Magical Blogorail: My Ideal Disney Meal

Welcome to those of you joining me from A World View and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 2nd stop on our Magical Blogorail.

This month's blogorail topic is so much fun. We were asked to put together our ideal Disney meal, selecting its courses from any Disney restaurant we choose. I have no idea how I shall narrow the list but here goes…

Appetizers: Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Onions, Avocado and Cilantro from the Brazil Marketplace at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival -and- Mozzarella Stuffed Rice Balls - crispy fried risotto, fresh mozzarella, marinara sauce from Portobello at Downtown Disney

Soup: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - made with Moosehead Beer and Nueske's Smoked Bacon from Le Cellier

Salad: Mozzarella and Tomato Salad- with mixed greens and balsamic syrup from Olivia's Cafe at Old Key West

Entree: Tamarind Seafood Stew over rice, salmon, and samosas from Tusker House with a side of green beans from Olivia's

Cheese: Kerrygold Cheese Selection: Reserve Cheddar, Dubliner with Irish Stout, Skellig from the Ireland Marketplace at EIF&WF

Dessert: The Chocolate Wave from Coral Reef -and- white chocolate Cinderella slipper from my Disney Fairy Tale Wedding

Oh my, would I be full but happy after this meal! What would be on the menu for your ideal Disney meal?

Thanks to AllEars.net for listing menus and making this post easier. :)

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is My Dreams of Disney.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ A World View

2nd Stop ~ Growing Up Disney

3rd Stop ~ My Dreams of Disney

4th Stop ~ Disney Donna Kay

Final Stop ~ Colorado Mountain Mom

Minnie Moms: Favorite Character Dining: Hollywood & Vine, Chef Mickey's and Hoop-Dee-Doo

Thank you for joining us for the next installment of the Minnie Moms' look at our favorite character dining experiences. 

Janine: We've only done 2 meals so far - Play n Dine at Hollywood and Vine at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club. Both were all-you-can-eat breakfast buffets. Play n Dine was with Disney Junior characters, at the time they were Jake, Oso, Handy Manny and June from the Little Enstiens. Cape May was Minnie, Donald and Goofy in their swim gear. We really enjoyed them both. Personally, both hubby and I preferred Cape May. The Beach Club is exquisite and we loved eating there. It was clean, luxurious, the buffet was delicious and the characters were fab. Tink loved it too, but she definitely favoured Hollywood and Vine. Being a confident 2 and a half year old though, it was just what the Doc ordered, singing, dancing, a real easy going atmosphere with the characters really making a fuss of the kids.

The food was pretty similar, again Tink preferred Play n Dine and ate more (she liked the scrambled eggs and yoghurts) but we all ate well at Cape May too. And thankfully there were Mickey waffles at both :)

For next time we are hoping to do Tusker House with Donald and Cinderella's Royal Table. Very excited already!!!

Kelly: My family dined at Chef Mickey’s for dinner back in 2006 and had a wonderful time. I do not love Chef Mickey’s for breakfast because my boys are not big breakfast eaters and I feel it’s not a good value of a table service credit on the Disney Dining plan. That is a debate for another time though. I find the dinner to have good quality food and it offers a chance to see the Fab Five all together. My sons are now 13 years old and 8 years old so Chef Mickey’s is no longer on the “must do” Disney Dining list. I remember this dinner fondly though as kids were eating up the food aka ice cream sundae bar and the atmosphere. The characters, the singing, and the napkin twirling were all too much and they loved all of it. We did dine there several more times over the years but this is the meal that stands out to me and I have some wonderful photos of that evening.

Natalie: If you have never seen this show, you really need to invest the cash to do so! I will admit that I am always looking to save money so I waited to see this show when I had free dining. The show is located at the Fort Wilderness Campground and it can take up to 1.5 hours to get to the dining location so be sure to plan accordingly!

For my first show, I went with my mother and three-year old son. We had a table that was located on the bottom floor in the back of the hall. The seating was pretty good. We had a wonderful server that was both attentive and entertaining. He was even able to sweet-talk my son into sitting in his seat the ENTIRE show. (I say sweet-talk. He told him that he would glue him to the seat if he didn't sit there the entire time. At first, I was a bit flabbergasted at his words. But then when his words worked, I thought he was brilliant! An entire meal without me pleading for him to stay seated!)

The show was interactive, entertaining and catchy. I found myself attempting to sing along, but rather looking the fool because I didn't know the words ;) The food was excellent! I had read the menu before coming and was not overly impressed. But somehow they make "cowboy beans" or country-style baked beans that enter my dreams since seeing the show! Bring me more beans, bring me more beans... All of the food is all you can eat so loosen that belt!

I have since been to this particular show 5 to 6 times. Of those times, I have had someone in my party get onstage half of those! So, know, you may just get called up onstage to help out with the hilarious performance! You may ask why someone would see a dinner show that many times. Well, it is loads of fun and something you will want to experience with others.

So, go ahead and get your dinner to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue booked for your next Disney vacation! I bet you too make it a Disney vacation tradition!

Janine of Growing Up Disney and Meet the Magic, Kelly of Travel with the Magic, and Natalie of Meet the Magic, thank you for these terrific stories!  Readers, please visit our Minnie Moms page to learn more about these ladies and to read our past articles about all things Walt Disney World.

Minnie Moms: Favorite Character Dining: Cape May Cafe and Garden Grill

This month, our Minnie Moms are sharing their favorite Walt Disney World character dining experiences.  I love these team posts because while we all love Disney, we all have such varied points of view and we have each chosen a different restaurant.  Be sure to check out all three posts in this series.  ~Amy

Beth: For us, a character meal on our first day of a Disney vacation is a tradition. Not only are they fun, but I use them to see how my children will interact with characters before heading into the parks. Over the years we have tried almost all of them, and in all honesty, have loved all of them. Deciding which was a favorite was a bit tricky, since my girls would say a princess dinner, Joey would say Chef Mickey’s, and well, the list goes on. Each one holds a special place in our hearts for a different reason. But there is one spot that no doubt our entire would family would agree on, and that is Cape May Café’s Goofy’s Beach Club Character Breakfast at Disney’s Beach Club Resort.

This particular character meal, for me, has a few perks over the others. First it is much quieter than some of the others. It is a relaxing, peaceful atmosphere and the interior of the restaurant has very soft colors. The buffet offers foods for even the pickiest eaters in your travel party from breakfasts breads to fruit to hot dishes. It would be hard to leave this place hungry! This is also the meal that we have experienced some of our favorite character interactions, such as Donald squeezing into our booth for Hayley to give him a big kiss to Chip and Dale playing peek-a-boo with Joey when he was just 14 months to Joey at the age of 4 who didn’t talk, strike up a conversation with Minnie Mouse – it doesn’t get more magical than Minnie kicking off your child’s speech development. For me, we have such an emotional attachment to Cape May because of all the amazing magical memories we have that it by far is tops on our list of character meals.

Corby: My favorite character meal at Walt Disney World is Chip and Dale's Harvest Feast at Garden Grill. It is located at Epcot inside The Land pavilion. I will admit I'm not a huge buffet fan and that's one of the reasons I like this particular character meal the most. It's one of the few character meals that's not a buffet. Food is served family style, for dinner only.

At Garden Grill, you'll find Chip and Dale and their friends, typically Mickey and Pluto. On the menu, you'll find items such as roasted turkey, sustainable fish, char-grilled beef, fresh salad, smashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and fresh baked fruit cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert. Ever wonder what they do with all those veggies when you're riding Living on the Land? It's possible you may be eating them at Garden Grill since some of the vegetables served come from the Living on the Land greenhouses!

As if the food and characters weren't enough, the coolest thing about this restaurant in my opinion is that it is slowly revolving as you dine! So not only do you get the characters stopping by but you also get an awesome view of the Living on the Land ride scenes such as the prairie, rainforest (my favorite), farmhouse and more. And don't worry, it moves extremely slowly so you really don't feel it. Did I also mention Mickey's wearing a farmer outfit? Seriously, how cute is that?

(Corby couldn't find the photo she wanted to use but Mickey is too cute not to share, so this is me at Garden Grill in 2007. ~Amy)

Many thanks to Beth from Pursuing the Magic and Corby from Travel with the Magic for contributing to this series!  Please check out our Minnie Moms page for more information about these terrific ladies and tons of past articles.

Magical Blogorail Red: A Few of My Favorite Things

Welcome to those of you joining me from A World View and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 2nd stop on our Magical Blogorail.

A few of my favorite (Disney) things...

Favorite Resort: Old Key West

Favorite Park: Epcot

Favorite Time of Year to Visit: Fall

Favorite Disney Wedding: Mine

Favorite Disney Honeymoon: My Mom and Dad

Favorite Place to Announce Grandbaby #1: IllumiNations

Favorite Place to Announce Grandbaby#2: Olivia's at Old Key West

Favorite Restaurant (Theming): Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater

Favorite Restaurant (Food): Victoria and Albert's Chef's Table

Favorite Live Show: Festival of the Lion King

Favorite Thrill Ride: Space Mountain

Favorite Dark Ride: Pirates of the Caribbean

Favorite Background Music: Epcot Entrance Plaza

Favorite Attraction Music: Soarin'

Favorite Show/Movie/Theater-type Attraction: American Adventure

Favorite Hidden Mickey: the ear hat on the Viking in the Maelstrom loading area
(Thanks to Mike at My Dreams of Disney for sharing this photo! Check him out on the next Blogorail stop.)

Favorite Food with a Cult Following: Dole Whip

Favorite Afternoon Break: tea at Garden View Tea Room

Favorite Random Smell: lobby at the Polynesian

Favorite Pre-Show: MuppetVision 3D

Favorite Christmas Special Event: Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Favorite Nighttime Show: Wishes

Favorite Boat: MK to Poly/Grand

Favorite Place to Jog: Port Orleans Riverside

Favorite Live Entertainment: Off Kilter

Favorite Place for Baked Goods: Writer's Stop

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is My Dreams of Disney.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ A World View

2nd Stop ~Growing Up Disney

3rd Stop ~ My Dreams Of Disney

4th Stop ~ Disney Donna Kay

Final Stop ~ Colorado Mountain Mom

Disney's Hollywood Studios: Notes for Picky Eaters

I'm planning ahead for our fall vacation by reviewing menus and making notes about what my choosy preschooler might eat. For this trip with a 3.5 year old and a 17 month old, I don't want to waste a whole lot of time in restaurants. As much as food is normally a centerpiece of a Disney trip for us, I'd rather spend more of their happy time walking around and enjoying the parks. We'll make ADRs for a few character meals but otherwise we are going to wing it. However, I want to know before I walk through the gates which restaurants will be our best bets so we can tour accordingly. I'm also looking at snack locations for things like fruit, cereal, etc. Not that I won't be carrying some food with us but I don't want to have to haul around much. I recently shared my notes on Magic Kingdom. Today we'll look at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Just like before, these notes are based on what my oldest child likes (the youngest one is easy to please.)

**Sit-down:
Mama Melrose: cheese pizza, "spaghetti and meatball" cupcake
Sci-Fi: cheese pizza, mac & cheese, would have to think about whether the kids would find the theming fun or scary

**Counter Service:
ABC Commissary: chicken nuggets, yogurt
Backlot Express: chicken nuggets, no mac or pbj
Catalina Eddie's: cheese pizza
Fairfax Fair: mac & cheese, pbj
Rosie's: chicken nuggets
Studio Catering Company: chicken nuggets, pbj
Pizza Planet: cheese pizza
(Studios seems to be all about the chicken nuggets.)

**Snacks:
Most of the larger snack stands here have granola bars, trail mix, fruit, pita chips
Peevy's Frozen Concoctions: fruit cup, apple dippers
Starring Rolls: pastries, pbj
Writer's Stop: cookies (carrot cake cookie!!!)

**Avoid:
50's Prime Time: not bad but would have to pay $9 for the few bites of mac & cheese
Brown Derby: grilled cheese on whole wheat would be good. I'm not up to wrangling two very small kids in a fancy restaurant this trip. Might be good for date night.
Hollywood & Vine: Tink isn't particularly into those characters so no need to pay those prices.


As much as I love a couple of the sit-down restaurants here, I'm thinking we'll just grab a bite at counter service. And I'm glad to see that fruit is readily available throughout the park. Disney is branching out a bit in the sides for the kids meals, offering yogurt at some locations, but otherwise it's all carrot sticks, grapes and applesauce. We'll have to fill in that lack of variety from the adult plates or with meals in the room at Old Key West.

Magic Kingdom Notes for the Picky Eater

I have a couple of months until I need to make ADRs for our fall Walt Disney World vacation and I have started the process of poring over the menus at AllEars. Before kiddos, we just chose our favorites and a few new places and worked on the spreadsheet to fit them all in based on touring days. I learned the hard way that I need to be very prepared when it comes to feeding Tink on vacation. She'll be three and a half on our next trip and while she's made great improvements in what she'll eat, there are some places that we'd be best served to avoid for a while. Baby Minnie will be 17 months but so far she is easy to please. I'm saving this in the notes section of my phone for quick access in the parks. I figure I can keep the whole group happier if I know where we should go, not only for sit-down meals, but also for counter service or snacks.

This is based on my choosy child but I thought it might help someone else. I have a couple of notes about things I like but basically, if a place doesn't work for the girls, it's either excluded or in the avoid section. I'm not sure if Tink would eat the uncrustables PBJ sandwiches sold at WDW so I'll pick up a box closer to the time of the trip to see how those go over. We will be staying at Old Key West so I will have a full kitchen and will likely pack a small cooler for the girls to supplement the options at the parks.

**Counter service:
Columbia Harbor House: Mac & cheese, pbj, yogurt
Cosmic Rays: chicken nuggets, pbj
Pinocchio Village Haus: Mac & cheese, grilled cheese, cheese pizza, could split chicken nuggets from adult menu
**Snacks:
Aloha Isle: ice cream, Dole Whip
Auntie Gravity's: ice cream, coffee floats, cereal & milk
Cheshire Cafe: cereal & milk
Liberty Square Market: fresh fruit
Lunching Pad: sweet cream cheese pretzel
Main Street Bakery: fruit, but could be a hard sell with all the cookies around
Sleepy Hollow: ice cream cookie sandwich, coffee float
**Sit-down:
Crystal Palace
Liberty Tree Tavern: Mac & cheese, veggies, apples, cheese pizza
Plaza Restaurant: not bad but not exciting
**Avoid:
Casey's Corner: hot dogs
Cinderella's Royal Table: meh, save until the girls are older
Pecos Bill's: weak choices for Tink, maybe pbj
Tony's Town Square: meh

Day After One More Disney Day Lunch...

So 6 am came and went, the Magic Kingdom closed, I went for a relaxing dip in the hot tub and then napped for a while. When I awoke it was late in the day and food was on my mind. "Away to Olivia's," I said to myself.

My waiter was John, a Cast Member with over ten years of service at OKW. We chatted about the 24 hour event, he remembered that I liked Long Island Iced Tea, and we looked over some of my pictures.

He brought me a small bowl of the soup of the day, Mexican Queso. Wonderful and cheesy.





The actual appetizer I ordered was the crab cakes with a small salad and two dipping sauces.






For lunch I had the Duval Street burger. It's an elongated patty served on the pineapple bread they serve at dinner with shrimp, pepper jack cheese and pico de gallo.  Do yourself a flavor favor and add the applewood smoked bacon.





I lingered around after such a wonderful lunch and started writing a post while it settled (and had another iced tea).

John talked me into dessert and I had banana bread pudding. It is fantastic and I want it again... Now. Served warm with a caramelized sugar glaze on the ice cream.





If you ever get the chance, give Olivia's at Old Key West a try. It has grown to be one of my favorite lazy day places.

- Posted by Ridge using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hilton Head Island - Mexican Restaurants

Disney HHI room number fish

Most people headed to Hilton Head Island, when they are thinking about food, are not thinking about going to Mexican restaurants.  Seafood is the order of the day on the island.  Of course most people are not my wife.  She likes fish, is allergic to shrimp and shellfish, but she loves guacamole.  So on our trip to Disney’s Hilton Head Island resort we managed to have lunch 4 days at Mexican restaurants.  OK, it was 3 Mexican and one “southwest” and not 4 Mexican restaurants. 

January at Hilton Head is a strange time.  Most restaurants close for the month.  So if you visit during January you have to look a little harder to find a place to eat out.  Disney’s HHI resort does not have a sit-down restaurant.  It has 2 counter service (one at the resort and one at the Beach House).  This past January the Beach House was closed for renovations so that only left Tide-Me-Over.  Mom and I did not eat there but Amy and her family did more than once.  Tink loved it as the  kids meal comes in a sand bucket, complete with shovel.

Since there was no sit-down restaurant at the resort and all but one of the restaurants at Shelter Cove were closed we ventured out to find places to eat.  With our trusty iPhone Apps, AroundMe and TripAdvisor, we tracked down some Mexican restaurants. 

The first place we found was Fiesta Fresh Mexican Grill (http://www.fiestafreshmexicangrill.com).  It was in a shopping center toward the north end of the island.  I dropped mom off near the door and went to park the car.  When I got into the restaurant, I found her leaning on a bar-height table looking over the counter at the menu on the wall.  I could tell she was thinking “Taco Bell” and was not real happy.  Since we were there and it was way past lunch, we picked out items of the menu plus some guacamole and chips.  Well, “Taco Bell” it is not.  While a counter service restaurant, the food was cooked fresh when ordered.  It was served up hot, and was very unexpectedly, delicious.  The guacamole was wonderful, chunky, and the chips were warm and crunchy.  This was our favorite Mexican place except for another Fiesta Fresh Mexican Grill on the south-end of the island near Sea Pines Circle.  Amy found this one looking for a place she thought Tink would eat not knowing we had eaten at the other Fiesta Fresh.  Tink loves her chips and salsa.  Amy has posted some pictures of the girls in paper hats at this Fiesta Fresh.  And the food was just as good as the first.

We found another Mexican restaurant in the Publix shopping center near Sea Pines circle.  La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g54273-d821722-Reviews-Lahacienda_Mexican_Restaurant_Incorporated-Hilton_Head_South_Carolina.html) was notable, not so much for the food, as for the sign as you walked over a footbridge to the entrance that read “Do Not Feed The Alligators”.  Sure enough near the bank at the end of the walk in front of the restaurant was an alligator floating in the water.  The food was typical Mexican fare; Tasty, but nothing really outstanding.

My favorite Mexican meal was at Santa Fe Café Southwestern Cusine(http://www.santafecafeofhiltonhead.com).  Almost directly across from the entrance to Shelter Cove, we almost did not stop here.  It is sort of an upscale Southwestern restaurant with a large bar and an open kitchen area.   The only problem mom had here was drinks were served in old-fashioned bar glasses.  Mom likes BIG glasses for her tea.  The waitress did work for her tip just keeping her supplied with tea.  The presentation of the food was only surpassed by the taste of the food.  The Painted Desert Soup, Santa Fe Salad, and Chicken Quesadilla I had from the lunch menu were wonderful.

 When you go to HHI, where do you eat?  What is your favorite place?

--DisneyDad