Disney’s Contemporary Resort Goes “Frozen” With 2014 Gingerbread Display

Hi everyone!

Disney’s Contemporary Resort debuted a “Frozen” inspired gingerbread display this year for the holiday season, though still keeping with the “its a small world” theme that has been here since 2009. The characters are stylized like children in the classic attraction, and there are even 14 hidden Olafs (and one hidden Mickey) to find. This is our 8th year covering the holiday displays around Walt Disney World, and this is the third major change at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in that time.

Follow Mousesteps on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram!

Guests can visit Disney’s Contemporary Resort easily from the Magic Kingdom via walking or monorail. The display here was the first one to open this year at any of the Walt Disney World Resorts (other gingerbread displays will be found at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort; Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s Boardwalk Resort).

Signage leads guests to the 4th floor. Unfortunately, the pin signing for the Anna and Elsa gingerbread display pin is over, but there were still plenty of pins left a couple of days ago. We have a photo of the pin near the end of the article.

We had the opportunity to interview Pastry Chef Jeff Barnes about this unique display, it will be on Mousesteps Weekly #125! We learned a lot about the “Frozen” display and how it was created.

You can see the “its a small world” framework here, though there isn’t color to it anymore. Sven, Kristoff, Anna, Elsa and Olaf are represented here. Pastry Chef Jeff Barnes worked with Imagineer Joseph Konopka, who came up with the design to fuse together Mary Blair and “Frozen”. Barnes said that the characters were “re-imagined with a Mary Blair style.” The idea was born in mid-April, but it took until August to get it fully rolling – with gingerbread shingles starting to be made in July. Nordic stave shingles were created for the castle.

Check out the ingredients! 311 pounds of honey, 514 pounds of flour, 212 eggs, 67 pounds of spices, 35 pounds of sugar syrup, 222 pounds of icing, 423 pounds of chocolate, and more than 1500 gingerbread shingles! It was made by the talents of Pastry Chef Barnes and his team of 35.

Each character is made of chocolate and fondant. I didn’t ask what the weight was on each, but I’m sure they are pretty solid. Here is Olaf.

Elsa.

Anna.

Sven.

Kristoff.

I mentioned that there was one hidden Mickey. Can you see it? It doesn’t look like the Olafs.

Not only is there a display to enjoy, but 21 different treats for guests to purchase. Last year, Disney’s Contemporary Resort really stepped up its offerings – so many unique choices! These are baked fresh every day, and brought up several flights of stairs from the first floor. The gingerbread scent envelopes the fourth floor, it is hard to resist buying something.

Oreo Pops feature Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf. I didn’t see a Sven. These really are too cute to eat!

Several items actually look too good to eat.

One holdover from 2013 is the Five-Legged Goat Rice Krispie Treat.

Frozen cookies.

Gingerbread shingles come with either Olaf and Elsa. Barnes said that the gingerbread here is a marriage of the Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club and Disney’s Grand Floridian styles. He makes the gingerbread with light and dark rye flour, and then adds a gingerbread glaze.

The Olaf “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” kits have been very popular.

We enjoyed the Chocolate Peppermint Cookie last year, but we haven’t yet tried the Linzer Cookie. The Chocolate Peppermint Cookie is the favorite treat of Pastry Chef Barnes.

Babycakes supplied a Gingerbread Boy (gluten-free), and there are No Sugar Added Tea Cookies.

Sven’s Reindeer Bark and Gingerbread Boy. The Gingerbread Boy is a best seller.

Brownie Pops and Mickey Butter Cookies.

Snowflake Spice Cookie.

We purchased an Olaf Gingerbread Shingle.

This is called “Frozen S’More”, which is like a cupcake in a jar. We bought one of these as well. It is small, but delicious.

The Blue Raspberry Cake Gelato was our favorite item that we purchased. It is very creamy. Barnes worked with Muse Gelato to create the special gelato in individual portions. Barnes had wanted to have a frozen item previously, but it took having “Frozen” as a theme for him to think that it was a “cool, unique idea to have something frozen with ‘Frozen'”.

Check out our video that includes the “Frozen” display and treats!

Here is a look at our 3 treats, though only the gelato was eaten at that time.

This Limited Release pin with Anna and Elsa is limited to 7500.

Guests can purchase the items here, they are under the gingerbread roof.

Stop by Disney’s Contemporary Resort to enjoy this wonderful display, and pick up some holiday goodies. We were told that it will close around January 4th, so guests visiting after Christmas can enjoy it too.

Will you be heading to Walt Disney World this year for the Christmas/holiday season? We highly recommend visiting around the Walt Disney World monorail loop (and walking the Walt Disney World Boardwalk loop) to see unique displays at many of the resorts.