Tag Archives: Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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December Dining

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Day 400 in my planning my way to meeting up with Mickey

Today’s plan was to book some dining reservations for our December trip to Walt Disney World.  Here’s what the plans are:

  1. December 6–Dinner at The Hollywood Brown Derby and a leisurely afternoon and evening strolling around Disney’s Hollywood Studios and taking in the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights and perhaps Fantasmic!
  2. December 7–Dinner at Rose & Crown Pub at EPCOT followed by Candlelight Processional.  And an afternoon and evening of EPCOT touring.
  3. December 8–An early dinner at The Wave…of American Flavors at Disney’s Contemporary Resort followed by Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom.  I would have liked to have dinner at Magic Kingdom, but there is not one available reservation for that afternoon/evening.  However, I have a soft spot for Disney’s Contemporary Resort, so I’m happy to have an excuse to visit there.

What a fun day this has been!  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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The Return

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Day 392 in prepping to meet Mickey

Today’s plan was to read the fall version of Disney Files Magazine.  It is the official magazine for Disney Vacation Club members.  The cover features a picture from the new Kingdom Keepers book The Return.  See below.

The Return (Kingdom Keepers #8)

With the defeat of the Overtakers behind them, the five teenagers known as the Kingdom Keepers should be celebrating. By all accounts, they saved Disneyland from certain destruction. Why then did their mentor leave one last puzzle for them to decipher? The Keepers must solve a puzzle of the past, or be crushed under an evil that makes the Overtakers seem like gentle souls.
I thought the series was finished.  I am very excited about this preqeul/sequel (and how is a book a prequel and a sequel??).  So this will be my first souvenir from our trip this October.  I will make my way to The Writer’s Stop at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and purchase a copy.  Yay!
Meet you at the Kingdom!
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Force Friday

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Day 391 in dreaming my way to meeting Mickey

Today is Force Friday, and so I say, “May the Force be with you.”  Today’s plan is to remember Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Here is what Touring Plans says about the ride:

Description And Comments

Based on the Star Wars movie series, this was Disney‘s first modern simulator ride. Guests ride in a flight simulator modeled after those used for training pilots and astronauts. You experience dips, turns, twists, and climbs as your vehicle goes through an intergalactic version of the chariot race in Ben-Hur. The ride film is projected in high-definition 3-D and has more than 50 combinations of opening and ending scenes. You could ride Star Tours all day without seeing the same film segment twice.

I can’t wait to ride it in October!!  We have a Fastpass+ booked for it.    So in honor of this special day, I am going to watch Star Wars tonight, and dream Skywalker dreams tonight.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I’m pretty jealous of Daniel right now who is there is experience the excitement first hand!

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FastPass+ or Slow, Frustrating Pass?

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Day 369 in my planning my way to meeting my pal Mickey

Today’s plan was put into motion at 11:01 pm Central Standard Time last night.  That’s when my Walt Disney World vacation became only 60 days away.  Disneyphiles will know that because I am staying at Disney’s Old Key West, a Walt Disney World resort,  I at that moment became eligible to schedule our FastPass+ picks.  (For those not in the know: FastPass+ is a system that lets you basically preregister for attractions and shows.  it allows you re sign up for three a day.)

If I hadn’t gone to the gathering to show love and support for a friend yesterday, I wouldn’t have realized that this was the case.  I would have gotten up at 6:00 am CST this morning and gone online to schedule FastPass+.   But a church friend who was there is going to The Happiest Place on Earth at the end of September and she made me aware of this particular fact: the system updates at midnight Eastern Standard Time which is 11:00 pm where I live,  (Thank you, Ann!)  So I started my scheduling at 11:01 pm and I finished at about 1:35 this morning.  zzzzzzzzz

Here’s my one gripe: even getting on it as early as I did, I could not get FastPass+ for Seven Dwarves Mine Train nor Toy Story Mania.  Argh!  Something is seriously flawed with the system…SERIOUSLY!  That is so-o-o-o-o frustrating!!

But even at that, I am very pleased with the selections we have.  Here they are:

FastPass+ for the Jarvi/Carmichael Clan

Wednesday, October 14, 2015 – Magic Kingdom® Park

  1. Peter Pan’s Flight®—9:15 AM – 10:15 AM
  2. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad®—10:15 AM – 11:15 AM
  3. Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid—11:35 AM – 12:35 PM
  4. I’M VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT WE COULDN’T GET SEVEN DWARVES MINE TRAIN.

Thursday, October 15, 2015 – Disney’s Hollywood Studios®

  1. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith—11:35 AM – 12:35 PM
  2. Voyage of The Little Mermaid—12:35 PM – 12:50 PM
  3. Muppet*Vision 3D—1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
  4. WE REALLY WANTED TOY STORY MANIA.

Saturday, October 17, 2015 – Epcot®

  1. The Seas with Nemo & Friends®—9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
  2. Test Track® Presented by Chevrolet®—10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
  3. Spaceship Earth—11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
  4. SERIOUSLY, WE CAN’T PICK TEST TRACK AND SOARIN’???

Sunday, October 18, 2015 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park

  1. Kilimanjaro Safaris®—11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
  2. Festival of the Lion King—12:30 PM – 12:50 PM
  3. Finding Nemo – The Musical—3:30 PM – 3:50 PM
  4. I COULDN’T GET DINOSAUR IN A TIME THAT WORKED FOR US.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 – Disney’s Hollywood Studios®

  1. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™—10:05 AM – 11:05 AM
  2. Star Tours® – The Adventures Continue—11:50 AM – 12:50 PM
  3. Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage—1:30 PM – 1:50 PM
  4. ONCE AGAIN…WE REALLY WANTED TOY STORY MANIA.

I think we’ll get the chance to ride Seven Dwarves Mine Train at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  At least I hope so.

So that’s how it all shakes out, Dear Readers.  I am so excited; we are 1 month and 29 days away from out trip.  Woop, woop!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

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Fuel and Motion

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Day 367 in my determination to reach Mickey in a healthier state (2 months and 1 day to go)

Today’s plan was to begin again: to eat healthier meals and snacks and to move more.

  1. I picked the best foods available to me today.  For instance, for lunch I had a Boca veggie burger, some mini-carrots and some grapes.  At dinner I made sure to include a salad of greens with our chicken and boiled carrots.  My snacks today: an banana and a Greek yogurt.
  2. Moving more was easy.  While I was away over the last five day, my office was carpeted.  So today I moved things back into my office, not all at once, but every hour I walked down to the storage area and moved a few more things back into my office.

I am tired and a bit sore, but it was a good work day.  AND I slept so much better last night.  Halle-J-lujah!  I am one grateful woman tonight.  I stayed sugar-free today, too.  I am going up to bed to fall asleep and dream sweet Disney dreams: Mad Tea Party, Journey of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast: Live Stage Show, Spaceship Earth, Festival of the Lion King and my very fave, it’s a small world.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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…And Four More Restaurants

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Day 273 in eating my way around the world and meeting up with Mickey

My plan for today was to continue my research on healthy choices at the restaurants we will frequent at Walt Disney World in October.  My go-to site for this is AllEars.Net.  Seriously, you have to check out this site!  It is simply a Disneyphiles dream.

Here we go again:

  1. Artist’s Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge  for dinner: Healthiest Appetizer: Signature Field Greens Salad  Thing I may order: The salad aforementioned or Artisnal Cheese Selection  Entree: Healthiest entree–Grilled Filet Mignon OR Cornish Hen  What I will order: Cedar Plank-Roasted King Salmon  (I’ve had this each time we’ve been there.  It is amazing!) Dessert: Healthiest option:Artisnal Cheese Selection  What I will order-Vairhona Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee AND 6 spoons!  I really want to try this, even just one spoonful.  🙂
  2. Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Pleasure Island (or whatever it’s called nowadays-it’ll always be Pleasure Island to me!) for dinner:  This will be just Mike and I, so we will probably leave a lot of food behind.  We get a date night out of the parks; I’m so excited! The healthiest appetizer on the menu is Heritage Tomato Salad.  What I will probably order: (Well, I need to ask about the mysterious Soul Soup!) But I’m thinking the Luscious Tart.  Entree: The healthiest things are probably Braised Be. Beef OR Mammy’s Roast Chicken  But I will probably order Bangers and Booz (one of my all time favorite meals in England or Ireland). And I know Mike will want the Fish and Chips, and we’ll split a side of roasted root vegetables.  Dessert: the healthiest choice-Moore Street Market   But I will try Trifle Sinful OR Dunbrody Kiss (which is described as “chocolate, add chocolate and add some more.”  Oh, yeah!
  3. 50’s Prime Time Cafe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for lunch:  Appetizers: Healthiest choice: Cousin Amy’s Lettuce Wedge What we will share-Fried Herb and Garlic Cheese.  Entree: The healthiest things on the menu are probably 50’s Prime Time Blue Plate Special “a healthy seasonal special” OR the Salmon or Chicken Caesar Salad  I will order one of those three    Dessert: Healthiest choice: No Sugar Added Cheesecake  What I will order 50’s Boston Cream Parfait AND S’mores AND 6 forks and spoons.
  4. San Angel Inn Restaurante at EPCOT for lunch-Appetizers: probably the 2 healthiest things to choose from are Ensalade Cesar (Caesar Salad) OR  Coctel de Camaron (shrimp cocktail) I would try either.  Entree: Healthiest choices-

    “Loma de Puerco en Pipian – Pork tenderloin served over roasted vegetables and “pipian” – pumpkin, chiles and almond sauce” OR “Pescado a la Veracruzana – Catch of the day prepared with capers, olives, bell peppers, Spanish onions, and tomatoes, seasoned with white wine and spices, served over poblano rice.”   Either way, Mike and I will share.  Dessert: Healthiest option: “Crema Bavaria – creamy Bavarian mousse served with mixed berries, cinnamon and orange liqueur and vanilla sauce”  I will either order that or “Mousse de Chocolate – Chocolate mousse and almond brittle candy.”  Say it with me now, “And 6 Spoons!”

  5. That’s about it.  However, The EPCOT Food and Wine Festival is happening while we’re there, so I know we’ll sample some goodies there, too.  More about that later.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

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Reserved! (Reservated? Twitterpated?)

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Day 251 in the reality of Disney Dining Reservations and meeting up with Mickey (5 months and 27 days to go)

OK, so I was up at 4:30 am this morning ready to get online and make our meal reservations for October.  The online reservation system opens at 6:00 am Eastern Time, which is 5:00 am Central Time.  Am I tired now?  Oh, yeah!  But I’m jacked to have made the reservations.  It’s always a better idea to make reservations and then cancel the ones that you cannot do.

My plan for today is to share  the reservations that I was actually able to make:

Tuesday, October 13–Fly to Florida.  Dinner at Olivia’s Cafe at Disney’s Old Key West Resort (Our home away from home)at 7:15 pm

Wednesday, October 14–Breakfast at The Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom at 8:15 am.  I had hoped for Cinderella’s Royal Table, but it wasn’t available.  I can’t be too disappointed though, because the Crystal Palace is beautiful and elegant and…oh who am I kidding…Winnie the Pooh is there!!

Thursday, October 15–Dinner at California Grill at the Contemporary Resort at 5:25 pm.  I had hoped to eat at Be Our Guest Restaurant that afternoon, but it wasn’t available.  (Fear not though it’s a-comin’.)  We have an early dinner so we can head to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween.  Woo hoo!

Friday, October 16–a day out of the parks.  Breakfast at Olivia’s Cafe at 10:15 am and Dinner at Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.  This is Mike’s favorite restaurant in Walt Disney World.  He and I have been there three times, and each time it has been a delicious, memorable, special experience.  Every time we’ve been there he has said, “We have to bring the kids here sometime.”  Maybe this will be the time.  But they are free to completely plan their own day, as they wish.

Saturday, October 17–Lunch at San Angel Inn Restaurante at EPCOT at 12:30 pm and Dinner at Tusker House Restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  I had to swap out 50’s Prime Time Cafe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, because of no availability  (But it’s coming later.)

Sunday, October 18–Lunch at Yak and Yeti at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at 2:00 pm.

Monday, October 19–a day out of the parks.  Mike and I will have Breakfast at Olivia’s Cafe at 10:15 am and Dinner at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at  Downtown Disney Area at 7:15 pm. The kids plan to go to Universal Studios this day, to experience all the Harry Potter-ness of it.  😉

Tuesday, October 20–Lunch at 50’s Prime Time Cafe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at 12:40 pm and Dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant at Magic Kingdom at 4:55 pm.

Wednesday, October 21– Breakfast at Olivia’s Cafe at 8:00 am.  Then we fly home.

So there it is in black and white, dear readers.  It should be fun!  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Dining at Disney World in October

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Day 250 in my anticipation of all things Disney and my friend Mickey

Today’s plan was to lock down our choices for dining reservations in October.  TOMORROW WE ARE 180 DAYS OUT!!  Now any Disneyphile knows that at if you’re staying on Walt Disney World property, you can make your dining reservations 180 days out.  So after work today I quarantined myself at the computer, did some last minute research and put things in place.  Here is the plan:

Day 1 Dinner at Olivia’s Cafe at Old Key West Resort (Travel day)

Day 2 Breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom (And I want to meet up with Mickey for  photo later in the day!)

Day 3 Dinner at Be Our Guest at the Magic Kingdom

Day 4 Breakfast at Olivia’s Cafe at Old Key West Resort and   Dinner at Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Day 5 Lunch at San Angel Inn at EPCOT and Dinner at 50’s Prime Time Cafe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Day 6 Lunch at Yak and Yeti Restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Day 7 Breakfast at Olivia’s Cafe at Old Key West Resort and Dinner at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Downtown Disney

Day 8 Lunch at Tusker House at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Dinner at Tony’s Town Square at the Magic Kingdom

Day 9 Breakfast at Olivia’s Cafe at Old Key West Resort (Travel day)

And, as if that’s not enough the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival is happening while we’re there.  I hope to spend one morning and one afternoon there to check it out.  So excited now!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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October Game Plan

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Day 228 in thinking about hanging with Mickey in October

Today’s plan is to think about what I definitely want to experience at the parks in October.

Magic Kingdom (My absolute favorite park!)

  1. Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid
  2. 7 Dwarves Mine Train
  3. Peter Pan’s Flight
  4. Mad Tea Party
  5. Splash Mountain
  6. Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road
  7. Pirates of the Caribbean
  8. The Haunted Mansion
  9. Carousel of Progress
  10. And the best ride ever-It’s a Small World

EPCOT

  1. Soarin’
  2. Spaceship Earth
  3. The Seas with Nemo and Friends
  4. Universe of Energy
  5. Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
  6. France’s Movie

Disney Hollywood Studios

  1. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
  2. The Great Movie Ride
  3. Muppet Vision 3D
  4. Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
  5. Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
  6. Toy Story Midway Mania
  7. Voyage of the Little Mermaid
  8. The Magic of Disney Animation

Animal Kingdom

  1. Dinosaur
  2. Festival of the Lion King
  3. Finding Nemo-The Musical
  4. Kali River Rapids
  5. Kilimanjaro Safari
  6. Primeval Whirl

I get so jacked up thinking about it that I can hardly stand it.  And there’s even something that I am more excited about than all of the above: shaking Mickey’s hand and having my picture taken with him.  Woo hoo!

Meet you the Kingdom!

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Disney Love

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Day 118 in my current love affair with Walt Disney World and Mickey

Things I adore about a Walt Disney World Vacation:

  1. Family together time away from the stresses and pressures of daily life and work.
  2. Old Key West-I literally exhale and all my stress drifts away when I get there.  Whether  it’s hanging out in our room or relaxing by the pool or sharing a meal at Olivia’s, this place is just my happy place.
  3. The Magic Kingdom–this is the place that I become that little girl again, the one who always wanted to go to “Disneyland” but never got to go, because it was too far and too expensive.  Disneyland and I are both 59 years old this year, and for me it’s been a 56 year love affair with all things Disney.  (That’s about when I have my first memories of Disney.)
  4. EPCOT, Disney Hollywood Studios, The Animal Kingdom–Each park is so unique and so interesting.  I love to see the changes every time we go, even though I sometimes miss the attractions that have gone away.  (I still miss the original “Journey Into the Imagination” ride, and don’t even get me started on “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride”!)  But this time we will see the New Fantasyland and the first stage of the changes at Disney’s Marketplace.
  5. I love the fact that you walk about 5 miles a day, and it doesn’t feel like torture.
  6. I love some serious pool time.  I expect to do miles of pool walking in October just because I can.  🙂
  7. Amazing gourmet meals.  We make it a point to schedule one sit-down meal together for each day that we are there.  Favorites include Olivia’s, The San Angel Inn Restaurante and Tony’s Town Square.  And this year we will be there for the Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT for the first time.  Looking forward to that!

My plan for today is to think on these wonderful “loves”, so that my zeal will be renewed, and I will put some extra active-ities into my day.  I finished setting up for the Womens’ Cookie Exchange this morning.  I will grocery shop on the way home from work today.  And tonight I will take a more active role in decorating the tree and the house for Christmas.  The kids will come over (Yay!) and we will have “The Dip” while we decorate and watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  And you know what?  It is a wonderful life!  Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: The Dip is not a diet friendly dish.  We have it twice a year, (1) when we put up the Christmas Tree and (2) on Oscars night.  (A) In a pie pan you spread 8 oz. of cream cheese. (B) Top with 6 chopped green onions. (C) Top with a can of No Bean Chili. (We do one pan with no beans and one pan with beans) (D) Top with 8 oz. of sharp cheddar cheese.  You can either microwave for 5 minutes, or you can heat it at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  We prefer the oven, as it stays hot longer.  Serve with your favorite chips.  Mike and I prefer Ruffles; Jake and Eliza (aka The Kids) like blue corn chips.  Tonight we’ll also have veggies on the side.  For me: more veggies, less chips.  🙂