Gideon’s Bakehouse – How to Get the Most Popular Cookies at Disney World

Gideon's Bakehouse is the most popular location for desserts at Disney Springs, mainly due to their famous half a pound cookies handmade fresh daily.

Gideon's is so popular that it typically requires guests to join and wait in a virtual queue before standing in a physical queue to enter the store. Although it can take a few hours of waiting in the virtual queue to enter Gideon's, their desserts and specialty iced coffee drinks are absolutely worth the wait.

I am a Florida local, Disney World annual passholder, and visit Disney Springs monthly. Gideon's Bakehouse is one of my favorite spots to grab a cookie in all of Disney World, and in this article I will discuss why Gideon's Bakehouse is a must do on your next trip to Disney World. I will discuss the history and theme of Gideon's Bakehouse, their regular and limited edition menu items, as well as how to join the virtual queue in order to secure a spot at one of Disney Spring's most famous dessert locations.

Gideon's Bakehouse Background and Theme

Steve Lewis is the creator and owner of Gideon's Bakehouse. At a young age, Steve realized his community was lacking a great chocolate chip cookie and spent 15 years creating what is now the recipe of Gideon's famous cookies. The name Gideon came from an old cookbook Steve found that was published in 1898. This cookbook had faded notes from a young boy with dreams of becoming a baker. Gideon was the name of the boy written on the back of the cookbook, and Steve thought naming the bakery after Gideon was fitting. Many people wonder if Gideon's Bakehouse started back in 1898 due to the sign outside the store, however, this is not correct as the 1898 sign is merely paying tribute to the cookbook that inspired the bakery. 

The original Gideon's Bakehouse location opened in late 2016 at Orlando's East End Market with one employee and an $800 budget. Due to the unique, half a pound cookies made in small batches everyday, Gideon's quickly became popular with consistent wait times of over an hour.

Gideon's Bakehouse made it's highly anticipated opening in The Landing area of Disney Springs in January 2021. With the growth of their East End Market location and new location at Disney Springs, Gideon's added other items to their menu including cakes and their own line of uniquely flavored iced coffees.

The aesthetic and vibe of both Gideon's locations is a Victorian-inspired, spooky Haunted Mansion meets Harry Potter theme. There are several unique portraits throughout the bakery which were created by Gideon's art director Michael Reyes “aka Mr. Eyes aka Terribly Odd.”

According to Gideon's website, one can gain protection from the gargoyle, seen outside of the shop on top of the sign, by saying his name (“Águbadijádzs”) exactly correct. You can send an audio clip of his name to his Instagram account, and if you say it correctly, he will follow you back! Clearly this pronunciation is very difficult, as he is currently only following six users. 

The interesting backstory and overall theme of Gideon's Bakehouse makes it even more unique in addition to their famous desserts. It is truly an experience walking into this location and ordering what some call the world's best cookies. 

Gideon's Bakehouse Menu and Prices

Although Gideon's Bakehouse consistently changes and frequently adds special items to their menu, you can always count on finding a delicious cookie, cake, or unique iced coffee flavor. As expected, it is highly recommended to arrive to Disney Springs as early as possible if you want to secure a limited edition item. 

Gideon's Bakehouse also tends to announce specialty cookies and cakes on their Instagram page. For example, recently they announced a secret cake slice available for one day only. Not only was it not listed on the menu, but you had to use a secret password to order! 

Additionally, Gideon's will typically show a list of their monthly specialty cakes or cookies on their Instagram, which is another reason to stay current on their social media to learn more about which limited edition or specialty flavors they have. 

In addition to the limited edition flavors, the following items are on the regular menu at Gideon's Bakehouse: 

Gideon's Made from Scratch Cookies – $6 Each

• Original Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Cookies & Cream
• Peanut Butter Crunch 
• Pistachio Toffee Chocolate Chip
• Triple Chocolate Chip
• Coffee Cake Cookie (Exclusive Daily Limited Edition Disney Springs Flavor)
• Dark Coffee Cake Cookie (Evening Limited Edition Flavor)
• Monthly Limited Edition Flavor (available daily while supplies last)

Gideon's Cake Slices – $9 Each

• Rotating Vanilla Slices – examples include Red Velvet or Key Lime Pie Cake
• Various Chocolate Cake Slices – examples include Chocolate Churro Cake or Andes Mint Cookies & Cream Cake
• Limited Double Frosted Slices – three layer cakes covered in two complimentary layers of buttercream such as Banana Peanut butter Double Frosted Cake or Rainbow Crunch Cake

Gideon's Nitro Cold Brew – $6 Each

• The Original Peanut Butter Cold Brew
• Cookies & Cream Cold Brew
• Classic White Cold Brew
• Pumpkin Chai Cold Brew
• Limited Edition Cold Brew 

Gideon's Soda Shop Offerings – $3.50 Each

• Good Old Fashioned Local Milk from Florida's Dakin Dairy Farm
• Coca-Cola Products (21 oz) – Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Root Beer, and Cherry Coke

Gideon's Limited Special Items

• Hot Cookie Hour ($10): A unique way to enjoy Gideon's Bakehouse cookies is to try their hot cookie hour which takes place two times each day. Between 2pm and 3pm and again between 7pm and 8pm, guests can order Gideon's classic chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven. Although Gideon's claims their cookies are best served cooled in order to truly enjoy all of the intended flavors, they understand sometimes you just want a freshly warmed cookie. Therefore, during these times guests can order their classic chocolate chip cookie warm and straight from the oven. These cookies can be served with or without homemade ice cream. The convenient times of hot cookie hour are great for if you are looking for a dessert after lunch or dinner. 
• Gideon's Bites ($12): Gideon's Bites are a great way to try the various cookie flavors offered daily. Gideon's Bites include six quartered cookies dipped in chocolate. The flavors will include both the daily flavors as well as at least one limited edition flavor. These bites are not sample sizes of the regular half pound cookies, but instead their own unique flavor made separate from the regular cookies. Gideon's warns that these bites are “next level,” and guests should be used to their regular cookies before trying Gideon's bites.

Unfortunately, since the bakery items at Gideon's Bakehouse are very heavy and made fresh daily, they do not offer shipping of any items. Additionally, the Disney Springs location does not allow any pre-orders of any menu items. 

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How to Enter Gideon's Bakehouse – Lines and Virtual Queue

Although Gideon's Bakehouse has been open at Disney Springs for over three years now, it is still by far the most popular dessert location. If possible, we highly recommend visiting Gideon's during the day between Monday and Thursday which is their slowest times. Even then, you still may have to either wait in a long physical line or join a virtual queue. I typically try to get to Disney Springs as early as possible, head straight to Gideon's to check in, and then shop or grab a meal before headed back.

It should be noted that the virtual queue to enter Gideon's Bakehouse is not the same as Disney World's virtual queue to experience attractions such as TRON Lightcycle / Run in Magic Kingdom or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT. Instead, this virtual queue is much simpler but requires guests to physically check in with a Gideon's Bakehouse employee at the store. Guests will give their name and phone number to the employee and will wait for a text back when it is their turn. Once receiving the text, guests can return to the bakery and wait in the physical line to enter the store. On busier days, the virtual queue wait time tends to be between one and four hours. 

Typically, if you are able to visit Gideon's Bakehouse during the week, you will not need to wait in the virtual queue. Sometimes you may have to wait up to 30 minutes or so to enter, however it is slightly more convenient, and you will probably have higher odds of being able to purchase limited edition items.

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