Tag Archives: Dole Whip

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort – Pineapple Lanai

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It’s time for another installment of Saturdays With Nick!  This one’s for all you Dole Whip and Polynesian fans alike.  Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort – Pineapple Lanai

By Nick

Back when I was a kid, and by kid, I mean in my early 40’s, you could not only get a Dole Whip at the Magic Kingdom, you could also get one at Captain Cook’s at the Polynesian. Not only that, but it was self serve! So, of course, people would tower their pineapple treat as high as gravity would allow!

That is no longer the case, but you can still get Dole Whips and Dole Whip Floats at the Poly, at Pineapple Lanai.

PL, as I just now started calling it, is located right off the main lobby of The Great Ceremonial House.
It has a souvenir bowl and sipper, but that isn’t what makes this my new favorite spot to get a Dole Whip.

My favorite Dole Whip option is the Pineapple and Vanilla Swirl, and that is no longer offered at the Magic Kingdom, so this is the only spot to get that tasty snack!

Have you been to Pineapple Lanai?

 

To read all about Nick’s amazing Disney collectibles and his many Disney adventures, visit the Disney Musings Blog  (where this article first appeared).  You can follow Nick on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Pinterest.  You can also listen to Nick, our friend Dave, and me on The Disney Exchange Podcast where we talk about our love for all things Disney – new episodes every Sunday morning.

Disney World Stuff I’m Never Going to Like

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Being a serious Disney fan does not mean you have to automatically love each and every aspect of all things Disney.  I can (and often do) wax poetic about Walt Disney World and why it’s my favorite vacation destination, but that doesn’t mean I’m unaware of the existence of some things I don’t care for.  There aren’t many, really, only a handful.  Some of you will be huge fans of some of the items on this list and most likely will find fault with some of my favorite things in return.  For the sake of discussion, though, I invite you to consider what tops your own list of…

Disney World Stuff I’m Never Going to Like

Remember when I made this list of attractions I could live without?  Well, consider this sort of an addendum to that first look at this other side of Disney World fandom.Scan-Magic-Band-to-Board-Disney's-Magical-Express

Magic Bands should know more – I’m not going to lie here – I am crazy about the ease and convenience of Magic Bands when they work properly.  Hello!  Room key, park ticket, FastPass, charging feature – all are fabulous to me.  Now I want them to know I’m all of the following:  Annual Passholder, DVC member, and Tables in Wonderland user.  How can this not be working already?  I hate to think that Disney wouldn’t automatically want to apply appropriate discounts by maybe hoping we’ll forget we’re eligible? If attractions like It’s a Small World can know my name by my Magic Band, when I scan my band at a checkout counter, it should know I’m due a discount.Winnie-the-Pooh-attraction-sign

Mr. Toad is living on the West Coast – I finally forgave poor Winnie the Pooh for taking over the real estate and I refuse to be a perpetual whiner about this, but I will freely admit I miss Toad and his darkest of dark rides.  I’m seriously working out a plan to visit him in California in the not too distant future.Pineapple Dole Whip

I wanted to like Dole Whips but I don’t – Again, no secret here.  Bazillions of people adore these pineappley (made that up) frozen treats.  I wanted to belong…I wanted to be one of those uber-fans.  Alas (if ever there were an opportunity to say “alas” this is it!), it was not meant to be.  On the bright side, turns out I’m a Citrus Swirl Girl!!!!  And that makes me happy.Epcot in Summer

Future World in 2016 – If you never knew what it once was, you could kinda overlook what it is today…but I do remember and I long for a much more meaningful, interactive, edutainment-filled Future World.  WHY can we not have this again?  Oh, I know…Disney’s spread thin right now with so many projects over in Animal Kingdom and the Studios.  Which brings me to the next item on the list…RM-Animal-Kingdom-Construction-Walls

The Castle Crane and Construction Walls – The crane (affectionately referred to by many, including myself, as Frasier) is a necessary evil when the Christmas lights go on and come back off of Cinderella Castle.  I’m always a little heartbroken for first-timers who cannot get a crane-free Castle photo.  I know the why, but I don’t have to like it.  Likewise with construction walls.  They’re inevitable for progress to take place and sometimes, those clever Imagineers make the walls a bit entertaining…but they obstruct, impede, and diminish.  I’m never going to like them, but accept their necessity and am excited by all the new attractions I’ll get to enjoy.RM-Magic-Kingdom-Autumn

Reduction of Extra Magic Hours – If you haven’t noticed, there are fewer Extra Magic Hours than there used to be.  We’ve always been fans of the morning variety (our kids love late night EMHs) and can’t help feeling a little bit gypped by this once so useful perk being reduced.  Having been touted for many years as a real advantage of staying on property at Walt Disney World, the reduction in quantity of Extra Magic Hours strikes me as Extra Unfortunate for those of us who purchased our Disney Vacation Club memberships, in part, based on this early entry (or late night) advantage.

I know I’ve told readers not to whine at Walt Disney World, but I will be the first to give you permission to NOT love absolutely everything.  What tops your list of things you’re never going to like?

 

 

Walt Disney World – Six Days, Seven Snacks

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Caramel Apples in EpcotI’ve got a small dilemma and I need your help.  My ODPS (Obsessive Disney Planning Syndrome – it’s not a rare condition, I’m told) has kicked into overdrive now that we’re under the 30 day mark.  I’ve been listening to you here in the blog’s comments and out there on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other Disney blogs – everyone has a favorite Disney food…I’ve been meticulously planning my vacation snacks based on all this info-gathering.  I’ve also got an item on my Disney New Years Resolution list I need to cross off.  I’ve allowed myself a $50 snack budget – here’s my problem…I’ve planned out 7 snacks over 6 days and still have a little money left over!  I KNOW, right?  Who would have thought it possible?  Oh, not to worry, I’m planning on splitting these snacks with The Fam so there aren’t any unanticipated consequences which might result in my vacation wardrobe becoming…shall we say ill-fitting.DSCN2519

So, I’m going to list the snacks in my plan, their price, and where they can be purchased.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to recommend additional snacks I can add to the list with the $13.29 I have left over.

Here we go:

1. Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar $3.75 – can be purchased at any park.  I know, why waste a snack on an ice cream bar – plain old vanilla dipped in chocolate…it’s my favorite snack and I have to have one, that’s why.

2. Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich $7.19 – Sleepy Hollow in Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square.  Sure, if I count it as a meal (and don’t share!), I can save the 7 bucks for other options…and that might happen, but as of now, we’re all planning on taking a taste and group voting on this highly praised food item.

Dole Whip courtesy of the Disney Dream Girls

Photo Credit: The Disney Dream Girls

3. Dole Whip $3.79 – Aloha Isle in Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland.  Going with the traditional version of this incredibly popular snack food that I have never tasted…shocking, I know.

4. and 5. Side by side, head on comparison of the new and allegedly amazing Cronut (officially called Croissant Doughnut) $4.49 and my beloved Chocolate Croissant $2.99 – both at Epcot.  The Cronut is available at the Refreshment Port and the Croissant at Sunshine Seasons.  Will the new snack on the block be able to hold its own against the tried and true perennial favorite?  We shall see.

6. Churros $3.75 – Magic Kingdom, Frontierland Churro Cart.  Nah, I’ve never had these either – Sunshine Season's Chocolate Croissantgo ahead and set that shocked gasp free!  It’s the missing sweet tooth…but I’m going to give them a try and see if I will join the legions of churro lovers everywhere.

7. Empanadas de Queso $10.75 – La Cantina de San Angel, Epcot’s World Showcase, Mexico Pavilion.  Another meal disguising as a snack, but we can all have a taste and do that group voting thing again.  The Mexico Pavilion will just not get the family’s vote for a meal, but in the interest of research, I’m sure I’ll have no shortage of taste volunteers.  I like Mexican food – the others would rather dine elsewhere.  My friend Heather from over at one of my favorite Disney blogs, Disney for Five+, swears these empanadas are a not-to-be-missed culinary masterpiece and I believe her!

So, here I sit…$36.71 down, $13.29 to spare.  What should I add?  If you’re thinking adult beverage, that’s an entirely different list with a separate budget!

Shout it out, now…don’t leave me hanging.   Tweet me if you have to…. @life_of_green.