Tag Archive: disney vacation

  1. Merchandise for EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival 2022

    Here’s a look at some of the 2022 International Flower and Garden Festival merchandise found at Port of Entry in EPCOT. Lots of fun fashion and cute merchandise. Theming includes, but is not limited to: “Grow Happiness”, “Grow Green”, Spike the Bee, and of course the adorable Original Florida Orange Bird.

    “Grow Happiness” large mug/utensil holder and Mickey water bottle. Both $29.99


    “Grow Happiness” mug $19.99

    Tervis Tumbler 24 ounce $26.99

    Back of the “Grow Green” Spirit Jersey

    “A Little Dirt Never Hurt” apron and  gardening gloves

    “Grow Green” Hat $39.99

    Everyone’s favorite little Orange Bird.

    Orange Bird shoulder sitter $19.99

    Orange Bird Dooney and Bourke

    Orange Bird Mug – $19.99

    “Think Orange” Hat – $27.99

    Orange Bird Salt and Pepper Shakers – $9.99

    Orange Bird “Squeeze Me, I’m Full Of Florida Sunshine” cup – $29.99

    Spike’s Collection: shirt, mug, bowl, salt and pepper shakers, rain jacket and “Bee Kind” tote.

    Spike large Flower and Garden Festival mug with spoon – $22.99

     Passholder 2022 Flower and Garden Festival zipped hoodie featuring our favorite, iconic, purple dragon, Figment. – $44.99

  2. Eating EPCOT: International Festival of the Arts

    Everyone loves a good EPCOT festival. What’s a good festival without the food? We stopped at three quick service locations during a short visit to the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts. PopEats! was by far our favorite. Here’s a review of our tastings.

    Pop Eats!

    Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese: A simple grilled cheese sandwich made with buttery Texas toast with a side of creamy, cheese-topped tomato soup. Yum! $5.25

    Tomato Soup with Bacon, Apple, and Brie Grilled Cheese: The soup was creamy and topped with cheese. The grilled cheese brie, bacon, and apple was a surprisingly delicious combination. $6.25

    Pop’t Art: A “modern-designed sugar cookie with chocolate-hazelnut filling”.  This is your basic iced sugar cookie with a tasty chocolate-hazelnut filling. This cookie is similar to the Lunch Box Tart found at Woody’s Lunch Box in Hollywood Studios. $4.50

    Refreshment Port

    Gnocchi Poutine with Red Wine-braised Beef, Cheese Curds, Basil, and Burrata: The flavor of the beef was delicious. The burrata was a nice light cheese and also a nice addition. The gnocchi was an interesting substitute for the french fries found in the traditional poutine. $9.00

    Deco Delights

    Orange Mousse with Lemon Cake and Raspberry Meringues: The orange mousse and the cookie it sits on was good. The lemon cake was generic, but not bad. The raspberry meringues were hard and crunchy and while the raspberry flavor was distinct, the taste and texture was not something to be desired. $4.50

    Decadent Valrhona Chocolate with Dark Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Brownie, and Cassis Mousse: It’s a little hard to tell what all is going on here. First off, I’ll start with the chocolate ice cream which came on the side and melted very quickly. The ice cream was of course yummy and the crunchy, cookie crumb-like pieces under it was a nice texture combination. The brownie was good, as was the chocolate mouse on top, yet it was very rich. Cassis mousse is made with blackcurrant, therefore giving it a purple tint. The purple is visible, but the taste was not quite there, unless the blackcurrant was in the smear on the bottom which I was unable to taste due to the thin layer being dried to the plate. This was by far the best dish from Deco Delights. $5.00

     

    Dulce Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Crémeux and Dark Chocolate Truffle: The chocolate crémeux  was rich and tasty as was the dark chocolate truffle. The dulce chocolate mousse was a big a disappointment. The flavor, or the lack there of, was not what I hoped for. The cookie the cake and mousse sat upon was good. The ornamental chocolate side piece tasted like it was covered in paper. $5.25

  3. Sweet Treats for Disney’s Most Magical Anniversary Celebration

    Aside from the new golden statues and the fancy light displays on each theme parks’ featured attraction, my excitement lies mostly with the new dessert items offered through Walt Disney World during this “Magical Celebration.” Here are my reviews of the sweet treats I’ve sampled so far for Disney’s 50th Anniversary. Some are a hit, some are a miss.

    Glimmer and Shimmer Blondie

    The Glimmer and Shimmer Blondie featuring toffee, toasted coconut and salted caramel buttercream topped with a 50th chocolate medallion and festive gold nuggets can be found at Backlot Express and Fairfax Fare at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Soooo good! This treat also keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of days if you’ve reached your sugar max. The buttercream frosting has a light, buttery taste that is yummy enough to eat by itself or on top of the blondie.

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5

    Cost:$4.49

    Caramel Apple Tart

     

    This Caramel Apple Tart found at the ABC Commissary in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a spiced caramel-cheesecake mousse apple served atop a cinnamon-apple tart accented with a chocolate 50th medallion.  This is basically apple pie with  cheesecake on top with a chocolate stem and it is delicious! It is also equally just as amazing as a refrigerated leftover the next day. Perhaps, even better! Bringing it home and eating it cold allowed me to savor each bite and flavor. Maybe because I am a pie lover or maybe not, this treat is a must!  I give this a delicious 5 out of 5 plus 2 extra  bonus points for yumminess for a total of 7 out of 5. Is that even a thing.  Am I allowed to lick the plate when no one is looking? 

    Cost $5.49 

    Chocolate Mousse

      

    The Chocolate Mousse also found at the ABC Commissary in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is raspberry-dark chocolate mousse topped with a gold Mickey and gold flakes, chocolate-almond cake, a layer of hazelnut crunch, and whipped chocolate-hazelnut cheesecake all accented with a chocolate 50th medallion.   Let me start by saying, raspberry and dark chocolate together are kind of my thing. This mouse does not disappoint! The hazelnut crunch adds a pleasant crunchy texture to the dessert which I found quite nice. I’m having to up the rating scale on this one to 10 so I can rate it a 10 out of 10. This is a beyond decadent masterpiece! I chose to enjoy most of this scrumptious treat by savoring the flavor of each layer. This also eats well refrigerated the next day. If you like chocolate and raspberry, the Chocolate Mousse is something you don’t want to pass on. I can’t wait to go back and get another.

    Cost $5.49

    Glimmer and Shimmer Pineapple Mousse

         

    The Glimmer and Shimmer Pineapple Mousse is found at The Trolley Car Café located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This dessert is a Golden Pineapple Mousse on a Toasted Coconut Crisp with Caramel Cream and Matcha Sponge Cake garnished with a 50th Anniversary chocolate medallion. This is so good I’m not sure where to begin. The caramel cream is amazing in itself with a distinctive caramel flavor. The pineapple mousse it also full of flavor and completes the crispy coconut cookie well. The coconut crisp is probably my favor part of this treat. The sponge cake is ok, it neither makes nor breaks the overall dessert. I think this Pineapple Mousse may tie with the Caramel Apple Tart as my second favorite 50th sweet treat.

    Rating: 7 out of 5

    Cost: $5.49

    Birthday Blueberry Muffin

    Birthday Blueberry Muffin found at various locations in Animal Kingdom Theme Park. This particular one was found at a food cart in Pandora but it is advertised at Isle of Java and Tamu Tamu Refreshments. Described as a “house-made blueberry muffin with a surprise addition of colorful sprinkles to celebrate 50 years of Magic.” Although this may not be the most attractive celebration snack, it makes up for its lack of luster with flavor. For a blueberry muffin it’s good. I rate it a 4.5 out of 5 on the muffin scale. Can I get another please?

    Cost: $4.25

    KiteTails Sundae

     

    KiteTails Sundae found at the Anandapur Ice Cream Truck in Asia at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a  “strawberry and lemon-flavored soft-serve swirled together and topped with a white chocolate medallion.” This cool, tasty treat tastes a lot like rainbow sherbet. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 on the rating scale.

    Cost $5.49

    Fifi, Gigi, Mimi

       

    Fifi, Gigi, Mimi found at Aloha Isle in Magic Kingdom‘s Adventureland. Pineapple, orange, and vanilla Bundt cake stack and filled with DOLE Whip Pineapple. What can I say? The DOLE Whip was good…save your money! Publix makes a better cake and for a surprisingly lesser price. This one is “for the birds”.

    Rating: 1 out of 5

    Cost $11.99

    Lemon Chiffon

       

    The Lemon Chiffon found at EPCOT’s Sunshine Seasons is a lemon chiffon cake with blueberry mousse. The menu is very to the point on the description of this dessert. This cake is moist and tasty. Inside, you will find a surprising blueberry filling. The display is beautifully done but beware, the blue icing will stain your teeth, lips, and hands.

    This chiffon gets a 4.75 out of 5 due to the stain factor.

    Cost $5.49

     

    Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake

         

    Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake is also found at Sunshine Seasons in EPCOT. This is a mini chocolate bundt cake with chocolate ganache, sprinkles, and icing dusted with EARidescent Shimmer and a chocolate 50th anniversary garnish. This chocolate cake is amazing! Cake, yum! Ganache, yum!  Be warned though, it does not fare well as a “to go” item. It melts!

    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Cost $5.49

    Polynesian 50th Celebration Cupcake

    50th Celebration Cupcake found at Captain Cook’s inside Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.  DOLE Whip Pineapple center, tropical fruit salsa, and pineapple macaron. This cupcake sits in a cute 50th celebratory holder. Pretty much another generic cake with fancy stuff on top. The tropical fruit salsa is placed atop what may be a sugared hibiscus flower. I guess I should have read the ingredients better to find out. The cupcake is best eaten all together and not layer by layer as the layers are meant to compliment each other. The macaron is the tastiest part of this dessert although it fell apart as soon as I touched it so I wasn’t able to really savor the flavor. Rating 2 out of 5, but I’ll add an extra .5 for creativity giving it a 2.5 total.

    Cost: $5.99

         

    Here are two other treats found at the Polynesian Village Resort, that we did not try. These were at the Kona Island.

    The first is a Lemon Tart: lemon curd in a Sablé tart shell with toasted meringue and fresh berries. Cost: $5.00

    The second photo shows the Chocolate Dome: white and dark chocolate mousse dome with graham cracker crust and blue Mickey spirals. Cost $5.99

     

     

     

  4. A Look at the Updated Saratoga Springs Deluxe Studio Preferred Room

    These photos were taken during my stay at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa on September 30th to October 1st, 2021. My room was in The Springs section which is conveniently located near the High Rock Spring Pool, The Artist’s Palette restaurant and gift shop, and the bus stop. Also in this area is the Win, Place, or Show Arcade, the Community Hall, On The Rocks Pool Bar, the fitness center and Senses the spa.

    Here’s a look at the newly updated Saratoga Springs Deluxe Studio Preferred room. The “Preferred” rooms are located in The Springs and Congress Park. Remember, “preferred” refers to location, not necessarily view. They sleep four with a queen-size bed and a double-size Murphy (pull-down) Bed.  Check out the sweet artwork and hidden Mickey! The new Murphy Bed, although firm, is more comfortable than the traditional pull-out sofa with a bar across your back.

    One bonus feature for this room is the amount of outlets and USB ports available. The nightstand had several “plug-in” spots along with the TV stand.

    The room is your typical Deluxe Studio. The floor plan on Disney’s website for this room shows a table and chairs, however this was not the case, at least not for this room. Fortunately the coffee table opens up into a space that allows in room dining. I would find this somewhat inconvenient if traveling with more than one other person.  Also, keep in mind that the person sleeping on the Murphy Bed must be awake to use the loveseat.

    The bathroom is neutral colors with a shower/tub combo, sliding glass doors, and a fancy shower head. The shower head also includes a handheld attachment which I was glad to see. This feature will come in handy when trying to wash hair on the little ones. Don’t forget about the pull out clothes line for hanging those wet bathing suits the coveted Disney H2O+ toiletry items.

    The sink area is a nice clean white. There is a magnified makeup mirror on the wall and a hair dryer in the drawer. The closet gives ample space and contains an ironing board, iron, hangers, extra pillows (the blanket is already on the pull-out bed), a room safe, and even a vacuum cleaner. The kitchenette consists of a mini fridge, drip coffeemaker, toaster, and microwave. Paper plates and plasticware are supplied for eating. Grab extra creamer, there were only 4 in the room.

    The room has a small balcony with chairs. My room overlooked the road. Remember location not view!

    Let’s get one more look at that adorable artwork. Welcome home!