May 06

Character Meet and Greets

photo 1We all know that there are so many things that make a trip to Disney World magical, far too many to count yet enough to keep a Disney addict and writer busy for a very long time.  One of the most magical parts of visiting the parks for kids, and adults too, are the character meet and greets.  In all honesty, it still thrills me to pieces, especially a meet and greet with my main man, Mickey.  I can remember being a young kid and getting so excited as the characters wandered about the parks and you could walk up to them for photo ops and autographs.   Nothing was more exciting as a kid for me and now I love to see my daughter giggle and meet her favorite characters.

mk40Meeting characters has become an attraction all in itself.  While character dining is one of the more popular ways to meet your favorites, it is also very difficult to secure reservations for the limited character dining venues during the busy times, unless you arrange 180 days in advance.   In order to provide an opportunity for more guests to experience a meet and greet with the characters, the parks offer designated areas and even buildings specifically for character experiences.  Keep in mind that waiting in line for character meet and greets can take up a lot of your park time, but the moment it’s your child’s turn and you see your child run up to his or her favorite character to get a big hug, it will make all the time you waited worthwhile.

mk28Here are some of the places in the Magic Kingdom where you can meet your favorite characters:

  • Mickey Mouse at the Town Square Theater – Main Street, US
  • Donald, Pluto and Goofy in Town Square – Main Street, USA
  • Alice in Wonderland and friends at the Mad Tea Party – Fantasyland
  • Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Anna, and Elsa at Fairytale Hall – Fantasyland
  • Ariel and friends at Ariel’s Grotto – Fantasyland
  • Fairy Godmother at the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique – Fantasyland
  • Gaston near Gaston’s Tavern – Fantasyland
  • Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore at the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Fantasyland
  • Merida at Fairytale Garden – Fantasyland
  • Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy & Donald at Pete’s Silly Sideshow – Fantasyland
  • Tinker Bell and her fairy friends at Tinker Bell’s Magical Nook – Adventureland
  • Captain Jack Sparrow at The Pirates of the Carribean – Adventureland
  • Princess Jasmine and Aladdin near the Frontier Trading Post – Adventureland
  • Woody, Jessie and other Toy Story friends at Splash Mountain in Frontierland
  • Tiana at the forest gazebo in Liberty Square
  • Chip n’ Dale at the Diamond Horseshoe – Liberty Square
  • Buzz Lightyear near the Carousel of Progress – Tomorrowland
  • Incredibles at the Super Dance Party – Tomorrowland

May 05

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin

500px-Space_Ranger_Spin_signHelp Buzz Lightyear defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg in Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Evil Emperor Zurg is trying to steal batteries from helpless toys in order to power his new weapon of destruction.  As the newest Junior Space Ranger, you can maneuver your XP-37 Star Cruiser armed with 2 infrared laser guns through the brightly neon Gamma Quadrant and fire lasers to prevent the Evil Emperor Zurg from his dastardly plan. Using your space cannons and spinner option aboard your cruiser, you gain points by zapping the “Z” targets and are rewarded with sounds and flashing lights. This ride offers fun for the whole family as you compete for Star Command rankings.

imagesOnce you have completed your mission, you will receive a Star Command ranking ranging anywhere from a modest “Space Cadet” to a master level of “Galactic Hero”.  This 4 min. 30 sec. ride is perfect for the whole family and the pictures at the end are great proof of a good time.  Lot’s of smiles grace the monitors as you exit.

Previously known as Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, it is fun to compete for scores with your family buzz-lightyear-space-ranger-spin-00and friends or even try to reach your personal best.  Scoring is:  Circles – 100 pts., Squares – 1,000 pts.,  Diamonds – 5,000 pts and Triangles – 10,000 pts.  What’s your personal best?

This is a great interactive ride loaded with fun and laughter – it’s loud and it’s colorful and full of characters from the Toy Story movies.  We love to compete against each other and my daughter loves to control the spinning. Frankly, I think she does it to make me a little dizzy so she can fire away at the targets.  Even if she didn’t spin me so much, she would still beat me in her scoring!

Interest:  Preschoolers, kids, tweens, teens, and adults.

Height Requirements: No height restrictions

Accessibility:  Guests must transfer from Wheelchair/ECV, audio description and handheld captioning available

Thrill Level:  Slow, spinning ride

FASTPASS+ is offered. 

Location:  Tomorrowland

Snow White’s Ranking:  

May 04

San Angel Inn

tumblr_inline_n4g4h14z5R1sc4c8bMaybe it’s because Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner, but I am really craving the wonderful authentic Mexican cuisine from The San Angel Inn Restaurante at the Mexico pavilion in Epcot.

tumblr_inline_n4g4pgDrVS1sc4c8bLocated inside the pavilion, this quaint little restaurant takes you south of the border to the brilliant colors and the scenes of Mayan ruins.  Enjoy the molten rock bubbling and in the smoking volcano behind the ruins and watch the tranquil boats pass as you dine on true Mexican fare.  Don’t expect any tex mex in this place, this is authentico.

Once of my favorite dishes at the San Angel Inn Restaurante is the Pollo a las Rajas.  Las rajas in spanish means “splits” and refers to the skin on the roasted poblano chile found in the dish.  This savory chicken in cream sauce is rich in flavor and colors and only slightly spicy.  Here’s the recipe straight from the Disney chefs so you can make it at home too.

Pollo a las Rajas – Serves 4

  • 4 Chicken breast halves
  • 5 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 1 large poblano chile
  • 1 large spanish onion
  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • 1 cup of chorizo, casing removed and diced
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 cup of sour cream
  • 1/4 cup of half & half
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes, or until fully cooked
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and sauté the poblano chile until the skin starts to separate.  Peel the skin from the poblano and make a slit to remove all seeds
  3. Slice onion, bell pepper and poblano pepper into strips.
  4. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a skillet.  Add chorizo, garlic, onion and peppers.  Cook over medium to medium-high heat stirring occasionally until onions and peppers soften.
  5. Add sour cream, half & half, black pepper and salt and simmer low 3-5 minutes.
  6. Place 3/4 cup of sausage and pepper mixture on the the plate and on chicken breast half on top.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese. (I like to use queso fresco).
  7. Serve warm corn or flour tortillas on the side.

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Enjoy this dish with a great margarita or even a ice cold glass of white zinfandel.   Ole!

May 03

Contemporary Resort

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imageDisney’s Contemporary Resort is one of Disney’s Deluxe resorts located adjacent to the Magic Kingdom and it is one of the two original hotels on the property that opened with the MK park.  The resort’s ultra-modern A-frame design allows the Walt Disney World Monorail System to pass through it and provide it’s guests the convenience of transportation to the Magic Kingdom or, with one quick train change, to Epcot.  It is also so close to the Magic Kingdom that guests can get there with a brief 10 minute walk.

The rooms at the Contemporary Resort offers great views of the Magic Kingdom and the Seven Seas Lagoon from the west side, which is also a fantastic place to view the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks display, Wishes, every night.  Guest staying on the east side of the resort are given beautiful views of Bay Lake.  If you are staying on the west side of the building, it is a good idea to request rooms on Floors 8 and up to get optimal viewing of the Magic Kingdom.  As as Disney freak, I have only two words in response to waking up and stepping out on the balcony with a cup of coffee in hand and taking in the view of Cinderella’s Castle….YES, PLEASE!  What a way to start your Disney day – I get goosebumps just thinking about it!

imageThe 14-story Grand Canyon concourse is where you will find guest services, shops, dining and the monorail station and the atrium is adorned with a 90-foot high mural designed by Disney Legend Mary Blair that depicts American Indian children and is also responsible for the look and feel of “it’s a small world”.   It is quite an impressive sight to behold as you enter the building from the monorail level….again goosebumps!

This resort boasts wonderful dining options to it’s guests and visitors alike.  If it is signature dining you are looking for, look no further than The California Grill for fabulous american cuisine with a pacific focus and a window to the world.  Time your reservations just right and you might just have the best seat in the house for Wishes fireworks.   It’s quite spectacular but keep in mind that there IS a dress code.   Chef Mickey’s is the place to be for character dining.   Enjoy the breakfast or dinner buffet with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy – a definite fan favorite.image

The resort has a lot of amenities to satisfy every age group.  Not only can you lounge around one of the 2 heated pools that overlook Bay Lake, but you can also take in some water sports such as tubing, water-skiing, parasailing, fishing and rent personal water crafts just steps away from you room.  Parents can enjoy some downtime and refreshing libations poolside at the Sand Bar and kids also enjoy the evening beachside campfires and the Game Station Arcade.

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Did you know that the rooms for the Contemporary were prefabricated off site and hoisted with a crane into place within the A-frame structure?

Here’s another interesting tidbit  – In November, 1973, Richard Nixon delivered his “I am not a Crook” speech from one of the ballroom located at the Contemporary.

May 02

Disney Planning – Length of Stay

Another question in everyone’s mind when doing their Disney planning is what is their length of stay going to be.  I am a frequent Disney flyer and I always book a week long stay on the Disney property, mainly because I live 10 hours away and always try to maximize my trip.  Really, if I had my way about it, and my child had longer breaks at school, I would stay in excess of 2 weeks.

imagesHow long you stay should depend upon the trip you are taking. If it is your first visit and you have the luxury of time, a minimum of 6 or 7 days should be considered to see most of what Disney has to offer.  You can never see it all in just a week but that will just mean a return trip for you.

The Disney World Resort has 4 theme parks each of which should have a dedicated day to each.  During peak visitor season, some of the parks can take 2 days to completely see everything.  I personally always set aside 2 days for Epcot because it is so large and you will want to take your time to explore Future World and each of the countries.  We usually allow 2 days for the Magic Kingdom as well but that’s really because we just want to ride Big Thunder, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain over and over….and over again.  Disney’s Hollywood Studios can be seen in one day as well as Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

As an experienced Disney girl, I always buy 5 or 6 day park hopper passes for a week long stay.  This not only gives us plenty of time to do all 4 parks plus one extra day to pick a park to do again.  Having Park Hopper passes allows you to hop from park to park but I don’t recommend hopping parks just to ride specific rides because you could lose up to 2 hours transporting between parks during the peak seasons.  I find the hoppers to be beneficial when you are in one park and it closes early and another park is open much later….like you are in Animal Kingdom and it closes at 6:00 and the Magic Kingdom doesn’t close until midnight.

So now that you know how long to stay, next you will want to figure out where you are going to stay.