Why Won’t Disney Sell Sea Salt Ice Cream in the US Parks? April 17, 2020

I know you’re looking at the title and thinking to yourself, what the heck does ice cream or Disney World have to do with a video game website? I can assure you, the answer is EVERYTHING. Before we get started, let me tell you about a beloved gaming franchise called Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts, developed by Square Enix, was a real-time RPG that thrust the player into the same worlds of Disney’s animated and theatrical films. Joined by Goofy and Donald, the player is tasked to travel from iconic world to world to help its inhabitants and defend it from the Heartless. In Kingdom Hearts II, the player takes control of Roxas, a boy spending the final days of summer vacation with his friends in a place called Twilight Town. Their favorite snack to eat at the end of the day is Sea Salt ice cream, iconic blue ice cream bars that the characters say are the perfect mix of salty and sweet. Later, you meet Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, as he tries to recreate his favorite ice cream, Sea Salt, with the intention to sell it.

In later games, sharing a Sea Salt ice cream on top of Twilight Town’s clock tower would become just as iconic an image as anything from Disney’s wheelhouse.

But what about Sea Salt ice cream itself? Salty? Sweet? Sounds delicious! Can I try some? The answer, it seems, is complicated. Since Kingdom Hearts II’s release, a demand for actual Sea Salt Ice Cream to exist has been at the forefront of nearly every video gamer’s wish list. In fact, plenty of gaming gourmets over the years have published their own make-your-own recipes.

Here’s one of my favorites, from Nerdy Nummies.

So this is great right? Heck there are tons of other recipes out there. Here’s Binging With Babbish’s version:

While these look delicious, they have two problems. One, these are made based on fan theories and who knows if the taste is meant to match what the game’s director had in mind. Second, people who don’t know how to cook or lack access to an ice cream maker might have problems making their own. Surely there’s gotta be some place, maybe a supermarket, we could buy Sea Salt Ice Cream?

Shortly after the release of Kingdom Hearts II, the game’s Director was interviewed and asked about the inspiration behind Sea Salt ice cream. He responded it was something he remembered eating while at Tokyo Disneyland’s DisneySEA Theme Park, and he had assumed it was a well known Disney dessert that fit the Disney license. This made a lot of sense because Disney has ALWAYS provided iconic dessert treats at their parks ranging from chocolate covered Mickey-shaped ice cream bars to the iconic Dole Whip.

Editor’s Note: As of the time this editorial is being written all Disney Theme Parks worldwide are closed due to COVID-19. They are expected to reopen although no official restart date has been announced at this time.

Sea Salt Ice Cream sold at Tokyo DisneySEA is not a complete match to its in-game appearance but it does match taste. In the real world, it isn’t colored blue, it’s white, and it would be served in a container (with spoon) and not on a popsicle stick. I have seen more recent video of it served in other ways including what looked like a seashell shaped wafer sandwich, so it may only be sold in that form these days. The problem is it only seems to be sold at one location in the entire world, Tokyo DisneySEA. As someone who lives in a country with two Disney Parks in it (neither one of them being DisneySEA), I’d like that to change.

Unlike Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park which has clones all over the world, DisneySEA is currently relegated to Japan and no clone of it exists at any US Disney park. That said, I can think of literally hundreds of potential places in the US parks something like Sea Salt Ice Cream could be sold. Let’s take a look at some shall we?

In Disneyland’s California Adventure Park at Anaheim, Pixar Pier would be the perfect location to sell Sea Salt Ice Cream on the West Coast. The pier was inspired by the old timey seaside attractions Walt Disney (Ed Note – RIP) would have remembered from his youth. If you’d prefer a location outside the park, the Paradise Pier Hotel on Disneyland property matches that same inspiration. Sea Salt Ice Cream would fit in perfectly there.

On the Walt Disney World side, let’s talk about EPCOT. In EPCOT’s World Showcase, they sell all sorts of imported goods including foods and snacks. To this day I still remember how good Norway’s gummy candy was. Since Sea Salt Ice Cream is (currently) only sold in Japan, bringing it stateside could classify it as an imported snack. The Japan Pavilion is known for selling sushi, why not offer Sea Salt ice cream there?

Another place they could be sold could be on Disney cruises. Disney has prided themselves on offering the best cruising experience in history with large beautiful ships that offer unique theatrical shows, high end movie theaters, and access to private islands. You can even order the same Mickey ice cream bars you’d find at the Disney parks from room service. Why not stock the ship up with some Sea Salt ice cream? It could be offered through room service or maybe at Castaway Cay.

Those are just some of my ideas for where Disney could sell Sea Salt ice cream at the American Disney parks. Now if you’ll excuse me, all this talk of ice cream has made me want some.