Today, a special midweek episode of our podcast, the story of a tradition that, at least in my mind,

is largely tied to the Florida resort. Massive gingerbread houses, houses so large that in some

cases, cast members have set up a shop inside of one of them to sell gingerbread. In some cases, these gingerbread houses are as

tall as an actual house. In recent years, large gingerbread houses have come to other Disney areas,

such as the Grand Californian, at Disneyland, and even to cruise lines. But nowhere are they more

prominently displayed, and nowhere are they larger than at Disney

World. But in Orlando, Disney World didn't begin the tradition of uniquely designed gingerbread

houses or in some cases gingerbread villages. This trend started at other Orlando hotels, ones that weren't owned directly by Disney.

But then a few Disney pastry chefs believed that they could outdo creations at other hotels

with their own gingerbread constructions, creations that in some cases took many weeks to bake,

shingle by shingle, and then to assemble them inside of the hotel.

Today we have the story of how those unique, and in some cases, massive gingerbread creations arrived at the resort.

This is a story that I first posted a few years ago.

It was a lovely episode to research and put together.

Some of the information came from interviews I had with two chefs who a few decades ago spearheaded this effort that ultimately turned into a resort-wide tradition.

I should point out that as this episode was

recorded a few years back, there are a couple of details that have fallen away from the resort.

First, the Grand Floridian sadly no longer has its fabulous society orchestra that for years

performed in the lobby, and second, the gingerbread cabin

at the Wilderness Lodge, never returned after the pandemic, though I am sure that many resort

regulars would love to see it there again. As you've probably figured out this December,

I'm posting up some old seasonal favorites midweek,

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