Orlando’s Chocolate Kingdom (Review)
What’s Chocolate Kingdom? Good question, we didn’t know what it was either – essentially it is a boutique chocolate factory where you can take behind the scenes tours of how chocolate is made as well as its humble origins.
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Touring Chocolate Kingdom
Chocolate Kingdom is located near Orlando’s International Drive. Tucked away in a small hotel complex close to the convention center, it is easy to miss it without the help of a GPS.
There is free parking on the premises, which is great, as some Orlando attractions tack on an extra charge for parking. As soon as we walked in, we went to the cashier to use our Expedia vouchers and were ushered in a room that had chocolate trivia playing.
The Chocolate Kingdom Tour
Once the guide came in, we got ushered into the displays. The first one was about cacao seeds, and where they grew. Spoiler alert: they only grow 20 degrees north and south of the equator. This was also when we got our first tasting: a sugar covered cacao seed. It was sweet with a little hint of bitterness in it.
The second display was about Montezuma and Spain. In the old days, Montezuma loved chocolate liquor (not alcoholic) so much, he ended up drinking a lot of it daily. In fact, he loved it too much and it was so valuable that cacao seeds became a currency.
The Spanish conquistadors then brought the seeds over to their native Spain and eventually mixed the liquor with sugar and tadah! Hot chocolate (without the marshmallows, though) was born.
The tour then shows you through a kingdom made entirely of chocolate, as well as an area where you can catapult marshmallows into a dragon’s mouth, until you see how chocolate is being made in the last part of the tour.
Before you go through the chocolate bar, you get to taste chocolate covered marshmallows (yum), and during the equipment demonstration, you can taste bitter chocolate liquor and cacao seeds (optional).
The highlight of the tasting is when they give you 3 small shoe pieces: dark, white, and milk. Your guide will then tell you to eat the dark first, then white, and finally milk. The reason for this is the consistency of the chocolate changes between those 3. You can even buy these to take home to family and friends.
The very end is a chocolate bar. For an extra $6 or $10, you can customize what you want in the chocolate as well as the type (dark, white, or milk). This is optional, but is an interesting part of the tour nonetheless.
There is also a side story going on while the tour is happening about Prince George the Good, Michu his friendly dragon sidekick, and the princess Chocolina, but it serves more as a distraction and attracts the kiddos more than the adults.
Is the Chocolate Kingdom tour worth it?
Since the regular price for adults is around $17+ tax, it is a tad bit steep for an attraction. However, coupled with discounted coupons (through Groupon or otherwise), you may get more bang for your buck.
For the samples and the knowledge that you can get from the tour, it may be worth it for some, but if you have limited time in Orlando, this attraction is minor compared to the other things you can see and do while you are in the city.
Still, if you have a sweet tooth and want something ‘new’ and not related to theme parks, this can be a welcome diversion.
Visiting Chocolate Kingdom
Chocolate Kingdom is open for tours from 11-5, every top of the hour. Try to time your visit as close to the top of the hour so you won’t have to wait long for the next tour.
It is located conveniently close to the Orlando convention center, and has free parking on-site, with many other hotels and food options located within walking distance.
The store is small and located within the premises in case you want to buy a souvenir to take home.
Have you been to the Chocolate Kingdom? What did you think?
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