Wafflegate REVIEW: New Mickey Waffles at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments in Magic Kingdom
The great Wafflegate is upon us with sweeping menu changes at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments. Numerous menus have seen changes this week at Magic Kingdom- some for the better, and some, like this, for the worse.
As of this week, Sleepy Hollow no longer has the Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich with Chocolate Hazelnut Spread or Sweet-and-Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich on the menu. Their replacements are a Mickey Waffle with Berries and Cream, Mickey Waffle with Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread and Bananas, and Mickey Waffle with Sweet-and-Spicy Maple Chicken. We tried the Mickey Waffle with Berries and Cream - scroll down for all the details and our thoughts on these changes!
The Mickey Waffle with Berries and Cream is available for purchase at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments in Magic Kingdom. Sleepy Hollow Refreshments is located in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom over the bridge from Main Street U.S.A. into Liberty Square, across from Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, and next to The Hall of Presidents. There is very limited outdoor seating behind the quick service location.
The Mickey Waffle with Berries and Cream is served with powdered sugar, strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream. The Mickey waffle costs $8.49 plus tax with the option to add banana slices or hazelnut spread for an additional dollar each. It is eligible for a Disney Dining Plan quick service meal credit. If you are using the Disney Dining Plan, this isn’t a great use of a quick service meal credit to get the most value out of your credits.
The Mickey Waffle with Berries and Cream was a big disappointment, both in comparison to its predecessor and as a standalone offering. To begin with, the Mickey waffle is a completely different type of waffle compared to the Waffle sandwiches. The previous Waffle was crispy and more thin, allowing it to be picked up and eaten like a sandwich. As Sleepy Hollow was the only location you could find these waffles, they were made fresh and held up well to the toppings with great flavor and texture. The layer of hazelnut spread insulated the waffle from becoming too soggy with toppings. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the Mickey waffle. I do usually enjoy a Mickey waffle, and this waffle tasted like all the other Mickey waffles, however it was too soft and couldn’t hold up to the toppings. The waffle was soggy to begin with, and then it started to absorb the toppings. It wasn’t possible to eat without a fork and knife and definitely isn’t something you could eat on the go like the previous offering.
The berry topping had a few fresh blueberries and strawberries mixed with strawberry topping or the strawberries you usually find on an ice cream sundae in syrup. The whipped cream was from a can and not fresh. The longer we had this the harder it was to eat as the waffle got slimy and hard to cut through. You are able to get somewhat close in toppings to the previous Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich, as there is an additional Mickey waffle offering with bananas and hazelnut spread (though it does look like it’s served with much less hazelnut spread than the previous offering). You could theoretically add both bananas and hazelnut spread to the waffle we purchased, however it would cost an additional dollar per topping, bringing the price up to $10.49 from the previous price of $8.49 just two days ago. Additionally, the previous Waffle Sandwich was popular for breakfast as it came with fresh fruit and hazelnut spread only and was a somewhat healthier option than some other breakfast offerings. This new waffle is much closer to a dessert with strawberry topping and whipped cream, and I don’t see it as something I would want to eat for breakfast.
My particular frustration with Wafflegate is that I can’t see any reason for these changes other than as a cost-cutting measure. Guests loved the previous waffles, so there's no way guest satisfaction was a consideration in the change. The previous waffles were unique to this location, likely having their own batter and waffle irons, whereas Mickey waffles are widely found across property and likely have a standard mix and abundance of Mickey waffle irons. The strawberry topping and whipped cream were already available since they can be found on the funnel cakes. Canned ingredients are cheaper than fresh, which sees the fresh fruit and broccoli slaw gone. Additionally, the waffles come with less toppings, and can only come with the same toppings as before for an upcharge. Personally, I would have been willing to pay an extra dollar to not see any changes if the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables is untenable for Disney. Many recent menu changes are homogenizing all of the offerings, taking away unique and special treats for more pedestrian fare, and it truly is a disappointment.
We plan to return soon to try the new Mickey Waffle with Sweet-and-Spicy Maple Chicken, served with maple sriracha glaze and parsley flakes for $11.59. A few months ago we had the Sweet-and-Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich (during our Liberty Square vlog) which came with a fresh and crunchy broccoli slaw and house-made chips. The new waffle is the same price but no longer comes with slaw or chips. We will update here once we try the new offering with our review.
The only positive was that Sleepy Hollow had no line when we visited, and it was easy to get a mobile order time. All the other times we’ve visited it’s been understandably busy. This could be due to the heat and lack of indoor seating, but could also be due to removing two menu items that were well-loved and always topped the best-of food guides for Magic Kingdom. Here’s hoping this will just be a temporary change and the delicious waffle sandwiches will return!
If you want to watch us try the Mickey Waffle with Berries and Cream and more, check out our video from Magic Kingdom where we’re reviewing all the new summer food!
Magic Kingdom
Sleepy Hollow Refreshments
Mickey Waffle with Berries and Cream served with powdered sugar, strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream ($8.49)
$1 to add bananas
$1 to add hazelnut spread