Tag Archives: Disney World

Character Dining at Disney’s Chef Mickey’s

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I don’t know about you, but when I go to Disney World, I still want to see Disney characters.  I do know how old I am (parts of me are reminding me of it all the time)…I can still be a kid at heart, right?  I love Donald!!!  In this post, I suggested some ways to meet characters on a Disney vacation.  One of them, probably the one I like the best, is character dining – our favorite of which is at Chef Mickey’s.  Why we love it?  It gives children (and adults like me) the chance to meet Disney’s Fab Five:  Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy – while enjoying a meal just a short monorail ride away from the Magic Kingdom.  Let me add:  This is a Princess-Free diningIMG_2651 experience which appeals to many families – especially ones with boys! 

Located inside Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Chef Mickey’s is a buffet serving Breakfast, Lunch (certain times of the year only) and Dinner.  The food, while certainly not of the fancy gourmet variety, is goIMG_2654od and offers a large selection of basic, American fare to appeal to just about everyone – including picky eaters.

A bit about the food:  At breakfast you can expect eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon, fruit, danish, pancakes, French toast, cereal and the ever popular Mickey waffles.  Dinner items include things like soups, salads, a carving station, pasta, roasted chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, veggies, chicken tenders, mac & cheese, and several desserts including all the fixin’s for ice cream sundaes and yummy bread pudding. IMG_5370

During your meal, the characters come around to your table for a little one-on-one time.  Not a long time, mind you (the whole no talking thing kinda rules out idle chit-chat), but long enough for some great pictures and memory making.  It’s good to see The Fab Five without waiting in line outside in the hot Florida sun!  It also seems to me that the characters tend to be a bit more playful here than they are in the parks.  There’s a little routine to get everyone excited where guests are encouraged to wave their napkins over their heads to music.  Just go with it, you won’t be alone.  

IMG_5372As you arrive at the restaurant (reservations strongly recommended), you’re given the opportunity for a family photograph before being seated (photo package prices vary).  Have we done that?  Yes, but if I had it to do over, I would have saved the money.  I don’t like those pictures nearly as much as the ones taken table-side by my own camera.  You can decide what’s right for you, but do have your camera ready at all times and I promise you’ll get some excellent photo ops!  Good food, good company – who could ask for more than that?

What’s your favorite Character meal at Disney World? 

 

Confessions of a RunDisney Wannabe

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IMG_4163Calling RunDisney fans – I need your help!

I dream Disney dreams all the time, but seems like I’ve been dreaming about participating in a RunDisney event forever.  

I’m a big fan of planning and goal setting (aka: dreaming and scheming).  The everyday me loves to procrastinate – I’m positive I work better under pressure *cough*.  The Disney me, possesses mad planning skills and can tell you at any given time what Disney trips are in the works for at least the next two years.  That me also has no problem whatsoever with making dining reservations 180 days in advance, creating spreadsheets to compare dining plan options, or creating and distributing a new, customized packing list/daily itinerary to each member of The Fam months ahead of departure.  How is it that I haven’t found a way to join two of my most favorite things in the world?

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Dug these out of a cabinet in the laundry room

 I’ve been running for more than 15 years.  I like running.  That and riding my bicycle are my preferred methods of staying in reasonably good shape (pretty important at my age!).  I’m proud to say I’ve completed 2 marathons, 4 half-marathons, countless 5k’s and over 30 sprint and olympic distance triathlons.  All of that would never have been possible without the support of The Fam who, with few exceptions, has always been with me, cheering me on.  I’t’s bothering me that as many times as I’ve been to Disney World, I’ve yet to participate in one of Disney’s popular running events.

So, RunDisney people, I need your help!  How do you blend a Disney vacation with your family and a lengthy sporting event?  I need some pointers, some tips and strategies for making sure I don’t inadvertently waste time or money on our Disney vacation doing something that feels like it’s mostly all about me.   General Dis Pics 11.13 070

Here are a few questions:

  • I’ve always trained and raced in the morning – are evening events more difficult because of this?  Have any tips?
  • What does your family do while you’re racing (when not actively cheering you on)?
  • How early do you generally arrive at Disney World (the day before? or earlier?)
  • How hard is it to hit the parks the next day and not slow everyone down?
  • I’ve narrowed down my best (most likely) future race options to:  The Princess Half-Marathon, The Wine and Dine Half, or the Tower of Terror Ten-Miler – any suggestions?

I’d be so very grateful for any tips you could give me!

 

 

 

 

What’s so Great about Disney World’s Tower of Terror?

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“Hollywood, 1939. Amidst the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie talent at the height of its golden age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right. A beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that.” -Mark Silverman as the voice of Rod Serling, Tower of Terror Introduction

 

Disney WorldIMG_0870‘s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror…The ride that divides The Fam like no other.  Raymond and Megan really don’t care for it and will ride it one time (and one time only) during each trip to Disney World – just to be polite.  Joseph and I love it (Joseph’s all time favorite ride) – we can and will ride it again and again.  Once we even scored a surprise fast pass when got off so we got right back in line!

Like Rock’n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror is located in Disney’s Hollywood SIMG_3026tudios at the end of Sunset Blvd.  The queue for this ride is, as Disney tends to do with newer attractions, cleverly detailed and carefully crafted to immerse you in the ride’s theme and story line long before you board the ride vehicle (in this case a seemingly innocuous service elevator).  From the winding garden paths through the overgrown greenery, past the once grand outdoor courtyards of the Hollywood Tower Hotel to the perfectly dusty and slightly sinister-looking hotel lobby, guests paying careful attention will find wonderful gems in the details.  Hidden Mickeys abound IMG_0876along with several nods to the Twilight Zone television series.  Even the sullen, grey- uniform-clad bellhops add to the depth of theming for this attraction.  If the day is not too warm, I find the stand-by line for this ride actually quite enjoyable, but that’s not why Joseph loves it.  The constant screaming coming from the hotel “guests” is a good clue about the real reason this ride’s a big hit with thrill-seekers like Joseph.

IMG_3521As you draw closer to the pre-ride intro show, you begin to feel a sense of dread.  As if the hotel lobby is emitting a warning to you.  The bellhops will guide you into the library.  Joseph describes it this way – “The feeling of impending doom is created by the cast members working at the tower and the abandoned, worn-down look of the hotel – inside and out.  Like somewhere you don’t want to be.”

The pre-ride show provides the backstory (I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s great!) after which you are led into the hotel’s basement to the service elevators.  The theming and mood-setting details continue –IMG_3525 watch for another Hidden Mickey on the wall.  TIP: Going to the left instead of right in line is generally faster.  Once you board the elevator (you must be 40″ tall to ride and health warnings exist), fasten that seatbelt – you’re gonna need it!  The best part of this attraction is the layers of build-up to the finale.  Everything, from the first step in line, leads up to what happens in that elevator!

Continuing with the story introduced in the library, the elevator travels through several scenes before you hit the real action.  The elevator drops, shoots up, drops, and so on – riders are constantly surprised.  Random drop Tower of Terror Collagesequences are what keep people coming back for more.  There’s no way to predict the exact pattern of elevator movement.  When the elevator is “falling” it is actually being pushed downward – gravity alone would not be this fast.  This is VERY scary for many people – as evidenced by the screaming!!!  Joseph and I both LOVE this part – we don’t find it frightening, just incredibly fun.  The sense of weightlessness is what makes this ride so great!

Have you visited the Hollywood Tower Hotel?  What did you think?

 

Meg’s Favorite Disney Ride – Mad Tea Party (Maybe)

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I knew when I polled The Fam about their favorite ride at Disney World, that question would be a challenge for Megan –

– She’d have the hardest time picking just one.  Megan is all about the classics and, after so many visits, family Disney traditions.  To Megan, visits to Disney World are not just vacations;  they’re like Christmas morning and her birthday all rolled up into one.  (Do I know how to raise Disney-fied children, or what!)  There’s no doubt Magic Kingdom is Megan’s favorite place, so I knew she would narrow her choices for favorite down to that park.

In Megan’s own words…

“Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion are two just-can’t-miss Disney rides. I wouldn’t feel complete if I went to Disney World and didn’t get to ride those two. Oh, and don’t forget Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It just wouldn’t be a Disney World vacation for me if I didn’t get to ride those. I suppose the list could just go on and on. I can’t pick just one ride because I have many, many favorites for a lot of different IMG_3300reasons.  Those rides are among my favorites not only because of how much fun they are, but also because to me they now all feel like part of the Disney tradition. I really feel that if for any reason any one of these rides:  Mad Tea Party, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, or Thunder Mountain were ever closed for good, my Disney heart would break. So, while I have some rides that I love because they are so thrilling you just want to get off and get right back in line, I have many rides that I love because they are Disney World to me. ”

IMG_3298“Now, that being said, I would have to say that the Mad Tea Party’s spinning tea cups are way up there on my list of favorites. I know there really isn’t much to them, but I really enjoy that ride because it is, to me, the essence of Disney theme parks. I mean, you just can’t see an advertisement for Disney World without a clip of those spinning tea cups. We may not ride them every time we go but it’s just one of those things. You can’t be a true blue Disney fan unless you have experienced the Mad Tea Party at least once or twice.”

In the end, Megan just couldn’t choose….”To pick one would be to betray all of those other ridesIMG_3297 that Disney World wouldn’t be Disney World without. It is a mixture of the rides that give you that thrill that makes Disney World the Happiest Place on Earth.”

What ride makes your Disney World visit complete?