The Feb. flavors are all chocolate based (no big surprise given Valentine's Day and all):
They do have a plain vanilla flavor (or they did the last time I was there). And they are generous with the samples, so you can ask away about flavors, ingredients, and then taste test as many times as you want. Often, the flavors don't taste nearly as weird as they sound. We just steer clear of the more extreme sounding stuff.
I complain because, while I think it's ok, I love what it replaced. The other ice cream options in DLR are just basic ice cream. Taking out something many of us thought was superior is worthy of complaint. I don't really think it's fair to complain about our complaintsPeople complain so much about this place - I don’t get it. I thinks it’s great! And it’s something different! There’s plenty of other “normal” ice cream elsewhere. If you don’t like it then don’t go.
Right? Like if you wanted basic ice cream how great that you still have so many options inside the parks to go grab a basic vanilla cone (or many other types of "normal" ice cream). IMO Haagen Dazs is basic boring ice cream I can get at home, like Baskin Robins. Salt & Straw is higher quality ice cream and unique flavors. There is a reason HD never had a line except on super hot days but S&S still pulls in crazy lines when the temps almost dropped below freezing and late into the night every night. Now a small part of that is simply because it is the new trendy thing, but we will see if it has staying power over time and I suspect that it does.People complain so much about this place - I don’t get it. I thinks it’s great! And it’s something different! There’s plenty of other “normal” ice cream elsewhere. If you don’t like it then don’t go.
And therein lies the problem -- not everyone in DTD has a ticket to go "inside the parks." And not everyone has the palate or preference for gourmet or artisanal ice cream, and that's totally fine. But they also shouldn't have to buy a ticket for the parks just to get a "normal" ice cream cone for their child or for themselves. It would be nice if DTD kept Salt & Straw (which I really like) and also had another ice cream place, or another CS place that sold regular ice cream and other food, on the other end. Whenever we went to HD, there was a line -- not as long as the line for S&S, but HD was never totally empty when we went by. (And we're in DTD once a week on average.)
To those people I would probably suggest that they stop by: Splitsville for a Super Sundae or a Ghirardelli brownie topped with vanilla ice cream. Or La Brea Bakery where they can get various flavors of gelato at both the dine in area or take away area. Or get a taste of the parks without the ticket price by swinging by Tangaroa Terrace at the DLH and grab a Dole Whip- now you can get it here as a regular soft serve, a float with pineapple juice, or even a float with shot of rum in it for the adults (hey you can't get THAT in the parks). I'm sure there are other yummy ice cream options in Downtown Disney and the connected hotels as well but those are just the first few that quickly come to mind.
This is really good to know. Thanks for posting this. I'm sure many parents will be glad to read this. People shouldn't be forced to look for TS or expensive, gourmet options when their kid just wants familiar ice cream -- especially when it comes down to dietary issues and you're not sure what might set off a new allergy or reaction. At least when it's something already familiar, you know what you're working with. And Marceline's offers an AP discount!
Definitely sample first! Since the ice cream is made in small batches, each batch comes out a little different from the last. So we had the strawberry with black pepper one time and it was very good -- not too spicy, the pepper was a background note. The next time we tried it, the pepper was quite dominant. Very different. So now we sample whatever we want to buy, even if it's a favorite we've had before -- just to make sure nothing is too varied from the way we like it.
