Backstage at Walt Disney World's Flavor Lab
The answer to where your favorite Disney theme park food came from.
— -- It's 7,000 square feet of Walt Disney World that guests will never see.
It's too bad, really, because Walt Disney World's new Flavor Lab, as it's called, is a haven for foodie theme-park goers.
Comprised of four areas -- eat, drink, create and, of course, the kitchen -- the Flavor Lab serves as the testing ground for the food and drinks that eventually make their way to the theme parks.
"Any new food and beverage concept are all developed here," director Ed Wronski of culinary development, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, told ABC News. "Right from the infancy standpoint until we transition them to our [food and beverage] operations."
In other words, the next time you sit down for a meal at a restaurant in a Disney park, know that the Flavor Lab is where that dish was created.
And the drink in your hand? Yes, it too was created here.
"The program really focuses on the theming of the locations,” beverage concept development director Brian Koziol said. "We feel the beverages need to complement the entire dining experience."
Koziol, a master sommelier, is in charge of wine, of course, but also focuses on beer, cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks.
It took three years for the Flavor Lab to come from concept to development. Chefs from the restaurants at Disney Parks around the world, including the soon-to-open Disney Shanghai, are able to collaborate via video conference in the Flavor Lab to share menu ideas and best practices. With 1,040 food and beverage operations the world over, it was necessary to have a state-of-the-art facility in which to come together.
It's so busy in the Flavor Lab that this reporter was almost not able to access it in order not to disrupt the work that goes on around the clock.
But all the work is more than worth it, Wronski, the culinary development director, said.
"To go to a table and have a guest say this is the greatest meal I ever had or this is fantastic,” he added, “that's what this is all about."
Editor's note: The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News.
