As the days dip down to the mid-80s here in Orlando and I ponder when to put the snow ties on the car, my thoughts always turn to covering things with cold soft serve ice cream. The problem when trying to catch a photo of anything topped with ice cream in Florida is the whole "melt factor". My wintery attempt to capture a well formed ice cream topper on one of Epcot's many delicious dessert snacks, was alas… not to happen this time. Perhaps I'll revisit you again in January dear Cronut, (if we get a day that drops below 70), and we'll be able to grab a shot of the velvety textured soft serve ice cream before it turns into a glossy puddle.

This treat (is not of course) a "real" Cronut. Those are a trademarked baked good invented by famed New York City pastry chef Dominique Ansel. (I bet they don't have any issues topping their Cronuts with ice cream up there.)

Epcot's knock-off product (officially known as a "Croissant Doughnut topped with Soft-serve Ice Cream") is available at the "Refreshment Port"... a small food and beverage kiosk/building that you'll find next to the "Refreshment Port Restroom Automated External Defibrillator station". Although I am not 100% sure the AED's location has anything to do with the fact you're eating an oil fried croissant-like pastry rolled in cinnamon and sugar, I also wouldn't rule out the coincidence.

If you are just entering the "countries" area from FutureWorld, hang a right toward Canada. Just about halfway down that path (past the boat dock), the Refreshment Port will be on your right-hand side. It's a building that's been placed at a 45 degree angle to the sidewalk (I'm not sure why).

The Refreshment Port's Croissant Doughnut is (unfortunately) not filled with anything, like an authentic Cronut would be. Instead, for just $1.30 more than the cost of the Croissant Doughnut alone ($4.99 for just the doughnut), you can top the flaky, light pastry with vanilla, chocolate, or swirled soft-serve ice cream. The "plain" version is just as good though, as both are delivered with a course sugar and light cinnamon mix that has been press (or rolled) on the outside of the pastry.

All kidding aside, it is another great little dessert to grab at Epcot (a park that seems to have quite a few great little desserts... if you take the time to hunt for them). Our best tip with this one, is to make sure you grab a few napkins and whatever utensils you need before placing your order. You've got about 30 seconds with this little gem before the ice cream starts melting. Give it three minutes, and you'll have a Croissant Doughnut in Sweet Milk. (Yes, I've eaten one of those as well… they're actually pretty good no matter what you do to them.) Now, if I could just get someone to pour a shot of bourbon over the whole thing, we would be able to take the faux Cronut to a whole new level.