I think we'd all agree that a highlight of any visit to the Disney Parks is the food. There's something about strolling down the street on Main Street U.S.A. or walking around Epcot's World Showcase that makes us happy to shell out $8 for a churro or spend $80 on fast food burgers for our families.
More than likely, you have a favorite snack that you have to have on every trip. For me, it's not a real Disney vacation until I've had a Mickey Mouse-shaped crispy rice treat—dipped in chocolate, of course. The cinnamon rolls at Gaston's Tavern have also become a favorite. For you, it might be a Frontierland turkey leg that gives you the feeling of home, or a Mickey ice cream bar.
You may have often wished you could take these awesome (and generally perishable) treats home. Well now you can… sort of. Disney has come up with a new line of merchandise entitled “D-Lish.” I stumbled on it at Magic Kingdom's Emporium (and subsequently saw them all over property), and the different merchandise available truly made me laugh (and made me hungry).
The D-Lish line of merchandise lets you bring your favorite park snacks home, in a way. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
D-Lish is dedicated to the Disney Parks snacks that we love. Merchandise in this line generally falls into one of three categories: clothing, kitchenware and other general souvenirs.
My latest obsession in the Disney Parks merchandise universe has been the explosion of designer T-shirts after years of not much more than Mickey and Minnie smiling in front of Cinderella's Castle. D-Lish does not disappoint in this regard, offering several shirts that generally poke fun at Disney snacks. Playing on our collective obsession with churros, one long-sleeved hoodie has “Main Street U.S.A. Churro Easting Contest World Champion” emblazoned across the front (priced at $44.99).
Are you the churro-eating contest world champion? Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
If you want a shirt that's a little more encompassing of all things Disney snackular, there's a black T-shirt that simply states, “I'm on the Disney Dining Plan.” Within the writing, it has images of the almighty churro (which comes in handy as an “I” substitute), a Mickey-shaped pretzel, Mickey ice cream bar, a drink in those ever-present paper Disney Parks cups, another churro (sensing a theme here?), a Mickey waffle, and a slice of pizza with Mickey-shaped pepperoni, that I've yet to actually see in the parks, though that would be awesome.
D-Lish has an iconic Disney dining plan tee. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
There's a lot of other clothing available, including a few more T-shirts, but what's innovative beyond the images actually on the clothing is the packaging. There's a women's ringer T-shirt that features an image of Minnie Mouse holding a heart-shaped pie and the saying, “You had me at pizza”. That's fun enough, but what's really awesome here is the fact the shirt comes in a pizza box!
You can buy a Minnie Mouse tee that comes in a pizza box. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
If donuts are more your thing, you can buy a short-sleeved top featuring Minnie holding a tray of donuts that's sold in—you guess it—a donut box (think Dunkin Donuts munchkins).
Other clothing items available include those crazy socks all the kids are wearing these days, kitchen aprons, and sets of mouse ears, including a drool-inducing one that has a pair of glazed pink donuts as the ears.
You can wear a pair of glazed donuts on your head. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
Segueing on to the next category, it only stands to reason that a line of merchandise dedicated to food would include kitchen items. There is some kitchen gear that you'd expect here, as well as some surprising items.
We'll begin here with some great serving pieces. There's a large (maybe 18-inch) serving bowl that has D-Lish icons playfully spashed across it (Mickey pretzels, ice cream bars, waffles, etc.). It's made of plastic vinyl material and runs for a not-too-bad $17.99. It'll hold a lot and is a fun way to bring Mickey into your kitchen.
A D-Lish signature piece is this serving bowl with Disney snack icons. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
Another serving piece is a what they call an “appetizer set.” The set consists of four small bowls that can be used for dips and finger foods. Not so coincidentally, it matches the serving bowl and sports the same snack icons, and runs for $22.99.
Two other fun serving items are a set of glass tumbers featuring the D-Lish icons and a set of two plastic ice cream cups. These are clearly meant to evoke Mickey and Minnie, and are colorful, looking like ice cream is dripping down the side.
Even when at home, the D-Lish ice cream cups will make you imagine you're walking down Main Street USA with dripping ice cream. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
Rounding out my favorites of the kitchen items were a set of food bag clips that I talked myself out of buying because of the $15 price tag (and the fact that I have 400 food clips at home already). These look like something you'd get at Goofy's Candy Company. They're plastic, but look like wooden popsicle sticks with chocolate in the shape of Mickey's head at the top. If you want to make your own Mickey treats at home, the silicone popsicle mold set is for you. It comes with plastic popsicle sticks and a silicone mold with three openings in the shapes of Mickey and Minnie heads. You can fill them up with your favorite juice, pop them in the freezer, and voila, your own Mickey treat.
Moving out of the kitchen, there's plenty of D-Lish booty that simply falls under the category of fun souvenir.
Magnets in the shapes of Disney treats were actually a precursor to D-Lish. Crispy rice treats (dipped in chocolate as I said above) have been a family favorite for decades, so when I saw a magnet that looked good enough to eat years ago, I had to have it. Now there are a wide variety of magnets featuring such sweets as Mickey waffles and donuts, ice cream bars, and even Dole Whip. These range in price from $7.99 to $12.99 depending on the size. This is a great way to get an affordable piece from the collection.
The D-Lish magnets are plentiful and look good enough to eat. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
There are a few items from the collection for your home as well. If you have the room on your house, and the inclination, there's a string of 10 lights, alternating between a classic blue Mickey silhouette and a yellow Dole Whip, that's waiting to be hung along your gutters. It's yours for $29.99.
Following along with the Dole Whip theme, if you are a fan and want to let all visitors to your home know, there's a Dole Whip welcome mat that would look great on your front porch.
You can let your whole neighborhood know how you feel about Dole Whip with this welcome mat. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
You knew there had to be plush as well. There are various pillows and stuffed versions of a few of the other snacks. The standout here is a giant plush Mickey Mouse ice cream bar, wooden stick and all, and of course, because who can wait, with a big bite out of one of the ears.
Jacob is getting ready to take another bite out of the giant Mickey plush ice cream bar. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
Finally, we started with churros and must end the same way. If you just can't let go of that doughy delicious treat, you can have one with you at all times in the form of a $19.99 carrying case/purse in the perfect guise of a churro.
You can take churros with you everywhere by buying a churro carrying case. Photo by Gregg Jacobs.
I'm a big fan of Disney creativity when it comes to merchandise and an even bigger fan of them using park icons to create interesting souvenirs. They hit the mark in a big way with D-Lish. The only downside is how hungry you'll get every time you look at or wear your new treasure.
