Disney at Home – Duplicating Recipes

The Wave EntrancePart of (I should really say much of) our Disney vacation happiness is about the food.  Favorite restaurants, favorite dishes, trying new places – oh, boy, do we love to eat at Walt Disney World!  What’s best about all this dining is when a particular dish really surprises us.

Disney at Home – Duplicating Recipes

Last December when Raymond and I were on our post-Christmas R&R, I booked dinner at The Wave (Contemporary Resort) for our last night.  I knew we’d be tired and want to be close to our room at Bay Lake Tower.  We’d never eaten in The Wave before, but had enjoyed snacks and cocktails in the lounge more than once.  We knew the food would be good and were looking forward to the relaxing atmosphere.The Wave Menu

As expected, we were exhausted, but had been having a fantastic trip.  We arrived for our last dinner practically sleeping on our feet.  If you’ve never been to The Wave before, it’s a lot like being in a cellar – no windows, cozy if a bit dark.  The service is absolutely top notch.  We ordered soup for an appetizer and, if I remember correctly, we both ordered fish for our entrees.  I’m positive we ordered a bottle of wine from the cocktail menu.The Wave Menu Cover

The soup was a most pleasant surprise and made the entire meal for us.  In fact, it was one of the most delicious soups we’d ever had.  The ultimate comfort food – creamy soup full of sausage, gnocchi, and spinach.  As we were exchanging Mmmmmm’s, I made the offhanded comment that I could probably recreate this amazing deliciousness at home.  We enjoyed the rest of our dinner, made the short walk back to Bay Lake Tower and crashed.  The next morning we headed for home.

Fast forward about at week and Raymond says, “Hey!  Weren’t you going to try to make that soup?”.  Yes!  I had planned on that and I made my grocery list right then and there.  I’ve cooked Disney dishes at home before, but always found a recipe online to use.  This time I didn’t even search for a recipe, I made it up as I went.  How hard could it be?The Wave Soup Recreation in Progress

Turns out not really hard at all.  I stared by browning spicy Italian sausage which I drained and set aside.  While the sausage was browning (I added red pepper flakes to make it spicier), I defrosted, squeezed dry, and food-processed a package of frozen spinach (the food processing part was a total waste of time).  After that I whipped up a simple roux of butter and flour.  Then I stirred in a healthy amount of both chicken broth and real live honest to goodness cream.The Wave Soup Recreation Begins

I added the spinach and sausage and one store-bought package of gnocchi to the pot and let it all cook together for about half an hour.  This gave the gnocchi time to become soft and all the flavors to blend together.  While all that was going on, I toasted up some garlic bread as an accompaniment.  The original version from The Wave had a crunchy toasted cheese topping which I’ll try to recreate in the future.The Wave Soup IngredientsThe Wave Soup Recreated

While the soups didn’t look exactly the same, the flavors were nearly identical.  I was very proud of my soup!  I will most definitely be making it again as soon as the weather starts to cool off a little in the fall.

Have you made a Disney dish at home?  What’s your favorite Disney recipe?

25th Anniversary Passport – Walt Disney World

In 1996 we were already a family of four.  Megan was five and Joseph just 13 months old when we took them to Walt Disney World for the first time that summer.  In July.  We stayed at All Star Music and had the time of our lives!  This week Disney previewed the merchandise coming out this fall to commemorate Walt Disney World’s 45th Anniversary – My, how the time has flown by!  Do you remember Disney World in 1996?  Nick’s got a wonderful souvenir from that year.  Take a look…

25th Anniversary Passport – Walt Disney World

By Nick

This passport was from Walt Disney World’s 25th Anniversary in 1996.

Remember the Magic!
This passport, like the Epcot version, measures 5 1/2 by 3 3/4 inches.

The first page tells you what the passport is all about.

“Welcome to the 25th Anniversary Celebration at the Walt Disney World Resort!
It’s a big year of celebration with festivities, parades, and special special events continuing through 1997.
While at the Magic Kingdom, guests can validate their passports at 8 key park locations (locations are identified on each of the pages).
The passport is also packed full of great Magic Kingdom trivia- see how much you know!”

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The next couple of pages tell some of the awesome events and parades you’ll experience on your 25th Anniversary visit. Remember the Castle Cake?

Then the trivia begins!
Some of the questions are hard! See how many you can answer. I’ve included the answer key at the end.

The biggest problem I had with the whole thing, and an issue they may not have foreseen, was the bleeding through of the stamps to the opposite page.

Well before the Pirates movies, this book paid homage to one of the most popular Magic Kingdom rides, the only ride to get this honor.

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How many did you get right?

For more Disney awesomeness, be sure to follow Nick, his wife Barbie, and friends:  Disney Musings Blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, On Instagram, On Pinterest.  You can listen to Nick, our friend Dave and me on The Disney Exchange Podcast where we talk about…well, you can probably guess.

Walt Disney World’s New Stuff

Have I mentioned lately how stoked I am about all the new stuff at (or about to be at) Walt Disney World?  I’m certain I’ve said something a time or two.  So much to be excited about and I’ve got the next three visits queued up!  While we’ll still be waiting on Rivers of Light and Pandora in Animal Kingdom and both Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land in the Studios, there are still some pretty awesome new experiences awaiting us as we visit in the near future.  Here are the five things at the top of my list…

Walt Disney World’s New StuffSoarin's Patrick

  1. Soarin’ – I’ve been a fan since the first flight I ever took.  I cannot wait to experience the newest version of one of my most favorite attractions!  Those rave reviews all over the internet have me very optimistic that I won’t miss the original much at all.  The Boardwalk at Walt Disney World
  2. Abracadabar – Opening soon next to The Flying Fish on The Boardwalk, this new lounge sounds like a perfect example of Disney doing what they do best – creating an immersive, extensively themed guest experience.  Designed around the premise that it was once a favored hot spot for magicians and their assistants during the Golden Age, you know it’ll be packed with a remarkable helping of its own type of magic.  Read more about it here.Animal Kingdom-Entrance
  3. Tiffins – When the menu was first released for this new signature dining restaurant in Animal Kingdom, I heard a bunch of negative comments.  After it opened and people actually got to try the food and experience the ambiance, there seems to have been a markedly different reaction on social media and the internet.  I’ve heard rave reviews and am more excited than ever to visit Tiffins myself.  Marinated Grilled Octopus?  Sure, I’m game!Frozen-Sing-Along-Anna-and-Elsa
  4. Frozen Ever After – If you’ve been around here a while, you may have noticed that I’ve not been a huge Frozen fan.  That doesn’t stop me from wanting to experience what Jim Hill recently touted as possibly the best dark ride Disney has ever created.  I love the fact that the ride’s duration is approximately five minutes!  Compared that to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train’s two minute duration and Frozen Ever After sounds even more awesome.  Now, if I can just score some FastPasses.Tree of Life 2016
  5. Nighttime Awakenings at Animal Kingdom – I love the Tree of Life and am beyond excited to see what it looks like with the new special nighttime effects.  I’d also like to try a Kilimanjaro Safari after dark, even though I’ve heard plenty about what I won’t be seeing on that attraction after sundown.  Finally, I’m secretly holding out hope that whatever is plaguing the Rivers of Light show will be repaired so it will finally make its debut in time for me to see that too!

How about you?  What’s new at Walt Disney World that you’re most looking forward to?

Who Would Love Enchanted Tales With Belle?

Sometimes (shout out if you’re with me here) when you’re making FastPass+ selections, something comes up that had never been on your radar before.  A ride or attraction that you’d never considered shows up as a suggestion along with two others that you are excited about.  If you, like me, have multiple visits to that park planned on vacation – this new, untried attraction causes you to stop and think…what the heck?  Why not!  Let’s give it a whirl.  Such was the case with us a few months back when Raymond and I were at Walt Disney World and I booked a FastPass for a most unlikely choice…Enchanted Tales With Belle Selfie

Who Would Love Enchanted Tales With Belle?

Yes, two mature (a.k.a middle-aged) adults visited this marginally popular Fantasyland attraction in Magic Kingdom.  While we were soaking it all in, we decided that this attraction has definite appeal for a certain subset of Disney fans.Enchanted Tales With Belle Cottage

Pre-school through about age 8 – This is a kid-friendly attraction!  Little ones who like Beauty and the Beast and love story-time will be happy with this attraction.  It’s not scary and includes familiar elements of the story while encouraging audience participation.  Shy people or folks like us who just want to see what’s going on without becoming part of the action are also completely welcome and made to feel at ease.Enchanted Tales With Belle - Wardrobe

Diehard Belle fans – Sure, there are plenty of familiar characters involved, but Belle is the star of this attraction and she’s everything you hope she’ll be.  Gracious, humble, and in her gorgeous gold ball gown.  What more could fans want?  You can get up close for a picture even.Enchanted Tales Wtih Belle - Lumiere

Anyone who loves Disney’s magical special effects – Belle’s the star here, but the “enchanted” part really adds to the experience.  This is Disney at its best – if you love Disney details large and small, Disney magic at its finest, you’ve got to experience this attraction at least once.  While we’ve only been the one time, I want to go back just in case I missed something the first time.  The technology in Enchanted Tales With Belle is excellent and should be part of all future Disney attractions!Enchanted Tales With Belle Special Effect

Are you a fan of Enchanted Tales With Belle?  What do you love about it?  If you’ve never experienced it before, I encourage you to give it a try!Enchanted Tales With Bell- Wall Art