We stopped by Disney’s Animal Kingdom to try four new Wilderness Explorer cupcakes. The new treats are available at Flame Tree Barbecue, Creature Comforts, and Restaurantosaurus. Each cupcake is themed around a Wilderness Explorer badge. Snackers can earn both the Grape Soda Badge, the Flamingo Badge, the Dragonfly Badge, and the Dinosaur Badge.
The Grape Soda Badge Cupcake is available at all three locations. Each of the other three is available only at one location.
- Flamingo Badge Cupcake: Flame Tree Barbecue
- Dragonfly Badge Cupcake: Creature Comforts
- Dinosaur Badge Cupcake: Restaurantosaurus
Grape Soda Badge Cupcake — $5.99
Vanilla and Purple Confetti Cupcake with Grape Soda-flavored Filling, Grape Pop Rocks Truffle, Vanilla Frosting, and an Edible Chocolate “Grape Soda Badge” Medallion
The Grape Soda Badge cupcake is topped with purple frosting. Surprisingly, the frosting does not have a grape flavor.
The cupcake base is a standard confetti cake, nothing special.
Beneath the frosting we find the Pop Rocks truffle. When we cut the cupcake, some of the Pop Rocks spilled out.
Some Pop rocks still remain in what is left of the truffle. The Pop Rocks are a nice addition; they give the cupcake a sense of carbonation, like soda.
The only grape flavor comes from the frosting at the cupcake’s center. Overall, this is not a terrible cupcake, but it is mostly notable because it is fun.
Flamingo Badge Cupcake — $5.99
Coconut Cupcake with Exotic Fruit Filling, Coconut Frosting, Strawberry Pearls, and a White Chocolate Medallion of a Flamingo Wilderness Explorer Badge
The Flamingo Badge Cupcake is only available at Flame Tree Barbecue.
Blue coconut frosting and a Wilderness Explorer Flamingo Badge top the cupcake. The frosting tastes like vanilla with added artificial coconut flavor.
We would have preferred more strawberry pearls. There are too few to bring anything to the cupcake.
Unlike the frosting, the coconut cupcake base has the right hint of flavor. We found the shredded coconut in the cake to be undercooked and chewy.
Inside, the “exotic fruit filling” is pineapple. The pineapple flavor goes nicely with the coconut, but the pineapple tends to overpower the coconut. For the most part, we found this cupcake to be enjoyable.
Dragonfly Badge Cupcake — $5.99
Pink Lemonade Cupcake with Strawberry Filling, Lemon Zest Frosting, and a White Chocolate Dragonfly Wilderness Explorer Badge
The Dragonfly Badge Cupcake is available exclusively at Creature Comforts.
Guests may also purchase the Grape Soda Badge Cupcake at Creature Comforts.
A Dragonfly Wilderness Explorer badge made of white chocolate tops the cupcake.
Despite being pink, the cupcake base is lemon-flavored. It has just the right amount of sweetness.
The thick, pink buttercream frosting has no lemon taste. It tastes like vanilla buttercream.
Inside, the strawberry filling has pieces of real strawberries.
This is a very nicely made cupcake with a nice blend of lemon and strawberry flavors.
Dinosaur Badge Cupcake — $5.99
Chocolate Cupcake with Cookie-Cheesecake Filling, Chocolate Frosting, and a White Chocolate Dinosaur Wilderness Explorer Badge
Restaurantosaurus is the final stop on our Animal Kingdom cupcake crawl.
The Dinosaur Badge Cupcake is topped with thick chocolate frosting. It is not as airy as the typical Disney cupcake frosting.
A candy bone is a nice touch.
White chocolate is used to create the badge and rocks.
A rich chocolate cake base is the heart of this cupcake.
Inside, the cookies and cream cheesecake filling hits all the right notes. The filling has a nice consistency, too.
This is a chocolate lover’s cupcake, one that is sure to please those with a sweet tooth.
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