Downtown Disney Orlando

Celebrate St. Patrick's day everyday at Raglan Road. The picture above is Dalkey Duo Sausages on the starter menu at Raglan Road. If you would like to make them at home, click this link http://www.kevindundon.com/beer_battered_cocktail_sausages_with_mustard_mayonnaise.html

Even though it wasn't St. Patrick's Day when we visited Raglan Road we had a great time there and we still talk about it being in the top five favorite restaurants we visited at Disney. The food was absolutely delicious and we even brought home some souvenirs from the Shop for Ireland.

One of our favorite things we did while in the restaurant was learning to speak Dublin-ese. On the beverage coasters and menu were translations. IE - "De face on dah 'n' the price of corn beef!" (the face on that and the price of corned beef!). Translation - that person doesn't look particularly happy.

I highly recommend checking out the web site, it's even a ton o'fun. www.raglanroad.com

Under events you can find information for the St. Patrick's day Festival beginning Mar. 15. Also under the heading of "roots" on the web site you can find more on how to speak Dublin-ese.

Epcot - Les Chefs de France

Ah, Chef Remy what grand feast do you have for us on the dinner menu today?

Today's Kids' Picks are...

Appetizers - Friand au Fromage (cheese puff pastry) $4, Salade Verte (mixed green salad) $3

Entre'es - Blanc de Poulet aux Nouilles (breaded chicken strips served with pasta) $7, Croquette de boeuf en Brioche (ground beef steak on a brioche bun, served with french fries) $8, Filet de Limande Saute' avec Haricots Vert et Tomates (pan roasted flounder served with green beans and tomatoes) $8

Dessert - Choix de Glace ou Sorbet (choice of ice cream or sorbet, vanilla, chocolate, sorbet of the day) $3, Biscuit au chocolat (chocolate chip cookie) $2.50

Above photo - vanilla ice cream and creme' brulee' at Les Chefs de France in Epcot

Epcot Leave A Legacy

My husband and I purchased a tile on our honeymoon at Epcot during the Leave A Legacy program, from Disney's Millennium Celebration. When we went back for our 10 year Wedding Anniversary (April, 2011) we wanted to track our tile down since we didn't get to see it on the monolith's before we had to leave for home during our honeymoon trip. I had read in Birnbaum's that we should find the Camera Center under Spaceship Earth (go to your right after you go through the entrance at Epcot). It was easy to find, especially because there was a "Leave A Legacy" sign in the window. We went into the shop and asked to see our tile. The cast member gave us a card with our code (E-3-B-12-3-6) on it and directions on how to find our Legacy in six easy steps.

Step 1 - Find your side. Determine which side of the planter you're on, East or West (E or W).

Step 2 - Find your row. Rows are numbered starting with row number 1 nearest Spaceship Earth.

Step 3 - Find your section. Sections start with the letter "A" nearest the planter and grow from there.

Step 4 - Find your panel. Each panel in a section has a number in the lower left corner.

Step 5 - Find your image. Count up on the left side of the plaque.

Step 6 - After counting up, stay on that line, count across to locate your image.

The Leave A Legacy exhibit was not expected to be permanent. One of the cast members told us it was to be removed in 2017.

Disney World Breakfast

One thing you have to try when you're at Disney is the Mickey Waffle. We've enjoyed this yummy treat for breakfast both times we were at Disney World and both times we enjoyed them at the Disney resort we were staying at. Lucky for everyone Mickey Waffles are pretty easy to get even if you're not staying at a Disney resort. Just check any of the breakfast menu's or food cart menu's to see if this yummy treat is being served at the park you're visiting. If you are like me and can't travel to Disney whenever you get a hankering for this special treat then I have solution for our dilemma. First get yourself a Mickey Waffle maker here, http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=18332973 , or any waffle maker will do. We enjoy using our Pooh & Tigger waffler. Then follow this recipe for your tasty treat.

4 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until light. Add cooled melted butter, milk and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking powder and salt, beat well. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into batter. Bake, serve with your favorite topping and have a magical day.

Disney World Easter 2011

We would be at Disney World for Easter and for the first time we weren't going to spend Easter at home with extended family. So I looked into how Disney World celebrates Easter. At Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (where we were staying), there was a candy scramble being held on Easter Sunday at 9:00AM between the Martinique and Barbados villages. Also, from 9:00AM to 10:30 there was a meet and greet with the Easter Bunny himself! What a great experience this was. Our son walked away from the candy scramble with three bags of candy! The Disney cast members provided adorable little Easter bags for the kids and the lawn was sectioned off according to age groups. Since we were staying in South Trinidad, we took the internal resort bus to the Barbados bus stop and then followed the balloons until we found the lawn with all the candy. We also got great pictures of Mr. Easter Bunny dressed in his Sunday best. The resort also offered to make an Easter basket (for a fee) for your child and deliver it to your room on Easter. The candy scramble and meet and greet were free.

Epcot also had Easter happenings (Easter Sunday only). At the United Kingdom there were Easter Egg hunts every 10 minutes from 11:00AM to 3:30PM and Easter Egg Relays 10 minutes after the hour from 11:10AM to 3:10PM. Easter activities were also held at the American Adventure from 11:30AM to 5:00PM and you could visit with Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny from 11:15AM to 1:45PM and 2:50 to 6:15PM at the American Adventure also.

Religious services were held on Easter Sunday in the Fantasia Ballroom of Disney's Contemporary Resort. The service schedule was Catholic Masses 8:00AM and 10:15AM. Protestant service 9:00AM.

The Swan and Dolphin resort had some fun Easter activities of their own including a glow in the dark Easter egg hunt! http://www.swandolphin.com/pdf/SD_Easter_activities2011.pdf

Since we were planning to break from Disney for a day and visit Universal Orlando I also looked into any Easter activities that may be happening there. It just happened that with the theater release of Universal Pictures, HOP, you could meet the characters from HOP. Get your picture taken with EB, the Pink Berets and more at select times throughout the day from 11:45Am to 5:15PM.

Disney World Travel

The best piece of advice I can give anyone who's going to Disney World is to read and plan. When my husband and I were going to Disney World for our first time (for our Honeymoon), a co-worker of mine told me to buy a Birnbaum's book and plan, plan, plan. He told me he took his family to Disney World and although they had a wonderful time, they wasted a lot of time trying to decide what they wanted to do each day because there is so much to choose from. So I took my co-worker's advice and bought a Birnbaum's book from AAA travel who was also making all the necessary arrangements for our trip. My husband and I had a great time going through the book each evening. He had a green highlighter, I had pink and we each highlighted things we had to do and see. My husband and I went on our Disney World Honeymoon armed with a plan and I'm happy to say that of all the things we highlighted in our book, there were only five things we didn't have time for. Three out of those five we missed our first time around, we got to experience this past year (2011) when we went to Disney World our second time with our then 8 year old son. When we decided to go back to Disney World (for our 10th wedding anniversary) we thought it would be great to plan the trip over our son's Easter break from school, and that way we could celebrate his birthday and our anniversary because Easter just happened to fall between those two special dates. I was very excited to spend Easter at Disney but a little nervous when I found out that Easter is one of the high season's for Disney. I knew having a plan was the answer and plan I did. I bought another Birnbaum's book for 2011 and a Birnbaum's Kids book so my son could be a part of the planning. I also found several great tips on Disney web sites and information about new and upcoming attractions at Disney's blog (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/). Now that you have materials to understand the layout of the parks and what attractions are there you are ready to map out a plan.

Above photo - entrance to Disney's Caribbean Beach resort.

For Nicci

Awhile ago my friend told me I should start a blog. Little did she know I had started one but not on the subjects she had suggested. Sooo, Nicci this one is for you.
Tonight is busy night for my family. My husband and child had a chiropractor appointment at 5:00PM, which meant my husband had time to get home from work, change clothes, get the child's shoes on and head out the door for the appointment. So, being the good wife/mother that I try to be I decided we would have a quick un-labor intensive dinner. Hamburger Helper, that's right, you heard me, Hamburger Helper lasagna. I know it's not at the top of the nutrition chain but I wanted something hot and quick. So I pull the thawed hamburger from the refrigerator, opened the pack and immediately gagged from the smell of the hamburger. The hamburger had spoiled and now I have to quickly come up with something else for dinner. I remember that there is a P.F. Changs frozen meal in the freezer that my husband purchased a couple of days ago. Hurrah, another quick supplement. So I toss the hamburger in the garbage, put the Hamburger Helper back on the shelf and reach for the P.F. Changs. I grab the skillet from the cupboard and put it on the stove and read the directions for heating on the bag. Cook on high heat for 6 minutes with lid on skillet. Remove lid and continue to cook for 7 minutes on medium heat. So I toss the frozen food in the skillet, set the kitchen timer and head upstairs to take care of some things. Now I know that I can't hear that timer go off from upstairs so I guesstimate my time while I'm looking for wrapping paper/gift bag to wrap a birthday gift for my father-in-law. Needless to say, I can't find either in a birthday theme appropriate for a man in his 60's. I wonder if he would like a bag with red stripes and blue and yellow balloons on it? Probably not. So after what I thought was about 4 minutes of time I come back downstairs to a smoke filled kitchen and burnt Chinese food smell. My first thought was "I've burnt the second dinner of the evening!!" "What is wrong with me?" That's right kids, you've read correctly, I've managed to ruin the second dinner of the evening (for those of you keeping score). I grab the smoking skillet off the fire red burner and turn off the stove. I put the skillet down on a cool burner and turn on the vent, ceiling fan and air conditioner to help clear the smoke out. I call my husband, tell him what I've done and ask him if he should just pick up some McDonald's for everyone. He says he has $4 with him and that won't buy us dinner. Great. So I decide to sacrifice the frozen pizza that I had just bought today (but was saving for another busy night like tonight). I tell myself not to be afraid, that the third time will be the charm. Luckily it was. We had a Newman's frozen supreme pizza for dinner and got on with helping our child with their homework, going to Scout's sign up and a PTA meeting. Got home in time to tuck my child in bed and finish this post.

PS Half way through the PTA meeting I realized I smelled like burnt Chinese food. Great.