Category Archives: Disney at Home

Favorite Disney Birthday Gifts

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Perry demonstrates how I like to celebrate!

 

I still like birthdays.  Mine, I mean – even though I’ve had quite a few and many people my age (49 – yes, I admit it!) don’t want to celebrate them much anymore.  I still get excited for my big day!  I think it’s because at our house, birthdays are always treated as holidays.  You’re made to feel special, gifts are always carefully guarded secrets until the big reveal, and you get to choose how you want to celebrate the day. 

When I think back about the Disney gifts (and there have been many) that I’ve received on my birthday, two stand out as particularly special.  Maybe because they were from Raymond or maybe because I see/use them everyday (or both) – they’re great because they help keep the Disney magic alive and well in our home between vacations.

IMG_2084The Mickey plate stand.  I saw this in one of the Contemporary Resort’s gift shops and just fell in love with it.  It’s not too big, can be used to serve small treats or just as a decoration and is classic Disney.  There was really no way at the time I saw Mickey that I could justify buying him for myself.  So, typical of Raymond’s gift buying ways, when we got home from vacation he made it a quest to procure Mickey in time for my birthday.  It wasn’t easy.  He looked online at The Disney Store and – no luck.  So, he called the Contemporary and managed to find a helpful Cast Member in one gift shop that was willing to go to all the resort’s gift shops for Raymond, find Mickey and ship him to our house. 

More recently (last year) I received my other most favorite Disney gift.  Mickey dinnerware.IMG_2093  I admired these plates while we were at Disney World…several times, in fact, because we saw them in several different stores.  I liked the simplicity of them and how well they would go with our red kitchen.  Also, matching other dishes to them would be pretty easy.  This time, it was a little easier for Raymond since these were available online.  These plates are of excellent quality and are holding up very well after many cycles in the dishwasher and nukes in the microwave.  If you can think of any place I might find some red, red and white, or black bowls that would go with my Mickey plates, please let me know – I’m having trouble finding just the right ones.

What was YOUR favorite Disney birthday gift?

Epcot’s Canada – Le Cellier’s Cheddar Cheese Soup

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 O’ Canada!  What a great Epcot pavilion.  Not just because of the Canadian Beer kiosk out front (Molson or Moosehead, anyone?), or “Off Kilter” the kilt-sporting band that provides “Celtic rock” entertainment (who doesn’t love a bunch of guys in kilts?).  No, it doesn’t have a ride (like Mexico or Norway) or a cool department store (Japan), but it does have Le Cellier Steakhouse.  Scoring a reservation to this cozy (read:  small) table service restaurant takes luck, flexibility and serious planning!  Even at 180 days out, you’ve got to be willing to take what you can get and plan the day around it.

Le Cellier (The Cellar) is designed as a dine-in wine cellar.  Think exposed beams and stone arches.  It’s dark, it’s romantic, and lit by softly glowing candles and chandeliers, serves upIMG_3006 some delicious steaks.  What people really talk about though, is the soup.  The cheddar cheese (with beer) soup is wildly popular – Le Cellier’s signature dish!  We order it every time we go…it’s served with breadsticks and is practically a meal on its own.

As I mentioned last Saturday, the cooler weather has brought on serious soup cravings.  I want Le Cellier’s cheddar cheese soup!  Well….since I’m not going to Disney World, I’ll just have to bring a little Disney World to me and find the recipe!  I started at my premier choice for IMG_2089all Disney food info – The Disney Food Blog.  Eureka!  Sure enough, it was right here.  In the Chef BigFatPanda’s DIY Disney Column.  So, basically 11 ingredients (I’m not counting salt, pepper, or the chive garnish since I – gasp – changed the garnish). 

I like to cook and I cook a lot.  I don’t bake much (yes, there’s a difference between cooking and baking) because my sweet tooth is nearly non-existent and baking generallyIMG_2090 takes more precision with measurements (not my thing).  This recipe was fairly easy.  I served it with a spinach salad (dried cranberries, toasted pecans, feta, balsamic vinaigrette) and some French bread.  Raymond took me shopping and out to lunch today (for my birthday), so soup for supper was just the ticket.  Megan and Grant (her boyfriend of 3 years) joined us for dinner – Megan brought the birthday cake (Thanks, sweetie).  Only drawback was missing Joseph (Expand your mind, Sonny, I’ll see you on Thanksgiving break), but what a great meal (and good company) to end a wonderful day.

IMG_2091How do you bring Disney World to YOU? 

The Creatures of Disney World

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Squirrel at Home, Moth in Key West, Raccoon at Home.

Little Back Story:

Before I delve right on into today’s post topic.  I need to give you some background info on the youngest member of The Fam, Joseph. He was, like many a boy-child born here in the Sportsman’s Paradise, a big fan of catching and studying all manner of creepy-crawly things.  Almost from birth.  We implemented a catch-and-release rule at our house by the time he was five.  We did allow a few pets and over the years Joseph cared for dogs, cats, pet rats, a gecko, a hairless guinea pig named Rufus (oh, just imagine how cute! No.), and some mail-order larvae that, thankfully, did turn into butterflies.  The rest of Joseph’s animals just came for a visit and then moved on.  That list included many snakes, skinks, and lizards, one baby possum, a baby rabbit, a baby raccoon, a flying squirrel, and an enormous garden spider named Mildred that lived outside our dining room window (Joseph tossed bugs into her web and she lived there for five months).  Joseph!  If you are reading this, call your parents!  (Sorry, empty nesting is HARD!)  Back to my post.

Here’s the Disney part: 

Animals at WDW

Bunny: Epcot, Ducks: Magic Kingdom, Lizard: Studios

What Joe’s awesome animal finding skills mean for us when we’re on vacation at Disney World is that, if there’s a creature or critter around, Joseph’s going to spot it.  Duck and baby ducklings at Magic Kingdom?  Joseph will point them out.  Lizard on a tombstone at The Haunted Mansion?  Joseph will see it.  Bunny in Epcot?  You bet Joe will show it to you.  All that is, and was, just fine.  Until one day at the China pavilion in Epcot.  Our darling boy, with no advance warning whatsoever, reached into the carefully manicured landscaping and pulled out a snake.

SNAKE!

SNAKE! Epcot China Pavilion

Genuinely concerned about the snake’s well-being, Joseph began looking around for an Epcot Cast Member he could give the snake to-hoping it could be safely moved from such a high-traffic area.  I was freaking out – not about the snake itself, I was used to that (at least it wasn’t poisonous this time)- I just knew there was pretty much no chance at all that any Cast Member would be willing to take that snake off Joseph’s hands.  So I began quietly trying to talk him into putting the snake back where he found it.  I took a few pictures (and noticed a few random strangers doing the same), and continued to coax Joseph – I argued that the snake looked like it would be just fine if only Joseph would PUT IT BACK!  Took me a few minutes, but finally Joseph decided that it did indeed look healthy enough and he gently sent it on its way up the same tree below which the snake had been found.  Whew.  We resumed our vacation with no further reptile encounters. 

What’s your most unusual animal encounter at Disney World?

 

Disney at Home – Ratatouille Wine Print

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Disney at Home – Favorite Disney Cruise Souvenir

As a family of Disney fans, we don’t have as much Disney stuff around the house as you might imagine.  Oh, don’t get me wrong – visitors to our home figure it out quickly enough, but mostly, our Disney-ness is subtle.  I think.  Maybe.  One piece of evidence – proof positive that we are pretty crazy about all things Disney is an art print on our kitchen wall.

We bought cruise art.  There, it’s true.  I admit it.  It’s hard to resist temptation when, on each of five cruises on Disney Cruise Line (Magic and Wonder), we’ve browsed and admired the Disney art-for-purchase displayed prominently along the walls.  Most of it, thankfully, is not to our taste – but very beautiful, amazing even, just the same.

Then one day we saw IT!  The ONE.  Our browse-’em and leave-’em days were over.  The 1920’s-inspired Ratatouille Wine giclee print was completely irresistible.  It was perfect and we had toIMG_2082 have it.  Again with the emotion-based Disney purchase, but what can I say?  The style and colors were perfect for us.  It was a limited-edition so it might increase in value someday, but that’s not why we bought it.  Sometimes, when you love something, you just have to take a little piece of it home with you.  This picture represented the great times we’ve had on our Disney cruises.  (Plus, we love wine, love Ratatouille, and have a red kitchen)

IMG_4712I look at this picture on my kitchen wall every single day and remember how much we’ve enjoyed our Disney Cruise vacations.  Land-and-Sea Bahamas (Surprise Christmas gift), Western Caribbean (Megan’s senior year), Castaway Cay Double-Dip (Joseph’s best friend Jason came along), Alaska (Spectacular scenery, SO fantastic), and Mediterranean (Trip of a lifetime).  Remy smiling down at me from his perch next to the kitchen table reminds me of them all.  Will we ever buy another piece of cruise art?  Probably not.  But we sure love the one we’ve got!

What’s your favorite Disney Cruise Line souvenir?