News Gideon's Bakehouse May Be Cooking Up New Venture at Disney Springs

[Basil of Baker Street]

The coffee cake cookie and peanut butter cookie are good, but the other cookies have way too much stuff on them. I actually can’t stand the chocolate chip cookie. I like cookies where you can actually taste the cookie part of the cookie. But that’s just me.

The theming is fantastic. And the peanut butter cold brew is absolutely fabulous!

That's me as well. Just too much going on with those cookies. But as you say the theming is top notch which is refreshing.

 

[danlb_2000]

Gideon's extended queue?

 

[Comped]

I would say that the change to only having one massive Universal store at CityWalk has made it significantly less appealing to me, if you've spent all day in the theme parks where they have merchandise for the characters in that theme park, sometimes you want to look at other products. CityWalk didn't have many stores but what was there complemented the theme park merchandise pretty well.

I do think Disney Springs has gone a bit too far down being just full of chain stores in the Town Centre section, I miss places like Magnetron and the quirkier stuff that used to be in West Side. But generally if the entirety of Disney Springs was just Disney merchandise it would be incredibly repetitive, even if they hadn't built the Town Centre expansion.

CityWalk has a really good theater, the one I've tended to go to over the last couple of months. But beyond that it does feel small, which it is, and somewhat lacking in stores compared to Springs. Springs is really my closest mall, so I might be biased, but It definitely has a better store selection. (Certainly I don't think that's up for debate, even if some have tried to claim that the Universal store is better than WOD.) WOD is a much smaller component of Springs' for retail than Universal's store is at CityWalk, and it's much better for it. And that's not even talking about restaurants, which can be a little more divisive depending on if you prefer name brand chains over more original concepts but Disney generally wins out there as well.

Having read Buzz Price's original economic justification for CityWalk (which is seemingly more interested in the movie theater than than a good selection of stores), I think Universal may have built it too small and hasn't really kept up selections with the popularity of the resort overall. Once you been to the one real store they've had, especially as a local, unless you intend on eating or seeing the occasional movie you just don't go to CityWalk unlike Springs where there is legitimately enough to do for much more time. Function of size no doubt, but also a much different vision in terms of keeping people on property, one that we really can't say has turned out in Universal's favor in this regard.

 

[Disstevefan1]

The art of shaving was one of the stupidest tenants they had, even stupider than the NBA experience.

But I guess to Disney as the landlord, any tenant with MONEY is OK as long as they pay the rent on time.

 

[Touchdown]

City Walk isn’t really a shopping district in my mind, it’s a dining district and the place I grab a late meal after a day at Universal (that’s not in October.) I so rarely go to DS, it’s not that it’s bad, it’s that it’s so far away, buses are infrequent and it’s not worth the 90 min I would lose transporting myself there. I frequent the monorail, Bay Lake and Crescent Lake Resorts far more when I want a quick break from the parks because they are just that a quick break. I’m more likely to go to DS when I’m not going to the parks than when I’m doing the parks.

 

[UNCgolf]

The coffee cake cookie and peanut butter cookie are good, but the other cookies have way too much stuff on them. I actually can’t stand the chocolate chip cookie. I like cookies where you can actually taste the cookie part of the cookie. But that’s just me.

The theming is fantastic. And the peanut butter cold brew is absolutely fabulous!

I also think their chocolate chip cookies are terrible -- the point is the cookie with the chocolate chips as an accompaniment! I could just get a chocolate bar if that's what I wanted.

 

[UNCgolf]

City Walk isn’t really a shopping district in my mind, it’s a dining district and the place I grab a late meal after a day at Universal (that’s not in October.) I so rarely go to DS, it’s not that it’s bad, it’s that it’s so far away, buses are infrequent and it’s not worth the 90 min I would lose transporting myself there. I frequent the monorail, Bay Lake and Crescent Lake Resorts far more when I want a quick break from the parks because they are just that a quick break. I’m more likely to go to DS when I’m not going to the parks than when I’m doing the parks.

I look at Disney Springs as a dining place too, even though it has far more shopping than CityWalk. We ate dinner there almost every night on the last two trips -- some of the QS options at DS are better than many of the TS restaurants elsewhere on property.

 

[Touchdown]

I look at Disney Springs as a dining place too, even though it has far more shopping than CityWalk. We ate dinner there almost every night on the last two trips -- some of the QS options at DS are better than many of the TS restaurants elsewhere on property.

45 min to get there+60 min to eat+45 min to get back=2.5 hours of your day gone for TS, 2 hours for counter service. Too costly.

 

[UNCgolf]

45 min to get there+60 min to eat+45 min to get back=2.5 hours of your day gone for TS, 2 hours for counter service. Too costly.

We usually ate late. Like 9 PM after leaving the parks for the day. But I don't think it ever took us 45 minutes to get there either, thankfully. That said, it would be nice if they would offer bus service directly to Disney Springs from the parks. I understand why they don't do the reverse, and I'm sure that's why they don't offer parks to DS since it would essentially be one way trips, but still.

CityWalk is definitely more convenient (unless you're at Epic).

 

[Comped]

I look at Disney Springs as a dining place too, even though it has far more shopping than CityWalk. We ate dinner there almost every night on the last two trips -- some of the QS options at DS are better than many of the TS restaurants elsewhere on property.

It helps that Disney has put in genuine work to get major celebrity chefs to open up in Springs (since they don't really do that in the resorts or the parks). I eat there more than in the parks as a local no question.

 

[flyerjab]

We always make a point of going there to eat and shop at least once on our trips. We don’t have a lifestyle center near us so we really enjoy DS. And yes, there are several better dining choices than what can be found in many of the parks. We are AP holders that go down to WDW frequently now that our kids are older, so we don’t have to spend every day maximizing are time in the parks. DS just adds to the variety for us.

 

[Touchdown]

We usually ate late. Like 9 PM after leaving the parks for the day. But I don't think it ever took us 45 minutes to get there either, thankfully. That said, it would be nice if they would offer bus service directly to Disney Springs from the parks. I understand why they don't do the reverse, and I'm sure that's why they don't offer parks to DS since it would essentially be one way trips, but still.

CityWalk is definitely more convenient (unless you're at Epic).

See that’s my problem, I close the parks. 9:30 is usually the earliest I end my day at a park. I tend to eat around 5pm at WDW so I’m free to power ride and do the night shows.

 

[Rteetz]

The art of shaving was one of the stupidest tenants they had, even stupider than the NBA experience.

But I guess to Disney as the landlord, any tenant with MONEY is OK as long as they pay the rent on time.

I think location made it suffer. The concept is not new or unpopular tho. It likely would've done better at a resort. Look at a place like Hook's Barbery on DCL. Lots of guys go for high end shaves and cuts. I do.

 

[wdwmagic]

Gideon's-Themed Window Graphics Hint at Next Disney Springs Project​

Gideon's-Themed Window Graphics Hint at Next Disney Springs Project

Gideon's-Themed Window Graphics Hint at Next Disney Springs Project

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[castlecake2.0]

My favorite thing about Springs is taking a Disney bus there and having the overhead speaker go on this hilariously long lecture about the different districts and their back stories.

You keep thinking it's got to be over now...then it keeps going.

Then you get there and there's no reason to care about anything they said.

I miss when it was Downtown Disney and the bus would loudly tell you "AND BE SURE TO VISIT BONGOS HOSTED BY GLORIA AND EMILIO ESTEFAN!"

 

[MrPromey]

I'm thinking this could either be a merch location or a pre-order pickup location or both.

They have a fairly extensive amount of merch online you can't get at either existing location. I think there's definitely enough interest in the branding and theme to support such a walk-in style shop.

I also think a remote location from the main store for in-app/online purchases with scheduled (controlled) pickup times would be wildly popular, similar to the stand they have for Voodoo Doughnut across the way at Universal. I could see this location possibly working for both at once.

This certainly wouldn't eliminate the queue but might make it more manageable and would allow them to serve more customers daily so it seems like it would be a win-win for both them and customers if the math, maths.

The only pitfall I can imagine are the loiterers standing around waiting for their pickup times which does tend to happen at that doughnut stand... but then that's where the merch shopping could see a boost.

 

[f1rstxlas7]

For what it's worth, the inside source that I have has told me it'll offer hand pies and craft beer. Merch will probably be available, but not the single focus.

 

[MrPromey]

For what it's worth, the inside source that I have has told me it'll offer hand pies and craft beer. Merch will probably be available, but not the single focus.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people excited for another place to buy booze.

That just killed all interest in this project for me, though.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I'm sure there will be plenty of people excited for another place to buy booze.

That just killed all interest in this project for me, though.

Yikes. Not what I was expecting at all, and rather disappointing. I hope it's successful, but I doubt I'll be visiting unless the hand pie offerings receive rave reviews.

 

[second2phil]

It's a little Gothic but that isnt the same art style as Giddeon's. It's a lot more modern and angular. It does look familiar, like I've seen those designs on stickers or shirts at concerts or something. Possibly a skateboard and apparel company.