Disney in a Minute: What is a Mickey Bar?

There are Mickey pretzels, Mickey waffles, and Mickey donuts, but arguably the most iconic of all Mickey Mouse-shaped foods at Disney theme parks is the Mickey bar. The official name of the “Mickey bar” is Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bar.

The Mickey bar is a Nestle product sold at carts in the parks and in freezer cases in the Disney resorts – a Mickey Mouse-shaped slab of vanilla ice cream enrobed in a “chocolatey” coating. The vanilla is not as heavy as a super-premium ice cream, and the coating has enough of a waxy mouthfeel to make you understand why they had to say “chocolatey” and not just chocolate. Still, it’s a refreshing treat on a hot day in the parks.

Disney itself proclaims Mickey bars as “The Happiest Snacks on Earth” and promotes their status as the ideal snack on t-shirts and other park paraphernalia including Christmas ornaments and necklaces. And there are thousands of fan homages to the Mickey bar shape on self-made merchandise sites like Etsy.

Until 2019, you could only buy a Mickey bar on a Disney property. Since then, you can find boxes of six purported Mickey bars in the freezer sections of supermarkets and big box stores like Target, often for somewhere between $8-9 per box. But be aware that these are not the same as the Mickey bars sold in the parks. They’re smaller, and the tiny print on the box reads, “Bars made with light ice cream.” So, you might feel that they’ll do in a pinch (or you may even prefer them!) But the formulation is different, and it’s not quite the same treat you’ll find in the parks. (Of course, the calories are less, too!)

The current price for a Mickey bar in the parks is a bit above $6. This makes them a break-even-or-better value if you use a Disney Dining Plan Snack Credit. And for those who aren’t into the chocolate-covered bars, you’ll often find them sold side-by-side with a Mickey-shaped ice cream sandwich.

Disney in a Minute is a series of short posts designed to help you better understand a Disney term or planning topic. Do you have a Disney term that you think needs a bit more explanation? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks to Erin Foster for an earlier version of this post.