The concept of a diet doesn’t exist at Walt Disney World. Orlando is steaming hot most of the time. You’re walking miles every day. As a result, you can afford a chocolate treat or some sugary snacks. But you don’t just want to throw your hard-earned calorie exemption at the first peanut butter cookie that crosses your path, do you? You certainly want to be choosy and get the best of the best. Surely, if there’s one thing Disney does well, aside from barbecue, it’s desserts. And each Disney theme park has signature savory dishes.
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What’s the best Disney World park for desserts?
It’s hard to say. In general, EPCOT is the best foodie park in general with Magic Kingdom close behind. I am very partial to the food offerings at Animal Kingdom as well. In other words, you can eat pretty well at any of the Disney parks, sweet treats included.
Does every restaurant at Hollywood Studios offer dessert?
No. The Baseline Tap House – which isn’t really a full restaurant – only has a few small plates to go along with its variety of drink offerings. Unless you consider a Bavarian Pretzel dessert, the Tap House is tapped out. Tune-In Lounge is exclusively for drinking as well. And while Ronto Roasters offers the fantastic Ronto Wrap – which has roasted pork, grilled pork sausage, peppercorn sauce and tangy slaw wrapped in pita bread – it doesn’t have much in the way of desserts. And no, Kat Saka’s popcorn doesn’t count as a dessert in my book.
What is the most popular dessert in Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
Most popular is very different from best. Popular is a quantifiable deal. While there is a great assortment of cakes and cookies and ice creams, I think the biggest seller across the parks would be the Mickey Ice Cream Bar. It has vanilla ice cream and it’s coated in a chocolate shell in the shape of Mickey’s head. If they sell any dessert item more than the Mickey Ice Cream Bar, I’d be amazed. Now, we could discuss whether the ice cream bar is a dessert or a snack, but I think ultimately, it’s both.
What are the best desserts in Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
Let’s take a look.
18. The Carrot Cake Whoopie Pie
Trolley Car Cafe on Hollywood Boulevard
The Carrot Cake Whoopie Pie consists of two large pieces of carrot cake cookie sandwiched around a cream filling.
17. The Outpost Puff
Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge
The Outpost Puff is a chocolate pastry filled with guajillo chocolate mousse and finished with Thai tea panna cotta, spiced pineapple and also confectionary debris. It’s good, but it’s not quite out of this world.
16. Fantasmic! Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwich
Rosie’s All-American Café on Sunset Boulevard
The Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwich – which is a pretzel shortbread cookie sandwiched with strawberry jam and peanut butter-chocolate fudge and a Fantasmic! chocolate piece – is good. But I’m spending my caloric allotment elsewhere.
15. The Red Planet
Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant on Commissary Lane
Sci-Fi? Got to go with the Red Planet – which has white chocolate cheesecake with spiced blueberry compote on a graham cracker tart with a matcha sponge and golden candied almonds.
14. Mickey Brownie Sundae
Hollywood Scoops on Sunset Boulevard
Classically great ice cream is certainly a terrific treat in the Florida climate. Add a Mickey-shaped brownie and some whipped cream and you have a satisfying chocolate delight.
13. Pineapple Upside Down Cake
50s Prime Time Cafe at Echo Lake
Prime Time Cafe is a throwback to a time of 50s dinner with the kind of fare you’d see in an old-fashioned TV dinner – but significantly elevated, of course. Dessert favorites include Dad’s Favorite Chocolate-Peanut Butter Layered Cake À la Mode and also a Lemon Meringue Pie. However, the go-to is the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. It has a yellow cake soaked in pineapple juices topped with caramelized pineapples and maraschino cherries garnished with whipped cream and caramel sauce.
12. Cupcake à la Forky
Round up Rodeo Lounge in Toy Story Land
Eat like one of Andy’s Toys at this family-style BBQ spot. Your meal comes with a variety of dessert options. For example, you can pick between Bo’s Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake or Billy’s Chocolate Silk Pie. But for the little ones, Forky’s Cupcake is the right choice. It has gooey chocolate cake, graham crackers, buttercream and sugar cookies.
11. Wookiee Cookie
Back Lot Express at Echo Lake
Back Lot Express has exactly one dessert item on its regular menu: the Wookiee Cookie. Specifically, it’s two oatmeal cookies with vanilla cream filling garnished with a milk chocolate sash on top.
Three things: First, it’s delicious. Second, it’s probably elevated on the list because it’s just fun to order. Third, it is not a sash. It is a bandolero. Furthermore, Chewie is not a beauty queen. He is a warrior. It’s true that through seven movie appearances and a handful of TV shows, I can’t recall him digging into that bandolero for supplies or ammunition. Nevertheless, not one single sash.
10. The Funnel Cake
Epic Eats at Echo Lake
This funnel cake has strawberry topping and soft-serve vanilla ice cream. They have a cookies and cream version as well for those who prefer chocolate and vanilla over strawberry.
9. The Cannoli
PizzeRizzo on Grand Avenue
Does anybody else want a completely faithful Muppet remake of “The Godfather” or is that just me? Just once, I want to hear Gonzo tell someone to leave the weapon and take the Cannoli. The Cannoli at PizzeRizzo is a fried pastry dough stuffed with a sweet, creamy cheese filling. But the Pizza Cookie is pretty good, too. It is a sugar cookie “pizza” topped with strawberry jam, white chocolate and sprinkles.
8. Tiramisú
Mama Melrose on Grand Avenue
Of course, the Colors of Italy Cheesecake is tempting. It is a lemon cheesecake layered with raspberry marmalade. Also, they offer an Olive Oil Cake topped with a whipped raspberry panna cotta and finished with a raspberry-basil sauce garnished with fresh raspberry halves. But the Tiramisú is a classic. It has layers of mascarpone and espresso-soaked lady fingers topped with cocoa powder and whipped cream.
7. The Jack-Jack Num Num Cookie
Neighborhood Bakery at Pixar Plaza
Look, there is beauty in a warm chocolate chip cookie, but I understand your hesitance in using your hard-earned available calories on a chocolate chip cookie. But the Jack-Jack Cookie has a thickness that elevates it to culinary heaven.
6. Toffee & Coconut Blondie
Catalina Eddie’s on Sunset Boulevard
This is no ordinary blondie. Gooey toffee and toasted coconut blend with a salted buttercream topping to make this perfect rich and filling dessert.
5. A Lunch Box Tart
Woody’s Lunch Box in Toy Story Land
Built like a pastry version of a Pop Tart, the Lunch Box Tart is a marmalade-stuffed pastry coated in fondant and crunchy toppings. The tart is also a delicious counterpart to your order of Totchos – potato barrels coated with beef and bean chili, shredded cheese and signature queso with tomatoes and corn chips finished with sour cream and a sprinkle of green onions.
4. Mint-Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
ABC Commissary on Commissary Lane
ABC Commissary is a throwback to when studios had productions on-site and a massive commissary to feed the actors, directors, stagehands and more. Their current dessert offering is a chocolate cheesecake topped with a smooth chocolate Ganache. It’s finished with a whipped mint and chocolate chip cream.
3. Enchanted Rose
Fairfax Fare on Sunset Boulevard
Fairfax Fare sells savory dishes in waffle bowls. But do they have a dessert in a waffle bowl on the regular menu? No, they do not. However, they do currently have The Enchanted Rose, a dessert fit for Belle or her Beast. It has dark chocolate mousse with a taste of blackcurrant and morello cherry-chocolate shortbread cookie, whipped cookies ‘n cream fluff and also gilded chocolate-covered cacao nibs.
2. The Grapefruit Cake
Hollywood Brown Derby on Hollywood Boulevard
Of course, your head might be turned by the Decadent Chocolate Cake, which is a towering chocolate cake with dark chocolate mousse and whipped ganache. But the Grapefruit Cake is a Brown Derby original dating back to the Hollywood institution. It’s a vanilla sponge cake with grapefruit syrup and cream cheese icing. It’s divine.
1. Banana Split Parfait
Dockside Diner at Echo Lake
Finally, the Banana Split Parfait is a nearly perfect dessert made with chocolate and banana mousse, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream and spiced pineapple. To quote a character from a non-Disney IP, “You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person and you say, ‘Let’s get some parfait,’ they say, ‘No, I don’t like no parfait?’ Parfaits are delicious!” Note: The Parfait is a seasonal menu item.
Do you have a favorite Hollywood Studios dessert? If so, let us know in the comments!