Christmas Bricktacular Premium Upgrades at LEGOLAND Florida

Over at Legoland Florida there are some new experiences during the holidays and Christmas Bricktacular to help make your holiday season a memorable one.

Welcome to Legoland LEGOLAND Florida Christmas Bricktacular Premium Upgrades Lego Christmas Tree LEGOLAND Florida Christmas Bricktacular Premium Upgrades 2016

In addition to Christmas Bricktacular beginning on December 17, this weekend they began offering the LEGO® Santa’s Breakfast and LEGO® Santa’s Christmas Workshop. I recently had the opportunity to attend these events and they were so much fun, especially if you have Lego fans in your family (which I do).

Lego Santa’s Breakfast

Breakfast is held every Saturday and Sunday through December 18 and then daily December 24-December 31 from 9:00-10:00 AM. Lego Santa hosts you and your family at the historical Magnolia Mansion. When you arrive, you get a picture taken with him that you’ll get to take home and are shown to an all-you-care-to-enjoy buffet.

Magnolia Mansion
Magnolia Mansion
Lego Santa
Lego Santa
Family Picture
Family Picture

Breakfast included bacon and sausage, eggs, french toast, waffles, biscuits and gravy, and a seasonal bread pudding. All of the food and drinks are set up in the mansion. There were Lego displays all around to check out as you filled your plate.

Mansion Trees Mansion Deco Lego Display Lego Display legoland-8 Holiday bread pudding

Legos are present your table (make sure to look inside the giant mini fig head). During our time, we were visited by Mrs. Claus, Lego Toy Soldier, and Lego Buddy the Elf. We had a very deep conversation with Mrs. Claus about our favorite cookies.

Table
Table Decorations
Toy Soldier
Toy Soldier
Mrs. Claus
Mrs. Claus
Buddy
Buddy

Kids are given some paper to write a letter to Santa and each family receives a Lego ornament.

Letter Ornament Reindeer

There are also several games set up on the lawn.

Playtime Lawn

This event is a great way to start your day in Legoland. It costs $35 per person plus tax. Annual passholders can receive a discount.

Lego Santa’s Workshop

The workshop takes place in the afternoons from 1:00-2:30 on the same days as the breakfast. When you arrive to Magnolia Mansion, you’ll be given an elf hat Lego pin and be given the opportunity to take a fun picture with Lego Santa and Lego Toy Soldier.

Magnolia Elf Pin Family Pic

Next, cookies and milk are available inside. Out on the tables, each person had a bottle of water and a bag of Legos to use during the workshop. Then it was time for a master model builder to give us instruction on building the mystery figure in our bags.

Pieces
Mystery Bag
Master
Master Model Builder Luke
Pieces
What could it be?

During the lesson we learned proper terminology for the different pieces. Our master model builder, Luke, and the other model citizens were great at answering questions. Afterwards, we were free to take pictures around the mansion and they gave us a cool lego case to carry home our figures. We also got the picture that we took earlier with Lego Santa and Toy Soldier.

Figure Family Selfie

My family and I really enjoyed our workshop time. Since the figure itself was on the easy side, even guests who have never built Lego models would be able to follow and successfully complete it. The workshop costs $35 per person plus tax.

Both of these premium upgrades are a lot of fun if you’re looking for something special to add to your day at Legoland Florida during the holidays or when you attend Christmas Bricktacular. The Model Citizens were all wonderful to hang out with at both events. Plus you get some pretty fun souvenirs to take home. Check out Legoland Florida’s website for more information on these special events.

 

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

A Stroll Down Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail

 

Christmas Tree Trail Disney Springs 2016 -

A stroll down the Christmas Tree Trail at Disney Springs

This holiday season Disney has added a few new entertainment options to Disney Springs. One of them, the Christmas Tree Trail, debuted this past weekend. When the Disney Parks Blog first made the announcement, I was definitely looking forward to it. The description reminded me of the trees that used decorate the Camp Minnie Mickey area of Animal Kingdom before it was closed to make way for Avatar.

The new Christmas Tree Trail is located at the old Marketplace bus depot and you enter in between Once Upon a Toy and Earl of Sandwich. There’s a DJ set up in the area, along with the large Christmas tree that they light every evening at 6:00PM.

Tree Trail Trail Entrance Main Tree Trail at Night

We decided to walk the trail twice, before and after it got dark. During the day, it is much less crowded and easier to see some of the details on the trees. The snow machines run at night and of course the twinkle lights make it a bit more festive. My photos came out much better during the day too so that’s what you’ll mostly see here.

There are 15 trees and each one has a different Disney theme. The decorations went beyond just covering the tree in the characters. Some of them you even had to think about a little bit (like a spoonful of sugar on the Mary Poppins tree). It really reminded me of a hometown festival of trees.

Villians

Villains Villains Apple

Mickey & Minnie

Mickey & Minnie

Moana

Moana

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast Cogsworth Mrs Potts

The Little Mermaid

Little Mermaid Mermaid Lantern

Cinderella

Cinderella Cinderella coach Cinderella midnight

The Princess and the Frog

Princess and the Frog Frog Prince

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins Spoonful of Sugar Chimney Sweep Umbrellas

Frozen

Frozen Sven

The Jungle Book

Jungle Book Kaa

Mulan

Mulan

101 Dalmatians

Dalmatians Dalmatian Coat

Tangled

Tangled at Night Pascal on lantern Tangled Paint Tangled

Muppets

Muppets Kermit

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland Cheshire Tea

The trail a nice holiday addition that fits with the hometown feel of Disney Springs. I hope they keep the tree trail for future years and even improve upon it. The area has a lot of space to add even more Christmas lights and decorations. Maybe even add some more activities. Have you visited the tree trail? Which tree is your favorite?

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

A Day Celebrating Holidays Around the World At Epcot

On Friday, November 27, Epcot began their holiday festivities with their annual Holidays Around the World line up. This post will be extra picture heavy as I think they tell the story better than I could.

Entrance Entrance2 Thumper Bambi StitchHoliday DonaldGoofy Snowflakes IMG_8704 IMG_8706

My family and I like to make a day of the special events each year. We always make reservations for the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package and spend the day going around World Showcase listening to the different storytellers. I love looking at all the decorations that are country-specific too. We also make sure to sample some of the special holiday treats that are available – make sure to pick up a passport!

bûche de Noël
bûche de Noël
Gluhwein
Gluhwein
Frozen Peppermint Trifle
Frozen Peppermint Trifle

All of the countries feature a special holiday performer or storyteller (or two). We can never fit in all the storytellers in one day, but I have seen all of them at least once before. There are descriptions posted at each country that are worth a read even if you don’t catch the performer. Here is a description of all of them with pictures of the ones we caught over the weekend, plus some of the decorations in the countries.

Canada – The Holiday Voyageurs perform on the Mill Stage singing songs and describing holiday traditions of different regions in Canada.

Canada at night
Canada at night
Canadian Moose
Canadian Moose

United Kingdom – Father Christmas tell us what the holiday season is like in the United Kingdom and explains the mistletoe custom. There’s also a short sing-a-long of Deck the Halls, a song that comes from Wales.

UK Garland
UK Garland
Holiday Tea Set
Holiday Tea Set
Description Card
Description Card
Father Christmas
Father Christmas

France – Père Noël tells us the story of Babette and her Christmas wish. Through the story we learn about french customs.

IMG_8717

IMG_8718

IMG_8720

IMG_8721

IMG_8758

IMG_8771

Morocco – Hear about holidays and festivals in Morocco, focusing on celebrating the harvests with dances and feasts.

Japan – Listen to the story of the Daruma doll and New Year’s celebrations in Japan.

American Adventure – Hear about the traditions of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and the histories behind them. Santa and Mrs. Claus also meet and Voices of Liberty wear Dickens style clothes and sing songs of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. This year there is a gingerbread Capitol building and Washington Monument inside the rotunda.

Gingerbread Capitol and Washington Monument
Gingerbread Capitol and Washington Monument
IMG_8786
Capitol Building
Voices of Liberty
Voices of Liberty
Christmas Tree
Christmas Tree
Santa and Mrs. Claus
Santa and Mrs. Claus

Italy – La Befana is a witch who brings presents to children in Italy on the Eve of the Epiphany. She tells a story of searching for the Christ child.

IMG_8811 IMG_8816

IMG_8814Germany – Helga tells us all about the Christmas traditions in Germany, many of which we have adopted here in the United States like the Christmas tree and the nutcracker.

IMG_8734

IMG_8730

IMG_8732

 IMG_8821 IMG_8825

China – The Lion Dancers perform and bestow good luck wishes for the New Year.

IMG_8775

IMG_8776

IMG_8781

Norway – Sigrid explains the holiday traditions of Norway while Julenissen tries to make her believe in the Christmas gnome, with a lot of help from the audience.

IMG_8830

IMG_8832

IMG_8843

IMG_8852

Mexico – Mariachi Cobre and dancers perform traditional songs and dances. Musicians and dancers are fantastic in this and there’s even a piñata for the kids.

IMG_8736

IMG_8737

IMG_8740

IMG_8743

IMG_8754

The headliner of Epcot’s Holidays Around the World is the Candlelight Processional. A celebrity narrator reads scripture from the Christmas story surrounded by a choir and an amazing orchestra. Our narrator was Gary Sinise. It’s definitely a must-see. We like getting the dinner package at least once so we get seats without waiting in a long line. Other times we’ve stood in the back and still enjoyed it.

IMG_8803

DSC02117

DSC02125

Of course, we have to end the day with Illuminations, which features a special holiday ending at this time of year with the countries wishing for Peace on Earth.

IMG_8869

IMG_8867 IMG_8879

Spending the day at Epcot during the holiday season will definitely get you into the spirit.

IMG_8888

IMG_8889

IMG_8911

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Exploring Harambe Market

A welcome new addition opened recently in the Africa section of Animal Kingdom: Harambe Market.

DSC00368 DSC00386 Entrance

This area is located near the entrance to the Wildlife Express train and around the corner from Kilimanjaro Safaris. I’ve had the opportunity to check it out twice now and I immediately fell in love with the immersive theming, just like with the rest of the park. The food that I tried was pretty great too.

Constructed around an old colonial-era train depot and lorded over by an iconic water tower, this active marketplace showcases distinct personalities and diverse menus—created using produce and raw goods delivered daily by the local locomotive.

 

Here, the citizens of Harambe welcome travelers from all around the world, encouraging Guests of every age to tantalize their senses. (Disney)

httpv://youtu.be/nhj8AZhevvs

There are four different food and beverage booths.

IMG_4621

Here are the menus from each (click on the picture to look closer):

Wanjohi Refreshments
Wanjohi Refreshments
Kitamu Grill
Kitamu Grill
Famous Sausages
Famous Sausages
Chef Mwangas
Chef Mwangas

On my first visit, I tried the beef flatbread from the Grill. I really enjoyed the flatbread and the broccoli that came with it had a really refreshing dressing on it. On the second visit, I tried the ribs and the tart from Chef Mwanga’s. The ribs were very good and very large! The tart was fantastic if you like coconut, which I do! Both of these were easily split between two people, especially the ribs.

Flatbread
Flatbread
Ribs and tart
Ribs and tart

While the food is great, the best part about this new area is the theming. It really seems to expand the “story” of Harambe Village. There are posters on the walls advertising local businesses and even a show you may have seen – Festival of the Lion King. There is a small flea market set up by the train tracks with clothing and kitchen ware. You’ll even find a few hidden (or not-so-hidden) Mickeys! There is even a small garden near the entrance to the market. Below are some of my favorite details – yes, there are a few!

IMG_4632 IMG_4641 IMG_4680 IMG_4681 IMG_4626 DSC00392 DSC00389 DSC00388 DSC00385 DSC00379 DSC00378 DSC00380 DSC00372 DSC00369 DSC00377 DSC00395 DSC00394 DSC00391

There is still one more store to explore. Zuri’s Sweets is by the garden and opened this week so I’ll be checking it out over the weekend. Look for a report on that soon!

Harambe Market Animal Kingdom Walt Disney World

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Star Wars Weekends: Week 1 Highlights

Stormtroopers welcome visitors to Star Wars Weekends

On May 15, Star Wars Weekends 2015 began. I look forward to this event every year and usually attend it a few times over the course of the five weeks it’s held. Saturday, May 16 I went with my mom and nephew to celebrate my nephew’s 16th birthday. Our schedule was largely determined by what he was interested in so I didn’t get to experience everything. This post will focus on highlights of what I did experience.

IMG_4611

IMG_4610

IMG_4609

I didn’t actually get to go inside Darth’s Mall because every time we went by the line was pretty long and my nephew was much more interested in riding rides. I did want to mention it though because it’s in a new location this year and split up into different shops depending on what you’re looking for. I will definitely be visiting at some point before the event is over!

Star Wars Weekends 2015 Darth's Mall

IMG_4473If you’ve been to Star Wars Weekends in the past, then you know what to expect with the motorcade. It doesn’t change other than the visiting celebrities for that week. But that doesn’t mean it’s boring! I love watching it every year and never get tired of seeing the Star Wars versions of my favorite characters and of course the awesome 501st Legion. One difference from last year….Goofy is missing his boxers!

JediMickey

EwokChip

LeiaMinnie

501

IMG_4391

IMG_4397

IMG_4400

Ewok

Chewy

C3POback

Patrol

IMG_4412

Sabine

Tiya

Kit

IMG_4421

Ian

Boba

James

Vader

The character meets are always a ton of fun, even if you just stand and watch them for a few minutes. I especially love the wandering characters like the stormtroopers and gamorrean guard. This year I noticed that the stormtroopers were meeting with a couple of imperial officers. A few other characters were also in different locations than they had been in the past. Darth Vader was meeting in the old Backlot Tour building this year and Darth Maul had moved to his old spot across from Superstar Catering. Ewok Chip and Dale had moved to an area next to One Man’s Dream.

Chip and Dale new location
Chip and Dale new location

One thing I’m really excited to talk about is the new Rebel’s Hangar Lounge. I made reservations when they first announced it and was pleasantly surprised by how fun it was. In the evenings, half of the Backlot Express restaurant turns into the Rebel Hangar

IMG_4451

IMG_4452

Entrance
Entrance
Centerpiece
Centerpiece
Cantina Band
Cantina Band

IMG_4459

Graffiti
Graffiti

IMG_4461

Pommes Frites
Pommes Frites
Lightsaber Bites
Lightsaber Bites
Jawas were eager to trade
Jawas were eager to trade
Greedo
Greedo
Decorations
Decorations

And then our night ended with a Symphony in the Stars.

IMG_4498

IMG_4502

IMG_4504

IMG_4558

IMG_4564

IMG_4573

IMG_4584

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

A Disney Parks Blog Not-So-Scary Soiree

A couple of weeks ago, the Disney Parks Blog posted a sweepstakes for readers to try to win a spot in their next meet-up at Walt Disney World. It would take place at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on September 14th and include tickets to the new Villains’ Sinister Soiree hard ticket even within the party. I caught the window of the sweepstakes just in time and threw my name into the hat and surprising won a spot! I was thrilled because I probably wasn’t going to make it to the party this year otherwise, plus I was able to take my mom to her very first Halloween party!

The following is my recap of the event with a little review of the special ticket event. Also, check out the Disney Parks Blog recap with much better pictures!

CheckIn

The evening began at 4:00 PM when we were able to check in and receive our party credentials. After that, unlike previous meet-ups I have attended, we were pretty much free to enjoy the party as we wished. At least until 11:45, which was the assigned dessert party time for all meet-up attendees. The Villains’ Sinister Soiree includes a dessert party in Cinderella’s castle and there are two seatings per night. Ours was the later seating.

Credentials!
Credentials!

First order of business was to get some dinner before the party started at 7:00pm. Our go-to counter service meal is usually Columbia Harbour House so that’s where we headed. After that, we rode a few rides with little wait.

At 7:30 we were able to enter the reserved viewing section for the first Boo-To-You parade. This section is reserved for anyone who buys tickets for the Villains Soiree and is located in the Hub in front of the castle. If you’ve ever had a Fastpass+ reservation for the Festival of Fantasy parade, it’s that same area.

Once we showed our credentials and got into the area, we were offered to take water bottles from the ice coolers. They were the small, kid-sized bottles, but we were able to take as many as we wanted which was welcome given how humid it was. Then a lovely cast member from New Zealand asked us if we wanted to know what the best spot for the parade was. Of course we said yes, and he led us over to the Liberty Square side of the Hub, right in front of the bridge. This way we could see them coming head-on and then make the turn to go in front of the castle.

Our View
Our View
Jester Goofy behind us
Jester Goofy behind us

The spot was great and my mom loved her first parade experience – especially the Haunted Mansion section! Here are a few of the pictures I took.

IMG_9928 IMG_9929 IMG_9932 IMG_9933 IMG_9934 IMG_9935 IMG_9936 IMG_9937 IMG_9939 IMG_9940

Next, we had to decide if we wanted to stay on the reserved section for the fireworks. I was worried we would be too close to the castle, but we opted to stay since we had plenty of space to move around. We also caught the Villains Mix and Mingle show while we waited. It ended up being fine and we had a great view.

IMG_9951 IMG_9954 IMG_9962

We then had a couple of hours to kill before the dessert part so it was time for trick-or-treating. If I’m not mistaken, there are few more treat stations this year. The party wasn’t crowded at all so the cast members were being very generous with their handouts! At one point we decided to sit in the relative coolness of the Tomorrowland Terrace and rest a bit, Our timing was good because we ended up being able to see a little bit of the second parade as it travelled down Main Street!

IMG_9964
Candy!
IMG_9963
Cadaver Dans!

Soon it was time to head to Cinderella Castle for the main event: the Villains’ takeover. Once we were let into the lobby, the Queen of Hearts and Anastasia and Drizella Tremaine were meeting. If no one went up for a picture, they would heckle the crowd. For example, I was wearing a villains t-shirt that did not include the Queen of Hearts. She was not pleased! I was also wearing Maleficent Mickey ears and Drizella told me about Maleficent being her and Anastasia’s babysitter when they were little and let them have all the candy. Ha!

IMG_9969 IMG_9980

Finally we were let up to the main dining room. We had assigned tables and footmen led us to them. We got a table by the windows! On the table was a personalized menu, an autograph card, a Maleficent cup filled with candy, and a plate of cheeses and meats. We were also given a drink named after Captain Hook named the Captain’s Not-So-Poisoned Potion. It was pretty sweet, but I thought the poisoned apple glow cube was cute.

IMG_9988 IMG_9990 IMG_9983

Around this time, the villains made their grand entrance and presented their themed desserts. They also made their rounds at the tables. This was definitely the highlight. Great interaction with all of the villains! At one point, Lady Tremaine and her daughters performed a musical number for us: a mash-up of Sweet Nightingale and Royals by Lordes. Hilarious! I wish I had a good video of it.

IMG_9998 IMG_0003 IMG_9997 DSC08385 DSC08386 DSC08407 IMG_9993

The desserts themselves were awesome in their presentations and just okay in taste. Nothing really stood out.

IMG_9991

Soon, it was time to leave. Keeping in character, Lady Tremaine basically just kicked us out! We were given parting gifts of posters and a hitchhiking ghost from the Parks Blog (these things do not usually come with the Villains’ Sinister Soiree ticket, but everything else I’ve mentioned does).

IMG_9995
Cute vinylmation

We walked out to a pretty empty Magic Kingdom since the party had been over for almost an hour. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I didn’t have to get up for work the next day!

IMG_0001 DSC08418

I had a really fun time at this meet-up. So grateful to the Disney Parks Blog for hosting us, with the help of some pretty cool villains.. I know the big question is whether or not the Villains’ Sinister Soiree ticket is worth the extra cost on top of a party ticket. Honestly, it probably depends on what you want out of it. For me, it wouldn’t be. The reserved spots for the parade and fireworks are really worth much, especially at a party that isn’t very crowded. The party in the castle is a lot of fun, and being in the castle is special and the atmosphere with the villains is awesome, but for me it wouldn’t be worth the $99 extra. And if I were buying a ticket, I would definitely want the later seating so I could still enjoy most of the party. If you really want to spend some quality time with these villains though, it might be worth it for you.

Have you been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Would you or have you attended the Villains’ Sinister Soiree? Who is your favorite villain?

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Planning a Disney Wedding: The Menu Tasting

Planning a Disney Wedding: The Menu Tasting

Previously I shared my experience at a Disney Wedding Planning Session. In that post, I mentioned that couples can also request a meeting with chefs that will be preparing your reception meal. This can be scheduled the same day as your planning session, or at another time. We chose to have our planning session in the morning and our menu tasting in the afternoon on the same day.

In the months leading up to the planning session, your Disney wedding planner will send a menu tasting checklist where you can request the dishes that you wish to try. There are eight slots available and you are allowed up to three proteins (entrées). Your planner will also provide sample menus from Disney Catering. For the tasting, you can choose any of the items from these menus or you can even ask to try the chef’s interpretation of your favorite dishes at Disney restaurants. Tip for future bride and grooms: don’t waste a tasting spot on a dish that you know how it tastes.  For example, Mickey waffles taste the same everywhere. We want to have them at our brunch reception, but we didn’t need to try them at our tasting.

Since our reception will be held at the Boardwalk Resort, that is where we had our tasting. We were scheduled to meet back up with our planner at 2:15 at the Boardwalk Convention Center.

Convention Center Disney Wedding
Convention Center

We got there a little early and wandered around a bit before our server, Manny, saw us and showed us to our room. Yes, we had our own server for the tasting! He was awesome and got us sodas and water while we waited.

The tasting itself actually took place in a sectioned off portion of a ballroom. There was a table set up that was decorated and had several napkin folds on display.

Disney Wedding Table

At the far end of the room, the buffet was set up. This was mind-blowing to me, that they set up a buffet like to would be for our actual reception.

Buffet Disney Wedding
Buffet set up

Once our planner arrived, the first order of business was to choose a napkin fold.

Our napkin fold Disney Wedding
Our napkin fold

Then Chef Redgie arrived. He introduced himself and told us about how he started as an intern three years ago and did so well that he was offered a permanent position. He told us that the BoardWalk Catering Department is the smallest of all the resorts with six chefs. He brought us over the the buffet stations and described each of the dishes the had asked to try. He held off on preparing the pasta dishes so that we could see those prepared on stage. He told us we could customize as we go. As we tried each thing, we talked about what we liked or didn’t like and Chef Redgie took notes. He told us that they love to customize the menu and work with couples to make sure everything is exactly they way they want them. They will even prepare your favorite family dishes if you provide them with a recipe. I thought that was a pretty cool option.

Here are the dishes that we tried, minus the pasta dishes that I didn’t get a picture of:

Chicken Disney Wedding  Salmon Disney Wedding  Pork Disney Wedding  Cinnamon Disney Wedding  Lobster Disney Wedding

 

From left to right: parmesan-crusted chicken with creamy tomato sauce, seared salmon with pancetta marmalade and dill cream, maple ginger pork loin with fig compote, cinnamon bread pudding (picture taken before the warm vanilla icing was added), truffle-scented macaroni and cheese with lobster meat. Not pictured are penne pasta with cognac cheese sauce and artichokes; and genelli pasta with asiago cream sauce, roasted tomatoes and spinach.

Everything was delicious and it was really difficult to decide on our final menu. In the end we cut the pork, lobster macaroni and cheese, and the penne pasta dish. We were also given a couple of parting gifts which was so nice and really made us feel special.

Parting gifts : whisk and heart cookie cutters Disney Wedding
Parting gifts : whisk and heart cookie cutters

This was such a cool experience and I am so excited for our brunch reception. Huge thanks for Chef Redgie and Manny for being so amazing!

Chef Disney Wedding

 

And with that, the majority of our wedding planning is complete. We just need to get a few last minute details together in the next four months and then it’s wedding time!

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Guardians of the Galaxy – A Disney Parks Blog Meet-Up

On Sunday, July 27, I was lucky enough to attend a Guardians of the Galaxy movie screening hosted by the Disney Parks Blog.

Poster

When this meet-up was first announced I wasn’t completely sold on the movie, but I’ve enjoyed all other Marvel movies a lot so I figured I’d give it a shot. Plus blog meets are always a lot of fun. To begin with, I have to apologize for the lack of photos in this post. Our phones were confiscated (more on that further down) so the only pictures I have are one from before we went in and afterwards.

We were told that check in would begin at 10:00 at the AMC Theatre at Downtown Disney. Knowing how crazy parking is at Downtown Disney these days, we planned to arrive by 9:30. When we arrived, there was already a pretty good sized line forming by Bongos across from the theater. Unfortunately, most of the line was in the blazing sun.

The balloon occasionally did a good job of blocking the sun for us.
The balloon occasionally did a good job of blocking the sun for us.

Finally, they began leading small groups of people over to the theater to check in. They checked our names off on the list, we got one of four different color wristband (we would later find out what those were for) and vouchers for popcorn and a drink. We were also handed 3D glasses, very very cool 3D glasses which were themed to the main characters.

Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket Raccoon Glasses

Then the first surprise of the day – we had to check our phones! We were instructed to turn over all our electronic devices. They put them in a baggie and gave us a raffle ticket to use to pick them back up after the movie. They also had a really strict bag check at the entrance to the theater. Disney definitely did everything they could to prevent piracy for this screening.

Once we got to our seats (which were saved for us by our awesome friends), we passed the time by comparing/trading 3D glasses and lamenting on the fact that we couldn’t take selfies. Soon, people from the Parks Blog came out to speak to us. They started out by introducing some of the attendees that came dressed as their favorite superhero. Of course, the Guardians, Star-Lord in particular, were popular choices. We were then told that the wristbands that we received at the entrance would allow us to pick up a toy from the official Hasbro line once the movie was over! There were four different toys and each wristband corresponded to one of them.

Then the movie started. Watching a movie at one of these meet-ups is always a fun experience. The entire crowd is into it with clapping and laughing, and in the case of this movie a little singing and dancing in our seats. Seriously, this soundtrack is killer. The movie is so fun and I love the characters! I won’t go into a full review because that will be covered in another post. I will say, as someone who knew nothing about the story or characters going into it, if you are on the fence about seeing it – go for it! I don’t think you’ll regret it. I can’t wait to see it again.

Once the movie was over (no bonus scene after the credits for the screenings – boo), we lined up to retrieve our phones and toys. Everyone seemed really excited over the toys – they are pretty awesome! There was some trading going on, but we were happy with the ones we got.

Our toys and 3D glasses
Our toys and 3D glasses

Another fun Disney Parks Blog Meet-up was in the books and I think a good time was had by all. Are you looking forward to seeing Guardians on the Galaxy or have you been lucky enough to see it already? Do you have a favorite Guardian?

 

 

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Inside a Disney Wedding Planning Session

Other than the actual wedding day, brides and grooms planning a wedding at Disney probably most look forward to planning session day.

I’ve mentioned before that planning a Disney Wedding follows a unique schedule. Beginning at six months out from your wedding day, couples (and parents/family members if they are part of the planning process) schedule a planning session with their assigned wedding planner. These can either be held in person or over the phone if couples aren’t able to make the trip to Florida. This is the time when you can finally give voice to all those ideas you’ve pinned to your Pinterest board for your wedding day!

You can also schedule a separate menu tasting with the chefs that will be preparing the meal at your reception. I’ll discuss that in another post.

For now, I’ll tell you how our planning session went when we met with our planner a few weeks ago at Franck’s Bridal Studio.

Franck's Disney Wedding
Franck’s Bridal Studio

FranckDoor Disney Wedding

 

We got to meet in the Merryweather room! Disney Wedding
We got to meet in the Merriweather room!

Depending on the size of the wedding and number of events taking place, sessions last around 3-4 hours. During this time, our planner basically took us step-by-step through our wedding weekend beginning with rehearsal. We talked about where and what time we would prefer to hold rehearsal. They won’t guarantee a time and place until 30 days before so we had to give a couple of preferences.

Then we moved to the actual wedding day, starting from the time we wake up. This was important because we had to make sure that we had our photography set up for the right time to cover everything based on the hourly package that we picked. Since we are having an Epcot ceremony, our day will be starting very early.

We then made decisions on everything from transportation (if you want to use Cinderella’s coach for your wedding, now is your chance!) to song choices and favors and linens for the reception. Nothing is set in stone at this point. Essentially this is the “blue sky” phase of wedding planning. We were told to include everything we thought we might want. In the following weeks, our planner will prepare a Banquet Event Order (BEO) and then we can make cuts or adjustments from there, once we recover from the sticker shock! We had done a lot of research prior to our appointment so we had a very good idea of what we wanted. However, if you don’t, they have lots of displays and pictures to show different options. Basically anything you can think of – this is Disney after all!

Disney Wedding Display
Fall wedding decor

The final thing we discussed during our meeting was the most fun – cake!! We could taste four different flavors of cake and four different fillings. We got a couple of bonuses because they included the buttercream icing and a slice of cake to show us how the layers would be. This was really fun and so hard to choose! I almost wish we were having a bigger wedding just so we could have more layers on our cake! In the end we chose marble cake with peanut butter cup filling for one layer, and almond cake with amaretto crunch filling for the other.

Disney Wedding Not the cake we chose
Not the cake we chose 😉
Flavors we tried Disney Wedding
Flavors we tried

After cake, our floral designer came in to meet with us and discuss any flowers and décor we wanted for our wedding events. Lucky for us, our venues don’t need much extra decoration so that part was over pretty quickly. Plus, I came prepared with pictures and paint chips of our colors so that helped to make sure we were all on the same page.

Bouquet Examples Disney Wedding
Bouquet Examples

Going into our meeting I was pretty anxious. I was worried that maybe we wouldn’t connect with our planner or that she would try to talk us into getting a bunch of extras that we didn’t want or need. I’m happy to report that everything went very smoothly and everyone was really helpful and kind. Our planner really took the time to make sure we came up with the best options. It was really fun to finally do some official planning! Throughout the day I kept think about how lucky we are to be there. It’s still a little surreal!

Now we just have to wait to get our BEO and hope we don’t need to make too many adjustments! Stay tuned for my report on our menu tasting, which was probably one of the most special experiences I’ve ever had.

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Lunching at The Wave…of American Flavors

One of my favorite “under the radar” restaurants at Walt Disney World is The Wave…of American Flavors (The Wave for short) at the Contemporary Resort.

Comtemporary

The menu here features American cuisine and many of the ingredients are sourced locally. I’ve always felt that the food I’ve eaten here has been fresh and prepared so that these fresh ingredients, especially produce, can shine.

The restaurant is located in the back corner of the lobby, just past the check-in desks. The entrance is definitely one of the coolest on property!

Entrance

Various elements of the décor also bring out the “wave” theme. It also features close up photographs of produce, like an ear of corn.

Picture from Disney
Picture from Disney. Interior.

I’ve eaten at the Wave several times now of the past few years, at least once for every meal. Recently, it’s become a tradition for my mom and I to eat Easter brunch there after church service. They always have a fantastic breakfast buffet there (sweet potato pancakes anyone??), but for Easter they add a few extras, like carving and omelet stations.

Today though, I’m going to focus on lunch at the Wave. I’ve eaten lunch there a couple of times now. I love that you can usually always get in without a reservation there and that is especially true at lunch. It’s very quiet and I think could be a great break from a busy (and hot) theme park day. Plus, it’s an easy walk from the Magic Kingdom!

Now onto the food…I will warm you that I’m not the greatest when it comes to food reviews. They usually consist of varying degrees of yumminess! But I’ll try to be a bit more descriptive this time!

Most of the time, I like to keep it light at lunch with a salad and maybe an appetizer. My first lunch there, I fell in love with the Wave’s version of the Cobb salad.

From the menu: MacGregor Farms Greens, Naturally Raised Eggs, Bacon, Florida Avocados, Chile-Lime Vinaigrette, and Midnight Moon Cheese
From the menu: MacGregor Farms Greens, Naturally Raised Eggs, Bacon, Florida Avocados, Chile-Lime Vinaigrette, and Midnight Moon Cheese

Most Disney fans know of Brown Derby’s version, which is great, but I give the Wave’s a bit of an edge because of the bigger pieces of the ingredients. With the Brown Derby’s I feel like it all sort of mushes together. I’m also a bit obsessed with the bacon on this salad. It’s thick-cut and has a bit of sweetness to it. It goes great with the tangy vinaigrette. I know there are people who aren’t fans of the traditional bleu cheese found on most Cobb salads. You will be happy to hear that the cheese on this version is much more mild and has a parmesan-like texture.

You can choose to add chicken or steak to the salad to make it more of an entrée. Instead, I decided to go with the soup of the day, which was a Zellwood corn and chicken chowder. The restaurant happened to be a bit chilly that afternoon so sop actually sounded fantastic. And it was! Zellwood corn is known for being sweet. The chicken was shredded and there was some spice with red peppers in the base. This was also paired with a jalapeño corn bread muffin, which also added a bit of heat, but nothing overwhelming. Our server made sure to warn us.

Season Soup - corn chowder
Season Soup – corn chowder

I will definitely be back to The Wave…for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Lunch is definitely a treat and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a break from the parks for an hour or two. The only complaint I have is I’ve had some inconsistent service there. The servers have always been very nice, it’s just some have been more on top of everything than others.

Have you been to The Wave? What would you recommend for my next visit?

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

A Disney Wedding Site Visit

My fiancé, Cliff, and I are currently in the middle of planning a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding. Weddings at Disney are planned in a unique way. Even if you know what date and venues you want to use, they can’t be booked until exactly a year out. So, even though Cliff and I got engaged in May of 2013, since we wanted a December 2014 wedding we had to wait until December 2013 to make it official.

There are a few things couples can do in the meantime. At 16 months out, Disney will pencil you in for the date and venues that you want. If more than one couple want the same times and venues, there will be a lottery process so it’s important to come up with a few back-ups just in case. You can also schedule a site visit with a sales consultant to check out up to three venues available for wedding events. The way we approached that was to narrow down our choices and check out as many venues as we could on our own. For example, we considered having our wedding ceremony at the Yacht Club Gazebo, which can easily be seen at any time. That way we saved places for our site visit, which were not generally accessible to the general public. We decided that we wanted to see the Living Seas Salon in Epcot, American Adventure Parlor in Epcot, and the Attic at the Boardwalk Resort.

Yacht Club Gazebo
Yacht Club Gazebo

You may remember my previous wedding planning post about Franck’s Bridal Studio. That is where we began our day by meeting with our assigned sales consultant. First, we discussed generalities of what we were planning for our wedding, like the size of our guest list. We then found out that we wouldn’t be able to see the Living Seas Salon that day because it was booked for another event. We did get to see some photos from past events that gave us a pretty good idea of the space and we decided that it would probably be too big for the number of people we would be having.

Soon it was time to drive to our first location: The American Adventure Parlor. Our site visit was before Chase Bank used this location for their lounge during Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival, so neither one of us had seen this space before. The best part about going to see this location was getting to drive through backstage! We entered backstage near Test Track and drove around to the back of the American Adventure. We walked through the gates next to the pavilion (between America and Italy).

Entering Epcot
Entering Epcot

American Adventure

At that time, we had no idea that the elevator to take us up to the Parlor existed.

Elevator
Elevator

Inside, there is a room with tables that would be used to our brunch. We liked the main parlor area with the windows looking out onto the promenade. Over all though, we decided that the space wasn’t right for us.

Tables Hallway Parlor Left Parlor Center Parlor Right Landing

On to our next destination. We drove over to the Boardwalk Resort, went up to the 3rd floor, and walked down a loooooong hallway of guest rooms to reach the Attic, which is located directly above Jellyrolls.

Boardwalk

IMG_3498

 

Let me just say, when we walking into that room, I immediately knew that I wanted our reception there. It had the atmosphere we were going for. We wanted our reception to be a more laid back, family gathering rather than a party. We weren’t having a DJ or anything like that. This was perfect. It was filled with antiques and looks like parlor in your grandmother or great aunt’s house.

DSC02000 DSC02002 DSC02001 DSC02004 DSC02016 DSC02007 DSC02014 DSC02017

And the view overlooking Beach Club (where we had our first date) and Epcot (where we would have said our vows just a little bit ago) just really tied everything together.

This view.
This view.

 

Soon it was time to head back to Franck’s to finalize our venues. When we got there, we were given the opportunity to check out the wedding pavilion on our own while our consultant looked up the answer to a question we had about one of the locations.

Wedding Pavilion

The Wedding Pavilion is absolutely gorgeous and I can easily see why it’s so popular. It has the traditional chapel feel, a view of Cinderella’s castle, and it’s air-conditioned!

DSC02019 DSC02022 DSC02023 DSC02025 DSC02027 DSC02028 DSC02029 DSC02030 DSC02031

That concludes our Disney Weddings site visit. Here are a few tips in case you have one in your future:

Do as much research beforehand as you can so you can narrow down the places that you may want to see. The Disney Weddings website was recently redone and has a lot of great pictures. Focus on sites that you wouldn’t be able to check out on your own. Make a list of questions to ask your consultant, they are a great resource and in our experience, very helpful!

Now you’re probably wondering which venues we chose. Our ceremony will be held at Italy Isola and our reception in the Attic!

Italy Isola
Italy Isola

We had a couple of backups for dates and venues in case there was a lottery. We did end up having to move our date up one day because the Attic was booked. We got really lucky though so it wasn’t a big deal. Up next is our planning session, which is held at around 6 months out. We will meet our planner and go step-by-step through our wedding day. We’re really looking forward to it – especially the cake tasting portion!

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Facing the Yeti at Expedition Everest Challenge 2014

On May 3rd, I ran in my fourth Expedition Everest Challenge. This race will always be special to me for a few reasons. First, it was my very first runDisney race back in 2011. My mom and I ran in a mother/daughter team and we had a blast. Of course I was hooked on races after that and have run in 11 others since then (plus I’m signed up for two more this year).

Meeting Pluto in 2011
Meeting Pluto in 2011

Also at that fateful race in 2011, I met some very special friends. I knew a bunch of people that I knew from Twitter were also running so I thought it would be a great time to meet some of them in person for the first time. One of those people is now my fiancé, Cliff! In fact, we got engaged at the Everest Challenge race last year. So, I guess you can see why this race is important to me. It’s one that I will always sign up for, even though they’ve significantly raised the price in recent years.

With Cliff back where we first met
With Cliff back where we first met

The Expedition Everest Challenge is a night race and features a 5k course through Animal Kingdom with a few obstacles along the way. After the 5k comes the scavenger hunt where you have to make your way back through the park while solving clues given to you at certain checkpoints. You can run the race in teams of two or as an individual. My mom and I always run this together and I think we make a pretty great team!

Course Map
Course Map
My bib. You may need to refer to this later on ;) *hinthint*
My bib. You may need to refer to this later on 😉 *hinthint*

Since this is a smaller race with an after party going into the wee hours of the morning, we like to drive ourselves to the start. We got there around 8:00PM because we always like to get to races early. Only problem with that this year is that it started raining pretty steadily. It was also a little chilly for us Floridians! So we sat in the car for a while. Once the rain let up we headed to the staging area to check our bag and hang out to people watch. There are always some pretty great costumes at this race!

Getting a view of the start line
Getting a view of the start line

When it was time to go to our corrals, we said bye to Cliff (mom and I were in H and Cliff was in E), and headed to our pens for more waiting. There were 6 minutes between corral starts so we had a lot of waiting….in the cool damp weather. The DJ and hosts did a pretty good job at keeping us moving though.

YMCA in the corrals
YMCA in the corrals

At 10;42, Corral H was off and we began the worst part of the race: running around the perimeter of the Animal Kingdom parking lot. Towards the end of this section, we hit our first obstacle: hay bales. You always have the option of running around the obstacles. Mom usually does because she injured her knee the first year.

 

Hay bale obstacle
Hay bale obstacle

Finally we made it to the park entrance and Mile 1! At this point we also merged with racers who had completed the 5k and were beginning the scavenger hunt portion. This was the only time we really ran into congestion because the scavenger hunt people were stopping on course to solve clues. Once we got more into the park, there were separate lanes set up for runners so it got better.

 

Donald meeting on the course
Donald meeting on the course

We continued through the park, past the Tree of Life and headed toward Africa. Once in Harambe, we turned right to go to Asia. Usually right after this point we head backstage, but this year we kept going through Asia and past Everest to backstage near the Nemo theater. Loved this change!

Tree of Life
Tree of Life
Running through Africa
Running through Africa
Running past Everest
Running past Everest

Once backstage, we soon hit our second obstacle: tires! (and mile 2!)

Trying not to break an ankle
Trying not to break an ankle

Running backstage is kind of a blur because there aren’t any familiar landmarks to orient myself with. About a mile later we rounded a corner and saw our final obstacle: a cargo net to crawl under.

Crawling under the net
Crawling under the net

Just after that was the finish line for the 5k and we received our first clue and a cool marker/flashlight combo!

Pen

The scavenger hunt brought us back into the park. There were 5 total clues. We had a little trouble with the first two, especially the second one. The last 3 we solved pretty quickly and we finished the hunt in about 30 minutes. I edited the pictures of the clues so you can see if you know the answers. I’ll post the answers at the end of the post. If you click on the pictures, you can see them bigger.

Clue1Clue2Clue3Clue4

You had to use clue 4 as a template for clue 5:Clue5

Once we received our awesome compass medals, we met back up with Cliff and headed back into the park for the after party!

Finished!
Finished!
Inside the medal
Inside the medal

Food was first on the agenda. Then we caught part of the awards ceremony in Dinoland where we were introduced to the yeti. We also paid a quick visit to our engagement spot!

Dinoland

Engagement spot!
Engagement spot!

Soon we decided we were tired and ready to head back to the hotel.

I would definitely recommend this race to anyone looking for a different runDisney experience. We always have a great time and being in Animal Kingdom at night is a treat itself. Also, each year it seems runDisney makes small changes that keep improving the experience. I will, of course, continue to run it as long as it is being offered. See you next year, Yeti!

Yeti
Yeti

Clue Answers: 1 – green flag (which is on the right side of our bibs “flag the right color”). 2 – one (in the word done) and three (combine the end of “both” and the beginning of “reenergizes”). 3 – things that keep you warm. 4 – punch out scarf, mittens, fire, blanket, boots, and coffee. 5 – hold up 4 fingers (1+ 3 from clue 2)

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Famous Disney Bears

In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, Disneynature is releasing another new documentary, Bears. This new movie will follow a bear family for a year as the young cubs learn life lessons. Seeing the commercials for this movie got me thinking about all of the bears in the Disney family.

Disneynature Bears
Disneynature Bears

Winnie the Pooh
Let’s start with probably the most famous Disney bear of all. Coming from the books by A. A. Milne, Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood are a childhood staple. He may be “stuffed with fluff,” but he can be quite courageous when needed. We’ve all joined in on their adventures (often in search of “hunny”) and learned about friendship along the way. Pooh and Piglet’s friendship in particular, never fails to warm my heart.

Pooh
Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore

Baloo 

Carefree and fun-loving Baloo is Mowgli’s best friend in The Jungle Book and he taught us all about the Bare Necessities (which, thanks to writing this blog post, I have had stuck in my head for three days). For the most part, Baloo is playful, but he can be very protective of Mowgli. He is probably the most popular character from the movie and in fact, became the star of his own TV series: TaleSpin.

Baloo and Mowgli float
Baloo and Mowgli float

Koda and Kenai

These two bears from Brother Bear started out with quite the complicated relationship, but eventually became as close as brothers. Koda is the playful and talkative one, while Kenai is moody and serious. I think they both learn a lot from each other.

Koda and Kenai
Koda and Kenai

Harris, Hamish, and Hubert

Oh the triplet brothers from Brave. Definitely can’t forget them. Merida’s young brothers are always up to some sort of mischief, which is what caused them to become bears to begin with. Although they don’t stay that way forever, you can still see the brothers as bears in the Festival of Fantasy parade.

Brave triplets
Brave triplets

Br’er Bear 

Betsy mentioned Br’er Bear in her post about bunnies and rabbits as the antagonist to Br’er Rabbit in The Song of the South. Teamed up with Br’er Fox, the two keep getting outwitted by Br’er Rabbit and you can see a lot of their foiled plans in the Splash Mountain ride at the theme parks.

Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox plotting
Br’er Bear and Br’er Fox plotting

Country Bears

Big Al, Liver Lips, Wendell, Trixie, Terrence, Henry, and the rest of this musical gang have been entertaining guests at the Magic Kingdom since the park opened. There was also a version at Disneyland up until 2001. The popularity inspired a movie in 2002, but that wasn’t very successful. They remain pretty popular in the Magic Kingdom though, especially with fans who grew up with the show.

Country Bear Jamboree
Country Bear Jamboree

Fozzie Bear

This jokester of the Muppets is Kermit’s best friend. He’s very often the target of Statler and Waldorf’s heckling, but he keeps trying with his “wocka wocka” tagline! Fozzie always struck me as very loyal, especially to Kermit and though he may be slow to catch on most of them time, I think he is a friend you can count on.

Fozzie Bear
Fozzie Bear

Humphrey the Bear

Humphrey was created in 1950 and appeared in several Disney Animation cartoons at that time. Humphrey is kind of a big and goofy bear that lives in a national park and tries to steal food from the visitors. He doesn’t speak, but he does make different grunts to express emotions. His shenanigans are usually spoiled by Donald Duck or the park ranger. He got to be so popular that the animation studio created a series just for him, but unfortunately the studio stopped producing the short films soon after that. He later appeared in other shows like Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers and House of Mouse. If you’re looking for him these days, you might want to check out the Wilderness Lodge.

Humphrey
Humphrey

Honorable Mentions: Little John from Robin Hood, Gummi Bears, Duffy, Lotso, Bear in the Big Blue House

When I first started writing this post, I was surprised by how many bears would be on this list. It was fun to rediscover some old favorites like Humphrey! Did I forget any of your favorite bears?

 

 

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

Muppets Most Wanted: A Disney Parks Blog Meet-Up

On March 8, the Disney Parks Blog held a meet-up at the AMC theater at Downtown Disney to see Muppets Most Wanted. I am definitely a Muppets fan and have always loved the movies so getting the opportunity to see this new movie before its release date was exciting!

Muppets Most Wanted

After checking in at the theater, we were given vouchers for drinks and a bag popcorn. Soon, Thomas Smith and Jennifer Fickley-Baker from the Parks Blog started a trivia contest, giving away things like Muppet t-shirts and puzzles. Then some guests were brought up on stage who had shown their Muppets Side by coming dressed in costume. Finally, a very special guest arrived – Sweetums! We were told that after the movie, we would have the opportunity to meet Sweetums and get our picture taken with him!

 

Blog readers show their Muppet Side
Blog readers show their Muppet Side
Sweetums makes a surprise appearance!
Sweetums makes a surprise appearance!

 

The movie started at 3:00 PM and opened with a hilarious Monsters University short.  I heard several people say that this short would be worth the price of admission alone. It’s about the brothers of Oozma Kappa throwing a party. I liked Monsters University, but I think this short was funnier than anything that was in the movie.

 

Finally it was time for the main event: Muppets Most Wanted. I’ll put my review a little further down in the post. No spoilers other than basic plot points.  After the movie, we waited for our turn to meet Sweetums and got our goody bag, which was a mixture of St. Patrick’s Day and Muppets with green beads and trading cards.

Meet and greet

And now for my review…I’d probably give Muppets Most Wanted a B. As I mentioned, I’m a big Muppets fan. I grew up watching the movies and reruns of The Muppet Show.  I loved when they returned with The Muppets in 2011. I didn’t think this movie had as much as the emotional pull , which might be preferable to some movie-goers. It reminded me more of The Great Muppet Caper.

If you’ve seen the previews of Muppets Most Wanted, you know that in this movie we are introduced to Constantine – The World’s Most Dangerous Frog – who escapes from prison. He also happens to look a lot like Kermit.  The Muppets are heading out on a world tour to capitalize on their new popularity, but they soon find themselves in the middle of an international crime caper. This is of course thanks to Constantine and his sidekick Dominick Badguy (Ricky Gervais).

There are some great laugh-out-loud moments, usually involving one of the many surprise cameos and just general silliness. Some of my favorite moments were between Ty Burrell’s Interpol agent character and Sam Eagle’s CIA agent.  The Siberian prison scenes were also a highlight for me. The soundtrack isn’t as memorable as the last, but I did enjoy the opening number called “We’re Doing a Sequel” as well as Constantine’s crazy “I’ll Get You Want You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu).”

 httpv://youtu.be/DQiGyBiNjLI

Overall, I definitely recommend seeing Muppets Most Wanted, especially if you are a Muppets fan. It’s a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy together. Oh and make sure to stay through the credits!

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram

A Visit to Franck’s Bridal Studio for Wedding Planning

My fiancé, Cliff, and I are currently in the beginning stages of planning a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding. I’ll have more posts about this process in the future, but as a sort of introduction to Disney Weddings I thought I would start with a sharing a little bit about Franck’s Bridal Studio.

Franc'ks   Franck's side

Franck’s Bridal Studio is right next to the Wedding Pavilion. If you’ve been on the monorail you’ve probably heard the spiel about the Wedding Pavilion as you approach the Grand Floridian hotel. This is the place where couples get to meet with their consultants and planners to plan their big day.  In fact, it was named after the ultimate wedding planner, Franck Egglehoffer, played by Martin Short in Father of the Bride.

Wedding Pavilion
Disney’s Wedding Pavilion

In August, Cliff and I met our wedding consultant there for our site visit to decide which venues we wanted to use for our wedding (more on that in a later post!).  I was so excited to be there on official wedding business!  Inside there are displays of wedding cakes, bouquet samples, and table settings. You can even check out some of the Alfred Angelo Disney-inspired wedding gowns. The meeting rooms are named after the fairies in Sleeping Beauty: Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.  Seating areas have photo albums full of wedding pictures to help inspire brides and grooms during their planning. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful to see. I cannot wait until our planning session this summer!

Entrance featuring wedding ring door handles.
Entrance featuring wedding ring door handles.
Cute Cupid Mickey weather vane.
Cute Cupid Mickey weather vane.

We were the only appointment that morning (on a Saturday), so while we waited for our consultant to set up for us, I went around and took a few pictures!

Inside
Entering the studio. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Seating area
One of the seating areas. Looks cozy with some curtains for privacy if needed.
Seating
Another seating area with stacks of photo albums. Looks so inviting.
Window Close Up
Beautiful window details.
Banks House
Love this picture of the Banks family house from the Father of the Bride.
Table Setting
Table setting inspiration.
Bouquets
Bouquets and centerpieces.
Display
Display case with sample of wedding favors.
Cake Accessories
Cake servers and toppers.
Yellow Cake
Sunny yellow cake.
Mad Hatter Cake
Mad Hatter style cake.
Castle Cake
Showstopper!

I probably could have spent all day looking at all the details in the studio! Thanks for coming along on this little tour. Check out Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings recently redesigned site here for more information on planning a Disney wedding. Keep an eye out at On the Go in MCO for more of our personal experiences in the future.

Follow us for more updates: Facebooktwitteryoutubetumblrinstagram