Walt Disney World Update: Park Hop, Lights Pop, Cookie Stop

Without a doubt 2020 has been a tough year. But despite the hardships, there have still been some shining moments that have shown through the fog. One of those moments occurred for me this week at the newly-opened Gideon’s Bakeshop in Disney Springs (trust me, once you see these cookies you’ll understand). In today’s update, I’ll bring you the latest from Walt Disney World, including the resumption of parking hopping later this week, an amazing new shop in Disney Springs, and some fun photos from the parks! 

Mini EPCOT Update

This week, we visited a bit of EPCOT’s Future World for some last bits of holiday cheer… and to check out the recently revealed Prism Fountain! Let’s take a quick tour of the park to see what’s new.

Pretty Prism

Please allow me to quote Charles Phoenix… “behold the glory!!” I feel like we’ve stepped into a time machine. How gorgeous are the new retro EPCOT-logo-toting acrylic pylons at the front of the park???

  

Here’s the Prism Fountain on EPCOT’s opening day, along with Card Walker, then-President of Walt Disney Productions:

1982 or 2020… there’s not much of a difference! Okay, okay… maybe just a bit. But let’s take a look once the sun has set and those colorful LED’s pop on!

It seems the acrylic pylons stay illuminated white until about 6:30PM or so, then the color hits them… WOW!

Vivid colors illuminate the fountain portion as well, slowly moving from blue and purple to orange and pink.

 

I can’t get over these 16′ retro hunks of acrylic. It’s lovely to see hints from the beloved bygone EPCOT era return. What do you think?

Barge? What Barge?

Earlier this month, the first of five barges for EPCOT’s newest nighttime spectacular appeared in World Showcase lagoon.

Unlike Illuminations’ globe which floated across the lagoon each night, the barges for the yet-to-debut HarmoniUS are a permanent fixture. Since the new nighttime show only takes up a small portion of a typical park day, we’ll be left looking at several large LED displays in the daytime. During November’s D23 Destination D virtual event, Imagineer Zach Riddley shared plans for the barges to be transformed into water fountains for the lagoon. These fountains should be on display soon, but it seems they may be experiencing some technical difficulties. (There’s also talk that Spaceship Earth’s overhaul budget has been shifted over to HarmoniUS, as the show’s expenses are quickly racking up.)

HarmoniUS is promised to be Disney’s biggest nighttime spectacular ever. Here’s hoping it’s worth losing the beautiful views for!

Back near Future World West, active construction continues:

It’s strange to see, but where Club Cool and the EPCOT Character Spot once was is now gutted:

  

Just across from here, we headed in to the Land pavilion to experience the Living with the Land seasonal overlay. “Merry & Bright Nights” is an extra special holiday edition of this timeless boat ride. 

Once onboard, the greenhouse portions of the ride have been decked out for the season. For good measure, I recommend riding in the daytime and night, as some displays are better seen with sunlight…

  

But of course, all of those lights look much better once the sun has gone down!

You’ll find twinkling lights just about anywhere you look; wrapped around trees, in the sand, along support beams.

This is the second year for the holiday overlay, and I already can’t wait for its return in 2021!

 

You know what I need after a day at EPCOT . . . . 

COOKIES!!!

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Gideon’s Bakehouse

At last, some of the best cookies around are even more accessible! Disney Springs’ newest resident is Gideon’s Bakehouse. This locally-owned haunted bakery is home to my favorite cookies (and cakes!) of all time. Gideon’s is an Orlando cult-favorite. Their first and original location opened in 2016 within Orlando’s East-End Market, and now, their flagship location is at Disney Springs, located across from Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar. 

 These nearly half-pound cookies are every bit of delicious. Despite how they look, they aren’t overly sweet. However, their secret is butter, butter and more butter. Salt is crucial in baking and is part of what makes these cookies stand apart from any other. Plus, they’re dense in the best way, super buttery, possess ooey-gooey centers and are loaded with toppings. 

Due to high demand, newness and yumminess, Gideon’s has a virtual waitlist. We arrived to Disney Springs shortly after noon and the virtual queue was already 4 hours long! We actually ended up visiting EPCOT while we waited our turn for cookies. There’s a first time for everything, right? 

Once inside, it’s apparent there is a story behind it all… According to Gideon’s, some unique items were uncovered during construction of the shop, including an old photograph of the shop’s previous owner, Jonathan Lindwurm. Lindwurm was a “purveyor of rare books and antiquities” and sold his findings in his shop.

You’ll see some of these oddities when you visit the shop today! It’s also said Lindwurm haunts the shop now and then, lights flicker and sometimes items inexplicably move… the backstory unfolds more and more each week, be sure to ask an employee for updates when you stop in!

It sort of looks like something you’d find in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

 

Oh, did I mention they make to-die-for cakes, too? The flavors change daily, but you can’t go wrong with any of them!

Here’s a look at the current menu, though the Christmas cookies have been sold out for a few days now, since Gideon’s “used up all the White Chocolate Chips in the world”!

And now, for our first Disney Springs Gideon’s Bakehouse haul…

 

First up, this Peanut Butter Iced Coffee is a.m.a.z.i.n.g.! It’s mildly sweet with a light roast flavor, and leaves you with just the right amount of peanut butter in the aftertaste. It’s exclusive to their Disney Springs location, and is a permanent offering. 

Fair warning, you may need a big glass of milk just by looking at the following photos. Holy cow. (Pun intended?)

Let’s start with a classic, the Original Chocolate Chip. I can’t describe it any better than the creator, Steve, himself: “This recipe took 15 years to perfect and is filled with history. It is packed inside and out with a variety of Chocolates, infused with differing vanillas, and has a texture that might almost trick you into thinking you’re eating Cookie Dough.”

Not sure if it’s the notes of fresh vanilla bean or the flakes of sea salt, but this is the best chocolate chip cookie of all time. No sarcasm. No exaggeration. This is THE cookie that started it all. Don’t leave Gideon’s without it!

 

Peanut Butter Crunch came highly recommended by the Gideon’s employees – plus, I’ve enjoyed it before…

Flavors of creamy peanut butter, crunchy peanuts, sea salt and well, butter. A must for PB lovers!

 

Cookies & Cream Cookie: a vanilla bean-based cookie filled with hand-cut chunks of double-stuffed Oreos. 

It may look like a lump of coal from the outside with those crushed chocolate cookies, but certainly doesn’t taste like one! Take a look inside. Wow.

   

Pistachio Toffee Chocolate Chip has a special place in my cookie-lovin’ heart. It may look like *too much*, but I promise, it’s just enough.  

Sweet chocolate chips + sea salt + salty toffee pieces + lightly salted pistachios = perfection.

  

Lastly, we found ourselves with a piece of Daily Cake. Today’s flavor was Peanut Butter Cup. Three layers of moist, dense chocolate cake with fluffy peanut butter buttercream. I won’t say much, but it’s the best cake ever. Noticing a pattern here?

 

Have you tried Gideon’s Bakehouse cookies before? Is your mouth watering yet? I know this must have read like an advertisement, but I assure you, it’s just me REALLY enjoying a special moment at a new favorite place. I have a feeling that it will become a favorite for many of you as well. 

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Park Hopping is Back, Y’all

Part of the difficulty of visiting WDW this year has been choosing only one park to visit per day. But starting tomorrow, the first day of 2021, park hopping will return! That said, there are a few caveats you need to know before showing up at your second park of the day. Here’s a breakdown of the new rules in the video below: 

And just as a reminder:

• You must visit the park you have a reservation for first. Park hopping doesn’t start until 2pm and is based upon the availability of the park you are hopping to. 
• Only Guests with a Disney Park Pass reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be able to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – Guests visiting from another theme park will not be able to request to join the virtual queue.
• For Annual Passholders and Cast Members, during this time, blockout dates will continue to apply. In order to enter any park, Guests must have a ticket or pass valid for admission to that park on that same day. 

For more about the return of parkhopping, take a look at article below: 

Here’s How Park Hopping Works at Walt Disney World!

Fort Wilderness Findings

The holiday season isn’t over yet! We have a few drops left of holiday cheer… this week, we stopped by Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. I’ve always heard the long-term Christmas campers put on the best holiday displays. Sure enough, just about every campsite has at least a strand of lights or lawn ornament. While some go ALL OUT. 

Here’s a few highlights (again, almost all of this is done by the campers and not by Disney):

Does it get much better than Santa roasting marshmallows at Fort Wilderness? I think not.

There was so much here I didn’t know where to look!

A true winter wonderland.

  

I don’t think photos do much justice for this next one. But these campers had Stormtroopers guarding their entire site. And each one had a child’s Christmas sweater on!

Darth Vader and Luke also made an appearance. Much detail, very Star Wars.

 

The year isn’t over yet, and I’m still listening to “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas” by Gayla Peevey. Heck, I listen to it year-round. It always makes me smile when I see a wild, festive hippo:

So many Mickeys! Have you seen that Steamboat Willie inflatable before?

This family decorates with chalk art too:

Have you stayed at Fort Wilderness over the holidays? This pushed me over the edge to book a few nights for Christmas 2021!

Looking Ahead and Staying Cool

Earlier on we stopped by the Meadow Trading Post, where we found a few new items…

Ring in the new year with the mouse! 2021 merchandise is here:

 

We also spotted these new designs on the oversized fans – a souvenir staple, especially for the Florida heat!

 

Light Me Up – The Electrical Water Pageant Returns!!!

While visiting the Fort Wilderness area, we hopped over to the Wilderness Lodge to take in the Electrical Water Pageant which just returned to WDW last week! 

 

Some rumors suggested the floats would receive an updated LED light package, and possibly some Disney-themed additions, but the parade doesn’t seem any different than before. Everything was working in tip-top shape, with no missing bulbs!

And a few of Disney’s shots which are a little closer up: 

It was great to see this almost-50-year-old pageant glowing on the water again. That rinky-dink song gets me every time!

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Let’s Hear From You

Thanks for joining me this week! What do you think of the new-old fountain at EPCOT? How does a hot, gooey, Gideon’s Bakehouse cookie sound to you? (Take it from me, it’s worth it!). Happy to see the Electrical Water Pagent return? Ready to park hop again? Let us know what you think in the comments!

And with my final words, I wanted to wish all of you a very happy and healthy 2021. With all the struggles in 2020, there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I look forward to sharing many more updates with you in the new year and beyond.  

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