A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: The Ganachery
By Dave Shute
Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.
THE GANACHERY AT DISNEY SPRINGS
By Jim Korkis
The Ganachery Chocolate Shop opened in The Landing area of Disney Springs in December 2015. A framed sign on the brick wall in the shop with vintage lettering proclaims “Chocolate is Good Medicine”.
Hopefully, that sentiment is true, but it is placed in this location to explain the intricate design of the interior of this shop that now sells sweet treats. The building used to house the small town’s only apothecary shop that supplied the necessary medicines for the inhabitants to cure their ills.
Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and cream that is often used as an icing or glaze for pastries, but it can also be used as a filling for truffles or cakes. It is usually made with two-parts chocolate to one-part cream.
(C) Disney
Among other things, the shop offers sixteen different kinds of ganache squares, each made fresh in the store. A show kitchen workshop in the store allows guests to see the fascinating process up close before their very eyes.
“Walt Disney World chefs traveled the world to research and create a custom blend chocolate with the finest beans for the all-new concept that will feature freshly made ganache,” said a WDW press release. Cocoa beans for The Ganachery are sourced from Brazil, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.
WDW Imagineers created a fictitious history for Disney Springs and the buildings reflect the establishment and growth of the small town over the decades.
This particular building used to be the apothecary where residents of the Springs came for their medicinal needs. That explains the design of the vintage shelves and cubbyholes that were used to house various medicine bottles, boxes and vials but now hold chocolate instead. The ceiling is covered with beautiful stamped metal tiles appropriate for the original time period.
The space was taken over by a South American couple who turned their love for the cocoa bean from which chocolate is made into a fantastic chocolate shop. Most cocoa beans come from South America, so the Imagineers wanted to layer in hints of a Latin American atmosphere, from the ceramic drawer pulls to background music that includes a South American rhythm to reflect the heritage of the founding owners.
“We like to tell a story, because when guests arrive they want to feel like it’s a real place,” said Imagineer Theron Skees. “It’s a fresh take on an old apothecary. Bottles, scales and other props are inspired by drugstores of another era, and well-used copper pots add a layer of history. Be sure to check out the chandelier made from authentic copper pots and kettles used to make chocolate.”
Walls are painted the color of chocolate from dark brown to caramel. Photos on the wall are of the couple who opened the shop. The packaging design and all of the shop’s coloration are browns, caramel, cream and ivory, inspired by all the colors of chocolate. Basically, the combination of design, costumes, graphics, props and packaging combine seamlessly to tell the back story.
“The theming carries through right down to the packaging,” added Skees. “Traditional apothecary labels are ‘blocked’ with spaces for weights, measurements and descriptions, so we were inspired by that idea and made it more modern for the elegant chocolate bars and chocolate boxes.”
The clever tagline for the shop, “the cure for common chocolate”, references both the original apothecary shop and the current chocolate store.
“This is where Old World meets New World,” said Skees. “Our cast members will bring our story to life and make our guests feel part of it.”
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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!
In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Secret Stories of Disneyland, and his Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew
, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.
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