REVIEW: Dinner With Santa Claus at The Cake Bake Shop in Disney World
There are many ways to meet Santa Claus in Disney World, but there’s one especially special way!
Santa
Over at The Cake Bake Shop on Disney’s BoardWalk, guests have been enjoying the menu, the bakery, and the gorgeous atmosphere for over a year now. For the holidays, the restaurant is fully decked out, and they’re hosting four different nights of Dinner With Santa Claus! We were fortunate to snag a truly difficult-to-get reservation, and here’s what we experienced.
Dinner With Santa Claus
At Dinner With Santa Claus, diners can enjoy a three-course meal with sparkling holiday champagne and cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a main entree, and a seasonal dessert.
Dinner With Santa Claus
Also included in a reservation is a Disney PhotoPass photograph of the diners with Santa Claus…
Dinner With Santa Claus
…and a cookie in the shape of Cake Bake’s holiday mascot — Bubbles the Bear. In fact, guests will receive a handmade sugar cookie along with all the ingredients necessary to make a Santa-worthy cookie at home!
Bubbles the Bear
Reservation Info
The dates for Dinner With Santa Claus are as follows, and all dates are currently waitlist only. There are four dates available in Disney World, and six dates available at The Cake Bake Shop’s Indiana location.
Disney World’s dates are as follows:
• November 18
• November 25
• December 2
• December 9
The cost is $200 per adult, which includes the following:
- Up to Three Beverages — Additional beverages are available for purchase
- An Entrée of Your Choice
- A Seasonal Dessert From The Cake Bake Shop’s Menu
- A Professional Family Photo with Santa Claus — Digital download through Disney PhotoPass
- A Gift to Take Home
For kids ages 12 and under, the cost is $150 per child, and it includes the following:
- Any Beverages of Your Choice
- An Entrée of Your Choice
- A Seasonal Dessert From The Cake Bake Shop’s Menu
- A Professional Family Photo with Santa Claus — Digital download through Disney PhotoPass
- A Gift to Take Home
Menu
Photo: The Cake Bake Shop
Adults can choose up to three drinks out of a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, a charcuterie hors d’oeuvre, and entree choices of Roasted Chicken, Beef Bourguignon, and Roasted Leek Pasta.
Photo: The Cake Bake Shop
Kids get four different drink options to choose from, Grilled Cheese Bites hors d’oeuvres, and entree choices of Homemade Chicken Tenders, Cavatappi & Cheese, and Cheeseburger Sliders.
Photo: The Cake Bake Shop
For both children and adults, dessert is chosen from the seasonal dessert menu, which includes Coconut Cake, Peppermint Candy Cane Chocolate Cake, Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bar, and the Bubbles Gingerbread Bear.
Seasonal Menu
Atmosphere
We’ve already shown you some of the holiday decor, and no one does it like The Cake Bake Shop!
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The Cake Bake Shop is especially beautiful during the holidays.
Dinner With Santa Claus
Gorgeous.
Dinner With Santa Claus
Our Experience
The attention to detail this evening was impeccable. Gwendolyn Rogers, the owner of The Cake Bake Shop, actually visited each table to greet diners.
The staff was lovely and attentive, and we did not feel rushed through our meal.
Elyssa and Gwendolyn Rogers
Every table received a keepsake menu, along with pixie dust on the table. And take a look at that gorgeous place setting!
Dinner With Santa Claus
Guests also received a “letter” to Santa that they can fill out and hand to the “actual” Santa Claus!
Dinner With Santa Claus
Soft Christmas music was playing, and we noticed that many guests got dressed up for this event, just like they would for a holiday party.
Adults can choose up to three drinks (out of 11 different alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink options), and we started with the Gingerbread Martini and the Old Fashioned.
Gingerbread Martini
The Gingerbread Martini so festive! It was light with a subtle but flavorful gingerbread taste, and the Bubbles the Bear in gingerbread form was a nice touch.
Gingerbread Martini
The Old Fashioned was a very elevated version of the classic drink, as they cooked out the simple sugar with champagne. It had a nice bourbon flavor, accompanied by a rose-shaped ice cube and a rose-accented toothpick with a cherry on the end.
Old Fashioned
It was smooth and not too strong, with a nice kick to it. Bourbon lovers would really enjoy this!
Old Fashioned
The Winter Sangria was SO festive and delicious! It was refreshing and light with a nice level of sophistication to it.
Winter Sangria
For the hors d’oeurvres, adults are served a shared charcuterie board.
Ours came with a variety of specialty meats and cheese, including Genoa salami, soppressata, Parmesan, goat cheese, pickles, olives, olive oil, nuts, grapes, crostini, and an incredible jalapeno jelly (that was so good we had to buy a jar of it)!
Charcuterie Board
For one entree, we ordered the Beef Bourguignon, which came with braised beef in Cotes Du Rhône, carrots, pear onions, and applewood smoked bacon. It was served over Yukon gold whipped potatoes with asparagus spears.
Beef Bourguignon
The beef was cooked perfectly, and it blended so well with all the vegetables. The potatoes took this dish to another level! The sauce accented all the flavors beautifully, and overall, it was hearty and filling in the best way possible.
Beef Bourguignon
Our other entree was the Roasted Leek Pasta, which comes with fettuccini pasta in a cream sauce of roasted leeks, mushrooms, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. It was also served with a freshly toasted half French baguette and salted European butter.
Roasted Leek Pasta
The pasta was DELICIOUS and literally a plate of pure comfort food. The pasta itself was cooked to perfection, and the sauce was hearty and creamy. We could eat this every day!
Roasted Leek Pasta
For dessert, we selected the Peppermint Candy Cane Chocolate Cake, made with Valrhona French Chocolate Cake and filled with Callevaut Belgium Chocolate Ganache. It was topped with peppermint buttercream and a candy cane.
Even though we aren’t huge fans of chocolate cake, this dessert was delicious!
Peppermint Candy Cane Chocolate Cake
We were also able to select the Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Pie, which is a regular menu item, made with peanut butter mousse, Callebaut Belgian chocolate cookie crust, Callebaut Belgian chocolate ganache, and chopped peanuts.
Dessert
Servers brought a cart of merchandise to the table after our meal, so you can do some shopping right from your table!
Merchandise Cart
Santa Claus was wonderful, and he even came around to everyone’s tables.
And here’s how our PhotoPass photo with Santa turned out! Note that PhotoPass photographers were available throughout the night, so if you’ve purchased Disney PhotoPass, you’ll have access to these photos.
Dinner With Santa Claus
The take-home gift was ADORABLE! It included a Bubbles the Bear sugar cookie and decorating kit.
Dinner With Santa Claus Gift
Overall, our photos do not do this event justice. This was a very special experience, clearly crafted with extreme attention to detail and white glove service.
While it was pricey, we found it worth every penny and a magical way to kick off the holiday season. We would definitely come back next year!
The Cake Bake Shop
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