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Review: Goofy’s Candy Company
When you walk into Goofy’s Candy Company, everyone in the family will feel like a kid in a candy shop. Okay, maybe that’s because you are in a candy shop, but maybe it’s because you’ve found one of the neatest places in Walt Disney World to make a sweet family memory.
Goofy’s Candy Company is one of the many shops that make up the Downtown Disney Marketplace. It’s at the opposite side from Downtown Disney Westside (that’s where the AMC Theater and Cirque Du Soleil are), near the Rainforest Cafe and across from Disney’s year-round Christmas store. It’s a gift shop mainly dedicated to character themed confections such as packaged snacks and chocolates, candy filled souvenirs, boxes of chocolate covered mouse ear pretzels, and giant lollipops. If you need a sugar fix, this is the place to satisfy your craving. It’s also a great place to find a thank you gift for the neighbor back home collecting your mail.
But the best reason to steal inside this shop is to treat yourself and your family to the supremely indulgent experience of creating and devouring a custom Goofy’s Candy Company snack as I did one Saturday with my three children. The fun begins when you take a blank ticket from the counter to mark your selections. You get to choose (1) the food item you want to be (2) dipped in what type of chocolate, then (3) the topping you want it coated in and (4) which chocolate you want drizzled over it as the finishing touch.
My kids, ages 12, 10 and 8, sat down at one of the small tables in the rear of the store to seriously contemplate this task. The base item choices are a beautiful, large caramel apple; three pretzel rods; a giant Oreo® cookie with vanilla, chocolate, mint, or peanut butter filling; a Mickey marshmallow krispy treat; or three marshmallows skewered on a Mickey crazy straw (prices at the end of the review). As we were visiting during the Christmas holiday season, a special mouse ears wearing gingerbread man cookie was another option. Never ones to agree, my kids each picked a different base food which only added to our fun; we were looking forward to seeing each other’s tasty creations and possibly sharing.
I must be raising budding food lovers because my kids really thought about the type of chocolate and topping combinations they wanted. “That would really taste good,” I heard them say to each other as they outlined their creations. For steps 2 and 4, you have the choice of white, milk, or dark chocolate. You have 14 choices of toppings for step 3, including multi-colored sprinkles, mini M&Ms®, cookie crumbles, peanut butter chips, coconut, and crushed nuts. One topping is included in the price; you can pick additional ones for $1 each. All steps combined, it amounts to hundreds of tasty combinations (I eat, I don’t do math).
In just a few minutes, they had mapped out their requests and we handed our completed order forms to the cashier (you pay first). Then came the fun of watching the Disney cast members make each of our treats to order. The action takes place in an open “kitchen” in the center of the store where you can watch through the glass each sweet being made. There is just something thrilling about seeing pools of melted chocolate and tubs of colorful ingredients lying in wait. The cast members are pros with a very generous hand. I wish I could dip chocolate as effortlessly as they do with such pleasing results. My kids wish I would smother their desserts with such a decadent amount of toppings. From start to finish, it took no more than 10 minutes for our four treats to be made (the chocolate needs a little cooling time to set up) but it didn’t feel long to us at all.
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You can take your treats to go, but we took ours back to our earlier table. So pretty, so colorful, so delicious! My eldest had a rice cereal treat dipped in dark chocolate, rolled in Oreo® cookie crumbs, and drizzled with white chocolate. “Are you sure this isn’t food of the gods?!” he exclaimed after his first bite. My middle child chose the same combinations, only he picked marshmallows as his base for the keepsake crazy straw. He wants me to write that Goofy’s Candy Co. “is an awesome place for the family because it has a bunch of candy people love and it’s bright and welcoming.” My youngest enjoyed the biggest surprise. She selected the 3 pretzel rods and was thrilled when told that each one could be coated in a different topping at no extra charge. Milk chocolate held sprinkles in place on one pretzel, crushed Oreo® cookies on another, and mini M&Ms® on the third. And me? I took the gingerbread cookie (which surprised me with its authentic use of ginger spice), coated with dark chocolate, crushed walnuts, and a final drizzle of white chocolate.
If don’t have the time or inclination to build-your-own you can select from two pastry cases filled with sugary goodness— an assortment of cupcakes, giant cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, candy apples, fudge, and more. Goofy’s Candy Co. also has a section with frozen slushy drinks in six or so fruity flavors, which you can order with or without the souvenir cup. For adults, there’s a small coffee counter that serves specialty drinks alongside a few Danishes and muffins.
There are a few places in Downtown Disney to grab a snack or indulge in something sweet. So I asked my kids to rate Goofy’s on a scale of 1 to 5, with five being the highest, for being the best place for a family to go for an afternoon break. Each child enthusiastically gave Goofy’s Candy Company the top score as they licked their fingers and I wrapped up the leftovers to take home.
F.A.S.T. Review
Food – The wide selection of sweets means there is something for everything in the family, from pre-packaged Disney candies and snacks to a rainbow wall of jellybeans and M&Ms. But this is Disney; don’t expect convenience store prices. At least the portions are big.
Atmosphere – Bright, vibrant colors fill this happy shop, themed to resemble a cartoonish candy factory. What else would you expect if Goofy went into business? Have fun exploring the details in the signage and store decorations. You’re sure to find a few things that will make you laugh as a family.
Service – When the store is busy, the emphasis is on moving the line and getting out orders rather than spending time talking with the guests, but you’ll always get a Disney smile. Watching Goofy’s candy making cast members is fun and mesmerizing. They make it look easy as they dip, drizzle, coat, and sprinkle all those specially requested treats.
Tips – Plan your purchase. If you are buying something with chocolate consider how long it will be before you can get it back to your cool hotel room. Much of what is served here is large (the caramel apples are the size of a softball), so if you are not sharing it you are going to have some left over. Get a bag or box to take the remainders to go when you pick up your order.
The DisDining Mama Says: Moms conscious of their families’ sugar consumption and food costs for are going to find Goofy’s Candy Co. a challenge if they are not in “it’s vacation” mode. The smartest deal may be to order the pretzel rods and let each child pick out the topping they want on theirs. Another option is to select a caramel apple and take it back to your hotel room to be sliced up and shared.
Create-Your-Own-Treat Menu
- Caramel Apple – $8.95
- 3 Pretzel Rods – $8.95
- Marshmallow – $4.95
- Mickey Krispy Rice Treat – $4.95
- Giant Fudge Cookie, choice of filling – $5.95
- Gingerbread Mickey Cookie – $4.95
