Cupcakes - I don't agree with the hype

[WheelCEO]

not sure what the name is of the cupcake store inside pollo campero is, but I bought 2 cupcakes from there on my last trip and threw them in the garbage. tasted like someone dumped a salt shaker into them

 

[Mikey'swife]

I agree that most are not that great- but I disagree about the Strawberry one from Contempo- that was better then my dessert at Yachtsman and mine the year before at Flying Fish.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I'm kinda agreeing with OP. Just got back about a week ago and I think we had 2 cupcakes. (have to check receipts to be sure).

One was the Dos Leches at Contempo Cafe. Looked really good. Took it back to room for a snack. Tried it the next morning it wasn't very good. Pretty dry and the caramel?? filling was just sweet, no flavor. A big disappointment.

Tried the Peanut Butter and Choc. at Disney Quest and it was pretty good. I could taste the PB and the chocolate. Seemed fairly moist.

Had the White Elephant last year-very disappointing. It's not longer being offered. They now have the Cotton Top Tamarin. I wanted to try it but after eating the elephant last year (where was it's peanut butter?) I resisted.

I agree they look delish! I just wish they all tasted as good as they looked.

 

[jenjersnap]

I do agree with you, in general, but we did have an excellent non-stale, not overly-sweet red velvet cheesecake cupcake from Starring Rolls. Most of the others we've had have not been that great and we've had other stale baked goods at various locations around WDW.

 

[jenjersnap]

Do I need to run for cover before I blow the lid off the true taste of Zebra Domes?

The overtly gelatinous texture of the zebra domes makes me gag. I can't get past that to actually *taste* them.

 

[suz_cute]

Completely agree with OP. The cake is dry, frosting is rot your teeth out sweet. Just not my cup of tea. I make cakes for a living, and I'd never put out a product like they do. Looks great, tastes bad. So disappointing!

 

[Madhatter266]

We couldn't wait to try the Butterfinger cupcake. It was way too rich and sweet for us and we didn't feel well for the rest of the day. What a letdown!

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

How dare you tell the truth about Disney cupcakes.

Do I need to run for cover before I blow the lid off the true taste of Zebra Domes?

Go right ahead -- I do NOT like zebra domes -- I know I am in the minority.

I've only had one cupcake at WDW -- a beautiful huge cupcake with sprinkles -- this cupcake was so offensive -- it was like someone took an entire can of reddi wip and doused it on this cupcake. I utterly despise cupcakes with what appears to be a delicious buttercream or vanilla frosting only to discover that it is actually cheap whipped cream -- I feel cheated by this. And the cupcake was dry too.

 

[ChelleMouse]

How dare you tell the truth about Disney cupcakes.

Do I need to run for cover before I blow the lid off the true taste of Zebra Domes?

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Go right ahead -- I do NOT like zebra domes -- I know I am in the minority.

There's more of us than you know! and by the way I don't like the Grapefruit Cake or Tonga Toast either but that's for another day!

Everyone's on this "gourmet" cupcake band wagon and unfortunately if you don't have access to a gourmet bakery that makes them fresh every day, you're going to find "stale" as part of your cupcake.

The huge dry Disney cupcake with the 3 inches of bad frosting (I gag just at the thought of it) is a disapointment, you can't finish it, 2/3rd ends up in the trash. Where does one find good butter cream frosting at Disney, ?

Main Street Bakery does a nice job with croissants, cinnamon rolls, cheese cake, carrot cake, cupcakes not so much!

 

[willowsnn3]

I have heard so much about Disney cupcakes. They look and sound so good that I HAD to try them. So I tried a few and I can't figure out what the hype is about. The cake is dry, the frosting is too sugary and not a creamy, buttery type and the fillings, while most are redeemable, seem to be too sugary for the rest of the cupcake. Here is what my family tried (we all had at least one bite of each to judge them):

White Chocolate Elephant Cupcake - Oh, the thought of coconut set my heart a flutter!!! But alas, there is just no coconut taste only some toasted coconut flakes that must have seen better days. The chocolate cupcake is dry, the frosting is too sugary, and the white elephant is grey and tasteless.

Smores - This was the BEST cupcake out of all of them. The cake itself was a bit moister than the rest we had tried and not as sugary. It had hints of graham in it with chocolate the the frosting was a marshmallow frosting that was light and not so sugary as the others. We determined this is one cupcake we would get again and share...but it is not something we would seek out.

Caramel Dos Leches - Oh, this was sickening. The dry yellow cake had a filling of too sweet caramel and topped with a sugary sweet frosting. None of us would eat more than a bite.

Black Forest - The redeeming feature of this cupcake was the cherry filling which we picked out and ate. The chocolate cake was again dry and the frosting (again) was that too sugary frosting.

Red Velvet - I had high hopes for this one. I thought the cream cheese would really mellow out the sugar but alas, they managed to over sugar the cream cheese filling. The cake was even drier than the others and crumbled into oblivion when we cut into it. And the frosting was still that too sugary frosting.

My family - whom 2 of us are sugar-aholics and 2 others that love to eat dessert - could not eat most of these. We actually threw them all away and got ice cream.

So I don't get the fuss? Well, at least I tried it and can safely look at them in the bakery case, and easily pass them up.

On the other hand, don't get me started on the dole whip....We can not go one day without these at Disneyworld!

I haven't tried any of those that you rated, lol. None of them even sound like anything I want.......except for the red velvet one I've been wanting to try. I have had the butterfinger cupcake & really-really like it but it is very rich and kinda hard to eat, lol. Have tried dozens of the b'day cupcakes that the restaurants give out, some fresh & good, others kinda stale.

 

[willowsnn3]

LOL....I didnt have them this trip, but I did on my last trip and didn't see what the big deal was. I found most of the "must haves" to be less than what I expected them to be.

Dole Whip....I still don't get it!
School Bread....not so great
MK Bakery Ice cream cookie sandwhich....while as big as everyone said, I didnt really care for it. I thought the cookie was way over baked and kind of hard and dry.

Things that did live up to the hype "for me"....
Ooey gooey toffee cake from LTT
Carrot Cake Cookie
Napoleon from France
and pretty much anything from Karamel Kuche!

I don't 'get' the Dole Whip either
Have had the Main St Ice cream sandwich twice and agree that the cookie is way too hard
I get the Napoleon from France every trip and it is good.
Want to try the carrot cake cookie sometime.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

not sure what the name is of the cupcake store inside pollo campero is, but I bought 2 cupcakes from there on my last trip and threw them in the garbage. tasted like someone dumped a salt shaker into them

Those would be Baby Cakes cupcakes. I think, not 100% sure, those are gluten-free cupcakes. There was a whole thread of people singing their praises but it's been a while since I saw it. The gluten allergy crowd think it's the best place since Epcot itself opened. I can see where it's nice for people who wouldn't normally be able to enjoy cupcakes, but I also feel terribly sorry for them if the cupcakes are that yucky and that's what those folks think is good. Imagine if they could enjoy a truly fabulous cupcake or cake? Poor dears.



I totally agree with y'all! Disney is ever-so deceptive with the decoration of their cupcakes. They all look so perfectly yummy. You see them in the display cases and it's as if the heavens have opened, angels are singing, and the possibility of leaving without one of those beautiful treasures in-hand is non-existant. You eagerly make your way to the first seating area that will be adequate. You're salivating as you fumble to get everything set up so you can savor every moment of digging into this perfect morsel of sugary heaven. You finally reach that pinnacle moment when ~BAM!~ you're sent spiraling back to earth crushed at the heart-wrenching disappointment in the flavorless dry cake and overpowering pure-sugar frosting. You're grasping for whatever drink you might have to help you choke that mess down so you don't embarrass yourself by straight rejecting it from your mouth. If your drink-of-choice wasn't milk, now you have serious regret. LOL!

Seriously, what is up with that?!

On our trip last month I tried cupcakes from 3 locations:

1. Can't remember the alleged-flavor but got one from the Confectionary case. Dry flavorless cake portion. Not the end of the world because my mom & I both believe firmly that God created cake to hold up frosting. The frosting tasted like just sugar. At least it was smooth in texture but it'd be nice to have a little flavor other than just sugar. Like vanilla. I ate a little of the frosting but tossed the rest of the cupcake. Blech! ((Which brings me to those little cake-in-a-cup things they sell at the counter service places. I got hold of a carrot cake at Pecos Bills in November last year that had granulated sugar in the frosting. Granulated. It was course and crunchy. Whoever did that should be shot.))

2. Had that Dos Leches or whatever it's called from the Contempo Cafe in the Contemporary. Man! That baby was oh-so deceptively appealing to look at! As per my usual method of eating anything when saving the best for last, I took a bite of the cake first. Thank goodness I still had a full bottle of water. I needed moisture. The frosting was more creamed sugar. No caramel or any other flavor to speak of. I believe there was some sort of gooey filling I was able to sorta enjoy with the crumbs of cake it touched. That's about it. I walked away feeling very violated by that one.

3. This is sorta a sordid cupcake tale. We were at DHS and I was hungry. We happened to be passing Starring Roles when I suddenly remembered the rave reviews of the cupcakes there. I just knew in my heart this had to be my reward for the previous cupcake wrongs I had endured. I ran in, waited and patiently worked my way up to the display case, and there was not a single cupcake to be had. I was devastated. My hubby tried to suggest some of their other offerings to appease me but I wasn't having it. No-sir-ee-Bob. I shall not settle. I left hoping to return in an few hours. Well, a few hours passed and the guys all had Star Tours on their minds. Perfect! I ran back to Starring Rolls to try again for a cupcake score. I was even more excited because if they had previously run out and now had more then that certainly would mean I would receive fresh cake that's not stale, right?! This time I found success! Praise to the Disney Gods! I cannot remember the name of it but I got what I refer to as a "Death-by-Chocolate" cupcake and a red velvet cupcake. I think maybe cheesecake was involved with the red velvet, too, which is all the better. I put my cupcakes into boxes and scurried over to our meeting spot between Star Tours and Muppetvision. I think I was sprinting with drool spilling from my mouth. I sat down and carefully prepared my chocolate death cupcake for it's demise. This cupcake did not disappoint. The cake was moist and chocolatey without being overly sweet. The filling, the frosting, the chocolate shavings..it was all so heavenly. I ate half not wanting to fill up before sampling my other morsel of heaven awaiting me. As I was carefully preserving the remainder of my chocolate treasure a gentleman approached to ask if that was (I forget the name) cupcake from Starring Rolls. "Yes! It's as good as you heard. Go get one!" And he ran off with his other half in-tow. Then I brought out the red velvet beauty to give her a whirl. O.M.G. Again, moist cake with flavor! Creamy cream cheese frosting. Complete awesome-sauce! I indulged myslef with just half of this cupcake as well electing to save the rest for later savoring. I was very impressed with the Starring Rolls cupcake choices I made.

Like others have said, it's a crap-shoot whether or not you'll score a good cupcake. At the prices they ask, this is shameful. The key to product success is consistancy. Even though my story had a happy ending it could've just as easily ended poorly. Others have gotten dry, icky cupcakes from the exact same place I had a cupcake score. Even though I had a good experience at Starring Rolls, I cannot say 100% that I will return for the cupcakes because I am NOT confident that I'll have a good repeat. I can say with a good amount of certainty that I will NOT purchase another cupcake from other Disney locations. They may look good but I've found that to be all-appearance and no-flavor more often than not. It's evil in it's purest form. Like Lotso the bear. Cute and sweet to look at but all-evil on the inside.

Just say no to WDW cupcakes!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I don't "get" Dole Whips either. I love soft serve. I love pineapple. I don't find either as good when put together. Also on our last trip I got a pineapple spear from the Dole Whip spot there in Adventureland while my brother was a sucker for the hype. lmao Can I just ask what we're supposed to do with a pineapple spear that still has the prickly outter shell/skin still attached??? Why wasn't that trimmed??? I obviously didn't bring a knife into the park to take care of this task myself. So messy to eat the pulp part directly off the rind. I was a sticky mess. The pineapple wasn't even that good. I get sweeter, better pineapple from Sam's Club. Just sayin'.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Well, I am a baker and I do know how to make a moist cake (even at this high altitude and with the dry air here!) So it bothers me that little 'ole me can make a moister, tastier cupcake than the Disney bakers. They do make some yummy baked goods so I know they CAN do it. Oh well, maybe all the ones I've gotten are stale

I'm glad though that there are others like me out there who also do not understand the cupcake hype! And those that do like them, that's cool! I'm just glad I'm not the only one who did not find them to be 'all that'.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I agree, I just don't get the hype over cupcakes period. In or out of the world. We tried a few including the Butterfinger, Zebra, monkey and red velvet ones on our trip and they were good but there are so many more desserts or treats that are better in WDW. I'm not as big on sweets as DH is but his favorite was the monkey cupcake from CBR, it had bannanas.

 

[sweeteypie1118]

We stayed at the CBR over the summer and did try the monkey cupcake with peanut butter frosting. I thought that one was quite good too...especially the frosting. I dislike most cupcakes I dont make myself because they are usually dry, and the frosting is way too sweet and made with shortening and not real buttercream. I bake and also decorate, so my cupcakes look and taste good. I live in NY and I dont care for the cupcakes at most of the famous places in the city either. Find them all dry and too sweet. The only cupcakes I tried was the monkey one at CBR and the red velvet from Starring Rolls. I thought they were both good, so that is saying something! I didnt push my luck any further than that. Needed room for Karamel Kuche!!

 

[nanienamou]

I'm not one for cupcakes usually, but we tried the red velvet one at DHS because I never had had red velvet cake before (yes, I know...). Anyway, I must have been lucky, since the cake part was moist and perfect and the icing was not too sweet, with a great hint of cream cheese and chesecake in the middle. I would get this one again. The other cupcakes don't appeal to me.

 

[gonnago]

omg dole whip floats are amazing although I guess if you are not a big pineapple lover you would not think they are but hands down my favorite thing(must-have)when at Disney!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

You know, I see what you're saying! I am totally on the cupcake train but I think I like the idea of WDW cupcakes more than the reality. I got the oreo bonbon cupcake at BW Bakery this month and it was so bad.

I have to say, I'm starting to think simpler is better. We have lots of cupcake bakeries cropping up around here and even at a place like Crumbs, I find the simple cake, one flavor frosting jobs to be more tasty than the crazy ones with all sorts of toppings/fillings/flavor combos. They look and sound so great but then it's too much of a flavor mash-up.