Disney’s Flavored Popcorn: Where to Find the Park’s Most POPular Snack – and How to Make it at Home!
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Whether it’s watching a film on a first date or strolling through a state fair with one’s family, fond memories are often accompanied by popcorn – and a trip to Walt Disney World is no exception!
Known for eclectically themed treats like the Cheshire Cat tail pastry and Orange Bird‘s citrus swirl drink, Disney is also a place of tradition, and there’s no snack with so long a standing as popcorn. (No, seriously – recent evidence points to the presence of popped corn in Peru as far back as 6,700 years ago!1)
Known as “prairie gold,” corn was a transformative crop for the American midwest, and with a pinch of pixie dust, Disney has transformed it into some truly magical munchies!
Scattered around various locations throughout the parks, Disney’s flavored popcorn goes beyond the butter (an already high standard) to include a variety of colorful and corny culinary delights! We’ll show you where to find them and – super top secret info, here – how to make a batch of Disney popcorn right in your own kitchen!
Let’s get poppin’!
Pop-Ups
Unlike annoying advertisements, we’re genuinely glad to see how many places popcorn has popped up across the Disney parks!
Better with Butter
Of course, butter popcorn is a staple, and there’s plenty to go around at Disney World if you’re in the mood for tried and true. Classic corn can be found at any of the adorably vintage popcorn carts throughout each of the parks, and these carts are also where you can purchase souvenir Disney popcorn buckets (sometimes adorned with limited-time designs) and the buckets’ accompanying discount refills.
As of writing, regular bucket prices are $13, and novelty buckets (usually in the shape of a character) range from $18 to $25. Refills for any bucket are $2.25.2
While refills are generally restricted to plain ol’ butter, there is an exception with a specialty flavor in EPCOT, which we’ll get to in a bit!
Classically Caramel
Kettle corn’s sophisticated younger cousin, caramel corn, has been a hit for well over a century, with Cracker Jack booming into popularity in 1896.3 I’ll always associate this tasty treat with Harold Lloyd’s silent film, Girl Shy (1921), in which a box of it became a romantic memento.
A perfect combo of salty and sweet caramel popcorn definitely gives butter a run for its money! You can find it at Karamell-Küche in EPCOT‘s Germany pavilion, Big Top Treats in the Magic Kingdom, or Zuri’s Sweets Shop in Animal Kingdom.4
Custom Candy Corn
Create your own Disney popcorn combination at the Kernel Kitchen housed within Main Street Confectionary at the Magic Kingdom! Start with a popcorn base of butter, cheddar, caramel, or rainbow (so fun!), then top it with milk, dark, or white chocolate syrup and sprinkle it with your choice of 2 to 3 candies, from M&Ms to pretzel pieces to mini-marshmallows!6
You might just create the best Disney popcorn recipe to be had at the parks!
Marvelously Maple
A delicious twist on sweetened popcorn, maple popcorn is a favorite among Disney popcorn flavors. Found only in the Canada pavilion at EPCOT, this popcorn is similar to kettle corn in texture and carries with it a hint of decadent maple. Some folks have commented that the maple flavor could stand to be a little stronger but that the popcorn is still incredibly yummy!5 As it’s one of the only specially flavored corn eligible for a Disney popcorn bucket refill, we definitely recommend giving it a try!
Fresh Outta Hyperspace
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… they still had popcorn.
Reminiscent of the Mantell Mix seen in The Bad Batch, Outpost Mix can be found on Batuu, the planet located within Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios. Just look for Kat Saka’s Kettle!
Kat serves up two blends of yummy popcorn – traditional butter dyed intergalactic blue or the adventurous Outpost Mix. A colorful assortment of red and purple, this popcorn is both spicy cinnamon and candy grape flavored.7 It’s an interesting combo that works surprisingly well!
Pre-Packaged Popcorn
Fresh popcorn is hard to beat, but if you’re looking for even more unique flavors, you can pick up a plethora of pre-packaged popcorn bags. Blueberry almond, confetti, turtle, and parmesan garlic are just a few you might find wrapped up and ready to go!
The Main Street Confectionary is home to the widest array of these pre-packaged flavors, but some – like blueberry almond – are specific to certain areas (in this case, Pandora in Animal Kingdom).
The parks also consistently release new and seasonal Disney popcorn flavors, so be on the lookout for limited-time munchies!
Bring Home Disney’s Flavored Popcorn
Of course, that pre-packaged corn is one way to bring Disney’s flavored popcorn into your home (you can even find it on Amazon!) – but there is another way. That’s right – you can make it yourself! Here’s a super yummy copycat recipe for Disney popcorn we think you’re going to love. It’s caramel corn, but you can easily make it into maple corn, too!
Happy popping!
Print
Copy Cat Caramel Corn from Disney World
Delicious caramel (or maple!) popcorn, just like you find in the Disney parks!
- Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 qts popped popcorn (plain) ((about 2 bags' worth of microwave popcorn))
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup maple syrup ((optional))
- 1 tsp maple flavoring ((optional))
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 and grease both 9×13 baking sheets.
- Pop the popcorn (or simply open package if pre-bought) and place in large bowl. Set to one side.
- Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Stir in baking soda and vanilla; mix well.
- Pour caramel mixture over the popcorn, stirring well to coat the pieces.
- Poured coated popcorn onto the baking pans.
- Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes, stirring occassionaly (roughly every 15 minutes).
- Remove from oven and let caramel corn cool completely. Enjoy and/or store in airtight containers.
Maple Corn Variation
- Line baking sheets with wax paper and set aside.
- Pop popcorn (or open pre-packaged popcorn) and place in large bowl. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, mix brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, maple syrup, and salt. Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Stir in baking soda and maple flavoring. (Flavoring can be found in baking sections of grocery stores but is not required. It just gives an extra kick of maple).
- Pour over popcorn and mix well.
- Pour popcorn onto baking sheets and let it cool completely. Enjoy and/or store in airtight containers.
- Note: You can add toasted pecans to the maple popcorn for added crunch and flavor!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Cuisine: American Cuisine
We hope you enjoy this delicious caramel corn both inside and outside of the Disney parks! What’s your favorite flavor of Disney popcorn? Let us know in the comments below!
Have a corntastic day!
Cover Image
Photo: Unsplash
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