Most guests visiting the Disneyland Resort
end up strolling through a candy shop at some point during their visit. Some make
a beeline to a store first thing through the gates. Being more of a beeline person
myself, I was interested in finding out how each candy shop at the resort was
unique, and whether I was missing something by patronizing only one.
Candy
Palace
Everyone has their own fond memories of the Candy Palace, easily
the most popular shop at the resort.
Best to visit Candy Palace early in the day, when candy is being made and the
crowds are lighter. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The décor is early American,
which fits into Main Street perfectly. The candy kitchen and window is the real
deal; everything from English toffee and rocky road to caramel applies and fruit
jellies are made in large quantities daily. All children love to stop by and drool
over the huge kettles of hot chocolate and caramel, and wave at the candy makers.
The day’s offerings: caramel turtles. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The candy-making
schedule varies week to week, depending on which candy makers are working and
what their specialties are. Guests can call and find out what candy will be made
the day of their visit by calling (714) 781-0112. The pre-recorded message is
changed weekly. The store offers candy made in their window as well as candy shipped
in from outside warehouses. Be sure to check the label in the back of the candy
if this is meaningful to you.
Much of the candy is made off property—some shipped clear across the country.
Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The Candy Palace carries a few sugar-free treats.
The sugar-free peanut butter cup is pricey at $4.25, but looks and tastes pretty
much like the real thing. Same with the sugar-free turtle, a bargain at under
a buck. Goofy’s Candy Co. brand has sugar-free gummy bears that are carried at
the Palace and throughout the resort.
The second counter offers the cookies, chocolate and rice crispy treats like the
other shops. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Next to the Candy Palace is the Crystal
Arcade, which now sports a large candy counter as well. This area mainly sells
taffy. The resort stopped carrying the authentic salt water taffy from Salt Lake
City, Utah, sometime last year and now stocks taffy that is packaged in Florida
and shipped to Walt Disney World and Disneyland. The sad thing about this is that
guests can no longer choose their own flavors of taffy—everything is premixed.
And the taffy itself is not that good—it’s a lot tougher.
A cast member joked that higher-ups at Walt Disney World were jealous that Disneyland
was getting special treatment with its authentic salt water taffy, and made a
few phone calls. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
For the non-discriminating taffy-eater,
the bags are still a pretty good deal: a small bag is only $2.00, and the large
is $5.00—enough for a family of four to get good and sick with.
Pooh
Corner
Pooh Corner is tucked away in Critter Country, and the newest shop
in Disneyland to find treats. The exit line from the Many Adventures of Winnie
the Pooh ride lets out right in front of the store, so it’s hard to avoid stopping
in, especially with children in tow.
The Pooh Corner candy store is hard to avoid when exiting off its companion attraction.
Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The décor of Pooh corner is very cheerful and
Pooh-ish, with heffalumps and honey pots suspended from the ceiling.
How many heffalumps hang from the ceiling at Pooh corner? Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The
shop boasts a nice candy-making window, however, the most cast members do to make
candy at this shop is to dip and put finishing touches on marshmallows or caramel
apples.
A cast member dips marshmallows and tempts young guests. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Exclusive
to the shop are the s’more marshmallows on a stick (marshmallows dipped in chocolate,
rolled in large pieces of graham crackers), Tigger tails, (chocolate dipped marshmallows
drizzled with orange icing to resemble the Bouncy One), and honey pot caramel
apples. They also carry squares of sucrose-free fudge, as well as the sugar-free
peanut butter cups and turtles.
The sucrose-free fudge is made with diabetics in mind, and is sweetened with fructose
and isomalt. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Unfortunately, the Pooh Corner discontinued
the Eeyore caramel apples, which were an interesting blue-gray in color with a
tail “tacked on.” The rest of the store carries the typical pre-packaged
candy on the walls and glass cases with cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats
and chocolates found at all the other shops.
The standard caramel apples
(plain and peanut) are priced consistently throughout the resort at $3.75 and
$4. A recent addition to the apple line-up is the “apple of the month,”
which is an outrageously dipped apple with a theme that changes each month. The
specialty apples like the honey pot and the apple of the month are pretty pricey
at over $5 each.
Frontierland candy store
Fudge is the main emphasis
of this shop, located right inside the large log gates of Frontierland. The décor
is rustic and perfectly themed to the land. Its glass display cases are filled
with all manner of fudge, from Snickers bar to chocolate mint to pumpkin (when
in season), and usually have a serving plate with samples for guests to try.
When one thinks of the frontier, one thinks of fudge. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The
fudge is made backstage at the resort, so it has the advantage of being local.
Quite fresh and creamy, three squares of fudge will set you back $9, which seems
like a lot until you realize that no one can eat a whole square of this fudge
in one sitting without falling into a diabetic coma. The extra-ambitious fudge
lover can buy six squares for $12.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Mickey lollipop? Photo by
Lisa Perkis.
The shop also has a very large Jelly Belly assortment and an
enormous display of lollipops. The Candy Palace often sends over a tray of dipped
strawberries to sell during strawberry season.
DCA Candy Shoppe
One
of the most generic candy shops at the resort, the Candy Shoppe in Disney’s California
Adventure park does not offer any exclusive items. It carries the standard assortment
of chocolates, cookies and prepackaged candy.
California poppies. The décor is more interesting than the candy. Photo
by Lisa Perkis.
The theming of the store is California poppies. The murals
and large metal poppy store centerpiece is pretty, but other than popping your
head in to check out the décor, there is nothing worth specifically stopping
by to taste; everything is available across the esplanade.
Marceline’s
Marceline’s
is located in Downtown Disney. Owned by Disney, this shop is named after Walt
Disney’s childhood home town of Marceline, Missouri. It’s a pretty little space
with large fanciful lettering bordering the ceiling naming all sorts of candy,
and striking black and orange colors throughout. The shop carries all the standard
pre-packaged candy the parks do, plus the same caramel apples and dipped candy.
Do your kids not get enough sugar in their diet? Give them an enormous, make-it-yourself
pixie stick. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The shop has a large window that is visible
to guests cruising Downtown Disney, but the candy-making here is limited to the
standard marshmallow dipping and candy apple-making. The coolest thing about Marceline’s
is the nifty little handled bag with the distinctive black and orange diamond
pattern that guests can use to carry away their three-pound rice crispy treats;
it’s a nice change from the standard plastic resort bag used at all the other
candy shops.
Above the caramel apples are the ultra cool Marceline’s bags. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Which
shop to choose? If you are looking for prepackaged candy, any of the stores should
serve you well. On the other hand, if you are interested in sampling candy made
from scratch before your eyes, the Candy Palace is the first place to try. The
other shops may put finishing touches on products, but the candy kitchen at the
Candy Palace is unique to the resort. Or, if you’re like me, you’ll make your
way through all of them and then decide.
