Summer House on the Lake vs. Gideon’s Bakehouse: Which Disney Cookie is Right for You?
We’re here to talk about something VERY important: cookies.
There are now two spots in Disney Springs that are focusing mainly on cookies, and you might find yourself wondering which one you should visit on your next trip. So, we’re here to help!
Summer House on the Lake vs. Gideon’s Bakehouse: Cookies
The Basics
Gideon’s Bakehouse is located over at The Landing in Disney Springs and is a standalone bakery that opened back in 2021. The Cookie Bar at Summer House on the Lake is attached to the restaurant, which just opened up the other day over on the West Side of Disney Springs.
Gideon’s is open from 10AM to 11/11:30PM, while The Cookie Bar at Summer House is open from 11AM to 11/11:30PM (the closing time depends on the day of the week).
Both of these spots are cookie bars in essence, but what makes them different from each other? And which one should you visit? We’re about to break it down for you!
Cookie Options
There are a lot of different cookie options available at both of these locations, but we want to talk about the cookies themselves before we get into the menus. Let us start by saying that we think both of these cookies are delicious, they’re just different from each other!
We personally felt like the cookies at Summer House were fresher than Gideon’s. They’re also softer and feel more like they were homemade.
The cookies have completely different shapes as well. Gideon’s are very thick and weigh half a pound, while Summer House’s are more flat but they’re bigger in terms of width. So, Gideon’s has the height, Summer House has the width.
We also think Gideon’s cookies are richer and heavier in your stomach. They are absolutely loaded up with their mix-ins like chocolate chips!
This can be good or bad depending on what you’re looking for — the richness of Gideon’s cookies allows you to eat a little bit of the cookie at a time to make it last longer. But, you might want a lighter cookie while you’re looking for a dessert in Disney Springs.
Both spots have hot cookie options as well. Gideon’s has their hot cookie hour, while Summer House gives you the option to have a cookie warmed up if you want.
It’s also important to note that Summer House has a few gluten-free and vegan cookie and dessert options on the menu, while Gideon’s does not. And, Gideon’s has a 7-cookie limit per person.
These cookie menus can change and rotate through different items throughout the year as well, so keep that in mind. We’re just going to show you what’s on the menu right now.
Now, let’s take a look at the menus! Here are all of the cookie options at Summer House on the Lake:
- Chocolate Chip
- Sea Salt Chocolate Chip
- Lemon
- Birthday Cake
- M&M
- Oatmeal Scotchie
- Apple Oatmeal
- Peanut Butter
- Pinky
- Double Chocolate Cloud
- Crispy Rice Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Walnut
- Fudge Bomb
- Ginger Snap
- Vegan Snickerdoodle
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip
- Cookie in a Cup
And, here are the cookie options at Gideon’s Bakehouse:
- Original Chocolate Chip
- Peanut Butter Crunch
- Cookies & Cream
- Candied Walnut Chocolate Chip (only on Wednesdays)
- Pistachio Toffee Chocolate Chip
- Triple Chocolate Chip
- Coffee Cake (exclusive daily limited edition)
- Dark Coffee Cake (evening limited edition)
- Banana Bread Chocolate Chip
- Gideon’s Bites
There are also special monthly cookies that change. Right now for the holidays there is the Krampus cookie and the Kris Kringle cookie.
Other Items
Both Summer House and Gideon’s have other items besides cookies available, too! Let’s take a look.
Summer House on the Lake also has things like dessert bars, such as:
- Brown Butter Rice Krispy Treat
- Oreo Krispy Treat
- Beach Blondie
- Brownie
- Gluten-Free Brownie
There are also several drinks available at Summer House’s cookie bar, like cocktails, rosé, draft beer, house-made cold brew, creative lemonade combos, lattes, and more.
There are less coffee options at Summer House than at Gideon’s because they have things like plain cold brew which you can add creamer and sugar to. The coffees here are also not as sweet as the ones at Gideon’s.
But, it’s pretty cool that you can get a cookie and a cocktail at the same time!
Other items at Gideon’s include things like giant cake slices! Some of the flavors include:
- True red velvet
- Rotating vanilla slices
- Daily chocolate cake slices (rotates)
- Double frosted cakes (rotates)
- Secret slices (random release)
Gideon’s Bakehouse also has some specialty coffee options such as:
- Original Peanut Butter cold brew
- Classic White cold brew
- Pumpkin Chai cold brew
- Cookies & Cream cold brew
- Limited edition cold brew (varies monthly)
Other drinks you can grab here are local milk and Coca Cola products.
Finally, both of these spots offer merchandise that you can buy!
Accessibility
Okay, here’s where it gets a little more interesting. How simple is it to get both of these cookies?
Well, Gideon’s is very popular and the Disney Springs location sees a lot of high demand. There is often a line out the door, even getting to the point where they’ll use a virtual queue and you’ll have to wait several hours before you can return to the bakery and get your cookies.
People even line up before the store is open in the morning!
So, if you want a Gideon’s cookie, expect to be waiting a little bit. Although this isn’t always the case, it just depends on the crowd levels, time of day, time of year, etc.
Over at Summer House, you can really just walk up and grab a cookie. Now, that COULD change since the spot just opened and it’s hard to say how popular these cookies will be going forward.
But, they do allow you to order ahead (Gideon’s does not), which is a lot more convenient than waiting in line for a long time! And, if you’re eating at the restaurant, you can order from the cookie bar to your table.
Price
Let’s take a look at the prices of these two cookie spots. I’m just going to talk about the cookie prices since the other items for sale vary so greatly.
The cookies at Summer House on the Lake range in price from $4.95 to $5.45 each. The cookies at Gideon’s Bakehouse are $6 each.
So, they’re pretty similar in price, but Gideon’s is a little bit more expensive. Although their cookies are half a pound, so take that into consideration — each cookie feels more like 2 or 3!
Atmosphere
The atmosphere of these two cookie spots are completely different from each other, like literally night and day!
Gideon’s is dark, moody, and a bit more on the creepy side (in a good way!). It looks like you’ve stepped into an old library, where the shelves are lined with old books, works of art, and antiques from the Victorian era.
They’re also known for their little creative creatures that they put on their merchandise! There’s a whole host of characters.
On the other hand, Summer House on the Lake has a light, breezy, and beachy vibes. There’s a lot of white and natural wood in here as well as greenery.
The interior is supposed to feel like you’re at a beach house on the coast, and we definitely see the vision!
Neither atmosphere is better than the other when it comes to these cookie locations, they’re just completely different, so it depends on what you want to experience. I’d say that Gideon’s is more unique and has more character, while Summer House feels more fresh and airy.
Final Thoughts
To wrap things up, both of these spots have delicious cookies to offer, they’re just very different from each other! Summer House’s vibe is light while Gideon’s is dark, Gideon’s cookies are thick and tall while Summer House’s are flat and wide.
Luckily, they’re both around the same price, so who’s to say you can’t try out both options and compare for yourself?!
We would say that if you want to get an alcoholic beverage at the same spot as your cookie, Summer House is the way to go.
@mickeyblog_ These are the reasons why you’ll want to visit the Summer House on the Lake Cookie Bar in Disney Springs!🤩🍪✨ @Disney Parks #disneyparks #disneytiktok #summerhouseonthelake #disneyfoodie #disneysprings #disneyspringsdining #disneyeats ♬ original sound – Roger st.James the hedgehog
But, if you want to experience the uniqueness of Gideon’s, go there instead and just grab a drink at one of the many nearby bars in Disney Springs!
Stay tuned for more Disney World food news and updates!