Can you believe it’s already been over three years since the Magic Kingdom’s Main Street Bakery became the first Starbucks location in Disney World?

Learn About:Main Street Bakery

Magic Kingdom
Disney World Restaurants

At the time of the transition from the original Main Street Bakery, it was a pretty major, high-profile change. These days, though, it’s no longer unusual to spot the signature Starbucks green Siren logo around both Disney World AND Disneyland, and guests have become rather accustomed to getting their favorite Frappucino or Pumpkin Spice Latte on their Disney vacation.

As far as food goes, primarily you’ll find similar (if not the exact same) options that you’ll be familiar with if you tend to frequent Starbucks in your hometown — pastries and treats like the popular Iced Lemon Loaf, or small meals like Breakfast Sandwiches.

But you’ll still find a few unique-to-Disney items in the case at Main Street Bakery. The same is true of the other in-park Starbucks locations: Epcot’s Fountain View, Animal Kingdom’s Creature Comforts, and The Trolley Car Cafe in Hollywood Studios.

Today we’re going to look at a mix of both at the Main Street Bakery — one Starbucks item, and two unique-to-Disney items. In fact, we’ll mix it up even further by making one of those Disney items a seasonal offering. After all, ’tis the season for creepies and crawlies…

Halloween Decorations in Magic Kingdom

… like the current Spider Cupcake!

Spider Cupcake

This cupcake’s Halloween costume is the dollop of chocolate icing making up the body of the spider, along with eight chocolate stick “legs” and red candies for the eyes. (Eek!) For all the fun toppings, though, the base is a vanilla cupcake with a thin layer of vanilla frosting.

Spider Cupcake

Very cute for a photo opp, but when it comes to flavor, it’s pretty basic.

Spider Cupcake

The same can be said of one that has been spotted in the Main Street Bakery case on and off over the past several months: the Minnie Cupcake.

Minnie Cupcake

Minnie has been known to rotate here with a couple of her pals. Sometimes you’ll see a Mickey in the case, too. But our favorite character cupcake here so far has been the Donald Duck Butt Cupcake.

Once again, simplicity is the name of the game. Like the Spider Cupcake, it’s a vanilla cupcake base with no surprise filling to be discovered inside.

Minnie Cupcake

Minnie Cupcake

This one does get some points for the generous pile of pink vanilla frosting on top (though it’s lighter and more airy than I prefer)… and I do love the added bonus of the chocolate ears!

Pink Frosting

Still, both of them make me long for the old days at Main Street Bakery from the pre-Starbucks era. Even though it wasn’t a major cupcake destination like, say,  Contempo Cafe, Starring Rolls, or Boardwalk Bakery, it still had a couple of great star turns with the Peanut Butter Cupcake and unique gems like the Ice Cream Sundae Cupcake. Those were the days.

(Wait a minute. When did I get old enough to start saying “Those were the days…”?)

Lastly we’re trying an item that might already be quite familiar to you since it can be found at Starbucks locations across the country: the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin. If you’re huge into the whole pumpkin craze, maybe you’ve already had one or two this fall.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin

Well, I have to say… never did I think I would see the day when I would prefer a Starbucks treat over a Main Street Bakery original, but I guess that day has come. The muffin is moist and autumn-spiced, but not overly sweet, and the pumpkin seeds add another layer of flavor along with just a hint of crunch.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin

Oh, and there’s THIS…

Inside the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin

That bit of cream cheese filling you can spy on the top of the muffin turns out to be a pretty decent amount once you dig in. I tried mine later in the day, but this has potential for a nice little breakfast indulgence before it’s time to go full-on cake mode.

Still, there’s a lot — A LOT — to be said for the fact that you can now get a good cup of coffee just about anywhere in Disney World today. My position is about the same as it was when the Starbucks transition began… the in-parks Starbucks are great coffee stops, but if you’re looking for snacks in Disney World, I’d recommend stopping at a Disney original snack stop and save the Starbucks treats for when you’re back home (unless you really love that Iced Lemon Loaf… in which case I can’t say I blame ya!).

What are your thoughts on the treats at Main Street Bakery? Please let us know with a comment below!