Gingerbread House at Grand Floridian

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Each year, the lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa hosts a magnificently festive creation — a 16-foot-tall gingerbread house baked with 1,050 pounds of honey that takes more than 160 hours to decorate.

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I had the chance to see the house the other day as it was
near completion. Here are some photos taken from a variety of angles. Note the detail — can you spy Tinker Bell in one of the windows?

I only wish I could share the delicious, spicy aroma with you! It was heavenly!

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The Gingerbread House opened to the public yesterday, November 15, and is now open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., selling gingerbread cookies and other holiday confections.

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Debra Martin Koma wrote about food, travel and lifestyle issues for a number of local and national publications before she fell in love with Walt Disney World on her first visit — when she was 34! She's returned to her Laughing Place more times than she can count in the ensuing years, and enthusiastically shares her passion with readers of AllEars.Net and AllEars®. Deb also co-authored (along with Deb Wills) PassPorter's Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line, a travel guide designed for all travelers to Walt Disney World who may require special attention, from special diets to mobility issues.

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42 Replies to “Gingerbread House at Grand Floridian”

  1. What happens to the gingerbread decorations after the holidays.

    Deb Koma replies: I really have no idea! Not sure whether
    they trash it all, or recycle it somehow. I’ll see if I can find out.

  2. We live in Orlando area,How much do I have to pay to go and see the Gingerbread House with my family?

    Deb Kome replies: There is no charge to just see the
    Gingerbread House — it’s in the lobby of the Grand Floridian Resort. The only charge is for if you buy any of the gingerbread cookies.

  3. Hi,
    Went on the 18th of December! Grand Floridian was beautiful. My son and I had a great time checking out all the Christmas decorations in WDW! WDW is so beautiful at Christmas! we love it..The Osborne lights were awesome, as usual…

  4. We were supposed to be in Orlando for Christmas but our flight got cancelled from Dublin Ireland last week, so we only fly out to Orlando tomorrow, at least we get to spend New Year there. The Gingerbread house was on my todo list. Do you know if it will be open on New years Day as we have my 15 year old daughter and our two Moms with us and would really love to see it.

    Deb Koma replies: I’m not sure exactly when they take the tree and all of the resort decorations down, but I THINK everything should still be up for New Year’s Day.

  5. I have visited this a week ago and it is wonderful and such good treats available to buy too. smell is so yummy ,quite a line to buy things but worth the wait as you look at the many characters. Also there is a smaller one in Epcot at the American diner opposite the America Garden Theatre selling eggnog and gingerbread men ..

  6. I tried calling a few years back to see if I could order a gingerbread house to be sent to my parents and I was told that because of the fragile nature of the “house” that shipping was not possible because it could not be insured against breakage. That policy might have changed, but I doubt it!

  7. We are coming over from the UK at Christmas with grand children, can we just go in to the Grand Floridian to see the ginger bread house( we are staying outside the park)

    Deb Koma replies: Absolutely! There’s no charge to visit
    the lobbies of any of the Disney resorts.

  8. Is there a charge to go to the Gingerbread house?

    Deb Koma replies: No charge to just visit the house — only if
    you want to buy some of the cookies and other treats there!

  9. 15 more days until we see the Gingerbread house! This is our first trip at Christmas and totally excited. See ya soon Mickey!!!!!

  10. Great pictures…can’t wait to see it and smell it 🙂 in person.

    Which has me wondering, how busy does the shop get? I’m guessing it varies. We have a dinner ressie at Citrico’s one night before heading over to MVMCP. I wouldn’t mind buying something, but don’t want to be tied up too long.

  11. Can a person staying off property go to the hotels to see some of the hotels decorations like this? For the first time we decided to rent a house(large group) but i never thought about going to the hotels to see their decorations. Will we be allowed in?

    Deb Koma replies: Yes, absolutely. You don’t need to be staying at the resort to visit the lobby and look at the decorations!

  12. Hi, I saw the gingerbread house being made on 11/11/2010 whilst having afternoon tea at Garden View Lounge Tearoom. We also got to have some samples of the gingerbread and they were lovely.

    To answer Emma’s question I also saw the gingerbread house last Friday at the Liberty Inn.

  13. I have never been to the Grand Floridian or the gingerbread show. So is it free or do you need to buy a ticket somewhere to see this? Also can we go anytime between 10am and 10pm to see it? Me and my family will be going to Disney soon and I wanna add this into the things I wanna see while there. Thank you.

    Deb Koma answers: It’s not actually a “show” — it’s a
    structure made of gingerbread that serves as a shop.
    There’s no charge to just see it — it’s in the hotel lobby.
    But there are gingerbread cookies for sale inside the
    shop.

  14. We are staying at the GF (all 10 of us) from 11/27-12/4. We are so excited to see DW all decked out for Christmas. See you all there.Mary

  15. Wow. Someday, when I no longer work in retail, I am going to take a longer than usual trip during the Christmas season so I can experience these special things.

  16. Thanks for the pictures of the gingerbread house. This will be our 1ST trip to Disney during the holiday season. We are so excited to see all the decorations and happy that we will be sharing this with our Philly friends. 20 DAYS AND COUNTING!!!

  17. We are going to be at Disney Sun Nov 28th- Dec 4th are there any other hotels or anything else holiday themed we should definetly go and see? We are going to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas.

    Thanks!

    Deb Koma replies:

    All of the resort hotels will have Christmas decorations up, in keeping with their own particular theme. I think the Christmas trees at the Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge are just spectacular. I’d also recommend a visit to the Boardwalk and the Beach Club — they both usually have big gingerbread creations — a carousel at the Beach Club:
    http://land.allears.net/blogs/dnews/2008/12/the_gingerbread_carousel_at_wa.html

    and a holiday scene at the Boardwalk like this:
    http://allears.net/acc/bwi22.jpg

  18. I visited this yesterday and pictures cannot do it justice. The house is adorable, incredible and wonderfully aromatic! Just one aside- please don’t poke or pinch the house. (It’s real!) There were a few fingerholes where people must have “tested” it. The CM selling delicacies told me she believed the bakery comes at night to do repairs.

  19. this looks wonderful we leave for disney in 2 weeks we’ll be eating at 1900 park fare…can’t wait to see this in person..so much to see..luckily 10 days to see it…

  20. MY GRANDDAUGHTER JESSICA AND I WILL BE THERE IN 14 DAYS CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IT. WE ARE HAVING BREAKFAST WITH ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

  21. I spent my 5oth birthday on a Disney Cruise and in the park. The park was decorated for the holiday season and it was truly magical. I still remember that wonderful gingerbread aroma in the Grand Floridian, and the chocolate displays in the hotels. They really put you in the Christmas spirit!
    Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to celebrate my 6oth birthday there too!
    Cheers, Debbie Kennedy

  22. Forgive me if this is a really stupid question, but I’ve never seen the Gingerbread House before, and I’m not clear – can you actually *enter* the house? Do they sell Gingerbread *within* the Gingerbread House itself? Or is the House more of a display, with the selling of Gingerbread nearby?

    Deb Koma replies: Paul, gingerbread cookies are sold from inside the house. (The cast members are inside — I don’t recall being able to walk inside myself.) And remember, there are NO stupid questions!

    Our Guest Blogger Cedric Ching had some other photos in a report last year that will give you an idea of the set-up:

    http://land.allears.net/blogs/guestblog/2009/11/gingerbread_house_at_disneys_g.html

  23. Looks great – can’t wait to see it next month!
    Will there be a smaller gingerbread house in the Liberty Inn restaurant (American Adventure Pavillion) again this year?

    Deb Koma replies: I’m pretty sure there will be — they have
    it just about every year. I didn’t notice any signs of it over this
    past weekend, but to be honest I was in the AA
    rotunda, not the Liberty Inn, and wasn’t looking for it.

  24. This is beautiful! We are taking our girls, ages 4 and almost 1, to Disney for their birthdays and are staying at GF. Can’t wait to see this beautiful work of art! Thanks for the pics! They get us even more anxious to be there! Only 18 more days to go!

  25. Great pictures! No family trip to WDW this winter, so really appreciate you posting the many details of this gingerbread house (I could almost smell the gingerbread).

  26. How long will the gingerbread house be on display?

    Deb Koma replies: I don’t have an exact date, but it will definitely be up throughout the holidays, most likely to the end of the year.

  27. Is there a way to order gingerbread houses and pay for shipping?

    Deb Koma replies: I’m not sure, but you could try contacting Disney’s Mail Order Merchandise Department:

    407-363-6200 or [email protected]

  28. oh my! this looks delicious i wonder what the smell alone would do to my diabetes sugar reading lol
    it would soooo be worth it though

  29. The gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian is a must do for me! It is really worth the trip over to the Grand Floridian and it smells wonderful. Love to purchase a treat as well! Makes me want to go now…