur, and gingerbread spice featuring a rim of gingerbread, freshly baked in the Resort Bakery. It’s the perfect blend of sugar, spice, and everything nice!

You can find this delicious holiday beverage at Grand Floridian Café, Cítricos, and Enchanted Rose at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Boma: Flavors of Africa and Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Chef Mickey’s and Outer Rim at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and dinner at Cape May Café at Disney’s Beach Club Resort.

And returning this year to our Walt Disney World Resorts with exclusive gingerbread merchandise, are pin signings with our pastry chefs! Dates and times will vary by resort.

Epcot

Moving over to theme parks, The American Adventure at Epcot also has a display that will be available beginning November 25. This unique display recreates some classic monuments in America and EPCOT with gingerbread versions of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, The American Adventure building with Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue, and a Festival Kiosk.

How cute to see miniature versions!

Disney Cruise Line

The gingerbread displays are not just found on land – they’re also taking to the high seas with the Disney Cruise Line fleet! All five ships will continue the yearly tradition of having the talented pastry teams onboard build a unique display for the ships in the atrium.

The brand-new Disney Wish will join in on the legacy for its inaugural holiday season with an 8-foot-tall, eight-layer masterpiece. Each gingerbread house in unique for the individual ship and the teams participate in a competition to see which member of the fleet has the best house!

Disneyland

And just for fun, let’s take a look at gingerbread displays over on the West Coast!

Within the walls of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland Park you’ll uncover the Haunted Mansion Gingerbread House. For years, this display has added even more holiday flare to the Jack Skellington’s transformation of this classic attraction into Haunted Mansion Holiday.

The pastry team takes over 20 days to bring this nearly 300-pound creation with three moving elements to life. Be sure to take a ride on the Haunted Mansion for some extra festive fun.

Beginning November 14, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will be home once again to one of its best holiday traditions – the “Grand” Gingerbread House. This giant gingerbread replica of the hotel is a holiday highlight and can’t miss stop in the lobby.

Standing 7 feet tall and 12 feet wide, the structure is created from more than 600 pounds of gingerbread, 600 pounds of powdered sugar, 250 pounds of fondant, 1 pound of pixie dust, and features 25 hidden Mickeys!

If you venture into Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure park, you can also bring home the gingerbread festivities with novelties, like the Gingerbread Mickey Ear Hat Bowl or the Gingerbread Bottle Topper, or indulge in gingerbread-flavored and inspired treats, like the Mickey Gingerbread Man.

Do you have plans to see all the gingerbread displays this year? Which ones are you excited to see? Let us know in the comments below and on Facebook.