Road Food

By: Barbie

I walk around the neighborhood almost every day, and I always keep an eye out for interesting things on the ground. My favorite things to pick up, of course, lost change. In fact, I consider a walk where I don't find pennies from heaven to be a failure. So when I saw an ice cream cone, corn on the cob and a carrot on the ground, I did a double take. I thought to myself, that's weird, why didn't I pick those up?

When I got home I was really kicking myself for not bringing the road food home. You'll see what I mean! It sounds gross, but it's too funny! It snowed the next day and I couldn't find my coveted food items. Oh well, easy come, easy go. The next day I went out again and was able to find the ice cream and the carrot, but my corn cob was missing. I placed the food carefully in my sweatshirt pocket. Who would have picked up that corn cob, I wondered to myself?

I wandered into the house and started playing with my phone vinyls, you may remember them from this post. I giggled as I fitted them with their new accoutrement: an ice cream and a carrot!

Remy immediately went for the ice cream!  

 Which left the carrot for his good friend, the rabbit.

The moral of this story? When you see food on the ground that you really want, just pick it up, ok?

The Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream

Imagine going into a restaurant and ordering a Kitchen Sink, and you really get the kitchen sink! Despite the fact that it was freezing cold and January, that's what my husband and I did with our friends, Kandi and John. The lights in the restaurant dimmed, you could hear the crowd hush and people started clapping and ta dah! This is what was delivered to our table!

 Here's a listing of what this amazing dessert includes:
(thank you to disneyparks.com for this thorough breakdown) 

• fudge topping, warmed
• butterscotch topping, warmed
•  peanut butter topping, warmed
• 1 medium banana, sliced in 1/2 –inch slices
• 1 cinnamon spice cupcake, quartered
• 1 angel food cupcake, quartered
• 2 4-oz. scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 4-oz. scoops chocolate ice cream
• 2 4-oz. scoops strawberry ice cream
• 1 4-oz. scoop mint chocolate chip ice cream
• 1 4-oz. scoop coffee ice cream
• 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
•  marshmallow crème
•  strawberry topping
•  pineapple topping
• 1 14-oz can dairy whipped topping
• 1 brownie, quartered
• 1 regular-sized (2 ounce) candy bar, quartered
• 4 chocolate cookies (oreos-basically) with cream filling
• 1 tablespoon sliced toasted almonds
• 1 tablespoon dark and white chocolate shavings
• 1 tablespoon chocolate cookies with cream filling, crushed
• 1 tablespoon chopped jellied orange slice
• 1 tablespoon milk chocolate chip morsels
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter chip morsels
• 1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles
• 1 tablespoon rainbow sprinkles
• 1/2 cup drained maraschino cherries

Barbie, Kandi, John, Nick

Look at us, we didn't know what we were getting into! We couldn't stop laughing once we saw what this was, and it was ours! The question now, could we finish it off? It's a long list of ingredients, too many to ponder on for any length of time...so did we finish it, and was it any good? Well, the consensus was that it was an fun and awesome dessert, that definitely needs to be shared with good friends; and yes, we absolutely were able to finish it off, and almost wound up licking the sink clean!!

Don't get the wrong idea, we're not done yet in this pic!

The Giant Panda, Flower and Garden Style

These adorable giant pandas are from one of Epcot's flower and garden shows. They are posing outside the China Pavilion. As you can see, the giant panda has an insatiable appetite for bamboo. The typical panda spends half the day eating, that's 12 out of every 24 hours. Hmm, I wish I could do that. It takes about 30 pounds of bamboo to satisfy a giant panda's daily dietary needs. They supplement their diets with other less appetizing items as well, like rodents and birds.

Wild pandas only live in remote, mountainous regions in central China. These bamboo forests are cool and wet, exactly like the pandas prefer it. There are fewer than 1,000 giant pandas left in the wild and around 100 pandas live in zoos. Much of what we know about pandas comes from study of these zoo animals, because their wild cousins are so rare and elusive. (Thank you to nationalgeographic.com for much of this info.)

The Country Bear Jamboree

What are you going to do, hit me over the head with that guitar,
throw me over your saddle and use me as a snack after the show?

Well, anyone who knows me, knows I hate the Country Bear Jamboree. It's something I was born with. I'm not sure why more people don't feel the same way. When we were young, my Dad took us down to Florida to visit family and we got to spend one afternoon in Disney World. The Country Bear Jamboree is one of the few memories I have of the trip, and they aren't good memories. I don't get it to this day!

Oh yeah, dress them up all cute and all of a sudden they aren't so scary,

but they're still looking at YOU like a prime piece of beef!

Blood on the saddle?! REALLY? Whose blood? Did someone die, were they murdered? As a sensitive kid I was extremely aware of the words to that song and couldn't get it out of my mind, in fact I still can't. Were they hurt, maimed, did they get separated from their party? I still don't understand. Can someone explain that one to me?

Well, I swore up and down that no one could get me into that attraction again, but our friend Marilyn and Nick drug me in there a couple years ago to relive the horror all over again. Let me just say now, it's no better now than it was back in the 70's! Stay away! Those bears are out for blood and they'll get it somehow!

 No, I will never go in there again!

This is the only other memory I have of the trip. My dad trying to make it up to me.

Flag Day and the Flag Retreat Ceremony at Disney Parks

On August 3rd, 1949, President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States in 1777.

At Disney, every evening around 5:00pm, they hold a ceremony called the Flag Retreat Ceremony. It starts off with the Main Street Philharmonic Band and the Dapper Dans performing patriotic songs along Main Street around the flag, and military veterans are invited to participate. The flag is lowered while the band plays the Star Spangled Banner and everyone sings along.

The veteran that was specially picked that day and their family is presented with the flag, while the history of their military service is recited aloud to the attentive audience. There's never a dry eye in the crowd.

So if you'd like to participate in the event, please go to the City Hall as soon as you can! It is amazing, and you should be acknowledged for your service; and Disney and the visitors there know how to do it right.

A Salute to All Nations, But Mostly America!

A Happy Memorial Day to all of you, and a heartfelt thanks to all the veterans out there who have helped fight for the freedoms our wonderful country holds so dear. Your sacrifices and those of your families do not go unnoticed! Truly they don't.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself engaged in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

My Favorite Disney Pin Trading Experience

I love wandering around looking for friendly cast members with pins. Innoventions is a great place to go to check out pins and escape from the sun and heat. My funniest experience pin trading was in Innoventions when I walked up to Doyle and asked him if I could look at his pins. He cheerfully agreed and we chatted about pins for a while. I told him I'd like his "mystery pin," one that is placed backwards on the lanyard so you don't know what you're getting. I told him I had a mystery pin in my pocket for him too!

We each held out our pin for the other and opened our hands...and we were each holding the same exact pin! I had just traded for the same pin! We burst out laughing and made the trade! Doyle said in all his time pin trading, that had never occurred and the odds were incredible! He also said I didn't have to go through with the trade, but how could I not?

For other pin trading articles  click here

and here...

Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Dinosaur! This attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World just happens to be one of our favorite rides.

The ride starts off with a short movie describing what your mission is to be: go back in time to the Cretaceous period in a Time Rover vehicle and retrieve a dinosaur before the meteor that causes their extinction hits the Earth. This is directly against the wishes of Dr. Marsh, and Dr. Seeker gets in trouble because we are NOT supposed to bring anything back with us! We are only going to the Early Cretaceous for a peaceful tour.

Seeker gets us back to the late Cretaceous period however, and the adventure begins!

This ride is dark, full of roaring dinosaurs and is very fast and whips you around. Its likeness over in DisneyLand is "Indiana Jones: Temple of the Forbidden Eye" but that ride is much brighter, you can see the track your ride vehicle is riding on, and it loses much of the scary "where are we going" vibe that Dinosaur has.

Anyway, after the ride, you are so shaken up, you need the mandatory Mickey Head!

New Disney Resorts

Dear Disney, I know you don't need any more ideas regarding resort theming, but in case you were wondering, I would love to stay at any of these "resorts" right here!

Thanks to cousin Jill for posing for this shot!

The Cozy Cone Motel? You have an automatic hit on your hands with this one!

How Do You Choose Just One?

Disney's Dinosaur ride, very loosely based on their movie of the same name, is one of our favorite rides. My favorite part is the "adoption area," filled with mushy bellied, crazy eyed dinosaurs at the end. They're all looking for new homes, and they are hard to refuse! Pick one up and give him a hug, I bet you won't want to put him down!

Arbor Day at the Disney Parks‏

Throughout Disney Parks and Resorts, trees are being maintained and kept healthy by caring men and women; Disney's own Arborists. They provide care to thousands of trees that keep the Disney properties beautiful year round. Today is their day. Thank you for making Disney the lovely place it is!

It has been over 135 years since J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day. His idea of setting aside a special day for planting a tree has never been so important. Celebrate Arbor Day in your community. Plant a tree! Plant many trees! It is an act of optimism and kindness, a labor of love and a commitment to our earth and atmosphere. And it will make you feel great! You will get that Disney feeling in your heart, what's better than that?

Happy Earth Day and Happy 15th Anniversary, Animal Kingdom!

Happy Earth Day, and what else is going on? Today is also the day Disney is celebrating Animal Kingdom's 15th Anniversary. Here are some facts about the Animal Kingdom that might interest you: The Animal Kingdom Project was announced June 5, 1995. Ground was broken in August 1995 and the Grand Opening was held on April 22, 1998. Since 1995, the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund has devoted more than $6 million to conservation efforts around the world and has supported more than 230 projects.

The Animal Kingdom is about 580 acres, with approximately 250 species represented by over 1,000 animals living there. The park is five times the size of the Magic Kingdom, making it the largest Disney Theme Park in the world.

To keep 1,000 animals takes about four tons of food a day (that’s a 4 1/2 year supply for the average person). More than 2,000 pounds of vegetation is fed to the animals every day, and many varieties of worms are provided; including mealworms, red wigglers, night crawlers and wax worms. 40,000 in a week! Dieticians order 80,000 crickets per month as part of the healthy diet for the animals.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is home to the largest groups of African elephants  and Nile hippos in North America. Animal Kingdom scientists have discovered two new vocalizations never before reported in elephants. The arrival of a black rhino calf born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom made him one of only 250 worldwide.

The number of species that have reproduced since the park opened is 116.

Animal Programs veterinarians have successfully performed surgery on a tarantula spider, placed an artificial eye in a fish and removed a golf ball from a confused snake rescued at a Disney golf course. The Animal Programs team performs more than 600 wellness checks per year.

Sixty dump trucks of dirt were delivered to Disney’s Animal Kingdom construction site every day for two years straight, equaling 4.4 million cubic yards of dirt.

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Harambe is Swahili for coming together. Kilimanjaro Safari is named for a mountain in Tanzania. It is the largest attraction ever created by Disney. In fact, the entire Magic Kingdom Park can fit inside! Pangani Trail is Swahili for place of enchantment.

Did you know that The Tree of Life is 145 feet tall and its leafy branches spread 160 feet? It is topped with more than 103,000 semi-transparent, multi-colored green leaves that actually blow in the wind. Ten artists and three Imagineers worked full-time for 18 months to create the 325 animal carvings on The Tree of Life. Sculptors had between six and 10 hours to create the finished image before the plaster hardened.

(thank you to allears.net, funrivia.com and disneytrivia.net  for these fun facts)