Mar 25 2014

Tuesday Trivia – It’s a Small World

How many Audio-Animatronics doll figures are in Walt Disney World’s version of It’s a Small World?

Please check the comments section for the answer!

Mar 21 2014

Friday Favorites – Best Disney World Frozen Drinks

There is nothing better on a hot summer day than a frozen drink to cool you off! Disney World offers lots of tasty frozen beverages throughout the parks. For today’s Friday Favorites, here’s my list of the best frozen drinks in Disney World!

Frozen Coca-Cola This is a classic frozen Coke. I absolutely love this one – being a huge Coke fan myself! It is so sweet, refreshing and great for anyone of any age. These can be found at several locations throughout all four parks. My favorite spot to get one is at the Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom. It is conveniently located right next to a yummy popcorn stand!
American Dream This is another great drink for anyone! This is a combination of frozen strawberry, frozen blue raspberry and vanilla soft serve. I love this patriotic red, white and blue, creamy frozen treat! You can find this delicious beverage at the Fife and Drum kiosk near the American Adventure in the World Showcase at Epcot.
Yak Attack This is a wonderful sweet and sour frozen beverage for the adults in your group. A tasty combination of light rum, wild berry and mango, this drink is amazing and strong! You can get one of these at the Yak and Yeti counter service or table service restaurant at Animal Kingdom.
Fiesta Margarita Another terrific classic frozen drink. What I love about this margarita is that it is a swirled combination of lime, strawberry and mango margaritas! This way you get to try all three flavors in one awesome drink! You can find this one at the Margarita Kiosk near Mexico in the World Showcase at Epcot.
Grey Goose Citron Slush When considering this drink, think “grown up” lemonade. It is a tangy combination of frozen lemon and Grey Goose Citron Vodka. It is so cool and smooth, these go down really quickly, so watch out! This drink can be purchased at the Vins de France kiosk near France in the World Showcase at Epcot.
Grand Marnier Slush Last but not least, this is my all time favorite! This drink is a sweet mix of orange and Grand Marnier. It is like a yummy orange dreamsicle with a kick! This beverage can also be found at the Vins de France kiosk.

And there you have it! Disney World’s best frozen drinks to help keep you cool on even the hottest days of your vacation!

“If you have the chance, I highly recommend picking one up!” – Ferris Bueller (for you 80’s fans)

What about you? Do you have a favorite Disney World frozen drink? Please leave a comment!

Mar 18 2014

Tuesday Trivia – Chip And Dale

What is an easy way to tell Chip and Dale apart?

Please check the comments section for the answer!

Mar 18 2014

Disney World Planning Basics: A Planning Timeline

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World can be a daunting task, especially for a first timer. It’s almost like planning a wedding with all of the details and deadlines. Here is the basic timeline that I follow when planning my Disney World vacations.

As Soon As You Start Thinking About A Trip As soon as you start considering a trip to Walt Disney World the first thing to do is sign up for a My Disney Experience account. This is Walt Disney World’s official site where you will be able to book your room reservation, dining reservations, purchase and link your park admission tickets and book your Fastpass+ reservations.
12 Months Or More In Advance Now is the time to research where you want to stay and to book your room reservation.
10 Months In Advance If you are going to be flying to Disney World, now is the time to start checking for flights and once you find a great deal that works for you, book it.
8 Months In Advance You should now start researching restaurants, tours and experiences that you would like to book and make a list of your most wanted reservations.
6 1/2 Months In Advance This is the time to check the park hours for your trip, choose what days you would like to visit each park and start getting it all down on paper by creating a planning spreadsheet. At this point, it’s a good idea to take your list of most wanted reservations and match it up to what day you will be in each park.
6 Months In Advance (180 Days Exactly) This is an important day! Today’s the day to book your dining, tour and experience reservations! Some things like dining with the princesses at Cinderella’s Royal Table book up within minutes of the reservation window opening. Grab your list of most wanted reservations and get busy booking them fast! Fill them in on your planning spreadsheet as you get them reserved.
5 Months In Advance Next up is researching your different ticket options to figure out which one is best for you and your family.
4 Months In Advance Now is the time to purchase the admission tickets that you researched and then link them to your My Disney Experience account as soon as they arrive. If you are going to be renting a car while in Disney World, this is a great time to book one.
3 1/2 Months In Advance (100 Days) This is a perfect time to create a clever countdown to your vacation to get the whole family in on the anticipation and excitement. You might try a colorful paper chain, a cute Disney calendar to mark the days off of or just a simple countdown on the refrigerator!
3 Months In Advance At this point, you can research what attractions you and your family would like to see at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Because Walt Disney World is so large, it is very difficult to see everything during one trip, so be sure to get everyone’s top priorities. Add these attractions to your planning spreadsheet on the day that you will be visiting that particular park.
2 Months In Advance (60 Days Exactly) Another important day! Today’s the day for guests staying on property to book Fastpass+ reservations! In case you aren’t familiar with it, Fastpass+ is Disney’s ride reservation system that allows you to book a reserved one hour window to enjoy an attraction. You can pre-book Fastpass+ reservations on three different attractions in one park per day. These are great to use for the very popular headliner attractions to help minimize your wait in line. This is also the day for on property guests to check in online for your Disney resort hotel room.
1 Month In Advance (30 Days Exactly)This is the day for guests staying off property to book their Fastpass+ reservations. Also, now is the time to finalize your planning spreadsheet making sure it includes all of your dining, tour, experience and Fastpass+ reservations. You can even create more detailed daily plans at this time if you wish. This is also a perfect time to develop a packing list to make sure you remember to take everything you will need for your trip!
1 Week In Advance It’s finally time to confirm all of your reservations, print your travel documents and pack.
Last but not least, have a great trip!

Hopefully, this timeline will give you a good starting point for planning your Disney World vacation. It has always been a big help for me! And don’t forget to check out all of the great links in this post for lots of information to help with your planning process. After all, the planning and anticipation are half of the fun!

Mar 14 2014

Friday Favorites – Best Disney World Snacks

One of the things that I think Disney does best in the way of food is their snacks! They have so many wonderful snacks and treats available that some days when I’m there I don’t even eat a meal! I just eat four or five of their delicious snacks throughout the day. So without further ado here is my list of the best Disney World snacks!

Dole Whip Without a doubt this is one of the top snacks at Disney World. If you have never had a Dole whip it is a frozen soft serve dessert. They come in the classic pineapple flavor as well as orange or vanilla. The orange flavor is my absolute favorite! It has a light citrus taste and is nice and sweet. You can even get them in a swirl or a float! The most popular place to pick one up is at the Aloha Isle in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom. On a hot summer day, the line for these can be very long, but definitely worth it!
Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bar Another iconic treat and fan favorite is the Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bar. This treat is vanilla ice cream shaped like a Mickey Mouse head dipped in chocolate and served on a stick. It is very similar to a Dove bar that you can get at home, but made way better simply because it is in the shape of Mickey! These treats are so popular that you can now get shirts, magnets and pins to declare your love for these yummy snacks! You can get one of these ice cream bars all over the parks from many of the cart vendors.
Turkey Legs Now this is a not a personal favorite of mine, because I can’t stand to eat meat that still resembles the animal, but they are definitely one of the top snacks at Disney World. From what I hear these turkey legs have great flavor and are not at all dry. You will see people wandering all over gnawing on these things! If you are in the mood for a high protein snack, you can find these being sold at several of the cart vendors throughout the parks.
Popcorn Another one of my personal favorites is the popcorn. Imagine the best movie theatre popcorn you’ve ever had only better and then you’ll have Disney World popcorn. They go through so much of it, it always seems fresh and warm. It’s not overly salty, with the perfect amount of butter and crunch, now that is a great snack! The large size is sold in a cute seasonal bucket with lid so you can continue to graze on it all day. Like most of the other snacks, popcorn can be found at several of the cart vendors throughout the parks. One of my favorite stands is at the cart just inside the Magic Kingdom.
Fancy Cupcakes This is my all time favorite Disney World snack! I love the wide variety of flavors of cupcakes that they have at Disney World. They have simple ones like chocolate and vanilla to exotic ones that contain all different kinds of fillings and toppings. A couple of my favorites are the White Chocolate Elephant Cupcake which is dark chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream frosting topped with toasted coconut and the Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake which is a yellow cake, topped with a whipped cream type frosting filled with Grand Marnier soaked strawberries. My kids love the Oreo Bon Bon Cupcake featuring yellow cake topped with a cookies n’ cream buttercream frosting, Oreo crumbles and two Oreos to resemble Mickey’s ears! These gourmet cupcakes can be found throughout the parks and resort hotels. One of the places for the best selection is the Boardwalk Bakery at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn.