Best Vacation Haircut!

by Gaylin

In April of 2005, I had my head shaved to raise funds for Balding For Dollars, a local Vancouver charity run to help kids in the cancer ward at BC Children's Hospital. With the help of friends I raised $1,500!!

Two weeks after I had my head shaved I went on vacation to Walt Disney World. I have to say, being bald in hot Florida in May was wonderful! I got some strange looks, a few people tried to be sympathetic, I guess they thought I was going through chemo and a couple of times people forced me to take their seat on the bus . . . I did explain why my head was shaved but they made me keep the seat anyways.

And talk about a great hair style to enjoy the water parks! Slap some sunscreen on my noggin and go play.

I did have a very heartfelt talk with a woman who was going through chemo, she had a wig and a hat on – in the May heat. She thought I was very brave to shave my head, I told her she was very brave in her fight with cancer.  Hopefully she at least stopped wearing the wig and stuck with a hat for the rest of her trip.

Here are a couple of photos from the Magic Kingdom.

 One from the Animal Kingdom.

And one from the Garden Grill at Epcot.

And finally one last photo, taken at Typhoon Lagoon.

Wordless Wednesday: Our Disney Side

Photos of Barbie, Gaylin, and Nick

  Barbie

 Nick

 

Gaylin

 

 

 

 

 

Mickey and Friends Epcot Center Adventure at Walt Disney World

This set of Happy Meal Toys is from Disney and McDonald's circa 1994, "Mickey and Friends Epcot Center Adventure at Walt Disney World".

The Epcot pavilions represented are, left to right, Chip for China, Pluto for France, Goofy for Norway, Donald for Mexico, Mickey for the United States, Minnie for Japan, Daisy for Germany, and Dale for Morocco.

A close up look at a few.

One day, while looking through boxes in the basement, because my wife thought she remembered me putting some Disney toys down there, she came up with a complete set of these.

When I started to try and find out more about this set on eBay, I discovered that my collection was actually NOT complete! This figure of Dale as a Canadian Mountie was released exclusively in Canada! So I bought one!

The whole gang welcomes it's newest arrival!

Epcot's Garden Grill, Chip and Dale's Harvest Feast

How many of you know that there is actually more to The Land Pavilion located in Epcot's Future World than Soarin'?

 

Well, there is! Honest!

On our trip this past January, we ate at the Garden Grill which is located in the Land.

If you've only been to the Land in the morning, you may not even know this is a functioning restaurant, as it is only open for dinner, when it hosts Chip and Dale's Harvest Feast.

The characters:

Farmer Mickey, here with our friends Kandi and John. As far as I know, this is the only place in Disney World where you can get Mickey in this outfit.

Pluto is seen here with my wife Barbie.

 Chip and me.

 

Dale, with our check. There is a great story to go along with this picture.

Our bill came just as Dale walked up. Dale grabbed our check, and tried to give it to Mickey to pay. Mickey passed! 
Then he tried to give it to a family at a neighboring table, but they, of course, also declined! 
He then proceeded to attempt to throw it over the side of the restaurant, but our server stopped him! Oh well. 
It was hilarious. 
The characters spent plenty of time at each table, and this was easily the best character interaction we've had in a long while.

Throughout the evening, the restaurant itself rotates very slowly, so you can see different scenes of the "Living With the Land" boat ride below.

The menu:
Basket of Warm Breads with Maple Butter
Harvest-inspired Farmer's Salad
Char-grilled Filet of Beef with Red Wine Butter
Roasted All Natural Turkey Breast with Lemon Caper Sauce
Sustainable Fish of the Day with Roasted Tomato and Pepper Compote
Garden Fresh Vegetables
Buttermilk Smashed Potatoes
Artisan Bread Pudding
Fresh Baked Harvest Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
Non- alcoholic soft drinks are included.
 

The food was very good. My favorite being the Beef. Our fish this evening was Talapia.

A couple things of note.
If you want the meat cooked a bit more, like our friend John, they are happy to bring you more cooked however you'd like it.
Our friend Kandi doesn't eat pork, and the stuffing that comes with the Turkey has bacon. Our server brought out a plate of stuffing minus the bacon.
And when we wanted more of anything, there it was. We were stuffed.
And then dessert came! We didn't get the Artisan Bread Pudding, not sure why, but the fruit cobbler was more than enough!
This was a great meal, and a lot of fun, so I highly recommend it.

Portions of this article were originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog, where Nick is a contributing writer.

Brunch at Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel

Goofy's Kitchen is located in the Fantasy Tower of the Disneyland Hotel.

A very popular brunch, with plenty of food choices, including many breakfast item, such as "Mickey Mouse" Waffles & Pancakes, French Toast, Sausage & Bacon, a Create-Your-Own Omelet Station, Eggs Benedict, Fresh Fruit, Goofy's Famous Peanut Butter Pizza, Soft-Serve Yogurt with Toppings.

 

There are several lunch type items as well, since this is "brunch", such as an extensive salad selection, Chicken Breast Nuggets, pizza, and many other items.

But to me, there seems to be more desserts than anything else, including an ice cream bar.

 
To be honest, the food here, in my humble opinion, is mediocre.
I think the food at the Storyteller's Cafe buffet at the Grand Californian is superior, while their characters are not as varied.
At Goofy's, the characters are the draw, including Baloo, who joined us for breakfast:

 

 The new super team, Chip 'n' Mulan?

 Dale:

A character I've not previously gotten a picture with, Br'er Fox!

Pluto:

Rafiki:

And our host, Goofy:

As of January 2013 Brunch is 7am-12pm Mon-Fri and 7am-2pm Sat & Sun, prices for Adults: $32.99 and Children 3-9: $16.99 not including gratuity or sales tax.

Final analysis: The food, while not the best, is plentiful, and you won't go away hungry. Go for the fun.