Hello all! First I would like to say thank you to LurkyLoo who seems to know a lot on this subject. I wish I had known about this thread last year when I was going through my own cake hotline issues! I think that because I am a brand-spankin' new member to DISboards, I am not yet allowed to post pics, so I will later reply with a picture of my and my husband's first anniversary cake.
I wanted a cake sent to our room at POFQ. So I was first directed to Boardwalk Bakery, after many calls with no answer, being put on hold, call dropped, redirected to Boatwright's Dining Hall, only to be redirected to Boardwalk Bakery. I was a little put off by the fact that no one seemed to be communicating among themselves before transferring my line, because each time I spoke with a new person, I had to start my story from the beginning, "Hi. I would like to order a cake sent to my room..." I was close to tears after a whole day of run around, and even though I am always polite (after all, I am asking THEM to do something for ME) my desperate frustration may have made an impression on someone because I finally got to speak with someone at the bakery to explain what I was wanted. I had already drawn the sketch. It wasn't anything too crazy, no 3-D, or screen prints (didn't even know I could do that till a few days ago reading this board)
A 6 inch chocolate cake covered in white fondant with a flat Mickey head laid on top, with his red signature shorts and yellow buttons on the bottom half of the Mickey head, and Minnie Ears with a red bow between her ears. On the side of the cake, I asked for yellow, red, and black Mickey heads drawn in swirls. And of course, "Happy Anniversary" on the top with the Mickey heads. The male I spoke with at BB said no problem, he would call back with the price. Cool. So I waited for that call back. And after 2 days, I decided to call myself to see what the hold up was. Since I didn't remember the name of the male, I spoke with the female who answered and described the cake I ordered so she could locate it on their order list, and give me the price. Well, no order for a cake with that description was to be found. Wow.
I cried because I needed the cake in less than a week, and I thought all hope was lost, and I couldn't trust these folks anymore. I really wish I remember her name, that female I spoke with, because I would love to give her credit for totally turning the situation around, and restoring my trust in BB. Only hiccup was they could only do the cake as a 10". No problem, I thought - just more to eat.
The cake was delivered to our room on time, and it was EXACTLY what I asked for, and my husband and I both loved it. Only regret is that I would have liked the bottom part of the Minnie head to be red with polka dots, like on the Christmas ornaments I had seen on that trip.
It was delicious chocolate with strawberry mousse filling. Too bad it didn't last. We kept the cake in the refrigerator in our room the rest of our stay, and nibbled on it the next few days. Unfortunately, it did start to taste like what nail polish remover smells like, indicating that its days of goodness were over. The 10'' was definitely too big for just 2 people, even over the course of several days.
Lessons Learned (especially after reading this board): Have a celebration where Chef Brian can do the cake, or at GF - sounds like there is better communication with the client, higher skill level because they are able to do more elaborate work on smaller cakes, and leave a tiny bit of room for chef's decorating creativity (I may have liked a surprise or two in our cake).
To the credit of the cake hotline, pastry chef, dining rooms, it does appear from this board, that the customer service issues have improved over this last year, so I don't want my story to be any indication of how it is now.
I'm hoping next year my DH and I will celebrate our third anniversary at Disney, and over the next year, this board will give me some I ideas of what I would like to do for that!
I might even reschedule the meal for GF of the Contemporary at that point, just so I could get the cake I wanted.
That's the spirit! Y&BC does turn out good-looking fondant cakes, so I'm sure it won't be bad. It's just a shame they refuse to do the design you wanted.
Definitely post pics when you come back 
