The sun is starting to set after a long but magical day in the Disney World parks. You’ve been on all your favorite rides, hugged Mickey Mouse, and watched the Festival of Fantasy parade on Main Street, U.S.A. Now, to make the day truly perfect, only one thing is missing — a delicious treat to top it all off!

Disney Springs

And the best place for late-night munchies in Disney World just might be Disney Springs — the shopping and dining center that’s open until 11PM on weekdays and 11:30PM on the weekends. With over 60 restaurants (including a few NEW options!), you’re bound to find something you like here. Today, we’re heading in to check on one spot that’s a favorite for many guests! Does this classic still stand the test of time? Let’s find out!

Lately, we’ve been raving about the new Salt & Straw ice cream shop, which specializes in strange (but usually very delicious) ice cream flavors like Deviled Egg and Fried Chicken. (Don’t worry — they’ve also got some more traditional flavors on the menu.) But Salt & Straw isn’t the only place to find ice cream in the Springs. Today we’re going back to the classics and visiting the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain!

Ghirardelli

You’ll find Ghirardelli Soda Fountain in the Disney Springs Marketplace, near the huge World of Disney gift shop. Just follow the decadent chocolate smell, and there it is. 

Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop

You can get all kinds of specialty sundaes here, many of which are topped with the famous Ghirardelli chocolate squares. There are also shakes, hot cocoa drinks, ice cream floats, baked goods, coffee, and more. This is a counter-service location, so you don’t need a reservation to visit.

Ghirardelli Menu

We ordered one of the most popular sundaes on the menu — the Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae – Lands End. This sundae is $17.25 and is made with vanilla ice cream, a full-size brownie, caramel sauce, sea salt, and handmade hot fudge topped with whipped cream, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, and a cherry. It’s a little bit pricey, but they certainly don’t skimp on the toppings here!

Lands End Sundae

One of the highlights for us was definitely the brownie on top! It was perfectly fudge-y, with a rich chocolate-y flavor. Some brownies can get way too cakey in our opinion, but this one was moist and wonderful. The ice cream was simple but delicious, and it was a great treat for a hot day.

Very tasty!

The sea salt on top was also a star in this treat, as it helped balance out the intense sweetness from the ice cream, chocolate, and caramel. Even though this is a “salted caramel” sundae, we thought the dominant flavor was definitely chocolate. There was SO MUCH FUDGE on our sundae! In fact, we thought there was almost too much fudge (is that even possible??), since it was kind of difficult to taste the caramel.

Ghirardelli sundae

Our pro tip for eating this sundae: bring a friend! Unless you’re super hungry and really craving a huge sundae, this would likely be too much for one person to finish on their own. All the toppings PLUS a full brownie filled us up fast.

Maybe TOO MUCH fudge??

If you’re a true chocoholic, this is the perfect treat for you. We were a little overwhelmed by the amount of fudge on top, but that might be a dream for the dedicated chocolate lovers out there! But if you prefer lighter desserts, you may want to skip this one. Try something like the Banana Split or Strawberry Hot Fudge Sundae here instead, or visit Swirls on the Water to find some fruit-flavored soft serve options.

Dole Whip Flight at Swirls on the Water

In general, we’ve got to say that Ghirardelli is still a winner in our books. As much as we love the novelty of some of the newer treat places, sometimes you just can’t beat a classic!

However, this treat is NOT cheap, and if you’re looking NOT to spend so much on an ice cream sundae (and we’re not sure we can justify $17 for one), we can recommend you head no over to Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at Disney’s Beach Club Resort and get the No Way José for $11 instead.

No Way Jose

If you’re looking for a different treat in Disney Springs, check out some of these other DFB-favorite spots:

• For half-pound cookies: Gideon’s Bakehouse
• For giant donuts with unique flavors: Everglazed Donuts
• For beautiful and decadent pastries: Amorette’s Patisserie
• For exciting cupcake flavors (and a cupcake ATM!): Sprinkles Cupcakes

Disney Springs

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What’s your favorite treat in Disney Springs? Let us know in the comments!