The new Carousel Coffee shop at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is open, along with the seating area that opened yesterday. It’s located in the lobby, replacing Dundy’s Sundries, which closed permanently in October.
Disney’s BoardWalk is located just steps away from EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, also accessible via Friendship Boat service.
The Cast Members gathered outside Carousel Coffee for an official ribbon cutting before the new quick serve location opened.
Interior
These images of the Mad Tea Party teacups resemble works of art that could be found in a New York City gallery.
Carousel Coffee is done in soft grey, cream, tan, blue and gold tones. It has an overall modern resort feel to it, for better or for worse.
On one side is a grab-and-go station with assorted pastries, parfaits, snacks, and assorted beverages.
The pastry case has an assortment of snacks and breakfast items including their signature crunchy raspberry danish, vintage Mickey and Minnie sugar cookies, as well as assorted cereals.
Next to the self-serve cases are two toasters, a plastic utensil dispenser, and straws.
One wall has a vintage photograph of Goofy taking a spin in the Mad Tea Party teacups attraction at the Magic Kingdom. How does this fit in at the BoardWalk? Because it is an amusement park ride? Did someone at the last minute realize there was almost no color inside this interior and decided to throw this in as some attempt at adding charm?
In addition to large cookies, there are also smaller cookies bundled in packages.
Hanging over a second condiment station is another photograph of a Magic Kingdom attraction. This is of Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.
This is the recently opened seating area where guests can enjoy their treats. If you look at the top upper right side of the photo, you can see the entrance to Carousel Coffee.
The interior is adding fuel to the fire on the current hot-button issue amongst Walt Disney World fans: the removal of theme and story from Walt Disney World Resort Hotels. Of course, it has been discussed for years with the addition of “bland” new resorts such as Riviera and the remodeling of old favorites such as Yacht Club, the Contemporary Resort, and more. Now, with the lobby refurbishments looming at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and just outside these walls at the BoardWalk, fans are anxious about the future and if the touches and themes they love so much about these enchanting escapes will be erased in the name of industry-standard hotel design.
If you read WDWNT regularly, I probably don’t need to tell you why this is bad and the antithesis of what the Disney Parks stand for creatively.
Want to check out a full review of the location? Come along and join us as we arrive at the grand opening!
Carousel Coffee Menu
Carousel Coffee serves Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Company brand products along with a selection of baked goods. Beverages include standard caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, espresso, macchiatos, nitro cold brews, hot cocoa, Pomegranate-Green Tea Lemonade, and more.
See the full menu with prices here.
Carousel Coffee at Disney’s BoardWalk is currently scheduled to be open from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily.
The new shop and seating area are part of a larger refurbishment effort at Disney’s BoardWalk. Belle Vue Lounge was also remodeled recently, and the guest rooms are set to be refurbished as well. Outside the Inn, BoardWalk Deli has replaced the old bakery, the ESPN Club is becoming the Cake Bake Shop, and BoardWalk Ice Cream opened in 2021 where Ample Hills Creamery used to be.
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Can the op/ed pieces be labeled as such? I typically read WDWNT because it’s the least opinionated and sensationalized clickbait out there, and I would like to continue seeing articles that share the news without the author’s opinions and commentary.
It’s not fully an op-ed piece, but it definitely needed to be said in our opinion. A pure grey coffee shop being called bland ties into other current news, such as those two lobby refurbishments, so for the sake of a complete news story, this had to be framed as such.
While I think the photos on the walls are sort of cool, I get a very sterile, hospital feel from this coffee shop. I don’t know about anyone else, but I sure as hell don’t want to feel like I’m in a hospital when I vacation at Disney World!! Please stop this nonsense!!
How can I put this? The new Carousel Coffee Cafe reminds me of the dining area for a DAYS INN motel. This is the best that Disney Parks can do?
When a Disney property looks just like any other hotel, what’s the point in staying there? I’ll save the money and go somewhere else.