Disney Visa Chase Lounge at Epcot's Food and Wine Festival

By Nick

Like last year, this years Epcot International Food & Wine Fests Chase Lounge, which is exclusively for cardmembers, is located on the third floor in the American Adventure pavilion in World Showcase.

Present your card, and either take an elevator or climb the 3 flights. Space is limited, so they admit only a certain amount of people at a time. We only waited a few moments before going up.

 

There are machines dispensing free Coke products, as well as coffee or tea.

You can also purchase alcoholic beverages.

 

 

I highly recommend the Einstok Icelandic White Ale.

Seating is limited, but it is a welcome break from the heat regardless. You can also charge your cell phone here.

The Lounge is open from 11am-9pm on Sunday through Thursday and 11am-10pm on Friday and Saturday during the festival.

Traveling With an Old Friend to Walt Disney World

by Beth Skarp

I just returned from a trip to Walt Disney World. This trip, just my youngest sister and myself went. Due to medical reasons, the rest of the family could not join us (we had just returned from the World a mere three weeks prior). 

This trip we were to meet up with some Disney friends who are part of a special Disney Facebook group I belong to. This particular group came from overseas—mostly England—although I did manage to meet up with and enjoy some time with some local friends as well. Our meet-up was called the “British Invasion”. Many from the Facebook group wanted to be a part of the British Invasion, but for one reason or another they were unable to attend. Since this particular Disney Facebook group uses Jiminy Cricket as the Mascot, I figured I would take Jiminy along with me, and I'm so glad that I did!

First off, let me mention that Jiminy is a rather “rare” stuffed character. Several of the cast members I encountered commented that Jiminy had not been seen in the parks “for a good many years”. I can't begin to count the number of times I was approached and asked where in the “World” I got Jiminy. One guest even flashed me a one hundred dollar bill and asked if they could purchase my Jiminy right on the spot—dirty nose and scuffed up as he was. Sorry, Jiminy was not for sale. I have had Jiminy for many years and was unwilling to part with him.

I wanted Jiminy to do all the things that my fellow Disney Facebook group members would do, if they were with us. But I got to thinking. Jiminy was rather small. He could possibly do things that someone of my size could not. So, what sort of things could Jiminy do?

First off, Jiminy took a trip completely around World Showcase, visiting each and every land and posing with something or someone that would depict that particular Country. Since I love the Gran Marnier Orange Slushie from France—our group even has a “special” table we frequent all the time when we go—I figured we would begin our Jiminy Adventure here. I quickly learned that Jiminy loves the same drinks I do. How do I know this? Every time I tried to pose him, he would fall face first into my drink. I am sure Jiminy is not really a lush, but my sister and I got a laugh out of his doing this no matter what we tried. We quickly learned to keep the wet-wipes handy to clean his face.

Here are some pictures of Jiminy's Adventures Around World Showcase. He really had quite the Adventures.

 Jiminy, going through security at International Gateway.

 

With the Boat Captain who piloted us to International Gateway.

Notice how I had to "prop" Jiminy up here. This is after he fell face first into the first glass.

  

Getting a little bit artsy in France.

Stopping for a quick nibble in Morrocco.

Everyone has to try on the Fez hats....including Jiminy.

Hmmmm....I wonder if that kimono comes in a size small enough that I could wear. As a matter of fact, it does.

 

Wow, that fish pond in Japan looks really inviting. Have you ever taken the time to view the fish here?

Since I knew how much Nicholas Maglio loves beer, i wanted to capture this shot. I am curious....has anyone ever had any of these beers?

This wonderful Cast Member loved Jiminy and asked if she could pose with him outside of the American Adventure Gift Shop.

Jiminy enjoyed visiting the KidCot Centers as well. Here he is in Italy.

He also tried to "hide:" among the masks. He didn't really succeed.

I think Jiminy was still fun from France, or he would have enjoyed a stein of beer in Germany as well. He did enjoy getting cooled off from the fountain though.  

 
The FIFA Soccer games were going on. Jiminy wanted to show a bit of his soccer side as well.

On the pathway in the Outpost area, just before you get to the bridge.

 

 China.

 Rubbing Buddaha's belly for good luck.

Troll hunting in Norway.

Trying on the Viking hat.

  
A Jiminy sized Sombrero.

A Goofy sized hat.

 
My favorite shot actually. This cast member worked and worked to get Jiminy to hold still long enough for this picture. Just outside of Le Cellier in Canada.

Our final stop....Rose & Crown in United Kingdom.

Since Jiminy had a great time at World Showcase, we figured we would venture out and see what other mischief we could get into. Stayed tuned for the further adventures of Jiminy's Travels in the World. 

L'es Artisan de Glaces in Epcot's France Pavilion

by Gaylin

When I am in between Disney World trips, I keep up my reading and research online to know what is new in the World. Before this last trip I was quite happy to read about a new ice cream shop that had opened in the France Pavilion at Epcot.

The whole time I was on vacation in May of 2014, the weather was hot. 95F (37C) or hotter with the usual melt-your-brain humidity. My first visit to Epcot included a trip to L'Artisan des Glaces and I wasn't disappointed.

The shop is not very big and for some reason was not crowded any time I went in it. I visited 5 times (or was that 6) during my vacation! Having food allergies limits what treats I can have and when I read that L'Artisan had ice cream sandwiches made with macarons, I knew I would be trying one.

You can see from the display of ice cream there are 16 choices on any given day and they do change the flavours. The macaron ice cream sandwiches are on the bottom row, 3rd from the left. I was surprised by the size of them, as macaron cookies are usually quite a bit smaller. They cost $3.99 ($4.25 after tax) and were well worth it.

They are served in a piece of folded wax paper with french news stories on the outside. The sandwich was really good, macarons are usually quite sweet but this was not overly sugary and the ice cream had a nice dark chocolate flavour. I admit, I did have another one on a separate visit, for research sake, to make sure they really were that good . . .

There are tables outside the shop, turnover is quite quick, people are willing to share so finding a seat was not difficult any of the times of was there.

One of the other treats I had was a Cafe Glace, iced coffee with a scoop of ice cream. This was really yummy, I chose Caramel Fleur de Sel (salted caramel) ice cream and the combination was lovely. The other 3 times I went I had a single scoop of the Caramel ice cream in a cup, you can get cones as well. Again, $3.99 + tax.

I would highly recommend giving Artisan a try, the flavours were great, the staff was nice and the lack of crowd, no line-up whatsoever was awesome.

On a side note, because the marcaron was so good at Artisan, I decided to try a Mickey Macaron one day. Cute! Also grossly oversweet and almost flavourless. The filling was mildly lemon flavour, I admit this is the only time I have thrown out a treat at Disney without finishing it. If you have a sweet tooth, these are for you, if you don't just admire their cuteness in the display case and keep going!

An InLinkz Link-up

Maleficent Merchandise at the Disney Store

By Nick

My wife and I stopped by our local Disney Store a couple of days ago to see what was new and to say hi to some of the wonderful Cast Members we've made friends with there.
As expected, we found merchandise for Maleficent, which was released by Disney yesterday.

Mugs are $12.95, there's a journal for $16.95, t-shirts and a tunic range in price from $12.95-$39.95.  There's also a Lithograph Set which is a limited edition of 3000 for $29.95.

The hottest sellers, however, are the dolls, which are $34.95.

Aurora:

Maleficent was sold out, this was on hold for another guest.

Maleficent merchandise can also be found at the DisneyStore.com

The Most Emotional Hour I Ever Spent at a Disney Park (From 7/17/13)

By: Nick

I'm going to share a secret with you. I'm an emotional guy. When I encounter something that touches me, I lose it. A movie. A song. A bench.

What type of bench would make me break down? I've actually talked about this very topic in my review of the Walt Disney Family Museum. I sat down on one of the benches from Griffith Park, where Walt would sit and watch his daughters on the carousel. It was on these benches that Walt envisioned a park that families could enjoy together. The act of sitting on a bench that Walt himself likely sat on made me burst into tears.

But I'm getting way ahead of myself.

Let me take you back to a trip I took to Disneyland back in late September of 2010 with my wife and friends, Todd, Meghan, and our Godson, Flynn.

On the last hot afternoon of our 3 day stay at the Grand Californian, the group went back to the  rooms to escape the heat and take a nap. I stayed behind and decided to visit attractions we hadn't gotten to yet, including Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, located at the Opera House at the front of Disneyland.

Upon entering, I saw this:

 

The plaque reads: The Actual park bench from the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles, where Walt Disney first dreamed of Disneyland. Yes, I started to cry.

On another plaque nearby, under a picture of the carousel:

 

 Walt Disney's Dream
"It came about when my daughters were very young and Saturday was always Daddy's day...So we'd start out and try to go someplace...I'd take them to the merry-go-round and I took them different places and as I'd sit while they rode the merry-go-round - sit on a bench, you know, eating peanuts - I felt that there should be something built, some kind of amusement enterprise, where the parents and the children could have fun together. So that's how Disneyland started."
Walt Disney

I started to sob.
As there was still 15 minutes until the next Lincoln show, I stepped outside to get air, just as the Flag Retreat Ceremony was starting! This is so patriotic and moving, my crying just intensified.

I finally got it together, somewhat, and entered the theater to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
Due to knowing that this was an attraction Walt was personally involved with, the patriotic nature of the show, and the moving "2 Brothers" Civil War Segment that people who have visited the American Pavilion in Epcot will be familiar with, I broke into tears once again.

I was thankful that my family and friends were not present to see what an emotional wreck I'd become!

Happy Anniversary to Disneyland, which opened on this day in 1955, and thank you Walt! -sniff-

The Most Emotional Hour I Ever Spent at a Disney Park

I'm going to share a secret with you. I'm an emotional guy. When I encounter something that touches me, I lose it. A movie. A song. A bench.

What type of bench would make me break down? I've actually talked about this very topic in my review of the Walt Disney Family Museum. I sat down on one of the benches from Griffith Park, where Walt would sit and watch his daughters on the carousel. It was on these benches that Walt envisioned a park that families could enjoy together. The act of sitting on a bench that Walt himself likely sat on made me burst into tears.

But I'm getting way ahead of myself.

Let me take you back to a trip I took to Disneyland back in late September of 2010 with my wife and friends, Todd, Meghan, and our Godson, Flynn.

On the last hot afternoon of our 3 day stay at the Grand Californian, the group went back to the  rooms to escape the heat and take a nap. I stayed behind and decided to visit attractions we hadn't gotten to yet, including Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, located at the Opera House at the front of Disneyland.

Upon entering, I saw this:

 

The plaque reads:
The Actual park bench from the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles, where Walt Disney first dreamed of Disneyland.
Yes, I started to cry.

On another plaque nearby, under a picture of the carousel:

 

 Walt Disney's Dream
"It came about when my daughters were very young and Saturday was always Daddy's day...So we'd start out and try to go someplace...I'd take them to the merry-go-round and I took them different places and as I'd sit while they rode the merry-go-round - sit on a bench, you know, eating peanuts - I felt that there should be something built, some kind of amusement enterprise, where the parents and the children could have fun together. So that's how Disneyland started."
Walt Disney

I started to sob.
As there was still 15 minutes until the next Lincoln show, I stepped outside to get air, just as the Flag Retreat Ceremony was starting! This is so patriotic and moving, my crying just intensified.

I finally got it together, somewhat, and entered the theater to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
Due to knowing that this was an attraction Walt was personally involved with, the patriotic nature of the show, and the moving "2 Brothers" Civil War Segment that people who have visited the American Pavilion in Epcot will be familiar with, I broke into tears once again.

I was thankful that my family and friends were not present to see what an emotional wreck I'd become!

Happy Anniversary to Disneyland, which opened on this day in 1955, and thank you Walt! -sniff-