One of Walt Disney World’s best custom souvenir experiences is quietly available over in Disney Springs.

Candle Making with Bowes Signature Candles

Guests looking for a personalized souvenir at Disney Springs can create their own candle at Bowes Signature Candles. The shop offers a hands-on candle-making experience that lets guests choose their scent, color, and decorative details before taking home a finished custom candle.

Bowes Signature Candles opened its Disney Springs location in October 2023, with the storefront located in the Marketplace area. The shop sells a variety of candles in varying sizes, wax melts, scent diffusers, and other offerings that you would expect from similar, competing stores. This particular Bowes location also sells scents inspired by Walt Disney World Resort.

In addition to selling ready-made candles and fragrance products, the shop includes a candle-making station where guests can build a candle from start to finish with guidance from a Bowes team member.

During our recent visit to test out this experience, we were fortunate enough to be guided by the fabulous Bowes team member, Grace, pictured above, who was exceptionally friendly and helpful in advising us through the process.

The experience begins at the candle-making counter, where guests are given a clear glass candle jar. Before any wax is poured, the container is prepared with a wick. The wick is positioned in the center of the jar and later secured so it stays upright while the candle sets.

Guests then add the required safety label to the bottom of the candle vessel. This step is part of the setup process before the more creative portions of the activity begin.

Once the jar is prepared, guests can decorate the outside of the glass. Paint markers are provided, allowing participants to draw designs, write names, add dates, or create a personalized message. This makes each candle visually unique before the fragrance and wax are added.

The next step is selecting a custom scent. Guests are presented with a variety of fragrance oils and can combine multiple scents to create their own blend. Given the nature of the final product – a scented candle – the scent selection process is essentially the core part of the experience.

With the assistance of the Bowes team member, you have the freedom to test different combinations before deciding on the final fragrance profile for the candle.

The team member can also assist with balancing the scents, helping guests choose notes that work together rather than overpowering one another. The final blend can be sweet, floral, fresh, woodsy, seasonal, or a combination of different fragrance styles, depending on the available options.

We landed on a coastal, floral scent, choosing a blend of oils, consisting of lavender, bamboo, and “Ocean Fresh”.

After the final scent or blend is chosen, the fragrance oil is added to warm wax. Guests can smell the blend before the candle is fully poured, giving them a chance to double-check and confirm that they are happy with the final result.

Guests then choose the color of their candle. Dye is mixed into the wax to create the selected shade. Depending on the color chosen, the wax may appear different while hot than it does once fully cooled and set.

Before the full pour, the wick is centered and held in place. This helps keep the wick straight while the candle hardens. A clever combination of clothespins and a popsicle stick was used in our experience to keep the wick from shifting. Simple, but effective!

The scented and colored wax is then poured into the decorated glass jar. This is the step where the custom candle fully comes together, combining the guest’s decorated glass, selected fragrance blend, and chosen wax color.

In one final step, guests have the option to add finishing touches such as glitter to the surface of the candle. These details are added at the very end of the pouring process.

Once the candle has been poured, it must be left to cool and set. Guests do not take the candle immediately after making it. Instead, they are given a pickup time and can continue shopping, dining, or exploring Disney Springs while the candle hardens.

When the candle is ready (in our case, it was about 30-40 minutes later), guests return to Bowes Signature Candles to pick up their finished creation.

The final product is a personalized candle with a custom fragrance, custom color, and custom glass container.

All of this makes the Bowes Signature Candles experience one of the most personal and interactive souvenir options at Disney World, especially for guests looking for something beyond apparel, pins, or standard home goods.

It also provides a relatively compact activity that can be worked into a shopping day without requiring a large time commitment.

Would you make your own candle at Bowes Signature Candles during a visit to Disney Springs? If you do, share your creation with us on social media!

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