Ample Hills Creamery, the latest high-end ice cream store at Walt Disney World, is now open at Disney's BoardWalk.
Located in the former ESPN arcade next door to the BoardWalk Bakery, Ample Hills is a spin-off from the hugely successful Ample Hills Creamery in Brooklyn NY. Created by a husband wife team in 2011, the store became a favorite of Disney CEO Bob Iger. A licensing deal to produce a Star Wars ice cream quickly followed, and that led to the opening of a location in Walt Disney World. Although the ice cream is produced by Ample Hills, the actual store is owned and operated by Disney.
Stepping inside, you'll be struck by how large it is. Disney are expecting it to be popular, and have built a large indoor queue area, and two serving counters. There isn't any indoor seating, but there is plenty outside on the BoardWalk.
The decor inside fits perfectly with the BoardWalk theme. Light colors, and a whimsical mural of Disney World surround the interior.
The ordering process is straightforward. Decide the flavor, decide the size (small or large), a cone or a cup, and any toppings.
Ample Hills Creamery ice cream is made by hand, using grass fed cows milk with organic cane sugar, and even the mix-ins are made in-house from scratch - very much like a bakery
There are a lot of flavors, over ten, and the flavors change often. There is even an exclusive Ample Hills flavor created just for the BoardWalk, which is a fluffy orange marshmallow ice cream with housemade salty chocolate seashells.
Other flavors include Baked/Unbaked - vanilla ice cream with pieces of housemate chocolate chip cookies and browner butter cookie dough and PBwins the Cup - vanilla ice cream with peanut butter chocolate flakes and housemate peanut butter cups.
Our favorite was the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake - vanilla ice cream with cream cheese and gobs of St Louis-style Ooey Gooey butter cake.
The ice cream is premium, and it is really good. The mix-ins are so plentiful and rich, that you really don't need any toppings added. Just the basic ice cream is equivalent to many store's signature creations and sundaes.
As you would expect it isn't cheap, but it isn't outrageous either. A small cup is $5.79, and a large $7.49. A sundae, which has a base of either a brownie or Ooey Gooey Buttercake, an ice cream and a topping, is $8.49.
Cones are priced between $5.79 to $7.79 for a small, depending on the type of cone. You can also get a milkshake for $8.49.
There is no question that Ample Hills Creamery is far superior to the Edy's ice cream that was sold at the former Seashore Sweets, and its better than the nearby Beaches and Cream by a large margin. We'd also rank it higher than Epcot's L'Artisan des Glaces, and Vivoli Gelateria at Disney Springs.
Next time you are at Epcot, take a short walk or boat ride over to check it out, you'll be glad you did.
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