Hi Ashley,
The Victorian Gingerbread House is yummy! Literally - its totally edible. Each year for the Christmas season, a team led by Executive Pastry Chef Erich Herbitschek make, bake and assemble the Gingerbread House in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. It stands 16 ft tall when completed and takes 1,050 lbs of honey, 800 lbs of flour, 600 lbs of chocolate, 600 lbs of powdered sugar, 180 lbs of apricot glaze, 140 pints of egg whites and 35 lbs of spices to create the display.
Inside is a bake shop full of yummy homemade items like shingles, stollen bread, chocolate chip cookies & chocolate-peppermint bark for purchase. You'll also find gingerbread ornaments & miniature gingerbread houses. You can't actually go in to purchase the items, but a couple of Cast Members will assist you from inside a window. I bought some ornaments and brought them back to GA for my Disney Christmas tree. Those however were enjoyed when I took down my tree and are no longer part of my Disney ornament collection.
You can check out a time-laspe video of the assembly from a previous year's gingerbread house by clicking
here. Be sure to go to the second floor of the Grand Floridian and get a view of the top of the gingerbread house - incredible. I'm not sure when it is scheduled to open this year but usually opens mid-November each year.
Wishing you magical (and some edible) memories :-) Allison