If you are a big Disney fan, then you know that the Blue Ribbon Bakery is a staple on Main Street U.S.A in Disneyland.   It’s the go-to spot for delicious baked treats, hot beverages and Mickey Mouse shaped cookies.  It’s also known for their delicious (and really big) cinnamon rolls.

Growing up in Orange County, I spent much of my youth at Disneyland, and as I got older, I even had an annual pass for those teenage years when aside from going to the movies, Disneyland was the place to be.  I have fond memories of spending many an evening at Disney with my dear friend Kristin, riding a couple of rides and then hitting up the Blue Ribbon Bakery for a decadent dessert, which almost always included the (really big) cinnamon roll with extra frosting.  The treats from Blue Ribbon Bakery were always something special and often the highlight of a Saturday night excursion to the theme park.

It’s been years now since I owned an annual pass to Disneyland, and my visits have been less and less frequent.  Recently, the Englishman and I ventured over to the land of the mouse and I figured it would be a perfect time to introduce him to the magic that is the Blue Ribbon Bakery.

When I stepped inside the bakery I was greeted with the aromas of freshly baked goods and hot coffee brewing.  The bakery case filled with goodies looked just as delicious as ever.

After much deliberation the Englishman and I decided on a shortbread snowman, holiday biscotti and a pumpkin muffin to take home.   Unfortunately the shortbread snowman faced an early demise on the Tower of Terror ride at California Adventure (ie: got crushed in our bag) so aside from a few crumbly bites, we didn’t really get to enjoy it.

First up was the holiday biscotti which was covered in red and green sprinkles and white icing.  The biscotti was a bit too crumbly for my liking but the flavor was nice.  It had some pistachios in it which added in nice flavor, but I prefer my biscotti to be hard and crunchy, and less cookie like.

Then it was the pumpkin muffin’s (complete with chocolate Mickey) turn.  The muffin had nice flavor overall, but wasn’t very strong on the pumpkin front.  If you hadn’t told me it was a pumpkin muffin, I would’ve just thought it was a nice spiced muffin and that was it.  More pumpkin please!

So was the Blue Ribbon Bakery as magically delicious as it was all those years ago?  To be honest, no.  It was still very good, but definitely not the best baked goods I have had in a long shot.  Granted, I didn’t get the (really big) cinnamon roll so maybe that is what was missing this time around.

Regardless, it was still nice to visit the bakery that had me so enamored in my teen years and see the happy kids eagerly biting into their Mickey Mouse shaped cookies while their parents enjoy a few moments of silence with their coffee.  Some things at Disneyland may come and go, but at least Blue Ribbon Bakery will always be the same.