5. The taste testing and gift shop! When you take your museum tour you will learn that cocoa has an amazing amount of antioxidant protection. In fact, it has more than 10 times the value of blueberries if you consume it in its purest form. (Unfortunately for me, I like my cocoa mixed with lots of sugar and fat, and the more of those that you add, the lower the antioxidant value drops.)
Towards the end of your museum tour you will get the chance to sample several varieties of chocolate from all around the world. This will give you a chance to see what ratio of cocoa you prefer.
That of course, will leads us to the gift shop where you can buy your favorite varieties of chocolates and take them home to enjoy! Need a gift for that someone that has everything? You will find chocolates here that you can not find any where else. There are coffee cups, hot cocoa mix and various other fun items to choose from as well.
4. The versatility! World of Chocolate Museum & Cafe is a wonderful, truly unique experience to enjoy. The romantic, luxurious smell of chocolate in the air makes it the perfect place to visit for a date night. Children come with their families and on school field trips to learn history, see the marvelous sculptures, and to try the chocolate. The tour guides are extremely interactive and know how to keep their groups entertained and engaged. Everyone will even get a bit of a geography lesson as they learn the parts of the world where chocolate is manufactured.
There is also a workshop inside this 10,000 square foot facility, that is well-suited for receptions, networking opportunities or corporate team-building sessions. The building so so versitle, there is literally a "world" of possibilities.
3. The Cafe part of World of Chocolate Museum & Cafe. I arrived in the late afternoon after the heat, hustle and bussle of a media event at a near by theme park. Just a few minutes after I arrived it was almost like I felt like I had permission to breathe a deep sigh and relax. As I waited for my husband to meet me there after work, I texted him and told him not to rush, that I was nestled in a comfortable booth in the European-style Cafe, just as cozy as I could possibly be. Sade was playing in the background and there is a warmth to the Cafe that almost made me feel like I was waiting for a spa appointment. I found out later that this is no accident. They provide free wi-fi and have even painted the walls in colors that make you feel calm because they want to encourage you to feel at rest here. The wonderful smell of chocolates from the world's finest chocolate makers fills the air. There are more than 200 delicious options to choose from!
You will also find a beautiful display case full of cheesecakes, chocolate mousse and other wonderful confections. You can wash it all down with your choice of bottled sodas, tea, coffee, or of course - hot chocolate!
2. The museum! Your guided museum tour begins in a representation of a rainforest environment where cacao trees grow and a historical ship has docked. It reminded me a little of that first scene of Living With The Land at Epcot. It had a wonderful, dark mysterious feel.
World of Chocolate also has more several history rooms which chart hundreds of years of the evolution and growth of the chocolate industry from Central and South America, throughout Europe and into the United States! You will also learn the different process for making solid and hollow chocolate. Don't miss the enormous collection of antique and modern chocolate bar wrappers from all around the world. Here is just a sampling of photos of some of my favorite parts of the guided tour.
1. The amazing, chocolate sculptures that feature the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, along with busts of famous individuals, and so much more! These are nothing short of breathtaking! Each one is carefully hand-crafted from actual dark, milk, and even white chocolate. They range in size from about 3 feet to over 6 feet. As you can imagine, the smell of chocolate fills all of these rooms, which are kept at a very precise temperature.
Each piece has been sprayed with a chemical preservative and that makes it a tiny bit less tempting to break off pieces and start munching away.
John shared with us that many of the sculptures traveled over seas by boat for many days, and they had to be perfectly packaged for the entire journey. Understandably he was thrilled when they arrived safely to their destination. Again this is just a small sampling of some of my favorites. There are several rooms full of these sculputures.
So there you have it, my top 5 reasons why The World of Chocolate Museum & Cafe is a real Orlando hidden gem. I hope you will take a few hours and visit this amazing and unique attraction the next time you are in the area, and come up with your own top five list!
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My husband then told me that when we was a kid he lived in Akron, Ohio and his parents would take him to Erie Pennsylvania sometimes. They had a place there called "Daffins World of Chocolate". I don't know if it's still there. But they had a huge "chocolate kingdom" with a castle made of chocolate and a chocolate river, like on Willy Wonka the movie. they also had animals made of chocolate (statues). He said that when you went there and did the tour you would smell like chocolate the whole ride home! It got in your clothes and you smelled like chocolate! Must have been all those antioxidants! :)
Has anybody also been to Hershey's Chocolate World in PA? It is a separate thing to the Hershey theme park though it is on the same grounds as the park. I've been there and enjoyed it. Very Hershey-centric of course, and it doesn't have the museum aspect that World of Chocolate seems to have.
In any case, it would be nice to see someone compare/contrast the two.
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