Spooky Seasonal Activities Popping Up At Disney Springs

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 25, 2023

 

When you think of holiday entertainment at Disney Springs, you probably think of the Christmas Tree Stroll that decorates the shopping and dining complex during the December holidays.

But the Springs is getting festive a little early this year, with some fun Halloween entertainment as well. This year, you might be surprised by the “Skeleton Stiltwalkers” roaming the sidewalks on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from September 29 to October 29, 2023.  Look for them with their pumpkins, skeletons, bats, tricks and treats around the Disney Springs Town Center zone.

Courtesy of DisneySprings.com

Disney Springs always has some fabulous live music for guests to enjoy, either while you are strolling with an ice cream, or sitting on a bench enjoying dinner.  During the Halloween season (also on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from September 29 to October 29), you’ll be treated to some special tunes courtesy of the Zombeats, a 4-piece zombie ensemble, complete with zombie percussionists stumbling their way around Disney Springs.  Join them for an eerie dance party!

Zombies not your thing? Perhaps you’d prefer the more ghostly a capella performances of “Squad Ghouls.”  They’ll be haunting the Waterside Stage (near World of Disney) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from September 29 to October 29, 2023, as well.

If you have your whole group with you, and would like to have a more tangible memory of your trip to Disney Springs, you can pop in to the Disney Springs PhotoPass Studio for their Halloween-themed photo backdrops.  You’ll get a free professional portrait session with a Disney PhotoPass photographer—no reservations required — and you can add the pictures either to your Memory Maker account, or pay for prints individually. (We hear rumors that there are some “hauntingly” cool backdrops of a certain spooky “mansion” available.)

Courtesy of DisneySprings.com

Obviously, it’s Disney Springs, so you can shop ‘till you drop for Halloween merchandise, but if you are looking for a seasonal treat to enjoy while listening to the Squad Ghouls, head to Amorette’s Patisserie, where you’ll find lots of thematically appropriate goodies, such as the Oogie Boogie cookies & cream cream puff; the Jack Skellington pumpkin cream éclair; or the Sally caramel-chocolate éclair.

 

For more sugary goodness, Swirls on the Water boasts a Pumpkin and salted-caramel soft-serve with caramel sauce and caramel crisp pearls that is also available as a trio flight with other Dole Whip flavors.  The pistachio and purple cheesecake soft-serve ice cream that is part of the trio is also available swirled in a black vanilla cone, and topped with a hitchhiking ghosts chocolate medallion, as the “Haunted Mansion Cone.”

 

Marketplace Snacks will be serving the “Minnie Witch Waffle Sundae,” a bubble waffle filled with chocolate soft-serve, orange sauce, chocolate cream cookies, candy corn and chocolate sticks.

Courtesy of DisneySprings.com

The Ganachery has some higher end treats as well – you may need to take a few of them home to finish! They have the Jack Skellington Ganache,  made with grand cru medium-roasted, custom-blend chocolate; and the Poison Apple Ganache Square, featuring sour-apple ganache enrobed in 65% dark chocolate.  But without a doubt, at their location, the Donald Candy Corn Chocolate Piñata, a white-chocolate piñata filled with pumpkin-spiced marshmallows and crisp pearls, is the height of Halloween treats!

Courtesy of DisneySprings.com

Parking is free at Disney Springs, and it does get very busy on weekends, so be sure to leave enough time to find a spot in the parking garages, clear security, and make it to your dining reservations, or to your chosen entertainment venue, with room to spare. You might just get side-tracked along the way by the ghoulish entertainment!

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

Little Mermaid Petit Cake Available at Amorette’s at Disney Springs

 by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

June 15, 2023

 

Looking for a sweet treat at Disney World? You have hundreds of options.  But if you are seeking a thematically-designed one, Amorette’s Patisserie in Disney Springs is the way to go.

Located in the Town Center section of Disney Springs, tucked back alongside the World of Disney store, Amorette’s is known for their Instagram-worthy creations.  From big Mickey or Pluto Dome cakes, to small hazelnut Éclairs ($7.00), Lemon Raspberry Profiteroles ($8.00) and Mickey “Mousse” cakes ($9.00), their sugar-laced offerings are scrumptious, and will give you the boost you might need to keep up your energy level for the rest of your park day.  If the sugar infusion doesn’t interest you, there are a variety of sandwiches, coffees, wines and slushies  available at this French-style bakery as well.

Over the years, Amorette’s has offered up a selection of what they call “petit cakes,” small, multi-layered servings of goodness that are only a few inches tall and a few inches wide.  There’s usually an available cake themed to the latest holiday, Disney movie release, or Disney+ show.  Some of the cakes have been hits, while others have been misses in the flavor department, but they have always been miniature designs of culinary skill.  Among our favorites were the “TV cakes” featuring a different scene each week from the WandaVision Disney+ series, but, oh, how that cost us to keep going back and getting each week’s “episode” at around $20.00 a cake!  Fortunately, the petit cakes are rich enough to satisfy several family members, but even so….

 

Amorette’s has come up with a winner in their most recent themed cake, The Little Mermaid rendition.  It is a beautiful cake, filled with “gadgets and gizmos aplenty,” and a few starfish and seashells, too.  At $22.00 (plus tax), it’s pricey, but a dessert-spectacular treat shared by three of us one evening.  And this time, the flavors were lovely as well.

The layers of Ariel’s world were refreshing and the cake was nice and moist. Passion fruit chiffon and coconut layers were bright and summery in theme, alternating with a bit of pineapple jam. A cream cheese mousse provided a fluffy layer beneath the fondant, and the fondant layer itself was soft rather than the hard shell you sometimes get with fondant.  Colorful starfish and seashells danced across the two-toned sea blue background.  Crispy pearls gave a bit of texture, and sugared “rocks” and “sand” added to the picture.  Mermaid Ariel was stamped on a candy disc on the side of the cake, and a teeny tiny version of a dinglehopper added a whimsical touch to the scene.  The cake was made even cuter by the “fish scale” pattern stamped into the darker blue fondant on the side of the confection. 

If you want to make this delightful treat “part of your world,” you’ll have to hurry, because it is a limited time offering.

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

Disney Springs Offers Holiday Activities for the Whole Family

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

November 9, 2021

 

Everyone has a list of gifts to purchase for friends and family this time of the year, and Disney Springs is hoping you’ll do some of that shopping at their location.  To entice you to spend your dollars at the Springs, they’ve offered up a bevy of activities to make your shopping excursion more fun. 

Obviously, more than 100 shopping locations are waiting for you to peruse their wares, and 63 different dining venues will keep you fueled for the day (or night!), but there are lots of other things to do as well. 

 

Live entertainment abounds, particularly later in the day, as both DJs and live performers show off their skills at several different spots throughout Disney Springs.  Waterside Stage is the place to go for live, and free, concerts.  Check the board near the stage for up-to-date performers and times when you are there in your visit.

 

Make sure you head into the Town Center area, where “snow” flurries fall throughout the night to make your evening seem more magical. Toy soldier stilt-walkers and snowflake skaters will pop up throughout the night as well.

 

If your holiday shopping plans wouldn’t be complete without a visit to jolly old St. Nick, make your way to Once Upon a Toy, where you can snap a holiday photo with Santa, socially distanced, of course, in front of a special backdrop. (It’s indoors, so bring your masks.)  

 

Santa will be there from November 12 through December 24, 2021, as will Disney PhotoPass photographers who can capture digital portraits that will be available for purchase. (Virtual queues may be offered at times, so you can continue your gift hunt while waiting your turn with Santa.). Santa will be available:

 

• November 12 to December 14, 2021 – 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM

• December 15 to December 24, 2021 – 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM

 

And speaking of Santa, two Disney Springs locations will be offering a chance to eat with the big man himself.  Breakfast with Santa at T-rex will take place on December 11; and Breakfast with Santa at Rainforest Café® at Disney Springs Marketplace welcomes families on December 18.

 

One of the annual highlights at Disney Springs is the Christmas Tree Stroll, which can also serve as a scavenger hunt of sorts.  Presented by AdventHealth, twenty different themed Christmas trees, inspired by Disney films, television shows, and beloved characters, are scattered throughout the neighborhoods of Disney Springs. The festively decorated trees offer two completely different experiences: A daytime hunt, when the details of the trees are more obvious, but also a magical nighttime stroll, when the trees are lit up to their sparkling best.  

Guests can pick up a Christmas Tree Stroll map at one of half a dozen sites, and complete their stroll by finding each tree, adding a sticker for each character or story to the correct place on the map. Once completed, maps can be returned to the redemption locations for a special treat. The BOATHOUSE, Planet Hollywood, City Works, Under Armour, Basin, and Amorette’s have both the maps to pick up, as well as a spot to redeem your prize. (Note: For those of you who have picked up maps at the welcome center in past years, maps are not available there this year.)

 

Disney Springs is doing double duty in the snacks and treats department right now as well, offering both holiday specialties at various restaurants, and the Resort’s 50th Anniversary goodies. Find a list of treats and participating locations at Disney Springs’ holiday guide.

If you’ve worked up a thirst, or need a bit of a nosh before forging on, Jock Lindsey’s Hanger Bar transforms into Jock Lindsey's Holiday Bar for the season.  Jock’s Holiday Specialties include such options as Holiday Ham and Brie ($9); C9 Light Deviled Eggs (in festive holiday colors!) with Shrimp and Tobiko Caviar ($12); “Cookies and Milk” (in a distinctly adult iteration with rum!) ($27); or a ClausMo, a holiday twist on a Cosmopolitan ($16). Oh, and there are holiday decorations, too.

 

Each of the dining locales in Disney Springs is featuring either Anniversary specialties or holiday goodies, but a few of the newest holiday edibles around the Springs include:

 

At Amorette’s Patisserie

• White Chocolate Peppermint Éclair with White Chocolate and Peppermint Mousse  
• Holiday Mickey Mousse Mini Dome Cake  
• Holiday Parfait – Bourbon white chocolate mousse, cranberry cherry panna cotta, maple chocolate ganache, and chocolate chiffon cake  

 

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

At AristoCrêpes

• Cherry Jubilee Bubble Waffle – Bubble waffle filled with scoops of vanilla ice cream, cherries jubilee fillings, and whipped cream 
• Santa Hot Crêpe – Sweet crêpe filled with eggnog custard topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream (available Nov. 26- Dec. 30)

 

At D-Luxe Burger

• Holiday Turkey Burger – Turkey patty, butternut squash risotto cake, bacon-cranberry jam, lettuce, and tomato  
• “Oh Deer” Cookie Shake – Hazelnut liqueur, vanilla gelato, cinnamon beverage syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon, and sugar dusting with ginger deer garnish  

 

At Dockside Margaritas

• Snowman on the Beach Margarita – Silver tequila, key lime juice, crème de coconut, sweet and sour, graham cracker rim, chocolate pearls, and carrot sugar piece  

 

At The Daily Poutine

• Gobbler Poutine – Turkey, brown gravy, cranberry chutney, and cheese curds  

 

At The Ganachery

• Olaf Hot Cocoa Surprise  
• Santa Mickey Piñata  
• Gingerbread Ganache Square  
• Peppermint Bark  

Check out the Disney Springs Calendar for specific dates and times for special events and appearances.

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

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