Busy Times

I thought it was about time I took finger tip to keyboard and wrote a blog piece.

I've struggled of late to get blog pieces done as frequently as I would have liked.  I can't believe that I have only just wrote about day 8 of our last vacation..which was last August! I fully expected to have had all my vacation pieces done and dusted well before Christmas but time just seems to have eluded me.

Now it's not that I haven't wanted to do more posts it has simply been about getting the time to write them.  The run-up to Christmas as you would expect in any house was a busy time, what with the pressures at work to produce Christmas concerts and parties and then all the family stuff too, but it was also a time when my new venture began...The Disney Dream Girls.

Since The Disney Dream Girls began we have been having an absolute blast.  My co-host Michelle is the driving force behind the show and she does a fantastic job editing and publishing.  I help out by keeping The Disney Dream Girls website up-to-date and using Simon to make sure all of our artwork is looking groovy.  We try to cover a wide variety of Disney topics, although we do seem to like our food related segments...we have even started what we like to call 'Bacongate' as we debated the pros and cons of US bacon versus UK bacon - who knew it would be such a hot topic!  We have had guests on the show ranging from the amazing Jim Korkis to fellow podcasters Thomas Allison of The DisGeek podcast and Kathy Kelly of Special Mouse Podcast as well as blogger Lisa Green from Living a Disney Life. We have chatted attractions and value resorts at WDW as well as discussing Michelle's upcoming trip to Disneyland.  And just this week we have appeared as guests ourselves on another podcast, the Creepy Kingdom.

Michelle and I love recording together and have had so many lovely positive things said about the show.  And although I know I won't be able to get to WDW this year it helps to keep the Disney magic alive and makes that next trip (whenever that may be) all that more exciting, special and something to really look forward to.

So apologies for the infrequency of posts on here...if this were a school report I think it would say 'must try harder'...but I promise to keep checking in as often as I can and don't forget to subscribe to The Disney Dream Girls on iTunes and hear what I have to say about all things Disney :)

WDW Summer 2013 - Day 8

So just over half way through our vacation and today was a gentle sort of day.

We started it off by meeting someone who we'd known for a long while but had only met in person a couple of days ago...Lou Mongello!

Simon had a couple of paintings for Lou so we had agreed to meet up at our hotel to chat and pass on the paintings.  Now Lou knew we had one painting for him but he knew nothing about the second...that was our little surprise!

So we met Lou and sat outside in the morning sun and passed over the first painting. This was a painting of Mickey Mouse as Peter Pan and was for the WDW Radio upcoming charity auction which forms part of the Dream Team Project that raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The painting went for $75

The second painting was a surprise for Lou and was one that Simon had done especially for him as a way to say thank you for all the Disney magic he has brought into our lives, and all the new friendships we have made as a result of the Disney community that he is such a part of.

(You can see more of Simon's fabulous artwork on his webiste www.simonphipps.com)

Suffice to say Lou was blown away, I think he was even speechless at one point and there may have even been an odd tear or two - a job well done I think :)

Me, Simon and Lou

After we had said our goodbyes we decided to head to Downtown Disney for a spot of lunch and retail therapy!! Lunch was at one of our favourite quick service restaurants, and if you're on the Quick Service Dining Plan one of the very best value places to eat - Wolfgang Puck Express.

The food here is always amazing and always feels more like table service than counter service.  This is always a big must do when at Downtown Disney.

So once we were full off we set on a bit of shopping!  It was a pretty successful shopping trip and my haul included; a dress, top, 3 t-shirts, bracelet, 2 pairs of earrings, handbag and a matching purse.  Molly spent her money on some key-chains whilst Ethan bought more food...an enormous piece of fudge from Disney's Candy Cauldron!!

View from Downtown Disney West Side across to the Marketplace - beautiful day!

We had a lovely few hours at Downtown Disney; I just love wandering around and checking out all the merchandise even if I don't buy anything!  It's a great place to spend sometime away from the hustle and bustle of the parks whilst still getting a big hit of all things Disney!

We then headed back to the Wilderness Lodge and whilst the kids messed about in the pool Simon and I spent a little while uploading photos and videos and just generally chilling out.  A lovely day to re-charge our batteries ready for another full day tomorrow!

WDW Summer 2013 - Day 7 Part 2

So where were we then...ah that's right we were getting wet!

So our morning's golfing adventure had been curtailed by the weather and as we made our way towards the Boardwalk and meeting up with friend Michelle the rain struck again...

Look at the size of the puddle...sorry more like a pond!

I think I'm a little bit wet!!!!

So after meeting up with Michelle we made our way from the Boardwalk to the Beach & Yacht Club resort, more specifically to Beaches & Cream Soda Shop where we thought we'd have a little something to eat..

Our first challenge was getting a table...now at the time we were there Beaches & Cream, despite being a very popular eatery, didn't take reservations and on enquiring after a table we were told that current wait times were about an hour!!  Not one to be deterred our Michelle spoke to the cast member in charge of tables and the next thing we knew we were going inside!  Now I'm not sure what Michelle did or said but we got in!  I think the reason we got in so quick was because we were happy to sit at the counter rather than at a table or a booth; sitting at the counter was great because you got to see all that was going on making the burgers and the sundaes and it really added to the atmosphere of eating in an old fashioned styled ice-cream parlour.

Still a bit soggy but at least we were inside out of the rain, although the air conditioning wasn't really needed!!

Ooooo what to have?!!!

Now I'd better confess that we had a very particular reason for wanting to eat here, something that was on our 'to do' list...the 'Kitchen Sink'...a sundae of epic proportions! How epic you may say, well here's the list of ingredients;

• ½ cup fudge topping, warmed
• ½ cup butterscotch topping, warmed
• ½ cup peanut butter topping, warmed
• 1 medium banana, sliced in 1/2 –inch slices
• 1 cinnamon spice cupcake (2 ½ x 1 ¼-inch), quartered
• 1 angel food cupcake (3 x 1 ½-inch), quartered
• 2 4-oz. scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 4-oz. scoops chocolate ice cream
• 2 4-oz. scoops strawberry ice cream
• 1 4-oz. scoop mint chocolate chip ice cream
• 1 4-oz. scoop coffee ice cream
• 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
• ¼ cup marshmallow crème
• ¼ cup strawberry topping
• ¼ cup pineapple topping
• 1 14-oz can dairy whipped topping
• 1 brownie (6-inch x 6-inch), quartered
• 1 regular-sized (2 ounce) candy bar, quartered
• 4 chocolate cookies with cream filling
• 1 tablespoon sliced toasted almonds
• 1 tablespoon dark and white chocolate shavings
• 1 tablespoon chocolate cookies with cream filling, crushed
• 1 tablespoon chopped jellied orange slices (approximately 2 large slices)
• 1 tablespoon milk chocolate chip morsels
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter chip morsels
• 1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles
• 1 tablespoon rainbow sprinkles
• ½ cup drained maraschino cherries

Suffice to say we ordered just the one between the four of us!  Oh and if you do decide to go for one of these be prepared for the whole of the restaurant to know about it; lights flash and an announcement is made to one and all, much to our kids embarrassment :)

Ready to dig in!

So we tackled it with gusto and I have to say we made short work of it!

Are we going to be able to manage this?

Getting there....

And we're done!

All gone!!!

It was such a fun experience and whilst my first reaction after finishing it all was 'never again' I think that now a little time has passed I would be willing to give it another go...although I think the kids and I would ask for the peanut butter topping and chips to be replaced with more chocolate!!  But all of the food here was great, and the choice of sundaes and desserts may tempt me to try something different next time.  A lovely place to eat and a definite recommendation from me.

At the end of our meal we were joined by yet more friends, Phil & Lauren who we had met through the WDW Radio Meet of the month a couple of days earlier.  The sun had now decided to come out and everywhere was drying up leaving us to spend the remainder of the day in Epcot.

We took a stroll through the World Showcase indulging in a couple of games of Phineas & Ferb: Agent P's World Showcase Adventure; which is great fun and I shall go into more details in a later post.  

Look at the concentration...this is serious stuff!

We had dinner at the Katsura Grill in the Japanese pavilion (just love it here)...

Sushi anyone?

...before a little shopping in Mousegear and a ride on The Seas with Nemo & Friends before heading home.

Such a beautiful sky as we approached The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Another fun-filled day with great friends and great memories.

And we're home :)

WDW Summer 2013 - Day 7

Well I thought I would crack on and get another blog post written all about our vacation last August, so here we are Day 7...

Today was to be a day of two halves....golf...and ice-cream...

Now for some of us the day started very early..Simon was up and out at 7.00am for a run!  He did really well over the vacation and got up and out quite a few times as he was determined to get some miles in as he was training for his first half marathon which was only a few weeks after we got home.  Being at Wilderness Lodge was great because Simon was able to run from the Lodge to Fort Wilderness, around the camp-ground and back to the Lodge, completing just under 5 miles.

Once Simon had returned we headed off for a hearty breakfast...this was strategic eating as will become apparent later on!  We took things relatively easy and headed over to the Contemporary Resort by way of boat, for a leisurely stroll around, before boarding a monorail to the TTC (Transportation & Ticket Centre) and then onto Epcot.

Boat from Wilderness Lodge to Contemporary Resort - wonder what I was pointing out?!

Walking from the dock towards the impressive Contemporary Resort

Can't resist a photo opportunity, especially if it involves a Mickey!

Once we were at Epcot we had a mission...to leave Epcot...OK I'll explain we were actually heading for Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf and had to walk through Epcot to get there.  So we strolled through Epcot, taking in all the sights and sounds.  We made a quick stop at 'Club Cool' for a refreshing drink before heading out through the International Gateway and walking towards the Yacht & Beach Club Resort.  We then walked between the Swan & Dolphin Resorts as we made our way to Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf.

Taking a stroll towards the Yacht & Beach Club Resort

Note what a lovely day it is!!!!

Now, we have a bit of a track record when it comes to playing miniature gold at WDW in that it always seems to rain, but today was a beautiful day and we thought we had finally broken the pattern.  We were all confident that this would be a round of golf uninterrupted by rain...

One pleasant surprise was that the golf was free!  The tickets that we had bought for our vacation, and ones that were exclusive for UK guests, included free rounds of golf every day!  Anyway off we set on our round of golf and as is the norm for us me and the kids played whilst Simon carried the bags and became official sports photographer.

This is serious stuff!!

We were about half way round when it started to come over rather dark, and then we felt a few spots of rain but being British we weren't going to let a little rain stop us!

Is that rain I feel??

We British are always prepared, out came the rain coats

So out came the raincoats and we got on with the golf but just as we reached hole 11 rain, or rather thunder, stopped play :(  A cast member came round and told us that because of the storm we had to stop play. I suppose a game involving metal sticks in a lightening storm isn't perhaps the best idea.  We took shelter and hoped that the storm would pass over...we waited and waited but the storm should no sign of easing and besides we had an appointment to keep!

I think it's raining!!!!

Trying to stay dry!!

As the rain eased we made a break for it and headed over to the Boardwalk where we were to meet our friend Michelle.  Now the rain had eased and the clouds had started to clear but within 15 minutes it all changed again and by the time we set foot on the Boardwalk it was raining again.

So what did we do next?  I think all shall be revealed in my next post...

WDW Summer 2013 - Day 6

I thought that it was about time I got back to telling you all about our vacation to Walt Disney World last August...so where were we?

Ah yes...Day 6...

Today was Epcot day.  We managed to get up and be at the bus stop for 9.00am but then had to wait what seemed like ages for a bus, and when our bus did turn up it decided rather than go straight to Epcot it would take a detour via Fort Wilderness Campground, which all resulted in us not getting to Epcot until 9.45am!

Anyway, once there we managed to hit all the major rides.  We rode the new Test Track and had great fun as the girls paired up against the boys and suffice to say the girls car came out tops.  The kids loved the interactive area after the ride and we spent an absolute age in there with them wanting to try everything.  We also spent a small amount of time in the gift shop purchasing t-shirts (for the kids) and a couple of car antenna toppers (for me!).

Before we knew it it was time for lunch which just had to be Sunshine Seasons inside the Land pavilion - I love it in here, the choice is great and varied which means all of us get to pick something we like and as we were on the Quick Service Dining plan great value too. After lunch we rode Soarin' (thanks to Fastpasses we picked up when we first got into the park) and then Journey Into Imagination with Figment.  Now I don't mind the Imagination pavilion ride but I have to say it's not as good as the original version...I miss the Dreamfinder with Figment but I suppose at least we still have the little purple fellow.

Now as we spent our time wandering around the Future World half of Epcot we found time for two things.  Firstly there was Club Cool, which is described as 'an exhibit sponsored by Coca-Cola'. Here you'll find plenty of heavily Coca-Cola themed merchandise plus numerous 'stations' offering you the chance to experience different soft, fizzy drinks from around the world for free.  One of these drinks called 'the Beverley' seems to have developed some what of a cult following amongst Disney fans and was on our 'To Do' list.  So off we went to give it a try...now in my opinion (and the kids) it was a bit bland and something I wasn't going to rush back to, however, Simon loved it (no accounting for taste).  Whenever we found ourselves at Epcot during our vacation and in need of a drink we would head over to Club Cool for Simon to drink the Beverley whilst me and the kids tried all the rest that was on offer - a great, and free, way to quench your thirst on a hot Floridian day :)

Secondly we took advantage of the air-conditioning inside MouseGear and did the obligatory trying on of silly hats...why...just because we could...

Molly with a platypus on her head!

Stylish Steampunk Mickey Ears (I did buy these eventually)

Molly doing her best Captain Jack

Yes I have a Figment on my head,
and no I didn't buy this one!

The afternoon saw us meet up with Michelle (my co-host from the Disney Dream Girls podcast) as we met some American fellow podcasters in World Showcase as well as some other UK friends Jeff & Chris - meeting friends new and old seemed to be the theme of this vacation!  We then decided it was time for an afternoon snack...

Double Chocolate Funnel Cake

Original Funnel Cake

...mmm yummy, one of my favourites and must do's!

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering World Showcase with a large amount of time spent in the Japan pavilion; the boys were in their element inside the Mitsukoshi Department Store in the 'gaming' section, suffice to say a couple of Zelda and Kingdom Hearts purchases were made!

Me & the obligatory Japanese fan (bought by Molly)

But the highlight of our stay in 'Japan' was our meal at Teppen Edo that evening; this was our one and only ADR (Advance Dining Reservation) and had been highly anticipated by all and it did not disappoint.

The dining here is family style with up to 8 guests seated around a large Hibachi grill and the food is cooked right there in front of you with great skill, artistry and theatre.  We all decided to go for sushi starters, a mix of spicy rolls and california rolls which were amazing (and quite filling) whilst our chef got on with cooking the main course.

Onion volcano - the skill to make this is amazing to watch

Noodles anyone?

The girls opted for the chicken and shrimp combo whilst the boys went for chicken and steak; both of which were served with rice, noodles and veggies and all tasted amazing. The shrimp was to die for!!  I can't recommend highly enough adding Teppan Edo to your Disney bucket list if you haven't already managed to get there; everything about it was fantastic - the food, the service, the skill, the showmanship - a definite 'must do'.  When we had finished our meal we came outside just in time to watch the start of IllumiNations; Reflections of Earth.

So we walked our way around the World Showcase Lagoon as fireworks filled the air and headed home...at the monorail we bumped into friends Jeff & Chris again!! And this is where I confess that I made a bit of a 'boob'...I was convinced that the monorail went straight through to the Magic Kingdom...well it does if you get off at the Transportation and Ticket Centre and pick up another monorail...suffice to say we saw Epcot again that evening!!