Wont be back for a few months so I suppose looking through my pictures will have to suffice! Enjoy!
11.27.2012
11.20.2012
1900 Park Fare: A Photographic Recap
A highlight of our trip that I think we can all agree upon
was our visit to the 1900 Park Fare restaurant located in the Grand Floridian
Hotel. While the restaurant itself gets hit or miss ratings we were all very pleased
with our food, service, and of course the characters! We arrived for a later
dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming and the step family. Danny will do a
more in-depth review of the food later on, but I couldn’t wait to share this
great story!
Our first visitor was Prince Charming who gave Michael and
Brice a little lesson on royal posture. He was nice, but a little dull. As
Michael pointed out – how much personality can he really have given that he has
about 10 minutes of screen time in Cinderella? Touché. As you can see from the nice man accidentally photo-bombing on the right, we were quite close to the buffet area.
Next came Cinderella's step mother, Lady Tremaine, who was spot on! She made small
talk with Danny about his shirt featuring Maleficent. She was very snarky and true to her character. It is very refreshing to get to interact with the characters that can speak back and not just pantomime.
Following her mother, as usual, came Drizella who was instantly smitten with a certain someone. Not only did she insist on extra pictures but kept making eyes at Jed all night from across the room! No further explanation necessary! Just enjoy the awkward.
Anastasia of course said yes and seemed quite delighted! Like any true lady would, she gave Danny back his ring to be sized before the big day. She even left an extra sweet little note in Danny's autograph book stating that she was his true love. How sweet. The otherwise perfect moment was only marred by the poor Drizella who felt scorned by her sweetheart. Being the gentleman that he is, Jed promptly went over to make things right and explained that he would have asked but still needs to get a ring.
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| Do you see pouty Drizella in the background? Looks like someone needs to make an apology. |
Last but not least came Cinderella herself. It was
unanimously decided that the sweet characters are nowhere as fun as the naughty
ones! We took a few pictures with Cindy and called it a night.
If you are debating going to the 1900 Park Fare, I say, do it! The hotel is stunning and worth a visit in itself but the food was surprisingly good and the interactions we had were hysterical!
11.16.2012
Mmm - the best cupcake ever!
They say you eat with your eyes first so please take a moment to
feast upon this delectable little cupcake display. How adorable are these pumpkin cupcakes with maple frosting, candied pecans and little white chocolate pumpkin Mickeys!
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| Drooling yet? |
The fact that I was able to taste this little piece of
heaven happens to be a happy accident. You see, when I went to the famed
Starring Rolls Bakery for lunch I could not decide between this beautiful,
seasonal pumpkin cupcake and the long-loved but new-to-me Butterfinger Cupcake.
Ultimately, I foolishly chose the Butterfinger. Now, don’t get me wrong. It was
a yummy cupcake. The cake itself was moist and had a fudge-like filling. The
top had a marshmallow like frosting caked in Butterfinger crumbs. It was good,
but it was nowhere close to being as good as the pumpkin one!
You may be asking yourself what the happy accident was that
resulted in that cupcake being in my belly. Well, you see, as Danny and I went
to Starring Rolls for sandwiches for lunch the rest of the group headed to
Pizza Planet for lunch. My mission was primarily cupcake focused and had I know
that I could get a great cupcake at Pizza Planet I may have changed my plans.
After a filling salad and individual pizza our friend Jed decided he could not
quite take on his pumpkin cupcake, so he got a box and sent it back to the resort
with Gen who happened to being going back. Fast forward a few days and the
cupcake was still in our resort room, not Jed’s. After a hectic last morning,
bag checking, park going and lunch we never made the hand-off to get that
cupcake to its rightful owner. 
When not at Disney we frequent a local cupcake shop that
usually satisfies our cravings. Shout out to Buttercream Cupcakery for all your
yummy flavors! http://www.buttercreamcupcakery.com/
And my only complaint about the pumpkin (or any Disney) cupcake is that I
cannot get it in mini-sized like I do at the Cupcakery. After this treat I don’t
know if I will ever be able to look at a pumpkin cupcake the same again. A bar
has certainly been set!
To Jed and Colleen: I’m sorry I ate your cupcake. I’m sorry
that I am not really sorry. It was so good! I regret nothing. I am sorry that you didn’t get to
try it though… Maybe next year?
11.05.2012
5 For 5: Trip Anticipation
Happy November 5th! The MountainEars are just 4 days away from their next trip to the World and we are so excited!
We will be staying at All Star Music Resort and will be joined by Danny’s mom, Gen, a WDW veteran and four of our friends. Jed, Colleen and Brice have all been before but this will be Michael’s first time. I think it is safe to say that we are all very excited. Our trip will include the Food & Wine Fest, the Jingle Jungle 5K for Jed, Jaime and Danny, the F&W Half Marathon for Michael and Brice, and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!
The theme of this month’s 5 For 5 is what we are most looking forward to:
Danny:
1. Spending time with our crazy friends/family - I am very excited to vacation and share my Disney Parks love with my partner Jaime; but I am also excited to share this with our close friends and my family (mom)! This will be both an exciting scarey adventure and hilarious riot!
2. Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Uh hello... Delicious food and eligant wine, where can this picture go wrong?! Give me a try (that is a shout out to AJ over at the DFB Podcast)!
3. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - This is just so cute and so exciting, and I cannot wait to re-experience it, and share it with our great friends and family!
4. Running Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K - We'll be working on our fitness, while working on our Epcot Food and Wine! This means we can over indulge, right?!
5. (Maybe...) Getting to see New Fantasyland - New Fantasyland is just upon the horizons and I am hoping not only Jaime and I get to see it, by being Premier Annual Passport holders, but also our friends and family may get to see it!
6. Signing up for the Princess 1/2 Marathon - Don't tell Jaime, but I really wanna do this lady run, in support of all the ladies!
Jaime:
1. Going to the Food & Wine Festival. I may not be a big drinker, but I do love food and appreciate that the smaller portions means I can try more things. Yum!
2. Getting to try some new restaurants, specifically the Tusker House in the Animal Kingdom and lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom. I have heard such good things and am so excited!
3. Christmas time! We will be attending the first Christmas party of the season and will be there in time to see all the ornate holiday décor. From the ice on the castle to the towering Christmas trees in each hotel, I am excited to get a better look at all the little things Disney does for the holidays. My first trip to WDW was in December 2010 and I am hoping to feel a little of that first time magic again, too!
4. Spending time with loved ones! I find vacations to be much more satisfying when you can share the experience with people who are important to you. I know there will be times we go our own way and enjoy things in smaller groups but I also look forward to the silly shenanigans that accompany a party of 7 in a theme park.
5. Running the Jingle Jungle 5K! Danny and I are signed up to run the Tinkerbell Half at Disneyland but I have not had any motivation to get my legs moving (eek!) but I know I will be able to do the 5K just fine and hope it will be a nice kick in the butt to get me really into gear for our January race.
11.04.2012
runDisney – Expedition Everest Challenge and Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K
Jaime and I are getting ready to run our second ever
runDisney race this Saturday November 10, 2012. This will not be the headline race (the Wine and Dine ½
Marathon) but the family fun run 5K – Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K. Our first ever runDisney event was the
Expedition Everest Challenge in 2012.
It’s the only 5K headline event sponsored by runDisney. With that said, this blog post will
focus on what we are expecting and what our past race was like.
runDisney sponsors many ½ Marathon and Marathon events at
both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
All events, except for the Expedition Everest Challenge and Tower of
Terror 10 Miler, are at the minimum ½ marathon events. All ½ Marathon and Marathon events
include a family fun run, which includes a 5K and kids runs. These events are meant to target people
who want to participate in the event weekend itself, but whom aren’t ready to
dive into a minimum 13 mile run. I
also like to think they are there to get people excited about fitness and
wellness, but yet again, not be intimidated by a minimum 13 mile run. 
Our first race was the Expedition Everest Challenge and this
was a blast! So many people were
there in the most creative and elaborate costumes EVER seen. Yes costumes. runDisney is, I’m pretty sure, the only race where you can
dress in a full body suite and be complimented for it. People dress up like classic Disney characters
such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Disney Princesses like Aurora and Ariel or
even Disney quirks such as Yeti A and B mode (if you are a Disney’s Animal
Kingdom fan you’ll get this), Earl from Up and Figment. The people there are a huge perk. Also you get to see characters and take pictures with them during the run if you want, how fun!
The course itself was both good and bad. The first mile of our 5K was completed
in the parking lot, which is both intimidating and exciting all at once. If felt like we were running in the
parking lot forever. Once you entered the park the raceway became very narrow.
With nearly 5,000 people on the run there was a huge mix of people who were
taking the race very seriously and those just there for a fun challenge. What made
this race unique though are the obstacles that must be completed. It was a fun
change of pace to stop and run through tires or hop over hale bales but at the
same time it slowed down the overall pace of the race. In addition to the
obstacles, once the race portion was over came the scavenger hunt that was also
factored into your overall time. We were not anticipating how confusing this
would be, but luckily Jaime is good at puzzles! There were a lot of people so if you are not ready for
running in huge crowds a runDisney event may not be for you. The Expedition
Everest race is one of the smaller runDisney events compared to something like
the WDW Marathon that hosts over 20,000 people.
For the Expedition Everest Challenge all participants received real medals and
post race party tickets with their registration fee, in addition to the
standard race shirts and refreshments. Some may feel that the entry fee (around
$100) was too expensive for a 5K race but we didn’t mind since the post race
party was like an extra day in the park. The party went from the time you finished
the race and scavenger hunt until 3am. Many rides were open including the
Primevil Whirl, Dinosaur and of course, Expedition Everest! Some snack carts
and beverage stations were also open. A fun quirk about the medals is that they
are a compass, which embodies the expedition theme. One thing to note, however,
is that the face of the compass is incorrect with some of the directions in the
wrong places. Nonetheless, they are pretty great and it was cool to see all the
proud finishers wearing their medal around the parks! 
Overall the race was neat because we got to run through a
park that is rarely open past sundown. The participants seem to take the event
seriously but not so much so that if you are stuck on a clue during the scavenger
hunt they wouldn’t help you. We were warned before the race began and again
around mile 2 to be very quiet for a certain stretch of the race as we were
running in a backstage area near were some of the animals sleep overnight. How
cool is that?! The post race party was tons of fun, but since only some of the
rides were open we did experience some long lines. Riding the signature
attraction of the Animal Kingdom, Expedition Everest, in the dark was an
unforgettable experience that we partook in several times that night.
We look forward to this next race, the Jingle Jungle 5K,
because it will be an early morning run through the Animal Kingdom. From the
look of the map it seems that the race route has been changed, which is
exciting. Maybe we will have less running through a paring lot and more through
the park itself?
10.30.2012
Taste of Disney Review: Kalua Pork Sliders
Danny and I both enjoy the process and reward of cooking at
home. Most Sundays include planning our weekly menu and grocery shopping for
the week. Recently we received a Disney Insider email with a recipe we knew
would be a hit in our house. Not only was it a fairly simple dish in terms of
ingredients but it was also crock-pot friendly! We made some (minor)
modifications to the dish and were very happy with the results. We have even
decided to throw this into our regular meal rotation.
What we made
Kalua Pork Sliders with Pineapple Chutney and Spicy
Mayonnaise on Brioche Buns
We absolutely loved the spicy mayo. This condiment is so
easy to do and versatile. I anticipate making this for many dishes!
What we changed
For starters, this recipe yields 15 sliders which are simply
too much for our family of two. Now, that is not to say that we couldn’t down
15 little sliders, because they are that
good, but since we try to eat sensible portions it seemed like a better
idea to half the recipe. Enough for dinner and little left for someone’s lunch
the next day.
Our local supermarket doesn’t carry banana leaves, sadly, so
we had to do without for the purpose of our dish. Instead, Danny usually throws
in a little garlic. I think next time I will recommend a splash of pineapple
juice as well to really compliment the chutney.
Remember how I said that this was an easy-peasy dish? Well,
part of that is because we did not make our own brioche rolls. We took the easy
way out and purchased some King’s Hawaiian Rolls from the store and toasted
them before serving. Way simpler, just as tasty!
Lastly, we have used both fresh and canned pineapple for the
chutney. We love getting fresh pineapple whenever it is in season and pack it
for lunches and snacks so we didn’t mind getting some for the recipe. With that
said, I understand that some may be intimidated with the idea of hacking apart
this tropical beauty. Canned pineapple works just as well. I suggest getting
crushed pineapple so most of the prep work is already done. Crushed will also
get you a better end result, consistency wise, otherwise you will have large
chunks of pineapple on little buns.
The original recipe can be found here http://disney.go.com/disneyinsider/taste-of-disney/recipe/pork-sliders
10.21.2012
Carthay Circle Restaurant Review
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| Bar area in the main dining room of the Carthay Circle Restaurant |
With the recent overhaul of Disney California
Adventure came a spectacularly themed new dining location for foodies and
boozies alike. The Carthay Circle Restaurant is exquisitely themed after the
venue where Walt Disney premiered “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” decades
ago. On the main level of the building you will find a lounge serving a variety
of food and drinks in addition to the restaurant check-in stand. Once checked in your host will escort you
upstairs to the main restaurant. There is the main dining area, patio seating,
and several smaller, private rooms. Alex, our server when we went in August,
was very helpful in explaining the theming behind the rooms and pointing out
all the little details that make a park Disney. For instance, in one of the
smaller rooms there is a large table with an intricate stone base. The base was
made to represent the wishing well in “Snow White” and rumor has it that John
Lassiter himself had recently eaten at that very table. From the floor to the
ceiling, the details of the Carthay Circle restaurant are breathtaking. But…
the food is even better!
Danny and I had been drooling over the menu
from the day the Disney Food Blog posted it and couldn’t wait for our trip to
arrive.
We had debated over getting the Signature
Fire Cracker Duck Wings or the Carthay House Biscuits for our starters. The
wings are made with soy, lime, and Sriracha chili sauce whereas the biscuits
are stuffed with white cheddar, bacon, and jalapeno. I’m sure you can see why
this was such a debate. Lucky for us, the Carthay Circle threw us a curve ball
when we were presented our table with a basket of warm sourdough bread and some
butter. The decision to get the duck wings was then an easy one.
I am drooling a little thinking about how
great these wings were. The Sriracha and soy was a wonderful compliment to the
decadent, deep fried duck wings. It was a prefect balance of salt and spice.
The wings were literally melting in our mouths. We especially appreciated the
lime wedges as the hint of acid cut through the richness of the duck. This was
a great portion to share but I wouldn’t say no to having this as an entrée in
future trips.
Moving on to the entrees, I ordered the
Strawberry-Lemond Roasted Organic Chicken Salad. The dish included jicama, haricot
verts, upland cress and a buttermilk-lemon vinagrette. This is a wonderful,
light, seasonal lunch. The greens were crisp with a great crunch and the
chicken was very moist and juicy. The only thing I would change would be the
dressing. I found the salad to be a little overdressed for my tastes but I
think that was partly to blame for the fact that the dressing was so thin,
which I wasn’t totally expecting; the dressing was, however, very flavorful and
complimented the components of the dish well. 
Danny’s lunch is something that I am still
thinking about months later. He selected the Korean Pulled Pork Sandwich topped
with Kimchi, Sriracha mayonnaise, a fried egg and cilantro; this also came with
a side of fries. WOW! The pulled pork may have been the best I have ever had.
As a fan of “traditional” barbequed pulled pork I really enjoyed the flavor
profile of the sandwich a lot more than I thought I would have. The egg was
expertly prepared and the runny yolk gave the meat an extra flavor dimension
and some much needed richness to balance the Sriracha and kimchi. The fries
came in their own little cup and were clearly a step above traditional park
fries. Earlier I said I would consider getting the wings as an entrée, but that
would only be if this sandwich is no longer offered. As much as I would like to
go and try new things how could I knowing that this phenomenal dish is calling
my name? Knowing that the Carthay Circle is prized for their wine collection,
Danny wanted something to accompany his lunch. Once again, our server Alex was
extremely helpful, talking through the available wines and what would go best
with Danny’s meal. He ended up ordering the house chardonnay – this wine was
sweet with notes of honey. Danny said that even though he enjoyed this wine,
next time he would like to try something that has more of a California vibe
such as a zinfandel.
Last but not least came time for dessert.
Once again, the options were all mouth-watering. We selected the Toasted Lemon
Pound Cake, with fresh blueberries, lemon curd and a Tahitian vanilla
Chantilly. This was a taste of summer! The lemon pound cake was rich and sweet
whereas the lemon curd was creamy and tart. I am a huge fan of the
lemon-blueberry romance; taking a bite with a little of each component was
heavenly. I don’t expect this to be on the menu come January during our next
trip, a good thing since it will require me to try something new. I do hope,
however, that it will be back next summer! If it is there when you go, which I
hope you do, get it!
Hands down, our entire experience was
outstanding. The ambiance, service, variety and food were second to none. For
our dining reviews we are using a modified Iron Chef rating system which also
includes overall ambiance and service since this isn’t a TV show where the chef
will walk your dish over and explain things ;)
Taste: 10/10
Originality: 4/5
Plating: 4/5
Ambiance: 5/5
Service: 5/5
OVERALL: 28/30
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