Five new waffle and pancake flavors are hitting Disney World resort food courts this fall. One of them is functionally a sundae.
Some context.
Look, the Mickey waffle is the most recognizable breakfast item in the entire theme park industry. Decades on Disney World menus. Plastered across merchandise. People buy the waffle maker for their own kitchens. There is a legitimate argument to be had over which food court makes them best, and for a lot of guests, that first Mickey waffle is the exact moment vacation starts.
Plain. Butter. Syrup. Never changed.
Disney has apparently decided that there was money left on the table.
New character-shaped waffles and pancakes are rolling into several Disney Resort hotels. Birthday cake. Strawberry. Caramel banana. Fruity cereal. Candy bar.
Nothing subtle is happening here. This is a dessert served before nine in the morning, and every single plate comes with bacon and sausage.
Art of Animation Went First
Landscape of Flavors is getting the loudest thing on the list.
Character-shaped Birthday Cake Waffles topped with birthday cake custard, cake crumbles, and rainbow sprinkles. Pancake version available with the exact same toppings.
Birthday cake custard. On a waffle. In the morning.
Putting it at Art of Animation is genuinely smart, though. That resort skews hard toward families with little kids, and this thing is engineered to be spotted and demanded within about four seconds.
Bonus: it works as a birthday breakfast with no reservation required.
Port Orleans and Pop Century Get Strawberry
Both Port Orleans locations, same item.
Mickey-shaped Strawberry Waffles with creamy vanilla custard, at Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, and at Riverside Mill Food Court.
Everything POP Shopping and Dining at Pop Century gets those plus Strawberry Pancakes with the same custard.
This is the restrained one. Strawberry and vanilla custard still tastes like breakfast, which is going to matter to the people who do not want candy at 8 a.m.
All-Star Sports: Caramel Banana
End Zone Food Court plays it classic.
Mickey-shaped Caramel-Banana Waffles with streusel, plus a pancake version.
Caramel and banana are a proven pairing, and the streusel is doing something none of the others bother with, which is adding texture. Best bet for adults on this whole list, because it is closer to a real dessert composition than a gimmick.
All-Star Music: Fruity Cereal
Intermission Food Court goes sideways.
Mickey-shaped Fruit Cereal Waffles with creamy vanilla custard and fruit cereal, plus matching Fruit Cereal Pancakes.
Cereal as a topping has been trending for a few years, and it works for one reason. Custard and waffles are both soft, so the cereal provides the crunch.
Also, the most photogenic item here, which is absolutely not an accident.
All-Star Movies: Candy Bar
World Premiere Food Court is not pretending.
Mickey-shaped Candy Bar Waffles loaded with cookie bar pieces, caramel, and chocolate sauce, plus Candy Bar Pancakes with the same.
Cookie pieces, caramel, and chocolate sauce. That is a sundae. Calling this breakfast is a technicality and everybody involved knows it.
It is going to sell constantly.
The Bacon and Sausage Thing Matters
Stop on this one for a second, because it changes the math.
Every single one of these comes with bacon and sausage. That makes them full plates instead of a novelty side, and the salt is doing serious work against all that sugar.
It also means nobody has to choose between the fun breakfast and the real breakfast.
Why Disney Is Bothering
Resort food courts have quietly become one of the most competitive corners of Disney World dining.
Value and moderate guests account for a large share of meals on property, and quick service is where most of that happens. Give every resort something nobody else has, and suddenly a food court is a destination instead of whatever is closest.
Now look at how these got spread out. Birthday cake at Art of Animation. Strawberry across Port Orleans and Pop Century. Three completely different flavors at the three All-Star resorts.
Staying at All-Star Movies and want the fruity cereal one? You are walking to All-Star Music. That is deliberate, and for anybody who resorts to hops for food, breakfast just turned into a scavenger hunt.
Before You Go To Disney
These are resort quick service, not in the parks.
Most come as both waffle and pancake, so you are picking texture more than flavor.
And relax, the classic Mickey waffle is not going anywhere. Nothing here replaces it, which is the correct call.
Some people want birthday cake custard at eight in the morning. Some people want butter and syrup.
Disney is finally doing both.
