Wordless Wednesday: The Mickey Head Premium Ice Cream Bar Through the Years

Photos of Nick by Barbie

 

Disney Cast Members: Tell Them "Thank You"

by Gaylin

I have met many a wonderful Cast Member (CM) in my travels to Walt Disney World, as well as Disneyland and one Disney cruise. While I have always thanked them in person, if I have received extra help or extraordinary service from a cast member, I like to send a thank you to them, through Disney itself.

I found out on the Backstage Tour a few years ago that if a CM gets a reprimand on their employment record, it is removed after 6 months with no further reprimands acquired. If a thank you or commendation is received, that stays on their record permanently! If you go to the Walt Disney World main webpage and scroll to the bottom, there is a contact us link. On that link it tells you how to contact them by phone, there is another link where you can go to an email page to contact them.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/help/email/

This is where I go when I want to send a thank you to a CM. The first time I did this, I received a phone call from a representative from Disney personnel, letting me know how much they appreciated my email and that they had contacted each of the CMs I had wanted to thank and commended them in person! I do keep a trip journal where I write their names down as well as take a photo where the interaction happened so I don't forget.

On my recent trip, I had more than a few nice transactions with CMs and wanted to send my appreciation out to 3 of them. When I got home, I sent the following email:

"This is not a question, this is a thank-you to Cast Members.

I was at WDW in May 2014 and on Sunday, May 11, I went to the Animal Kingdom. My mother had

passed away 5 weeks previously and I had forgotten entirely that it was Mother's Day. When I walked into AK and was given a carnation and told Happy Mother's Day, I was startled and sad. It was nice to think of my mom but it was a difficult, emotional day as well.

I stopped for lunch at Tamu Tamu, I was hot and tired and forgot to tell the CM that I had food allergies and could I please have potato chips instead of pita bread so I put the pita bread to the side. A custodial CM, Deborah (college program with UCLA), stopped to chat for a moment, she asked if I was a mother and when I told her about my mom, I nearly started crying. She spent some time with me, talked about mom's, Disney and life in general. It was the human contact I so badly needed that day. She noticed that I had put the pita bread aside and went out of her way to get some of the fresh made potato chips for me. Well, that nearly had me crying again. The time she spent with me changed the whole tone of the day for me, I know that CMs deal with and talk to a lot of people in a day and they need to know that their time and care is wonderful. Thanks so much to Deborah, wherever she is now. Also - thanks for the pin!

At the Magic Kingdom on May 7th, I had a lovely wee interaction with a CM named Sherley, I bought a Mickey Premium from her at the Popping Machine, near Gaston's Tavern. She was bright and cheerful, I sat at a table near the kiosk and watched her interact with guests, impressive. Again, since my mom's name was Shirley - meeting this lovely young lady who was so happy and vivacious, made my day. I asked for a photo and we had a good laugh taking a selfie together.

One last kudo - in the morning of May 7th, I went on the Jungle Cruise with Captain Lisa, she was so fun, it was one of the best cruises I have been on. At the end of the cruise I asked if I could take a selfie with her, it was the first time a guest had asked her to be in a photo and she was happy to do it.

Thanks to all the CMs that do their best to help guests have a magical vacation and if anyone asks if you can have fun at WDW while on a solo trip - the answer is a resounding yes!

Gaylin"

You can't send photos in your email to Disney but I can post them here! Here is the photo of Captain Lisa and me.

And later the same day, the lovely Sherley!

About a week after I sent my email to the help centre, I received this email reply:

"Dear Gaylin,

Thank you for writing to us about your visit to the Walt Disney World® Resort.

I am very glad you had such an enjoyable experience and truly appreciate the time you took to share your compliments for Deborah, Sherley and Lisa. Your email reinforces how our Cast Members can make a tremendous difference with each Guest. It is heartwarming to know that Cast Members such as Deborah, Sherley and Lisa exemplified Walt Disney's dream to create happy and memorable experiences for all of our Guests. Please be assured your comments will be shared with the appropriate leadership so they can be commended for the great service they provided you.

Thank you again for writing to us. We look forward to future opportunities to entertain you.

Best Regards,

Janet F.

Guest Experience Services

Walt Disney World Resort"

If you have a wonderful CM experience, remember you can share your thank-you's when you get home, send some magic back to Disney!

A Bit of New Fantasyland: Great Disney Cast Members

by Gaylin

The first day of vacation, while at the Magic Kingdom, I admit I spent more than a little bit of time wandering around the New Fantasyland. I was impressed by all of it, the theming is beautiful. It was a very hot day and of course, that meant an ice cream break.

I stopped at Maurice's Amazing Popping Machine ice cream and drink cart in between Gaston's Tavern and Be Our Guest restaurant.

The fare provided at this cart is standard, water, soda, ice cream treats. I had one of my favourite treats, a Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar! As you can see, there are covered tables to enjoy your treat out of the hot sun. I shared a table with a very nice woman, who also needed a break from the heat and I asked her to take my photo. It was only 2 or so in the afternoon and I was feeling and looking pretty wilted!

What was a pleasant surprise at this kiosk was the cast member, Sherley. She was happy and fun, greeting people as if everyone was a long lost friend. She was a bright moment in a hot afternoon where I felt like I was melting. After I finished my ice cream bar, I went back to the kiosk to say thank you to her, not just for how nice she had been to me, she was that nice and lovely to everyone! I asked her to take a selfie with me and she was thrilled – first time anyone had asked her to take a photo with them.

If you happen to be near the Popping Machine and need a treat – find Sherley and buy your treat from a 'friend'!

Gasparilla Island Grill at Disney's Grand Floridian

By: Nick

In January, while staying at the Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort, Barbie and I ate several meals at the resorts quick service restaurant, the Gasparilla Island Grill.

Gasparillas is a convenient and quiet spot to start the day, and we had breakfast here before heading to the parks on a few occasions. Breakfast is served until 11am.

It does get crowded, but we never had a problem finding an open table. Actually, we had a regular booth that we sat at during every visit.

Interestingly, this wasn't always a quiet spot. While looking online at Disney's Official Site, the photo that is featured shows several arcade games along the wall, so I was not expecting it to be as nice as it turned out to be. The games have been moved to their own separate arcade space located adjacent to the Grill during a refurbishment that took place starting back in 2012. I bring this up in case you do research and find that photo. Odd that Disney hasn't updated their site.

The food offerings are standard Disney fare. There is an assortment of bagels and pastries to choose from.

The menu board will help you make other choices, such as the Bounty Platter, Croissant Sandwich, or...

... Mickey-shaped Waffles!

There are healthy choices as well, which can be found in the refrigerated section, such as fresh fruit, vegetables, and yogurt. My wife Barbie inexplicably chose some of these one morning. (Who eats healthy on vacation, really?!)

On another morning I had the pancakes, and they were very good.

We also had dinner here one evening.

The offerings include made to order sandwiches, such as the Grand Turkey, Ham and Swiss, and Roast Beef, burgers, pizzas, soups, and the aforementioned grab 'n' go items.
You can also create your own salads by choosing from Romaine Lettuce or Baby Greens and a variety of your favorite ingredients, adding Flank Steak or grilled chicken

I had a Angus bacon cheeseburger that was very tasty, one of the better quick service burgers in my opinion. And the homemade potato chips are terrific. You can get cucumber salad instead of chips.

Barbie had the Margherita Flatbread, which is made with Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil, which she really enjoyed.

For dessert they offer cookies, brownies, cake, soft serve ice cream, and a selection of frozen treats like the beloved Mickey Premium Ice Bar.

There is also seating outdoors, and if you time it right, you can catch Wishes from the Magic Kingdom!

Gasparilla's is open 24/7, if you are hankering for a snack after a long day at the park.

My Favorite Disney Treat

By: Gaylin

There are any number of articles or arguments online about what the best snack or treat is to eat at Walt Disney World. For me, food allergies preclude eating most of them, this would be sad except my favourite is the Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar.

On one trip, I kept track of how many I had in an 8 day period, turns out it is one every other day!

The first one was at the Animal Kingdom, in Dinoland.

The second one was at Hollywood Studios, it is always a good idea to find some shade when you eat one of these or they melt quickly.

The third one was at Downtown Disney.

And finally, one more, back at Hollywood Studios. All I can say is that it is a very good thing I walk so much during a vacation as one of these babies contains 330 calories! But everyone knows, calories don't count on vacation . . .