Disney World Trades McDonald’s for Vegan Cupcakes
It’s never really a bad time to be a Princess. But it just got a whole lot more magical in the Magic Kingdom for Cinderella, and six-foot tall talking mice and whatever in the world Goofy is. Disney World, the Orlando, FL mega theme-park with more than 20 million visitors each year, has given BabyCakes, the teeny tiny gluten-free vegan cupcakeria, prime real estate.
Hailing from New York City’s Lower East Side, BabyCakes opened in Downtown Los Angeles earlier this year, spreading their yummy goodness out to LA’s M Cafe’s dessert case, as well as maintaining a healthy mail order business for their gluten-free, vegan desserts. Expansion is certainly a logical step many establishments take, but from New York and LA, it’s often next stop San Francisco, Chicago or London. Disney World? Well, that move has caught most everyone a little bit by surprise.
Erin McKenna, BabyCakes founder blogged about the news on her Web site this morning:
Here’s the scoop: a couple years ago I was approached by famed restauranteur [sic] Larry Levy of Spiaggia fame (among many, many many others) to partner with him on a project to bring healthier food to Disney. McDonalds was given the boot and BabyCakes was in, along with his other restaurants Pollo Campero and Fresh Apeel. After much planning, building, fussing and fixing we got this guy opened last Friday night.
You read right, McDonald’s is out. Earlier this month their Happy Meals got the boot from San Francisco, and now, in what couldn’t be a bigger blow, cupcakes have been deemed healthier than a McRib. It used to be that Happy Meal prizes were littered with Disney characters. Could there be a Snow White Cupcake coming some time soon? It actually seems a lot more fitting than a princess sitting alongside heat-lamp soaked McNuggets.
It looks as if the vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free Cupcake Revolution is not only going to be super fun (you know, minus the really long lines), but it will also be seriously delicious. Disney World’s slogan is after all, “Where Dreams Come True.”
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Photo by Paul Mannix, courtesy of Creative Commons
