OFFICIAL Disney Cake Chatter Thread - Part III

[lurkyloo]

Yeah, so far no one's been able to get Disney to re-create that R2D2 cake. Does your husband have a favorite Disney character, theme park, or fireworks show? We've seen some neat fireworks cakes here, and an awesome Monorail cake. If you said he was, say, a fan of Animal Kingdom, I'll bet they could take the theme and run with it...

 

[mrsclark]

Called the GF and I have been voicemailing with Pat. I wanted R2D2 mini cake for DH's Birthday during our ressie at Narcossees on his actual Birthday. I wanted one just like the those displayed at the Wedding expo. I am a little peeved that she only ever calls back at 10pm at night when I am heading to bed as I get up at 5am. Also DH is usually right next to me when she calls at that time. Anyway, the last message I got on Saturday is that now due to legal reasons Disney can't make any Star Wars themed cakes! I am sooooooo disapointed and don't know what to order him now. His other interests are golf and the Colts football but those don't seem very Disney or very special for a Disney birthday celebration.

And didn't I just have Darth Vader cupcake at Star Wars weekend this past May!!!!???

Or what about a favorite ride - I have seen some amazing ride specific cakes such as Test Track.

Funny now that Disney actually owns Star Wars you think it would be easier rather than harder to make a Star Wars cake...

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Called the GF and I have been voicemailing with Pat. I wanted R2D2 mini cake for DH's Birthday during our ressie at Narcossees on his actual Birthday. I wanted one just like the those displayed at the Wedding expo. I am a little peeved that she only ever calls back at 10pm at night when I am heading to bed as I get up at 5am. Also DH is usually right next to me when she calls at that time. Anyway, the last message I got on Saturday is that now due to legal reasons Disney can't make any Star Wars themed cakes! I am sooooooo disapointed and don't know what to order him now. His other interests are golf and the Colts football but those don't seem very Disney or very special for a Disney birthday celebration.

And didn't I just have Darth Vader cupcake at Star Wars weekend this past May!!!!???

You could have Mickey playing golf or football. Unfortunately, I haven't seen anyone be successful in talking them into reproducing any of the special mini cakes or cupcakes from that wedding expo. They appear to only be available for weddings in multiple quantities. Hopefully, someone will correct me, if I missed one.

 

[fitzy819]

I don't usually post much here but I just wanted to share our recent cake ordering experience.

I contacted Chef Brian through the email address provided on this thread about a month prior to our departure date. I emailed him this picture of a cake I had seen on here.

I gave him a price range of $100-$150 and let him know that it needed to feed 4 people. I told him that it didn't need to be exactly like the picture but we wanted something similar (maybe this is where things went wrong?) He emailed back that a similar cake would be $107 and I placed the order.

Fast forward a few weeks and this is what was delivered to us.

I was soooo upset This cake was beyond ugly! Not only was it ugly but when it arrived to the table most of the "fireworks" were broken off on the ends. It looked like someone carelessly threw this together at the last minute. There were no flowers, no tinkerbell, and no Mickey balloons.

I immediately stepped to the side and asked to speak to a manager. The wait staff even commented on the cake and how it wasn't up to the typical disney standards. The cake was taken off the bill so at least I didn't have to pay $107 plus tax and tip on that ugly thing but it totally ruined the moment.

I have emailed Chef Brian twice about the quality of cake we received but I haven't received a response yet.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I believe you need to specifically ask for the white chocolate figures (like Tinkerbell)? I don't know that the chef will put them on without the request because they do cost a bit on their own (the Mickey/Minnie anniversary figure w/gold accents is $30 alone on our cake next week)

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience We've given the chef creative control to design a Mickey/Minnie anniversary cake w/the figure I mentioned and orange/yellow roses included, but creative control beyond that...I'm crossing my fingers it turns out well!

ETA: I also don't know when your cake was done, but I do know chef Brian posted here recently saying that he's been re-assigned to a different area of the Contemporary kitchen. I don't know what that means for him responding to e-mails if you were e-mailing the contemporary's cake ordering e-mail.

 

[jcemom]

Here is what I asked for:

white cake, with vanilla buttercream frosting, and strawberry mousse filling, a 2D stand-up image of Snow White, lots of flowers, butterflies if possible, and sparkles. The image and colors they use, and the decorations on the sides I left up to the pastry team.

...a 2-layer 8-inch cake... $67.

Here is what I got -- delivered to Tony's Town Square at the Magic Kingdom:

It was delivered to Tony's as requested. However, when I checked in I left DD on the porch so that I could remind them about the cake because I wanted her to be surprised. I ended up having to flat out ask our server about it when it was never brought out and she asked if we wanted dessert menus. It took her a while to find it in the back and it was very cold and difficult to slice, leading me to believe that they forgot it in the cooler.

The cake itself was a tad bit dry, as it appears over baked around the edges. You can tell from the photo of the cut slice, I think. Still, it tasted good and the strawberry mousse filling was delicious. It perfectly balanced the sweetness of the buttercream frosting, IMO. The flowers were beautiful, though made of gum paste (I think) and not particularly tasty. There were no butterflies and no sparkles, other than the ones on the backdrop. The backdrop itself was pretty crooked, lol, but DD didn't seem to notice.

The cake was three layers rather than the two layers they quoted me, and the price was as quoted, $67, added to our dinner bill. Just like last time, I felt obligated to tip on the price of the cake.

Overall, I was happy with what we got for the price we paid. (I don't think we will ever return to Tony's, however. The service wasn't great, the food wasn't very good, and it was overpriced for the portion sizes, even by Disney standards, IMO.)

We had to leave the cake with bell services because our room at POR had no fridge. I don't think it would have fit anyway, as the box was pretty big. I had to remove Snow White and the backdrop to get the lid on the box closed. I carried it home on the plane, the entire cake minus two small slices. It made it in fairly good condition, with only a little drooping. I did have to reply to a hundred "you brought me a cake!" comments throughout the trip though lol.

 

[fitzy819]

I believe you need to specifically ask for the white chocolate figures (like Tinkerbell)? I don't know that the chef will put them on without the request because they do cost a bit on their own (the Mickey/Minnie anniversary figure w/gold accents is $30 alone on our cake next week)

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience We've given the chef creative control to design a Mickey/Minnie anniversary cake w/the figure I mentioned and orange/yellow roses included, but creative control beyond that...I'm crossing my fingers it turns out well!

ETA: I also don't know when your cake was done, but I do know chef Brian posted here recently saying that he's been re-assigned to a different area of the Contemporary kitchen. I don't know what that means for him responding to e-mails if you were e-mailing the contemporary's cake ordering e-mail.

Thanks! Maybe that is why I haven't heard anything yet. I might call tomorrow. I know on the box it said that "Heather" made the cake.

I knew that white chocolate figures were extra just from reading here. The person who ordered the original cake said they paid $110 for the cake. Since I was quoted $107 I assumed (silly me) that it would be close to the original. Even if Tink was extra my budget was $150 so it would have still easily been within the budget. The whole experience was just a mess!

 

[Angel Ariel]

Thanks! Maybe that is why I haven't heard anything yet. I might call tomorrow. I know on the box it said that "Heather" made the cake.

I knew that white chocolate figures were extra just from reading here. The person who ordered the original cake said they paid $110 for the cake. Since I was quoted $107 I assumed (silly me) that it would be close to the original. Even if Tink was extra my budget was $150 so it would have still easily been within the budget. The whole experience was just a mess!

you're welcome! I hope you hear back soon!

To be fair, though, from what you mentioned here you did say that the cake didn't need to be exactly like the picture. Given that instruction, and not specifically requesting the white chocolate Tink, I'm not surprised that the chef didn't include it. The woman I coordinated the cake with over e-mail required me to specifically approve the white chocolate figure, even after I'd initially mentioned it in my description of the cake. When she replied with a quote, she quoted me the cake and then listed the white chocolate figure prices (unpainted, accented w/gold or silver, fully painted) and asked that I confirm what exactly I wanted with the white chocolate figure before completing the order.

While we are giving the chef creative control as well, I made sure that I was specific about the elements that we'd be disappointed if we didn't get. Crossing my fingers that that approach works well..

 

[jaleaton]

Does anyone know how long it generally take the chefs at Contemporary / BLT to respond back to requests? I emailed on September 19th, but have yet to hear anything back. I don't need the cake until the end of October, but I'd rather get this taken care of instead of forgetting about it later.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Does anyone know how long it generally take the chefs at Contemporary / BLT to respond back to requests? I emailed on September 19th, but have yet to hear anything back. I don't need the cake until the end of October, but I'd rather get this taken care of instead of forgetting about it later.

I e-mailed on Sept 21 and received the first e-mail back on Sept 22 - but the cake is for Oct 1. (it's for an MK restaurant, so through the hotline, but I think the Contemporary is the bakery that handles it)

The advice I've read here is not to order until 2-3 weeks before your trip. I didn't like putting off ordering it either, but we followed that timeline in march as well and it all went off without a hitch at all. The same thing is proving true this time around as well. I've gone back and forth with the MK contact a few times since the 22nd, and we just finished the final confirm/order today.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I don't usually post much here but I just wanted to share our recent cake ordering experience.

I contacted Chef Brian through the email address provided on this thread about a month prior to our departure date. I emailed him this picture of a cake I had seen on here.

I gave him a price range of $100-$150 and let him know that it needed to feed 4 people. I told him that it didn't need to be exactly like the picture but we wanted something similar (maybe this is where things went wrong?) He emailed back that a similar cake would be $107 and I placed the order.

Fast forward a few weeks and this is what was delivered to us.

I was soooo upset This cake was beyond ugly! Not only was it ugly but when it arrived to the table most of the "fireworks" were broken off on the ends. It looked like someone carelessly threw this together at the last minute. There were no flowers, no tinkerbell, and no Mickey balloons.

I immediately stepped to the side and asked to speak to a manager. The wait staff even commented on the cake and how it wasn't up to the typical disney standards. The cake was taken off the bill so at least I didn't have to pay $107 plus tax and tip on that ugly thing but it totally ruined the moment.

I have emailed Chef Brian twice about the quality of cake we received but I haven't received a response yet.

I'm thinking the photo you sent was more than $150.

I'm sorry it ruined you night but...not paying and having your night ruined is a little extreme.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I'm thinking the photo you sent was more than $150.

The poster already replied and said the poster who ordered the original cake said it was $110.

I completely understand being disappointed. I think this is a good reminder to everyone here to make sure that if there's something you really want in a cake, and will be unhappy if its not there, that you need to ask for it specifically.

 

[fitzy819]

you're welcome! I hope you hear back soon!

To be fair, though, from what you mentioned here you did say that the cake didn't need to be exactly like the picture. Given that instruction, and not specifically requesting the white chocolate Tink, I'm not surprised that the chef didn't include it. The woman I coordinated the cake with over e-mail required me to specifically approve the white chocolate figure, even after I'd initially mentioned it in my description of the cake. When she replied with a quote, she quoted me the cake and then listed the white chocolate figure prices (unpainted, accented w/gold or silver, fully painted) and asked that I confirm what exactly I wanted with the white chocolate figure before completing the order.

While we are giving the chef creative control as well, I made sure that I was specific about the elements that we'd be disappointed if we didn't get. Crossing my fingers that that approach works well..

When I first ordered the cake Chef Brian was the one I was emailing with but it looks like he was reassigned between the time that I ordered and our vacation. At least I know it wasn't him, lol. I have seen all the cakes he has made on here and they are all very impressive so I was disappointed that this one seemed to be done so carelessly.

To be honest, the Tink was only a small issue with this cake. There was NO thought or creativity put into the cake. Since the cake was a surprise my mother, she thought we had gotten it from a local grocery store and somehow given it to our waitress to deliver to the table. When my mom found out the cake was $107 and ordered from the Contemporary she was very disappointed. The fireworks in the original picture were likely made of royal icing and resembled actual fireworks. The "fireworks" on this cake were made of white chocolate. They were very lumpy, breaking, and resembled spiders more than fireworks. Aside from the Tink there were no flowers or mickey balloons. This cake was ELECTRIC blue and COVERED in edible glitter so it looked even tackier than it already was. I took several close up pictures of the poor quality of this cake but I didn't want to bore yall, haha. I have seen cakes on here that are $75 or less an look way better than this one.

All of this aside we had a great trip and the cake isn't really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. It was just such a bummer to receive this on my mom's birthday on the last night of our vacation when the rest of the trip had been so amazing. Anyways, thanks for letting me vent!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

The poster already replied and said the poster who ordered the original cake said it was $110.

I completely understand being disappointed. I think this is a good reminder to everyone here to make sure that if there's something you really want in a cake, and will be unhappy if its not there, that you need to ask for it specifically.

Very, very true!

Years ago when we started ordering cakes I was very unhappy with the appearance but it was my fault. It was delicious, I paid for it and learned a valuable lesson.

 

[fitzy819]

Very, very true!

Years ago when we started ordering cakes I was very unhappy with the appearance but it was my fault. It was delicious, I paid for it and learned a valuable lesson.

Since you are so peeved that I didn't pay for the ugly cake I will tell you how the situation happened.

-The cake was delivered. My sister and I had a look of shock on our faces; not because it wasn't exactly like the picture but because the quality of the work was very poor. We had both seen what a $100-$150 budget will get you cake wise and this was NOT what we expected.

-Without making a scene I went and spoke with a waitress that was at the side of the restaurant. She said, "oh, you're the one that ordered that expensive cake. We were waiting for someone to come say something about that. We were all looking at it in the back and couldn't believe they wanted to charge you $107 for that thing."

-I explained to her that this cake was for my mother's birthday and that I didn't want to make a huge ordeal but I would like to speak to a manager.

-15 minutes or so later a manager came to talk to me. Without me saying anything he said he was sorry about the quality of the cake and that he too was displeased in what was given to me. He said that they would not charge me for the cake and that I should speak to someone at the Contemporary as well. I never asked not to be charged for the cake, it was offered.

- We took the cake back to our room and the next morning shared it with cast members on our floor (we were staying club level so we shared it with the staff that works up there).

Judging by everyone's reactions that saw the cake first hand I would say that that I am not overreacting. I just wanted to share my experience here as I was VERY excited to order a cake for the first time and had a crummy experience. Like I said previously, it did not ruin our trip and we had an amazing vacation.

 

[LJSquishy]

Since you are so peeved that I didn't pay for the ugly cake I will tell you how the situation happened.

-The cake was delivered. My sister and I had a look of shock on our faces; not because it wasn't exactly like the picture but because the quality of the work was very poor. We had both seen what a $100-$150 budget will get you cake wise and this was NOT what we expected.

-Without making a scene I went and spoke with a waitress that was at the side of the restaurant. She said, "oh, you're the one that ordered that expensive cake. We were waiting for someone to come say something about that. We were all looking at it in the back and couldn't believe they wanted to charge you $107 for that thing."

-I explained to her that this cake was for my mother's birthday and that I didn't want to make a huge ordeal but I would like to speak to a manager.

-15 minutes or so later a manager came to talk to me. Without me saying anything he said he was sorry about the quality of the cake and that he too was displeased in what was given to me. He said that they would not charge me for the cake and that I should speak to someone at the Contemporary as well. I never asked not to be charged for the cake, it was offered.

- We took the cake back to our room and the next morning shared it with cast members on our floor (we were staying club level so we shared it with the staff that works up there).

Judging by everyone's reactions that saw the cake first hand I would say that that I am not overreacting. I just wanted to share my experience here as I was VERY excited to order a cake for the first time and had a crummy experience. Like I said previously, it did not ruin our trip and we had an amazing vacation.

I think you handled it appropriately. It was wise of you to step aside and not cause a scene at your table. Your cake definitely did not look like a $100 cake in my opinion, at least not compared to some of the others I've seen here. You are already paying "Disney" price (read: inflated) for a custom cake, and I would have been upset myself if that's what I got. The fireworks don't even look like fireworks...they look more like the flowers that are in your inspiration photo. LOL Honestly, the cake you got looks like a cake that one would maybe recreate on their own at their house to mimic the "real deal". Hehe.

I would have had a hard time not paying for the cake even if they said they would remove it from the bill, but sometimes they really do insist that you not pay for it.

Hopefully that cake wasn't done by the person that took over Brian's spot.

 

[Angel Ariel]

When I first ordered the cake Chef Brian was the one I was emailing with but it looks like he was reassigned between the time that I ordered and our vacation. At least I know it wasn't him, lol. I have seen all the cakes he has made on here and they are all very impressive so I was disappointed that this one seemed to be done so carelessly.

Oh I completely agree with you that the workmanship on the cake is subpar compared to what I've seen the Contemporary bakery do! Even piping buttercream would have made for better fireworks than those white chocolate things. I definitely don't blame you for being disappointed at all. I just brought up the Tink stuff in case you ever did order a cake in the future and wanted a white chocolate figure then!

 

[mrsclark]

NEVERENOUGHWDW, I started reading your post on my iphone and switched to my iPad so I could see pictures. I clicked on the first photo you posted and thought that cake is amazing, I am not sure what she is unhappy about. BUT then I saw saw your cake and realized the first photo was the inspiration. I totally agree with you that it was completely underwhelming and even from the photos looked poorly done to me.

I am in complete agreement that the manager told you not to pay for the cake - the mark of good customer service is not charging someone for a product they are unhappy with. Obviously the craftsmanship of the cake is subpar and you should not pay for poor workmanship.

 

[mrsclark]

I should add to the above that I work in customer service - my first job always always always is to make the customer happy. If they aren't happy, we as a company, do what it takes to fix it including refunds, discounts, etc. we don't want someone to pay for something they aren't satisfied with because we want to impress them with our service level which in turn leads to more potential sales in the future. If we disappoint the customer AnD make them pay for it that will just leave a bad taste in their mouths. Negative feelings do not usually lead to more sales.

 

[faylynn24]

Okay this may be a very stupid question but where are the places i can have a cake delivered if i order a cake from contemporary?? i apologize if this is already told in this thread.


Im trying to order a chocolate ganache cake with chocolate shavings and fresh strawberries. I also wanted it customed with a chocolate pic of jesse/toy story theme.