Snow White & Princess Faith

I've been meaning to share this video with you for a while now.  Back in October 2012, my goddaughter and I went to Disney World for a few days.  On October 13th, we were having breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table.  It was also my niece Faith's 1st birthday and I wanted to send her something special from Aunt Katie at Disney World.

We decided to ask each of the princesses who came around our table to record a short greeting to Faith.  However, after Snow White, we decided she set the bar VERY high and so didn't end up asking any other princesses.

See if you agree - Snow White delivered like Dominos.



Of course, I cried.  It was the sweetest thing.

It's the Disney Difference, folks!

As Snow White says...have a wonderful day!

All Good Things, All Good Things!

(Who can tell me where my title is from?!) 

Hi everyone!  I hope you're doing well.  There are some BIG happenings coming up on this little 'ole blog in August and September, and I cannot wait to share them with you.

Coming attractions include:

* Sarah from Gluten Free and Dairy Free at WDW (check out her website HERE) will be doing a guest post, Special Diets 101. Sarah is an awesome resource for those with dietary needs who are vacationing at Disney, and I am very excited for her to share that knowledge with us!  Thank you again, Sarah!

* Giveaways!  Prizes!  Free stuff!  WOO HOO! Coming up in August, I'll have some awesome products and fun Disney items that you can win.  Stay tuned!

* Yours Truly will be on the Disney Parks Podcast!  I am super pumped to chat with Krista and Tony about all things Disney. I tape on August 25th, and I will let you know when you can listen to it on their website, or download it on iTunes. In the meantime, check out the podcast site HERE and listen to their past episodes.  They're very fun and enjoyable; podcasts are a great "fix" for Disney lovers to feel a part of the magic year-round.

* LIVE reports from Walt Disney World & the Disney Cruise Line.  I hope to do some live video feeds from WDW, and to check in with all of you quite a few times during the week.  Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter so you can get all the updates! (Links for my social media accounts are above.)

The next few months are shaping up to be very exciting and I am looking forward to sharing it all with you!

As always - have a magical day!

Welcome Disneyways.com Readers!

Today I did a guest post over at Disneyways.com - Krista has an awesome site so if you get a chance, check it out!  That link to the article is HERE.

If you're coming over to The Most Delightful Place from Disneyways - WELCOME!   I hope you enjoyed my recommendations for Table Service restaurants for solo travelers. If you're interested in more of my posts about Disney, please take a look at the links at the right hand side of the page.  As I tell my readers, this blog is full audience participation so please interact, comment, etc.  If there's a topic you'd like to read about, send me an e-mail to katie@mouseworldtravel.com.

I would love you have you follow me on social media - those links are above.  I do contests and giveaways quite often, and my Facebook and Twitter followers are always the first to know!

Thanks again ~ and welcome!

Resort Review - Port Orleans French Quarter

This review of Port Orleans French Quarter (referred to from here on out as POFQ) is LONG overdue.  I stayed there for the first time in March, and again for a night in May, and wanted to share my thoughts and some pictures.

To cut to the chase - this is now my favorite resort on property.  I am in LOVE with POFQ!

The theme of this resort takes you right to New Orleans, and you certainly get that vibe here.  The cobblestone "streets", quaint details, the soft jazz music from cleverly hidden speakers and general ambiance make this resort both peaceful and beautiful.  One afternoon I was sitting in my room and heard a "clop, clop, clop" coming from outside.  I opened the door and low and behold, there was a horse-drawn carriage going on the path in front of my room!  Wouldn't that be a romantic way to spend an evening?  Just one of the special experiences that's available at POFQ.

POFQ is a Moderate level resort, and is the smallest of the Moderates.  Without knowing the exact measurements, I would say that this is one of, if not the smallest, resorts at WDW.  I enjoy the wide openness of larger resorts such as Saratoga Springs, but one of my favorite parts of POFQ is how close you are to everything.  Even if you are in the furthest rooms, you are still not more than a 2-3 minute walk, tops, from the main lobby, restaurant, pool, etc.  You are quite close to Port Orleans Riverside, a 5-6 minute walk, if you would like a table service restaurant (Boatwright's) or to enjoy their other resort amenities.

If you have small children, this is YOUR resort. It's very quick to get to the pool, the bus stop, or the food court.  When you are bringing those sleeping angels back to the room after a long day at the parks, you could be off the bus and back in your room in less than 5 minutes.  As I said, I do like the larger resorts but it can be a trek to get back to your room. When you're really hot and/or tired, that extra 5 minutes can seem like an eternity.  With POFQ, you don't have that issue - you're back in your room in a flash!

The rooms at POFQ have undergone a refurbishment and the rooms are just lovely.  The decor is done very tastefully in greens, purples and golds (again, a great homage to the New Orleans / Mardi Gras theme of the resort).  My rooms had 2 queen beds, a table with two chairs, and a split bath area.  There was also a nice, large dresser and a small refrigerator for your sodas and leftovers.  The beds were very comfortable, and the bedding pretty.  Resort-wide, they are removing the bedspreads and instead doing patterned runners at the ends of the beds.  I think this greatly improves the look, while also being more hygienic.

Also, I like to request the corner rooms at resorts.  They are not always able to accommodate this, but I like having the slightly larger room (being at the corner you get a touch more space) as well as two windows.











Here are some pictures of the rooms I had in March and May:

A nice touch in the bathroom - a little ledge at the end of the tub.

I am on a quest to stay at every Disney World resort, but you can bet that I WILL be staying at POFQ again.

Have a magical day!

Pre-Trip Report: Friday, September 5th - First Full Day on the Disney Dream Part One

Happy Wednesday to you all!

The next day of the Pre-Trip Report covers my first full day on the Disney Dream - Friday, September 5th.  Since this is a shorter cruise (3 nights), I want to make sure I take the time to relax, while still exploring the ship and what it has to offer.  The boat docks in Nassau this day, but since I have been to Nassau quite a few times, I plan on just staying on the boat.

I plan on getting up in the morning, doing a walk around Deck 4 and then getting some breakfast at Cabanas.  I don't plan on setting an alarm but I naturally wake up around 7:30AM.  I like to get in at least a bit of walking on the cruise line (all the yummy food catches up with you!) and so each morning I plan on doing some laps around Deck 4.  Three times around the deck is a mile, and it's a nice way to start the day.

For breakfast at Cabanas I will have what I always have, my standard DCL breakfast: A Mickey waffle with strawberries and Eggs Benedict.  YUM!  I love both those items and for whatever reason don't have them a lot at home, so it's definitely a vacation treat.

After breakfast, I will go back to my stateroom, put on my suit and head up to the deck for some Kindle reading and relaxing.  One of my absolute favorites parts of a Disney Cruise is hanging out on deck, reading and watching the world go by.

After lunch, I plan on hitting up the Senses Spa for a few hours.  I bought a day pass to the Rainforest Room at Senses Spa; it's INCREDIBLE, and they only sell so many passes during a cruise.  You can reserve yours before the cruise leaves or at the spa but be sure and do it your first day. For the daily fee (it was $16), you get exclusive use of saunas, special showers (with varying temperatures and even scents!), these awesome heated loungers and special hot tubs. If you think you'll use the Rainforest Room a lot on your stay, you can also buy a package deal for the length of your cruise.  The last time I did this, it was $99 per couple; that was on a 4 night cruise, so the prices for other lengths could be different.  And keep in mind - a couple doesn't have to be you and a spouse / significant other!  You can sign up with your mom, a girlfriend, etc.

After a really difficult morning / early afternoon of kicking back and hanging out, I'll probably consult the daily Navigator (the schedule of all events on the ship) and see if there are any fun things I want to attend.  Or, I might hit up the Buena Vista Theatre and see a movie.  Lots of options!

Coming up next update: Part Two of the Nassau day ~ in the meantime have a Magical Day!

Trying my Hand at some Disney Recipes

You know when you get that hankering for Disney?  You close your eyes, trying to transport yourself there.  You can smell that vanilla-esque scent on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, and hear the delighted / scared screams of people on Tower of Terror.

So how do you combat the Disney Blues?  I wrote a post about just this sort of longing, a few months ago (if you want to read that, click here).  One of my suggestions was to cook a Disney recipe and I am happy to report, I did just that (or attempted to, with my own version!) a few weeks ago.  Here's how it turned out.

One of my absolute FAVORITE meals on Disney property is the Cobb Salad at the Brown Derby, at Hollywood Studios. It's a very finely chopped mixture of various kinds of lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese and the most incredible dressing.  There are Cobb Salad recipes you can find on the internet, but I made my own version, using what I had on hand.

(Be warned - I am not a cook, so if you are looking for exact measurements and preciseness, this is not the post for you.)

I gathered some lettuce (I prefer Romaine), an avocado, bacon, eggs and some feta cheese.

 

I then boiled the eggs, using a method I read on the Pioneer Woman's website.  It's fool-proof and works EVERY time.  Cover the eggs with water and set to boil.  When the water comes to a rolling boil (like the picture below),  turn off the heat, take the eggs off the burner and cover with a lid.  Set your timer for 20 minutes and then rinse in cool water.  They will turn out perfect each and every time.

While the eggs were going, I cooked the bacon.  This little tip I learned from Rachel Ray; cook your bacon on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.  That way, the grease drips down and the bacon is more crisp.  Plus, then it doesn't splatter all over your stove top!

As the bacon was getting good and crispy, I assembled the other ingredients.  I chopped the lettuce into small pieces, and did the same with the avocado.

YUM.  I could stop right here and be OK.  Delicious.

But there was more to be added!  The feta cheese came next.  At this point the bacon was cooked and after it cooled, I finely chopped it and addd it to the lettuce.  Then came the hard boiled eggs. Come to momma!

YUMMY.  Want. Cobb. Salad. NOW!

The dressing I used is one of my favorites and something I made quite often.  I take some olive oil, red wine vinegar and a Dijon mustard.

In a bowl I put about a tablespoon of the Dijon mustard, and what probably amounts to 1/4 cup of the red wine vinegar.  I then whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is the consistency I like - not to thick, and not too thin.  I poured it on the salad, tossed it with two spoons and voila!  Success!  

It was SO good. 

As you can see, my Cobb wasn't *exactly* like the Brown Derby classic.  But it did the trick - satisfied my appetite for food AND Disney, so I counted it a success.

The second part to my meal was the infamous Dole Whip.  This is an incredible pineapple treat that you can get at Magic Kingdom.  Until recently I'd never had one, and then had my first Dole Whip, with my friend Ellen, in March.  Ever since, I have been hankering for one!  I saw a post on Hip2Save (link here) where the author gave a recipe for a Dole Whip you could make at home.  So I went out in search of ingredients to make my own.

I'll be honest with you, the wheels came off the track a bit when it came to the Dole Whip.  The recipe on Hip2Save is a good one, but the issues I had were entirely operator error.  The trouble started when I went to the store - two stores, to be exact.  Neither of the large grocery stores in my town had frozen pineapple in stock!  It was crazy, it was like there was a Dole Whip craving citywide.  I was not going to march all over creation looking for frozen pineapple, and since I wanted to have it that night I didn't have time to get regular pineapple and wait for it to freeze.  So, I got a frozen mix of Tropical Fruit and called it good. The coconut milk was easier to find, thankfully.

I first tried to use my food processor, but no dice.  It just wouldn't puree the fruit enough, for some reason.  So out came the blender, and I used that instead.  MUCH better.  

The neat thing is - when you blend a frozen fruit with just enough liquid to make it come together, you get a sorbet-type concoction - very tasty!  Here is the finished product:

"Umm....." I hear you saying, "Isn't a Dole Whip supposed to be yellow? Like a pineapple?"  Why yes, yes it is.  But since I used the fruit mixture, the pinky color of the melon won out and so it was this orangey / pink color.  Not the prettiest thing ever, but it was good!  Did it taste like a Dole Whip?  No, but I still really liked it and I plan to use the same method with other juices and fruits to make my own sorbet at home.  When I make it again, I will also look for another brand of coconut milk.  This didn't have enough of a coconut / tropical taste to me and I could really only taste the fruit.

So the verdict?  In it's own way, it took me right back to Disney.  Yes, it wasn't the same salad and it for SURE wasn't the same Dole Whip but it surprisingly did the trick.

Share on Facebook and in the comments below - have you ever tried a Disney (or Disney inspired) recipe?  How'd it turn out?

Have a magical day!

Pre-Trip Report: A Slight Change in Plans

Hello everyone!  I hope you're all having a great week and enjoying July. 

Today I have an update / change to the Trip Plans.  As you know, I had thought I would fly into Orlando on Saturday, and then on Sunday AM to go to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure to see the new Harry Potter area, Diagon Alley.

However, after consideration, I have decided to forgo Harry Potter for another trip.  I would be arriving in Orlando on Saturday evening, so the only time to tour Universal would be Sunday morning until about 1PM, when I would need to head over to Coronado Springs.   As I was planning my day, that just seemed like too short of a time to really enjoy Universal.  Also, I really did not want to purchase a 2-park ticket and only be able to use a few hours of it.

I would LOVE to see Harry Potter but I just feel that I'd rather have more time there, rather than feeling like I had to rush to see everything in just 1/2 a day.  So, I've decided instead to take a Harry Potter-centric trip in the future, possibly Memorial Day 2015.

Because I HAVE to see this stuff!!

Thanks for following along as I plan this fun, magical trip to Orlando!  I'll be leaving 6 weeks from Saturday - eeek!

Have a magical day!