I just completed a massive Disney cake research project for the Disney Food Blog, and I've written up a complete guide to ordering cakes at Walt Disney World. I'll post it in its own thread on the Restaurants board too, since posts in this thread seem to have a lifespan of about a day. 
I'll also make a separate post with the Walt Disney World Cake Options By Location, a handy guide to what's available at the places where you'll be staying or dining.
How to Order a Cake at WDW - Complete Guide & FAQ
How to order a cake depends on what kind of cake you want and where you want to have it.
Disney Restaurant Podium Cakes
If you're OK with a simple supermarket-style cake in vanilla or chocolate, you can get one just by asking at the podium when you check in for your reservation at any Disney restaurant except Victoria & Albert's. These 6-inch cakes serve 5 and cost $21 plus tax.
Podium Cake with Custom Inscription at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Basic Custom Cakes
With 48 hours' notice, most restaurants also offer basic custom cakes in larger sizes and a limited range of flavors with basic decorations. If an 8-inch cake is offered, it will be available in chocolate or vanilla and cost $32$35 (serves 8). Ordering a 10-inch cake ($45, serves 16) will get you more flavor choicesusually vanilla, chocolate or marble cake filled with vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, white chocolate mousse, dark chocolate mousse, strawberry mousse, or raspberry mousse and covered in vanilla or chocolate buttercream or whipped cream. The price of adding a screen-printed image to these cakes varies by location and ranges from as little as $2 to as much as $30and at some places it's free!
Many restaurants also offer a
Mickey Mouse cake in the shape of his head bearing a screen print of his face for $48. It serves 12 people, is available in white or chocolate cake with chocolate filling, and is covered in chocolate ganache. Although the cake cannot be customized, you can have a message written on the serving plate. At restaurants serviced by the Contemporary Resort Bakery, the Mickey Mouse cake may be covered in piped buttercream frosting rather than a coating of chocolate ganache.
Mickey Mouse Cake at BoardWalk Bakery
Mickey Mouse Cake Made by the Contemporary Bakery
Fancy Fondant-Covered Cakes
If you're looking for an elaborate fondant-covered cake or one in a nonstandard flavor, only the bakeries at the
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, the Contemporary Resort, BoardWalk Inn, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Yacht & Beach Club offer these, and only BoardWalk Bakery will let you pick up a cake. Note that the bakeries at Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Yacht & Beach Club will not make fancy fondant cakes smaller than 10 inches.
However, if you're staying or dining at the
Polynesian Resort, you can get a fancy cake by calling Private Dining at the Grand Floridian.
For fancy cakes at t
he Magic Kingdom, Wilderness Lodge, and Fort Wilderness, call Private Dining at the Contemporary.
Fancy cakes are also available at
Caribbean Beach, Old Key West, Pop Century and Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, which are serviced by BoardWalk Bakery. For these resorts, call the Cake Hotline and follow the prompts for your resort to place your order. You can pick up your cake at the restaurant or food court; some resorts will even deliver it to your room.
Complete details on the cake choices and prices at each park and resort can be found in the
Disney Cake Options By Location post below.
To order, call
Walt Disney World's Cake-Ordering Hotline at 407-827-2253. At this time, Disney has no e-mail address you can write to with a cake inquiry, and there is no Disney-run web site showing cake options and prices. When ordering a fancy custom cake, you may run into difficulty with Private Dining cast members who are not aware of the bakerys capabilities. Politely ask to speak to the pastry chef directly so that you can get the official word on cake options.
Custom Cake at the Contemporary Resort
FAQ
How do I order a cake at ______________ ?
Call the Cake-Ordering Hotline at 407-827-2253.
Is there a web site/e-mail address for viewing and ordering cakes?
Not at this time. The best resource for photos of Disney cakes is the DIS Boards'
Cake Photo Gallery.
Can I get a cake delivered to my room?
At resorts that offer Private Dining, yes. For any other resort, follow the prompts on the Cake Hotline to speak with someone at your resort about the availability of delivery.
Can I pick up a cake somewhere?
Only the BoardWalk Bakery offers the option to pick up a cake, and only with at least 48 hours' notice (standard 6-inch cakes like those available at restaurant podiums can be purchased with no notice). If you're staying at a resort that gets its cakes from BoardWalk Bakery, you can pick up a custom cake at the resort food court or restaurant by placing the order with the resort via the Cake Hotline.
Can I get a cake at Downtown Disney?
Captain Jack's is the only Disney-owned restaurant at Downtown Disney and therefore the only choice available through the Cake Hotline. If you are eating at any other restaurant, you will need to call it directly to see what your options are.
When should I order my cake?
No more than 2 weeks ahead and no less than 48 hours ahead. Some locations require 72 hours' notice.
What size cake do I need for my group?
6-inch serves 5
8-inch serves 8
10-inch serves 16
Mickey Mouse cake serves 12
What flavors are available?
Options vary by location, but there is always chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. See the
Disney Cake Options By Location post or call the Cake Hotline to speak to someone about the options where you are staying or dining.
What if I want red velvet/carrot cake/something besides chocolate or vanilla?
Most bakeries have limited flavor options, but Deluxe resort bakeries can accommodate certain special requests. Your best bet is to be staying or dining at the Grand Floridian, whose bakery is responsible for most of the wedding cakes on property.
This is a list of flavors for wedding cakes from the Grand Floridianguests have had varying degrees of success getting non-wedding cakes made in these:
Wedding Cake Flavors
Yellow
Chocolate
Marble
Carrot
Red Velvet
Lemon
Orange
Almond
Wedding Cake Fillings
White Chocolate Mousse
Dark Chocolate Mousse
Milk Chocolate Mousse
Raspberry Mousse
Orange Mousse
Amaretto Mousse
Strawberry Mousse
Passion Fruit Mousse
German Chocolate
Buttercream
Cream Cheese
Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter Cup (chocolate and peanut butter mousses layered together)
Bavarian Cream
Bailey's Mousse
Blackberry Mousse
Mocha Mousse
Fresh Strawberries
Fresh Raspberries
White Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Strawberries
Bavarian Cream with Fresh Strawberries
Passion Fruit Mousse with Fresh Raspberries
Dark Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Raspberries
Strawberry Mousse with Fresh Strawberries
Raspberry Mousse with Fresh Raspberries
Where can I get a fancy, fondant-covered cake?
- Animal Kingdom Lodge & Villas
- BoardWalk Inn & Villas
- Caribbean Beach (made by BoardWalk Bakery)
- Contemporary Resort & Bay Lake Tower
- Fort Wilderness (call Private Dining at the Contemporary)
- Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Magic Kingdom (call Private Dining at the Contemporary)
- Old Key West (made by BoardWalk Bakery)
- Pop Century (made by BoardWalk Bakery)
- Polynesian Resort (call Private Dining at the Grand Floridian)
- Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa (made by BoardWalk Bakery)
- Wilderness Lodge (call Private Dining at the Contemporary)
- Yacht & Beach Club & Villas
Can I get a fancy, fondant-covered cake in a theme park?
Only the Magic Kingdom offers these, and they must be ordered through Private Dining at the Contemporary Resort: 407-824-2955.
I got married at Walt Disney World. How do I get a re-creation of the top layer of our wedding cake?
Contact Private Dining at the Grand Floridian. If your wedding was in the last five years, they can access your BEO to get an exact description of the cake. Otherwise, you can submit photos to help them replicate your cake. Alternatively, BoardWalk Bakery can replicate any of the standard Escape Collection cake designs.
Is the frosting buttercream or whipped cream?
Standard 6-inch cakes are frosted in buttercream, while custom-ordered cakes may be available in a choice of buttercream or whipped cream. The exception: Cakes served at restaurants supplied by Epcot's bakery are frosted in whipped cream. For a list of Epcot restaurants NOT supplied by Epcot's bakery, see the
Disney Cake Options By Location post.
I don't like the taste of fondant but I want an elaborate cake. What should I do?
Disney's cakes come with a layer of buttercream underneath the fondant and can be served with the fondant removed. You can also specify whether you want vanilla or chocolate buttercream underneath the fondant.
Which characters can I get on my cake?
Any character from the extended Disney family (Muppets, Pixar, Disney Junior, et al.)
except Winnie the Pooh & Friends. Characters cannot be sculpted 3-D, they must be rendered as a flat screen print directly on the cake or on a standing piece of white chocolate. The exceptions are the white chocolate character statues available for an additional charge at certain Deluxe resorts. Alternatively, you may be able to work with the bakery to provide your own plastic figurines to be placed on the cake.
Which white chocolate characters are available?
In general, white chocolate characters are only available at the locations that offer fancy, fondant-covered cakes (see
Disney Cake Options By Location post). Prices are $15$65, depending on size and resort, and figures can be fully painted for an additional charge. The selection varies by location, with the Grand Floridian offering the widest variety. Check with the bakery at the resort where you want to order the character.
- Mickey
- Minnie
- Donald
- Goofy
- Pluto
- Chip
- Dale
- Belle
- Cinderella
- Snow White
- Tinker Bell
- Peter Pan
- Stitch
- Jedi Mickey (Yacht & Beach Club only)
- Anniversary Mickey & Minnie
- Dark chocolate 3-inch Mickey or Minnie
Can I get a cake shaped like something besides a circle or a square?
The Grand Floridian is your best bet for a specially shaped cake, although the Contemporary and the Yacht & Beach Club may be able to do certain styles.
Can I send in a picture of what I want?
Once you make contact with a Disney cast member through the Cake Hotline, you can work with him or her to e-mail photos to the pastry chef.
Where can I get a mini cake?
The Grand Floridian, the Contemporary, and BoardWalk Inn or any location serviced by these bakeries.
Where can I get the chocolate Cinderella Slipper Dessert?
The Cinderella Slipper Dessert is available at the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary Resort, and Cinderella's Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom. It is usually white chocolate, but Cinderella's Royal Table occasionally offers it in milk chocolate.
Will the restaurant hold my leftover cake until the end of the night?
Disney's official policy forbids this as a food-safety precaution, but some guests have been able to get Disney restaurants to hold their leftover cake. Just don't count on it.
How do I order a cake at Disneyland?
Disneyland has a much smaller operation, with one central bakery that makes the cakes for all the resorts and full-service restaurants in the parks. They only offer 6-inch cakes ($33) or 10-inch cakes ($52), along with quarter ($67), half ($92) and full ($132) sheet cakes. A 19% service charge is added for cakes delivered to Disney resort rooms. Disney requires 48 hours notice for all custom cakes.
Cake Flavors: vanilla, chocolate, red velvet or carrot
Filling Flavors: vanilla custard, whipped cream, white or dark chocolate mousse or chocolate ganache
Frostings: whipped cream, buttercream, chocolate ganache or chocolate mousse
To place an order if you are staying at a Disney resort, call 1-714-300-7526 and select Option #2. To place an order if you are
not staying at a Disney resort, call Disney Dining at 1-714-781-3463.
