Today’s holiday announcements brought plenty of good cheer as the excitement builds for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights. Unfortunately, it’s also being reported that the Grand Floridian’s famous gingerbread house will not be returning. The pastry team will instead create smaller gingerbread displays for the resort. This is especially surprising and disappointing since Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa just finished its lengthy refurbishment. The refurbishment included new design details, bringing back the Garden View Tea Lounge after its closure in 2020, and the addition of The Perch lobby bar.
As a long-time Disney fan and someone who visited the gingerbread house every holiday season, this feels like Disney World cutting corners. The life-size gingerbread house made the entire lobby smell of sweet cinnamon and ginger and was visible as soon as you stepped off the monorail. It was also a great place to grab a seasonal treat or bring home a souvenir like a gingerbread house shingle or miniature gingerbread house. There was always a longline to purchase treats and a big draw to stay or dine at the Grand Floridian. Disney fans in the early 2000’s also likely remember Samantha Brown taking a tour of the Gingerbread house and pastry kitchen in the Travel Channel’s “Disney Holiday Magic” special.
We noticed this year’s Grand Floridian’s Easter egg display was scaled way down and were worried the same would happen to the gingerbread house. The Grand Floridian gingerbread house celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024 which unknowingly marked its last appearance. While we’ve seen the gingerbread house evolve and celebrate milestones like Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, it’s been a consistent holiday tradition.
This announcement also comes on the heels of Disney announcing changes to its bus and watercraft transportation at Disney Springs. Guests now must show proof of a resort, recreation, or dining reservation to utilize any of the Disney Springs resort transportation. This is likely to cutdown on guests using the free parking at Disney Springs to get to the theme parks. However, many fans are wondering if Disney is also trying to cut down on guests visitng resorts or “resort hopping”. It’s possible the discontinuation of the gingerbread house is also to prevent non-resort guests from visiting the Grand Floridian.
If the lobby refurbishment is to blame, it doesn’t seem worth it. To trade this long-standing holiday tradition for a lobby bar that serves two pre-made cocktails, it’s not a fair trade. The Grand Floridian always requires a dining reservation for non-guests to park at the resort; it doesn’t make sense for them to discourage guests from visiting who are also paying to dine. It’s also confusing that Disney’s Grand Californian Resort is able to have large gingerbread displays multiple times a year, when its Florida counterpart can’t.
This is a disheartening change and in my opinion, another way Disney World has watered down its holiday celebrations. Retired experiences like the Castle Dream Lights at the Magic Kingdom and The Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios were holiday magic included in your regular park admission.
Here’s hoping Disney will find new ways to make the holidays at the Grand Floridian and its other resorts just as special this year. Let us know in the comments if you’re feeling jolly or bah humbug about this change.
