Gabrielle Russon
Ashley Craft was on a mission.
The cookbook author traveled back-and-forth to Disney World and Disneyland for two years to sample theme park menus on Christmas and Hanukkah as well as the smaller holidays, like May the Fourth or St. Patrick’s Day.
Craft approached her task like a scientist, taking photos and meticulous notes. How did Disney make the almond sweet corn cake for Halloween in the Magic Kingdom or turkey poutine at Epcot for Thanksgiving? She went back home to Minnesota to reverse engineer the dishes, re-create her own recipes and make different versions for her husband and three kids to sample to find the most authentic match. (Extra baked goods were fed to the nurses at the cancer treatment clinic where her husband worked.)
The result of her culinary explorations: Craft published her fifth cookbook this fall called “The Unofficial Disney Parks Holidays Cookbook.” Her series of unofficial Disney cookbooks have sold 850,000 copies, her publisher Simon & Schuster confirmed.
Craft knows it’s hard to get the chicken matzo ball soup or the Mickey Mouse gingerbread cookies exactly right. “I’m not going to say this is perfect… I know Disney has incredible chefs and incredible production,” she said in a recent interview with Florida Politics. But Craft says the recipes taste pretty darn close to the favorite holiday fare you buy at Disney parks and can be easily reproduced by home cooks. In other words, you don’t need Disney magic to pull the dishes off.
Craft first pitched her idea about a Disney-themed cookbook to Disney itself in 2019, but the multibillion-dollar company’s publishing arm wasn’t interested, Craft said. Instead, she landed a major publishing company that published her book in 2020 when Disney theme parks around the world temporarily shut down from the pandemic. Missing the Mouse, fans watched POV of their favorite rides and Disney fireworks shows on YouTube while others baked sourdough bread from scratch and became fanatical cooks. It seemed like Craft’s cookbook couldn’t have arrived at a better time.
Disney is known for being a company that fiercely protects its brand in court. Craft said her unofficial cookbook hasn’t caused her any legal problems with Disney. “We’re all on the same page,” she said.
She also points out Disney eventually followed her success, publishing its own official cookbook in 2023. Her version had 100 recipes. She noted Disney’s had 101 recipes.
But Craft doesn’t sound bitter.
“I couldn’t be a bigger Disney fan,” Craft said.
She grew up near Disneyland where she visited the parks weekly and could hear the fireworks every night from her home. In college, she took two Disney College Program internships to work at a hotel concierge desk and at Everest Expedition ride in Animal Kingdom.
A regular theme park visit is meant to be a celebratory moment, yet somehow Disney finds a way to top itself on the holidays, the most special days of the year, Craft said.
“Disney is always making something fresh,” Craft said. “You’re never going to see the same thing twice. … I love the continued evolution and the holidays are when you can see it the most clearly.”
Her book, which Craft said is a good gift for Disney fans or people who like to host parties, is sold at major retailers, including Barnes & Noble and Amazon. For more information, visit Simon and Schuster’s website.
