Lunch at Disney's Be Our Guest Restaurant

By: Nick

In January we had dinner at the Be Our Guest Restaurant in The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and had a fairly mediocre experience.

I wanted to give it another shot. We hadn't heard one bad review about lunch, so we decided we would try to get in to this extremely popular dining spot on our trip in October.

We were very pleasantly surprised to receive an opportunity to use one of our FastPass+ selections to have lunch there, as the lines can be very long indeed!

For those who don't know, Be Our Guest is sort if a quick service restaurant at lunchtime.

You enter the castle, and are directed to a podium where a Cast Member directs you to a kiosk.
If you have made an ADR with your FastPass+, and have chosen your meal already, you can proceed directly to your table. A Magic Band scanner is located on the podium to check in.

We had already chosen our meals, but Barbie had decided she'd like a different entree, so instead of going directly to our table, we were directed to a kiosk, where she was able to make her change. At these kiosks you have photos of each item, which makes the choice even easier!

We were given a GPS "rose", which resembles a hockey puck, and went to pick a table.

On our trip in January, the Rose Gallery was closed, so we decided to eat there.
The room contains a large rotating "music box" featuring Belle and Beast.

Tapestries all around the room retell a tale as old as time.

Little touches such as this rose engraving are lovely touches that help convey the theme.

The West Wing is another option, but we decided that would be where we would try that on a future dinner visit.

Within minutes of sitting, a Cast Member came over with a cart, and served our meals.

Drinks were self serve at a large beverage counter.

Even though this is quick service, meals are served on real china and you can enjoy your meal with flatware.

My wife ordered the  Tuna Niçoise Salad - Warm Seared Tuna Steak, chilled Green Beans, Potatoes, Olives, Roasted Bell Peppers, Tomatoes and a Hard Poached Egg, which was $13.49.

It was delicious, but a bit on the fishy side for Barbie, so I wound up splitting half of my meal with her. 
I had the Braised Pork - Eight Hour Slow-cooked Pork with Mushrooms, Onions, Carrots and Bacon served with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans Jardiniere, for $11.99.
I'm going to just say it, at the risk of over hype.
This was one of the best meals I've ever had at Walt Disney World.
It was absolutely amazing, and I'm wishing I had it right now.

For desert I had Chocolate Cream Puff-  Chocolate Cream Puff filled with Chocolate Mousse topped with Whipped Cream for $3.19.

Barbie had the Lemon - Raspberry Cream Puff which is a Gluten Free, No Sugar Added, Lemon-Raspberry Cream Puff filled with Lemon Custard, also $3.19
 

These are much better than the cupcakes in our opinion, my chocolate cream puff being the better of these choices.

This was easily the best quick service meal we've had at Walt Disney World. If you can't get an ADR for dinner, this is a terrific, and in our opinion, better, option.

Don't forget our Giveaway ends at 6pm EST tonight, so please click HERE or stop by our Facebook page for more details!

Disney "Tour Around the Kingdom" Flash Giveaway!

This morning I shared this awesome Brave Little Tailor Mickey Mouse Hallmark ornament.

I have teamed up with other Disney blogs to bring you a tour of flash giveaways, and we are giving away one of these terrific ornaments!

Here's how to enter.

• Please visit our Facebook Page and Like the status (And while you're there, if you haven't already done so, please Like the page itself!).

• Leave a comment telling me your favorite time of year to visit Walt Disney World or Disneyland

You must Like the status AND answer the question to be entered!

Once you have entered our contest, head over to Disney Dose to enter their giveaway.
 
A winner will be picked tomorrow night at 6pm.

I will count the number of people who comment, and enter that number in the True Random Number Generator from random.org.
After the random number is picked, I will count down to the Comment that corresponds to that number.

I'll announce the winner here and on the Facebook page.

Please let all your friends know, thank you, and good luck!

Mickey Mouse Brave Little Tailor Hallmark Ornament

By: Nick

If you are at all familiar with this blog, you'll be familiar with the fact that my favorite Mickey Mouse cartoon is Brave Little Tailor.
And you'll also be aware I collect Hallmark ornaments.
Combine the 2, and you get this beauty right here!

It is the second in a the Mickey's Movie Mouseterpieces series.

I put this ornament central on the tree, where he joins several other Brave Little Tailor ornaments.

Stop back here, or to our Facebook page tonight at 6pm to learn how you can win an ornament just like this one!

Cinderella Castle Christmas Lights Desktops

Every year, Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is transformed into a Winter Dreamland.

Spring in Florida

Spring in Florida

By: Gaylin

When I went on my first solo trip in April 2008, I thought to myself – spring in Florida will be like summer in Vancouver. I packed for summer weather.

The first couple days were beautiful, warm to hot and sunny and bright, I thought I had packed perfectly. Here I am with Sully and Mike, a lovely warm day.

And here it is, two days later, Chip and Dale were all nice and warm. They have fur coats! I had to buy a hoodie and wear my scarf as it had gotten darn chilly!

Lesson learned, when packing for a trip - check the weather forecast and believe it! Next spring I will be bringing a hoodie with me or maybe I could buy another one anyways, this one is nearly 6 years old.

Walt Disney's Apartment and the Light That Always Shines

By: Nick

On display at The Walt Disney Family Museum at the Presidio of San Francisco, are actual pieces of furniture from his private apartment on the second floor of the Main Street Firehouse in Disneyland's Town Square. 

From these cozy quarters, Walt could share private time with his family, while still enjoying the park he created.

In the picture below from National Geographic Magazine, towards the center of the photo, is a lamp on a table in front of the window which looks out on Town Square.

 This light is always on as a representation of Walt's spirit, which is always present in Disneyland.

You can actually view the apartment on the Walk in Walt's Disneyland Footsteps Tour, which we have not yet had the pleasure of doing.

Face to Face With Disney Characters

Face to Face...

 

By: Heather Kaminski

 

After weeks and months of planning and saving, you have finally arrived. You are home!

 

You hit the parks hard, ready to let loose and act like a kid again. You're ready for a trip filled with magical moments with food, family, friends and some your favorite characters. And then you see them...

 

FACE CHARACTERS

 

We have all been there. You're so ready to dive in and act like a kid again, but as soon as a Princess (who is clearly, like, a sophomore at FSU) asks you if your husband slayed a dragon for you or asks about this far off land you call "Pittsburgh", you freeze.

 

For the record, "Uhhhh, yeaaaahhh" really was the best thing I could come up with.

 

If you are childless, like myself, these experiences can be awkward if you let them. Without an elated toddler to focus on, it's sometimes hard to get caught up in the magic as quickly as you would like.

 

Here are some tips for to make the most of these opportunities, so you can migle with the characters and have a little fun.

 

Know their backstory:

 

Ask Jasmine if she gets "Carpet Sick" or Ariel if she has a spare Dinglehopper you could borrow. Tell Alice that it's your Unbirthday too, and ask her where the party is! I wonder if Snow White will tell you her favorite Dwarf if you ask her nicely?

 

Ask them to teach you something:

 

Ask Peter Pan for a swordfighting lesson, or challenge Hook to a thumb war! I know from personal experience that Mulan is always up for a martial arts lesson.

 

Greet them in their native tongue:

 

Whether it be a hearty "Bonjour" for Belle, an "Ahoy Matey!" for Captain Jack, or a dainty "How do you do" with Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, it's always fun to get into character and pretend you're part of the story.

 

 

Speaking of getting into character....

 

Strike a Pose:

 

Even if you can't dress in full costume most days, you can always strike a pose to be like your favorite characters. Grab onto your "skirt" and curtsey with the Princesses. Make a "fishie face" with Ariel, salute with the Green Army Men, or show off your guns and make a muscle with Gaston. 

 

 

Whatever you decide to do, just let go of your inhibitions and have a blast! You're on vacation! Live it up. And if you're still uncomfortable, you can always stick with the far less intimidating "Fab 5" pictures. There's totally no one inside of those costumes, they are 100% the real deal.

 

 

Enjoy!

A Winter Summerland at Walt Disney World

By: Nick

You're in Walt Disney World. It's Christmastime. You need to escape the crowds. You could go back to the resort pool...again.

Or, you can do something different.

Miniature golf at Disney's Winter Summerland is an enjoyable respite. Located next to Disney's Blizzard Beach, this mini golf spot actually has 2 courses, one a beach theme, and one a North Pole snowy theme.

And, as you'd expect from Disney, these course are not only wonderfully themed but have an imaginative back story.

One Christmas Eve, as Santa was flying over Florida, he discovered a snowy spot in this tropical locale. After investigating this anomaly, he decided to build a vacation spot for his elves to enjoy on their downtime. A Winter Summerland!!!

Apparently some elves wanted to enjoy a more authentic Floridian vacation, so they built the Summer side of the course.

Other elves recreated a more "homey" course, complete with a, ski slope, ice fishing pond, a snowman, and even a snow castle.


My wife, friends, and I played the winter side. It is great fun, and there are plenty of surprise effects throughout.
You will also find a few of your Disney pals around.



Signs are at each of the 18 holes to give hints of how to play that hole, and give a hint at what effect you may encounter.






You start at Santa's "Elfstream Winterbago," a converted trailer home, gift shop and snack stand.



Santa even left a sleigh for photo ops! That guy thinks of everything.


This article was originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog, where Nick is a contributing writer.
For more on Winter Summerland, please check out this great post from Gaylin.

Disney's Frozen : A Mostly Spoiler Free Review

By: Nick

Disney's newest animated feature film, Frozen, was released this weekend.
I went into this wanting to love it, and, well, I really, really liked it.
It's absolutely beautiful to look at.
The music is wonderful, the best in a long time. However, I was hoping for more songs featuring Idina Menzel, who played Elphaba in Wicked. Speaking of Wicked, there are several things that reminded me of that tremendous musical, in a good way. I also got a vibe that the song-writers were channeling other musicals, including Avenue Q, which was co-written by one of the Frozen's soundtrack's writers, Robert Lopez.
Olaf the Snowman is maybe one of the funniest Disney characters. Ever. As much as I wanted more Idina Menzel, I wanted even more Olaf.
Looking back, that may be my biggest issue, if you can even call it that: I wanted more of everything!

The story has many twists that I wish I could say I didn't expect, but, as I'd reviewed the Frozen Deluxe Storybook App , these surprises were spoiled, which may have contributed to my initial feelings.
I say initial feelings, because we bought the soundtrack when we got home, and listening to it has brought back just how terrific the movie really is.
I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

By: Barbie

Since I had no preconceived notions going into this movie, I have to say I was blown away! I mean, wow, I wanted to stay and see the next showing, but you have to reserve your seats in advance at the theater we went to. The cartoon short at the beginning of the movie featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Get a Horse, well, I won't ruin it for you, but my mouth was on the floor it was so amazing, the 3D effects so well done I was on the edge of my seat, I didn't want to miss a thing.

The visuals and storyline to Frozen: awesome, as was the character development. I think the songs were the strongest and most memorable I've heard in a Disney movie since The Lion King.

Nick and I immediately went home and bought the soundtrack to hear them again.

So would I recommend this movie? The answer is absolutely! Come out and see it with us! We will be seeing it again!

Flea Market Finds: Air Mater Hallmark Ornament

By: Nick

I picked this ornament up at the Columbus Flea Market for $5

 

Air Mater is a "Car Toons: Mater's Tall Tales" short released in 2011, and can be found on the "Cars 2" DVD or Blu Ray, the Pixar Short Films Collection 2 DVD or Blu Ray, and iTunes, which is where I purchased it.

Back to the ornament! 

And here is the back of the box.

"Mayday! Mater bites off more than he can chew when he takes off with a crew of stunt planes in the animated short Air Mater. He wants to be part of the aerial action, but this is a little too much excitement! But never fear-Lightning McQueen is just a loop-the-loop away and wouldn't dream of letting Mater down."

Great detail in this ornament.

 

The propeller turns!

This short introduces Propwash Junction, a town inhabited by planes,  featured in the animated movie... Planes.