Quick Reviews of Disneyland’s Holiday Desserts

Disneyland is usually filled with some amazing treats but during the holidays they roll out some extra special items that are only available for a limited time. With so many items to try I decided to bite the bullet and test them out for you, the loyal TouringPlans blog reader. This is not a complete list of all holiday desserts, after all I am only one man (and Len said I couldn’t expense any medical bills caused  by eating too many desserts).

Dessert Coffin – $4.99 – French Market, New Orleans Square, Disneyland

Wow, this was good. The Dessert Coffin is cheesecake covered in chocolate flakes and topped with crushed Oreos. French Market is themed to match Nightmare Before Christmas along with the Haunted Mansion next door so it’s fitting that this dessert is shaped like a coffin and sprinkled with bone shaped candy. If you like chocolate and cheese cake you will absolutely love this dessert. I also feel like I got value out of this as it can easily be shared by 2 people.

Holiday Cupcake – $4.99 – Flo’s V8 Cafe, Cars Land/Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe, Buena Vista Street, Disney California Adventure

It’s hard to be critical of cupcakes, most of them are good but with so many other more interesting dessert options it’s hard for me to pick a simple cupcake. The cake portion of the Holiday Cupcake is chocolate, which was moist and delicious. Above it is about two and half inches of pure frosting. I’m usually not a huge fan of frosting but I found it to be not so thick to the point of where I felt the need to scoop it off. Really my biggest complaint here is the cost. $5 for a cupcake isn’t worth it in my opinion.

Mrs. Claus’ Cookie – $6.00 – Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree, Frontierland, Disneyland

This was one of the more interesting desserts I tasted for this blog post. After paying $6 you are given a an assortment of frosting colors and a cookie in the shape of either Mickey Mouse, Snowman, or Santa Stocking. You can then sit at one of the benches found in the Big Thunder Rance Jamboree and decorate the cookie with the provided frosting. The taste of the cookie and frosting is nothing to be excited about but I saw many families decorating cookies together and taking pictures of their creations.

Merry Monte Cristo Bites – $6.25 – Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree, Frontierland, Disneyland

The Merry Monte Cristo Bites are made of ham and cheese sandwich chunks that have been deep fried.The legendary Disneyland version of the Monte Cristo sandwich has been available for years at Blue Bayou and Cafe Orleans, but the prices are high ($17 at Cafe Orleans, and $25 at Blue Bayou). For $6.25 you get 8 nuggets served with jelly and powdered sugar. The Bites are sold from a cart so I was worried that they might be a bit stale after sitting for a while. Thankfully they were still fresh. I enjoyed that they were crispy on the outside, and the meat was still moist on the inside. The jelly and powdered sugar added a nice sweet contrast to the ultra salty monte cristo bites. I do recommend that a group of two or more share the bites. I ate them on my own after lunch and felt like a rock was sitting in my stomach when I was done. The Merry Monte Cristo Bites were good, but once is enough for me.

Holiday Apple – $9.99 – Candy Palace and Pooh Corner, Disneyland/Trolley Treats, Downtown Disney/Marceline’s Confectionery, Downtown Disney

The $9.99 apples go by many different names depending on when and where you buy them. Specialty Apple, Seasonal Apple, Deluxe Apple, and Holiday Apple are all the names that I’ve seen these labeled. You will probably find some sort of seasonal candy apple no matter what time of year you head to the Disneyland Resort. The regular caramel apples are one of my favorite Disneyland desserts of all time. Giant juicy green apples covered in delicious caramel are the things dreams are made of. The Holiday Apple brings the regular candy apples to the next level, but at a much higher price tag. The apple itself is a green apple, covered in one layer caramel, one layer of white chocolate, and one layer of decorative colored sugar. The high price tag is a bit easier to swallow considering Disneyland’s apples can be shared by 2 or 3 people. One minor annoyance I have with these apples is the difficulty of eating them in the park. You are only given a flimsy little plastic knife to cut up the apple.

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream – $3.69 (single scoop) – Gibson Girl, Main Street USA, Disneyland

I’m not a fan of candy canes so I went in thinking this was going to be a disappointing dessert but I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the Peppermint Stick Ice Cream. The minty taste is good but not overwhelming like most peppermint products. If you want to kick it up a notch, pay the extra couple of dollars and order the ice cream in a Crushed Candy Cane Waffle Cone. The cone is dipped in chocolate and crushed candy canes. It’s adds a wonderful taste that perfectly blends with the Peppermint Stick Ice Cream.

Pumpkin Fudge – $3.99 – Candy Palace and Pooh Corner, Disneyland/Trolley Treats, Downtown Disney/Marceline’s Confectionery, Downtown Disney

I must warn you that I have an irrational love of the Pumpkin Fudge. So much so that there are basically only two seasons each year, Pumpkin Fudge Season, and countdown to Pumpkin Fudge Season. Imagine the delightful taste of pumpkin pie (possibly the greatest invention ever produced by mankind), now add in the wonderful texture of fresh fudge. It’s simply amazing. Sure, I’m upset that Disney downsized the fudge squares to half of what they were last year, AND that they charge the same price. But that doesn’t stop me from eating dozens of Pumpkin Fudge squares during November and December each year. If you like pumpkin flavored products you will love Pumpkin Fudge.

Those are seven of the dozens of seasonal treats I sampled in research for this article. I left out some favorites such as the incredible Plaza Inn Yule Log cake, and the freshly made Disneyland Candy Canes (which I think are overrated). I want to know what some of your favorite Disney holiday desserts are. Please leave a comment in the section below.