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Got the “after-Christmas” blues? The after-Christmas story of Disney’s Grand Floridian’s gingerbread house is the cure!

If you love decorating for the Christmas holiday season, you’re in good company. Christmas decorations are a huge part of the holiday season for millions of Americans.

40 Best Christmas Trees Ever - White House, Rockefeller Center & More  Dazzling Decorated Trees
Credit: ElleDecor.com

In the United States alone, approximately 100 million households decorate a Christmas tree (or multiple trees) in celebration of the season, and according to a survey by Treetopia, many of those Americans love the holiday decoration so much, that they often decorate one in their homes long before December 25 arrives. On average, Californians decorate their holiday evergreens 6 weeks before Christmas, while Delaware residents decorate their trees 3.3 weeks before Christmas Day.

31 Christmas Window Decorations for Happy Holiday
Credit: WCMA

Texans decorate their massive trees 5.3 weeks before Christmas, but Americans living in Rhode Island and South Carolina love their Christmas trees the most, as according to the survey, they decorate their iconic symbols nearly 7 weeks before Christmas!

First Look as Cinderella Castle Christmas Decorations Begin to Appear -  Inside the Magic
Credit: ITM

But the parks and resorts at the Walt Disney World Resort, as well as Disney Springs, have even Rhode Islanders and South Carolinians beat, as decorating for the Christmas holiday season begins as soon as each Disney Park closes on Halloween night, nearly two full months before Old St. Nick makes his annual toy delivery across the globe, which isn’t surprising when you consider the number of bows, ribbons, boughs of holly, ornaments, and festive evergreens Disney World displays every year.

cinderella castle ice
Credit: Becky Burkett

And perhaps one of the most iconic staples of holiday season decorations at the Walt Disney World Resort is the gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Disney fans have loved it since 1999–the first year the Grand Floridian ever had a giant gingerbread house in its main lobby. For many, seeing the house is a holiday tradition. Seeing the huge gingerbread display is a truly magical experience! It wasn’t on display last year because of COVID, so when it arrived for the 2021 holiday season, it was a welcome sight!

The 2021 gingerbread house featured a new look in celebration of Disney World’s 50th anniversary!

Disney's Grand Floridian Gingerbread House Has a NEW Look For 2021! | Our  Magical Disney Moments
Credit: collinsrace.com

RELATED: We want to live in it! Tour Disney’s 2021 Grand Floridian gingerbread house with us!

But earlier today, a member of the Disney World Junkies group on Facebook posted a photo she took that didn’t feel magical at all. In her post, Lauren Janelle captions the photo by saying, “It’s a sad day at Grand Floridian, but it sure does smell good while they’re dismantling it!!!”

grand floridian gingerbread house dismantle
Credit: Lauren Janelle

It’s sad to think about the adorable 14-foot-tall gingerbread house being taken apart. After all, it’s has been a Guest favorite since 1999, and its construction is no small feat.

But the story of the Grand Floridian gingerbread house doesn’t end when the holidays are over. In fact, it doesn’t end until winter is over!

Every year, after New Year’s Day, every piece of gingerbread is removed from the house structure. But the sugar used in baking and decorating is left behind; it covers the whole structure! Because of this, Disney’s Cast Members power wash the structure at the Disney Tree Farm.

After that, bees at the Tree Farm eat the remaining sugar as a food source throughout the winter. Think of it as a “You scratch my back; I’ll scratch yours” scenario, as the bees have full bellies because of the house, and the structure gets completely cleaned off by the bees, thus helping the Grand Floridian staff.

The recipe for the giant gingerbread house calls for 1,050 pounds of honey, 800 pounds of flour, 600 pounds of chocolate, 600 pounds of powdered sugar, 140 pints of egg whites, 35 pounds of various spices, and of course, some Disney magic and pixie dust!

Baking the 5,000 gingerbread shingles takes more than 400 hours, and 160 hours are spent putting together the giant house and decorating it.

Each year, the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian features a Hidden Mickey. Can’t find it from where you’re standing? You’re always invited to move around the perimeter of the house and search for it.

The bake shop housed inside the gingerbread structure always has sweet treats available for purchase. You can even buy gingerbread shingles to take home and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Becky Burkett

Becky's from the Lone Star State and has been writing since she was 10 and encountered her first Disney Park when she was 11. It was love at first Main Street Electrical Parade. Joy is blank lined journals, 0.7 mm pens, and all things Walt, Woody and Buzz, PIXAR, Imagineering, Sleeping Beauty (make it blue!), Disney Parks history and EPCOT. At Disney World, you'll find her croonin' with the birdies at the Enchanted Tiki Room or hangin' with Woody and the gang at Toy Story Land. If you can dream, you really can do it!

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