REVIEW - Vivoli Gelateria at Disney Springs The Landing

Jun 11, 2015 in "Vivoli Gelateria"

Vivoli Gelateria interior and food
Posted: Thursday June 11, 2015 12:14pm EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

Vivoli Gelateria, the latest new offering at Disney Springs is now open, bringing a taste of Italian gelato to The Landing.

Founded in Florence 1932, Vivoli Gelateria promises authentic Italian gelato and baked goods, made in-house and in small batches. The Disney Springs location is the first Vivoli store-front outside of Italy, and only the second location within the U.S.A. - joining a kiosk location in New York City.

The store is located just across from The BOATHOUSE and the Waterview Park - which is the perfect place to take a seat and enjoy your treat. There is no seating inside, with all the shop space taken up by the huge gelato display case, and the onstage kitchen area.

The display case is split into two areas, with the baked goods and panini sandwiches in one case, and the gelato in the second case.

The gelato selection is extensive, with 24 flavors on offer, including Lemon, Pineapple, Fresh Creamed Custard, Rice Pudding, Imported Italian Chocolate, Pistachio, Salted Caramel, Shredded Coconut, Banana, Brandied Italian Sweet Cherry, Peanut Butter and more.

Gelato is available in three cup sizes, piccolo at $5, media at $6 and Grande at $7. There is also a cone option at $6.75. The serving sizes are small. Think more Epcot Food and Wine Festival size, and less Coldstone Creamery. The idea at Vivoli Gelato is quality over quantity, and in our taste test today it certainly measured up. The chocolate in particular stood out, which an incredibly rich flavor which really allowed that imported Italian chocolate to shine. There are no toppings or mix-ins, but there are Waffle Bowl Sundaes on offer for $9.75 if you are looking for something a bit more extravagant. There is a Banana Split, Sicilian Creamsicle, and Amarena with biscotti.

If you can't decide which flavor you want, there are samples available before you order. And if it is still too difficult to make a choice, you can opt for multiple flavors in one serving.

Also on offer is a range of Gelato and Sorbet floats and milkshakes, all priced at $9.75. The Tropicale for example is a pineapple sorbet, coconut gelato, Gazzosa soda, with pineapple and cherry.

Moving to the baked goods case, there is a range of homemade tarts and cookies. The tarts are priced at $4 each, with the cookies priced at $5 for 6 as a Biscotti Assortiti.

The tarts were beautifully baked, oozing with homemade qualities, as were the biscotti assortment. The rice pudding and chocolate tarts were our favorites.

There is also a choice of three panini sandwiches - a Prosciutto and Mascarpone, Fontina and Artichoke, and Mozzarella Tomato Basil. Each panini is $4 and served cold.

The panini's had great flavor and made in-house throughout the day, but for $4 are somewhat small, sized about 2 square inches.

A range of coffees are available as you would expect from an Italian shop, with Espresso, Doppio, Decaf, Cappuccino, Caffe Latte, Macchiato and Americano all on offer, priced from $2.75 to $5. There is also Italian Soda, Italian Water, and the regular coke products.

The gelato ordering process is a little different to what you may be used to at say a Coldstone Creamery or similar. The order is placed at the register, by choosing the size of gelato. You then move to the display case to make flavor selections. Although perhaps slightly against the grain, it does have the advantage that the payment is done upfront, leaving you to get started on the gelato as soon as it is served, and not having to wait around to pay.

Vivoli Gelateria is a great addition to The Landing, bringing another unique treat location to Disney Springs. There are other ice cream locations nearby, such as Ghirardelli and Haagen Dazs, but this is the first to offer authentic Italian gelato, and it really is quite different. The baked goods are a very nice offering with lots of great options, although the panini sandwiches just didn't offer enough value for us to recommend those.

Operating hours are 10am to 11:00pm Sunday to Thursday, 10am to 11:30pm Friday to Saturday. You can see more photos from Vivoli Gelateria in the gallery.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

View all comments →

Mouse DetectiveApr 23, 2016

I saw that too. My guess is that something was needed to draw attention to the place. Can't imagine how many people walk past and not even notice that it's there. The tea place is the same. Easy to overlook and their sign is mostly covered by palm tree fronds.

djkidkazApr 22, 2016

Walked by here the other day and they added some awful silver tables with bright orange chairs. It looked like something they got from future world and looked out of place.

BrianVApr 21, 2016

Actually we promised (bribed) our kids with the promise of gelato every day, and twice some days. 5 days now in Florence and 7 different gelaterias. Really it is all good. But some is better. Also, a small gelato at Vivoli costs 2.5 euros, a little less than $3 which includes all taxes.

JohnWDApr 21, 2016

Thanks for reporting - I've never been to Italy. Are you on a Gelato tasting tour? :) I would hope to taste Alfa Romeo and Ferrari!

BrianVApr 21, 2016

Only bumping because we are in Florence and went to Vivoli today. Delicious. That said they are not my favorite gelato in Florence. And we've now tried a few. Anxious to taste when we go to Disney next.

StrangelingJun 18, 2015

We tried the "Riso" (Rice) flavour just because it sounded odd, and it really was pretty great! Later online I read an interview with the owners in Florence and they said it was their most popular flavour there.

Mouse DetectiveJun 17, 2015

If you like hazelnuts, I've read that the Hazelnut gelato is very good.

matt9112Jun 17, 2015

Anybody figure out a hidden gem of a flavor yet?

StrangelingJun 15, 2015

Matt & I stopped in at the Vivoli Gelateria Saturday after my art signing, just for the little sandwiches. We ordered one each of the artichoke/fontina and the tomato/basil/mozzarella and were very pleased with both! Definitely snack-sized sandwiches (as opposed to meal sized) - about the size of a Hawaiian Sweet Roll, but a very good ciabatta-type dough. Very pleased with them. I often think that there is a dearth of snack-sized vegetarian savoury quick service options so we were both excited to see these! Will definitely be going back, and to try some of the actual gelato too =)

Jon81ukJun 11, 2015

I initially thought the gelato prices were hig, but they seem comparable with Hagen Dazs really and the gelato would be far better quality.

wdwmagicJun 11, 2015

Let us know what you think.

StrangelingJun 11, 2015

Nice! Happy to see a couple vegetarian sandwiches too, gonna go grab one!

DVCOwnerJun 11, 2015

I know this will be one of the first places that my wife will want to go on our next rip to Walt Disney World.

wdwmagicJun 11, 2015

REVIEW - Vivoli Gelateria at Disney Springs The Landing