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You Wont BEE-lieve How Disney Disposes of Their Gingerbread Displays

Gingerbread displays

Christmastime at Walt Disney World means magic, beautiful decor and of course, larger-than-life Gingerbread Houses. We love the life-size Gingerbread displays every year. The Grand Floridian house that doubles as a sweet shop is hands down our favorite, but Beach Clubs Carousel comes in a close second.

RELATED: After-Christmas Blues Got You Down? This True Story About the Grand Floridian’s Gingerbread House is Just the Cure!

Gingerbread display

Credit: Disney Dining

Every bit of the displays are edible but of course, after being on public display for weeks no one eats them after the holiday season ends. We wondered what happens to these incredible displays after the holidays are over. The answer was heartwarming, wholesome, and surprising.

Rather than just waste all of that food (the Grand Floridian uses 600 pounds of gingerbread, 600 pounds of powdered sugar and 250 pounds of fondant for their display alone), Disney has come up with an eco-friendly way to use the sugary confections after they are done with them. The answer? Pollinators! According to Green Matters, Barry Stockwell, Planned Work Specialist with Disney Event Decorating Support said, “10 years ago, when performing our annual gingerbread display cleaning, we noticed bees were very attracted to the sugar on the displays after deconstruction. We decided to bring the display pieces to our Disney tree farm and lay them out in our field to give the bees a chance to collect the sugar on the wooden structures.” After the bees have had their fill of the sugary goodness, the wooden structures are washed Clean to be used again another year.

Disney gingerbread display

Credit: Disney

This is a win-win. Disney disposes of all of those edible decorations the pollinators, bees in particular, have food during the lean winter months where they are at serious risk of starvation. In the United States the bee population has dwindled to alarming rates which is a serious concern considering bees and other pollinators are vital to human survival. With the bee populations declining around the world, Disney has made it a mission to provide pollinators with even more habitat and resources through pollinator-friendly gardens located across property. This winter time treat is just the… icing on the cake!

 

About Jill Bivins

Jill Bivins has been visiting Disney Parks since she was 2 years old and loves sharing her Disney adventures with the world. She likes to say Disney is in her blood and writing is in her bones — so any time she has the opportunity to combine these loves she is one happy camper! She has a deep abiding love for Epcot and as a die hard Star Wars fan has a serious love for Hollywood Studios as well. When she isn't exploring or writing about Disney Parks, Jill is homeschooling her 8 year old son, playing with her brand new baby son, or pretending to be a farmer on her family homestead (despite being unable to keep even a cactus alive). Find Jill on Instagram @minnieonmain.