REVIEW: New Kevin from UP Cupcake at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Iain

REVIEW: New Kevin from UP Cupcake at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Kevin, everyone’s favorite 13-foot flightless bird from “Up!”, recently made her way to Animal Kingdom for a bit of exploration. To mark this momentous occasion, Disney has created a drink and a cupcake in her honor. Unfortunately, much like the bird herself, while colorful and visually interesting, there’s not a whole lot going on inside.

Kevin Cupcake – ($5.99)

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The sign is pretty self-explanatory: it’s basically a “fun-fetti” yellow cupcake with a mousse filling, and lots of various types of accoutrement on top.

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The one I got looked pretty much like the picture. It was a hot day, so it started melting pretty quickly. The printing on the chocolate image of Kevin was clearer and cleaner than a lot of cupcakes I’ve gotten on Disney property. The fondant feathers are a nice detail, and overall there’s a nice amount of color.

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Once I took a bite, however, I was very disappointed. To start, the sign claims it has strawberry mousse. If this was strawberry, it’s not like any strawberry I’ve ever tasted. I honestly thought it was caramel until I re-read the sign. I asked the cast member at the stall and she really didn’t have an answer for me: the only info they gave her was the allergy booklet. It’s possible they made a mistake in the bakery, but I never got a clear answer.

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The cake itself is standard yellow cake. Not bad, but not memorable. The icing (while likely to stain your fingers blue) is also nothing spectacular. The top is very sweet, between the two icings and the white chocolate and fondant. The crispy “balloons” give the whole thing a nice crunch, which I enjoyed.

What really confused me, though, is that in the film “Up!”, they make a note of the fact that Kevin really likes chocolate bars. However, there is no milk chocolate anywhere in this thing. I just thought it was a strange oversight. I think they needed to focus a bit more on the flavor, and not just the presentation.

Overall, if you’re one who must have their cupcake be worthy of Instagram, this might be for you. Otherwise, there are plenty of more interesting deserts in Animal Kingdom.

The Kevin Cupcake can be found at “Warung Outpost” in Animal Kingdom (next to “Up! A Great Bird Adventure”).