We love pin trading in our house. My daughter really really gets into it and has a blast doing it. For anyone who may not know what pin trading is, every cast member has a collection of pins that they wear that they will trade with anyone who asks. In any given day, you will see hundreds of guests (of all ages) walking up to cast members and asking to see their pins. It is a great past time and provides a fun and memorable souvenir from every trip.
There are a few rules to pin trading. First of all, you must have a genuine Disney pin to trade. These usually have a rubber mickey mouse shaped head for a back and say pin trading on the back of the pin. Second of all, if a cast member has a green colored lanyard (this is the necklace or square piece that the pins are attached to) then only kids can trade with that particular cast member. As far as I know, these are the main "rules" that apply to pin trading.
Pin trading has saved our sanity many times while standing in long lines. Just when my daughter starts to get antsy and start asking how much longer we have to wait, we often reach a cast member who has pins. My daughter passes the time by looking at their pins and making the hard decision of whether or not to trade. It's actually often pretty easy for her. She usually knows exactly what she wants....first choice is Ariel, second choice is most any Princess. If there are not any of these available, she often moves on. Every once in a while she sees a fun one that is not a Princess, but that is a not the norm :) She also enjoys looking at pins that the other guests have. Although you can most certainly trade with other guests, my daughter doesn't like to do this. I guess it is more fun for her to stick to the cast members.
So where do you get these pins? You can buy them at Disney for a price of anywhere from $5.95 upwards to $15.95. They sell pins individually, or in "starter sets" that include four pins and a lanyard to put them on for around $24.95. These are great options for people who don't know about this past time before the trip and get pulled into the fun while there. We however take a different route. We buy our pins in bulk before our trip and trade them while we are there. We go to EBAY several months before our trip and look for sellers who allow you to pick your "lot" size and get pins for around $1.00 a pin. This summer we bought a few for $1.15 each and chose 20 of them. A few weeks later we won an auction that allowed us to get 100 for around $65 shipping and all. When you combine the amount we paid and the number of pins we received in both shipments, it averaged to $.80 a pin. That is a WHOLE lot better than the average price we would have paid at Disney. The great thing about ordering them the way we do is that we get a huge bunch of pins that my daughter doesn't like. This makes it super easy for her to trade these "ugly" ones for the beautiful Princess pins that she so covets during our trips.
This year, since we have so many pins, we are allowing our daughter to pull a pin from the "Mickey bag" each week leading up to our trip. It gives her something to look forward to each week, and is helping the time to pass a little quicker leading up to October. We have her lanyard bought (for $1.00 at Party City) and are getting ready for another fun round of pin trading. It is always so much fun to return from a trip and see all of the pins she comes home with. We often remember how and where she acquired each pin and it brings back fun memories of our amazing trips. I can't wait to see what pins, and memories, we bring home this year!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Why Disney World ?
I have so many people ask me about my obsession with Disney World. Most people just don't understand how I can go every year and not get tired of the place. When I tell people I am excitedly planning a trip to the World, many look at me and say, "but didn't you just go? How can you be so excited about going again? Aren't you tired of it"? To those people I just laugh and say "No way"! Every year is a brand new trip and we experience things in whole new ways, or find new things that we have never done in trips past. I have a dear friend who tells me over again that she doesn't get it. She does not enjoy Disney (gasp) and only goes for her kids. She would rather go to the beach and relax for vacation. As a matter of fact she usually goes to the beach for a week, then will squeeze Disney into one day during her trip. I have challenged her to give it one more try, but next time to go in the offseason (or at least not during Spring Break week) and to go for several days so that she can tour at a more leisurely pace. I am not giving up on her and hope to convert her yet. I just don't get how anyone can not enjoy Disney. I don't know exactly when my obsession grew so deep, but I think it mostly started on our honeymoon in 1998. That was such a fun and magical trip and as soon as we got home I was ready to go again. Our next trip was in 2000, then we didn't go again until 2005 (my first trip with my daughter who was almost two at the time). That was when I fell head over heals in love with Disney World. Seeing the magic of Disney through the eyes of a child is amazing and our trips ever since have been so wonderful. We have been blessed to return every year since she turned three and I hope that the tradition continues. Disney World is the one place that our family can go together and have the time of our lives. We can literally forget about everything else and immerse ourselves in the magic.
The excitement I get calling Walt Disney World every year to book the trip never grows old. This is probably the only place I call that I look forward to being put on hold. Something about hearing that ding ding ding that I think is supposed to represent fairy dust and then listening to official Disney World music while I wait for a cast member to help me is just amazing. I still get chills calling them every year. Sometimes I look for excuses just to call them so that I can experience being put on hold (yes I know I need help).
Once I book my trip, I start a countdown calendar for my fridge. It has the total days and weeks until the trip that I get to cross off every day and watch my trip grow closer and closer. Once we hit the 100 day mark, my daughter and I make a chain link countdown that she uses to visually track the days until our trip. She loves to get up every morning and pull a link off. This helps her so much being almost seven years old. She can see each day how many days we have left and her excitement grows as the chain shrinks. It is fun for all!
I then spend my days visiting my favorite websites (see links to the right of this page) and get a little dose of Disney news each day, or look at menus, hotels, deals, etc. It is a nice break and it helps me with my planning. By the time my trip comes, I have planned my days in the parks, made my dining reservations, and have my daily itineraries. I sometimes drive my husband crazy with all the info, but for the most part he also really enjoys the daily Disney discussions that we have. My daughter is turning into quite the planner herself, and could probably help most adults plan their trips. She makes Mommy proud :)
The excitement I get calling Walt Disney World every year to book the trip never grows old. This is probably the only place I call that I look forward to being put on hold. Something about hearing that ding ding ding that I think is supposed to represent fairy dust and then listening to official Disney World music while I wait for a cast member to help me is just amazing. I still get chills calling them every year. Sometimes I look for excuses just to call them so that I can experience being put on hold (yes I know I need help).
Once I book my trip, I start a countdown calendar for my fridge. It has the total days and weeks until the trip that I get to cross off every day and watch my trip grow closer and closer. Once we hit the 100 day mark, my daughter and I make a chain link countdown that she uses to visually track the days until our trip. She loves to get up every morning and pull a link off. This helps her so much being almost seven years old. She can see each day how many days we have left and her excitement grows as the chain shrinks. It is fun for all!
I then spend my days visiting my favorite websites (see links to the right of this page) and get a little dose of Disney news each day, or look at menus, hotels, deals, etc. It is a nice break and it helps me with my planning. By the time my trip comes, I have planned my days in the parks, made my dining reservations, and have my daily itineraries. I sometimes drive my husband crazy with all the info, but for the most part he also really enjoys the daily Disney discussions that we have. My daughter is turning into quite the planner herself, and could probably help most adults plan their trips. She makes Mommy proud :)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Favorite Quick Service Restaurants
Today I look at my favorite quick service restaurants in each park. For those of you may not be familiar with the term quick service, it is a walk up restaurant where you order fast food type food and seat yourself. If you happen to get one of the Disney dining plans, chances are very good that you will be spending a lot of time in this type of restaurant. For the most part, the food is pretty good, but there are certain foods (i.e. hamburgers and wraps) that seem to be on most of the menus throughout the World. We sometimes have to look a little harder towards the end of our trips to find something different. Luckily, these types of foods to exist, you just have to look for them. It is a little harder to find things other than pizza and chicken nuggets however for the little ones. Luckily for us, our child can live off of this for 10 days straight and not complain (too much anyway). So let's get to the list.
Epcot
Hands down my favorite place to eat here is in the Sunshine Seasons food court in the Land pavilion. Not only is there so much variety here, it is probably the best bang for your buck. Although we are usually on the dining plan, we still try to find places where we can really get a lot of food for our credits. This place definitely fits the bill. You can choose from a whole rotisserie chicken at one window, Chinese meals with more food than I could possibly eat, or huge sandwiches that even those of us with huge mouths have a hard time biting into. After I literally fill my tray with enough food for the whole family (while only using one entitlement on the dining plan) I head to the dessert bar. The dining plan allows each person to get one entree, one drink, and one dessert per meal. The desserts at this place are freshly baked, enormous, and the options are plentiful. You can choose butterfinger cake, strawberry shortcake, cookies, or mickey rice krispy treats to only name a few. One more plus for this restaurant is that they let you refill your drinks. This is a very nice plus on a really hot day. This is a must do for the entire family. We all get what we want and walk away stuffed every time.
Hollywood Studios
We love going to Toy Story Pizza Planet here. This is a fun place to eat, and the pizza is pretty good. The individual pizzas are pretty big here and also pretty tasty for being theme park fare. If you are on the dining plan, you get to choose either a salad or chips to go with your pizza as well. Once you choose your food you carry it into the arcade and choose a table among the noise. My daughter loves it since it has several arcade games to play and it is decorated like the pizza planet in the movie. It is a nice cool break from our fast and furious park touring and it allows my little girl a chance to play and let off some steam.
Animal Kingdom
This was a hard choice for me. Not because I love so many of the options here, but because nothing really stands out to me. We have eaten at Pizzafari several times and it isn't horrible. The pizzas are decent and one time I had a meatball sub that was pretty good, but I definitely would be ok if I went my whole trip without eating here. Last year we really wanted to try the new picnic in the park option. It is a pretty neat concept and supposedly the food is really good and plentiful. I have heard several people say that food for two could easily feed at least three so it sounds like a good option. Upon hearing this I immediately wanted to try it. So, upon arrival to the park, we headed over to the booth where you order your meal for a particular time later in the day. My husband and I looked at the menu and found a sandwich that looked pretty good to both of us (everyone in the group had to order the same thing). When we tried to place the order, we found out that you can't special order the sandwich. My husband and daughter are both pretty picky and just don't like mayonnaise based sauces and tomatoes. Most things can be picked off, but not sauces. So, since a rotisserie chicken didn't sound good to me that day, we passed. I am crossing my fingers that they have made some changes to your options this year and that we can give this a try this year. Until then, I guess we will stick with Pizzafari.
Magic Kingdom
I am having a really hard time picking my favorite here as well, but for totally different reasons than the ones I gave for Animal Kingdom. A few years ago I would have said Cosmic Rays in Tomorrowland is the best place to eat. They have three different windows to choose from that have foods such as wraps, burgers, sandwiches, and ribs. My husband loves to get the chicken and ribs combo here, and always feels like he got a great value for the dining plan entitlement. Once you order your food, you can go to the toppings bar and smother your plate with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, etc. You could almost make a mini salad if you wanted to. It is yummy and our whole family can easily fill ourselves up. Last year, we found Pecos Bills. I had heard about it for several years, but in the back of my mind I thought there was no way it could match Cosmic Rays. I admit that I was wrong. It is just as good, and maybe a little bit better. Here you can order burgers, wraps, or taco salads. It too has a big fixings bar, but this one may be a little better. I loved the sauteed mushrooms and cheese sauce for my french fries, along with all the lettuce, tomatoes, etc. The only downside of this restaurant is that although it has a lot of seating, it is easy to get turned around and separated due to all of the rooms. Also, the bar gets very congested during heavy times. I still think it is worth it though, and will probably be a must do for future trips.
Honorable Mention
I also love the food court at Pop Century resort. There are so many options here I couldn't even begin to list them all. I truly believe that even the pickiest eater could find something here at least once. A bonus here is that they have a tie dyed cheesecake that is super yummy as a dessert option, or you can get something from the ice cream bar. Just tell the cashier that you want a milkshake or sundae for your dessert and they will stamp your receipt so that you can redeem it when you finish your meal. We are usually in the parks from the time they open until closing so we don't always get a chance to eat here, but when we do I really really enjoy it.
Epcot
Hands down my favorite place to eat here is in the Sunshine Seasons food court in the Land pavilion. Not only is there so much variety here, it is probably the best bang for your buck. Although we are usually on the dining plan, we still try to find places where we can really get a lot of food for our credits. This place definitely fits the bill. You can choose from a whole rotisserie chicken at one window, Chinese meals with more food than I could possibly eat, or huge sandwiches that even those of us with huge mouths have a hard time biting into. After I literally fill my tray with enough food for the whole family (while only using one entitlement on the dining plan) I head to the dessert bar. The dining plan allows each person to get one entree, one drink, and one dessert per meal. The desserts at this place are freshly baked, enormous, and the options are plentiful. You can choose butterfinger cake, strawberry shortcake, cookies, or mickey rice krispy treats to only name a few. One more plus for this restaurant is that they let you refill your drinks. This is a very nice plus on a really hot day. This is a must do for the entire family. We all get what we want and walk away stuffed every time.
Hollywood Studios
We love going to Toy Story Pizza Planet here. This is a fun place to eat, and the pizza is pretty good. The individual pizzas are pretty big here and also pretty tasty for being theme park fare. If you are on the dining plan, you get to choose either a salad or chips to go with your pizza as well. Once you choose your food you carry it into the arcade and choose a table among the noise. My daughter loves it since it has several arcade games to play and it is decorated like the pizza planet in the movie. It is a nice cool break from our fast and furious park touring and it allows my little girl a chance to play and let off some steam.
Animal Kingdom
This was a hard choice for me. Not because I love so many of the options here, but because nothing really stands out to me. We have eaten at Pizzafari several times and it isn't horrible. The pizzas are decent and one time I had a meatball sub that was pretty good, but I definitely would be ok if I went my whole trip without eating here. Last year we really wanted to try the new picnic in the park option. It is a pretty neat concept and supposedly the food is really good and plentiful. I have heard several people say that food for two could easily feed at least three so it sounds like a good option. Upon hearing this I immediately wanted to try it. So, upon arrival to the park, we headed over to the booth where you order your meal for a particular time later in the day. My husband and I looked at the menu and found a sandwich that looked pretty good to both of us (everyone in the group had to order the same thing). When we tried to place the order, we found out that you can't special order the sandwich. My husband and daughter are both pretty picky and just don't like mayonnaise based sauces and tomatoes. Most things can be picked off, but not sauces. So, since a rotisserie chicken didn't sound good to me that day, we passed. I am crossing my fingers that they have made some changes to your options this year and that we can give this a try this year. Until then, I guess we will stick with Pizzafari.
Magic Kingdom
I am having a really hard time picking my favorite here as well, but for totally different reasons than the ones I gave for Animal Kingdom. A few years ago I would have said Cosmic Rays in Tomorrowland is the best place to eat. They have three different windows to choose from that have foods such as wraps, burgers, sandwiches, and ribs. My husband loves to get the chicken and ribs combo here, and always feels like he got a great value for the dining plan entitlement. Once you order your food, you can go to the toppings bar and smother your plate with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, etc. You could almost make a mini salad if you wanted to. It is yummy and our whole family can easily fill ourselves up. Last year, we found Pecos Bills. I had heard about it for several years, but in the back of my mind I thought there was no way it could match Cosmic Rays. I admit that I was wrong. It is just as good, and maybe a little bit better. Here you can order burgers, wraps, or taco salads. It too has a big fixings bar, but this one may be a little better. I loved the sauteed mushrooms and cheese sauce for my french fries, along with all the lettuce, tomatoes, etc. The only downside of this restaurant is that although it has a lot of seating, it is easy to get turned around and separated due to all of the rooms. Also, the bar gets very congested during heavy times. I still think it is worth it though, and will probably be a must do for future trips.
Honorable Mention
I also love the food court at Pop Century resort. There are so many options here I couldn't even begin to list them all. I truly believe that even the pickiest eater could find something here at least once. A bonus here is that they have a tie dyed cheesecake that is super yummy as a dessert option, or you can get something from the ice cream bar. Just tell the cashier that you want a milkshake or sundae for your dessert and they will stamp your receipt so that you can redeem it when you finish your meal. We are usually in the parks from the time they open until closing so we don't always get a chance to eat here, but when we do I really really enjoy it.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Free Maps
Did you know that you can order free customizable maps for your trip to Disney World? These are so much fun to do and my daughter and I have a lot of fun doing this each year. Every summer we pick a day and log in to My Disney Vacation on the Disneyworld.com website. Once you create an account and log in, there is a tab where you can choose to customize your park maps. We go to each park and I ask my daughter to choose her favorite rides, shows and restaurants in each park. It is a lot of fun to go down the list and talk about each attraction with her, and hear why she either likes or dislikes each one. The list has changed just a little bit each year and some of the things that she used to love are sadly no longer on the list for one reason or another. Some things she has outgrown, like Playhouse Disney at Hollywood Studios. Other things that she used to love, like Pooh's playground or Ariel's grotto are no longer there due to the ever changing and expanding World. In case you don't know, Magic Kingdom is in the middle of a very big expansion project right now to make room for a bigger and better Fantasyland. This will be awesome when this is complete, but sadly we are saying goodbye to some of our family's favorite attractions. This is another reason why we like to order the maps every year. It is fun to see how things have changed since our baby's first trip in 2005. I highly recommend ordering these maps before you go. It gives you something to do before the trip and allows little ones to see what they have to look forward to. Plus, when you get them in the mail they are so much fun to open. They arrive in true Disney style with super cute packaging and are so much fun to look at and open. You can't help but get excited about the upcoming trip when they arrive.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tips for a successful trip
Many people ask me what are some tips for successfully enjoying a trip to the World and still maintaining your sanity. I often laugh and say how much time do you have? There are so many ways have fun at Disney, but it is so easy to get overwhelmed, especially for first time travelers. The parks are so big and there are so many things to do that I can easily see why many people say they just don't know where to start. So, here are a few of my tips for those of you who may be feeling a little overwhelmed on where to start.
First of all, decide how long you will be there, and how many days you want to spend in each park. Know before you go that you probably are not going to be able to see everything. We were there for 11 days last year and still did not experience every attraction (though truthfully there are actually a few rides and shows on property that we really don't care to see). This leads to the second part of this tip. Sit down with everyone in your group and make a list of everyone's must dos. Maybe know the top three things in each park that each person feels like they would be disappointed if they missed experiencing. Then make a plan for the day to hit those attractions first. Do the big headliners early in the day, then go to the others once these are knocked off. Once you check all of the must dos off your list, start enjoying the other rides that you may not have thought of.
Second of all, get to the parks early. I have heard many people say, "I am on vacation, I don't want to get up early". To all of you, I say thank you. You make it possible for my family to experience all of the headliners in each park before the lines get long. You make it possible for my family to experience all of Fantasyland in the morning with no lines so we can walk on and off the rides over and over again. For those of you do get up with us, I strongly suggest getting to the parks before rope drop and enjoying the opening shows. These are so cute and really set the tone for the day. Each park has a different show, but they all include characters and some singing. My daughter loves these shows and we all look forward to seeing them each trip.
Finally, plan your days, but don't try to plan every minute. As soon as you know you are going to Disney World, plan what restaurants you want to eat at and what parks you want to visit. Call 407-WDW-DINE or go online and make your reservations 180 days out if possible. As you wait for your trip to arrive look through books and visit websites to see what attractions you want to see. Make your list with the group to find the must dos and plan your days accordingly. BUT, leave time to experience the true magic of Disney. There are so many fun things that pop up that you could never plan. Your kids may enjoy spending hours in the fountains, or decide they want to drop pennies in the wishing well by the castle, or may even find out that the performances in World Showcase in the different countries are hidden gems of entertainment. Don't plan every minute so that you have time to experience these small things. They may very well turn out to be the best memories you take home with you.
First of all, decide how long you will be there, and how many days you want to spend in each park. Know before you go that you probably are not going to be able to see everything. We were there for 11 days last year and still did not experience every attraction (though truthfully there are actually a few rides and shows on property that we really don't care to see). This leads to the second part of this tip. Sit down with everyone in your group and make a list of everyone's must dos. Maybe know the top three things in each park that each person feels like they would be disappointed if they missed experiencing. Then make a plan for the day to hit those attractions first. Do the big headliners early in the day, then go to the others once these are knocked off. Once you check all of the must dos off your list, start enjoying the other rides that you may not have thought of.
Second of all, get to the parks early. I have heard many people say, "I am on vacation, I don't want to get up early". To all of you, I say thank you. You make it possible for my family to experience all of the headliners in each park before the lines get long. You make it possible for my family to experience all of Fantasyland in the morning with no lines so we can walk on and off the rides over and over again. For those of you do get up with us, I strongly suggest getting to the parks before rope drop and enjoying the opening shows. These are so cute and really set the tone for the day. Each park has a different show, but they all include characters and some singing. My daughter loves these shows and we all look forward to seeing them each trip.
Finally, plan your days, but don't try to plan every minute. As soon as you know you are going to Disney World, plan what restaurants you want to eat at and what parks you want to visit. Call 407-WDW-DINE or go online and make your reservations 180 days out if possible. As you wait for your trip to arrive look through books and visit websites to see what attractions you want to see. Make your list with the group to find the must dos and plan your days accordingly. BUT, leave time to experience the true magic of Disney. There are so many fun things that pop up that you could never plan. Your kids may enjoy spending hours in the fountains, or decide they want to drop pennies in the wishing well by the castle, or may even find out that the performances in World Showcase in the different countries are hidden gems of entertainment. Don't plan every minute so that you have time to experience these small things. They may very well turn out to be the best memories you take home with you.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Top five sit down choices of a six year old Princess
Now, as promised, here are the top choices of my Princess for restaurants in the World. While my choices were based heavily on the food itself, these are based mostly on the fun factor. My daughter also is a creature of habit, so we often have to eat at the same restaurants over and over again.
1. Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. This was of course one of my choices as well, but she loves it for some different reasons. She loves to go to the kids section (a buffet that is a little lower for kids to reach themselves) and load her plate with mickey shaped ravioli, chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese. She likes some of the big people food as well, but there is not the fun factor of having it at your own level. When dinner is over she heads to the sundae bar and fills a bowl with ice cream which she proceeds to cover with m&m's and other candy. Then she goes to the dessert table and gets the yummy oreos dipped in chocolate with mickey mouse ears on top. Oh yeah, in the middle of all her serving herself she gets to meet some of her favorite characters and swing her napkin in the air when they do the birthday celebrations. For all of these reasons, and many many more this will be one of those restaurants we have to go to every time for many visits to come.
2. Tony's Town Square at Magic Kingdom. Many people probably don't even realize that this restaurant exists (I myself walked by it for years before I knew it was there). It is an Italian restaurant that is decorated in motif from the movie Lady and the Tramp. There are pictures all over the walls, a fountain in the middle of the restaurant of the two stars, and the bathrooms have a picture of either Lady or the Tramp instead of being labeled as men or women. For some reason I cannot fathom, my child LOVES this place. I don't know if it is the decorations or the fact that every time we eat there we all have to recreate the famous spaghetti scene from the movie. She takes turns "slurping" a spaghetti noodle with both me and her Daddy. It is too cute and something she randomly started making us do on our first visit there. It is now one of our "must dos" for our trips. The food isn't bad, but I definitely would not classify it as the best Italian I have ever had. I always get the chicken parmesean and she always gets plain noodles with a meatball on the side. It is always one of the highlights of our trip.
3. 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Resort. This is another fun buffet with really good food. The potatoes and prime rib are especially yummy, as well as a strawberry soup that I highly recommend. This of course is not why my daughter likes this one. She loves the characters that are there for dinner. It it Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia. When Cinderella makes her grand entrance it is announced and Prince Charming comes from wherever he is and waltzes with her. Then they go back to visiting all the tables and signing autographs. The step sisters and step mother are what make this dinner so much fun though. They are always cutting up and bickering or complaining about Cinderella. I dare someone to try to get Lady Tremaine to smile. We always try, but she is very much in character. Also, watch out, she may get on to you for making a mess or saving food for later (my husband had a crumb on his lip and she asked him if he was saving it for later and told him to be careful). It is a blast. I strongly suggest that if you do this dinner, make a reservation for as early as possible. We had a 6:30 reservation and waited well over an hour. Luckily my daughter was entranced by the grand piano player in the lobby of the hotel and made a friend to keep her company while we waited. Eat as early as you can!!!
4. Akershus Princess Dining in Epcot. This will never be my first choice for a meal, nor will it rank anywhere near the top. However, we will be eating there again this year for dinner simply because it is only one of two places on property where you can eat with several princesses at one time. The only other option is the Castle at Magic Kingdom and it is a hard meal to score, and costs two dining plan entitlements. Therefore, I will take one for the team and make one of those parent sacrifices so that my daughter can meet her favorite princesses. I tell myself that one day very soon she will be too old for the princesses and we will again get to have more say in the dinner choices. It's not that the food is horrible, it is just that it is food from Norway and not part of my normal palette. Breakfast is traditional American fare, and lunch and dinner are authentic Norway fare. We are not big breakfast people, so we go for dinner and enjoy the picture package that is now included in the price of your meal. When you first enter you get your picture taken with one princess (one 5x7 and four 4x6) then three to four more princesses visit you at your table during dinner. That experience is fun and the smile on my daughter's face as she meets her favorite people makes the dinner worth every penny.
5. Garden Grill at Epcot. Ok, so this one isn't really on my daughter's list. The true last choice would probably be the Castle or Whispering Canyon, but I have already written about those in my post. So, I tried to think of another character meal that she might choose if she had the choice. The last time my daughter ate here she was almost two, and this year when we eat there she will be turning seven so I don't think she really remembers this one. It is one of the most relaxing character meals on Disney property and the food is super yummy. It is located in the Land pavilion and is on a platform that rotates very very slowly during your meal which adds a little fun to the meal (though it turns so slowly you wouldn't even know you were rotating if you didn't happen to notice the scenery had changed from a few minutes ago). The salad is especially yummy as it is made from veggies grown fresh in the land every day at Epcot. The restaurant is relatively quiet for a character meal and a great place to unwind after a full day of walking around the biggest park on Disney property. The characters were Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto the last time we were there. I am very much looking forward to visiting this restaurant this year and truly hope it is one that my daughter will easily had to her list,
1. Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. This was of course one of my choices as well, but she loves it for some different reasons. She loves to go to the kids section (a buffet that is a little lower for kids to reach themselves) and load her plate with mickey shaped ravioli, chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese. She likes some of the big people food as well, but there is not the fun factor of having it at your own level. When dinner is over she heads to the sundae bar and fills a bowl with ice cream which she proceeds to cover with m&m's and other candy. Then she goes to the dessert table and gets the yummy oreos dipped in chocolate with mickey mouse ears on top. Oh yeah, in the middle of all her serving herself she gets to meet some of her favorite characters and swing her napkin in the air when they do the birthday celebrations. For all of these reasons, and many many more this will be one of those restaurants we have to go to every time for many visits to come.
2. Tony's Town Square at Magic Kingdom. Many people probably don't even realize that this restaurant exists (I myself walked by it for years before I knew it was there). It is an Italian restaurant that is decorated in motif from the movie Lady and the Tramp. There are pictures all over the walls, a fountain in the middle of the restaurant of the two stars, and the bathrooms have a picture of either Lady or the Tramp instead of being labeled as men or women. For some reason I cannot fathom, my child LOVES this place. I don't know if it is the decorations or the fact that every time we eat there we all have to recreate the famous spaghetti scene from the movie. She takes turns "slurping" a spaghetti noodle with both me and her Daddy. It is too cute and something she randomly started making us do on our first visit there. It is now one of our "must dos" for our trips. The food isn't bad, but I definitely would not classify it as the best Italian I have ever had. I always get the chicken parmesean and she always gets plain noodles with a meatball on the side. It is always one of the highlights of our trip.
3. 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Resort. This is another fun buffet with really good food. The potatoes and prime rib are especially yummy, as well as a strawberry soup that I highly recommend. This of course is not why my daughter likes this one. She loves the characters that are there for dinner. It it Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia. When Cinderella makes her grand entrance it is announced and Prince Charming comes from wherever he is and waltzes with her. Then they go back to visiting all the tables and signing autographs. The step sisters and step mother are what make this dinner so much fun though. They are always cutting up and bickering or complaining about Cinderella. I dare someone to try to get Lady Tremaine to smile. We always try, but she is very much in character. Also, watch out, she may get on to you for making a mess or saving food for later (my husband had a crumb on his lip and she asked him if he was saving it for later and told him to be careful). It is a blast. I strongly suggest that if you do this dinner, make a reservation for as early as possible. We had a 6:30 reservation and waited well over an hour. Luckily my daughter was entranced by the grand piano player in the lobby of the hotel and made a friend to keep her company while we waited. Eat as early as you can!!!
4. Akershus Princess Dining in Epcot. This will never be my first choice for a meal, nor will it rank anywhere near the top. However, we will be eating there again this year for dinner simply because it is only one of two places on property where you can eat with several princesses at one time. The only other option is the Castle at Magic Kingdom and it is a hard meal to score, and costs two dining plan entitlements. Therefore, I will take one for the team and make one of those parent sacrifices so that my daughter can meet her favorite princesses. I tell myself that one day very soon she will be too old for the princesses and we will again get to have more say in the dinner choices. It's not that the food is horrible, it is just that it is food from Norway and not part of my normal palette. Breakfast is traditional American fare, and lunch and dinner are authentic Norway fare. We are not big breakfast people, so we go for dinner and enjoy the picture package that is now included in the price of your meal. When you first enter you get your picture taken with one princess (one 5x7 and four 4x6) then three to four more princesses visit you at your table during dinner. That experience is fun and the smile on my daughter's face as she meets her favorite people makes the dinner worth every penny.
5. Garden Grill at Epcot. Ok, so this one isn't really on my daughter's list. The true last choice would probably be the Castle or Whispering Canyon, but I have already written about those in my post. So, I tried to think of another character meal that she might choose if she had the choice. The last time my daughter ate here she was almost two, and this year when we eat there she will be turning seven so I don't think she really remembers this one. It is one of the most relaxing character meals on Disney property and the food is super yummy. It is located in the Land pavilion and is on a platform that rotates very very slowly during your meal which adds a little fun to the meal (though it turns so slowly you wouldn't even know you were rotating if you didn't happen to notice the scenery had changed from a few minutes ago). The salad is especially yummy as it is made from veggies grown fresh in the land every day at Epcot. The restaurant is relatively quiet for a character meal and a great place to unwind after a full day of walking around the biggest park on Disney property. The characters were Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto the last time we were there. I am very much looking forward to visiting this restaurant this year and truly hope it is one that my daughter will easily had to her list,
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Top Five Restaurant Choices
I thought I would share my top five favorite sit down restaurants. When I first thought of this post I thought this would be a quick and easy list. Then I started really thinking about how to rank my faves and realized I didn't know where to start with the ranking. My main reason for this roadblock is due to the fact that there are only a few restaurants at Disney World that I just don't like. Another problem is that we have eaten at several many times each, but each time is a totally different experience. It is truly dependent on the servers we get each time on how much "fun" we have. So, taking all of this into account, I am going to do my best to choose my top five. Hopefully this will offer some helpful tips if you are trying to decide where you want to eat while visiting the World.
My top five favorites are:
1. Cinderella's Royal Table. There are a lot of people who would question this choice (my husband included). Yes, it is very expensive and it takes two meal ticket credits if you are on the dining plan. Yes, it is very Fru Fru and the selection is limited. Yes, you wait in a cramped lobby to have your picture taken with Cinderella before finally being taken upstairs to your table. BUT, there is nothing more magical than eating in Cinderella's Castle. Just stepping in and having them give you your "Royal Invitation" is an amazing feeling that I could never begin to explain. Also, you do get the portrait package included in your dinner which includes a picture of the castle, and one 5x7 and four 4x6 prints of you with one of the biggest Princesses known, the wonderful Cinderella herself. Plus, all three meals now include visits in the dining room from other Princesses. So all that being said, yes it is worth getting up at the crack of dawn 180 days out from your vacation to try to score this meal (in my opinion anyway).
2. Chef Mickey's. I don't know who loves this one more, me or my daughter. This buffet has wonderful food, including a kid's buffet and ice cream sundae bar that allows me to walk away from here stuffed every single time. Plus after dinner you can go upstairs and hop on the monorail and ride it around the loop to let your dinner wear off before hitting more rides in the park. The best part of the meal is meeting the characters. While they won't guarantee which characters you will see, I have always seen Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto. We even saw Daisy Duck one time as well. They are all wearing chef's gear so it makes for special pics you can't get in the parks. Plus they all come to your table, so you don't have to stand in line for hours at the park to get their autographs and pictures. More time on the rides is always good in my book.
3. Whispering Canyon Cafe. This is a very loud restaurant, but most people can't help themselves from being part of the noise factor. The food choices are yummy and with the all you care to eat skillet, I dare anyone to try to walk away hungry. The BBQ ribs and chicken are delicious and the milkshakes that you can get as your drink makes it easy to put this one on my list. Plus, there are lots of activities for the kids all during dinner that keep me laughing the whole time. If you go, just make sure you ask for ketchup. After all, everything tastes better with ketchup, right?
4. Le Cellier. I have never ever had steak like this. I am not exaggerating when I say that the steak literally melted in my mouth. Supposedly the cheddar cheese soup here is amazing as well, though we did not try it. We were too busy devouring the pretzel bread that came before the steaks. I also recommend the mouse dessert here as well. It is too cute and very very tasty. The only downfall with this choice is that it is very hard to score a reservation here. In fact the one time we ate here we got lucky as a walk up for lunch right when they opened. I had tried calling many times, including the crack of dawn on the first day I could 180 days out and they never had an opening. I do know friends who have gotten them, but usually it is when they tried to schedule the meal for a day late in their trips.
5. Teppan Edo. This is by far one of my most enjoyable meals I have had at Disney World. We ate here for the first time last year, and now I wish we hadn't waited so long to try it. This is a hibachi type restaurant where the chef cooks the meal on the grill in front of you. I was nervous about sitting at a table with strangers, but it was a lot of fun. We had a sweet retired couple next to us and they were really fun to talk to. The chef was funny and entertaining and the three of us all loved it. Oh yeah, the food was good as well! At the end of our meal, they sang Happy Birthday to my daughter and brought her a tall paper chef hat that my husband enjoyed wearing around Epcot (much to our mine and my daughter's embarrassment). This will definitely be a place we return to often in the future.
Now these are my top five. Stay tuned for a list of my daughter's top five!
My top five favorites are:
1. Cinderella's Royal Table. There are a lot of people who would question this choice (my husband included). Yes, it is very expensive and it takes two meal ticket credits if you are on the dining plan. Yes, it is very Fru Fru and the selection is limited. Yes, you wait in a cramped lobby to have your picture taken with Cinderella before finally being taken upstairs to your table. BUT, there is nothing more magical than eating in Cinderella's Castle. Just stepping in and having them give you your "Royal Invitation" is an amazing feeling that I could never begin to explain. Also, you do get the portrait package included in your dinner which includes a picture of the castle, and one 5x7 and four 4x6 prints of you with one of the biggest Princesses known, the wonderful Cinderella herself. Plus, all three meals now include visits in the dining room from other Princesses. So all that being said, yes it is worth getting up at the crack of dawn 180 days out from your vacation to try to score this meal (in my opinion anyway).
2. Chef Mickey's. I don't know who loves this one more, me or my daughter. This buffet has wonderful food, including a kid's buffet and ice cream sundae bar that allows me to walk away from here stuffed every single time. Plus after dinner you can go upstairs and hop on the monorail and ride it around the loop to let your dinner wear off before hitting more rides in the park. The best part of the meal is meeting the characters. While they won't guarantee which characters you will see, I have always seen Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto. We even saw Daisy Duck one time as well. They are all wearing chef's gear so it makes for special pics you can't get in the parks. Plus they all come to your table, so you don't have to stand in line for hours at the park to get their autographs and pictures. More time on the rides is always good in my book.
3. Whispering Canyon Cafe. This is a very loud restaurant, but most people can't help themselves from being part of the noise factor. The food choices are yummy and with the all you care to eat skillet, I dare anyone to try to walk away hungry. The BBQ ribs and chicken are delicious and the milkshakes that you can get as your drink makes it easy to put this one on my list. Plus, there are lots of activities for the kids all during dinner that keep me laughing the whole time. If you go, just make sure you ask for ketchup. After all, everything tastes better with ketchup, right?
4. Le Cellier. I have never ever had steak like this. I am not exaggerating when I say that the steak literally melted in my mouth. Supposedly the cheddar cheese soup here is amazing as well, though we did not try it. We were too busy devouring the pretzel bread that came before the steaks. I also recommend the mouse dessert here as well. It is too cute and very very tasty. The only downfall with this choice is that it is very hard to score a reservation here. In fact the one time we ate here we got lucky as a walk up for lunch right when they opened. I had tried calling many times, including the crack of dawn on the first day I could 180 days out and they never had an opening. I do know friends who have gotten them, but usually it is when they tried to schedule the meal for a day late in their trips.
5. Teppan Edo. This is by far one of my most enjoyable meals I have had at Disney World. We ate here for the first time last year, and now I wish we hadn't waited so long to try it. This is a hibachi type restaurant where the chef cooks the meal on the grill in front of you. I was nervous about sitting at a table with strangers, but it was a lot of fun. We had a sweet retired couple next to us and they were really fun to talk to. The chef was funny and entertaining and the three of us all loved it. Oh yeah, the food was good as well! At the end of our meal, they sang Happy Birthday to my daughter and brought her a tall paper chef hat that my husband enjoyed wearing around Epcot (much to our mine and my daughter's embarrassment). This will definitely be a place we return to often in the future.
Now these are my top five. Stay tuned for a list of my daughter's top five!
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